Fanfiction dot net's window system is dumb. Halfway through major editing I open up astory preview and instead of opening up a new window like any sane website should it had to go be a pain in the ass and come up on the completely seperate window which I was EDITING MY STORY ON. The moderators have serious brain issues. Serious brain issues of being dumb.

Anyway, I updated... I'm too pissed off at the stupid mods of this site to respond to reviews. Maybe I will at the end.

Disclamier- Nope, I don't own Sonic, Amy, Mobius or any other Sega or Sonic Team copyrighted stuph.

Sonic immediately leapt to his feet and jumped upon her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and burrowing his face into her shoulder. He was about to happily shout her name in jubilation, but she quickly clamped her hand over his mouth, muffling his cry of 'Amy!' Surprised, he momentarily pulled back, dragging Amy down with him as the two fell to their knees. He was shocked- he had all of this joy from finally seeing her again, and all of these questions as to how she had found him (he couldn't believe she was standing in front of him as it was) -but she wouldn't let him say anything! For a second he struggled, longing to wrap his arms around her and shout his joy for all to hear.

The pink hedgehog- although gently and with obvious care- pinned Sonic's arms to his sides and tried to cease his struggling.

"Shhh, shh..." Amy whispered quietly, her hand still clamped over his mouth. She silently gestured towards the tunnels where Sonic had come from, and the blue hedgehog heard the shouts of the guards, understanding. He stopped squirming and fell completely silent, listening to the noises within the tunnel intently. As much as he wanted to celebrate seeing her again- he couldn't. They weren't supposed to be here- and if he drew the guards' attention to them, they would be captured and punished, probably separated for another number of months. As he heard one of the voices grow near, his eyes widened and he looked up to Amy, wordlessly asking what they were going to do if caught. A shadow fell upon the wall to their left, and Sonic knew they were going to be found.

Amy tried to nod reassuringly, but he could tell she was trying to think of something. Sonic was still confused and a little too shocked to think straight, even as Amy stood up and picked up the pickaxe, he merely sat there and stared at the wall. He couldn't believe it. She was here- all of that sorrow and loneliness was gone, just like that! And even though he was well aware of the guard nearing him and the dangers of this situation- he didn't care! The joy was simply too much to overpower.

He did notice Amy's eyes light up as she discovered an idea. She began mining the wall that Sonic and Amy sat bye, just moments before the guard walked into sight.

Now as much as Sonic had thought the joy of having Amy back couldn't be overpowered, he was proven wrong the second he saw that guard's face. That was the guard that had stared down at him and declared he was going to get 40 lashes. The hedgehog's entire body froze stiff, and he starred at the officer in pure terror. Adding to that, he had no idea what Amy was doing, or how it was going to help them escape without punishment.

The officer's gaze hardened. Amy stopped mining and looked over at him- her gaze growing equally shocked. She stood completely rigid as the commander walked up to the two Mobians, staring down his nose at them. His gaze sterned, and he reached for the stun-baton that was hanging in its sheath on his belt. After taking it out, he held it threateningly in the air for a moment, before speaking clearly in that same cold voice:

"What are you doing here? These tunnels were cleared out two hours ago." He said, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "And make it quick." He added, turning up the voltage on the stun-baton.

Sonic was stumped; he had no idea what to say! Was there anything to be done to get them out of this? He flinched away, pressing harder into the stone wall behind him.

"We were sent here by one of the overseers." Amy said quickly, before he got a chance to strike Sonic with the baton. The officer's gaze loosened a little, but he still raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Then why isn't that one mining?" He demanded, pointing the stun gun at Sonic. The blue hedgehog's eyes widened and he looked quickly to Amy, hoping she had incorporated that into her plan. For a second she seemed to be at a dead end, when her eyes it up and she replied quickly;

"He injured his foot- that's why he's sitting down." She replied, hoping it would be a sufficient answer. Sonic swallowed nervously- he did have a few cuts and bruises from his fumbles with the pickaxe, but he wasn't sure that the officer would fall for it.

"Now riddle me this- why would an overseer tell you to work unsupervised in an ore-less section of the mountain?" He asked, poking Sonic with the stun bolt. The blue hedgehog gasped as bolts of incredibly painful electricity danced up and down his limbs. He fell to the ground, convulsing, unable to see as Amy tried to restrain herself from leaping onto him, protecting him. Instead She hung her head, trying not to do anything foolish even if her mind screamed to comfort Sonic and kill the officer- the latter she had no power to accomplish. She brushed away a tear for Sonic's sake, and sighed.

