A bit of preface...

A long time ago, I did an art trade with someone on devientArt. Since I can't draw, I figured I'd write for that person. This ended up being a four-part series between my friend and I, who unfortunately is no longer on dA. So don't expect to see her pictures anymore.

But after so long, I figured 'Hey? Why not go ahead and post these on ff?' and so, here ya have it! I'll be posting four chapters of this series, just to cuz. And for those who followed me for my Sonic fanfics, this must be a breath of fresh air, huh?

And who knows... maybe... just maybe... if you read close enough... you'll get an idea of what I might be writing next, huh?

Hint hint!

But alas, read and I'll hope you enjoy!

Mother

She was finding it harder and harder to move, as days went by. Nothing seemingly gave her any enjoyment anymore. Not the sun outside, not the trees, nothing. It felt as if her days were growing more and more depressing as the days turned. Even now, she just laid in her bed, covers losing their grip on her, as she gazed at the ceiling with her cerulean eyes. There was no sun outside, just the dark grumbling clouds of a soon to be brewing storm. There was also no light in this room, so she was casted in a dark sheen, that swallowed her whole. She could hear a storm growl beneath the clouds, but didn't care. Right now, the state of the city matched the state of her mind.

Depressed, that's what she felt. But why? She was always so cheery, so happy, but now, she was so lonely, so depressed, so hurt.

Three years. That's how long she had the blessings to live here. Three long years. And some days, as sad as it was to say, she wished she could take it all back. Her orange blades fell into her line of vision, prompting her to move them out of the way. As she did so, she gazed intensely into the white gloved hand above her. She pressed it to her face, enjoying the warmth it handed her. The hand began to drag down from her face, passing her lips, her neck, her chest, only to stop at her stomach. And the great, hard, orb that lied on her stomach.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump

She could feel the life being pumped through her. Not just her life, but his life, or maybe her life. She didn't know the gender of the being currently growing within her, she just knew it was of her own blood, and of course, his own blood. Him, the man who had done this to her, the man who had turned her world all upside-down. So upside-down. Everything's upside-down now.

She lurched up, accidentally giving herself a bit of vertigo. Her hand still clenched tightly the orb that lied on her stomach however. Gazing down, she tried her hardest to peer through the fabric of clothing that was her nightgown. There was no one around, this was her bedroom after all. So, she carefully removed the article of clothing in order to get a better look at the orb that was getting heavier and heavier with every passing month. She found the need to touch it, like a mother should. Removing her glove next, she pressed her naked hand upon the growing fetus within. It was so warm, and even though the being within hadn't gained the ability to understand anything yet, she could feel so much love resonating from the baby inside. It made her smile, smile knowing that, at the very least, her baby would love her. Even though it felt like the entire world had turned against her.

She didn't expect it to turn out this way. She didn't expect her name to become synonymous with such horrid and vulgar names. And they were so creative too. Was this really the world she had doomed herself to living in? A world where they gave her no respect as a human being, because of one simple mistake? She had lived here long enough to know that her mistake was shared with millions of others, so why was it her life that felt so terrible? Because it wasn't the fact that she had been impregnated, it was who she had been impregnated by. A man who had been ostracized from the community years before she had. A man whose name was spoke of in feared tones, across the many countries of the world. A man whose name had become one to hate. He represented everything that was wrong in the planet, everything that was evil and vile. And for some reason, for some awe-inspiring, mind-boggling, world-shaking reason, she loved him. She loved the man that everyone hated.

Rain started to fall outside now. She turned to the balcony that lied in her room, gazing through the glass doors as water droplets sprinkled the outstretched platform. She slid her way over to the side of her bed, and placed her feet down upon the ground. Feeling the warmth of the rug beneath her toes, she shimmied her way over to the window doors. Her still bare hand pressed against the glass, where the cold Fall air seeped through to her touch. The shiver it sent her traveled up and down her spine, making every inch of her body tense up. Her hand fell back a moment later, and she returned it to the safety of her warm white glove.

