A bit of preface.

So, uh, yeah. Here we are Tribal Dance 2, sort of. We're here, huh? In a sequel. I never originally thought I'd ever write a sequel. I mean, sure I gave a cliffhanger at the end, but I always staved off on actually writing a sequel. I thought about it, mused about it, but neglected to actually do so. Until now.

A lot of people asked me for a sequel, and what can I say? I'm a giving guy. So this new year, I'm a start off with a bang. We're going to. Here you guys and gals go, the sequel to Tribal Dance. Let's just pray it blows your expectations.

Here we go.

Reincarnation

The metallic door holding him inside slid open. Walking forward, his metal feet clashed against the steel floors. The hallway he traveled along was hexagonal in shaped, as per his original designs. It took him quite some time to build all of this, but it was well worth the investments. Walking along the illuminated hall, he placed his hands behind his back to make himself more comfortable. As this man walked forward, he passed by windows which showed the depths of the ocean floor. How deep underwater was he? Five thousand, ten thousand, possibly twenty thousand leagues under the sea? He had forgotten, honestly.

Coming to another door, he caused it to slide open by his presence alone. He continued to walk unhindered, now stepping through a hall with body sized capsules around him. All these capsules were silver as well as completely opaque, allowing no one to see what was being held within. He stopped at one of these capsule and gazed at it from beneath his purple cloak. Then he continued again, now heading for the door to his front.

Just as the last, the door before him opened without any kind of action on his part. This room was not a hallway, but instead an elevated platform that hung over an expansive room of darkness. Deep below appeared to be nothing but shadows; surely a drop which would kill a fellow. But from these shadows, various structures were protruding, hanging high into the room. On these various poles were spherical objects of unknown origin. The man in the cloak was unphazed by it all, for it was common to him.

He continued walking, passing these objects without a care in the world. The next door too slid open, bringing him to a hallway much like the first one. He trekked off, hands behind his back, taking brief glances out the window in order to see the various sea life. They appeared just as impressed by this sea base as anyone would be. He briefly moved his hand from out of his cloak, in order to touch upon the icy cold window at his side. Of course, he couldn't feel the cold touch of the glass. In fact, he couldn't feel anything. Nor could he taste, nor could he smell. Such enjoyable things were reserved for living beings, not beings like him. Not machines.

He finally came to the door at the end of the hall. Stopping, he neglected to move for a few seconds or so. This time, the door required his hand to open it. He pressed it upon a panel in the center, causing a blue light to emit from said panel. The door slid open thanks to his touch, bringing him to a room that held a great machine in the center. He neared this machine, while his arms removed the cloak from his body. Of all things, he was an echidna. Silver body, with golden eyes. But there were no more echidnas. They had gone extinct thousands of years ago. Maybe it was because he was no ordinary echidna. He was a machine, after all.

Hands moving, he pressed them upon the device before him. His fingers tapped the various buttons of the machine's keyboard, causing the great device to light up all around him. With each click, another part of the machine would shine, until the entire device was bright enough to light the area. The albino echidna suddenly stopped however, his finger hovering over the last button needed to properly turn the device on. Gazing up, he eyed the device, but more specifically, the sphere that laid in the center.

"Wake up, Dimitri..." he murmured, his finger finally tapping the last button.

The spherical object on the machine started to part and separate, sliding out on opposite ends. What it revealed on the other end, a metallic black head, with its brain clearly sticking out on the other end. The head's optics opened and closed in a lively fashion, though it was pointless. Being stuck in what is essentially a jar, he had little to do or say.

"Finitevus..." the head, Dimitri, said, "What business do you have waking me up at this ungodly hour?"

"You can't sleep, Dimitri," the albino echidna answered, "Stop trying to act like you can..." placing his hand on his head, the silver-furred one started to groan, "We've been waiting for this, Dimitri. Waiting so long."

"Says you..." the decapitated head commented, "Tell me, what have you been planning all this time..."

The albino fluffed his dreads, while his hand reached away into his clothing. Upon returning, he held a device in hand. The device was beeping, showing something or someone, was near. The albino echidna chuckled at the sight of it, before turning over the device to show his head of a friend.

