Here's the third chapter! Please enjoy!

Review Responses:

Shadow8Phantom: Glad to hear from you that I nailed down Mary's and Shadow's personality! I am hoping I maintain their characters as this story proceeds forward and their relationship develops and strains during their time in the changed Fabricated World. As for their relationship, they're off to a good start, but as you said in your review, Mary's psyche is broken and unstable keeping her true nature as living painting from Shadow, who he believes her to be a real person stuck in the Fabricated World for so long she's not of a sound mind. Definitely interesting when the time comes for him to realize her true nature when she inevitably has a breakdown. Not so soon, I must add.

Again, it's undecided if I may add Rouge, Cream, Amy (interestingly) and even Ib and Garry. Regarding the last two, thank you for pointing out to me that if they're around with Mary, it would contradict her loneliness and desperation to get out the Fabricated World. Well, if I came around adding them later in the story, I had decided how they will be implemented in a way that doesn't impede Mary's loneliness, even compound it more.

Remember, Mary is fond of drawing in her sketchbook and the Fabricated World is where Guertena's artworks come to life...

The walk is taking a while as their footsteps echo between the dreary walls, which is the only sound they are hearing aside from the oozing paint dripping from the ceiling or sliding down the wall.

Six minutes or so have passed after Shadow and Mary first met each other and introduced themselves. In the conversation that followed, they see what kind of mess they were dumped into after a Chaos Emerald, which was in Mary's possession and possibly the source of an energy signal Shadow had detected while passing the art gallery, caused a Chaos Control and teleported them in this dull gray corridor. As their interaction continued and finished, a goal was already decided in their minds that they must escape this alternate world derived after the art gallery where, based on Mary's experience in being trapped here for who knows how long, a number of hostile artworks shall have their way in gnawing at their lives and prevent them from making progress in their escape.

Being trapped in this dangerous world for so long where there don't seem to be any time for rest because their lives are on the line affects one's mind negatively and Mary herself is no exception. Shadow had guessed it based from her near mental or emotional breakdown after scrutinizing her claim to be his guide that she really wanted this, or her, nightmare to end and emerge out of this world alive and, hopefully, her mind partially intact and safe. Since this is the first time he stepped foot in the Fabricated World, he doesn't know yet what kind of danger lurking in this halls nor the possible horrid sights the blonde girl have witnessed before her very eyes, but he's not stupid to guess it's all anything but good. She must have been very lonely trying to survive and since she's so ecstatic to have encountered him almost by chance, she may have latched on to him as her friend.

Shadow is not one to go out his way to create more friends due to his solitary nature but he's not at all opposed. Rouge and Omega, regardless if he may only see them as partners in work, may have been called "close friends" by him ever since he first met them after being freed albeit with a dose of amnesia that persisted until he found out his past.

Also, while he does not want to admit it out in the open, he does need someone to guide him so he catches on the situation he shouldn't have dabbled in.

Most importantly though, is that since Shadow is likely the first living person Mary has ever encountered after doing her best to survive here for long, he must look after her well-being. A little girl like her has no place getting stuck here for a long time. That, and he's older than her, qualifying him as the girl's guardian for this adventure.

After their conversation ended, they set forth their path in the bleak hallway and march across the marble floors, walking next to each other together. Then Shadow decides to hang back a little, planning to keep watch over the rear while Mary has their front covered. She may not know yet, but the black hedgehog is experienced in fighting due to being the Ultimate Lifeform, honed through years of service as G.U.N.'s top agents whether done by himself alone or through his teammates, be it Team Dark or (reluctantly) Sonic and his pals should they cross paths in their own adventures. Though knowing Sonic's thirst for adventure and heroic nature, there's no escaping encountering him even if Shadow likes it or not.

Maybe this will be a rare event when Sonic doesn't directly involve himself? Shadow hopes so. The less time he gets to see him, the better.

During the whole walk, both of them didn't say anything more or start a next conversation. Well Mary did try to spark another conversation because she wants to learn Shadow more, and also if the real world is exciting and pretty like in the books, only to be met with dismissal from him. He's focused on carving their path in this part of the Fabricated World, so unless he has something to ask or wants to quench his curiosity, they shall keep quiet for now. The blonde girl pouted at his aloof attitude but she didn't complain. She can take solace in the fact she's walking with a new friend, at least.

Going back to their tense walk, it's starting to become boring the longer they continue. The two having walked for about six minutes now aside, the gray halls seem to be stretching far ahead of them. Actually, no. It must be repeating itself, contributing to the illusion of the hallway possibly looping by itself endlessly, and if that's not true, then the corridors must be very, very, long if the gray walls, floors and ceiling are the only features they are seeing in this long walk. Even if they take two or three turns when seeing the hall turn left or right, the oozing paint and gray cold and hard surfaces are always surrounding them no matter how far they go.

Eventually, Mary couldn't take this feeling of illusion anymore. She decides to complain about the repeating or very long hallway possibly toying with them to create an illusion of progress when it is not made. "Why is this taking so long? My legs are starting to get tired…"

Side-eyeing her, Shadow didn't scold her for starting a conversation since he's getting annoyed over the tedious walk he was expecting not to take as long than it needed to be. "Right… This is becoming suspicious. Did you… encountered this kind of situation before?"

