Me: Everyone cheer! I've decided to stop waiting for a week and just update whenever I have something! And you can blame my quick update on my wonderful feedback! Oooooh, I MISSED you guys! Thank you SO much! This has been a BLAST! Enjoy!

Shari blinked sleepily as the waking world called her back into existence. It was a strange feeling, waking up after being in Sonic's head. Her mind told her she'd never fallen asleep, but her body was heavy and comfortable, as though she'd just woken up.

In some ways, she was starting to miss her mind shutting down. It was nice to take a break from life and just relax. However, another larger part of her really enjoyed sharing minds with her childhood hero, especially after the talk she'd had with him earlier.

A demented giggle interrupted her thoughts, and Shari looked down to see Tayla twitching with glee, a huge smile on her face as she dreamed. Shari grinned. Poor Shadow.

She watched her thrilled friend for a moment longer, then glanced out the window. It had been barely three hours since she'd fallen asleep, and she was sure she'd be suffering from a form of jetlag in the morning, but she just wasn't tired anymore. She'd already gotten plenty of sleep.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to do at this late at night, and she didn't want to wake anyone up…Wait a minute. Shari cocked her head, listening. She took it back. It sounded like someone was already awake. At this hour? Shari shrugged absentmindedly. Tails probably just hadn't gotten to sleep yet.

In the meantime, she was getting hungry. It seemed like ages since her last meal. In fact, she hadn't eaten since the Hawaiian pizza Marco had forced Amy to buy for him.

Shari stood up slowly and stretched before taking off down the stairs. She tiptoed down the hallway, past Sonic's door. From what she gathered, rescuing Tayla was like trying to herd children through a candy store. Exhausting. The last thing she wanted to do was wake him up.

As she got closer to the kitchen, Shari was surprised to hear conversation. Tayla and Sonic were both asleep, so who else was here? Did Amy stay late? What time was it anyways?

Shari finally reached the living room door and creaked it open. Oh. Wow. The fan girl inside of her did cartwheels at the sight that greeted her eyes.

Shadow the hedgehog was standing not two feet away from her, scowling with his arms folded. She'd played the video games. She'd watched the shows. She'd read the fan fiction. There was absolutely no comparison.

The first word that came to her mind was creepy. It made sense with his dark ebony fur and the vibrant crimson streaks that ran through it. At first glance, one could easily mistake him as a nightmare come to life. His eyes were positively terrifying. They were twin pools of blood, currently lit up with anger that chilled her to the bone. The golden cuffs on his wrists and ankles were blatant reminders of the tremendous power he possessed, and she suddenly remembered how quick he was to use this power if things didn't go his way.

Of course, this was only her first impression. While his presence was intimidating, to say the least, he seemed to be more annoyed than angry, and Shari immediately guessed his reason. Tayla. He also happened to have those adorable catlike ears atop his head and a fluffy white patch of fur on his chest.

Just like a cat. Her fan girl side squealed and she was suddenly filled with the overwhelming urge to poke him.

Shari closed her eyes and took a deep breath, composing herself before she did something reeeeelly stupid. Then she peeked back in. Tails was sitting back at a stool on the kitchen counter. His slouched posture was so incredibly teenager, but his expression was drawn and serious as he regarded the hedgehog before him.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Would I come here if I wasn't?"

From behind the door, Shari took a moment to quell her inner fangirl. Again, there was no comparison. His deep, velvety voice was indescribably wonderful. It was chilling, alluring, and demanded respect. The voice seemed more appropriate coming from a fairytale prince, not a genetic experiment gone wrong.

Tails nodded thoughtfully. "Point taken." He stood and started heading toward the door to his lab. "Come on. At this point, I'm not sure how much I can do. I'm going to need to run some tests first."

Shadow nodded his agreement, and started to follow. Curious, Shari chose this time to make herself known. She stepped fully into the room and made her way toward the kitchen. "Hey, Tails!" she called.

The aforementioned fox paused and poked his head back through the doorway, forcing an aggravated Shadow to back up a step. "Shari?" he asked, surprised. "What are you doing up so late."

Shari opened the fridge as she felt Shadow's fiery gaze fall upon her, sizing her up. "I'm starving," she admitted. "Totally missed dinner. What's going on?" she asked, finally looking at Shadow with an eyebrow raised, pretending she wasn't totally nervous under his scrutinizing gaze. "Who is this?" Of course, she already knew, but she wasn't supposed to, so she figured it was safer to let the fox tell her now instead accidentally calling him by name later on.

"Oh!" Tails seemed to suddenly remember his manners. "Right. Shari, this is Shadow. Shadow, this is Shari. She's staying with us for a few days until we can get her home."

