Christmas on Angel Island
She stretched her hands above her head. She giggled as the soft snowflakes melted against her arms. It's been years since she felt wind and grass. But those sensations she remembered. It was snow that she had no recollection of. It was completely alien to her.
She turned to smile at the giant green gem. "How do you think he'll react?"
Chaos rose up from the water surrounding the shrine. The god shrugged. Are you sure about this?
The mental link still connecting the two. Tikal gave a swift nod.
You don't even understand what they were talking about though.
Tikal shrugged. "But this Christmas holiday sounds really fun! It sounds so warm and enjoyable. And to think, when Knuckles gets back, I'll have a Christmas on the whole island for him!"
Chaos rolled his eyes. You don't even know how to cook. He shook his head as he stared out at the expanse of the giant island.
A fireplace, a Christmas tree, bright lights, ornaments everywhere, mistletoes, and lots of delicious foods meant to share. Tikal was sure she could do that. After all, Sonic and crew took Knuckles with them around this time of year since they've known him. Knuckles never stayed long, but Tikal wanted to give him a Christmas when he got back. Surely she could do so.
The orange echidna clasped her hands together. "Let's get started!"
Oh boy. This won't go well.
"Don't be so negative Chaos!" Tikal hopped down the steps as she waved her hands. "I've got this!"
Several hours later and Tikal was doubting that she had anything. She had found mistletoe on the island. The plant wasn't all that common on the island though. She placed the decorative plant along the rim of the top of the altar. She placed similar green plants along the steps. Satisfied with this, she turned her attention to the rest of the things on the list. A fireplace, a Christmas tree, bright lights, ornaments, and food.
Lacking a place to put a fire place, she made a large bon fire close to the shrine. The sky was still bright, so she didn't bother lighting it. She placed wood inside of it and tried to keep the snow out of it. After she had a good amount of wood in it, she turned to Chaos and beamed a huge smile.
"Looking nice, isn't it?"
I guess. But I'm not sure if Christmas on the main lands look like this. He shrugged.
"It'll be okay if we change a few things." Tikal assured him. She made torches and placed them around the clearing of the shrine. It took her a few hours to make the torches, but she did it.
Once she was done, she sat on the steps for a moment. "What does a Christmas tree and ornaments look like?" She sighed, placing her chin into her hands.
Beats me. Chaos shrugged. Guess we'll just have to do without it.
"I guess." Tikal stood up and brushed some dirt off her dress. "Well, I better get dinner ready."
Chaos flinched. You intend to cook? You don't know how.
"I do too. It's just been a while." Tikal stated.
A couple thousand years.
Tikal sent the god of chao an annoyed glare. "Stop being such a pessimist." She turned and went into the woods, grabbing a bow and some arrows she had made earlier.
Chaos sat on the steps of the shrine as looked around the clearing. It looked nice, though he doubt the guarding would find it so. He didn't like change and threw a tantrum whenever anything changed. He was born that way it seemed.
Tikal returned two hours later. The girl was covered in dirt, but wore a huge smile. Her blue eyes shining through the now brown fur. Behind her, she was pulling a wagon of sorts. In the wagon were a boar, a buck, and a duck or a goose, he wasn't sure. She brought her bounty over to the side of the steps.
"Do you think this will be enough?" She beamed a smile at him.
I think you caught his rations for the next few months. Chaos gawked at it. He also noticed that the echidna had harvested berries, apples, grapes, carrots, potatoes, and several other fruits and vegetables.
"Well, Tails did say it was a feast." Tikal beamed. "Though this isn't quite enough to make a feast. It'll have to do. I'm going to clean up. I'll be right back."
Tikal washed up as quickly as she could and changed into some clean clothes. Or at least, as clean as they were going to get. She was lucky enough to find clothes her size in some of the ruins earlier. She walked back to the shrine and found Chaos feeding the fire in the stove that was hidden under the steps of the altar.
"Thanks for getting the fire started, Chaos!" Tikal began to prepare the food.