How much time had she wasted sitting here in bed? She didn't know, time was constantly being taken from her as of late. Before her pregnancy, she could do whatever she wanted. Her body was still young and lithe enough for her to run here or there, glide here or there, fly here or there, but now, after their tryst, she couldn't really do anything anymore. She tried to be as adventurous as she could, but once word got out that she had been impregnated by him, then that all came to a stop. The people outside were so cruel, calling her such names that, she still didn't want to think about it. It was rare for her to leave now, only doing so when she was with friends. And, it was oh so very rare when her friends elected to take her out. They were always doing their own thing, going on ventures, saving the world. Something she used to do alongside them. But not with the child within, never with the child within.

She turned around, and started trekking through the cold air of her room. She figured it would be better to go to sleep, it wasn't like she was going to do much today. Her roommate would wake her up when it was time to eat, she knew that.

The door suddenly opened, much to her surprise. She wasn't expecting someone to visit her today, especially with the storm brewing outside. The lights from the hall outside casted upon an image, one with great wings. The pregnant woman found her hands meeting her eyes, as she rubbed them clean of any blurry images. The shaded image before her had started moving into the room, fulling revealing herself. The wings folded in on this furry white creature, as the pregnant women gazed into the teal eyes looking at her.

The three years had been kind to the bat before her. The silver-white hairs she owned had grown quite a bit, now meeting the sides of her back. Her wings had also gotten a bit longer, and were sharper as well, making her daunting disposition even more daunting. She had even grown a bit sexier too, anyone would say that. Her clothing was in stark contrast to the pregnant women, for the bat was wearing this pink, strapless, skin-tight shirt, that lacked sleeves and the like. Her pants were black bell-bottoms, which of course, hugged her well, and split open to show her high-heels. The bat's face seemed to be made of disdain however, as she stared into the blue eyes looking at her.

"Tikal..." the bat said.

Yes indeed. Eighteen year old, Tikal the echidna. The circumstances that surrounded her appearance was an odd one indeed. No one quite knew how it happened or why, but they were now in the presence of someone who was, for all intents and purposes, a demi-god. She had powers beyond any understanding, powers that only she could obtain. She was a being that was only born once, and she was that once. A living Chaos Emerald, one could only wonder what such a title would do to a person. She was introduced to as many adventures one could possibly handle, when she first stepped foot in the new world. She had seen things no one else had ever seen, done things no one else could possibly do, met people she had never, could never forget. It was all truly a wonderful feeling, until.

Well, you know...

"Rouge," Tikal said, gazing down, "What are you doing home so early?"

The lights suddenly beamed on in the room, making the orange furred echidna wince in pain. When she finally gained the strength to look forward, she saw her roommate had her finger on the light switch. Rouge's face was still unhappy, and she continued to show her displeasure, as she crossed her arms in a dominating stance.

"You've been sitting alone in the dark again, haven't you, Tikal?" she inquired, her voice stirring the spirits of the echidna.

"N-no..." she said, an action which caused her to glance away, "I did leave earlier to get myself something to drink..."

Her eyes moved down to the ground and remained there, until Rouge's pointy heels stepped into view. Gazing up, she saw the bat now stood before her, arms still crossed. Tikal didn't know what she had done to upset her batty friend, but she wished she could take it back.

Rouge's teal eyes moved down to Tikal's enlarged stomach, and this murmuring sigh escaped her lips. The echidna didn't know why but, the way her friend's eyes slanted down into displeasure, it hurt her. She didn't say anything about it, of course.

"How have you been?" Rouge asked with genuine concern.

"Arlight," Tikal answered, "The baby kicked a bit is all, and I got real hungry earlier..."

Her voice trailed off as she watched Rouge walk over to the one seat in her room. The bat sat down and slid her leg over the other, while she patted down the area of Tikal's bed closest to her. Taking it as a sign, the echidna princess took a seat near her friend. She looked up into Rouge's eyes, while the bat laid her hands behind her head in a relaxing pose.

