I had flown until near daylight, only just remembering that the sun would kill me. I needed to find a place to hide from it, and seeing that I had been stupid enough to stray from the cliffs, I was in a vast farmland with rolling fields and only a few trees. Terrified, I noticed the only shelter possible was an old dilapidated barn. I dashed inside of it, it was very dark.

After exploring it a bit, I yawned and lay down, exhausted. The hay was warm, and I snuggled my face into it. It took me a moment to realize the sound, but I froze when I heard it. Someone else was in here with me!

I sat up, and a green-blue furred hedgehog stepped into view. He had piercings all over his face, his eyebrows, ears, quills, nose, and even a stud on his tongue. He was wearing a black biker jacket with gold buttons, with brown and grey sneakers. I knew him, I just hadn't seen him in so long. This was Omar, he was one of my friends, well, okay, a little more than just a normal friend. He had known Shadow longer than I had, and it was because of him that we had met. I wondered what he was doing in here, and why I hadn't seen him so long.

"Hey, Foxy. Long time no see, whattchya doing in here?" he asked, sitting next to me. Maybe he didn't see what I had become... "And why ya a vampire?" he asked casually, as if it were no big deal.

"I'm the one who should be asking you where you've been!!" I said, wondering if he was a vampire too. He leaned back in the pile of hay, relaxing with a smirk on his face. He almost always smirked at everyone, but it was only a ruse. He didn't really think he was better than everyone else, he just acted that way.

"No, ain't no vampire, Foxy, if dat's wattchya thinkin'. I'm a ninja, been doin' ninja trainin'. If ya ask me, I can kick Espio's tail, which I did da other day!" He laughed, and I smiled. He always made me smile in the end, with his views.

"It's nice to see you, Omar." He sat up and suddenly grew serious. "It has been a while, ya know, since I see ya last. I did miss ya." He put a hand to the side of my face and leaned closer, until our noses touched. I shivered for a moment, not with cold, but excitement. Moving even nearer, he put his other hand on my shoulder, and kissed me. It was soft, and I closed my eyes in pleasure. After a couple minutes of kissing me, he stopped, and leaned back.

"Anyway, how ya become a vampire, and ain't Shadow and de others doin' nothin' about it?" he said, as if nothing had happened. But when I looked into his eyes they sparkled, and I knew he was still thinking about it. I told him the whole story, all about the weird vampire bat, and how I had bit Shadow.

"I see. Well, ya gotta see it dis way. He knew da risks, but he still wanted it. He didn't want ya to die, and really dere was no other way. Ya got him help, but ya know, he's still ya friend. A ding like dat, ya can't just expect him to hate ya for losing control over somethin' dat powerful. He's probably awake by now, and trying to make Tails let him go look for ya." Again, Omar was right. I was glad that I found him here. I nodded and yawned, tired. He lay back down in the straw, looking at the barns ceiling. Now I had a question for him.

"Why are you in this barn?" He laughed, as if he had been waiting for me to ask. "I've been travelin' for a while, got tired and thought I should take a nap. A lovely barn is nice, warm and dark, perfect with hay." I yawned again. Omar was strange, having lived most of his life in a laboratory, a lab that had been owned by a mad scientist hedgehog who liked doing unimaginable things to even his own kind. But he was kind, Omar, now that the freak was dead. The mad creature had created Omar with strange capabilities, superspeed, extra dense fur, and the ability to master any language quickly.

"Didn't ya come in here to sleep?" He asked.

"Yeah." I muttered, and laid down in the straw about four feet away. It was warm, and I covered myself with it.

"I'll still be here when ya wake up." I heard my friend say, knowing that he was probably going to sleep as well, so that he could stay awake during the night to keep me company. I closed my eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

When I opened my eyes, it was dark, pitch black. I started to sit up, but immediately felt someone roughly knock me back down, and I felt strong fingers close around my neck like a vise. About to struggle, I stopped when I smelled the strong scent of garlic close to my face. It smelled rancid, making my stomach turn, and it was so powerful that I went limp, not realizing that it was intoxicating me. My head swimming, the person released me, and I fell back in the hay. I coughed and choked, the person bringing the garlic to my mouth. Poison... Omar...Where are you...?

"...Help..." I managed, as I tasted the sour root being forced onto my tongue... Everything seemed to disappear, but I suddenly felt the poison being pulled out of my mouth, and someone picking me up. Whoever it was pressed me to his chest and took off running, shouting behind him as he went. It took me moment, but then I realized it was Omar, my nose in his fluffed chest fur. He was carrying me. I could feel the effects of the garlic beginning to wear off.

He stopped running after a while, halting near an apartment building in a city. He put me down and eyed me worriedly. "Ya all right?" he asked. I glanced around for a moment, then nodded.