While they were preparing the food, a white bat flew over the island. She paused as she noticed the smoke. She perched herself in a tree was she watched the orange echidna and water monster cooking food. She recalled Chaos as the god of destruction. Eggman had used the ancient god in an attempt to conquer the world and it wound up going on a rampage and flooding Station Square. She recalled seeing the orange echidna, but didn't recall exactly what she did then. She hadn't seen her since, so she didn't think about it. Come to think about, she was the only other echidna she had ever seen other than Knuckles.
"Hello!" The orange echidna called loudly. "You can come down anytime now."
Rouge stiffened in the tree she was hiding in.
She turned and stared at her with deep lapis lazuli eyes. "Come on, I can't cause you any harm. So come on down."
Rouge flew down from her hiding spot. She looked down at the orange echidna. "Hi. My name is Rouge."
She nodded with a sweet smile. "I'm aware. You're a treasure hunter." She turned the meat over in the fire. "My apologizes but Knuckles isn't here today."
Rouge gave a smile. "I see. So… um… who are you?"
"Oh, my apologizes." Tikal stood up and bowed to the white bat. "My name is Tikal. This is Chaos."
"I remember him Station Square." She nodded. "So… What are you doing?"
"I'm making a Christmas feast." Tikal beamed a huge smile like a child who was doing something for the first time and wanted her parents to proud of her. "I heard Sonic and their friends mention it to Knuckles. They took him earlier today. So I wanted to make a Christmas for him to enjoy when he comes back since he never seems to stay long. I have mistletoe," she pointed to the mistletoe that she used to decorate the top of the shrine. "A fireplace," she pointed the burn pile she had set up. "Bright lights," she gestured to the torches that lined the clearing of the shrine. "And this is the feast!" She stated with a bright smile. "It's not done yet though. The only thing I'm missing is a Christmas tree and ornaments." She looked a bit sad.
"Why are those the only things you're missing?" Rouge asked becoming interested.
"I don't know what a Christmas tree or ornaments look like." Tikal stated. "We've never had Christmas on Angel Island before. Do you know what they look like, Rouge?"
"Yeah." Rouge nodded as she eyed the orange echidna. Had she been living under a rock for the last few hundred years?
"Could you tell me?" She asked with a bright smile as she pulled something that looked like it was supposed to be a sweet out of the stove. It was burnt on the edges, but Tikal was sure it was still edible. Chaos, however, had his doubts to rather anything was.
"Yeah, it's a basic pine tree with ornaments and strings of lights on it and a star on top." Rouge responded.
Tikal tilted her head. "How do you get lights on strings? Or catch stars and put them on trees?"
"You don't get out much do you?" Rouge arched a brow at the girl.
Tikal gave a meek smile and swayed on her heel. "Less than Knuckles."
"Are you serious?" Rouge screamed.
Tikal shrunk back.
Rouge took a breath. "Sorry. But seriously? How can a girl get out less than Knuckles? What are you to him anyway? His baby sister?"
Tikal gave a nervous laugh. "It's complicated." She avoided eye contact for a moment. She wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to explain everything to the white bat just yet. After all, she knew that Knuckles and Rouge didn't get along. Even if it was obvious to her that he had a crush on the bat.
Rouge arched an eyebrow at her. This girl was just too weird. "Hold on, I'll be back with some lights and a star. You pick out a tree and I'll help you decorate it. It would be too much of a hassle to move one."
"Okay!" Tikal nodded as she pulled out another sweet of sorts.
Rouge returned moments later with some cheap ornaments, lights, and a star. Tikal pointed to the tree that was closest to the shrine.
"Will this one be okay?"
"It will do." Rouge landed. "How's your food?"
"It's going well. Chaos doesn't trust me to cook the meats though. He doesn't think I know how to cook." Tikal pouted as she eyed the water monster.
"Ah." Rouge nodded as she eyed the girl. Could Chaos really talk? She doubted it. "Why don't you help me decorate this tree then? I brought some ornaments with me too."
