A/N: This is my first Sonic X story…Kinda got hooked by Hulu, saw like 50 or so episodes in a row…Almost done with the entire series… :) So that one episode with Tikal…One of my favorites and I feel like Tikal and Knuckles would just make the cutest couple… :D

The clouded area around him cleared slowly, revealing the young echidna Tikal, standing alone at the top of the Master Emerald platform ruins. Knuckles stood at the base staring up absently, until he heard her scream.

"No!" Tikal shouted, falling to her knees at the base of the Emerald. Knuckles immediately fell into a run, soon joining her at the top of the platform.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, taking her hand to help her stand again. She looked flustered as she tried to answer.

"You must help! The Master Emerald is in danger! Someone wishes to use it for evil!" She whispered to the other echidna, tears filling her eyes.

"Who? Who wants to take the Emerald?" Knuckles shouted, noticing a strange glow coming from their left. He knew something was about to happen, and immediately tensed.

"I don't know. But I can feel it. The Emerald is trying to warn us!" Tikal replied, turning away from him to face the now blinding glow at their left. She knew it was coming.

"Don't worry, I'll protect the Emerald and you." Knuckles stated, stepping in front of her protectively as the glow continued to impossibly brighten still. Tikal just shook her head.

"It is too late for me, friend. I've never been truly alive for centuries. My only duty now is to help you protect the Emerald, as my soul is attached to it from the moment my family crossed it." Tikal said, placing her hand on Knuckles' shoulder. And she was gone again. The glow remained. Knuckles frowned. She was gone already, at least physically. He had to remember that. His thoughts were taken away from her when he heard a laugh echo through the glow to him. He recognized it instantly. Eggman was the one who wanted the Emerald.

"Back off Eggman! I won't let you touch the Master Emerald." Knuckles shouted, gritting his teeth together.

"I'm afraid there's no stopping this Knuckles," Eggman replied peacefully, just as the glow reached Knuckles at the base of the Emerald, temporarily blinding him.

"No, you can't take the Emerald!" Knuckles heard Tikal yell. She had come back to help him.

"Oh what's this? Another annoying echidna. Get your hands off my Emerald!" Eggman shouted back, followed by some shuffling and the sound of someone falling to the ground.

"Stop! The Emerald is not yours!" Tikal shouted again, but it was clear that she had lost the battle already. Finally Knuckles' vision cleared and he could see Tikal laying on the ground, and the Emerald nowhere in sight. Rushing over to her he realized she was crying.

"Don't worry I'll get the Emerald back." Knuckles said, kneeling down beside her.

"You don't understand. Both times I had to protect the Emerald I failed. My family were killed the first time and now that man could destroy the Earth." Tikal sighed dejectedly. Knuckles hated to see her this way. But her figure disappeared before he could reassure her again.

"It isn't your fault. I'm the one who failed the Emerald and you. But I will fix this." Knuckles thought to himself, looking back to the platform where the Master Emerald had stood. He knew he needed help. So he left Angel Island, to go find Sonic.

…

Finally Knuckles had arrived at the Thorndyke residence. This was the place to go if you wanted to see Sonic, or any of the others. Frantically he knocked at the door, and luckily for him Sonic was the one to answer.

"Hey Knuckles. What's up?" Sonic greeted casually, leaning against the wall.

"Eggman stole the Master Emerald. I need your help to get it back." Knuckles said quickly, gritting his teeth as he remembered Tikal blaming herself. He wasn't just getting it back as guardian of the Emerald, he was getting it back for her. A long time ago she gave her life protecting the Emerald from Chaos, and he didn't want that to be for nothing. He wasn't going to let Eggman destroy the only part of her that was left.

"Ok, I'll go tell Tails to get the X-Tornado ready." Sonic said enthusiastically. He was always up for a new adventure. A new thrill. Sonic ran into the large house, leaving Knuckles to wait at the doorway. Within the same minute Sonic came back, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go stop Eggman." Sonic told Knuckles, already shutting the front door behind him.

…

Knuckles had decided to ride along on the wing of the X-Tornado with Sonic while Tails flew. Amy had tagged along and now they were just searching for Eggman's Egg-Carrier.

"We have to hurry. Eggman could destroy the planet with the Master Emerald." Knuckles sighed impatiently.

"Don't worry, the Master Emerald is safe for now." He heard Tikal's voice to his side. When he turned she was there, and the plane was not. He was now sitting in the grass at the edge of the platform 'alter' to the Emerald.

"How do you know?" Knuckles asked her, already feeling reassured having her at his side.

"I can feel it. Can't you?" Tikal asked him, leaning over until her shoulder touched his. Everything seemed more peaceful than it should've been. But she was right. He could feel that the Emerald was fine for now.

"I will get the Emerald back. Sonic, Tails, and Amy are helping me." Knuckles told her. A small smile played across her lips but disappeared just as quickly.

