Me: I was going through some old stories of mine, and I found one that needed resurrecting. The plot of the story kept changing (My sincerest apologies to those who'd been reading this story prior), but I managed to find a way to write this so that fans will find it interesting. Enjoy!

"FASTER! JASON, keep those platforms level! Ah mean level, level. Ah don't care if y' can't tell! Figure it out! TARRON, WHERE IS THAT CLAY?"

The mad call rang through the valley as a semi-retired drill sergeant shouted out orders to war-hardened workers. "COME ON, PEOPLE! THIS WALL'S NOT GONNA BUILT ITSELF! TYLER! Don't think ah can't see y' back there, ya lazy slacker! Yes, you. Do y' know any other Tylers around- TARRON! WHAT IN TH' BLAZES ARE Y' DOIN'!"

Scowling, the white scar-covered, Scottish hedgehog thundered over to his confused ex-soldier, muttering to himself. "Ohhhhh, I'm gonna kill- TARRON! What IS that? A WHAT! Are y' INSANE? Y' know how RARE those are? Give it here! NOW!"

The sergeant snatched the item away from a bewildered Tarron. After a moment, though, he just shrugged and went back to work, having gotten used to the sergeant's nonsensical ways a long time ago.

Meanwhile, a pair of calm, determined violet eyes surveyed the scene below them, their owner mentally noting the height and length of the wall with satisfaction. They were making progress. Vaguely, he wondered if the other kingdom had been doing likewise.

The clanging of the now-opened hatch interrupted his musings, and his eyes brightened slightly as he saw who had entered. "Welcome, old friend," he greeted him warmly. "Any progress?"

The old sergeant grunted, coming up to stand beside him at the widow overlooking the unfinished wall. "With this lot? They know as much 'bout wall-building' as a grekkin! It's like givin' a hammer two a two-year-old! Y' have t' do everythin' yourself!"

"That good, huh?" the king chuckled, translating.

His friend gave a stiff nod. "Aye, it's good. Though it would be better if ah had actual workers sted o' a bunch o' soldiers. They're good men and they work hard, but sometimes ah think I'm th' only one who knows what I'm doin'…"

The king chuckled half-heartedly. "Sometimes I feel the exact same way." His eyes darkened slightly.

His friend glanced at him and sighed. "Ah know that look. Ya doing th' right thing, Arrow. This war's been plaguing our land for far too long. It'll be easier this way, s' long as both people respect th' boundaries. Ah still say it's a miracle y' got th' dirty scoundrels t' agree t' your terms."

King Arrow nodded. "Of course, their king had to make a few adjustments to the agreement so it wouldn't just be our terms."

"Stuck up snobs, the lot o' them," the sergeant muttered, spitting on the ground in his disgust.

Arrow glanced at the spot on his expensive rug. "Lotch…"

"Ah know, ah know," Lotch interrupted. "T' won't happen again."

The king sighed. "Right…Anyway, I know you wouldn't have climbed all those stairs unless it was for something important. Is there any news?"

"Aye." Lotch nodded. "There's some news all right. Take a look at this." Without a pause, he placed something cool, round, and hard into his friends hands.

Arrow looked down curiously and his eyes widened in disbelief. "This isn't…"

"It tis, Sire." The sergeant confirmed grimly. "Another Jasmine stone has been found."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

No one ever questioned it. Everyone knew it. It wasn't one of those things you questioned. It was simple fact.

To question the Dividing Wall was like questioning the trees or the road. They were just there. And so was the wall. It wasn't crossable. An everlasting boundary that separated them from…what?

No one knew, though some had ideas. The rumors were all that they had to tell them of the other side; its history had long since been lost in the mysteries of time.

One thing was clear, though. It was dangerous. Crossing meant certain death.

Why? That was what the rumors were for.

Some say the other side is full of carnivores. Some say a hostile race. Some say demons. They say the ground is lifeless and desolate. Barren.

Why? Some say it was poison, some say war, and some even blame its previous inhabitants. They create theories to support their outlandish theories.

Of course, they do this on both sides…

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Many years later…

"Ohhhh…," Amy Rose groaned, holding her head as she sat up gingerly. She felt like she'd just been hit with her own hammer. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. Everything was black. She couldn't see. She'd gone blind! The hedgehog panicked, whipping her head back and forth frantically, desperately trying to take in her surroundings. This did nothing to help her headache, and only served to increase her dizziness.