"Do you see this?" he inquired, "All these millenniums of waiting have finally paid off," he smiled, "I told you the chances of this happening was dependable."

"Your chances relied on a random event happening at an unspecified time..." Dimitri shook his head, "This plan was doomed to failure at the beginning, Finitevus. I'm disappointed it is actually coming to fruition."

"Let's just see what we have to look forward, shall we?" he shifted his attention back to the flat device in his hands, "The servers are the seven Chaos," he began saying as he chuckled, "Chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, "The heart is the controller. The controller serves to unify Chaos..." he laughed, his face growing sinister, "But what happens when an eighth Emerald is thrown into the bunch?"

…

The lightning that struck outside streaked through the sky. Whenever one of those crackles occurred, a horrible sound would echo soon after. The storm was laying just above the small town, keeping all awake within. One such home kept its lights on through out all of it, a home that lay in the grassy knoll; center of the city. A small place, it wasn't necessarily the greatest, but it wasn't a sign of the owner's monetary value. All the warmth and love a home could have, existed within that place alone.

She dried her hands off on her blouse, her eyes staring out toward the window. As the crackles occurred, she shivered, knowing her daughter was staying up this night. After twisting the knob of the water faucet, the grown hare made her way for her home's den. With it storming so furiously outside, she had nothing much to do this evening. She figured for now, the best thing to do was get ready for tomorrow. Wash the clothes, dry the others, maybe clean the floors, and make sure her daughter has a good bit of clothing ready for her. It wasn't difficult being a mother, but it sure was monotonous.

"Mom..."

"Chao..."

The two voices made her gaze off for the staircase in her home. She saw her daughter, a young six-year-old rabbit, grab onto the handle bars in her pajamas, while her pet Chao floated around her. The two looked positively disturbed by the storms outside, something the older rabbit expected.

"Finding it hard to sleep, Cream?" the hare's mother inquired, a knowing smile on her lips.

"Mm-hmm..." she answered, while both her and her Chao's head nodded.

"Well," her mother replied, "Take Cheese with you up to my room. You can sleep with me tonight."

Both of their young faces brightened up with a shine that could only be described as happiness. The storm outside may have been terrifying, but none of that mattered when they were near Mommy. Even the older rabbit had to laugh at that, finding their childishness cute. Een though the two had gone on adventures she could only dream about, they were still children. Besides, it had been a while sense the mother had slept with the child. She missed the warmth her sunshine handed her.

While her child disappeared into the halls of their home, the older hare started moving forward as well. But as her foot stepped upon the staircase, she heard a series of knocks echo behind. They were almost completely masked by the sound of thunder over head. Had it not been for the mother's sensitive ears, the knocks would have gone completely unheard. But she did hear it, and she turned around to meet them.

Who was out here at this time? Did he or she not feel the storm raging outside? Maybe it was some crazy person. Knowing this world, that wasn't too out of the box. So, instead of enjoying a nice hot shower as the mother originally intended, she decided to head for the door instead. The knocks hadn't decreased, instead they increased, now appearing to be frenzied in nature. At first, the woman was weary of answering the door. If this was some crazy person, then she would be putting herself and her daughter in danger. But if it was someone who needed her help, then she'd feel even worse.

Curse her sweet nature.

"Hello?" she answered, as she pulled the door back.

She found these shining green eyes glare back. It was a girl, younger than her, with these forest green eyes. She was naked, from head to toe, and shivering cold from the rain and air. Her dreads were frenzied and tangled thanks to the rain, but that appeared to be the least of her problems. The hare could only wonder what this girl went through to leave herself looking like, this.

"P-p-p-p-p-please," the girl said through shivers, "C-c-c-c-c-can I c-c-c-c-c-come i-i-i-i-i-in?"

She didn't even looks as if she could stand properly, let alone say those words. Covering her mouth, the hare was deeply disturbed by the individual she stared upon. If anyone needed her help, it was her.

Stepping aside, the mother allowed the girl to walk in. She continued to shiver as she did so, but nodded in appreciation. Closing the door behind her, the mother began to stare up and down the room. Her eyes eventually fell upon her staircase, where she found her daughter's eyes staring back. She had already seen the trouble unfolding before her, anyone could tell that.

