Hiya! No, I didn't die after 10,000 miles was finished. I've been busy wallowing in shame, since my inspiration has left me. Where oh where did our relationship go wrong! ...If I start to sob hysterically between narrating- it's not because I feel sorry for Sonic and Amy- it's because my darn artistic inspiration flew out the window!

So anyway this is an idea I've had hanging around for a while, but it took me a while to figure out how to get it in ink without any sexual content... (sweatdrop.) Stupid teenage hormones and their effects on your personality...

Anyway, I'm either gonna continue, drop the story, or delete it and post it again, cramming two chapters in where one used to be. I was gonna have a shock ending in this one- Don't worry, someone actually dies this time! Dies permanently, okay! You can get off my case now!

As with most of my fics, This is a Sonamy. It is also a Sonic torturing fic. Sonic fangirls, run away. NOW. I warned you...

The fic takes place in the near future- like what would be 2050 for us. Sonic and Amy's ages have not changed, however. There are a few hints as to where Sonic and Amy are. They aren't very good, however. Guess the planet (its a VERY familiar one... hint, hint ) and you get a prize. Like a shovel in the back. Enjoy your paralysis!

How did he let this happen? How did he let any of this happen?

"Move faster, scum! The day isn't over yet!" Came a cruel bark from behind him. After the voice concluded, an all-too-familiar slash of pain ripped across his back. The blue hedgehog cried in agony and fell to his knees- but quickly struggled upright, knowing the torture that would follow if he did not obey their orders.

Sonic didn't like thinking like that, but what else was there to do...? He had tried to get out many times... but never had it worked.

...How had any of it happened? He didn't belong here, he wasn't supposed to be here! And yet, despite all logic, all karma- all the reasons that should place him on a soft, grassy field in Amy's arms- instead dropped him in the middle of a world of chains, abuse and cold.

He pushed harder against the block of stone-, which was nearly thrice his height- along with the other 'slaves'. Yes, you heard me. Slaves. The word that Sonic hated, loathed, despised most of all was now his second name. He barely remembered his first name anymore- it had been too long since anyone had said it to him. He missed his friends. Tails and knuckles especially. Why not Amy, you ask? Because he had seen Amy in the five months he had spent on this barren and heartless planet. Not just seen her, kissed her. She was here too. She was- more than likely- also a slave although of what kind Sonic did not know. He had seen her two months after he had been captured. They had brought the two together, to ask them questions... and...

Sonic shook the bitter memory out of his head. The interrogation had been all about the location- the planet- where his species came from. Sonic knew he could not tell them. Not the people who put these chains on him. They would go there to enslave everyone else on Mobius. So he played dumb- and they bought it. But what happened next...

They had- and Sonic did not understand this- asked him to kiss Amy. He- to this day- did now know why. He had kissed her- he didn't really have a choice anyway. But Sonic had tried to enjoy it. It would be the last time that he saw her for three months.

He again summoned the remainder of his energy to push harder against the block of stone, fearing the slave driver's whip. He felt tears coming again, and fiercely bit them back. He couldn't cry. It would earn him no sympathy here.

Mobians- and other species that looked unfamiliar to Sonic, as well as moans of pain and agony surrounded him. He shuddered. Oppression was an ugly thing. He hated it. More than ever- since he was now underneath it. He sighed; knowing this was not even his last task of the day.

His speed and stamina had been recognized early- and he had been assigned nearly a third as much work as the others had. He was given assignments of plowing, collecting- and other things, large and painful words used by the slave owners- which usually carried the meaning of some laborious task that would leave Sonic beaten and bruised, with more whip marks than usual across his back. But at least he wasn't Amy.

Her upper-body strength- which by now must have been three times that of Sonic's- was highly admired amongst the slave traders. She had twice as much work as the average 'slave'. Maybe she had a job in the mines or factories. Sonic pitied her, and himself, and wished he could see her.

Again he felt the whip lash against his already bleeding back, and pushed harder, crying as the strike of pain came again. Itsent his tears out of his eyes and falling down the surface of the stone, which he rested his head upon.

