A/N: Warning, the following story is made of fail. Read at your own risk. Seriously, I came up with this on the car ride home from a long trip and it seemed awesome in my mind, hello, it was like, eight o'clock at night. Anyway, the final outcome came much shorter then planned because by the time I managed to type my thoughts out all my awesome ideas were gone and they wouldn't come back. I hate how my head works XD So any way... read at your own risk, if you like, great, awesome I really don't care, but you can send review, whatever I don't really care. Don't like it, I warned you it would suck so, nye.
Tikal and Shade and all concepts belong to Sega/SonicTeam/BioWare. Story idea belongs to me. Blah, blah, blah...
A young mobian sat in a field. She was an echidna, her fur a deep orange in colour and she adorned an outfit typical to the other female members of her clan. Her cobalt eyes rested on the clouds, clearly uninterested in the task she was assigned, to collect food from the trees near the field. The clouds compelled her too much.
Suddenly the shrubs around the field shook and the mobian jumped away from the shrubs, clearly caught off guard. Another mobian appeared from the shrubs, except their outfit was completely different from her own. This mobian wore a futuristic black outfit that covered their entire body up to her neck. But she, too, was an echidna, her fur more of a peach colour compared to her orange. Their eyes locked and purple met blue for a moment.
"Who are you?" the orange echidna asked. But judging by the high-tech outfit the newcomer wore she could already guess. She was of the Nocturnus. They were the enemies of her own clan, the Knuckles Clan and that made this girl her enemy.
"My name is Shade." the peach echidna answered. "I got lost and I'm too far away from my clan. I don't want to run into the Knuckles Clan, they're dangerous!"
Shade ducked her head low, clearly nervous that a much more menacing echidna would jump from the shrubs and attack her. The other echidna simply pouted as she looked at the other. She acted like the Kunckles Clan were monsters!
"My people aren't menacing!" the orange echidna exclaimed, shocked that even a Nocturne would suggest such blasphemy! She thought that they, with their technological enhancements and robots and weapons were much more menacing!
"You're from the Knuckles Clan! How?" Shade stared at the other echidna, clearly shocked by her appearance. "The Knuckles Clan is filled with echidnas who have large fangs and walk like gorillas and-"
"That's not true!" the other echidna interrupted, clearly upset that this echidna would say such mean things about her people.
"That's what my mother taught me." Shade explained. "Because the Knuckles Clan refuses to accept technology, so they can't evolve like our people have."
"Well, my people are taught that your people use your technology to become violent machines." the orange echidna told her.
"Maybe we were both wrong." Shade decided. "What's your name?"
"Tikal." the orange echidna answered. "My father is the chief of the Knuckles Clan." she added with pride.
"Well, my father is Procurator of the Nocturnus Clan." Shade added. "That makes him second in command to Imperator Ix."
"Procurator is a funny word." Tikal noted. Shade pouted at the other girl, clearly annoyed by the disrespect she showed to her father's title. But then Tikal burst into a fit of laughter and Shade realized that she would do the same if she thought that it was strange. She joined in Tikal's laughter.
--- A Few Years Later ---
Tikal rushed into the field where she had met Shade years ago. Now she had grown older and, partially with Shade's influence, she had learned that the war between their clans had to be stopped. But right now she had to inform Shade of her father's intentions.
Shade arrived a few moments later and she was all smiles as she entered their meeting place. Tikal stared at the headband she now had on her head with the Nocturnus Clan symbol in the center. That headband was actually Shade's helmet, awarded to her once she became a full warrior of her clan.
"You became a warrior?" Tikal asked, just to be certain.
"Yes." Shade answered and her smile grew. Unlike Tikal, Shade still wanted to fight for her people. For Shade, this must have been an amazing accomplishment. But for Tikal, it was a sign of horror.
"Why!?" Tikal exclaimed. "Why now?"
"What do you mean? Tikal, aren't you proud of me?" Shade asked. Her smile immediately was replaced by a serious frown.
"Shade! My father discovered the Chaos and Master Emeralds. He's planning to attack your Clan with them and then he's going to retrieve them for war! If you're in that battle, you'll die!" Tikal grabbed her friend's shoulders and shook her as she exclaimed, "You can't go to that battle or you'll be killed!"
"I have to! It'll be my first battle as a warrior. Even with the Chaos Emeralds my people will be able to handle yours."
Tikal was on the verge of tears as she let go of her friend and explained, "They will have the power of Chaos! I'm going to try and stop them, but you have to make sure you aren't a part of that battle! If you are, then you'll die and I'll never see you again."
"Tikal, you can't worry about me. I know we're friends, but Tikal, you'll become a warrior of your own clan some day and we'll be in battle against one another. Your father is chief, mine is procurator. In the future either one of us could end up leader of our Clan. We may even become leaders against one another. We can't be worried about each other when we should be worrying about our own people."
"I'll never join a part of those battles! It's disgusting what our people are doing! Fighting, and why? Anyone from the beginning of the war is dead! No one knows why we fight, we simply do! People lose their lives for nothing! How can you want to partake in such a thing?"
"Because I know I'll be protecting my people." Shade answered.
"And I'll protect mine another way." Tikal explained, "I'm training to become a healer, to help those who were hurt in our stupid battles."
"You'll live your way. I'll live mine." Shade stated. "But I hope that once this is all over we can still be friends."
"Once this is all over. If it ever is." Tikal nodded to agree with her. "I'm sorry, I have to go. My father will be trying to capture the emeralds soon. I must stop him. Just be warned Shade." Tikal ran off and Shade stared after her friend, hoping that they would keep true to their promise. She didn't want to lose Tikal forever.
But neither knew that moment would be their last together. That Tikal would give her life to save her people from Perfect Chaos and have her soul locked inside the Master Emerald for four thousand years. And Shade was unaware that the destruction of the Knuckles Clan would lead to her people beginning to dominate the world with an iron fist, only to be punished and sent to the Twilight Cage for four thousand years, where she became tough and cold, if only to be able to become second in command of her people and to rival the other races of the Twilight Cage. The war had been over for four thousand years, and neither could keep true to their promise, even though they both still yearned to see one another.