Chapter 1 - Tikaos, no title

I've been granted one wish. I can wish for anything I want. Anything. "Riches, power.... Anything..." The emeralds chant.

A long time ago, that's exactly what I would have wished for. Power. To be the most powerful living thing alive, to rule over everything I laid my eyes upon..

But not now. Now, there's only one thing on my mind:

You.

You, my only friend. The one soul who treats me like an equal.

I am a hideous monster. Yet somehow, you make me feel...beautiful. Like I have a purpose for being here. The way you talk to me, the way you always smile at me, the way you're always being so kind to me. I've done so many awful, terrible things in the past, yet you somehow manage to forgive me.

I love you. I will do anything for you. After you've done so much for me, I've done so little in return. I feel wonderful when you talk to me, yet I can never say anything back. The most I can ever let out is an awful sounding growl. I want so bad to smile back at you, to show how happy I am around you, yet my face is fixed into a permanent glare.

All I can do is help take care of the chao, yet I can barely do that. My hands are nothing but cold slime. I can hardly hold or pet the chao, let alone feed them or play with them.

I want to talk to you.

I want to laugh and smile with you.

I want to be as good of a friend to you as you always were to me.


Looking up at the emeralds, I know what to wish for. I don't need to say anything. As soon as I think of my wish, the emeralds spin, faster and faster. I feel myself getting dizzy...

...I've never felt dizzy before...Soon, everything is dark.



When I wake up later, I know something's different right away. I can feel the ground. I can...feel myself. It sounds strange, but I've never had any feeling before. Next thing I notice is that...I'm breathing. This is completely new to me as well. I get up off the floor and look around. Everything feels different. I look down at my body...

I no longer have any tentacles! I have bright blue hands and feet! I spot a puddle of water in the grass and run over to it. In my reflection, I no longer see that terrible, hideous monster. I am now an echidna. My fur is bright blue like my skin used to be, and my face...I have a face! Over a huge grin, two brilliant, green eyes glow brightly. Over whelmed, I sit down. I simply stare at my reflection, growing accustomed to my new self. I'm no longer ugly. In fact, I'm quite handsome now.

Then, I hear your voice. You're calling to the chao to come get their breakfast. Immediately, I jump up. I can't wait to show you my new self. I run over to the entrance of the shrine. Since you're facing in the opposite direction, calling to the chao, you don't see me. I call out your name, "Tikal!" And I'm shocked. I have my own voice. You turn around in shock.

"What?! Who are you? How do you know me?!" You ask. You don't recognize me, you think I'm an intruder, but I don't mind. In fact, I'm glad I look so much different now.

"Don't worry, Tikal." I say. "It's me!" I stop at the base of the steps to the shrine, not wanting to scare you too much. "It's me." I say again.

You slowly walk down to me. Your eyes grow wide. "What? How..Is..." You walk up to me and gently put a hand on my face. "Chaos, is that you?!"

I grin even wider and put my hands on your shoulders, elated to finally feel you. "Yes Tikal, it's me! Isn't this great? I'm not a monster anymore. I'm no longer a freak, I'm just like you-"

You shove me away. I'm.... I’m stunned, needless to say. Your face...you look terrified of me. You have no idea how much it hurts for you to look at me that way.

"Chaos, what's happened to you?" You ask. "How did you change into...into THIS?!"

Not knowing what to think, I explain everything that happened. The emeralds, the wish, how I wanted to be your friend..

This wasn't supposed to happen. I thought you would be happy for me. But instead, you're furious. You start shouting. You say I was never a freak. You thought I was beautiful just the way I was. I shouldn't have fallen to the emeralds, you say.

Before you say anything else, I begin to yell back. I'm furious. I did this for her, I say. I thought she’d feel better if there was someone more like her around, I wanted to be a good friend. How can you not appreciate that? How?!

I don't wait for an answer. I run off into the thick jungle. I run and run and run. Soon, I'm too tired to go any further. I stop and sit down on a collapsed tree. I think I'm lost. I face the ground, and bury my face in my hands. No matter how hard I try to force it out, I see your face in my mind. I can still hear you yelling at me. Your words echo in my mind. Normally, the tree would block out the sun, but I know it's nighttime anyways. Before, I wouldn't have known, but now...I can't explain it, but I can sense it. Did this come with being an actual creature?

My head is still in my hands when you come. I don't hear you, but I know you are coming. I didn't look up at you, even when you kneel down and place a hand on my shoulder. I'm afraid of seeing your face; I don't want to see you angry or upset.

"Chaos, I'm sorry for everything I said earlier. It was cruel of me to yell like that." I raise my head and look at you. You seem calm, and even forgiving. But I don't say anything.

"I understand you thought that being just like me would make you a better friend, but you were already a great friend. I loved you just the way you were."

"But Tikal, I wanted to talk to you, I wanted to feel you, laugh with you-"

I stop in mid-sentence when I see tears in your eyes. Oh, no, I didn't want to hurt you.

"Tikal, I'm sorry, I-" You silence me by putting a finger over my mouth. Sobbing, you throw your arms around me. Not sure what to do, I put up my arms around you as well.

In tears, you tell me that you're upset because I succumbed to my weakness. The emeralds may protect the planet and keep out island floating, but they're not even close to pure. They give you what you desire, but take something from you as well. For example, if you wish for power, you'll be unable to control it. While you're enjoying your power the emeralds slowly eat you up from the inside until you die. In my case, just he opposite's happened. In tears, you look up at me. Because I've changed my body so much, I'm completely dependent on the emerald's power. In tears, you look up at me and tell me I can never leave this island, otherwise I'll wither and die.

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Now I sit at the steps of the emerald shrine. I've been here for years. I can never leave. You come and sit next to me. You can leave any time you want, but you stay anyways. You say that you stay with me because you care. You'd never be able to live without the chao or me; we've become a part of you.

To be honest, I think I prefer this quiet life as well. I've got you, and monster or not, that's all I need.

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