"Hold still," a deep voice ordered her. "Your sight will return momentarily."

Amy froze, startled, then cocked her head in disbelief. "….Shadow?" No response. "Is that you?"

"I am here," the voice responded, and Amy decided it was indeed Shadow's.

"What happened?" Amy asked frantically. "Why can't I see?"

"Your temporary loss of sight is a result of our previous method of transportation."

Amy furrowed her brow in confusion. "What transportation?" she asked. Her bare fingers sunk into the ground as she leaned back. This wasn't concrete! It felt more like leaves. Or possibly flower petals. Strange… "Where are we?" No response. "Shadow?"

"I am…uncertain," he finally admitted, his voice as emotionless as it always was.

Amy blinked and squinted, starting to see fuzzy outlines of various shapes that were impossible to identify. "Did you go blind too?" she asked.

"My vision was temporarily impaired."

Amy cocked her head. "In other words, yes," she clarified. "Why do you have to always make things sound so complicated?"

The ebony hedgehog ignored her. Amy could hear him moving branches around near her and tried to focus on him. She was pretty sure he was the moving shape in her vision, but she couldn't really tell. All she could see were fuzzy black and white colors that shifted from time to time. "How long does it take to see again?" she asked, annoyed.

Again, Shadow either didn't hear her or ignored her. He was still shifting through the branches. "What are you doing, anyway? Fill me in already!"

"My business in none of your concern," was his curt reply. Amy was about to retort, but his next sentence demanded her attention. "What was the last thing you remember?"

Amy frowned, thinking. "..I, uh, hmm…Everything's a bit fuzzy…"

Shadow sighed. "As I suspected," he mumbled.

"Oh yeah!" Amy perked up as her memories came rushing back. She could feel Shadow's eyes on her as she recited them. "I'd just met up with Cream and Vanilla. We were going to go the museum's grand opening….Wait. We did go to the opening. I remember the fat guy in overalls cutting the red ribbon. I think we walked inside…and that's about it."

Her story finished, Amy glanced at Shadow again. She could see him more clearly now, but not enough to tell what he was thinking. He was still nothing but a faceless shape, and the lines separating him from everything else were blurry. "Why do you ask?" she questioned, tilting her head curiously.

He folded his arms-as least she thought he did-and stared down at her. "You bear a striking resemblance in stature and personality to a certain pink hedgehog I've become acquainted with," he informed her. "You also seem to have knowledge of my name. However, there is a rather outstanding difference between you and her."

Amy frowned. "You mean Amy, right? I am Amy Rose!"

"You must be mistaken."

"How could I be mistaken about my own name?" Amy cried, incredulous. "You think I somehow got her memories, or-?" the hedgehog paused. Wait… "What outstanding difference?" she demanded.

By now, her vision was clear enough to see his expression. It was serious-no surprise there-, but there were faint traces of confusion, mixed with intrigue. "Your appearance," he answered.

"What about my appearance?" Amy asked, looking down at herself. Though she could not yet see color, it was apparent that she had somehow changed clothes. Instead of her usual red dress, she now wore some kind of leather pants and fur boots, both of which had beads on them. She could not yet see her shirt, but she was positive she had one.

She looked back up at Shadow. "Really, I knew you were kind of oblivious and all, but a different outfit shouldn't hide my identity."

He scowled. "That is not the difference," he growled.

Amy cocked her head again. "Then what is?"

Her companion's scowl disappeared, and his expression was suddenly unreadable. "You will know soon enough. Let your eyes adjust. In the meantime, it appears you can now see enough to walk. We should get moving."

Amy blinked in surprise as Shadow stooped down and offered her a hand. She took it, almost squeaking with surprise when she was nearly pulled into the air by his phenomenal strength. Once her feet, she nearly toppled over again, hit by a monstrous wave of vertigo. Her legs and arms felt like jelly. Shadow steadied her, allowing her to lean against him for support as she found her center of balance.

Amy smiled in bemusement. It was strange how Shadow, the most curt, anti-social person she knew, had excellent manners. Sonic could stand to learn a thing or two from him.

