Augh, I promised myself this would be up by Tuesday. Well, after a bit of rushing (don't worry! it's till a good chater!), TA DA! New chapter, hot off the presses!

This chapter is for all you fangirls out there. Without you, some characters would have no lives.

Disclaimer: All other characters other than Sohie, Ali, and Sarah belong to SEGA. My other shoe is named Floppy.

Sarah's POV

I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I did. All I know is that one moment, I'm being harassed at my game, and the next I'm in my apartment, which is miles from there. The moment we got there, I noticed two other girls had somehow followed me.

One of them was wearing the same black team uniform as I was. I reconized her as Ali, the one person on my team who was nice to me. She is also kind of new to basketball too, so we always try to practice together.

The other I did not know. I knew from her gold uniform that she was on the other team, but I saw her walking in talking with Ali, so she probably knows her.

Ali faced me. "Sarah," She asked, "Might I ask if you have any idea of what just happened?" she was using that icily calm voice people use to hide emotion and show it clearly at the same time.

"I swear, I have no idea!" I cried out. "Don't think I'm some sort of freak or something, because I swear, I have no idea what's going on!"

The other girl exchanged glances with Ali. She pulled her to the side for a moment and started whispering. I only caught a little bit of it.

"...Shadow."

"What about shadows? Can't you guys just be honest with me?" I spoke sharply, not letting myself sound too upset. I had a feeling these two knew more about what had just happened than they were letting on.

"Sarah," The girl the gold uniform siad. "Could you do that again? I need you to bring us to my house. I know someone who knows a little more about what's going on."

"I'm not your taxi," I replied. "And I told you before, I don't know what I did. I don't think I can do it again."

"Hang on," she said, and reached into a small black bag. Soon, she had pulled out a gleeming green jewel.

"Woah," I exclaimed. "What is that?"

"A chaos emerald. Hold this, please." She handed the sparkling emerald to me. "My name's Sophie, by the way."

I took the emerald. A strange wave of energy rushed over me as I grasped it in my hand.

The next thing was just pure instinct. Ali and Sophie grasped my arms.

"Say 'Chaos Control'," Ali told me.

"Okay... CHAOS CONTROL!"

How I knew how to get to Sophie's house, I'll never know. But next thing you know, BOOM! We're in her yard. I looked at her house and began to go for the door when I noticed why the two weren't coming. There was a teenage boy lying in the road with the two standing over him, each with a look of concern. He had black hair, and was wearing a black and red sweatshirt and dark jeans. He was out cold.

"Is he okay?" I asked, coming to join them.

Sophie took his pulse. "He's alive, I'll give you that."

"Let's take him inside," Ali stated

We walked in the door to see a girl playing Sonic Heroes on PS2.

"Hey, Sophie and Ali, who are your friends?" The girl asked.

"Amy, Sarah," Ali introduced. "Sarah, Amy."

Amy looked at the boy in our arms. "And...?"

"We don't know," I stated for the two. "We found him on the side of the road."

"Where's..." Sophie began

Amy looked at her, her expression hostile. "He's gone for a walk." she looked back to her game.

"What's with her?" I asked.

"She's mad because she thinks Sophie stole her boyfriend," Ali snickered. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"Let's get him to a bed," I said quickly, trying to avoid an argument.

About an Hour Later

"Sarah, you've been sitting in that room for an hour! Do you ever take breaks?"

"Well, I just want to know he's okay!"

"Well, I'm going to go find..." Sophie paused, as if she had forgotten the person's name. "...Nick. Yeah, Nick."

I looked at her funny as she walked out the door. I still didn't think she was being as honest with me as she could have been.

I stood over the unconscious boy, alone in the room, Ali being in the restroom. I leaned down to look at him closer, and he chose that moment to open his eyes.

His eyes...

His eyes are what suprised me. They were a deep shade of red. Not red like bloodshot eyes or pinkeye. His irises were a deep crimson. But what happened next surprised me even more.

He stared at me. "...Maria?" he asked.

I stepped back. "...w-what? Maria?"

He looked into my eyes. "Maria, don't leave me again. Don't leave..." he closed his eyes again.

I rushed to his side. Ali walked in the door, soon followed by Amy, Sophie, and who I assumed was Nick.

"What happened?" Ali asked.

"I... I'm not sure. He called me Maria and said something like 'Don't leave me again' and fell asleep again..." I paused, my confusion and sorrow for him turn to anger towards the group in front of me.

"One of you better tell me what's going on!"

Nick's eyes widened as I spoke. Amy's jaw hit the floor. Sophie looked in dismay at Nick.

"Is that?" Sophie asked.

"I'm afraid so," Nick replied. Amy stared at the him.

"...Shadow?"

Man, I just love Cliffhangers! What did you think? I'd like to mention Storm337, for her creepy prediction of everything I had planned out for this chapter. Review and you get a block of cheese... on a stick!