Hello, hello! I have something new and a bit different from what I usually write!

This is the first thing I've written so far that has nothing to do with Criminal Minds. For me, that's huge!

I've decided to write a one-shot for my two other obsessions: Sonic the Hedgehog and Gravity Falls. In a way, this is like my other one-shot "The Dentist Appointment" since it's a brief crossover that stars a really serious guy and quirky girl. But it's a different storyline with different characters. I hope you like it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise or Gravity Falls. If I did, then I'd do a guest voice role in a Sonic game as 'that one robot' and in a Gravity Falls episode as 'that one townsperson' XD

Warnings: mild language (you can thank Shadow for that)

Additional warning: the following may not be suitable for people who are weak to the power of Mabel XD

Damn it all! Where am I?

Shadow the Hedgehog quit running and stopped to survey his surroundings, finding them to be unfamiliar. He was lost.

He had gone out for a run and had lost track of time…and location.

Shadow looked around at the dark, somewhat eerie trees. He folded his arms and scowled. Well this sure as hell isn't Station Square anymore. Where have I ended up?

Unable to answer those questions, Shadow started gliding through the forest, attempting to maneuver his way out. The trees around him seemed menacingly and appeared determined to keep him trapped forever. However, Shadow wasn't afraid. After all, nothing can scare the Ultimate Lifeform.

As Shadow was skating through the labyrinth of trees, he thought about how he had gotten here. It was obviously an accident—he certainly had no plans on coming here…wherever here was. All he wanted to do was to go for a run, to let go of his annoyance at Sonic this morning.

Jumping onto a branch and halting himself for a moment, Shadow scowled. It's the faker's fault I'm lost. If he would've just left me alone, then I'd probably be in the Mystic Ruins or something. Not stuck in God knows where.

Earlier that day, Shadow had been lounging about at Emerald Coast, merely appreciating the sunlight and solitude. He didn't feel like doing any of the beach-goer activities—they all seemed pointless and trivial.

Shadow had been watching a game of volleyball between some teenagers with disinterest when a cheerful, familiar, and highly annoying voice called out, "Hey Shads! What's up?!"

The dark hedgehog groaned as Sonic the Hedgehog screeched up to him, obviously stopping from a run. "Whatcha doing here by your lonesome?" Shadow groaned and immediately grew irked by the other's unwanted presence.

As expected, it went all downhill from there.

The faker thought it would be fun to annoy Shadow by any and all means necessary. He endlessly chattered to Shadow about pointless topics, attempting to get him in conversation. When that didn't work, he started bugging Shadow about him hanging out by himself, teasingly calling him a 'creepy loner' with 'only his own shadow to keep him company'.

Shadow wasn't amused when Sonic laughed at his own joke.

He had tried to walk away from the faker, hoping he'll take the hint. He didn't. Instead, Sonic had followed him and kept pestering Shadow about wanting to race. In any other circumstances, Shadow would have been more than happy to beat the faker in a race and prove that he is the better copy.

But not today.

Shadow wanted nothing more than to be alone and Sonic was making things just so difficult. So he did what he thought was best: the Ultimate Lifeform ran from Sonic.

He had literally left Sonic while the blue hedgehog was still talking about…who knows what. Shadow hated himself for resorting to a cowardly move, but he felt that it was well worth it. He ran for a couple of hours, not once feeling worn out. Soon enough he was far away from the faker, yet he didn't stop running until he was sure his head cleared and that his migraine went away.

And that's how he ended up in this dark forest.

Shadow frowned, jumped off the tree, and started gliding again. Once he figured out where he was, he could accurately guess how to get back to Station Square. If that didn't work, then he could always teleport home. A simple mission and the black-furred hedgehog was ready to carry it out.

After a few minutes of skating, Shadow finally reached a road that led to a small, remote town.

The Ultimate Lifeform raised an eyebrow at the run-down state of the area and the ordinarily strange people that cheerfully roamed about. None of them seemed overly concerned about a walking black hedgehog with red stripes in his pointed quills—however some of them looked nervously at him if his blood-red eyes happened to pass them.

