Disclaimer - I don't own the Sonic characters.
A/N - This story does not follow the Sonic Adventure plot with Tikal. So basically in this fic, Sonic Adventure never happened.
Prologue
"Please."
A guardian's job is to defend, protect, keep. To do this, a guardian must be strong, swift, and clever. But most importantly, a guardian must be loyal. Unwavering loyalty is what the Master Emerald required.
However, of all the guardians born to it, only one dedicated himself without hesitation. He understood the significance of the Master Emerald's existence. He acknowledged the importance of his own role as guardian. And so while the last of the guardians left the island they'd been born to, running from the duty they'd been charged with, he stayed. He stayed and gave himself completely, holding nothing back.
"I've protected you and your land. I've done everything you've ever asked of me and more. And all those years, I've never asked you for a single thing."
For centuries this guardian was born again and again, with the same memory, with the same dedication. For centuries, the guardian belonged—mind and body, heart and soul—to the Master Emerald and no one else. Until one day.
A woman appeared on Angel Island, the sacred land of the Master Emerald, an island that floated in the sky. Not the first to set a trespassing foot on the Master Emerald's home, the guardian knew just how to deal with her…or so he thought. The instant he set sight on her, his heart fluttered, his stomach danced, and his face warmed as though being caressed by the sun.
For the first time in all the years he'd served the Master Emerald, the guardian's heart focused on something other than duty. For the first time the guardian felt the thing that some call a miracle: love. But love was no miracle to the Master Emerald. To the large green gem, love was a nightmare. For the guardian, who had served so faithfully, began to waver in his duties. The guardian picked flowers when he should have been on guard. He hummed songs when he should have been fine tuning his combat skills. He whispered sweet nothings when he should have been laying traps…like the lady who'd come to the island.
In the end there was a fight. Blood was spilled and three lives were lost. But because of the Master Emerald…
"Just this once. Please."
…two lives were saved. The guardian and his lady would be reborn. Though they would not be who they had been. For the guardian, in his love for a woman, failed in his duty to the Master Emerald. And so the guardian was punished. For though he and his lady would be reborn, they would not retain their memories.