Not Without A Fight Ch. 2

Chapter 2: Alienated

"Are you sure that I'm not going to be a burden on you?" Tikal asked uncertainly. She was walking next to Amy Rose through the streets of Station Square, the two girls headed off to her house.

When Amy had offered Tikal a place to stay, the echidna really hadn't considered saying no. She didn't know the girl that well, but Amy seemed nice enough, and since she was a friend to both Sonic and Knuckles Tikal figured that she was safe to stay with. After all, what she'd seen of this violent world and aggressive culture so far had her thinking that shelter might be the most important need to address.

"Of course you won't be a burden," Amy insisted with her perpetual friendly smile. "I've always wanted to have a roommate. Besides, you need to stay somewhere, right?"

"I guess I can't exactly sleep outside..." Tikal admitted softly as she looked around her new surroundings.

To think, this is the future... No, this is the present.

Huge buildings made of silvery rock and glass stretched as high as her eyes would travel up into the cloudy sky. The ground was covered with a similar looking material; it looked to be rock, though it was smoother and had no bumps or irregularities. And there were so many people and Mobians walking around... she'd never seen so many creatures in her life. But the oddest thing, was riding on top of the flat gray surface were these strange machines - a lot of them.

"Those are cars," Amy had explained. "People use them to get from one place to another. You really don't know anything about modern living?"

Tikal shook her head, her dreadlock quills swaying from side to side. "Not really... I mean, I've been here before, when Chaos was released the last time... but that's when this whole place was flooded. And I was in my spirit form..." her blue eyes drifted down to look at her more solid body. She was still getting used to walking and carrying around flesh, bone, skin, and fur.

"Well, they really have cleaned it up a lot since then. They're still in the process of rebuilding Twinkle Park," she pouted and eyed her dream date location, but then grinned. "Good news is that they say they're going to expand it. And that means that me and Sonic will get to have even more fun there!" she squealed.

Tikal could only blink. "You and Sonic?"

Amy giggled and nodded. "Yep, he's my boyfriend. Of course, he's too shy to ever admit he likes me, but I think it just makes him cuter."

The other girl could only nod and Amy continued to gush about her crush, and for some odd reason that red and black hedgehog - Shadow - popped back into her head. Heat immediately rose to her cheeks, and Tikal almost stopped walking from the rush of feelings. His demeanor had frightened her, to say the least, and the way he'd so effortlessly destroyed those robots was shocking. And yet... she couldn't quite get his image out of her head. The way he'd looked at her with those ruby red eyes would be forever imprinted on her memory. It was like he'd seen right through her, and caught a glimpse of her soul.

"Tikal? Are you okay, girl?" Amy suddenly asked, noticing Tikal had spaced out.

"What? Oh, yeah..." she said, fully aware that her apricot fur was more of the red color associated with her tribe.

"Oh, there's no reason to be shy," the bubbly pink hedgehog continued.

"I know, but - aaaah!" A scream involuntarily escaped Tikal's lips as a large robot suddenly descended from the sky and landed right in front of the girls, blocking their path. She jumped behind Amy in fright.

"Must... capture... intruder," the robot beeped in monotone and extended a claw towards the female echinda.

"No, please, don't hurt me..." Tikal protested and stepped back.

"Hmph, I'll teach you to mess with my friends!" Amy shouted, and then to Tikal's utter shock, the girl pulled a gigantic red and yellow hammer out of nowhere.

"Amy?" Tikal could barely say before the girl was on the robot in an instant, her hammer making dents all over its black steel body.

She found herself cringing with every swing and subsequent dent, despising all of the violence. After only a few seconds, she had to look away.

I had no idea a girl who looks as innocent as Amy could be a fighter... is there really no one here who loves peace? She thought as she tried to block the noise by covering her ears. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay with her after all... she's just as violent as everyone else...

"Take that!" Amy screamed and with one more swing, finally put the robot out of commission. By now it was so misshaped it hardly resembled the large humanoid form it had looked originally. The dented metal sizzled and electrical sparks zapped out of its form.

"There we go," Amy said and hid her hammer away again. "That Eggman, he can never leave a girl alone for more than a minute," she fumed, then turned to Tikal and smiled as if nothing happened. "Sorry about that, these parts aren't usually dangerous. Still, it's usually not safe to be by yourself, that's why I always carry my hammer."

Tikal could only softly nod and fell back into step with Amy.

Why is this world so cruel... she wondered during the rest of the walk. Why can't we all learn to live in peace, and just love each other? I guess... things aren't that simple...

The rest of the walk was uneventful, just Amy explaining about Dr. Eggman, Sonic, what she didn't know about the Master Emerald, Sonic, where the best places to eat and shop were, and Sonic. Tikal could hardly get a word in with the chatterbox, but she didn't mind. She was mostly too overwhelmed to say anything anyway.

They finally came upon the suburbs, and consequently, Amy's cute little house. Tikal stepped inside warily, while Amy violently kicked off her boots into her messy closet.

"Oh, just make yourself at home," Amy said cheerily and led Tikal to her spare room in the back of the house.