Shadow walked within the town, taking in the sights without much interest. The town seemed dusty and even somewhat abandoned. Some shops were kept in poor shape and some were even closed. Shadow passed a diner where within he saw a bunch of burly human men eating pancakes while a waitress with a lazy eye served them, only to afterwards walk over to a machine holding pies and begin to hit the top of it. What a dump.

He soon reached a sign that said 'Gravity Falls'. Gravity Falls? That's the name of this place? Shadow raised an eyebrow. In a way, I guess that's the best they can come up with for such a sad place.

Before he could continue walking, Shadow was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He viciously turned around, ready to fight whoever was trying to attack him.

The man instantly flinched back and exclaimed, "Whoa, calm down there little fella! I'm not gonna hurt you! I just need a word." Shadow narrowed his eyes at him, assessing the human in front of him; he was an overweight black man with a grey mustache and he was wearing shades and an officer uniform with a 'forest trooper' type hat. Next to him was a funny-looking thin man with big ears, eyes, and teeth. He was wearing the same uniform and he looked dim-witted.

The first man looked seriously at Shadow and gravelly said, "Sorry sonny, but I need you to come with us. You've broken the law." Then he and his companion proceeded to grab his arms, each holding one, and they began to drag him off.

Almost instantly Shadow yanked his arms away and growled, "I've done nothing! How dare you accuse me of committing a crime! I just got here, what could I have possibly done?!"

The officers re-grabbed him and the chubby officer said, "Oh you've done something big…something really bad."

The thin man nodded. "Yessir you have! Tell him, Sheriff Blubs."

"With pleasure, Deputy Durland." The Sheriff looked at Shadow in the eye, completely oblivious to the burning fire of mounting rage within them. "You have done something unspeakable; it's a crime that…you haven't gone to the grand opening of the Gravity Falls zoo!" Then Sheriff Blubs broke out in a grin while his partner whooped with joy, smiling largely.

The urge to snap both of the humans' necks vanished and was replaced with puzzlement. They…want me to…go to a zoo? Shadow was so confused and taken aback that he didn't realize that the officers were walking him along, both of them talking and laughing with one another.

Soon they ended up at a cruddy-looking sign that said 'Gravity Falls Zoo' and behind it was a huge, dirty area with many smiling people walking around. There were several cages or fenced off smaller areas with animals put on display for the onlookers to feed or watch. There was confetti and balloons scattered about and venders were serving hotdogs and other foods—some were even for the animals. To top it all off, there was a ginormous, rusty fountain in the middle of the zoo that was gushing semi-dirty water. People, mainly children, strolled by it and tossed some loose change into it to make wishes.

It was the crappiest zoo Shadow has ever seen.

He looked at the officers incredulously as they ushered him in the heart of the zoo. They led him over to an area that claimed to have a unicorn (which really was only a horse with shaved ice cone taped to its head) and they set him in front of the fence.

"Gravity Falls has never had a zoo before so we're proud to have one now!" Sheriff Blubs grinned at Shadow as he and Deputy Durland released the hedgehog.

The funny-looking deputy suddenly squealed with delight and grabbed Sheriff Blubs by the arm, "Oooh look over there! There's some monkeys! I love monkeys, they're so cute! Let's go see 'em, Sheriff! I wanna feed one a banana!" Then without waiting for a confirmation, he dragged Sheriff Blubs over to the monkeys while the older man just chuckled and went along without complaint.

Leaving Shadow alone in front of the 'unicorn'.

It took a moment for Shadow to wrap his head around what just happened before his irritation took a firm hold. Those officers dragged me here…SO THAT I CAN WASTE MY TIME AT A CHEAP ZOO!

Growling to himself in frustration, Shadow ran a hand through his face. I ran off so that I wouldn't be annoyed by the faker and instead I'm annoyed by a couple of simpletons in a crappy little town!

Shadow groaned with ire. I almost prefer the faker!