Shadow was still staring at her. "She's a human," he observed.

Shari's annoyance won over her fear. "No, I'm a chimpanzee," she retorted sarcastically. "Seriously, what is with it with you guys? Everyone one I meet! Human this and human that. What, have you never seen a human before?" Shadow's eyes flared slightly, and Shari suddenly remembered who she was talking to. Oh yeah. The last human he knew was Maria. Woops. She really needed to start thinking before she ranted.

Tails spoke quickly, trying to dissipate the sudden tension in the atmosphere. "To answer your question, we think someone implanted something in Shadow's head."

Shari's eyes widened. "Seriously? Why?"

"Someone's been reading his mind."

Tayla, Shari thought immediately. Oh, shoot. What now? She panicked slightly as Tails and Shadow began to disappear into the workshop. She had no idea what kind of tests Tails planned on running. What if he accidentally hurt Tayla?

"Wait, hold it!" she cried. Her mind went blank as Shadow glared back at her, annoyed at the interruption. What was she supposed to say? "It's not an implant," she blurted.

Shadow's eyes narrowed all the more. Now he looked plain ferocious. "Do you know something about this?" he demanded.

From the garage, Tails poked his head out, looking incredulous. "Then what is it?" he asked.

Shari took a deep, calming breath, disaster momentarily averted. "It is a very long story." She swallowed as Tails walked back into the living room, looking suspicious. She was going to need some backup with this one. "'Scuse me a sec," she mumbled, and turned to retreat into the hallway, intent on finding Sonic.

"Hold it," Shadow ordered her.

Shari froze and shivered as his eyes bore into her back. "Hmmmm?"

"My intruder seems to recognize you."

The sentence was completely accusing and demanded an explanation. Shari turned around and tried to look innocent. "Why don't you tell Tails the name of your intruder?" she suggested.

Shadow's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but Tails was no longer looking at her. He peered at the dark hedgehog inquisitively. Shadow's eyes flickered in the foxed direction. "She claims her name is Tyla." His eyes immediately clenched shut at the lecture Tayla was undoubtedly giving him. Meanwhile, Tails eyes had widened considerably.

Shari used the momentary distraction to escape further inquiries. She took off down the hall and pounded on Sonic's door. "Sonic! Requesting backup! Wakey, wakey!"

She heard a groan from the other side of the door. "…Shari?"

"Up!" Shari demanded.

"…Why? It's.." He yawned. "Late. Look, just 'cause you don't need any sleep.."

"Sonic, they know."

"..Wha..?"

"Tails. And Shadow. I'm being tried for treason out here."

"Wait…Shadow? Why…" Another yawn. "..What…?"

"Would you just get out here?"

"Ermph..," Sonic mumbled incoherently, and Shari heard a thump as he fell out of bed. "Ow."

"You're really not a morning person, are you?"

Sonic groaned. "Define 'morning'," he mumbled grumpily. "…Where are…shoes…?"

"They're right by your bed," Shari told him, growing impatient. "Where you neatly placed them three hours ago. Seriously, Sonic?"

There was some more incoherent mumbling and another thunk as the sleepy hedgehog fell into the wall. Finally, the door opened.

"Oh my," Shari giggled at his appearance. "You look like a homeless man."

"It's two in the mornin'," Sonic pointed out moodily as Shari carefully ran her fingers through his rumpled quills in an attempt to make him look presentable. "Everyone looks homeless at two in the mornin'."

"Not Shadow."

"Shadow's flippin' nocturnal," Sonic grumbled. "Doesn't sleep. What's he doin' here anyway? 'Specially at this ungodly hour."

"Scowling at me," Shari complained, straitening his lopsided ear. "If he does it again I'm going to go into cardiac arrest. Or try to kill him. I'm not sure which is safer."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Tayla was giddy with excitement. This was the coolest dream ever! She'd seen Tails and even Shari! It was just like it was real! Shadow even called her Tyla.

'Seriously, what's WRONG with you people? Tayla! Tay. La. It's NOT that hard!'

'Alright, already!' Shadow thundered, beyond peeved. This girl had been chattering nonstop in his head since he got here. When she wasn't singing the Itsy-Bitsy Spider, she was rambling about windows and ceiling paint and 'fluffies'. Shadow could barely hear himself think.

Tayla tutted reproachfully. 'So rude! And rude to Shari too! Don't be a meanie, Shadsy.'

Shadow groaned, pinching his eyebrows. Tails looked over at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"No," he growled. "If I have to spend one more minute with this little heathen, I'll-"

'Hey! Bad Shadow! No calling bad names!'

'Shut up.'

'Nuh-uh-uh. That's mean too. No more being mean or I'll set my man-eating poodlezilla on you. She's evil.'