As soon as Tikal saw her new dwelling, she was even more overwhelmed. A large bed sat in the corner, juxtaposed to a dresser and fold out closet. "This... is mine?"

"Yep, all yours girly. I'm sorry it's a little small - "

"Oh, no, if anything it's big," Tikal admitted.

"Oh, don't be silly. Still, I hope you like it... oh, and that closet is full of all my old and spare clothes... you're welcome to them, if they fit you. If not... well, that means we get to go shopping!" Amy had to smile at that prospect.

Tikal opened the closet door, her blue eyes growing huge at the mountain of clothes resting inside. There was everything in there - dresses, skirts, jeans, corduroys, khakis, shirts, sweaters, hoodies... and these were all of Amy's "old and spare" clothes.

"Go ahead and take some," Amy offered again, and tried not to frown as she looked at Tikal's very much outdated outfit. She knew from Knuckles and Sonic that Tikal came from the past, but still.

"Thanks..." Tikal accepted and began searching for a new outfit after Amy left to make them a snack. She finally selected a pretty patterned skirt and shawl-like top to throw over a t-shirt.

The echidna emerged from her new room only for her senses to be enveloped by a warm, delicious smell. She followed her nose through the halls of the house towards the kitchen to meet back up with Amy. As she walked though, she didn't fail to notice all the pictures of a blue hedgehog gracing the walls. Tikal cringed a little but kept on walking when she noticed a larger picture, right above the fireplace. It had more than just Sonic's picture; Tikal could also see Knuckles, Tails, Amy herself... a lot more people she didn't know and... Shadow.

There it was, that feeling of her heart bouncing wildly through her chest and heat rushing to her face. She tried to fight the feeling, only to succumb to it the more she looked at his picture. The hedgehog was standing at the far end of the photo, looking clearly unhappy with his arms folded and a scowl on his incredibly attractive face.

Why is he so unhappy? Tikal couldn't help but wonder. She unconsciously lifted a finger to touch his picture. There's something there, beneath his outer mask, I can almost feel it... he has a hurting soul underneath... oh, how I want to see him again...

"Tikal, that's such a cute outfit!" Amy suddenly gushed, breaking her concentration. The girl came up behind her and just then noticed what she was looking at.

"Oh, you noticed my picture... tee hee, this was at our last get-together. You know everyone right? That's me, Sonic, Cream, Tails..." Amy went through the list of everyone present "...I'm surprised Shadow even showed up..."

Tikal blushed again at his name, and this time Amy noticed.

"Oh, why did you turn red all of a sudden?"

"What, I didn't," Tikal said and looked away.

"Hmmm... you sure look red to me," Amy teased.

"No, I... I was just wondering, is Shadow always so... quiet? " she drifted off, and Amy nodded in understanding.

"Yes, he's always been like that. It's just who Shadow is."

Tikal continued looking at his picture, noting the indifference in his eyes, transfixed by his image. There was just something about him that was so... captivating.

"Why?" she asked again.

Amy shrugged and pulled her quills behind her ears flippantly. "He's had a hard life. I really do feel bad for him... but every time I try to talk with him, he just pushes me away. He does that for everyone... except Omega and Rouge." She visibly rolled her eyes at the last name and pointed to a curvy bat standing next to Shadow in the photo. "But even to them, he's still a jerk. But I sort of understand why..."

Tikal nodded, signaling she wanted Amy to continue. For some reason, there was nothing she wanted more than to hear about this mysterious black hedgehog.

"See, when he was first... well," Amy hesitated, trying to figure the best way to tell this story. "A long time ago, his best friend Maria was killed by G.U.N., the government. And he's never quite gotten over her death. Plus all of his memories are gone... it's sad more than anything, really."

"You said his memories are gone?" Tikal blinked in surprise.

Amy nodded again. "It's a long story, and if you really want to know, you should ask him. Though good luck with that...Oh, and I have to admit..." Amy lowered her voice and leaned forward, though no one else was near. "I used to have a little tiny crush on Shadow... but I don't anymore, it went away really fast."

Tikal blushed again, but Amy continued.

"It's just.. I hate to say this, but he looks so much like Sonic, but... well, he's not Sonic, not even close. So no, Sonic is my boyfriend, and I'm not going to cheat on him." Amy smiled. "But anyway, why are we talking about Shadow of all people? C'mon, I just made us lunch. Let's eat and then we can go out again, huh?"

Tikal had been about to say that she just wanted to talk about Shadow... but couldn't think of a reason why. So with one last glance at his sullen figure in the picture, she followed her hostess into the kitchen.

...xxx...

Why...

It was a word that had often passed through Shadow's mind, although this time at least, it had nothing to do with his memories (or lack thereof), the Doctor or any other pathetic humans, Faker, Maria, and especially not feelings. Okay, so maybe it did have to do with the last one on his list. But these were odd feelings... They were strangely familiar, and yet he couldn't place them. But there was just something about that girl echidna - Tikal - that was making him think too much, even for himself.