He took a moment to calm down and to ease his new, oncoming migraine. Well no matter. I refuse to stay here another minute! I'm out of here!

The midnight hedgehog turned around and prepared to run when a small figure suddenly popped up in front of him, startling him.

"Wow, oh my gosh! You are like the coolest thing I've ever seen! Are you one of animals on display?!" Shadow blinked in confusion, barely catching up to the fact that in front of him stood a little girl. She was wearing a light blue sweater with a white flower on it, a short purple skirt, and a headband that held her long, wavy brown hair.

The child grinned at him, her mouth shiny with silver braces. "You must be since you're obviously not human! What are you?! No wait, don't tell me! Let me guess!" She then furrowed her brow, deep in thought. Her eyes eventually lit up. "Oh I know…you're a panther, right? But wait you have red in your hair so must be a mixed breed with…a lion! Lions have red manes! I should know—I've seen the movies!"

The girl puffed out her chest proudly as Shadow finally gathered himself and scowled. "I am not a panther or a lion! I'm a hedgehog!" Annoying twit!

The girl's eyes widened and she loudly exclaimed, "Whoa, no way! You can talk! That's awesome! A talking hedgehog! Huh…I guess I should've known that you're a hedgehog. Hedgehogs do have spines." She brightly grinned at Shadow who frowned down at her.

Who does this kid think she is?

Shadow was ready to sidestep the girl when she spoke up again: "So can you talk because you have magic powers? Are you magical?! Do you grant wishes?! Oh, I bet you do! Can you grant my wish?! I wish that I had a giant, human-size hamster ball! Oh and I wish that my pet pig Waddles could talk! Hmmm…what else?" She thought for a moment. "I wish that my brother Dipper had a flaming sword that'll make him look tougher and help impress Wendy! Oh but don't make it too hot 'cause he'll probably burn himself. And I wish that my Grunkle Stan-"

"I'm not magical and I don't grant wishes!" Shadow interrupted with heavy annoyance. "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform! I am immortal! Now leave me alone, kid! I don't have time for your childish fantasies!"

Not exactly put off by his ire, the girl frowned slightly. "You're not magical? Well that's a bummer." Then her eyes widened again. "Wait, you're the Ultimate Lifeform! That's awesome! I always thought the Ultimate Lifeform was Josh Hutcherson! Wow," her eyes bulged out in awe as she lowered her voice in wonder, "things have never been so clear to me before! My mind has been blown!"

…What?

She smiled at Shadow. "It's so awesome to be in the presence of an immortal hedgehog! I'm Mabel! What's your name, Mr. Hedgehog?" She suddenly giggled. "Oops, I mean Mr. Ultimate Lifeform! Do you have a title for that? Do people call you, your majesty or something?"

Shadow couldn't tell if this girl was mocking his title or if she was just that ignorant. "No, I'm called Shadow! Now leave me alone!" Shadow stepped around Mabel and started to stalk off.

Obnoxious little child! Does everyone have to annoy me today?! Can't I get a break?!

Amidst his irritation, Shadow noticed the plucky little girl, Mabel, following him, rushing after him. "Wait! Mr. Shadow…your majesty…uh, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform…whatever your name is! Wait up! Hold on a sec!"

He halted and then she stopped right beside him. "What do you want?"

Mabel pouted and said, "Well Mr. Grumpy Pants, I just wanted to return this to you." She held out her hand which contained the green chaos emerald he usually carried with him.

Shadow's crimson eyes widened with shock as Mabel continued, "This fell out of your pocket and now I'm returning it to you. Wait…do you have pockets? I mean you can't since you're naked! How did you hold this before?!"

"Give me that!" Shadow snatched the emerald out of her hand and shoved it in his pocket.

Mabel sharply gasped as her orbs dilated with shock. "Waaaagh! How did you do that?! You have no pockets! That's impossible! Where did that jewel go?!"

I'm a walking talking hedgehog and yet you think that having no pockets is impossible?