"I... maybe we got the directions wrong..." She answered, swallowing what was left of her pride. She looked down at Sonic, who was still twitching in pain. He whimpered slightly before struggling to his knees, staring up at the two with hurt eyes. The officer laughed, and pushed Sonic back down into the mud with his boot. The blue hedgehog quickly glanced up in both anger and pain- but did not move, fearing his life.

"Of course you did. And do you know why?" He asked, putting the stun-baton back into its sheath. Amy focused her gaze to the ground, trying to hide her glare of rage. She allowed herself one glance at Sonic, trying to tell him she would make sure he was going to be okay.

"...No, I don't. Why, sir?" She growled. The officer again laughed, oblivious to the pink hedgehog's fury.

"Because you animals can't do anything right. You would be falling apart if it wasn't for our supervision and guidance. It's just how nature works. You're animals- we're people- you were made to serve us." He elaborated, his face forming a dark grin. "You should be thankful for what we've done. We've given you order and security. Now aren't you thankful for that, hmm?" He asked. Amy sighed shakily due to her rage, still staring at the ground.

"I can't hear you, miner." The officer stated. Amy looked up at him.

"Yes. Extremely thankful." The pink hedgehog forced through clenched teeth.

"Now that's more like it. Forget what that damn overseer told you and get back to your original posts. Bring the other miserable helot with you- and don't think about trying anything funny- I'll be escorting you." The officer scolded, walking down the corridor. Amy glared at him as he left, but immediately sunk next to Sonic and took him up in her arms, giving him a brief squeeze before leaping back to her feet and helping him up. Afterwards, she remembered the story she told him about Sonic's foot, and nearly dropped the hedgehog, turning toward the officer.

"Sir, Sonic's foot-"

"Whose foot?" The officer asked, without turning around. Amy knew by his tone that it was a rhetorical statement, and she stood still, waiting for when he would finish his statement. "Your savage names have no meaning here." He scolded. Amy flinched, feeling like she was about to explode.

"...Sir... His foot... He can't walk on it." She answered. The officer scoffed.

"That's really your problem, now isn't it?" He replied. Amy was silent, but she knew what he meant, and turned to Sonic. The pink hedgehog moved close to him and placed her lips close to his ear.

"Act like I'm carrying you, okay?" She requested, before quickly pulling away and standing beside the blue hedgehog, still in pain from his recent abuse. Careful not to further inure his bruised and broken body, she wrapped an arm gingerly around his waist, helping Sonic take weight off of his 'injured' foot.

The pink canary, sitting forgotten on the stone, chirped after it's new blue friend, and fluttered, unseen, above their heads in the deep tunnel.

Sonic and Amy followed the officer back to Amy's post, where the slaves there were currently having a break. Amy sat Sonic down farther away from the others, and after going to grab her mining equipment, came to sit by him.

It was the first time that Sonic had gotten a chance to really look at her since she found him. She looked different, in many ways. For one, the work in the mines had changed her. What used to be a pixyish figure was now thinly corded in muscle- she wasn't as powerful as the other slaves in the mine, due to her short time here, but she was far more strongly built than Sonic remembered. She was also slightly more pale- probably due to the unlit conditions of the tunnels. Also were the factors of dirt and neglect that matted her once fine fur.

Like all the female slaves, she wore a uniform of brown threadbare cloth, a baggy pair of pants and loose T-shirt. It didn't suit her.

Once Amy neared him, she dropped the pickaxe and bucket off to the left, and kneeled down next to Sonic, looking him in the eye. For a second the blue hedgehog didn't know what to think, when suddenly she leapt upon him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him briefly.

"Sonic... oh, god, Sonic, I... I thought you had..." She sighed, and held him tighter. "I thought I'd never see you again... " She pulled back a little and looked him in the eyes, removing an arm from around him to gently smooth his quills. She smiled, despite the given circumstances and the tears in her eyes, afterwards pulling him back into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried- having no idea where you were or what was happening to you..."

She again broke the hug, gripping him firmly by the shoulders and looking at him face-to-face.

