by C. J. Lloyd
Violet could feel the distress emanating from her.
Terra looked up at the mass above, her eyes big. “For once, I agree with Rai. We can head back to the base. Recoup and whatever there and still find out where he could attack.”
Violet nodded. “I’ll get Sasha and the others. Eden, you keep an eye on him. If he goes anywhere, you do all you can to slow him down, okay?”
Eden grabbed her arm. “Violet, maybe I should go with you. I don’t—”
She turned and kissed him. Her mouth went over his bottom lip, and she pressed as hard as she could and with all that she had.
“I love you,” she said.
“I–I love you too,” Eden whispered, swallowing. “Just come back, please.”
She raced to where Sasha and the others had chased Allure. The black sand was picking up all around them. She could barely see anything or anyone for that matter.
She looked back, but the sand had covered the others in a thick wall. A figure appeared in the darkness of the black sandstorm as she pushed forward.
Violet froze with fear as the red eyes pierced right through. It couldn’t be Elric. Did he do something to the others? Her heart raced, and her insides went wild with panic.
Elric moved closer.
She released a barrage of energy spheres, spraying the air with knife-like shards of purple energy, all futile. Every attack was either absorbed by his flesh or skimmed off him. She went to launch another one, but he grabbed her wrist.
With no one to assist, she was helpless. She wouldn’t be able to fight him alone. She was as good as dead. But he released her, not saying a word, and cleared a path through the sandstorm. She swallowed, waiting for his next move, but instead, he walked past her, going in the direction of where Sasha and the others were.
“What are you doing?” she yelled, her hands glowing, ready to strike.
His wings folded and wrapped around his body as he ignored her cries. He stopped and pointed over to the two boys lying on the ground and Sasha in the hands of Allure.
“No!” Violet screamed, blasting Sasha free. “Leave them alone!”
“You little pest,” Allure glared but then looked over at Elric. “That’s impossible. You should be dead.”
He continued moving toward Allure as she backed away. Her wings opened as she leaped to the sky to fly through the large sandstorm. A black stream wrapped around her clawed feet and snatched her back down to the ground.
Violet watched as Allure turned, looking up at Elric with gaping eyes glossed with concern. “Calamity, where is she?”
“Gone,” Elric said calmly. “You don’t have to worry about her.”
Allure smiled greedily, showing a row of sharpened teeth. “Yes. Our plan worked then, boy? We’ve done it.” She giggled nervously.
He raised his hand toward her. “You’re just as bad as Calamity. Die with some dignity. You are one of the remaining generals, after all.”
Allure released a shriek that brought Violet and Sasha to the ground, but Elric was fine. A dark hand raced forward and grabbed Allure with a force great enough to slam her to the ground.
She coughed, trying to fight herself free from the hand. “What are you doing?”
Violet watched as that awful manifestation of dark energy formed over Elric. Looking down at them was a lipless dragon with a terrifying permanent grin, long and jagged teeth, eyes the color of blood.
Even in Allure’s eyes, the fear glistened like a diamond in the sun. The manifestation consumed her and ripped out a black mass as she screamed.
“What have you done?” Allure cried as she reverted to her human form.
“Just taking back something that didn’t belong to you. Calamity somehow gave you and the other generals the power of darkness. I’m just evening the playing field for the other Ermakians who will want your head.”
The dark essence which gave her aura a cold, inhuman presence was gone. Even her pale texture became filled with life. Violet held onto Sasha as she struggled to stand, watching what was happening.
“Is … is that Elric?” Sasha whispered, trying to catch her breath.
Violet helped her up. “Yes, we’ll talk about it later.”
“You wretched cretin!” Allure exclaimed.
Elric glared over at Violet and Sasha. “Now, kill her.”
“What makes you think we’re going to listen to you?” Sasha yelled. “You don’t scare me. You never did.”
“Fear? Of course not.” A dark hand grabbed Manie, who was still unconscious, and brought him toward Elric’s grasp. “But, how about death?” He placed his index claw on Manie’s neck.