Shadow raised an eyebrow at Mabel, his confusion over the girl's overdramatic demeanor dominating over his indignation. "That is none of your business." He paused before muttering, "But ummm…thank you for returning it. I doubt most children would." And honestly, he actually did feel genuinely grateful towards the girl; he figured that anyone else would've taken the chaos emerald and ran off.

Like a certain female bat he knew…

Seeming happy with his expression of gratitude, Mabel grinned at him. "Ah you're welcome. That's just me being a good citizen. And despite my age and super-awesome sweater, I can be serious and mature like an adult. I mean, I've solved a major conspiracy before! I found the 8 ½ president, you know!" She smiled proudly.

8 ½ president? I didn't know humans could have half a president.

Shadow must've looked confused because Mabel continued: "I may be 12 but I'm not lying, that has happened! If you ask my twin brother Dipper, he'll tell you all about it! Oh look, he's right over there with Soos! Dipper! Dipper! Come here!" Mabel started waving at someone behind Shadow.

The hedgehog looked behind him and followed her gaze. Mabel was looking a small boy with brown hair, a blue and white cap with a blue pine tree on it, a blue vest to match, a red t-shirt, grey shorts, and sneakers. Next to him was an older, overweight man wearing a dark bluish-green shirt with a question mark on it, shorts, and a cap. The man had buck teeth and stubble on his round chin.

The two humans were standing over a fenced display that held prairie dogs. The bigger man was holding a peanut butter sandwich, obviously brought from home, and tearing small pieces to toss to the animals. The boy, Dipper (what kind of a name is 'Dipper'?) was chuckling with amusement as he watched the prairie dogs gobble up the sandwich bits.

Mabel kept trying to call over her brother Dipper, but he seemed too preoccupied with the older man, Soos (that's even weirder than Dipper), to hear her. After a moment, Mabel gave up with an exasperated sigh. "Oh, he and Soos are still trying to test their theory. They wanted to see if prairie dogs make the same noise as real dogs do when they eat peanut butter. You know that one sound they make…like this." To demonstrate, Mabel starting smacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth to create a strange noise, as if she was eating with her mouth open.

It was somewhat disgusting and annoying and it caused Shadow to narrow his eyes at her.

Thankfully Mabel stopped and looked wistfully at her brother and Soos. "They've been trying that all day, but I already told them that it's stupid. Prairie dogs aren't real dogs; they're cute mixtures of weasels and squirrels. But they wouldn't listen to me and they left me alone. Even my Grunkle Stan had plans. He's been stealing change out of the fountain all day."

Slightly caught off guard, Shadow's eyes widened for a moment and looked over at the rusty fountain. Sure enough there was an old man splashing within the fountain, grabbing coins and stuffing them in a bag as quickly as he could. He had huge ears, a very distinguishable 5 o'clock shadow, and huge square glasses. Additionally, he was wearing a black suit with a red bowtie and a red fez with a yellow crescent moon on it.

Shadow watched as he pilfered several coins, not caring that he was getting wet or that many people walking by were staring with either incredulous amazement or disgust. Finally, a few zoo workers ran by and yelled at him, causing the old man, Grunkle Stan (what's a Grunkle?), to jump in alarm and then run off with the heavy sack of coins over his shoulder. The staff gave chase, trying to catch him and shouting for him to return the coins.

"I hope he doesn't get arrested again." Shadow looked down at Mabel when she spoke again. "It was hard for me, Dipper, Soos, and Wendy to bail him out the first time. Anyways with Grunkle Stan stealing change and Dipper and Soos feeding the Prairie dogs peanut butter, I'm left alone."

Mabel looked down at the floor in melancholy. "I could've hung out with Wendy if she didn't have plans with her stupid boyfriend Robbie," she stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Also, my friends Candy and Grenda couldn't come because they both had plans. And the worst part is that I wanted to bring my pet pig Waddles but animals aren't allowed in the zoo. But that's like so stupid because a zoo is the perfect place for animals! I mean it's a zoo!"