Tikal beamed a huge smile. "Okay!" She hopped up from her seat. "Chaos don't let anything ruin while I'm away!"
Chaos nodded as he waved his hand at her in a manner that said, "Just get out of my way."
Rouge gave her a kind smile. It took the girls a while to get all the decorations on the tree just right. Rouge was annoyed by the lack of electrical outlets on the island. Rouge plopped down on the steps as Tikal went back to help prepare the food.
"Thank you so much for your help, Rouge!" Tikal beamed with joy.
"No problem." She mumbled. "How's the food?"
"It's coming along. Would you like to join us for our feast?"
Rouge bit her lip. She had come here to annoy the red echidna and maybe steal the Master Emerald. Staying for dinner wasn't a part of her plan. She should probably steal the emerald now while they were distracted. She glanced up and saw Chaos staring at her. She let out an eep. Stealing the emerald would have to wait for later. Like when Chaos wasn't around.
"Well, Miss Rouge?" Tikal stretched on her tip toes to look at Rouge.
"I don't know." Rouge sat up.
"Knuckles!" A voice traveled over Angel Island. "I'm sure the Master Emerald is fine."
"Oh no! We don't have all the food ready yet." Tikal rushed to finish the food. Chaos stood still and watched her for a moment. He then turned to Rouge. The bat wasn't sure what to do. Chaos sat down on the steps and placed his watery head in one large hand.
Within moments, Knuckles walked into the clearing with Sonic and Tails hot in his tail. Amy was closed behind them. Knuckles froze as he saw Chaos. Confusion washing over his face. Then his purple eyes landed on Rouge and his face turned red from rage.
"Bat girl!" He screamed. "What are you doing on my island?"
Rouge stood there dumb founded for a moment, but then glared at him. She opened her mouth to retort.
"Knuckles!" Tikal chided. "You shouldn't call people names! It's not nice."
"T-t-Tikal?" He stuttered as he turned to look at her. "But?" He moved his hand between her and Rouge as he made the face of a hurt child. "She. She's trying to steal the Master Emerald. She's a thief."
"She has a name." Tikal stated sternly putting her hands on her hips. "No matter what her profession, you should still respect her."
"But." Knuckles whined.
"Respect, Knuckles. Respect. If you want any you have to give it."
"Hey Tikal!" Sonic waved. "What's up?"
Tails and Amy gave soft waves.
"Hello everyone!" She smiled. "I decorated for your Christmas holiday! What do you think?" She gestured her hands around the clearing.
They looked around. Knuckles seemed mainly confused, but the others smiled.
"It looks very nice!" Amy complimented. "Where did you find the decorations for the tree?"
"Rouge here brought them." Tikal stated with a smile. "She was very polite and explained some of your Christmas traditions to me."
"Yes." Rouge nodded as she flew off the steps. "See, Knuckles, I didn't come here to steal your precious emerald. Though, would it be bad for you to let your sister off of this island every once in a while? Where do you keep her? Under a rock all the time!"
Knuckles arched an eyebrow at the bat. "Sister? Tikal's not my sister."
Rouge gave him a confused look. "What is she to you then? Because she's the only other echidna I've seen here."
"She's a spirit who lives in the Master Emerald." Knuckles answered with the straightest face anyone had ever seen.
"Haha." The bat said after a moment. "You expect me to believe that that little girl is a spirit who lives in an emerald!"
Knuckles nodded.
"It's true." Sonic stated as the other two nodded. In a blink, Sonic was standing beside the orange echidna. "See? Transparent." Sonic tried to stick his hand through her stomach. He froze as his hand collided with skin and he heard the distinctive sound of someone being thrown into a wall.
"Sonic!" Rouge gasped as she flew over to pick the orange echidna up. "Are you okay?" She asked her. Tikal gave a soft nod. "Sonic, why did you hit her?"
"I didn't mean too. Usually she's all ghosty and transparent." Sonic put up his hands in defense.