Mary turns to him and shakes his head. "Nuh uh. Not once I had run into a path where it seems to keep repeating by itself. The previous hallways I went through weren't so long and usually consists three or more rooms, big or small."

"Hmm… Going over by what you said," responded Shadow. "I take it this corridor was unfamiliar to you, and therefore, this is the first time you found yourself in a new, unfamiliar area?"

"I, well…" She is thinking on what response she will say next that makes sense on a surface level. There is an area in the Fabricated World where the surface are colored gray and has one section filled with Lady paintings wearing four, or actually five, colored dresses and were named based on the dresses' colors. Aside from the Ladies, the most notable feature is a pendulum clock that slow down time if a petal is exchanged. Since the corridor they're walking in is colored gray, she may say that they're in the Gray Area of the Fabricated World but the lack of paintings they've yet to see and leaking paint originating from somewhere not pleasant, not to mention the irritatingly long or repeating hallway that is really new to her, tells her that this corridor, in spite of its color seemingly making it obvious what area they are currently in, may not be a part of the Gray Area.

If there is one thing she can take away from her observation of the hallway and how unsure she was if they're actually in the Gray Area though, this must be a new section she didn't found and explore until now.

Believing Shadow is right, Mary knows her response straight away. "Yes. If I recognized this hallway, I would have guided you to a door that will take us to a different area."

"A door?"

"Uh huh. There are many doors located in different parts of the Fabricated World," she clarified. "Some of them are locked, so you need a key to unlock them, which they are found lying somewhere or after you completed a puzzle. If we're lucky though, most of the doors could be unlocked."

"…Well it makes sense this pale imitation of the real gallery has doors as you said," conceded Shadow. "If Guertena's artworks are found here but some of them alive and hostile, doors are included too. Guess this world needs a form of panel so anyone can get around."

Mary giggles at his statement, feeling glad another conversation is being made between Shadow and her. She really wants a different sound to break up the ear-splitting silence and their echoing footsteps doing its role of disrupting the silence.

"I wouldn't have nearly escaped if there's no doors built, of course," she stated. "While it's not an easy time for me, I was only able to get so far by maintaining my life and not losing myself to… hysteria."

"Oh? You are braver than I thought and give you credit for," Shadow sounds impressed.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Mary pouted, thinking his complement is insulting her. "You already know from me the Fabricated World is not a pleasant place to be in. Aside from avoiding hostile artworks, you also have to look after your rose and make sure their petals are not plucked from its stem because your life are connected. If all of them are plucked off, you'll die."

"Rose?" Shadow parroted, stopping his walk to face her out of curiosity after hearing a new info from her.

"Yeah, you need to hold your rose at all times," Mary advised. "You don't want to have an artwork like the Lady painting see your rose and snatch it from your hands to pull off the petals until… they're… gone…"

Her voice trails off when she realized something about Shadow, also stopping her walking. Looking at his hands, her face become shocked as a dawning thought came on to her head, one that has been scratching the back of her mind the whole time until she brought up the feature the Fabricated World has that applies only to the many guests of the gallery.

Noticing her silent gasp, Shadow cannot help but ask her. "Mary, what's wrong? Why did you stop explaining?"

The girl blinks twice before she asks him an important question. "Do you have a rose with you Shadow?"

"…What?" Shadow narrowed his eyes over her odd question.

His confused expression tells her that, all this time, Shadow wasn't holding a rose, nor did he take it out from a vase. How come she didn't realize that!? She was so focused on the prospect of being accompanied by a new friend that she nearly forgot one important thing he must carry with him at all times. At least she now knows what's been missing here that was nagging at her head.

"Ahhhh! How could I forget it!?" Mary exclaimed, both hands glued on her face. "If I haven't remembered that, Shadow might possibly die out of carelessness because of me!"

"Because of you?" Shadow is more confused. "What on earth are you saying? Why did you ask me if I have a rose?"

Knowing how important holding a rose with you and never letting it go if you value your life during your stay in the Fabricated World, Mary takes a deep breath to psych herself up to explain herself. "It's because… when you're in this world… your life is-" But before she can explain…

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

…everything went dark after a sharp, clicking sound is heard.

"Huh?" Mary jumped from the sound.

"What?" Shadow looked around at their darkened surroundings, becoming alerted.

Silence settles in between the two as their eyes are fed with pitch-black darkness for the second time, lingering in the air around them for four seconds top. It felt like an eternity for them though, especially to the girl feeling panic rising in her body, coming back for a vengeance possibly. She would have succumbed to another panic attack happening in the same circumstance…

But she remembers she's not alone as Shadow is with her. Having him in her thoughts serve to push down slightly her rising panic, which gives her some strength to call out his name to make sure he's still there near her and didn't up and up leave or vanished.

"Shadow…? Shadow! Are you still here?"

Footsteps shuffling were heard next to her, right where Shadow should be standing on as a response confirms it. "Yes. I remained in my position when the lights go out, and I'm guessing you remained too?"

