Lemme just give a disclaimer now...I don't drink and I don't do drugs, so if this story sucks I have no excuses...at any rate, I've had this idea floating around my head for some time now and I finally decided to get it done. I'll give more explanation in the post-story author's notes. Anyway, enjoy.
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"This can't be happening...why does this have to happen to me of all people?" The red echidna paced back and forth in front of the Master Emerald's glowing form as he furiously tried to redirect his train of thought. Unfortunately for him, being alone on a floating island didn't exactly offer many opportunities for distractions. "What I wouldn't do for that batgirl to show up and try to steal the Emerald right about now." Knuckles honestly couldn't believe what he was thinking, but at the same time he was welcome to any sort of distraction, thinking about that flirtatious, conniving, big-breasted, deceitful bimbo would definitely do the trick. "Next time I see her I'm gonna knock her flat on her face!" It was false bravado of course. Every time he and Rouge had tangled before she'd been able to match his every move, for every punch he threw she was able to deliver a well-placed kick to counter it, and in the end the only thing that either of them would walk away with was a good workout.

Other times she'd show up just to annoy him, to tease him and flirt with him just to see how riled up she could make him. Even someone who could be as thick-headed as Knuckles could tell she had a fantastic body, and she knew she had a fantastic body, and it was clear to anyone who knew her - or even to anyone who'd just met her - that she was proud of that body, and boy did she know how to use it. "Where does she get the gall to try and seduce me like that? It's disgusting!" Knuckles could feel his cheeks beginning to warm up, and he growled at that fact. Despite his longstanding rivalry with the batgirl he was still a male, and males - as much as Knuckles hated to admit it - were still wired to recognize beauty.

It sucked to be a young man with hormones, especially when you had a voluptuous woman coming every so often to see if she could get a rise out of you. He highly doubted she had any true feelings for him, as she had attempted the same seduction routine with Sonic, Shadow, and even Tails was not immune to her charms. "Course...it ain't her charms that everyone keeps lookin' at." he began to pace faster as his anger began to build. He hated how Rouge used her body to get what she wanted, how incredibly demeaning it was! A girl with self-respect would never do things like that! Knuckles's anger continued to build as his thoughts dwelled on that good for nothing thief, as he even began to speak out loud, "Why does she do that? She could use her gifts for way better things! I know that…crud." Knuckles face-palmed, his thoughts of Rouge had inadvertently returned him to the very thing he was thinking of Rouge in order to distract himself from. "Even thinking of that batgirl doesn't help? I'm doomed."

"What's the matter Knuckles?"

Oh yeah...he's not alone on a floating island...not anymore at least. The guardian's head shot up and he turned to see the form of the very person he was trying so hard not to think about.

Tikal.

"Nothing's wrong." Knuckles crossed his arms and turned away with his eyes closed, "Did you get the water?"

Tikal smiled softly and nodded as she walked past him to put down the bucket of water she had retrieved from the nearby stream. "It's rather cool now, come and have some."

Knuckles allowed himself a small smirk as he went over to scoop some of the water with his oversized mitt and took a drink. He then found himself looking directly into the sapphire eyes of the orange echidna girl, and soon enough he had to force himself to look away. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Knuckles laid down next to the Emerald and put his arms behind his head and draped one leg over the other and closed his eyes. He was trying very hard not to think about the beautiful young echidna who had just seated herself next to him…but he just couldn't help it. The very fact that she was there at all was a miracle in itself: he was feeling particularly lonely one night, dwelling on the fact that he was the last echidna alive, all of his ancestors had died years ago. When he was born he found himself alone and by some miracle he survived to reach his teen years. Had the Master Emerald allowed him to live through his infancy until he was old enough to figure things out for himself? Gifted him with the basic knowledge he would need to survive?

The Master Emerald had infinite power, it was possible that it could do that…but regardless of what had allowed him to live, he was still being forced to live as the last of his kind. He remembered how he wished to the Emerald with all his heart that he could be gifted with company; he knew of a certain echidna who was still alive in a way…that was Tikal…his ancestor from hundreds of years ago.

