Kharis blushed heavily as she crawled into bed that night. Queen Aleena, called as such once Kharis learned she truly was royalty despite the mobian woman's request of jus 'Aleena', had made a light dinner that night for everyone and wouldn't let Kharis do a thing because of her head wound.

It turned out she had a few scratches and a multitude of bruises from her fall as well, so Sonia helped her get bandaged up. Bad part was, after her bath and getting bandaged- with Manic blindfolded in the living room of her little two bedroom room apartment- Sonia had set out her sleep ware and undergarments for the night.

Kharis fidgeted in the silken nightgown; with its spaghetti straps, low sweeping back that only reached her mid thigh. It was a pretty dark green color with a multitude of black lace going up and down the center, sides and back and along the low sweeping neckline that rested just inches above her bust. It would have been really pretty on her, and it was even one of her favorites, but the image was ruined by the multitude of bandages on her body. Her face flushed even darker still as she thought of Shadow, he would see her like this!

She clutched her prayer/meditation stone close to her chest, deciding to sleep with it that night. When she had shown it to her new friends, they freaked out and called it a 'Chaos Emerald',...whatever that was. She was a bit worried by their reactions, and worried still even more that they might try to take it from her, so she kept it close. It's warm and familiar presence helped soothe her, and she almost swore that it was pulsing energy into her even though she wasn't meditating...

*Dream scape, Shadow's .*

I waited for her arrival as usual, though there wasn't much else to do otherwise. With her visits I had begun to form distinctions about the passage of time, in which I had no previous way to measure. I had gotten...accustomed to the human woman a little, and she earned a bit of respect when she took the initiative to get to know me instead of continuing to run whenever we met.

She reminded me a little of my dear Maria, and I wondered if Maria would have turned out like that woman if she had been able to grow up on that blue planet she always watched. They were nothing alike physically, but in the strange woman I could see the warmth and compassion that Maria had carried herself.

We had talked for hours...well...we talked after I stopped trying to obliterate her very being from existence. Kharis..eh? It fit her, despite her strange insistence that it didn't.

I never met many humans before other than those on the Ark, but even I knew she had a strangely low self-confidence. I did like her smile though...after we talked properly for the first few hours after she told me her name, I found out how expressive she was. As my mind continued to ponder on the enigma that was Kharis, the woman herself appeared in the usual way, a slow fade in as if she was emerging from a cloud of mist.

My brain froze.

My heart skipped, before stuttering into a rapid rhythm.

Instead of her usual sleepwear that covered her body completely and obscured her form, she was in...far, far less. Her legs were bare all the way to her thighs, as well as her arms and ...oh sweet chaos that really was just to little fabric that was just to thin...!

My face stayed stoic though as my blood began to boil for another reason. She had...bandages on parts of her body, the most notably on her head. "What happened?" I asked, my voice dangerously calm though I mentally winced as she did physically.

*Third Person P.O.V -Kharis' Viewpoint*

Kharis flinched back, tugging weakly at the bottom of her short nightgown. She just knew she should have changed it to something more appropriate! But she had been so tired and light-headed from the day's events that she just hadn't been able to, opting for bed sooner rather than later.

She laughed awkwardly. "I wasn't paying attention earlier today when I was playing with the children, so I took a..rather comical crash course down the side of the hill...don't worry! The trees at the bottom helped me stop!" She said, giving him a weak grin and a thumbs up. He face palmed in front of her, and motioned for her to sit which she did awkwardly while he refolded his arms.

"And what's with your...apparel?" He asked, slowly as if to recollect himself. Kharis sighed again, and began to recount the events of the day to him. He had seemed pretty shocked when she began telling him about the other hedgehogs that she had met, and were now living with. He thought he was the only one like him...and he told her as such.

"They explained that they were from a planet called Mobius...perhaps your not as alone as you thought?" She asked kindly as he looked away, contemplating. "I'm still alone, Kharis...because if what you ...if what they say is true, then they were born that way." At her confused expression he sighed bitterly, anger lacing every syllable as he growled. "I was artificially created."

Kharis was stunned, and she swore her heart had frozen with her. He was...created? He wasn't born and raised, but created...like in a lab? That..explained a lot actually. Mindful of those deadly looking quills, she gently tugged him down so he was sitting next to her so she could wrap her arms around and hug him. He was warm, and his fur was so soft despite his body being so tense. "WHAT ARE YO-!?" He started, but was interrupted when Kharis spoke, clutching him tighter to her body with his head on her shoulder. "Your...your not alone. I'm not sure how this connection was made. Not sure on why either, but it was. I won't let you be alone though, no one deserves that no matter how they came into existence. So...even if everyone in the world denies you...I'll accept you, I'll stay with you as long as I am able...so...please don't...say such sad things anymore...ok?" She begged, feeling tears begin to run down her face and onto his fur.

Shadow didn't say anything, shocked by her words...her promise. He could feel the wetness of tears seeping into his fur, and he awkwardly placed his own arms around her as well. No one had ever hugged him before...no one but Maria.

"I'm...a weapon...the Ultimate Lifeform...do you really wish for one such as I as an ally..after what I tried to do to you?.." He muttered quietly in her hold. "Your Shadow the Hedgehog, and I don't want you as my ally." She said honestly, pushing him away so she could look directly into his eyes that flashed in angered betrayal and smiled brightly and warmly to him. "I want you to be my friend." She continued, and those hurt ruby gems he had as eyes changed into ones of shock and...if he would honestly admit it...hesitant joy.

What neither of them noticed though was the Chaos Emerald glowing faintly behind them, left discarded and forgotten in the white space. Back in reality, Kharis' body was glowing the same color as the powerful gem still loosely clutched in her limp grasp, and the small glowing light that was emerging from her chest and taking form. If the gem she had was a Chaos Emerald, then the one that had emerged from her body was undoubtedly a Diamond Heart.

Sonia sighed as she crawled into the full sized bed in the guest room, next to her mother and brother. " Do you think if...we could save her...?" She asked quietly in a voice full of despair. "My darlings...it's not if we could save her...it's that we must. We need to." Queen Aleena replied as she rubbed her children's heads affectionately to try and reassure them. "We will break this tragic cycle. This time, we will not allow Kharis to die."