"So you got hungry," Rouge said, "Then what?"

"I made myself a sandwhich," Tikal answered, "Then..."

"Then went back to bed," Rouge said already knowing how this tale would end, "Am I right?"

The echidna stole herself from making any reply, because her friend was correct. That was the exact thing she did. When she said nothing, Rouge's face grew even more annoyed, something which caused Tikal to grow a bit flustered.

"I'm, I'm sorry," she repeated, "I just... didn't have much to do..."

"Ah, save it," Rouge replied as she looked to this flat device she pulled from her pants, "I understand Tikal, believe me, I do..."

"I just..." the echidna let out, "Wish I could leave somewhere but... you know..."

Her face bent down into, as she closed her eyes. She could barely remember the last time she stepped foot in the outside world. She just remembered trying to buy bread and, being berated for it. Berated by those people who just didn't understand.

"Why the visit?" Tikal asked, trying to shift her thoughts, "Don't you have a casino to run?"

She wasn't trying to be rude, she just wanted to know, in all honesty. It made Rouge gaze up with a smirk.

"What's wrong Princess?" she asked, "Don't enjoy my company?"

"Oh I do!" Tikal answered with an embarrassed look, "I was just curious!"

"Well since you're dying to know," Rouge said pulling her close, "You are the guest of honor, in a very important, modern day woman party."

"What?" Tikal replied, whilst raising an eyebrow, "Rouge, I'm pregnant, I don't know much parties than I could have fun in..."

"Silly Princess," Rouge answered, "Only a pregnant women can have this kind of party," she lifted Rouge's gown, in order to reveal her belly, an action which made the tribal girl blush, "It's a baby shower, Tikal. You have to be pregnant in order to enjoy it properly."

"What's a baby shower?" Tikal asked in confusion.

"You're so old fashion," Rouge chuckled, "Just don't worry about it. Amy'll be there and Vanilla and Blaze," she sighed, "Knuckles too..."

"Knuckles?" Tikal repeated, "Isn't he on the island? He's always on the island."

"Yeah," Rouge murmured, showing blatant annoyance, "Unfortunately, your cousin elected we have the party on Angel Island. When I tried to talk him out of it, he threatened to crush the heads of anyone who even looked at you odd which, knowing your current position," she sighed again, "That would equal a lot of crushed heads..."

Before Tikal's spirits could lowered, Rouge leaped up with a vitalized vigor. Her sexy swaying manner had returned, as she sauntered her way over to the exit. She stopped again, lifting that same odd device as before. What was it called again? An iPod or something like that.

"We leave tomorrow evening Tikal dear," Rouge added as she leaned on the doorway, "So please try and make yourself look presentable by that time," she lowered her whatever it was, and looked to her, "Please? I can't stand this depressed thing you've got going on. It's kind of a killjoy..."

Her vision shifted away from her device, and she started walking off. But she didn't get long before being stopped by Tikal. Turning around, the bat's teal eyes peered deeply into the echidna's blue ones. And, some how, she knew exactly what the princess was fixing to ask.

"Will he be there?" she inquired, her voice lacking any kind of emotion.

Rouge sighed in response, as she turned back away, to face the hall.

"No Tikal," she responded, "I don't think Shadow will be there," the echidna followed the bat out to the hall, while she continued talking, "You know how that hedgehog can be, so I don't recommend you hold your breath." the bat continued walking her way down the pristine halls of her condo, eventually disappearing into another hallway, "I'll try and tell him, but I don't know..."

When Rouge's vanished, Tikal wilted into her room. The door closed shut behind her, as she walked her way over to her bed. Sitting down, she groaned aloud, something brought on by the heaviness of her stomach. Her shimmering blue eyes stared off into the distance of her room, dragging briefly against the window-doors to her balcony. The sky was still dark and grey, with added light coming only from lightning-claps. Her eyes drifted over to her closet next, and her mind worked to come up with a presentable outfit. She wished she could wear her old tribal clothing, seeing as she was heading back to Angel Island. But with the child growing in her belly, she didn't really feel comfortable showing her stomach to everyone, or anyone, for that matter.