"Yes, yes!" Mary frantically shouted, whipping her head around in both panic and relief. Wanting to be really sure, she raised both her hands in front of her and says, "P-Please hold my hand! I… I don't want to think I'm actually alone!"

A firm grip is felt in her left hand as well as a fabric rubbing on her bare palms, bring with it more relief to her head. Shadow then comes into her view when he moves closer and seeing him come close almost evaporates her impending anxiety.

"I'm here! Don't let go!" Shadow ordered sternly.

"Okay!"

Even though he's close, Mary is not satisfied because the darkness is still around them. Wanting the hedgehog' watchful protection, Mary crouches down to his height before hugging him, putting her chin over his right shoulder, or where his shoulders should be.

"H-Hey! I didn't say you can hug me!" Shadow immediately protested, moving his hands to push him off her.

"Sorry! I'm just… I'm sooooo scared!" Mary apologized, her grip on him so tight she doesn't budge from Shadow pushing her hands or body off. Also, her eyes are closed, as if she wants to shield her eyes to stop more darkness from filling them.

"…Isn't my presence good enough?" He sighed. "I know you are scared, but panicking does not improve our sudden situation."

"I-I'm…" Mary stuttered, still clinging on for dear life. "I'm trying but… but…!"

Before Shadow finally pushed her off after having enough of his private space being invaded, the lights flickered for a second and then it comes back on, illuminating their surroundings again.

Mary recoiled in surprise when the lights came on, getting off Shadow (much to his relief) and standing up quick. "Ah! We can see again!" She stated with agape eyes and mouth, thankful the lights weren't so bright to singe her eyes again.

"Good. That saves us many minutes of lingering in the dark while blinded," remarked Shadow.

As relieved the two are, it was short-lived when they soon notice the corridor they were walking in many minutes ago has somehow changed from a long hallway lined by two walls side by side into an average-sized room. The gray marbles, seeping or trickling paint, the strong smell and gloomy ambience all remained to remind them of where they are. Naturally, they are perplexed over how the hallway changed into a room and why it changed.

"Ummm… We were in the hallway earlier, right Shadow?" Mary asked to make sure she's not imagining this.

"Yes," answered Shadow.

"Soooo… how… did we…? Huh?" She was about to ask a second question when she faced forward and noticed two objects located near the rear end of the room. Shadow followed her gaze though he already noticed them and didn't get closer immediately so he answers her obvious question.

From a glance, there's nothing special about the small wooden table standing by itself, but one thing that caught their eyes is a porcelain vase sitting on top of its surface containing a rose. This rose has black petals and, while it's hard to see from a distance, its petals appear to number in fifteen.

While Shadow's expression remains disinterested and didn't assume the rose sitting on a vase as something noteworthy, Mary lets out a surprised "Ah!", so soon after the previous surprise she felt seconds ago. Compared to Shadow's, her face has a look of recognition upon laying her eyes on the black rose, which leads her to sprint to the table to get a closer look first.

"Mary?" Following the girl's hurried movements with his eyes, Shadow moved near the girl, wondering what got her so roused up. Standing next to her leaning her upper body forward being so transfixed to it for some reason, before turning to her leaning her body to get the closest look she can get to the black rose. The way she's eyeing the rose with wide eyes… It is unusual, he noted. It's just a rose, what's so special about it that has her drawn to it?

…Wait. Mary asked me if I was carrying a rose with me, this thought came to his head. She was almost flustered when I said I didn't carry a rose. Is there a specific reason why she briefly made a big deal about holding a rose on me? She was about to explain why when everything went dark for a short time. Hmm, I wonder…

"…Mary," Shadow called out to her again, louder and firmer.

"Ah!" Seemingly snapping out of her stupor, Mary looks up and turned at Shadow with a curious look. "What is it?"

He was about to say his question but Mary gets to speak first after she guessed and remembered the explanation she was going to give. "Wait, I know what you're gonna ask… You want to know about this black rose, right?"

Seeing she caught on, Shadow nodded. "Yes. Would you care to explain now?"

SPLAT

A splatting sound stops Mary from saying her answer again, causing her to be annoyed. "What's that sound?" She asked in an irked tone.

Hearing it near the wall, Mary and Shadow look at the splattered red paint displaying a message. They immediately see it is the same kind of message they saw and read before the emerald teleported them.

"A note?" Shadow gets close to the red letters to better read it, and so did Mary too.

Whoever wrote the message or how did it appear like a paint slapping on a surface, Shadow isn't sure. For Mary though, she's aware of a note appearing out of nowhere displayed or written in paint. That doesn't mean she's not fond of it, especially the last time the (threatening) messages appeared during her "successful" escape that was leading to her apparent death.

As for what the notes say, they read:

When the rose wilts, so too will you wither.

You and your rose are intertwined. You must know the weight of life.

After reading them, Shadow adopts his thinking pose as he tries to understand what they could mean. "Me and the rose are… connected? And when it wilts, I will wilt too? Wait, does this mean… my life is…?"

"Linked to your rose? That's right."

Shadow lowers his hand and turns to Mary, who has a pensive look on her face as she looks at him.

"Huh?"