“Leave him,” Sasha growled.
“Then do it or I’ll end his existence right now.”
Violet focused on everyone, including Allure. I have to do this right or Elric’s coming with us. A bright flash consumed them, and they were back with Eden and the others.
Manie fell on the floor along with Alfred.
“Manie! Manie!” Sasha cried, running over, holding him and kissing him.
“What happened?” Terra raced by Violet to kneel by Manie’s side and hugged him tightly.
Above them was Elric. The other one must have been another manifestation. The island was being torn apart all around them, crumbling piece by piece from the powerful black hole.
“Good job, Violet,” Elric shouted from above. “You’re getting stronger every time we meet.”
“Are we good?” Eden yelled, trying to overpower the roaring above.
Light anchored everyone to the ground. Violet saw Jen focusing her gaze, her pupils ablaze with golden light. Violet wasn’t sure if she had come back to her senses or not, but at least she’d done something to help.
Eden looked down on Allure in shock, and his eyes furrowed with disgust. “Allure? What the hell is she doing here? Leave her.”
Violet shook her head. “Not our call.” She wouldn’t become a ruthless monster, though Allure definitely deserved death. What other revenge would suit the one who killed Zaroule? “She’s coming with us.”
Allure hung her head and groaned, “Leave me, you little ingrates.”
Sasha bared her canines. “I fully agree with that notion.”
“No, she’ll pay for the things she’s done. Trust me. For now, we have to go.”
Violet teleported them back to base where everyone was still in an uproar. Soldiers were being rolled away on stretchers with wounds; some looked to have been mauled by wild animals. Violet latched onto a doctor who hurried by, her blue scrubs covered in blood. Violet pointed over to Alfred and Manie. She nodded and got a group who quickly took them away.
Sasha looked on, worried. “Will they be alright?”
“Yeah, trust me. I’ll be right back. I need to find Sam. You guys stand by because I’m sure Elric’s going to appear somewhere quick. Do not let her out of your sight!” Violet added, scowling at Allure. She mirrored Violet’s expression. Allure’s white hair was a mess and splintered over her face.
Sasha and the others nodded and disappeared into the crowd of scientists and soldiers.
Consumed by chaos, the base had become a flurry of emotions, wild thoughts, and desperation. Violet was out of luck as she tried to use her powers to find Samantha. She bumped into one of the lab technicians, the same man who had helped her into the tub.
“Looking for the colonel, I presume?”
Violet gave an exhale of relief. “Yes. Is she okay?”
“Looks like you could use another dump?”
“Yeah, I know. Look, this is an emergency. Do you know where she is?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t. As you can see, it’s chaos.” He looked up at a plasma screen TV. “I’m kind of wondering if this is the end.”
The television was filled with cities all over the world in flames and chaos thanks to monster attacks. Even with Calamity gone, her reign was still spreading. It was worse than ever before.
“You and your friends … do you think
you can find a way to stop this?”
Violet focused on the screen and wondered that same question. “Sorry. I’ve got to go.” Violet ran out of the lab and past dozens of exhausted and frightened faces. Her legs heavy with exhaustion, she continued down to the barracks making her way through the throng of people.
“There she is. Violet, over here!” a voice called out.
Rai jumped up and down through the crowd, trying to get her attention. Violet fought through armored soldiers carrying their rifles, preparing to hit the streets amongst the monsters that ravaged them.
The meeting room was filled with tons of people. Violet looked up to see Samantha and the woman quickly hugged her. “Took you long enough. Sasha told us what happened, including what happened with Allure. She’s in custody in one of the cellblocks. I’m glad you guys are alright. I feared the worst when the island vanished.”
“Vanished?” Violet’s brows pinched together.
“Yeah, after that black mass filled the sky, it consumed everything. Nothing left but ocean. We have cruisers on the scene picking up those who survived the initial attacks,” Samantha said, looking over at Enzo. He was being guarded.