She took various articles of clothing that would hide her baby-bump. Crossing her arms, she scanned the various pants, shirts, skirts, and miscellaneous. But her mind wasn't completely there. She was thinking about something else entirely. Closing her eyes, she could see him. His dark attitude, ruby eyes, black fur, red streaks, all of it bombarded her mind. It wasn't healthy for her to think about him, especially knowing how it affected her. But for some reason, she found the thought of him inviting, warm even. Funny that, he was the one who did this to her. The one who transformed her life from fun, to some sort of never ending storm.

It was wrong to think of him like that, however. It wasn't his fault. As the modern folk commonly say, it takes two to tango, and she doesn't remember saying no at all that night. In fact, she remembered saying the exact opposite. Okay, these thoughts were getting into a too personal level, even for her. Not exactly the purist thoughts she should be having right now.

She shook her head clean of those thoughts and any other thoughts that pertained to a certain hedgehog. Right now, all that mattered was finding something presentable to wear. As she did so, she felt her vigor be revitalized by some mysterious force. It felt so wonderful, just the thought of seeing Angel Island, was enough to wash away the negative feelings she had inside. Sure, he might not be there, but everyone else would be. That's enough.

Well, she could pray that was enough.

So, she went on through the night, choosing this and that, as she wondered what tomorrow would bring.

…

Paper upon paper. That's what her days had become as of late. No more field work, just behind the desk word. Sure, it gave her so much time (time usually spent hunting for treasure), but it was so incredibly boring. She would just sit here, behind the desk, writing millions of words that usually melted into the same thing. Murderer, terrorist, egg-shaped egomaniac, yeah, the usual. It was so painful to do, as hard as it is to believe.

The sun was at her back, setting over the horizon of roads and shops. She could feel the warm sunlight tickle her exposed back, as her fingers wrote various information down. She smirked, as images of the days end came to mind. She had things to do when this was all said and done, which made her happy knowing that the end of her shift was only a few minutes away. All she had to do, was finish one more paper, and she'd be free to do whatever she wanted.

But a man came through the doorway to her office. The bat's wings folded in, as she gazed up to the person gazing upon her. The teal eyes she owned ran across ruby ones. His arms were crossed in a daunting position, but his arms were always crossed in that way. He looked a different from how he did yeas ago. He was taller, and appeared to be a bit more muscular as well. The years of fighting had paid off in that way. But along his shoulders, a black vest lay. On the chest of this vest, various medals one would gain from the service. And the medals he had, were of the highest honor.

She stared at him for a prolonged period of time, and so did he. Neither side moved, until he took a step forward. She watched him in pure silence, as he walked over to a file cabinet that lay on the side of the room. Lifting his hand, he tightened it into a fist, then slammed it against the metal box. The front slot opened up, revealing various pages of information within. He a manilla folder, opened it up, and skimmed the various files within. When he found the information he wished for, whatever that was, he turned and headed for the office's exit.

"We're throwing a baby shower for Tikal."

He stopped.

Very slowly, the hedgehog turned around in order to look at her. He retained the same emotionless look as always, however.

"I'm heading for Angel Island after work is over," she continued, "I just thought you should know, seeing as it is your child..."

She watched him blink. Walking again, his frame exited the area.

"I'll think about it..." he replied.

He was gone after that, leaving way too soon for the bat to give any kind of response. She leaned back in her chair a second later, as she wrote down her last pieces of information for the day. Her mind didn't leave her doorway though, as she replayed the sight of his fleeting image over and over again.

When one learns they have a child, it should be a life changing experience. A father would express emotions in a way never seen before. It should be magical, timeless even. But it wasn't, not for him. In fact, it seemed to have the exact opposite effect on him. Instead of becoming more emotional, he seemed to have grown even more defensive, more distant. She used to see him often, they were partners after all, but now their unions have been sparse, happening to infrequently. In fact, that brief moment they spent together, was how the usually spent their time. He would come in, find the information he needed, then leave. He had grown to really take that name of his. He had become a shadow.