"Nothing's happened to you, right? You're okay?" She asked. Sonic considered nodding, but he wasn't okay. He remembered the debates he had been having with himself- he was worried about so many things. In all truth- he was not fine. He was a slave, and it was tearing him to pieces. Sonic sighed and leaned into Amy, letting her discover for herself as she placed a hand on his back, to feel the wounds beneath his fur... The pink hedgehog sighed shakily, and held him closer. Sonic nearly jumped as he felt tears splash onto his shoulder; but Amy wouldn't let him exit her embrace.

"Sonic," She began, repetitively stroking a hand over his wounds. "I'm so sorry... that I wasn't there for you... " She murmured, embracing him fiercely.

"I missed you too, Amy." Sonic burrowed further into her arms and hugged her in return. He was surprised to once more feel tears fall on his shoulder, and this time pulled away, surprised at her. "Amy," He began, " why are you crying?"

The pink hedgehog looked up at him, and sighed, quickly brushing away her tears.

"I'm sorry, Sonic- It's just that when I saw you running past here, and I went to follow you... oh, I just..." She stopped, and regained her composure. "Sonic... I'd heard that you died. I'd heard that you'd been taken to hall 17. I'd been told countless things about what was happening to you and had no idea what to believe. I was so certain you were dead- but even then I had no way to know. It nearly drove me crazy, Sonic... I worried about you so much." She said, even as a small smile found it's way onto her face. "But you're here now- and I... you have no idea how relieved...and at the same time ashamed I am. I promised to be there for you... and look at you! Look at us! Look at what's happened..." She stated. Sonic's eyes widened slightly, remembering when she had said that. That was back when he had gotten sick; and Amy promised to be there for him. He couldn't help but smile; Amy cared for him so much. "...I wish there were something I could do to get us out of here- but there isn't, and I feel like I've let you down. I know you aren't mad at me, but I still feel guilty." She said. Sonic smiled, and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's not our fault. We're innocent Amy- both of us. At least we have that." Sonic reassured her. For a few seconds they sat like that, until Amy pulled back, whisking away her tears.

"...You're right... I've been so freaked out over nothing. ...We just have to keep a cool head, and once we get out of here we'll look back on this day and laugh. You'll see, Sonic... It'll all turn out okay, won't it..."

Sonic knew she was just saying that; she was lying to him again, just like she had back at the basement- but he didn't mind. He understood that she was trying to be there for him, as she had ever since they arrived here; she was trying to be strong, just for him. But Sonic could tell that she was just as stressed out as he was. In truth, their fates were no longer their decision and they both knew it- ...but for at least a moment, none of it mattered. As long as they were together, corny as it sounds, and could rely upon each other's reassurance, Sonic found he was okay. A renewed strength, small as it was, poured into him. He was happy, and for once, did not feel guilty about it.

"Hey!" Barked the cruel voice of an overseer, interrupting the two hedgehog's sentimental moment. "No socializing! Break is over- get to work!"

After saying this, he threw some mining supplies to Sonic, and went back to monitor the other slaves in Amy's group. The blue hedgehog starred down at them blankly; he had never seen tools like this before, and had no idea how to use them. Amy smiled down at him, and helped him up, leading him over to where her group of slaves was continuing their work. She picked up an identical tool to the one in Sonic's hand, and demonstrated how it was used by prying away a large rock from the rest of the wall. Sonic at first considered asking why she wasn't verbally explaining; but he figured out himself as an overseer walked by, threateningly waving around a stun-baton. Finding a new resolve at being near the protection of Amy, he gave an attempt at this new form of work, hoping he wouldn't be caught for being in the wrong work division...

It had been an hour or two since Sonic had joined Amy in this new and advanced mining labor. Despite the simplicity of the tools and uncomplicated process; he just couldn't do it. This work was made for slaves who had been doing this for at least three months- Sonic had spent only a matter of hours in this place, and the aerobic strength he had gained from field labor served no good here. His body wasn't built for this; and he just couldn't do it. For a while there, he had begun to worry that the overseers would notice his futile attempts to dislodge the heavy rocks, and how far he was lagging behind the slaves more advanced in this work. But thankfully, Amy came to his rescue- the two hedgehogs would constantly switch positions, making it look like the two of them were both making fair progress- when in fact Sonic could do next to nothing after so much time of labor he was unused to, and Amy was being forced to work twice as hard to make up for the difference. But she didn't mind- she knew Sonic's life was at stake. If he got another beating like the one he got yesterday- he would certainly die, with how little time he had gotten to heal.