She shook her head in disbelief while Shadow's mouth curled up slightly in amusement. This girl's comments are childish yet for some reason they were growing on him.

Suddenly, Mabel's face lit up and she looked at Shadow with expectancy. "Hey, would you want to hang out with me?! I mean you're alone and I'm alone and we know each other so it totally makes sense! You wanna?! Huh?!" She clasped her hands together with eagerness.

Shadow blinked and stared at the girl incredulously. She wanted to hang out with him? Why? They just met and their interaction consisted of her bubbly remarks and his annoyed responses. She shouldn't want to hang with him—she should be offended by his blunt statements and maybe even intimidated by him.

But something tells me that Mabel doesn't scare easily.

Since Shadow wasn't saying anything, processing her request, Mabel decided to continue: "Awww c'mon Shadow, it'll be fun! Zoos are awesome and you should like it since you're a hedgehog! And you wouldn't have to be afraid of other animals eating you since you're immortal! You can't die if you're eaten by a tiger!"

Blinking at that statement, Shadow scowled at her. There was no way in hell that he was going to spend his afternoon babysitting a hyperactive girl. "No thanks kid, I'll pass."

Mabel's smile slipped into a disappointed frown. "Please," she let the word drag out in desperation, "I don't wanna hang out by myself—it's no fun! Don't you feel lonely whenever you're not around your friends?!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't know—I don't get lonely nor do I have any friends."

"What?! You don't have any friends?! But…everyone has friends! And you're the Ultimate Lifeform! You should have tons of friends!"

Not likely. Shadow thought of the many people he associates with: he either tolerates their presence, works with them on occasion, or he's fought them or has tried to kill them. Otherwise, he doesn't really care for anyone. Sure he'll admit that Rouge the bat and Omega the robot are the closest things to acquaintances he'll ever have but he'd rather not call them friends. He's had a friend before and she's dead.

Maria.

"Having no friends is exactly why you should hang out with me!" Shadow was pulled from his thoughts, courtesy of Mabel. "C'mon Shadow! Just look at a few animals with me! Please?"

Shadow was close to declining a second time until he looked closely at Mabel. She was staring up at him with a hopeful expression, her googly eyes making even his darkened heart melt just a little.

Damn…he wanted to say no…but he just couldn't. Not with those eyes…

Finally, Shadow conceded with a defeated sigh. "Very well…but only for a little while. I don't want to be here longer than I have to."

Shadow cringed slightly when Mabel let out a loud scream of happiness and wasn't prepared when she threw her small arms around him. He stiffened as she buried her face in the white tuft of fur on his chest. For a moment he was taken back to the time he received a hug from behind from Amy Rose and how it completely caught him off guard.

Eventually Mabel released him and grabbed his gloved hand with a grin. "Oh this is gonna be so much fun! C'mon we should get going! I wanna see the dolphins first! Afterwards, you can pick where we go next! Let's go!" Then with a tug on his hand, Mabel started skipping towards the dolphin tank with Shadow in tow.

He groaned to himself. Why did he say yes?

Just then Mabel started chattering again. "If you want, we can go see the hedgehogs later! Who knows, we might find you a girlfriend…who happens to know a cute human boy my age!" Mabel playfully winked at Shadow. "We can so double date! I'll be your wingwoman! After all, nothing beats the power of Mabel!" Suddenly she stopped and exclaimed, "Wait! Do you already have a girlfriend?! 'Cause that would be so weird if I set you up with someone and you're already dating a girl hedgehog! Do you have a girlfriend?"

"…No." Why on earth would he have a girlfriend? Relationships are pointless.

Mabel narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Are you sure? Or are you just saying that? Is that emerald you have for your girlfriend? Is it?!"

"…No." As if Shadow would give anyone his chaos emerald even if he did know a hedgehog girl.

Actually he does know a hedgehog girl. He's associated with that pink-furred hedgehog girl Amy Rose before. So technically he knows a hedgehog girl. But as if he'd ever give her the chaos emerald! She wouldn't know what to do with it or worse…she'd give it to faker!

