"Don't tell me you're looking up that weird stuff again..."
	The feline's laughter rang in her friend's ears. The tiny thuds from the patting she gave the book seemed louder than normal as well.
	"Call it what you want, Elise. I think it's interesting."
	The mouse heaved a sigh, looking to the book in Blaze's hands; it was about supernatural phenomena. The blue-hued gray of the girl's eyes scanned the interior of their usual hangout. The casual diner, always different but always the same. They made it a habit to sit in the booth in the far right every friday afternoon. Knuckles would wander by often (he had no choice, it's his job.) The echidna would usually stop and chat with Blaze. The two of them were believers, "Shown" as they're normally called. Elise, however, was not. She was one of the "Average", but she didn't think lowly of the pair because of it. The three were friends, the cat being closer to the mouse than Knuckles. 

	A sigh.

	"Hey, Blaze? Why does that interest you?"
	The girl looked up with burning amber eyes, eyes Elise secretly envied. Shutting the book, the cat gave a wry little smile.
	"Well, there's so much about these things that we don't know. Like, how did the stories about them start?" She always spoke about it as if she wrote the books herself. "Why do werewolves get affected by moonlight? Why do vampires really suck blood? Why do incubi and succubi feed on dreams and souls? Are angels really as pure as people believe? What else is out there that we don't know about? And what really caused Crisis City?"
	Elise nodded. She started gaining interest but it wasn't enough to make her want to be as passionate about the subject as her beloved friend. She found her sights wandering back to the lack of scenery, the sight she grew so accustomed to every friday afternoon.

	This friday, however, had brought with it something new.

	A patron she had never seen before was seated at the bar in front, a hedgehog with brilliant cobalt quills and peircing emerald eyes. His frame was slender, red sneakers adorning his feet. His long legs were hidden under denim jeans, striped gloves cloaking his shorter arms; the physique of a runner. His devious smirk alone was enough to tell anyone he had attitude. She was fixated, unable to avert her gaze for the slightest moment. She knew she was staring but she couldn't help herself. A swift turn of her head and it was over, her cheeks stained with bright crimson. He saw her. Their eyes had met for a brief, embarrassing moment. Elise clenched her jaw. 
	[i]He probably thinks I'm weird... I didn't mean to stare at him though...[/i]
	"Elise?"
	The mouse looked up to her friend, a look of humiliation draped over the girl's face.
	"I... I was staring... He saw me..."
	Blaze turned in her chair, looking towards the front of the miniscule restaraunt. She chuckled a little, spotting their friend Knuckles asking the new customer for his order.
	"It doesn't really seem like it mattered to him, Leesy," the feline murmured, shifting back to her normal position in the booth. Her attention returned to her book as if nothing really happened. The rodent heaved a small sigh, glancing up once again. The echidna had wandered out of sight but the hedgehog was no longer in his seat. Her sights darted from corner to corner. 

	The blue hedgehog was no longer there. 

	A hard swallow. She knew he wasn't a halucination, Blaze had seen him too. A small groan escaped her lips as she looked back to the table.
	[i]Who was that?[/i] Her groan didn't go unnoticed, Blaze gearing her attention from her book yet again.
	"Are you okay?"
	"I'm fine..."
	"...You know, you don't have to go with me tonight. If you don't want to, I mean. I'm sure I could get Knuckles to do it. He's-"
	"More into the whole [i]Hidden[/i] thing than I am," Elise finished. "I know, I know. But I want to go, Blaze. It'll give me something to do."
	The cat chuckled, shutting her book and standing from the pleather seat.
	"Well, I'll see you then. I gotta head out anyway and get some errands done."
	Nodding, the mouse stood from the booth and prepared to make her leave as well. The two parted ways, stopping to greet Knuckles on their way out. The girl heaved another sigh, her mind plagued by the hedgehog from earlier. His wild eyes... It was only a split-second but she couldn't forget the look in his eyes, devious like his smile. 
	[i]Who was he?[/i] It was like getting a song stuck in your head, his image wouldn't fade away no matter how hard she tried to think of something else. Elise frowned in frustration. Something different had finally shown up but she wasn't as delighted as she thought she would be. She huffed and decided to head home to prepare for the night ahead.