The next thing he knew, the Master Emerald began glowing brighter and brighter until he was forced to shield his eyes…when the light dimmed, in front of his feet on the ground was an unconscious orange echidna. The Master Emerald had granted his wish…unfortunately, he would soon find that he'd come to regret that wish.

After a week of having Tikal around him, he found himself doing the unthinkable…he was falling in love with his own ancestor. He was aware of how dense he could be sometimes, but he wasn't so clueless that he couldn't tell what it felt like to fall in love. He knew the difference between simple rushing hormones and sincere affection for someone. Every time Rouge would try to tick him off by pressing her extremely ample assets against his chest he'd feel a rush of hormones even through his annoyance. Tikal on the other hand was not nearly as busty or shapely as the batgirl, but he felt a similar, tenderer rush just from seeing her dazzling smile and shining eyes.

Knuckles knew it was love he was feeling, and not the kind of love he would feel for a mere family member…he wanted nothing more than to hold Tikal in his arms and nuzzle his nose into her long orange quills…and in his mind there was nothing more deplorable than that. He knew he couldn't love her that way, she was his ancestor! They were related! It would be like dating a sister or a girl cousin, it just wouldn't be right.

And so he denied himself any opportunity to truly interact with her, often sending her out on small errands that she could easily handle on her own, and she'd always return with that incredibly sweet and tender smile on her face, making his heart beat faster each time. He thought for sure she'd grow tired of going for water or getting food in the jungle, but she'd told him that after being trapped in the Emerald for centuries, the opportunity to be with nature again was one she cherished.

Now as he tried his absolute hardest to ignore Tikal's presence, he found himself regretting the day his wish was granted, as it had opened up a whole new world of emotions that he had to force himself to deny. "Figures this sort of thing would happen to me."

"What thing?"

Knuckles's eyes shot open in horror, he had said that out loud? "Nothing."

Tikal frowned at the Emerald Guardian, "Knuckles, please? I can sense your heart in turmoil, tell me what's troubling you, maybe I can help."

Knuckles grunted and turned away from her, "You can't help."

"But why?"

"Just because alright?!" He hadn't meant to shout, but he did, and now he knew that if he glanced at her he'd see her sadness displayed all over her face. "Don't look…whatever you do, don't look." He looked. Her eyes were closed and her frown was in full force as she tilted her head downward. And Knuckles – despite his better judgment – decided to make an attempt to make amends. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

Tikal lifted her head and opened her eyes, relinquishing the faintest of smiles at his apology. "It's alright, I can tell that whatever it is you're keeping to yourself is hurting you…that's why I want to help."

"You…" Knuckles closed his mouth, he was about to tell her once again that she couldn't help…but seeing her shimmering sapphire eyes gazing into his very soul, he suddenly found himself wanting to tell her…even if it might break his heart even more to say it. "You…are the reason I feel this way."

As expected, Tikal reeled back as she placed a hand to her chest in shock, "M-Me? What have I done?"

"Nothing!" he quickly affirmed, "It's nothing you've done, this is my problem."

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand, if it's nothing that I've done, then why do you say I'm the cause of your pain?"

Knuckles got up and took a few steps before speaking up, "All my life I've lived alone…the last of my kind…I wanted you here because I thought I'd enjoy having another echidna, but I was just thinking about what it would be like, I never expected the Master Emerald to grant my wish…and now that it has, I wish I could take it back."

Tikal felt like a dagger had both thrown into her heart, he didn't want her around anymore? Her eyes began to water as her sadness started to overcome her. "I-I…I-I'm sorry, I never wanted…"

Knuckles turned and saw her about to burst into tears, and he rushed over to her on his knees, "No Tikal, don't cry, please…I…I don't want you to go…it's just…" Knuckles growled and grit his teeth, "I'm in…l-love…with you."

Tikal wiped her eyes and looked at the red echidna in shock, "W-What?" she couldn't believe what she'd just heard, "You're in love…with me?"