Shadow was almost horrified by that thought. Maybe it was a good idea to hang out here for a while—it'll give him more time away from his annoying twin.

"Okay, I believe you. And since you don't have girlfriend, you could give that jewel to a hedgehog girl you're interested in!" Mabel began to glow with excitement at the idea. "Yeah, she'll be all over you if you do! Trust me! I guarantee it! I am a master of love!" Then with a short squeal of joy, Mabel pulled Shadow along.

Ugh…this is going to be a long day.

To Shadow's surprise, his day was actually pleasant.

The Ultimate Lifeform allowed Mabel to take him to every exhibit that crappy zoo had to offer. He watched with bored amusement as Mabel chattered on and random girly-ness and pointed out every animal they came across.

When they reached the petting zoo, Shadow hung back as Mabel petted every goat, duck, llama, and cow there was. He was slightly surprised to see that all the animals seemed to like Mabel and they all enjoyed being petted and fed by her.

It was…kind of sweet.

Eventually, Mabel dragged Shadow over and forced him to pet a baby goat. At first Shadow was hesitant, but he awkwardly patted the goat on its head to cease Mabel's incessant begging. As a result, he incited a content 'baa' from the creature.

Later, Shadow couldn't help but smile slightly when Mabel tried to hang upside down from a tree like the possums did, making funny faces as she did.

He also couldn't hold back a quick, gruff laugh when Mabel attempted to communicate with the seals by imitating their weird sounds and then she tried to impress them by doing a flip, only to land on her stomach with a laugh.

Overall, Shadow had a decent time.

The zoo was about to close when the two walked out the exit. Mabel was holding Shadow's hand and was eating some pink cotton candy. She pulled off a piece and offered it to Shadow. He stared at it for a moment, trying to determine if it was poisonous but seeing that Mabel hadn't keeled over yet, he shrugged and popped it into his mouth. His little companion produced a pleased grin.

"You know Shadow, I've had a lot of awesome days in my life, especially this summer, but today was a different type of awesome! It was one of the best days of my life! I had a lot of fun today! Did you?" Mabel's eyes sparkled with glee.

Shadow hesitated before stating, "It…wasn't an unpleasant experience."

Mabel's grin widened and she did a little dance out of happiness. "Awesome! Thanks for hanging out with me today! I had a blast!"

"I'm glad you did," Shadow said sincerely while maintaining an apathetic expression. "And I'll admit that today wasn't as horrible as I assumed it would be."

Mabel did a raspberry and quickly jabbed him in the stomach. "You softie! Oh hold on a moment, I want to give you something! Wait here, it's in my Grunkle Stan's car!" Then she quickly bounded off to grab whatever, dropping her cotton candy, completely disregarding it.

Shadow watched her go and his usual scowling face softened ever so slightly. Despite her silly quirks, Mabel wasn't all that bad of a kid. She was far less annoying than Sonic and much more of a delight to hang out with. Sure she talked a lot, but Shadow could tolerate it. If he had to be honest with himself, he might even admit that he enjoyed the girl's company.

Not that Shadow would admit that to anyone.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Mabel ran back to him, carrying something in her arms behind her back.

The child bounced with eagerness. "Okay, so I'm thinking of a number. If you guess it right, then I'll give you this present! What number am I thinking of?"

The Ultimate Lifeform rolled his eyes yet nevertheless considered this and replied, "-12?" He was thinking of one of his earlier conversations with Mabel; she had been telling about how she and her brother Dipper met the 8 ½ president and how he had given the siblings a negative 12 dollar bill. The bill was worthless but Shadow figured that the man was trying to be thoughtful. Also, he remembered Mabel pointed out something earlier: nobody ever guesses a negative number in a guessing game.

He turned out to be right because Mabel's orbs widened with excitement, "Oh my gosh, you got it! Can you read minds?!"

"…No."