If only he hadn't used chaos control. He should of known that in the state he was in- he wouldn't of been able to control it. It had sent him here- without the emerald. Without a way home. Only with Amy, who he had been attempting to save from the blast. He sobbed shakily. If he weren't here, he would be dead. But Sonic wasn't sure what was worse. He could only cling to the hope that someday he would get out. That something would happen. Sonic heard that they- the people that now addressed him as 'their property'- used to enslave another race- but that race had won its freedom. Sonic wondered if someday, maybe, he could do the same, and catch one of those spaceships he had seen so much on a ride to home.

Finally, the blessed whistle sounded, and Sonic nearly collapsed- I take it back, he did collapse- against the stone. He panted heavily, and dragged himself upright. The task was over- he would get a few seconds of rest before his next assignment. The blue hedgehog gasped for air and again sat down, curling his knees to his chest and trying to relax. Many people around him did the same or similar. He wondered if they had any plans of freedom. The blue hedgehog sighed. He would never know- most of them spoke different a different language anyway- besides; you weren't allowed to talk to the others. They would hit you. He sighed, and looked at his gloveless hands (the slave owners had disallowed him any clothing) and quietly rubbed the bruises and scrapes, trying to bury himself in the hope that he would get out.

Suddenly, a cry came from his right, and he turned to look.

A young, burnt orange hedgehog, roughly 15- just barely younger than Sonic, was sprawled on the ground, sobbing, a fresh wound on his back. The slave driver raised the whip again- but to Sonic's surprise, a female hedgehog- the same age- threw herself upon him, shielding him from the blow as the whip clashed upon her back, and not that of the young male she was protecting. Immediately the slave driver yelled at them, cursed, fumed, and tore the young girl away from him, punching her across the face. The orange hedgehog cried something out in a language unfamiliar to Sonic, and ran towards the girl, but he was struck as well. The two were dragged away, in separate directions. Sonic felt like crying; the same thing had happened to him and Amy once, when they use to be in the same group of slaves- the buyers' market. He shuddered at the memories of days spent in that place- with heartless farm owners poking him and prodding him. Drawn to the signs that read 'the fastest and strongest slaves on the market- we guarantee it!" Or "male & female pair- excellent breeding possibilities for new farms!"

He glared at the memory.

He remembered the day they had been captured. It was about five days after they had appeared on the planet. The two had fled from the pursuing police to an abandoned city, and found a small, uninhabited basement. They had already eaten all the food they could find in the barren and un-refrigerated food banks of the city- (Some of it was no good, and had made Sonic sick.) and were nearly starving to death, lost in an unfamiliar world where being caught meant slavery and not being found meant starvation. He remembered his last official day of freedom, in the dark and dusty basement of an abandoned house.

...Memories, how cherished they can be... for in them we can block what brings us pain...

He had snuggled against Amy for warmth- but was still shaking due to the food poisoning he had gotten. He was getting better, thanks to Amy, who gave him plentiful care and affection. The pink hedgehog gently kissed his forehead, and pulled the blanket tighter around him... Her face was barely visible in the small rays of light that fell from the broken floor-boards above, but it was obviously filled with love, even if tears specked her eyes.

The two had bonded immensely sense the day they came to this place. They had spent the nights clinging to each other, listening to the occasional roar of a police plain over head, or maybe the heavy rain, hoping it would not flood the basement.

"Sonic." He remembered her saying. "...I won't let you die in here." She had promised. Sonic had tried to smile.

"...I'm not dying. I'm already getting better. Look." He said, lifting his arm to smooth the small array of quills on her forehead. She smiled slightly. "I couldn't do that before." He said. "...Not before you kissed me." He hinted. Amy chuckled.

"You mean not before you got hours of rest and some actual fresh water." She said, fondly stroking his ear.

Sonic smiled at the memory of the water fountain- still functional and clean- on the second floor. Since Sonic had been unable to stand when it was found, Amy had cupped it in her hands and held it to his lips for him to drink.