"Mom...?" Cream murmured, traces of fear in her voice.

The orange furred girl before her seemed to ignore the call, as she was too focused on her shivering body.

"Cream," her mother called, "Get me a nice warm towel."

The child nodded, along with her Chao, and vanished suddenly into the halls of her home. The older rabbit pressed her back up against her door; wondering what to do next. The naked girl before her continued to shiver and rub herself in an attempt to gain heat, but it wasn't working. But, there was something off about this girl. She looked different, if the older rabbit could say so. Honestly, the mother had never seen an animal of her kind.

The green-eyed girl suddenly started to cough; her shivers increasing. The rabbit reached for her phone, but stole herself from actually calling anyone. With the level the storm was raging at outside, there was no way any ambulance would make their way out here. And, unfortunately enough, there was no way she'd be able to make her way through the rain. So, for the most part, this young woman was going to suffer tonight.

Finally, her daughter returned, dry towel in hand. She handed it to her mother, who in turn, handed it to the girl currently sitting on her couch. She tried her hardest to cover her body completely, but this orange furred girl was still shivering.

"Please..." the girl murmured, "Make it stop..."

"Mom...?" Cream whispered as she gazed up to her.

"My name is Vanilla," the older rabbit said to the girl, trying her hardest to be humane, "Who are you?"

This young girl looked up. Now that Vanilla could stare upon her face, she realized why this green-eyed girl looked vaguely familiar. Why she looked familiar, yet different. This girl was was an echidna.

"My n-n-n-n-name?" she murmured through her shivers, "My name's Tikal..." she finally answered.

Tikal the echidna. What an odd name. Then again, it was odd to meet an echidna of any kind on this day and age. They were extinct, after all. Anyone would have been terrified, but Vanilla knew better. Judging from the thousands of crazy things that happens to her and her family, she knew that this was nothing different. When the morning came, she would call Amy or Sonic, and they'd know what to do with this. Heck, they were probably looking for the girl regardless.

"I'm tired..." Tikal murmured, her green eyes slowly closing.

Her shivers had diminished by now, leaving her with the slight hiccup every now and then. Soon after, her eyes started to shake and quiver; now losing consciousness. She shook on the couch, her body losing the ability to hold itself up. Vanilla tried to stop her from falling out, but it was too late. She collapsed on the side of the couch, silent.

Vanilla, Cream and Cheese stood around in there den; eyes all on the echidna before them. Cream stretched forward her hand to touch the orange maiden, but stole herself from actually doing so. Instead, she shifted her gaze up to her mother, who shrugged with indifference.

"She'll sleep in your room, Cream..." the motherly hare answered, "We'll figure out what to do in the morning."

…

I thought you would appear, out of nowhere one day! But you just never did! YOU LIED!

Because of you! I waited for you! Waited, waited, waited! I hoped, I prayed, you would return.

It was a silly dream. Us, with children. But it was all I had, because I found myself loosing hope.

Why did it take so long?

I forgive you...

What we have... It's... an Immortal Bond...

Shadow... Starman...

Shadow...

Starman...

Shadow...

Starman...

…

Her green eyes finally opened up wide. Her vision was too blurry to make out what lay before her, but she didn't mind. Opening her mouth, she yawned loudly into the palm of her hand. After that, she rubbed her eyes; reducing the amount of blur they held. But did she really want to see what was around her? She was still a bit sleepy, and the sheets were so warm. She wanted so desperately to get some more rest, but she knew if she did so she wouldn't learn anything of where her current area was. So, with much ire, the orange echidna decided to get from this bed.

Oh, she was naked. She didn't realize this until now. Yet, she didn't find this to be too odd, as if she were used to being like this. Still, she felt the need to clothe herself. Thus instead of walking out au naturel, she instead garbed herself in some of the covers from the bed.

The first thing she noticed about this room, was how homey it was. Everything about this place held a warm and loving aroma. The floors were nicely cleaned, the walls held images and photos of individuals, the drawers were adorned with childish toys and various other things, and the morning sun peered through the windows. It brought light to the small room, and forced the echidna to get up.