'So am I.'

'Nuh-uh! Not like my dog. She eats tables. And sand. That is just weird.'

Shadow grit his teeth. This girl was chipping away at his sanity. 'I'm not weird.'

'Oh yeah? How do YOU know? Weirdness is a matter of opinion.'

'In your opinion.'

'People say I'm weird. It's a compliment! Cause weird people are interesting!'

'Fascinating.'

Tails sighed. "Well, if that's Tanya, it makes perfect sense."

'TAYLA! It's TAYLA! Come ON, people! GIMME A BREAK! Oooooo! Look! They have mushrooms! Eat one!

It took a moment for Shadow to realize she was suddenly talking to him. 'What? No!'

'What, you don't like mushrooms?'

Shadow frowned. 'I hate them.'

'BLASPHEMY! I LOVE mushrooms! And onions! And cheese-its! You haven't LIVED till you've had cheese-its! Shari only eats white-cheddar ones. Cheese-it racism, I tell you.'

Thankfully, Shari returned before Shadow was forced to debate cheese-it racism. She towed a sleepy Sonic behind her. He looked none too happy, but was slowly growing more alert, especially since seeing Shadow. The two rivals locked eyes and, after a moment, gave a respectful nod.

'Oh! HI SONIC! He's my friend. Say 'hi' Shadsy.'

Shadow ignored her, knowing full well Sonic wouldn't be up without reason.

"Well?" Sonic demanded, sounding cheerful and looking the opposite. "What'cha doin' here, Shads?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes at the nickname, but said nothing, letting others speak for him.

Shari folded her arms, looking much more sure of herself beside the hero. "He says someone's reading his mind. Thinks it's an implant or something." Sonic's eyes widened as she continued. "Tails was going to run some tests, but I wasn't sure what effect they would have."

Meanwhile, the intruder was miraculously quiet. A miracle.

"But, Shari," Sonic protested, "How do you know? You're kind of an anomaly. We can't just start assuming that every-"

"I know, I know," Shari interrupted. "But Tayla described a rather interesting dream to me last night…"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "No. You mean Tayla…?"

For the first time since meeting her, Shari grinned. She nodded.

Sonic bit his lip, trying to hold back an obvious smile. "What did she say?"

Shari shrugged. "Basically? She was inside the head of a 'cool-voiced evil guy'."

Sonic snorted, unable to help himself. His shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. "Oh, gosh. Tayla? And Shadow?" He grinned at Shadow. "I pity you, Shads."

Tails frowned and crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "Would one of you mind telling me what the heck is going on?"

Shari and Sonic looked at each other. "Oh, no you don't!" Shari stated, backing towards the door. "You tell them! I'm done with death-eyes here." She pointed to Shadow who raised an eyebrow.

'Death-eyes?'

'Yeah!' the girl suddenly piped up. 'Cause you keep glaring at her!'

'If she has anything to do with my recent conversations with you, she deserves it.'

"I'm going to wake up Tayla," Shari continued. "And put Shadow out of his misery."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Tayla!" Shari called as she thundered up the stairs. "Wake up!"

She hear her friend groan. "Wazzah?"

Shari opened the door to see Tayla propped on her elbows, her eyes half-lidded. "Get up, Tayla," she ordered, reaching down to help her up. "I've got something to show you."

Tayla's bright green eyes were already clearing. "Shari! Oh, you'll never believe the dream I just had! You were in it!"

"I know," Shari admitted absentmindedly, dragging Tayla toward the door, not wanting to miss anything. "It wasn't a dream, Tayla. It was real."

Her friend looked at her strangely. "Real? Nu-uh! It was while I was sleeping and it was a dream. A weird dream with sand-eating poodlezilla and cheese-it racism and mushroom blasphemy."

Shari grinned. "I wish I could've heard that conversation. But seriously, it's real. The same thing happens to me. You fall asleep in this body and wake up in someone else's"

Tayla frowned, studying Shari's expression. She was serious. Tayla gasped. "Oh, wow! Really!" she cried, proving that she either trusted her friend completely or that she was incredibly stupid. "That is so freaking awesome! Hey, who do you wake up in?"

Shari grinned. "Sonic."

"Seriously!"

Her friends enthusiasm was contagious. "I know! Isn't this amazing!"

Tayla let out an almighty squeal, then froze rigidly. "….Shadow's here. In this house. The real Shadow." She took off down the stairs, nearly vaulting off the wall in her haste. Shari scrambled after her. She would not be missing this.

Me: Shadow may have been, and might be, a tad OOC, but give the guy a break. Anyone acts differently after spending three hours with Tayla.

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