"Yeah, I guess that helped too."

Their tones of joy were loose- but still slightly false. They had known they would either be caught or die sooner or later. Sonic remembered grinning up at her, and saying:

"But I still liked the kiss."

Amy had giggled slightly, and sighed.

"Fine. You win." She laughed quietly, and leaned down to kiss him. Sonic had shuddered in pleasure as her lips met his, and melted at the mosaic of emotions that ran through his spine. She gently lay him down, and attempted to part the kiss- but Sonic pulled her back down. He wasn't quite ready for her to leave yet. After a few moments, he let her go, and relaxed quietly in her presence. The mood would have been perfect- had not Amy's stomach suddenly growled, causing the two to chuckle a little, even if it was a reminder of their own mortality. Silence eventually fell on the two, and forced their discussion to turn to an obvious problem.

"D-do you think that we'll ever find food, Ames?" Sonic asked. The pink hedgehog's expression dimmed, and she looked to the dusty floor. Sonic grew uncomfortable with the silence. "D-do you?"

"...I don't know, Sonic." She admitted honestly. Sonic pulled back. He had expected- no, wanted Amy to lie to him, and tell him everything would be okay, like she had been for the past four days. Sonic had just kept going on the hope that Amy gave him.

"But I promise you- I promise you, Sonic- I will not let you starve to death in here!" She said forcefully. Sonic sighed, and sat up, only to lie down again- so that now his head was lain on her lap, which was far more comfortable than the floor. Amy smiled silently and stroked his quills. Sonic smiled. He didn't mind if he died here, if he died like this.

Suddenly, as if reading his thoughts, a loud thump came from overhead. Sonic and Amy froze, instinctively looking upward. Sonic looked to Amy, whose expression was an unearthly mix of anger, sadness, and apathy. Sonic shuddered. He was not used to seeing her like that. He was about to ask her what was going on, when she gently held a finger to his lips.

"Shhh, Sonic..." She whispered quietly. "...I'll go see..." She stood to leave, abandoning Sonic on the cold, dusty floor. The blue hedgehog pulled the blanket around him, and reached out for her.

"Wait, Amy! I- I'll come with you!" He whispered back. Amy turned to him, and shook her head.

"No, Sonic- you're still sick. Lie down. I'll come back." She assured him. Sonic shook his head.

"...Promise?" He begged, tears threatening to appear in the corners of his eyes. Amy paused, and her body stiffened. The pink hedgehog slowly kneeled next to him, and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you so much, Sonic..." She said quietly. Sonic wondered why she did not promise, and sat, confused, in her arms.

A disturbing thought crossed his mind. She hadn't known, had she?

Amy then stood and left, walking up the stairs.

Sonic unintentionally held his breath, listening to every sound that came from the floor above. His body shook terribly without Amy's warmth, and he stared longingly at the stairs, begging for Amy to come back and tell him it was just a mouse or pigeon. It wouldn't be the first time.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Amy screamed.

"Sonic! Sonic, get out! Run!" She screamed. The blue hedgehog nervously jumped to his feet- even though he was still dizzy and weak, and- even though worried about Amy, headed for the exit- the door that lead to a tunnel, which came to the surface. Halfway there, he turned, to see large, bulky shadows coming down the stairs. Afraid, he screamed Amy's name, only to hear gunshots in return. He gasped, but ran, flinging the door open and running for his life once he got to the surface.

He sobbed as he ran- for not only did it cause pain, but also he believed Amy to be dead. Not looking where he was going, he rounded a corner and ran into one of the guards, falling over as he crashed into him. Sonic tried to scramble to his feet before he was caught, but immediately a gun fired and a tranquilizer dart stung into his back. He collapsed on the spot, and was dragged to a disturbingly dogcatcher like van, where he and Amy were thrown amongst other soon-to-be slaves. Once they awoke, Amy and Sonic clung to each other and sobbed, fearing that they were to be killed.

