Phantom Girls

Payback!: Episode 3

Rouge had finally returned home later that morning and had brought Tikal with her as well. Amy, Cream, and Cheese were at the kitchen table finishing up their breakfast when Rouge and Tikal entered.

"Hey Rouge! Uh… who's that girl with you?" Amy's eyes had cautiously wandered over to Tikal.

The timid echidna stepped forward and bowed to the younger girls.

"My name is Tikal." she announced in her small voice. "Rouge and I agreed that I would help you three defeat Tyra."

"Hey! You're the one who called the other day." Amy exclaimed.

"Yes. I would've said more but Tyra was chasing me down at the time. She knew that I would try to help you three in defeating her."

"Alright, that's enough of the greetings and formalities!" Rouge shouted abruptly interrupting the conversation. "We need to get down to work and get serious."

"Miss Rouge?" Cream asked. "This isn't going to be hard is it?"

Unable to answer, Rouge stared blankly at Cream and then at Tikal who was ready to give an explanation. The echidna kneeled down to Cream's level and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I can't promise you that training will be easy… but I won't go too hard on you Cream. You and your chao friend should just do your best for that's all that counts."

 Cream and Cheese smiled happily and together they both jumped into Tikal's arms hugging her. After the sentimental moment, the girls had gathered around Tikal and were ready to go. Suddenly in a bright flash Rouge, Amy, Cream and Cheese were out in the fields where Tikal had waited for Rouge. The echidna was now sitting on top of a rock swinging her legs gently.

"Ok girls, before we actually get to any fighting you have to learn how to clear your minds first." Tikal said to her friends.

"Clear our minds? What for?" Amy was scratching her head confused a bit.

"You can fight very well, but your fighting skills are useless unless you learn how to utilize them and synchronize yourself while in battle."

The message had clearly gone way over Amy and Cream for the two younger girls had blank looks on their faces. Rouge sighed heavily and made things clearer for them.

"Basically what Tikal said was that the less we have on our minds, the more we can concentrate on fighting better."

Finally the two understood completely and Tikal just snickered under her breath. Soon Tikal began to explain to the three that they would spend many hours outside training and preparing for their next battle. Tyra was probably doing the same as well, so the girls had no time to waste in building up their skills. They meditated for some time before moving on to different exercises that strengthened their muscles and improved their speed. Rouge still had some difficulty in flying but that didn't stop Tikal from pushing her. Amy and Cream, on the other hand, learned various evasion techniques since they weren't as strong as Rouge.

Hours later the girls were tired out and ready to go home, but Tikal still wanted them to practice battling some more.

"Aw come on Tikal," Amy whined. "We're tired and hungry…"

"And we wanna go home." Cream added.

The young echidna didn't want to stop the session yet but Rouge intervened agreeing with her friends.

"I'm worn out myself Tikal." Rouge said sitting up in the grass. "I feel my back regaining some strength but can we at least call it a day for now?"

"Very well." Tikal sighed. "All of my anxiety about defeating Tyra must be overshadowing my judgment at the moment."

A cheerful yell came from Cream and Amy as they jumped to their feet. Rouge was able to give a smile as well as she slowly stood up. Tikal joined the group and in a flash they were back home in their cozy apartment. While Rouge went off to her bedroom to get some rest, Amy volunteered to make dinner for them but Tikal chose not to stay.

"Where are you going?" Cream asked the echidna as she walked away.

"I need to keep a look out for Tyra. She could attack at any time and if she does I'll be able to reach you quickly." Tikal explained.

"Why not stay with us for dinner? You look like you need to relax for a while."

Cheese agreed with Cream shouting cheerfully. The echidna was at a loss for words. She knew she needed rest from worrying so much about Tyra… but she never took the time to give herself a break. Day in and day out she would travel all over searching for traces of Tyra, and now that Tikal has finally found her target it made sense for her to finally get some rest. She was no longer alone in her battle anyways and trusted that her new friends would be there to help her immediately. With a shrug of her shoulders, Tikal decided to stay for dinner and followed Cream and Cheese into the kitchen. Tonight our heroines will rest easy, for who knows what tomorrow will bring…