“So, Calamity is dead, and the only one remaining is Elric then?”
“Yeah,” Violet said, wiping sweat from her face and taking a seat next to Eden. She looked over at the others. “Are you guys ready?”
Eden nodded. “Yeah, we’re good. Just worried about Al and Manie.”
“They’ll be okay, I know it.”
Samantha nodded. “You can trust and believe they’re in good hands. But on to another matter. I see we have both Rai Tsu and Casey Jones in our grasps. Can I assume they’re going to be needed to bring down Elric too?”
Violet sighed, lowering her head. “Yes.”
There was an uproar from all the soldiers in the room. “Bull!” one yelled. “They killed hundreds of people!” another bellowed. “They deserve the death penalty!”
Violet swallowed, understanding the pain and suffering from each of them, and she couldn’t disagree. What Rai and Enzo did with Elric was unspeakable, and not only that, they enjoyed what they did. Even if they helped stop Elric, it wouldn’t mean anything.
Violet raised her eyebrows. “We had to come back because Elric’s gotten stronger. If we don’t have Rai and Enzo with us, we will most certainly fail. No, what-ifs, no, we can pull it together. He will kill us,” she said, turning to the soldiers. “He will kill all of you, and your families don’t matter to him. He’s a monster, consumed by madness.”
The anger, hatred, and thirst for revenge settled over the room.
Sam sighed. “So, besides that, what else is new?” Samantha cursed and looked the two Titans over. “What’s the plan, then? Five Titans against one sounds like good odds to me?”
Violet searched the room. Everyone was there except Jennifer. Violet couldn’t sense her presence anywhere, not that she would be able to in the sea of the major upheaval around her.
“Jen walked away when you left,” Rai explained. “Ever since that incident with Elric, she kind of walked out on reality. We thought maybe if we gave her space, she’d be alright.”
Violet dragged her hands down her face. She wanted to scream. Jennifer was beyond pissing her off. “I’ll go find her. I’ll be right back.”
Samantha nodded. “Well, find her before we end up with a combined Boston and London incident.”
Violet ran out of the room and fought her way through the crowd, hoping she could sense Jennifer’s powers.
There! Outside headquarters, sitting on the stone stairs.
The air was warm and breezy as she stepped into the sound of machine-gun fire, the roars of beasts, and the screams of battle. Helicopters glided overhead, and trucks packed with armored troops and weapons roared down the streets.
Jennifer was crouched in a corner. She kept her head down and her ears covered. Violet could see the jolts and shivers of sobbing as she crept closer. She took a seat next to Jennifer. As anxious as she was, she had to stay calm. “I know you wanted to save him.”
“No,” Jennifer replied. Her head rose as she wiped the tears that fell from her swollen red eyes. “It’s not about that.”
“Then what is it, Jen? I don’t understand.”
“I was willing to sacrifice everyone, even my own life, because I didn’t want to fight him. You were right, Violet.” Jennifer slammed her fist against the stone steps, crushing a piece off as her hand glowed with light. “How can I call myself the Titan of Light if I’m so weak? I–I don’t even understand what happened. Why did I feel that way?”
“You’re not weak, Jen. It’s Elric; it’s his powers. If you’re not careful, you’ll get caught up in his misery and grief. It’ll make you feel worthless and hopeless. Trust me, I know, I’ve been there.” Violet thought about her own past experiences and how Elric’s powers consumed her. It nearly destroyed her. But it had started when Elric first turned. “I remember how depressed I had become, and so much self-hatred built up inside me when I thought I’d killed Elric. How it felt like I let you and Zaroule down because I couldn’t save him. Through that suffering and with the help of my friends, I came to an understanding.”
Jen wiped her face. “And what was that?”
“That no matter what, life moves on.”
The light around her hands eased, and Jennifer’s shaking body relaxed. She was calming down.
Jennifer sighed as she gazed over her fingers. She sniffled. “I’ve known Elric my whole life practically. It’s sad that it took me so long to realize he loved me. And it took the end of the world to tell him how I felt, but I did feel the same. I still do,” she said, wiping her face.