As soon as Amy could stand on her own, Shadow turned and headed off into the forest. He must've been clearing a pathway, for many of the nearby branches were broken. She quickly hurried after him, nearly stumbling from her foot's delayed reaction to a tree root. "Where are we going?" she asked. Again, Shadow ignored her. "Shadow, where are we going?" she repeated. No response. "Do you even know where were going?" Again, he refused to answer. Amy huffed and turned to walk in front of him, forcing him to a stop. "You know it's rude to ignore people," she informed him, hands on her hips.

Shadow frowned, but finally answered. "We are walking until we reach some form of civilization," he reported, then walked past her before she could respond.

Amy sighed and walked after him, knowing that was all she was going to get out of him at the moment. She had a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue, but she saved them, wary of Shadow's thin patience.

Amy glanced down at her fuzzy light-brown boots, seeing them in color for the first time and noting how comfortable they were. Now that her vision had completely returned, Amy took in her surroundings for the first time. There wasn't much to see.

They were currently walking through a forest of some kind. The trunks of the trees resembled a eucalyptus, with its multicolored, peeling bark, but the tree's shape resembled a thin, oak tree. Its leaves seemed to be a pale-white, and didn't really seem to block out the sun which filtered right through them. These leaves completely covered the ground, so that there wasn't an inch of dirt visible.

Ahead of her strode the purposeful form of Shadow, pushing away branches that blocked their path, and sometimes breaking them. He looked just as she remembered him, with his upturned quills and crimson highlights.

He was missing his hover shoes, though. Like hers, they had been replaced, though his were brown leather sandals. His white gloves had also been replaced by fingerless leather gloves which revealed sharper-than-average claws protruding from his fingertips. Her gloves had simply vanished, leaving her hands bare .

She also noticed, with a start, that Shadow's golden inhibitor rings had disappeared from his wrists and ankles. Weren't those designed to hold back his power? What was keeping all of his pent-up chaos energy from suddenly exploding? She nearly asked him, but stopped herself. She was fairly certain he was already aware of this, and wouldn't take kindly to her pestering him about it.

It might've actually explained why he'd been ignoring her. He wasn't rude, simply preoccupied. It must require some heavy concentration to keep all of that power in check on his own.

How much did Shadow even know about their situation anyway? He seemed to be in the same boat as she was, so to speak, but he hadn't really clarified anything. From what she gathered, they'd been transported here by-God-knows-what, there destination was nothing Shadow was familiar with, and whatever had transported them cause temporary blindness and a pounding headache.

It also turned your legs into noodles.

While walking, Amy's knee suddenly gave out and she crumpled to the forest floor. She tried picking herself back up, but one of her legs was suddenly incapable of moving, as though the commands her brain was sending it were somehow blocked.

She could hear Shadow turning back for her and sighed, not wanting to be a bother. "How long does this darn paralysis last?" she groaned as she felt his strong arms lift her back up. She squeaked as she nearly toppled again, latching onto Shadow for support, one of her legs dragging uselessly on the ground.

"You and I have different systems. There no way to be certain," he informed her, scooping her up effortlessly in his arms.

Amy flushed, embarrassed. "Shadow, you really don't have to-"

"Would you rather I left you here?" Shadow interrupted, and continued walking.

Amy bowed her head. "No. I just don't want cause any more trouble."

"It's no trouble," he replied quietly. Amy didn't say anything else, reminding herself not to break her companion's concentration.

Her skin tingled as he held her against him; she could feel the chaos energy pouring off him. That must be how he was able to keep his power at bay. He releases a little at a time so it won't build up and be released all at once.

He must have to be extra careful, now that she was so close. She bowed her head again. "I'm sorry."

"The fault is not yours," Shadow informed her. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Amy smiled slightly as her opinion of her companion moved up a few notches. Sighing, she leaned against him and relaxed, preparing for a long ride.

She stared.

Now, for the first time, she could see herself in color, and she could see the reason Shadow had been doubtful as to her identity.

Her fur was mostly jet-black.

"HOLY CHEEZITS!"

Me: Yes, Sonic will be in this story, but he comes in later. So, what do you think? Comments? Critiques? Shall I continue, yea or nay? If so, click the inspiration button.

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