Sonic, once again removed from his memories, sat on the ground, tears running down his cheeks.

Suddenly, he was rudely snapped from his memories of Amy as the accursed second whistle sounded. For the slaves surrounding him, this meant bedtime. But not for him... One of the slave drivers walked up to him. Sonic panicked, and backed away against the stone he had sat down next to. Big mistake. The large man quickly seized Sonic's arm and yanked him to his feet- painfully jerking on Sonic's shoulder, which gave a snap due to the stress. Sonic cried out in pain, but it won him no sympathy as he was dropped to the ground and threatened with the whip. Sonic scrambled to his feet and ran off to his post, followed by the whip-bearing slave driver and the pitied gaze of the mobians behind him.

He wished there were something he could do.

--

After two hours of toiling in the fields with the other 'special' slaves, he was finally allowed to trod back- escorted, of course- to his room, known as Hall 53, or as he liked to call it- hell 53. It was filled with many other male slaves, (the males and females were carefully separated.) but they were no company to Sonic. He didn't speak their language. He could tell no one his stories of home- of his good friends, and of Amy. He found an uninhabited wall and curled up against it, trying to look like he was sleeping as the officer for this cabin trod past him, carefully glancing at each unfortunate soul scattered across the cold, uncomfortable floor of this cell. After taking a brief head count, the officer walked to the door and locked it thrice, sitting down in front of it on a chair, and staring coldly at the long hall, filled with slaves, before him.

The building looked like a barn- only there were no cheery stalls lined with hay, there were no animals or soft sawdust on the ground. It was a long, barren wooden hall, with a large pile of scruffy and unkempt blankets in the corner. Sonic hadn't bothered to get one tonight. Maybe he should have. There was usually a shortage anyway- but it was summer and the nights weren't so cold. They were supposed to be awful in winter, though.

A guard had once told Sonic that it was the worse in winter. Then they would be moved to the mines, since there was no more constructional or agricultural work to be done. Usually the mines were saved for the females, who were naturally born with more upper-body strength. (It's a fact amongst hedgehogs.) Sonic wondered if he would see Amy there, in the winter. He begged for it to be so. He could still picture her face after all this time. And her voice, too. He was glad not to have forgotten.

He was torn from his thoughts when he heard banging on the door. His eyes grew wide, and he pitied the poor souls that were stuck out there. If you didn't get back to the halls before they filled up, you would get locked out. Someone always got locked out. Once it had been him. He remembered the cold and long night- being chased by some sort of animal. It must have been one of those freak wolves altered from the radiation on this planet. He had barely managed to live by climbing onto the roof and holding on to the top (so he wouldn't slide off) all night.

Sometimes Sonic worried if things were okay back home. He wondered if Tails and Knuckles and Rouge- everyone- were fighting against Eggman all right. He sent a prayer every night to whoever may be listening, that Amy and his friends would be safe, and one day he would once again see them, under better circumstances.

Curling up against the wood and swiveling his ears against his head as to not hear the screaming of the people outside, he eventually fell into a dark and fitful sleep, haunted by nightmares and the quiet moaning of the slaves around him.

Life does not work as well as one would hope. Usually karma, as I have discovered, has... some effect. Sometimes, things go better when good has been done. But in some occasions, karma falls to the bigger actions of those who seem to have the world on their side. The system, the story, the world cannot be perfect. Perfection is about as enjoyable as hell. Sometimes bad things happen. And the best you can do is close your eyes and hope it will all come to pass...

...Wasting time in a memory,
The days are growing thin,
Look into your lover's eyes
And let the day begin.
Curse the night but bless the stars,
For all will end in pain,
Unless you hold onto their heart,
And morning comes again.

Chapter one comes to a close.

Wow. That got emotional fast. And what's with the poem? Gee- I must be feeling especially emo today or something. Ah, well- at least I got something updated. So, should I continue? I hope the idea appealed to you- I've always wanted someone to write a story like this, but since no one had, I thought I would.

Enjoy whatever I may have updated since now! -Komodo-342