Finally- to both Sonic and Amy's infinite relief, the third whistle sounded, and they sat down. He knew what that whistle meant- a break. Although the break of the third whistle was the shortest of the day- only 5 minutes long instead of 10- it was a break nonetheless, and Sonic nearly collapsed into Amy, who was sitting next to him. She laughed slightly at the innocence of his exhaustion, gently petting his quills. Apparently affection wasn't discouraged- just talking- for the guards walked past the young couple repeatedly. Sonic scoffed lightly to himself; that was awkward ruling.

"Thanks, Amy." He whispered quietly, making sure the guards were far out of earshot. "I don't know how you do that every day- it's impossible!" He declared, once again keeping his voice hushed. Amy smiled, and again made a point of smoothing the fur on his head with the palm of her hand.

"Shhh... rest up for now..." she gently commanded, again keeping her voice too soft for the guards to hear. Sonic grinned- for he once again couldn't contain his joy at being with Amy, after all those months of worry concerning her whereabouts. It was strange how contented her presence could make him be; even when added to the horrors of slavery. He had nearly forgotten how good it felt to be with a loved one.

Amy looked up from the blue hedgehog reclining comfortably in her lap to see one of the guards run, in a panic, down the tunnel and to the main officer, screaming bloody murder all the way.

He panted heavily, and shouted something in a language unfamiliar to the pair- but all the guards, taking great meaning in what he had just said, turned their heads and started shouting amongst one another- the subject must have been very distressing! The slaves paused momentarily too- for all out hysteria was breaking amongst the overseers and none understood. The officer, being the only one in the room to keep their demeanor, walked towards the guard at the entrance of the tunnel. In a raised voice, he then spit out a string of words that Sonic didn't know the meaning to; but they came off as ingredients of an aggressive statement. The guard stammered a few sentences back, and then the officer cursed loudly, turning back and shouting an order to the guards scattered amongst the area behind him. Almost immediately a large portion of the slave drivers took out their weapons and ran to the entrance of the mines, while a few others ran towards the slaves and began ordering them further into the tunnels. Sonic and Amy stood up in panic- nothing like this had ever happened before! In the midst of the noise, Sonic reached out and grabbed Amy's hand, to make sure he didn't loose track of her in the confusion. He wasn't going to loose her again.

"What's going on?" He asked, his eyes darting around the madness, trying to find a clue as to what was happening. Amy shook her head, glancing up and down the halls.

"I don't know!" She answered, pulling Sonic next to her to make sure they weren't separated. She took a few steps backwards, and the pair pressed against the rock wall to avoid being trampled by the panicking slaves and guards that were still in the area.

Suddenly, a figure jumped into the hall, and blasted some form of weapon at the slave drivers. Their clothes were not like the red garments of the overseers or like any other uniform Sonic had seen on the plantation, and moments afterward many more of similarly dressed people ran into the hall, as gunfire went wild.

Sonic gasped, tugging Amy closer to him and pulling her out of the way as an injured slave driver shot a gun in their direction. The two fell to the ground, and quickly stood up as an all-out battle erupted into the tunnels.

These new people were dressed in clothes consisting of many different shapes and colors of green; they wore military camouflage and helmets, and their vests and pants were covered in pockets. They ran through the tunnels and halls, corralling the slaves into groups and shooting every overseer they set their eyes on- and with little effort as well. One of them rushed towards Sonic and Amy, and the blue hedgehog panicked, expecting the worse from these people. Quickly, he grabbed Amy's hand and turned to run away, but an arm seized him around the waist, and pulled him from his feet- also pulling him away from the pink hedgehog beside him.

"Amy!" He screamed, turning around in his captor's grasp to see who was dragging him away from her.

It was not a slave driver who was attempting to take Sonic away- it was one of the new people, who were apparently attacking the plantation and all authoritive members within it. Sonic didn't know whether this was good or bad, and he glared up at the masked face of his assailant, struggling to get away.

"Ano maya- himitie! Nehshei!" Came a feminine voice from behind the helmet. "Faran megolt ka anayo!"

After the 'solider' was finished shouting, she tightened her grip on Sonic and turned towards the exit of the mine. Sonic noticed that many of these soldiers were doing the same thing- they shot down the guards, guided the groups of slaves towards the exit, and picked up the unwilling stragglers, (like Sonic and Amy) carrying them outside the mines. Sonic didn't know what to think of this- only that he wasn't going to leave Amy.