She sighed, as she took the various papers she marked, and placed them in her outbox. The message boy would come sooner or later, and take all those papers to the appropriate G.U.N. members. She didn't care if they arrived on time or not, it wasn't in her place to know. She had bigger things to take care of.

Putting on a warm, fleece jacket, she prepared to battle the cold Autumn air. When leaving her office however, she turned around one last time. She could still see him, some yards away. He was nearing the edge of the hall, while people walked here and there, passing her left and right. A second later, he finally vanished, thanks to the many folds of individuals. She pulled up the ends of her collar next, and eventually faded away from the G.U.N. Base as well.

…

"So..." Tikal said, genuinely confused, "What exactly is this thing?"

Poor Amy. She meant well, but most of her modern day antics went high above the princess' head.

Right now, she sat in the middle of a forest clearing. No, there were no houses on Angel Island, well, none that reasonable living being should stay in for more than a hour. Everyone was sitting in a ring. To her immediate right was Rouge, who was still fiddling with that strange iwhatever device, beside the bat was Blaze, to the left of Tikal was Vanilla, besides Vanilla was her own daughter Cream, and directly before the echidna, holding a box with a wide smile, was a certain bubbly pink hedgehog.

"Oh you'll love it!" Amy called, "You're baby will sit in it, and you'll probably forget it even exists!"

"Why that sounds horrible!" Tikal announced, "I don't want to forget about my child!"

"Don't think about it like that!" Amy retorted, "Just think as it like a... uh..." she suddenly nudged her lilac friend, "Blaze help me out here!"

"No," the feline answered, "You put yourself in this mess..."

Amy groaned.

"Vanilla?" she asked next, to which the rabbit merely shrugged, "Okay, how about you, Cream, can you help me out here?"

"No can do..." the young rabbit answered.

"Ugh just listen!" she moved down to the box, "It's just a baby swing! You sit your child in the chair here, and it swings forever! Rocking your son or daughter to sleep, without you even having to pick them up! It's a win-win for everybody!"

"Well when you put it that way..."

Shaking her head, Amy eventually went on a tangent, explaining the intricacies of baby raising and all the various tools needed to make life easier for both the mother and the baby. Listening to her rant, one would think she was a mother herself, when she was actually the youngest of all the women present. If anything, it should have been Vanilla giving this speech, but the matriarchal mother was busy 'listening' to everything Amy said.

Obviously, that was sarcasm.

It didn't matter much to Tikal though. She was enjoying the attention her friends were handing him, and more importantly, she was enjoying the time away from home. Sure, it wasn't with her full list of friends, but it was good enough. Sonic was home, resting off his latest adventure. Tails was at his workshop, doing something that involved this weird device known as a blender or something. Silver was, gone, to say the least. Last anyone heard of him, he had run into this group that traveled through time. They also had the coolest suits ever, and fought mutants for some reason. But that's a tangent now. Knuckles was, in actuality, behind the group of women. Despite Rouge's threats, the echidna had decided to eavesdrop on the girl's baby shower. Hey, it was his cousin and his island, he was allowed to do whatever he pleased.

This left Shadow, the one person who she really wanted to be here. He wasn't, of course. She figured his lack of appearance was because a baby-shower was a mostly women affair, and not the place for men. But, of course, that was jut her resolve on the issue.

"...and that's why you need one." Amy said, finishing her rant.

She smiled this most victorious of smiles, as she felt she had won this imaginary argument. When her green eyes opened however, they ran along Tikal's distraught face. She had so quickly grown depressed, a feeling which easily resonated off of her, and to everyone around.

"Tikal? Is there something wrong?" Amy asked.

"No," the echidna said, "I just need... some time alone..."