Mabel giggled with delight. "Whatever you say Mr. Mind Reader! Alright, you win! Here you go!" She pulled her hands from behind her back, revealing a sweater.

Shadow took it and examined it. It was dark grey with a ruby-red gem in the middle and large pocket underneath it. In fact, the jewel looked almost like a chaos emerald.

Shadow was speechless for a moment until he eventually regained his voice: "What is this?"

"It's a sweater, silly! I made it myself! I make sweaters all the time! But I haven't worn that one yet so you don't have to worry about cooties or anything."

"You…carry around your homemade sweaters with you?"

Mabel made a playful raspberry. "As if! I've made so many! It would be way too heavy if I carried all my sweaters! No, I only carry around two or three a day just in case I wanna change! You never know what mood I'm going to be in!"

She smiled brightly at him as if it were the most normal thing in the world and he stared at her. She carries around her sweaters…

Shadow cleared his throat and said, "So you're giving this to me?"

Mabel nodded happily. "Yeah! I thought you'd like this one since it matches your green jewel! Plus, this one has a pocket so now it can be relatively possible for you to carry it around instead of defying science by carrying it in your imaginary pocket! Do you like it?"

I have absolutely no use for this. I never get cold and clothes are pointless. Shadow was tempted to voice his thoughts but felt his resolve crumble while looking into those bright, eager eyes. "I suppose I do. Thank you Mabel…it's a very thoughtful gift."

The girl's smile somehow got bigger. "I think that's the first time you've said my name all day!"

It is, isn't it. "I guess so."

Before he or the girl could comment further, someone called out, "Mabel!"

Both the human and hedgehog turned around to see that boy Dipper running towards them with that man Soos huffing behind him.

Shadow had just enough time to strengthen his usual serious scowl as the boy halted in front of his sister, stepping conveniently in-between her and Shadow. "There you are Mabel! I haven't seen you all day! Where have you been?! Are you okay?!" He threw a wary glance at the dark hedgehog.

Unaware of her brother's concern, Mabel merely grinned. "Of course I am, Dipper! Why wouldn't I be? Hi Soos!" At that moment, Soos managed to catch up to the children and hedgehog and was attempting to regain his breath.

"Hey…Mabel…where…have you…been…dude?" With each pause there was gasp for air.

Mabel just chuckled and said, "I've been at the zoo hanging out with my friend!" She gestured to the midnight hedgehog. "Guys, this is Shadow the hedgehog! He's the Ultimate Lifeform!" She then turned to Shadow. "Shadow, this is my brother Dipper and my friend Soos. I think I already told you about them."

Shadow didn't say anything and only nodded in response.

Soos grinned at him and exclaimed, "Dude, you have the most awesome hair I've ever seen and the wickedest name. It's cool to meet the Ultimate Lifeform."

Shadow inclined his head as Dipper gave him a guarded glance. "Yeah…nice to meet you." Then he turned to his sister and stated, "You know better than to talk to strangers Mabel. C'mon we better get going. Grunkle Stan is probably going to be running here any minute with the cops on his tail."

Mabel began to pout, her cheerfulness disappearing. "Ah boo. I don't want this day to end. I don't want to have to say good-bye." She looks at Shadow. "I don't want you to go."

For a moment, Shadow allows himself to ease up his shoulders. "Your brother's right, kid, and besides I have to go anyways. I have a home far away from here that I have to get back to."

Mabel's bottom lip trembled slightly. "Will you at least come and visit me sometimes?"

Shadow hesitated, not sure what to say until he sighed in what should've been exasperation yet ended up sounding resigned. "Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do and you're not that bad...for a child."

Mabel instantly brightened. "You mean it? You promise?"

When Shadow nodded, Mabel threw her arms around him for the second time that day. Although uncomfortable at first, Shadow gingerly patted her back, not having the heart to shove her off.

Dipper looked like he wanted to intervene but then restrained himself. Soos, on the other hand, said, "Awww."

Mabel released Shadow and all of them looked at Soos. The pudgy man blushed slightly. "Too mushy, dudes?"