Shadow just couldn't stop wondering who she was. He'd seen her practically melt out of the Master Emerald when the Doctor had tried to steal it. And he'd felt something... his hardened heart had warmed, just a little, to see her look so innocent and helpless before that robot, sure... but it was something else. Something deeper. It was like his whole body, his whole existence, had been shot with thousands of volts of energy, making his quills almost stand on end. He'd sensed something different and powerful about her.

It was odd. She was certainly no ordinary echidna (then again, echidnas in this day and age were anything but ordinary). Even so, the more he thought and brooded about the situation, the more Shadow wanted to know about her.

Speeding up his rocket skates, Shadow left the shady part of town he'd been roaming around it, deep in thought, and headed back to the city. It was lunch hour and with the sun directly above them, the streets were clogged with traffic and noise. Avoiding others as much as possible, Shadow zipped past the highway and headed straight for downtown. Right at the crossroads the two main streets was nestled the infamous Club Rouge, advertised by gaudy pink and violet neon signs that burned even at noon.

Somehow, it housed himself and the only two beings he could consider friends. Omega and Rouge. The former was an no-nonsense robot, and maybe that was why him and Shadow got along well. The latter was more of a sister to Shadow... she was the only living being who actually accepted him. There was nothing romantic between them, of course... love was something Shadow had given up on long ago. And Rouge, well, she obviously had her eye on a certain echidna...

And you have your eye on the only other one.

Hmph. I'm just getting more information about her, Shadow thought as he busted into the club.

Rouge looked up from behind the bar, where she was playing with her cell phone.

"Well, Shadow, this is a surprise," she said and smirked as her phone slipped out of her hands.

The hedgehog simply gave her a nod and skated right past her. Rouge sent him a glare behind his back and turned back to her phone. After searching in the back room, Shadow finally found his other best friend, sitting perfectly still in standby mode. Wasting no time, he turned the robot on and went behind him to open up his back, revealing an input board.

I wonder... if I check his definitions and information... did the Doctor know about Tikal when he created Omega? Does he even now? Would he put any information in Omega?

It's worth a shot.

His fingers typed in T-I-K-A-L and then pressed enter, hoping that it would unlock some information about the mysterious girl.

Domain not found, Omega's internal monitor read.

Shadow cursed in his head and thought for a minute before the sound of high heels heading this way broke his concentration. Oh, dang that nosy bat...

"What are you up to?"

The hedgehog didn't answer and instead typed in MASTER EMERALD and waited for a response.

The long definition implanted in Omega's memory appeared, and Shadow skimmed through it, gleaning for anything to do with a certain echidna...

"Master Emerald?" Rouge was suddenly right over his shoulder, smirking. "That looks interesting..."

"Rouge, I'm not in the mood," he grumbled.

"Huh, when are you ever," she snapped back. "Why can't you just tell me what you're doing?"

Shadow's mouth remained closed, his brow furrowed in thought as he continued reading. Most of it he was familiar with, but some of it...

Chaos... immortal god of destruction... mutated chao... sealed in the Emerald... stone tablets... echidnas, inner guardian, outer guardian... wait, inner guardian? Sealed in the Emerald...? That must be it... but there's nothing else in here... the Doctor must not have known when he created Omega... or didn't think it was worthwhile to add it...

"C'mon Shadz, if it's about my Emerald I'm certainly curious..." Rouge drawled.

Shadow cursed again, and this time it wasn't silent. He turned his gaze to Rouge, who wasn't phased in the least.

"Well, are you finally going to share?"

"Have you ever heard of a girl named... Tikal?" a surprisingly strong flood of feelings rushed into his heart at her name.

Rouge immediately shook her head. "No, why?"

Shadow looked back at Omega's system. "This morning, the doctor tried to steal the Master Emerald. And I was there to help Sonic stop him."

"Yes, and...?"

"It shattered. And then an echidna appeared out of the pieces."

"An echidna?" Rouge echoed, immediately thinking of Knuckles.

"A female echidna."

Rouge fought off her wave of jealousy. There better not be another girl hitting on Knuckie... "Wait, you mean the Master Emerald shattered, and then some chick randomly melted out of it?"

Shadow gave a slight nod. "And I'm trying to figure out why." And why I have these weird feelings for her... and a connection I can't explain...

Two feminine hands found their way to their owner's hips. "Really? And since when did you care enough to do that?"

Since a few hours ago... "It doesn't matter. The Doctor is probably going after her, since she is connected with the Master Emerald somehow."

"Well, I say we pay a little visit to Angel Island - "

"You go ahead, but I'm going to find the girl first," Shadow insisted and pulled out his Chaos Emerald. He inspected the green gem for a moment before closing his eyes, getting ready to do Chaos Control.

But instead of picturing where he wanted to go, Tikal's beautiful face appeared in his head. Those long quills, her small mouth and pink lips, those lovely blue eyes -

His own red ones snapped open, and Shadow was shocked to find himself short of breath. He inhaled and met Rouge's confused gaze, but before she could even ask what was wrong, Shadow had already disappeared via Chaos Control.