"Something is wrong. You must hurry." Tikal said quickly, and Knuckles felt a sort of tugging in his heart. She was right, something bad was going to happen and soon. He realized he could no longer feel her arm and when he turned she was gone. Knuckles was back on the plane and no one had noticed his supposed leaving.

"I think that's it!" He heard Tails shout and sure enough he could see the Egg-Carrier ahead of him getting larger and larger as they approached. So far it seemed Eggman didn't notice them coming. But all Knuckles could think about now was Tikal. He knew she still thought this was all her fault. And he didn't know what could happen to her soul if Eggman attempted to use the Emerald's power for evil. Yet he still couldn't admit how much further his feelings went for her. Sonic's voice took him out of his thoughts.

"You ready for this Knuckles?" Sonic asked cockily. Knuckles let out a small chuckle.

"Knuckles never runs from a fight." He replied.

"Alright guys hang on tight! We're going down," Tails told them, as the plane began to descend. But it wasn't long before they could hear the evil laughter of Eggman. He was mocking them and taunting them.

"I'm not going to make it that easy!" Eggman shouted over the loud speaker. A siren blared across the Egg-Carrier and a crowd of robots marched out to meet the group.

"Knock that horrid plane out of the sky!" Eggman boomed, and the attack began. Missiles shot out at the X-Tornado that narrowly missed the rag-tag group. But little by little Tails was still getting closer to a landing.

"Tails I think I'm just gonna get off this flight early. I've got some business to take care of. How about you, Knuckles?" Sonic said casually, standing up on the wing poised for the jump. Knuckles nodded and they both leaped off the Tornado, landing square of the deck of the Egg-Carrier.

"Let's do this." Knuckles shouted to Sonic and together they quickly destroyed the robots, making way for Tails and Amy to land. Just as the X-Tornado landed, more laughter echoed across the deck.

"Oh this isn't over friends. See I have the Master Emerald. First I'll use it to destroy you, then I'll use it to take over the world! MWAHAHAHA!" Eggman shouted. Knuckles and Sonic tensed while Amy got out her hammer.

"I won't let anyone hurt my Sonic!" Amy yelled, barring her teeth. Sonic noticeably softened for a moment before regaining his posture. Staying inside the X-Tornado Tails took off again, in order to help his friends from the sky. All was silent for a few minutes on the deck, only adding to the ominous vibe Eggman had given off. The fight began when two large doors in the Carrier opened to reveal a humongous metal robot, glistening in the afternoon Sun as it stepped out onto the deck.

"I call this robot, the Egg-Scrutiatingly-Painful-Robot. Pun intended. The best part is that it runs solely off Master Emerald energy. It's unbeatable." Eggman explained happily. Knuckles glared coldly at it.

"You won't get away with this Eggman!" He shouted. The only reply given was laughter.

"Oh but I will…Robot ATTACK!" Eggman yelled, and the robot started its trudge forward at the heroes. Knuckles ran up to it and began to punch while Sonic zoomed at it and Amy wacked her hammer into it. Sadly, not a dent was made. And in fact Knuckles injured a spike on his glove by punching. The on land struggle continued and Tails began to shoot at it from the air. Still nothing worked.

"The Emerald is above the monster, in its head. If you can take out the Emerald you can destroy the monster." Tikal's voice came from Knuckles mind. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't know how he would do it.

"Sonic!" Knuckles yelled, and his friend stopped in his tracks narrowly avoiding the giant robots fist.

"What?" Sonic asked him, running in circles in an attempt to distract it.

"The Master Emerald is in the robots head. We need to get up there and take it out!" He shouted back, already beginning to climb up the robot with his spikes.

"Alright! You get the Emerald and Amy, Tails, and I will distract the robot!" Sonic decided, already taunting the robot.

"Haha! You'll never catch me!" Sonic said gaining the robots attention as promised.

"Look over here!" Amy shouted in unison from another side, effectively confusing the robot. Tails began to pelt the giant with an array of bullets, stopping only when Knuckles came into the line of fire. The battle felt endless and for a while it felt like Knuckles would never get to the Emerald. But he did. And just as Tails ran out of bullets.

"Argh!" Knuckles growled, struggling to get the cover over the Emerald's compartment. But he realized he wasn't the only one pulling the metal away. Tikal's hand was just a few inches from his and her eyes shone with determination to help.

"We can do this together." Tikal whispered, still focused on the metal. Knuckles gave a small smile and together they finally opened up the panel revealing the Master Emerald. It shone much brighter than it ever had and when Knuckles' hand touched it, the transformation began. A light exploded from the robot sending his friends to the ground. And Hyper Knuckles arose from the glow, completely transformed by the Emerald's immense power. With one swift punch the robot was knocked to the ground, the Emerald landing safely on the deck. But it wasn't over yet. The robot got up and began throwing punches left and right, unable to catch Hyper Knuckles. Another five punches and that was it. The robot exploded and shrapnel littered the entire deck. Everyone was ok, but something was noticeably different.