"Can you guys please stop joking? I think you've hurt this girl enough." Rouge chided.
"They're not joking." Tikal stated. "I've been a spirit inside of the Master Emerald ever since Chaos was sealed in it. I just regained my body for today so I could make Christmas here."
"Tikal, you don't even know what Christmas is." Knuckles shook his head. "Why would you want to make one on Angel Island?"
"I heard them talking about it. I thought it sounded fun. But you always leave early, so I wanted to make one here for you to enjoy." Tikal dusted herself off. "The meat should be done in a few minutes. Will you all be joining us as well?"
Knuckles looked around the clearing and examined all the decorations. There was mistletoe around the top of the altar with green plants going down the steps. There was a bon fire close by and torches lined the clearing. She must have tried really hard to put this all together.
"That's very nice of you Tikal!" Amy exclaimed as she embraced her in a strong hug. "What's the bon fire for?"
"That's the fire place." Tikal answered.
Knuckles nodded. He walked over to the stove and stared at the meat. He turned it over and nodded. It looked done already. He pulled it out and cut it and stared inside. It wasn't pink. He nodded as he pulled the meat out. "How did you guys catch a deer?"
"I caught it!" Tikal bounced up with pride.
Knuckles arched a skeptical eye brow and turned to Chaos. Chaos nodded in confirmation. He turned back and looked at the petite echidna. He couldn't see how she had done it, but he wasn't going to question it. "Well, it's done. Where do you want me to put it?"
Tikal guided Knuckles to the table she had set up. She had him place the meat in the center. Knuckles looked over the table. It seemed like she had gotten the dinner part done well enough.
"I'm sorry if it's a bit too small to be a feast." Tikal stated.
"Are you kidding, that's a lot more meat then we usually have." Sonic stated. "The only that seems to be missing is the mashed potatoes and dressing."
Tikal gave Knuckles a confused look. "Mashed potatoes and dressing? What is that?"
"Types of food. Don't worry about it." Knuckles answered.
"Well, if he wants potatoes, there's some in the stew with the bird." Tikal stated.
"Well, let's not just stand here and let the food get cold. We should eat!" Tails walked up to the table, licking his lips.
"Tails is right. Where's the plates and silverware?" Amy asked.
Knuckles walked off and came back with a stack of plates and a box of silverware. He put it on the table. "Go for it." He waved is hand over the table.
Tails grabbed a plate and went for it. Sonic followed after him. Sonic handed a plate to Amy and then held one out to Knuckles. Red echidna gave him a confused look. "Come on Knux, this food was made with you in mind. You have to eat some of it."
If you don't Tikal will be upset. Chaos crossed his arms from his seat.
Tikal gave a quick nod to confirm the god's statement. "Come on Rouge. Join us!" She grabbed the bat's arm and dragged her to the table. She placed a plate in her hand and smile.
Rouge opened her mouth to object, but quickly shut it as she noticed the girl's quivering lower lip. She gave in, accepting the plate and moving to get food.
They ate the meal happily. When it got dark, Tikal lit the bon fire and the torches. They had a good time. After everyone went home, the three residents of Angel Island set about cleaning up and storing the leftovers. Tikal was humming some corals that Amy had taught her. Knuckles and Chaos were just working with stale expressions.
Did you have fun? Chaos asked after a moment. Knuckles gave a curt nod. I'm glad.
"You two must have worked hard to make this. Thanks." Knuckles stated.
"I'm just glad you liked it!" Tikal beamed.
I'm amazed that the food tasted good. Chaos stated. I just hope we don't get sick tomorrow.
"Chaos!" Knuckles gasped.
Tikal gave him a pointed glare. "Ignore him Knuckles. Chaos is under the impression that I don't know how to cook. Obviously, I can." She gestured to all the food.
Knuckles nodded, not wanting to get in the middle of their argument.
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Krissie: A 6 page one shot. I had only planned for this to be 2 to 3 pages, but eh? I wish you all happy holidays.