Shadow and Tikal

Chapter Two: The Letter

Tikal awoke 15 minutes before anyone else even began stirring. This whole, 'fighting' thing was still pretty new to her, but even from her minimal experience, she could tell that this 'Shadow' had gone easy on her.

"Why?" She thought. It's not like she was the prettiest girl around; go see Rouge if you are looking for someone trendy. Although, she had to admit; for being a villain, Shadow was hot. His penetrating gaze also revealed the depth of his intelligence. She idly watched Cream mutter in her sleep a bit, before it struck her that she should be attempting to arouse them! Tikal walked over to Amy, and shook her awake.

"What…urgh…"Amy groaned as she sat up. "Wow, how does Shadow keep gaining power? It's unnatural…Is Sonic okay?!" Tikal shook her head, amused at Amy's concern for their leader. Amy was always obsessing over Sonic. Actually, Sonic didn't seem to mind, making Tikal suspect that he liked Amy just as much. Tails and Cream were still a little too young for this kind of thing, but she was pretty sure that if they were a little older, they would be dating. Knuckles, well…He was a wild card. Tikal kinda got the feeling that Knuckles had a crush on her, and she was all right with that. What she wasn't all right with was the fact that the feelings she had for Knuckles were springing up for Shadow as well. Heck, she had yet to ever even speak to him! On top of that, the dude was evil! She shoved the thought out of her head for now, and concentrated on reviving the others. Knuckles groggily sat up.

"Ahhh…ow, ow, that doesn't feel good. Are you okay?" Tikal gave him a weary smile.

"As far as I can tell. How about you?" His grin vanished.

Mostly, fine; but my ankle hurts pretty badly. It feels…bad…" Tikal shot a worried glance at the six-year-old rabbit that was now at her side. Cream, ever the little nurse, bent down and examined Knuckles's ankle.

"A minor sprain," She announced in her high little voice. "But nothing that won't heal quickly. Just go easy on it." Knuckles nodded and carefully stood up, with a little of Tikal's assistance. Sonic hobbled over, leaning on Amy for support. He seemed a bit battered and bruised, but otherwise okay.

"He got away with the Emerald," Sonic stated. "But I found this," He held a golden ring in one hand. "And this." In his other was clenched an envelope, neatly addressed.

"'To Tikal'?" Knuckles read aloud. "Why would Shadow leave something for her? He's never even met her!"

"I don't know," Sonic muttered. "But the only way to find out is to have her open it." Tikal tentatively reached out and grasped the envelope. His handwriting was very neat, easily legible. She opened it, and a folded paper fluttered to the ground. As everyone else dived to pick it up first, she noticed the other small paper tucked inside. It said, "To Tikal; read this alone. ~Shadow" Feeling her cheeks burn, she hastily shoved the paper in her pocket.

"I've got it!" Sonic yelled from atop the dogpile, successfully brandishing the letter.

"Wonderful," Tikal muttered, taking it. As everyone watched, she unfolded the paper.

Author's Note: See, it was longer! =D This took surprisingly long to type…