The girl just giggled in response. The corner of Shadow's lips turned up slightly and said, "Good-bye Mabel. Good luck. I'll…see you around."

She grinned at him and playfully waggled her finger at him. "You better mister!"

With a final nod, Shadow held onto his new sweater tightly and took off running in the same direction he came from earlier.

Mabel, Dipper, and Soos watched him speed off in awe. After a moment, Soos spoke up, "Wow…I don't know about you dudes, but my mind has been blown."

"Yeah, mine too." Dipper looked at his twin sister. "So who and what exactly was that guy, Mabel?"

The girl gave her brother a knowing grin. "I already told you Dipper, Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform. He's an immortal hedgehog and my best animal friend…other than Waddles of course."

Dipper took in her expression for a moment before simply nodding. "Okay whatever you say. Personally though, I think he looks like something out of a videogame. For all I know he could've come from the same universe as Rumble McSkirmish. Hmmm, maybe Shadow's in the journal somewhere…"

Mabel rolled her eyes and playfully punched Dipper's arm. "Oh please Dipper! Shadow is much too epic for a videogame! He should rule our country!"

Dipper just smiled at his sister's quirky response. "Yeah sure Mabel. C'mon guys, we should probably get in the car. I think I see Grunkle Stan running our way."

Soon he, Mabel, and Soos climbed into the car as Stan quickly got in, threw the sack of change in the backseat, and practically floored the gas pedal, sending the car racing down the dusty road.

Mabel took one last look behind her. Bye Shadow.

Meanwhile, Shadow glided into the forest for some time before halting. He wasn't sure why he stopped when he wasn't tired.

Unconsciously he took a glance behind him. There was nothing but dark, foreboding trees swallowing him up into the forest.

Yet, Shadow felt a very small twinge of sadness before quickly shaking it off. I can't believe I'm actually going to miss that spazzy little girl…and I can't believe that I promised to visit her.

But was it really so far-fetched?

Well…yes, but for some reason Shadow felt the need to keep his promise. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why though. Perhaps because it occurred to him that Maria would've enjoyed Mabel's company…

Shadow gruffly shook his head and glared at the ground. He had to get back to Station Square—it was getting dark. It wasn't like the Ultimate Lifeform was afraid of the darkness of night (hell he practically blends in) but it was just a minor inconvenience that it happened to be chilly outside.

The ebony hedgehog glanced at the sweater in his arms. He wasn't sure why Mabel gave it to him, it's not like he's going to wear it. Yet even he had to admit that it was sweet of her to give it him simply because it reminded her of him—not to mention that it was surprisingly well-stitched despite being knitted by a 12 year old.

After a moment of staring at it, Shadow found himself slipping the sweater over his head and somehow managing to put it on. It was unexpectedly warm and comfortable. Then he pulled out the chaos emerald from his…fur pocket and placed it in the sweater pocket.

It fit perfectly.

So without another moment to spare, Shadow took off in the direction of Station Square. He had to get back, but he wasn't looking forward to associating with the annoying faker again. If Sonic were to find him a second time that day, Shadow will guarantee that he'll laugh at his child-like sweater.

But Shadow didn't care—he could just tell the faker to stuff it and that he was so cold that he had no other choice but wear it unless he wanted to freeze. And it wouldn't hurt to add that his friend made it for him.

…On second thought, maybe Shadow should just keep that to himself. After all, he has his reputation as the Ultimate Lifeform to maintain. He wouldn't want Sonic to think that he's gone soft, especially towards a unique little girl who knits sweaters.

Nope, he wouldn't want that.

The End

Oh how I love Shadow and Mabel! They're awesome! :D

Alright, that's it. I hope you like it and I really hope that I maintained the characters decently. I would hate to have depicted Mabel or Shadow inaccurately.

I'm kind of proud of myself; it only took me two days to write this (for me, that's huge)! Let me know if I made any mistakes, though :P

Anyways, this was just something I had to get out of my system. I hope you enjoyed the randomness! Bye! :)