"Shadow," Mary started. "This is what I was about to tell you and was concerned about. During your stay in the Fabricated World, your life was linked with a rose that you must carry with it on you at all times. You don't want someone to pull the petals off one by one until all petals are plucked off, which will kill you."

"W-Wait, pulling all the petals of a rose means total death?" He acted surprise upon hearing a terrifying easy way of offing someone's life if they're connected with a rose. "You're not… making this up, right?"

"Nope," she shook her head with a frown.

"Huh. So that's why…" He now understands why Mary asked him if he has a rose with him. Or in other words, she was asking if his life was secured when he first entered the Fabricated World. For a powerful hedgehog like him who can take on many strong opponents, he can take any injuries he may receive, but learning his life is connected to a fragile or delicate flower that one can easily snuff his life out just by pulling all the petals at once is… risky and dangerous. If Mary didn't brought the topic up, Shadow would have no idea until he has a split-second realization of his life ending thanks to someone pulling all petals off his rose. Seems like he's gonna have a tricky time managing his life points if he were to survive, which is a disservice for the Ultimate Lifeform.

As much as he's relieved he learned one of the rules when stuck here in the Fabricated World, he's a little perturbed Mary have only told it just now and nearly forgot it. Breathing out a sigh, he says to her, "I would have liked it if you told me sooner than later. Before I knew it, I may have died suddenly without knowing the cause."

Mary rubs the back of her neck with a sheepish smile, averting her eyes away from his glaring red irises. "S-Sorry… I got so excited I nearly forgot it."

"Hope you don't forget something again, especially if it's important," he reminded her, turning his eyes back to the black rose. "Now then, let me pick this rose up…"

Grabbing its stem, Shadow took the rose off the vase and moves it close to his face to inspect it carefully. He rotates the rose to better inspect it in every angle he can see, noting the tiny thorns of the brittle stem and the dainty black petals attached firmly on the bud unless he pulls one of them. Taking all of this in, Shadow sees the black rose to be real and not made out of any art material. Even before he examined it, the stem he's holding feels just as real like the many flowers he had seen.

"It's pretty, right?" He heard Mary told him, slouching down a little to closely examine his rose with a smile. "Your rose has so many petals than mine. About fifteen at least. And it's colored black! It's a unique color for a rose, that's for sure. I wonder why your rose is black, though. I'm sure you'll get a red one."

"Hmm, or maybe I could have red and black petals," mused Shadow. "It would fit my look."

"Oh! That sounds great! Buuuut I think a black rose does suit you fine, Shadow!" Mary straightens her body. "Like I said, it's a unique color definitely fitting for you!"

"Well, I'll take what I get," Shadow shrugged. "Speaking of roses, may I see yours? I'm sure you must have carried it with you before you met me."

Mary tenses up, her body flinching when Shadow asked her to see her rose. Unlike his rose, her yellow rose is a fake she picked up out of her portrait which has yellow roses adorned below it. It's made out of plastic or possibly paper, and as such, her rose doesn't compare to the innate realness of anyone's roses. And since it is fake and knowing that a person's life is linked indelibly to roses in this world, it's telling her that like the fake rose, her life is fabri…ca…

No, NO! I'm… I'm not a fake! Mary shakes her head hard to get the thoughts off her head. My existence is… is as real as… the many people coming here from the real world!

"Mary? What's wrong? You looked worried."

Snapping out of her stupor again, Mary sees Shadow's confused stare boring on to her, having saw her shake her head desperately but unaware of her troubled thoughts that popped into her mind. Fearing he may get suspicious, she quickly comes up with this reply, "H-huh? Oh! Sorry, I was just… I didn't expect you to ask me to see my rose, that's all!"

Her reply didn't do much to lower his suspicion, quirking an eyebrow to emphasize he's not fooled. "You're thinking showing your rose to someone is weird?" He wondered.

"U-Um, no, no!" she stammered, letting out a nervous chuckle. Wanting to fulfill his request before this goes on for too long than she needs it be, she takes out her rose out of her dress pocket and shows it to him. "Here! This is my yellow rose!"

Blinking at Mary's odd behavior and remaining suspicious of her because of it, Shadow decides to ignore her and checks out the yellow rose with his analytical eyes. "Hmm…" He squints his eyes to further examine it, rubbing his muzzle in thought. "This rose you're holding…"

"Y-Y-Yes?" Mary looked up to his scrutinizing face, getting more anxious he might realize her rose is fake. She's dreading if her near frantic response to his innocuous request has caused the hedgehog to become so suspicious of her that he's about to ask him what's wrong with her. She hasn't told him she's actually a living painting and an inhabitant of the Fabricated World, not a real girl like he thought she is.

"…"

"…"

"…It has five petals in total and… definitely looks real, like mine." Shadow concluded, backing away slightly from the yellow rose after he's finished.

"Eh?"

Seeing he's finished inspecting her rose, Mary lowers her hand holding it, having realized the stem she's holding isn't so soft and frail like before and instead, it became as hard as a stick. She can also feel tiny thorns prickling her palm and fingers but not so painfully and, upon examining it, the yellow petals don't look like it's made out of paper cut and molded into its shape.