She slid the covers from her body, freeing her to get up from the bed. Placing her naked toes onto the rug floor, she enjoyed the warmth it handed her. Slowly, the echidna walked away from the bed and to the drawer close by. She placed her hand on the edge of the drawer, being sure to drag her individual fingers along the various items in place. But one object caught her eyes in particular.

She found a peculiar doll, leaning up against the drawer's mirror. The echidna stretched forward and grabbed the doll in question. It was a blue hedgehog. A doll of a blue hedgehog. She knew this blue hedgehog, though her thoughts were quite muddied. Still...

"So...nic...?" she murmured.

She knew he was a blue hedgehog and he did something fast. She couldn't remember what though. In fact, she had been forgetting a lot of things as of late. Like last night. The only thing she remembered of last night was struggling through the rainy, grassy fields. She didn't know why she was in said fields, or how she got there, she just remembered struggling through it all. Why couldn't she remember that far? Boy, her head was hurting. For the most part, she could just remember.

Starman.

She placed the doll of the hedgehog back down on the drawer. Her vision shifted over to the exit next; her feet bringing her toward it. The door was open, leading to a hall. The echidna trekked down the hall, making her way down toward the end of it. She looked up and around to the various pictures hanging on the walls around her. All of smiling people, all of them happy. Such happiness confused her, actually. Why? It was as if she had forgotten about happiness. Or maybe it was because she didn't understand the images she was seeing. How did they get them on the walls like this?

She didn't know if she were confused or not, all of it seemed insane. She started walking farther along the warm hall, making her way toward the staircase at the end. Placing her hand onto the handrail, the young echidna made her way down the stairs slowly.

"So you say she just popped up in the middle of the night?" a bubbly voice echoed from downstairs.

The echidna stopped suddenly and pressed her back up against the wall. Hiding as best she could, she stared through the corner of her eye toward the beings at the den. The two people who helped her, the two rabbits, they were there, but there was a third person among them. She was a pink hedgehog, one with green eyes much like hers. She also looked familiar, but again the echidna could not tell why. Why? Who is this girl? What is her name? Wait...

Amy. Amy Rose.

"You say she's an echidna?" the pink hedgehog commented; hand on her chin, "Well that doesn't make any sense, Vanilla. Echidnas have been extinct for years."

"Well that's what I saw," the older rabbit said, arms crossing, "And I'm no fool."

"She looked just like Mr. Knuckles." the smaller rabbit said next.

"Well if you say so..." the hedgehog commented lowly.

"Oh! So you believe Cream, huh?" Vanilla barked, causing Cheese to laugh.

Amy and Cream soon joined in on the laughter, making the older rabbit walk off in annoyance.

"Wait! Miss Vanilla!" Amy called, "Did you happen about her name, by any chance?"

"Amy?" the echidna said as she stepped down from the stairs, "Amy... Amy is that you?"

The hedgehog stared at her, and as soon as their eyes fell upon one another, it seemed as if everything stopped. The hedgehog's face twisted into confusion and minor fear. She rose her hands, and cupped her mouth; the echidna continued to walk forward.

"T-Tikal?" Amy questioned in disbelief.

Maverick Talks!

So, as I said, this is the sequel to Tribal Dance, but I have to lay some ground rules down first. Okay, I'm sorry you guys, but this story will not be started anytime soon.

What!? Blasphemy!

Yeah, I know, I just posted this chapter to tantalized you all. You see, I have another story to finish, one I will end soon. Maybe. Listen, I don't know how long Shadows from Before will be. That being said, I will update this randomly, that is until I finish Shadows from Before, where I will give this story my usual treatment. Works, right?

Any who, this chapter. Seeing as it's just a beginning one, you won't get much plot, will you? And yet, I have already laid the seeds of the future. Finitevus is here, Dimitri is a head, an underwater base, Tikal has green eyes, ooooh, spooky, right? Wanna know what happens?

Wait till later.

And, right, where's Shadow?

So, signing of in the future.

Maverick Kay Prime