Amy was thinking similar thoughts- she wouldn't let this person take away Sonic, either. The pink hedgehog ran at the solider, attempting to pull the blue hedgehog away.

"Argah?" Came a confused and aggravated voice as she turned from the exit to stare down at the pink hedgehog attacking her.

"Amy!" Sonic shouted, again struggling to escape the soldier's grasp and run to her side of the feud.

The solider took a step back, to doge Amy's next attack, and looked at Sonic, who was struggling to reach Amy, and then the pink hedgehog, who was trying to reach Sonic...

"Eh gar hedgehog un bala?" The solider declared in a questioning tone to the hedgehog. Sonic ignored her, having no idea what she was saying, and continued to struggle away.

The solider shrugged, and turned to a member of the 'plantation attackers' standing next to her.

"Feht gar hedgehog to gurron exit!" She shouted over the hysteria of the battlefield, pointing to Amy. The solider paused from fighting off the slave drivers, (who were attempting to regain control) and nodded, grabbing Amy as the two military personnel ran to the exit of the mine. Once these two left the tunnels of the mine and walked into the now arid fields surrounding it, they dumped the two hedgehogs amongst a large group of other slaves. Currently, these slaves were surrounded by camouflage-garbed personnel, holding weapons. But the weapons weren't pointed at the slaves- the soldiers were facing away from the large group they surrounded, as if to make sure... nothing came to harm them... Sonic raised an eyebrow- what was going on here? He turned to the solider who had brought him outside if the mine, who was preparing to leave.

"What's going on!" He shouted. The solider paused- and turned towards the hedgehog, as if surprised that he could speak. She kneeled down to look him in the eye, although Sonic still couldn't see her face due to the helmet.

"You speak?" She asked, her voice thick with accent. For a second Sonic didn't understand the question- but then he realized she was asking if he spoke English. He silently nodded. The solider looked around, then quickly patted the hedgehog on the head. "It's okay- you're safe here."

Her simple words aside- Sonic still didn't understand the situation. Safe? What did she mean by that?

"No! Why are you here? Why are you attacking the plantation?" He asked, pushing her hand away. The solider turned her head as another person in camouflage shouted something towards her. She nodded to the person to verify she understood, and then looked back to Sonic.

"Helotry is wrong. The people said 'no more'. And so here we are." She said, before standing up and running back towards the mine. Sonic attempted to stand up and follow her, but one of the soldiers surrounding the group of slaves grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Ano, hedgehog! Tie-eht heno ka. Bahna ka!" He shouted, pulling Sonic back and placing him next to Amy, who seized Sonic in her arms. The two sat down at the edge of the group of slaves, staring at the mine entrance as soldiers went in and out, bringing with them the corpses of Slave drivers and the scared, confused slaves who were either following behind them or being carried off forcefully as Sonic had been. Amy looked up at Sonic, worry in her eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked, staring at the site in utter confusion. Sonic shook his head, and pulled her arms further around him. His entire body shivered- and not because of the cold.

"I don't know."

Well there you have it. I guess I'll respond now..

LPP: Yes, yes it was. At first I considered it being Knuckles or Tails- like they had come to rescue Sonic and Amy had supposedly died and the entire plot would be kind of like that- butI decided not to. I have better plans for our two hedgehogs... much better plans... (snickers evilly)

SonicR: Aww, thanks! I hope you liked this chapter just as much as the others! I can personally pick out some parts that I think suck but that's just me talking.

alleycat: Yeah I noticed I was trying to insert some humor where it didn't belong, but every so often I'll just be putting some little breaks betwen scene transitions that explain impersonal aspects of the plot. For instance, the one about the world they're on and then the one about slavery of the Mobians both provide informations important to the plot.

But otherwise, yes, I'll cut down on the stuph that shouldn't be there.

CrystalRose: Thanks for the review- and actually, that little pink bird plays a handful of roles amongst the story... keep reading to find out.

Ted,Liz&Ri2: I'm gonna put this bluntly; you're all awesome. But I have a story to update and I've responded to one review too many. My brain is melting. So take my thanks, review, and don't do the pancakes. (inside joke there, with the pancakes. Nevermind)