She's confused at first, but when she remembered Shadow's words and how the yellow rose felt in her hand, she lets out a silent gasp upon realizing the supposed false rose she's been carrying with her for a very long time has, somehow… became real.

W-What? My rose… It's… not a fake anymore? Mary thought in surprise.

Spinning the tender rose between her finger and thumb, Mary couldn't believe she's actually holding a real rose, wanting to deny that fact because there's simply no way the rose suddenly changed its form while it's stored in her dress pocket. She's feeling uncertain if she's imagining it being real or if it's one of the Fabricated World's trick, one that she didn't know can do. The latter seems possible considering the odd sights she witnessed even as its master of this world.

And yet, the simple fact that she's holding a real rose means that, be it a miracle or a misfortune, her fabricated life is now linked with the yellow rose. Recalling the description of the sculpture of a red rose called Embodiment of Spirit, specifically about the words "hoolsome body", her yellow rose becoming real could possibly mean her thoughts about being a fake can be disproven and made eligible to escape out of the Fabricated World at long last. Sure she doesn't know why it became real yet, but that question seems irrelevant now that she has an actual rose, not a piece of origami of plastic she removed from a portrait.

Certain of the rose's realness, Mary puts her rose back in her pocket, smiling at the thought of gaining an actual rose like in the real world. She was so absorbed in her joyous thought that she didn't notice Shadow, with arms crossed, was staring at her with more confusion and curiosity over what's actually going on in her head that has rendered silent for a moment before she silently rejoiced and puts her rose back. It takes her turning to him for her to realize again he was standing there the whole time, making her yelp in surprise.

"A-Ah, Shadow!" She exclaimed.

"Finally… You snapped out of your daydream," stated Shadow, his staring now piercing straight through her head as his suspicion has not let up. "Care to explain why this is the best time to be so engrossed on your thoughts after you examined your rose?"

Seeing he's still on to her, Mary stuttered for a moment before she takes a deep breath and promptly comes up with a response she hopes it would stem down his leery look. "It's because I… was wondering if one petal has been removed from my rose. As you said, my rose only has five petals compared to yours, so having just one petal pulled off is enough to cause me pain. Also, it makes removing all my five petals easy and requires little effort to do, so I was… being careful and cautious over my life."

Hearing her words, Shadow can concede she has a point. Possibly accounting for the fact Mary is younger compared to him, her yellow rose has five petals in total, making her more susceptible and likely to get hurt. He understands what Mary is getting from and her overall concern for her life, so her inspecting the rose closely for any signs of damage done to it is a sensible act to do. Indirectly, he decides to keep it in mind in case he got hurt too, not that it will happen soon to an Ultimate Lifeform like him.

"Ah, I see. You were just overly cautious," replied Shadow, relaxing his glare. "Don't worry Mary. I understand where you're coming from. Also, you gave me an advice in keeping my rose, and by extension my life, safe and healthy. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

"Oh! Why, you're welcome Shadow!" Mary giggled, glad she helped him in a way.

"That said, I'm wondering Mary…" However, Shadow is not finished talking as he regards the surprised girl again with suspicion. "You're not… hiding something from me, are you?"

"M-Me? Hiding… something…?" She feigned ignorance after flinching, mustering a nervous smile. Before she can wallow more in her anxiousness and fear, she thinks up a perfect reply that will minimize his suspicions. "Oh! Well… you're talking about everything I witnessed in this art world, right?"

"Huh?"

"Since I had spent so long here than I hoped I would," continued Mary. "I may have seen…everything the Fabricated World can offer. If you're ever curious, feel free to ask me! I won't hide anything from you Shadow!" And hopefully my secret does not come out in a worst possible time…

Winking at him, Mary goes silent as she hopes Shadow may bought into her little lie that did have some grain of truth considering she's the long-time resident of the Fabricated World. She only hopes he doesn't stick his nose too deep within her private affairs under the belief he will consider her an enemy to be disposed just because she's actually a painting born in this world. Fortunately, Shadow appears to understand as he nodded affirmatively.

"Oh, that makes sense," conceded the black hedgehog. "Well, I'll take your word up. However, I expect you wouldn't dare hide any answer to me, understand?"

"Yes. You have my word," responded the blonde girl/painting with a smile.

Though remaining suspicious of her, Shadow decides to set that aside for now and put their main concern back. "Alright, so now that I have my rose…" He steps away from the vase and stands in the center of the room, looking at the cold walls left and right. "How do we get out of this room? I could teleport us somewhere far from this room but… my Chaos energy is running low. I have to wait for it to slowly refill, which will not give us enough time to protect ourselves from any danger we will encounter."

Hearing him clearly as she stands next to him after following him to the center, Mary directs her nervous look to the six enclosed walls surrounding them without any thought for their desire to roam free. Checking out the room like he's doing, Mary expresses her concern right away, "There's no door here, and I'm not seeing anything that can help us get out of this room… I don't want to fill you with more concern Shadow, but…"

"Don't say we're trapped," Shadow stopped her, a grim determination on his face. "A way out will show itself without question. We just have to poke around every nook and cranny until we found it."

"So we just have to search?" Mary surmised his statement.