"I'm okay. What happened?" Omar shook his head sadly. "I shouldn't have been sleeping. Dat was Sonic, he must have found out from Tails dat ya were a vampire now. Blasted idiot nearly killed ya!" That was Sonic?! I...I... I sighed. Unlike Shadow, he had done what I had expected him to do, condemning me from the start. But Omar, he had... I looked at him.

"What?" He asked.

"You... You pulled the garlic from my mouth... You saved me...!"

"Well, yeah, what was I supposed to do, let him...!?" he stopped as I leapt at him, curling my arms around his neck and forcing my lips to his. He paused in shock for a moment, than embraced me back. I kissed him hard, with a fierce hunger, and he excepted it. I forgot for a moment that I had fangs and accidentally bit his lip. At the taste of his blood, I pulled away, my instincts surging. I hadn't fed, and my vampire body was still hungry, even after the night before. Why? Why did I have to be this way?! I turned away, tears coming to my eyes. But Omar pulled me back to face him, putting his hands on my waist and bringing me close. He put his arms behind my back and laid my head against his chest, so I could hear his heart beating. I sighed, he was trying to comfort me, trying wash the pain from me.

We went upstairs to his apartment, which he rented just in case he ever wanted to stay somewhere in the city. After we went in, he locked the door behind us, because Shadow, Tails, and Sonic all knew he had this place.

"Now, let's see if I can't find ya something dat'll satisfy dose vampire instincts of yaurs." He opened the phone book to look for something. After a couple minutes, he stopped and shut it. "Place downtown dats open late, grocery store or something with a meat department. I'll be back in a little bit, just don't open da door unless it's me." He said.

I nodded and sat on his living room couch, trembling. I knew why he didn't want me to go with him, because I would be a hazard to the people on the streets, but I was frightened to be alone. He bent down and touched his nose to mine, looking into my eyes.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can, just try not to worry." With that, he turned and left, locking the door behind him again. I quivered, and just sat there quietly. Truly my hunger was not as terrible as it had been yesterday, but it was still there. My ear flicked back as I heard a thump on the windowsill behind me. I whirled around, crouching behind the couch in fear. I relaxed a little, seeing it was Shadow, trying to open the window, but then tensed up again. What if Omar was wrong? What if he blamed me for his injuries and suffering that I had put him through?

"Open the window, Foxy!" I heard him mutter through the glass. I blinked at him, remembering Omar's words. He hadn't said make an exception for Shadow, he had said not to let anyone in, no matter who it was. "Open the window, darn you!!" I backed my ears and shook my head, lowering behind the sofa until only my eyes and the top of my head shown. Shadow's face was barely visible, and I couldn't read his expression with moonlight behind him, but he grabbed a piece of metal from the side of the window and began forcing it open.

What do I do? If I tried to leave through the front, Shadow would double back and catch me before I even got out of the building. The window jarred up an inch, enough for Shadow to get a grip under it. Wait... I was vampire... I could fly! He ripped the window off the sill, whether by accident or on purpose, I had no idea. I waited, and he swiftly stepped inside, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light difference. This was what I was waiting for. I surged forward, pushing past him and jumping into the night sky. My wings unfurled from my back, and I soared quickly away without looking back.

I landed in the middle of a deserted alleyway downtown. Omar couldn't be far, he had said it was some sort of store, I needed to find him before anyone else that I knew found me. I stepped out into the streets, feeling as if everyone was watching me, ready to pounce on me. A store, a store... a grocery store... Then, I saw a building, and saw Omar walking out of it with some bags in his hands. I rushed over to him, shaking all over in terror. My vampire instincts were paranoid, I shouldn't be out in the open, I should be out of sight, hiding!

"Foxy! What are ya...!?" again he stopped, but this time from the terrified look in my eyes. He took my arm with his free hand, back into the alleyway. "What happened?!" He asked again, more urgently.

"Shadow... He got in...!" I told him what took place, and he looked thoughtful for a moment.

"And you couldn't see his face?" I shook my head. "Well, he could be anywhere by now, but as long as I'm with ya don't worry about him. I won't let him do nothin' to ya, okay?" I nodded slowly, still a little afraid. "Good. I gotcha some stuff. I didn't know what ya could have so I guessed. But let's go back to my place."

"But...!" I started.

"Trust me, Foxy. I won't let anyone hurt ya." He said, taking my hand in his.
We went back, and sure enough, Shadow was gone. Omar gave me the bag and I felt my senses jump at the smell of the blood from the meat in it. Omar turned his back while I fed, and I knew he was repulsed. After I finished with it, he turned back around. I stared at the floor, ashamed. He got rid of the bag and came back in the room, and by then I had washed my mouth out with soap, trying to rid myself of the taste.

