A new video game store had opened up in town, and our author, Alexneushoorn was there to check it out. Needless to say, the store had certainly lived up to the word that people had been spreading about it. There were video games, video game consoles, and video game accessories as far as the eye could see.
As Alexneushoorn was browsing the section for new games, he came across something interesting; A game labeled "Tikal the Echidna". Based on the title and the back of the box, it was a solo game for Tikal the Echidna from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Being a huge Sonic fan, Alexneushoorn decided to buy it. Heading home with his new game, he dug out his Playstation 4, hooked it up to the TV and inserted the disc into the console.
The game started out fairly normal, with a cinematic intro and the main menu. However, as soon as the author started a new game, the game started to glitch out, not unlike a Vinesauce corruption would. Wondering what was going on, Alexneushoorn moved closer to his PS4 to see if anything was off before being knocked backward by a sudden flash of light.
As Alexneushoorn lied on the floor in a daze, he suddenly began to feel strange. His body became covered in a gray colored skin while his torso and the lower half of his face became covered in a white colored skin. His shirt began evaporating away from his torso, leaving it bared and exposed as a golden necklace materialized around his neck. His pants began to turn into a tribal skirt that stopped around his knees while his shoes turned into white tribal sandals. A bright white light appeared over his hands as white gloves with sock like cuffs formed over them. His cheeks expanded, pushing out into a muzzle as a horn formed where his nose would be. His eyes grew larger and turned blue as another white horn grew out of his forehead. His ears moved to the top of his head and grew out slightly as a golden headband materialized around his head and his transformation completed.
Beginning to wake up from his shock, Alexneushoorn groaned as the TV began to glow again until the entire room was encompassed in a bright light. When the author came to his senses again, he found himself in a stone room, lying on a bed. He rose to his feet and walked to a nearby mirror, nearly screaming when he saw the reflection of a Mobian rhinoceros staring back at him. He wasn't sure what was going on, or if he was dreaming, when his panic was interrupted by Tikal the Echidna herself entering the room.
"Ah, Alexneushoorn! I see you're awake!" Tikal beamed as the newly turned rhinoceros proceeded to turn towards the orange echidna princess. His mind started to cloud for a moment before he proceeded to smile at her.
"Hello, Tikal. Sorry about that. Did you need me for anything?" Alexneushoorn asked Tikal as he walked over to her, holding her right hand with his left hand.
"Not really. I just wanted to check up on you and see if you were awake. And now that you're awake, would you like to go take a walk through the parks of our territory together?" Tikal asked Alexneushoorn with a smile as she held the rhinoceros' hand gently.
"Of course I would, Tikal. Anything for you." Alexneushoorn smiled as the rhinoceros-echidna duo proceeded to leave the building and walk out into the territory of the Knuckles Clan.