Shadow nodded. "That's what I said, right?"

SPLAT

Before the two gets to work examining the strange room, a third sound is heard behind them. Remembering that is where the vase that contained Shadow's rose are, they turn around to see another red note has appeared next to the initial note.

Unanimously agreeing to read it, they walk back to the rear wall again and read what it says this time.

However, the contents of the message raise alarm bells in their heads due to how… threatening and shady the words said.

Want to get out? Don't worry, you will be out of here soon…

BUT BEWARE…

SOMEONE WILL BE PRESENT TO WELCOME YOU.

"…" Shadow and Mary are silent as they comprehend the contents of the message and look at each other with faces full of wariness and fear respectively. They were about to make a comment when suddenly, the lights went off again.

"Ah! The lights…!" Mary started panicking again, having not expected this to happen the third time. She would have surely freaked out once again but then their sights returned shortly after.

Even if their visions are restored, Mary did not let up her apprehension because she and the ever so vigilant hedgehog find themselves back in the hallway, any signs of the room they were in becoming non-existent during the swift hidden transition. While they are relieved they got out of the room safely, that doesn't mean they can't let their guard down.

Not forgetting the ominous message they read before they got back here, Shadow steps away from the wall before turning his head around and examining the corridor attentively. At this point, he has enough of this spooky charade and he wants progress, even if it's small, made. One that hopefully doesn't involve walking through the hall for many minutes. They will waste precious time if this happens again.

"Hmm…" Shadow subconsciously hummed with focused gaze.

"Shadow…?" Mary called out, noticing he's suspicious of something and appears ready to react judging by his body tensing. He ignores her, so focused on expecting something to happen.

Feeling clueless, the girl tries again to get his attention. But before she can do it, she heard a strange sound directly to her right. She snaps her head toward where she heard the sound, and so did Shadow.

In accordance of them facing at the lingering darkness before them, their bodies follow, both tensed up and seemingly prepared to act once they see what they heard over there.

…

…

…

CLOMP

The two recoiled in surprise after they heard a heavy footstep echoing within the enclosed walls.

CLOMP… CLOMP

There it is again. Two footsteps this time.

CLOMP… CLOMP… CLOMP…

The footsteps never stopped. They become louder and clearer as it possibly gets close.

Perplexingly, and alarmingly, in spite of the audible footsteps coming closer, no one is showing up. It could be the darkness hides the owner of the footsteps well so they cannot see who's approaching.

CLOMP… CLOMP… CLOMP…

However, whoever it is walking in the hallway and probably approaching them couldn't be an amiable one. In fact, the louder the footsteps produces, the more their alarm bells ring at once. They were slowly taking one step back as the footsteps approach, not seeing who, or what, it is and they're really not liking how it… seems to stay so hidden within the veil of darkness, presenting itself as something… unknown.

In fact, they're starting to believe they shouldn't indulge their curiosity and personally see what's approaching them.

Feeling the most fear in her widened eyes, Mary, her hand hovering over her pocket where she stored her yellow rose, takes three steps backward, not wanting to face the entity making such heavy footsteps. Said footsteps sound remarkably similar to the ones she heard earlier when she was helplessly walking around in the darkened "real" gallery initially unaware of her approaching doom. "Sh-Shadow…? Who's… Who's walking toward us?" She can't help but asked this despite not seeing them at all.

Though still displaying the same aloof demeanor as always, even Shadow eventually knows facing the ominous entity won't spell anything good for him and Mary if they dare confront it. He had faced a lot of incredible things in his duty to protect Earth from harm, sending him across many adventures and doing whatever it takes to achieve it, no matter how immoral he may and will do. He's pretty much expecting anything extraordinary or unusual to happen and he's prepared to face them with cool-headed and determined expression looking to achieve his goal. But somehow, he's doubting that fact even a little when faced with something unknown, making him aware that despite his claim, he hasn't seen everything yet.

CLOMP… CLOMP… CLOMP… CLOMP…

Agh! Not good! Better get away from…whatever it is approaching us!

"H-Hey Shadow! Answer me!" Mary's getting scared and frantic when he seemingly ignored her and remained still looking in the veil of darkness hiding something…heinous. "Who's… Who's approa-"

Before she can finish, her legs are suddenly hoisted off the ground and her body soon followed, feeling two hands carrying her under her legs and neck. "H-Huh?" Turning to the one carrying her like a bride, Mary sees it was Shadow who hoisted her up, surprised to see someone with a short stature like him can carry her without difficulty. Blinking twice and her fear forgotten for a moment, she starts questioning of what he's doing. "Shadow? Why are you carrying me in this position?"

"No time for questions!" His statement came out harsher than expected, making Mary wince. He immediately noticed it, but he doesn't care about employing a gentle tone because their plight has become a matter of life and death for them. "Hold on tight! We're gonna run!"

"Run? You mean… we're getting away from thaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Never in her entire fabricated life could prepare Mary for what Shadow did next to get away from the heavy footsteps belonging to an unknown entity: moving at high speed.

Or more appropriately, Shadow is roller-skating* across the floor as fast as his nimble legs can allow.