He sat on the couch with me but I didn't look at him. I made him sick, and he hadn't told me, he had just been acting like I hadn't bothered him. The tears came, and I cried silently, still staring at the floor. It was dark, maybe he wouldn't see, I hoped he wouldn't, it was just another thing to turn him away from me.

"Ya tired?" he asked. I nodded, and he went and got me a blanket. He got up to go to his room, but turned back to look at me for a moment. I put the blanket under me, I wasn't cold and for some reason didn't feel comfortable with it over me. Omar walked over to the window and closed the dark curtains as the sky became brighter, dawn approaching. Lying there, I closed my eyes and let myself cry again, making sure to keep it quiet though. Suddenly I felt Omar sit on the edge of the couch, close to me. I opened my eyes and was shocked to see tears in his own.

"Ya know I love ya, don't ya?" he whispered. I didn't answer right away, because I was suprised he was asking this. He leaned down, and started kissing me, softly, his hands on the side of my face. I put my arms around his neck and he leaned closer. I felt him lift his legs up, pulling himself onto the couch ontop of me, laying with me.

His kiss became stronger, more fierce, and he started to entwine himself around me. He didn't seem to care that my fangs were cutting his lips. I gasped as he nuzzled his face to my neck, his lips moving against my throat. Omar paused for a moment, and I could feel him trembling. He cared, cared for me so deeply. He loved me, he loved me much that he refused to abandon me. He was protecting me, taking care of me, regardless that I had become such a disgusting creature.

"I know." I whispered back. His chest swelled in relief, and he pressed his lips to mine again. I put my hands to his chest, clutching at the dense fur as he became more passionate.

"So, having fun making-out are we?" a voice said.

Omar shot up, quickly untangling himself from me. Shadow was standing about a yard away, his arms folded over his chest. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't look extremely angry either. Omar stood up and stepped protectively in front of me, ready to fight. "I'm not gonna stake her or nothing, Omar!" Shadow said, holding his hands up to show he didn't have anything with him. Omar's ear twitched but he still stayed in front of me.

"How'd ya get in without me hearin' ya?!" he asked. Shadow folded his arms again, now he looked annoyed.

"I never left, I've been in you're room the whole night, you just never went in there to check!" he turned to me as Omar relaxed a little, just a little. "I only wanted to talk to you earlier, why wouldn't you let me in?!" I looked away, he looked hurt and mad now.

"She couldn't see yaur face, how was she supposed to know what yaur intentions were? I told her not to let anyone in anyway, and dat included ya!"

"And why the heck would you tell her not to let me in?!"

"She's afraid of ya! Afraid of ya being mad about what she did to ya!!"

"I did that willingly, why should I be mad?! It was my own fault!!" They were yelling now, why did they have to yell? Shadow wasn't mad at me for before, but now he was. Omar was mad at Shadow for not thinking about my feelings and scaring me. Why couldn't they stop? Why? Why did they keep yelling? Now they were looking like they might actually fight, why?!

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop yelling!!" I cried, pulling my knees up and burying my face in my arms, sobbing.

They stopped, looking at me in suprise. I didn't look at them, I couldn't stand it, I just couldn't. I felt them both sit on the couch, on either side of me. I didn't look directly into their eyes, but I saw their expressions. Omar looked tired, exhausted from the long night. Shadow looked slightly abashed, and also a little ashamed of himself for getting so loud.

"Foxy, look at me. Please." I looked at the black hedgehog, and realized that he still had the marks from my biting him on his neck. He touched my hand. "I would never hurt you, we've gone through this before, you know we have." I closed my eyes again. He was right, we had, and the last situation had been worse, far worse. In fact, Shadow had nearly killed me. But he later, after it was all over, swore to never judge anyone so rashly again.

"You're like a sister to me, you can trust me. Think about it, would the professor want us to behave this way?" Again, he was right. We were both created by the same person, even if we were different species, and the professor would want us to count on each other, not fear each other. I looked at Omar, who was looking at me. He didn't mind Shadow treating me like this, he wasn't jealous, because even though Shadow and I were friends, he knew that it was him I loved. I yawned, so tired.

"She needs to sleep, and so do I, I've been up all night with her." Omar said, getting up. Shadow stood as well.

"Me too. I've been looking for her and haven't really slept." Omar began taking his piercings out, which he always did before going to sleep.

"I'll stay out here, I don't mind the floor. Sonic is looking for you, and..."

"We already know about that. He nearly poisoned her with garlic." Omar said. He looked so different without the jewelry on his face. He stuck his tongue out and took the gold stud out of it. Shadow looked unhappy for a moment, then shrugged.

"At least Tails is mad at him. The fox tried to convince him to leave you alone, but it didn't work." Omar went in his room and shut the door, and Shadow found a blanket and curled up on the floor. I laid back down on the couch, letting sleep take me now that I had two protectors watching over me.