Violet smiled.
“I know the feeling. Being in love with a Titan can be frustrating,” she said, thinking of Eden and Sirocco. Both of them had anger issues, but both had gentle hearts.
Jennifer nodded and blew a deep breath from her lungs.
“Jennifer, your ancestors have kept this world safe for so long, and they passed this gift down to you for a reason. No matter what happens, we have confidence in you, and you know what? I think we’ll be the ones to end this cycle of darkness and chaos.”
“Yeah?” She looked up at Violet.
“But I don’t mean just with Elric. I mean this dark era we’re in. I think we’ll be the ones to bring balance again. That’s what the world is looking for. That’s what we’re looking for, right?” Violet reached down to help Jen stand.
Jennifer nodded unctuously. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Violet remembered the night she met Jennifer. She wasn’t supposed to use her powers when they were on the surface world. Zaroule strictly prohibited it. But she’d had to. Elric needed to see Jennifer. And that night, Violet realized how important their bond was and how strong the chains of destiny would go . . . even now.
Zaroule said Elric would bring about a great change, and if she remembered correctly, he also said that from out of chaos, order is born.
Jennifer grasped her hand, and Violet pulled her up, wiping some of the tears from her face. Violet admired Jennifer even now. Her warm brown skin and hazel eyes shimmered in the sun.
“Let’s do this,” she said with a sniffle. “I’m ready V. I won’t ... I won’t fall like that again.”
Violet and Jennifer made their way back to the meeting and joined the others. Samantha smiled as they returned and took their seats.
“Now that we have everyone, I’m sure by the commotion outside and everything on the news, you can see that we’re in dark times right now. I’ve been told that two of the top threats have been eliminated, but the most frightening one still remains.”
Violet watched as Jennifer’s hand tightened into a fist, her eyes wincing shut. Violet slipped her hand into Jennifer’s. “You have us, Jen, no matter what.”
Jennifer nodded to Violet, keeping determination in her eyes.
“The top threat has no relation to what’s
going on around the world, and in fact is an even greater threat than the large monstrous armies warring in each major city around the world. Military forces from all major countries are reacting properly and are doing their best to fight off those threats, but it’s up to us to handle the high-value target.”
Violet stood. “If I can make a suggestion, Sam?”
“Of course, Violet.”
“It would be better to let us take care of Elric.” She looked over at the others. “Sasha will roll with the soldiers.” She looked at her and a bunch of the special forces guys. “That is, as long as they’ll protect her with their lives.”
“Damn right we will,” the soldier who always had a gritty aspect about him replied. “Sasha’s like the snappy, shapeshifting daughter I never had.”
“She’s the little big sister of Team Ten,” another soldier replied. “We’ve got her back no matter what.”
With watering eyes, Sasha answered, “You guys ...”
Violet watched Sasha’s reddening light-brown cheeks bubble with joy. “Good.”
“It makes the most sense,” Samantha said and gave a terse nod to the soldiers. “And as much as I hate to throw you six to the wolf, it must be done. Right now, we can use powers like you guys.”
“Well, why not?” Enzo smirked. “Never would have seen myself with the overachievers, but here I am.”
“Oh, shut up,” Rai snapped at him. “Who cares about any of that now? We have to stop him, and I’m conflicted as it is. If it weren’t for him, Enzo, we wouldn’t be the close friends we are now.”
Enzo tilted his head and bunched his eyebrows. “Friends? I’ve only known you for a few weeks.”
She snuck an elbow under his ribs, and he groaned, holding his side.
“Yeah, I said it, now shut up,” Rai admitted, looking away. “I don’t know if it’s because you guys are Titans too, but I have this connection with you and Elric. I guess it doesn’t matter with Elric at this point though.”
A sly smile slipped across Enzo’s face. “Well, if this whole situation has someone like you emotional, then maybe it is time to put some work in.”