Instinctively holding on to Shadow like he told her before, Mary could only scream in fright as Shadow skated through the corridor sweeping past them due to their speed. Everything around them has become a blur, so it's hard for her to follow where they are heading.

Since they are moving so fast winds become rapid as they brush past them, Mary's long blonde hair billows beside Shadow's head and the hem of her skirt flutters even slightly within the rushing air currents. When there is corner approaching them, Shadow makes a turn to wherever side the hallway takes, doing it expertly swift he's bordering on letting his reflex guide him.

As her initial surprise and fear left her, it is replaced with a look of amazement over the speed the two are in. She hasn't seen anyone reach high speeds including herself, until a black hedgehog proves that assumption wrong as she carried the slender girl in his hands. This is really unexpected but breathtaking, to the point she's tempted to throw her hands up in the air and shout in utter glee, only not doing it because she doesn't want to fly off him and be hurled onto the ground painfully.

"W-W-Wooooow!" Mary bellowed with a wide smile. "I didn't know you can move fast Shadow! I-It feels like… my mind is leaving my body!"

Shadow didn't think of making a remark to her at first, but his pride wouldn't let him when hearing her say how fast he is so he decides to bite. "Hmph. I wouldn't had achieved running at high speeds if I wasn't born with the ability. And besides, this is useful to get away from anything that chases us, like we're currently."

The girl's mood soured upon reminded of the entity they're hearing approaching them with possible ill intent. Now that he said it, she's made aware of the rapid footsteps behind them. It didn't take her long to realize the… entity is chasing them.

STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP

Their footsteps were already heavy, so hearing louder stomps reverberating on the floor and their body should indicate the size of the chasing being. The thought of a giant monster relentlessly chasing them terrifies her, especially with the possibility that it must be the Fabricated World's response to hunt them down.

Curious of what's chasing them, Mary risk her scared mind to look back and see the entity's appearance…

…only to be met with the inherent darkness trailing them. No signs of their appearance are visible, astounding her.

But in spite of this, the rapid stomping somehow indicates the unknown being is really chasing them.

Huh? There's… nothing behind us? Mary is not sure if the absence of its appearance may have spared her eyes from the possible horrifying sight of the entity chasing them…

…or does the opposite.

B-But… we're definitely being… chased, she tried rationalizing her frantic and terrified mind. How come I can't see what's behind us? Was it too far from me to see…? Or maybe…

Really frightened out of her wits, Mary redirects her eyes back straight and pushes the possible implication of the chaser actually right behind them at this speed by a meter or more but doesn't have a form for her to comprehend. Eek! No no no! I don't want to think that!

"Shouldn't have looked back to see who's chasing us Mary," Shadow said, her act having not gone unnoticed by him. "You're even more freaked out than you already were before."

"…S-Sorry," Mary squeaked out, holding on to him more tightly. "Couldn't help it when I got too curious."

"Don't let it take over you again, alright?" Shadow remarked, making a left turn around another corner. "Keep your eyes straight and never look back. I'll have to shake off the monster's tail and- Huh?"

Interrupted or distracted by something, Shadow skids his Air Shoes to a halt, the sudden change of velocity pulling Mary out of the adrenaline rush she was experiencing for the first time. With the two stopped, she's left reeling from her first experience of moving so fast her heart may have stopped, her body quivering a little. It doesn't mean she didn't enjoy it though and would have fully enjoyed it were it not for the plight she's in.

And what's in front of them as a look of disbelief settles on her face. "…W-What?"

Still carrying Mary in her arms, Shadow stares at the worst possible outcome he may see because they're in a narrow hallway offering only two ways of traversing without sidewalks connected and would have made free movements impossible: a dead end.

Gray, cold wall is erected by two meters away from them, covered in splotches of red paint that might as well be like a stop sign. As their only way to go is forward, a dead end is the last thing they want to see.

STOMP… STOMP… STOMP… STOMP…

Especially with the entity still on pursuit and will catch on them now.

The loud stomping footsteps send a wave of incoming fear to their faces. As much he doesn't want to, Shadow has no choice but to turn around and witness the entity's appearance. Mary's frightened reaction is an indicator for him to assume possibly how horrifying their chaser is, so whatever kind of form it has he will see, he's prepared mentally. And physically because he's eager to fight the creature away.

STOMP… STOMP… STOMP… STOMP…

The footsteps never stopped from the beginning of the chase. Shadow can feel Mary's body tensing up, letting out stutters as she shut her eyes to spare her sight from what they will see if it does have a form, which is a terrifying thought to consider because of the implication. She wanted to protest, but her words didn't come out.

STOMP… STOMP… STOMP… STOMP…

The entity is getting closer and Shadow remembers to put Mary down so his hands are free to engage… them… or it…

STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP

So far, nothing is appearing in front of them, but their presence… For a lack of better word or description, their presence is felt by them. Soon, they will show themselves and the moment it did, Shadow must repel its approach to create an opening for him and Mary to escape to the opposite direction.

"Sh-Shadow…?" Mary looked at him with anxious eyes, hiding behind him as much as she can.