"No! NOOOOOOO!" Eggman shouted over the intercom. A now normal Knuckles ran over to the Emerald to find Tikal's unconscious figure leaning against it. Kneeling by her side he tried to wake her. He couldn't understand how she was really there. This seemed different from the past when her spirit was there for him. His friends joined him just as she opened her eyes.

"Are you ok Tikal?" Knuckles asked her. Her expression was a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"The Emerald. What has the Emerald done?!" She spoke anxiously, starting to shiver.

"Wait, Knuckles I think she's really here. She's really alive." Sonic said slowly piecing together everything that had happened on the deck only a few moments before.

"How can she be alive, she was from an ancient clan. Only her soul remains remember?" Knuckles told him, unable to except the facts just yet. Tails put a hand on Knuckles' shoulder.

"The Emerald must've revived her when you became Hyper Knuckles. A lot of energy was released." Tails explained, and Knuckles remained speechless. She was alive.

"The Emerald has saved my life. You all helped to free me." Tikal spoke up, grabbing Knuckles' hand and encasing him in a hug. It was obvious among the group that Knuckles was blushing.

"This is such a romantic moment," Amy mentioned casually, Sonic taking a step away from her. But the sweet moment didn't last long. The small robot named Bukkun that flew toward them reminded them all that they were risking their lives by staying on the Egg-Carrier.

"Message from Eggman!" Bukkun screeched, placing a TV in front of Tikal facing the others.

"You may have won this time, but I will get the Master Emerald back. Trust that you'll be seeing me again! MWAHAHA!" Eggman finished, Bukkun shutting off the TV after.

"Do not worry, now that I am alive again I can truly help Knuckles guard the Master Emerald. It was my job thousands of years ago but I failed. I will use my second chance to redeem myself." Tikal declared, finally standing up. As if on cue, the group began to walk back to the X-Tornado ready to leave.

"Where will Tikal sit?" Amy asked in general.

"It is fine friend. I will sit on the wing along with Sonic and Knuckles." Tikal replied, climbing up already.

"Are you sure? You just came back, maybe you and Amy could switch seats?" Sonic asked, which gained him a cold glare from Amy.

"I'll be fine. I'm sure Knuckles would keep me from falling," Tikal said casually, making Knuckles blush slightly again. Sonic gave a small nod and jumped aboard the wing, Knuckles following suit.

"Ok guys, hold on tight. The Master Emerald could make for a bumpy ride to Angel Island." Tails said, and they were off.

…

Knuckles and Tikal had been dropped off at Angel Island, the Master Emerald was back in its rightful place at last.

"I'll take the first watch, you need rest." Knuckles said decidedly, both of them sitting on the top step of the 'alter'. He had to admit she looked beautiful in the moon light, the visions of her past never really did her justice in that sense. Tikal nodded in disagreement.

"Please, let me take first watch. I owe the Emerald so much," She told him, averting her eyes in shame. Wanting her to feel better, Knuckles agreed walking down the steps and laying down on the final one. He decided to lay on his back, so that he could watch over Tikal without making her feel uncomfortable. He could only just make out what she was saying to herself above.

"You have done so much for me, and for that I thank you." She told the Emerald. It wasn't all that strange. The Master Emerald was almost as alive as either of the two echidnas watching it. For a while he lay awake thinking about whether she liked him as he did her. He wouldn't admit it to his friends, but he did care for her much more than he'd let on. And finally he fell asleep.

…

When Knuckles woke up he almost forgot completely that Tikal was there. It wasn't until he walked up and found her sleeping against the Emerald that he remembered. He left her to watch the entire night, and he felt horrible. Gently he lifted her and brought her down the steps to where she could lay down without the potential for a fall. Then he walked back up and sat down to watch the Emerald. It was only a few minutes before she woke up again. She walked up slowly, still looking a bit tired.

"How is the Emerald?" Tikal asked, sitting beside Knuckles on the stone.

"Its fine," Knuckles said, putting up his tough façade. He still felt bad about leaving her to watch on her own without rest. After a few minutes of silence, Tikal spoke up.

"Thank you. You saved the Emerald, and to be honest…I don't know what could've happened to me if the Emerald was drained of its power. You gave me a second chance at life, and for that I will be forever grateful Knuckles." She said, giving him a smile.

"I-I really didn't do much," Knuckles said slowly, and for the first time in his life he was nervous. Instead of an answer she just pulled him into a hug. Hugging her back he realized he could spend the day that way, in Tikal's soft arms. He did love her. Ages had separated them before, but now they had all the time in the world to figure this out.

A/N: Tell me what you think!