"Yes, yes I am." He looked down in shame and got back up, turning his back to her.

As for Tikal, her shattered heart had suddenly been repaired and was now beating stronger than ever, she had never voiced it before, but she felt a distinct attraction to Knuckles, in fact she had at times wished that Knuckles lived in her time, as she would've loved to marry him. "Knuckles…I…I love you too! There's no reason to be shy!" However his reaction was not at all what she was expecting.

"That's worse!" Knuckles began pacing feverishly, "Don't you understand? We can't be together! You're my ancestor, we have a blood relation, to date you would be incest! I've been holding back my feelings for all this time because I knew it'd be completely wrong of me to ever give into my emotions…and now I've forced you to have to do the same." But what Knuckles was not at all expecting was for Tikal to suddenly burst into laughter, "You think this is funny?!" Tikal continued to laugh as she got up and went over to Knuckles and hugged him, "What are you doing?!"

"We're not related Knuckles."

Knuckles stared blankly at a moment before trying to respond. "Uh…what?"

Tikal looked up at him with a loving smile, "You heard me. There is absolutely no relation between your family and mine."

Knuckles looked down at the orange echidna with a stunned expression. "B-But…Pachacamac…he's my ancestor…and you're his daughter…h-how can you not be related to me?"

"I had no living cousins, and my grandmother had only one child; that was my father, and he only had one child; me. My bloodline ended with me, your family had to be one of the few survivors of Chaos's rage. Just because we were all part of the same tribe doesn't mean we're all part of the same family."

This was the revelation of a lifetime for Knuckles. All this time he thought that Tikal was technically his great-great-great…however many "greats"…grandmother…to learn that the young girl was in fact not related to him in any way felt like the equivalent of the weight of the world lifting from his shoulders. He didn't have to hold back, he wouldn't be entering an incestuous relationship by giving her his love. "I can't believe it!" he said as a wide grin spread across his face.

"Believe it." The girl nuzzled her face into his chest and smiled against it, "So…what now?"

"Now?" Knuckles grinned and gently cupped her face in his giant hands, "Now we live, now we can be together."

"Maybe we could…" Tikal blushed a deep red, "Be the ones to repopulate the echidna species?"

Knuckles blushed as well. "Uh well…I dunno about that, how would we go from there? Even if we did have kids, they can't marry each other."

Tikal broke free of the embrace and looked up at the stars, "Somewhere out there, there are more echidnas…I can sense it! One day we'll meet them, and we'll be able to join with them, or they could join us!"

Knuckles smiled and wrapped his strong arms around her petite frame from behind, "Maybe you're right…but for now…let's enjoy what we have now." He turned her around and gently kissed her, and his heart swelled as he could practically feel her love flowing into him…one thing was for certain, it was a feeling he would never get enough of. The revelation of her not being related to him, that she was in fact not family to him – even though all he ever wanted was a family – was ironically the greatest thing he had ever heard.

A/N: So...yeah. If I made you guys think that it was a Knuxouge fic at first I apologize, but I'm a Knuxikal fan, and yes, I know that there's no actual proof of this couple even being remotely possible, I just think it's cute. Also, I apologize if I offended any fans of Rouge the Bat with this story, I'm well aware that she's more than just a sex symbol, but for the purposes of this story I needed Knuckles to dwell on some of her more negative qualities. More echidnas...I'll let you guys speculate on that, someone's fan character? The Nocturnus Clan? Random unnamed echidnas? Pick whatever you want, maybe one day I'll make a story explaining it and making it happen.

More than anything though, this story was meant to explain to those who say this couple is wrong because Tikal is Knuckles's ancestor...there's no actual proof of that. I often make this point, but just because they're from the same clan, there's no proof that Knuckles and Tikal have any actual blood relation, it all depends on what fans choose to believe. I believe they're not related, and thus the story. I respectfully ask that any readers who don't like this story or couple to refrain from flaming. If you liked it, review and say so!

Now...back to Pokémon and Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!