There was a flash of light; Twyla shot up in bed. She could hear something… They sounded like… Whispers. She strained her ears.

"What just happened, Shadow?"

"I don't know. Shut up faker, let me figure this out."

I'm gonna stand up; It feels cramped in here."

BANG!

"OW!"

"I said, SHUT UP."

"I hit my head!"

"Then don't get up!"

"Wait, I see an opening!"

Twyla held her breath and waited. Soon, a strange blue creature poked its head up from the side of her bed. It shot back down almost immediately.

"What's the matter?"

"There's a girl up there! I think we woke her up."

"Hmm… Wait a while; she might go back to sleep."

There was silence. Then, more silence. Twyla sighed. She thought that after the last one appeared, they would have gotten the message by now. Apparently not. She slid off the bed, landed lightly on the floor, and padded across the wooden floorboards to the door. She stopped at Susan's bedroom, and knocked.

"Come in."

Susan had been reading quietly in front of the fireplace when the door opened to reveal Twyla, fidgeting with her cotton nightgown.

"Twyla?"

"They're back Susan."

"What, again? It's only been a week, they must be suicidal. Which monster is it this time?"

"Dunno Susan. It's a new one. I think there are two. One of them's blue."

Susan laid her book on her lap. "Small? Smelly? Spiky red hair?"

"No Miss Susan." Twyla continued. "Spiky, but no red hair."

It can't be the Feegles then, Susan thought to herself. "Alright then," She sighed. "Let's go teach them a lesson."

She picked up a poker that had been lounging lazily by the fireplace. Twyla beamed and followed Susan to her room. She lit the oil lantern, causing Gawain to sit up groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Woss' goin on?" He slurred.

Susan held her index finger to her lips. "Ssshhh…" Soon, the whispers started up again.

"Shadow?"

"I said SHUT UP faker."

Twyla suppressed a giggle.

"But, Shadow; everything's gone quiet."

Shadow looked up from his meditative trance and listened intently.

"Hmm… So it has…"

Sonic was looking worried. "Should we go investigate?"

"…No. Something tells me that this isn't a good kind of quiet."

"But Shadow, I think - "

Sonic never got to say what he thought, because at that moment he was yanked forcefully from under the bed and held up in the light's glare.

"Ouch! Hey, what the-?"

"Be quiet!"

Sonic looked up into the venomous expression of Susan Sto-Helit. He struggled and thrashed, trying desperately to get free; but the woman had an iron grip, and she was holding him by the scruff of his neck, at arms length.

"Hey, what's the big idea, Lady? Let me go!"

"I told you to be quiet! Where's your friend? Come out at once!" Susan barked. Shadow slunk out from under the bed.

"Look, Lady; we don't –"

"No talking. Go stand by the chimney."

"I – "

THWACK!

Twyla and Gawain snorted.

"OW! What was THAT for?" Shadow yelled, rubbing vigorously the spot where the poker had made contact with his head.

"I said, go stand by the chimney!"

Shadow stood by the chimney. Sonic, who, up until then had been hanging there, open-mouthed, was flung across the room. He landed on his backside, next to Shadow. He sprung up.

"What the HELL, lady?"

"Don't you dare talk back to me, do you understand? Don't you dare."

Sonic eyed the poker fearfully. The sight of Susan holding a long stick in battle-stance was enough to make anyone shut up.

"How dare you," Susan continued, a menacing glint in her eye. "How dare you sneak into a young girl's room and hide under her bed. How dare you attempt to scare these small children like that! The cowardice!

"I think there's been a –" Shadow began.

"I'm not finished!" Susan snapped. "Did you consider that you might have frightened these children? They could have been traumatized!"

"Whack him with the poker again!" Twyla urged, clapping. Sonic looked sideways at her.

"They don't look traumatized…" He said doubtfully.

"That is irrelevant!" Susan hissed. "They could have been traumatized! And yet, you waltz in here, like it is your own territory! This is their home! This is their ground! And, you think that you are the ones with the upper hand?"

It was Shadow's turn to eyeball the poker. "Definitely not." He muttered.

"Can I talk?" Sonic asked. "We didn't mean to come here. We're trying to get back home, but we can't find the thing that brought us here."

"I'm going to regret this," Susan said warily. " But… What is it?"

"It's like, uh, a big jewel." Shadow spoke up. "Pink. Glowing." He made vague gestures with his hands.

Susan sighed. "You have three minutes to find it."

"Why not five?" Sonic asked indignantly. Susan shot him a glare.

"Why not two?"

"Never mind!" He amended hurriedly. The two spiky creatures scrabbled around the floor in search of their gem. Eventually, they found it, under Gawain's foot. Shadow held it up to the light.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" He smirked; obviously assuming that Susan would be entranced by the gem.

Susan peered at it. "It's horrible." She said decidedly. Shadow's face fell.

"What? Why?"

"It's a hideous colour, it's glowing bright enough to give me a headache, and it's unnecessarily ostentatious.

"I bet you're a bundle of laughs." Sonic muttered.

Susan's face went pale, her birthmark became instantly pronounced, and her eye glowed bright blue.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA. She smirked, and gripped the poker. BUT YOU COULD STAY LONG ENOUGH TO FIND OUT…

"See ya!" Sonic shrieked. Shadow went pale and grasped the emerald.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" He yelled, about a beat faster and an octave higher than he originally intended. There was a bright flash of light, which blew the lantern out, and they were gone.

Susan relaxed her stance instantly, but glanced under the bed, just to make sure. She then ushered Twyla into bed and tucked them both in.

"I'm going to leave the poker here, just in case." She told them. Gawain pouted.

"I wanted to see you hit them again." He said, indulgently. Susan sighed.

"Got to sleep children." She urged. She kissed them both on the forehead and walked out of the room. "Goodnight…"

Meanwhile, Shadow and Sonic landed lightly on the soft, grassy lands of Mobius. Stars lit their view. Sonic glanced at Shadow warily.

"…Shadow?"

Shadow glared at Sonic. "Not a word of this to anyone, do you understand faker?" he hissed.

"But-"

"Not a WORD!"

With that, Shadow stalked off into the darkness.