She stood up from her seat, whilst closing her eyes. She didn't want to see the concerned faces of her friends, she just wanted to be alone for a moment or two. Breaking away from her ring of friends, she made her way to the forest around, eventually being swallowed up in the shadows it handed her. All of her friends watched in confusion, save for Rouge, who probably saw this coming a long ways away.

"You know who caused this right?" Blaze stated as she leaned back down to the ground, "Shadow..."

A series of nods and reassurances echoed about a moment later.

…

The beach sands were pushed away by the oncoming waters. The sound of it moved on for miles. On Angel Island, a beach was never too far away, even now. She was happy about that fact too.

The tribal princess crouched down, while still standing on her feet. She had begun sniffling by now, and faint tears were visible on her eyes. What was craziest of all, she didn't even know why she was sad right now. Everything was going perfectly fine just a minute ago. She was smiling, having fun, gaining various gifts from her living friends, and all that came to a crash halt at the thought of him. Why did she even think about him? She knew this was going to happen, but she did it anyway. She was a glutton for mental pain, that had to be the reason.

She was alienating her friends again. That wasn't nice. They had taken the time out from their schedules, to spend some time with her. And she was practically throwing it in their faces. She breathed in and out slowly, pushing back the tears that threatened to spill even more. Before she knew it, the sadness holding her had all but vanished.

She stood up, and rubbed her orbs clean of anymore tears. Turning her head skyward, she enjoyed the sunlight handed to her. It seemed as if the sun was always in the perfect position on Angel Island. It was enough to fill her spirits with hope. Hope for what? She didn't know.

Before she turned around to return to her friends however, she placed her hand on her belly. She could feel the child within, kicking at the touch. It made her smile the sunniest smile she could muster. Hand finally falling, she started to walk off for her baby-shower. But before she stepped into the forest, she felt the wind pick up.

It whirled under her toes, ruffling the long skirt she currently wore. Her blue eyes moved up to the treetops a second later, as she watched the canopies shake and shimmer. She figured it was a one-off moment, but something just felt wrong. She felt as if eyes were on her.

She was right. When looking up, her call blue eyes saw the last person she expected to ever see. He just stared down from the treetop, arms crossed with the same hard face as usual. His various medals reflected the sunlight, giving him such a regal look. Tikal just stood there, completely still, as his ruby eyes scanned her up and down.

"Shadow...?" she called to the being.

He merely nodded.

Maverick Talks!

Anyway, this story is done in medias res. Which means in the middle of things for those who aren't writers, or if you don't understand Latin. It thrusts you in place after the key events of something, in this case, the tryst between Shadow and Tikal. That's why Tikal is pregnant, she and Shadow did the ole' mating dance, and of course, this happened. And let me answer any other questions you may have right now. This story takes place three years after the events of whatever game is currently out now (Lost World I guess), it also takes place three years after TITD, so by now Tikal has gotten over her future shock. I would explain how Tikal got here in the living world after being stuck in the Master Emerald, but you, once again, have to wait for TITD to catch up. So I'll ramble on about other things! The world hasn't really changed in three years, other than Shadow, and Tikal, with Tikal being pregnant and Shadow being even more distant than usual. That's something I'll address in part 2 of this story. Oh yeah, the hedgehog has also been promoted to the rank of Captain in the G.U.N. forces. That's why he has so many shiny badges, and why he wears a vest now.

Shadows been a very interesting proponent of this story, honestly. He rarely appears in this part, even though he so important, and I'm sure you're dying to know why. Well, guess what! You have to wait until part 2. Yeah, I'm a jerk. But I will let you know, Shadow wasn't going to appear until the very end, meaning he wasn't even going to pop up in that brief scene when Rouge is at work. But I'm nice like that. I'm a nice jerk. I'm an oxymoron. Awesome!

So here's part one. I'll post part 2 later today, cuz I'm lazy.

Just so ya'know, I kinda just went and copied and pasted this from the 'Maverick Talks' section I did with this story when I posted it the first time. So... yeah...

And if you don't know what TITD is, don't worry about it. It no longer exists since the time of this story being posted. Sorry...

Maverick Kay Prime