Phantom Girls
It's Over!: Episode 1
Tikal was back at the girls' apartment and resting in Rouge's bed. A day had gone by since the Phantom Girls' recent battle against the evil Tyra. But with the Crystal Fire taken from Tikal, Tyra had made her quick get away leaving the girls stumped as to where to find their adversary. Their echidna friend was waited on by the girls as they served her meals and did whatever they could to make Tikal comfortable. It was towards the evening when Tikal was ready to tell the story of the Crystal Fire, so she gathered her friends in Rouge's room.
"First of all I would like to thank each of you for your kind hospitality." Tikal began.
Amy and Cream graciously accepted the compliment but Rouge showed very little enthusiasm towards the echidna. Tikal frowned upon the bats behavior.
"Rouge, please don't be upset over the loss. Tyra may have taken the Crystal Fire but we can still obtain it. Knowing her, she won't leave until she's proved herself a worthy fighter against her opponent."
Although the echidna meant good intentions in her message, Rouge felt no different and sighed heavily.
"It's not that Tikal." she began. "I should've protected you knowing that you're not a good fighter. I just got too wrapped up in trying to defeat Tyra."
"Speak no more on the subject." Tikal waved her hand on the matter. "What's done is done. For now, just listen to the history of the Crystal Fire."
The girls gave Tikal their full attention and were ready to hear what she had to say.
"Long ago an evil force had threatened the existence of the small but powerful echidna civilization. The leader of the force had created the Crystal Fire, providing him with tremendous strength and the ability to use many fire attacks. It is said that in order to make the Crystal Fire, the leader took fire in its purest form, put a spell upon it, and encased it in glass to keep the flame burning. Of course, only descendants of the Evil Force are able to access its power…"
"You mean that Tyra is…?" Amy asked in shock.
Tikal nodded her head solemnly.
"Yes, Tyra is a descendant of the evil force. She is known as the 'fighter descendant' of the Evil Force. I, myself, am the 'healer descendant' of the echidna civilization. Knuckles would be the 'fighter descendant' for the echidnas, but the 'healer descendant' for the evil force died years ago. Anyways, back to the subject at hand. The Crystal Fire can only be accessed by descendants of the Evil Force and if Tyra were to use the Crystal Fire… I can't even imagine the results."
Tikal lowered her head shaking it at the unbearable thought of what Tyra was capable of doing with the Crystal Fire. Rouge gave a gentle pat on her shoulder to reassure the echidna that things would turn out right. As leader of the Phantom Girls, Rouge felt obligated to set things right for her new friend after Tyra had taken the Crystal Fire from Tikal. The echidna kindly accepted the gesture and continued on with her story.
"Because the Crystal Fire can only be used by those of the Evil Force, the echidna civilization created our own crystal to counteract the Fire. It was the Crystal Water and it held the same strength as that of the Crystal Fire. But in the final battle that wiped out almost both groups, the Crystal Water was destroyed in its last attack. So now we echidna's have only our skills to battle against the Evil Force descendants."
The tale was intriguing and explained a lot about the feud between Tikal and Tyra. Rouge understood the importance of the Crystal Fire and was beginning to brainstorm an idea of how the girls would get it back the next time they met with Tyra. Cream could barely comprehend the seriousness of the situation besides the fact that Tyra was evil and stole something from Tikal. That was enough to strengthen the young child's spirit of participating in the adventure and doing whatever she and Cheese could do to help Tikal. Amy, on the other hand, had all the heart and good-will that convinced her to help Tikal. However, she still wondered why the echidna had the Crystal Fire within her in the first place.
"I understand why the Crystal Fire is so important and how powerful it is." Amy began to say. "But if it can only be used by the evil force then why was it inside of you?"
"Oh! I guess I should've explained that." Tikal replied feeling embarrassed over leaving out such information. "Well the orb was meant for use by the evil force, but healers from both groups can act as carriers of both the Crystal Water and Fire. It does require them to use some energy in order to carry the orbs, but it keeps the orbs out of the wrong hands since healers are not adequate fighters."
With her question answered, Amy finally felt satisfied with all the information she needed. Then, out of her kind nature, Amy offered to get another light snack for Tikal or even a cup of tea. The echidna declined politely but was touched by Amy's caring acts that contradicted her brash fighting. Soon Amy, Cream, and Tikal struck up a lively conversation that had nothing to do with the Crystal Fire or Tyra. While the girls talked, Rouge took the opportunity to quit the room quietly and work on a strategy that would get the Crystal Fire back from Tyra and hopefully defeat the feline as well.
"You're going down Tyra." Rouge spoke in a low tone. "Our next battle will bring all of this to an end."