-=-

	The ride on the train seemed much more eerie during the evening. Knowing their destination didn't seem to help. Blaze had a look of excitement on her face as she turned the small camera in her hands. 
	"Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean..." Elise shuttered, her gray eyes locked on the window behind them. "I heard Westopolis is a pretty dangerous city..."
	"But it's outskirts lead directly to the ruins. And we both know the trains don't run to Crisis City so Westopolis is the next best thing." The cat held up her camera, smirking with a refined sense of pride. 

	"We're gonna find one, Leesy. Count on it."
	
The mouse lowered her gaze to the crimson carpet of the train car's floor. 
	[i]This is crazy,[/i] she thought. [i]We're looking for something that doesn't exist...[/i] The two jolted as the train came to a stop, the blaring intercom sounding.
	"[i]We've now arrived at Westopolis. All passengers that are on for Westopolis may exit now.[/i]"
	"That's us. Let's go." The lilac feline was the first to stand, casually heading towards the exit of the train. Elise slowly rose and followed her friend out of the train. 

	Westopolis was bigger than it seemed in the pictures taken of it, dark skyscrapers reaching for the heavens. The rumors about this foreboding metroscape came from the news of the recent disappearances, an event that thoroughly scarred it's reputation. Naturally, the Shown saw it as a sign of the Hidden's existance and Blaze was more than determined to find one of the culprits. The pair wandered around the city as the sky began to blacken, the streetlamps and various lights starting to flicker on. The streets weren't busy but they weren't desolate either; once or twice, others were seen walking around. 	
	"They all look pretty normal," the rodent whispered. "How can you tell if one of them really is one of the Hidden?"
	"For all we know, they're all Hidden."
	Elise became unnerved by that statement. She wasn't a believer and she didn't want to start during her possible last moments. A sharp gasp and she stopped, glancing around. Blaze had stopped as well, but only to look to her terrified friend. "What's wrong, Elise?"
	"...Doesn't it... feel like someone's watching us?"
	"Well, we're not from here. Of course it feels like that." The cat promptly, swiftly marched over and grasped Elise's wrist. "Come on. The sooner we find one, the sooner we can go."
	She desperately wished that statement could reassure her as it meant to. Being lead through the streets of the city now darkened by the night, the girl shuttered in Blaze's grasp. The air grew cold as they continued their search. The streets suddenly flooded with the lights of the lampposts, illuminating the black concrete. The light provided a slight sense of security for the pair, which quickly died out as a deafening boom was heard in the distance, causing the lights to flicker.
	
	"What was that?!" The cat exclaimed; the sound had actually frightened Blaze as well.
	"...Okay, we should totally go. [b]Now[/b]." Without saying anything else, the girls turned and fled back down the road in a silent panic. It was a long run since the two had reached the center of the city. They skid to a halt as a fierce wind had kicked up, blowing past them in the direction they were headed. Temporarily disregarding the gust, the pair ran into the station. The train car felt like a safe haven the second they stepped inside. The two collapsed upon the cushy seats, panting heavily from their run. 
	"I can't believe you talked me into this, Blaze..."
	"I can't believe you actually came with me..." The breathless chuckles of the girls trailed through the car. Elise exhaled and began to glance at the floor as the car began to move.

	"Is there a reason you two are in Westopolis at night?"

	The pair's sights shot up towards the voice's source; the cobalt hedgehog from the diner. He looked to them with his bright emerald eyes, that devious grin from before plastered upon his face. The russet haired mouse immediately looked back to the floor as Blaze answered the question.
	"It's nothing." Her voice held an air of suspicion as she spoke to him. "Why does it concern you?"
	A casual chuckle. He took a seat across from the girls.
	"I remember seeing you two earlier in that diner. I'm guessing you're here Hidden hunting, huh?" 
	The feline fell silent as she looked to him, tightening her grip on her camera. Elise's sights nervously rose back to the hedgehog as she slid a little closer to her friend.
	"That's kinda common." The hedgehog was blunt but he seemed to speak truthfully. "You two shouldn't be here unless you're with someone that knows the city. It's a friggin' deathtrap." Shifting in the seat, he smiled at the pair. "I'm Sonic. And you two are?"
	Huffing out an answer, the feline leaned back.
	"Blaze. That's my friend, Elise."
	The mouse lifted her hand in a timid wave. She felt as though something were out of place as she looked to their new aqquaintence, yet again unable to take her eyes off of him. She found him attractive, yes, but there was something about him that didn't settle with her.

	She didn't know it then, but she would soon become a believer of the Hidden's presence.