"No need to worry Mary," assured Shadow, confidence absolute in his tone and stance. He has changed his mind when they were cornered, of which the thought of being helpless against an unknown danger doesn't comply with him. No way he will die like a coward. "I won't let something attack us. We may be cornered, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up soon. They will pay for their mistake in attacking me."

His self-assured, almost borderline cocky, tone puts more doubt in Mary's mind over whether or not Shadow can push back the entity, putting himself at risk. She doesn't know yet what form their chaser actually has, but thinking about it whilst trying to see them puts a lot of fear on her. But why? Why is she so hesitant to imagine its form and why does it scared her so much?

If she can't imagine it clearly, then she should push it aside. No use in getting scared over an unknown and near-incomprehensible fact.

Not wanting to get hurt, Mary steps back…

"H-Huh?"

Only to find herself tripping after stepping not on a solid surface, but on liquid.

"Aaaaahhhh! ! !"

Shadow heard her scream swiftly turns around to see Mary about to fall… into the floor.

"Mary!"

Acting quickly, Shadow leaps onto her…

SPLAAAASH!

But in the process, they fall throughthe floor, causing a big splash and violent ripples on the "floor" and "wall". Their bodies soon vanished within the liquid, leaving no traces of themselves that indicate they were here.

As for the mysterious entity approaching them, its footsteps ceased, letting the erratic ambience of silence to return quick. With its targets lured into properly entering the reimagined world by one artist, it sees no further need to stay in this area.

They have just to find them again and resume where they left off, except they would kill them once they are caught.

Without leaving a trace (or likely not needing it), the entity quietly left…

Shadow and Mary took a moment to retrieve their bearings once the hedgehog is made aware he is stepping on the floor.

"…Huh?" Both let out in a daze, blinking twice as they look down and see Shadow is standing on a solid surface. Remembering their surprise when they both dived through a floor made seemingly out of water, they turn their heads up to see not a rippling ceiling they emerge out from, but a solid surface too.

"We… came out from that ceiling… Right Shadow?" Mary asked him to clarify.

"…We must have," Shadow was sure. "There's only one way down and we sunk in it after we… dived through the floor somehow."

They didn't know what might have happen next after they had gone through a surprising fluid floor. Mary is aware she stepped back only to accidentally fell through the floor that doesn't have a solid ground and her panicked shout caused Shadow to dive into her, joining in as well. The two would found themselves sinking in the water, making small bubbles in their trail as Shadow grabbed Mary's hand and pulling her close, carrying the girl bridal style again.

They were aware of themselves drifting in the dark water, sinking slowly with their breaths held in. At least until they found out they can breathe in water for some reason, which they let out more bubbles. This makes for a weird moment as they continue sinking in the pitch-black water in silence, only their confounded faces indicating what they're feeling.

Even though they were sinking for many seconds, possibly for thirty seconds, by the time they're standing again on the floor, it felt like it all happened instantly.

Once their bearings returned, the two take a gander to the new area they're currently in, which is actually like the corridor they were travelling in for many minutes except the floor, walls and ceiling are blue or dark blue. It even has the same paint splotches on various spots and everything not within three meters of them are coated in darkness.

Even though this hall looks the same but with different color, there is a possibility they transferred into a new area. The air here also feels different except for the general sense of uncertainty which remains.

If this is a new area, then they just have to see for themselves.

Putting Mary back on the floor again, Shadow beckons her to move forward, wordlessly telling her his intentions which she understands with a nod. For a few seconds, the azure surface seems to continue as they move far ahead, making it appear they will be going straight for many minutes like they did before. The two sincerely hoped it's not the case because they didn't make progress and they were stifled with boredom (for Mary) and slight irritation (for Shadow).

However, their trek in the azure corridor was short surprisingly, the bitter cold hallway cutting off to make way for an open space that, probably conforming to the theme of surrealistic prevalent in this world of art, leaves them stunned.

If they can best describe what they're looking, this area's corridors are covered in dark-colored water. Everything about this space: the walls, floors and ceiling, look like its continuously rippling. The floor's water is shallow, reaching up half their feet while the water on the walls and ceiling are spilling along the surface or dripping from wherever the water came from. Related to the last part, the water drops only fall at irregular intervals, soaking their heads. It certainly looks odd that it's dropping ever so slowly despite the smooth and wavy flow of the surface. Could the ceiling's water too viscous that it sprinkles few drops in a minute? It very well appears to be.

Other features of the damp space include bubbles rising slowly from small crevices on any surfaces, seaweed plants standing not only on the floor but also on the ceiling, and the feeling of slight weightlessness even though they haven't stepped in yet, like they're under the sea.

As Shadow and Mary look on in surprise and wonder, they didn't notice another message splattering on a wall near their left, telling them eight words signifying the proper start of their harrowing adventure.

WELCOME… TO THE BRAND NEW WORLD OF GUERTENA

*"They're Air Shoes!" Shadow corrected.

Finished!

As the title gives away the end scene of this chapter (though it's incomplete because the title labels for this site is short), Shadow and Mary were chased by an unknown creature after Shadow picks his own rose until they unwittingly fall through a water pit disguised as a floor. Ending up in a new and unfamiliar area of the reimagined Fabricated World after a minute of drifting down in a water, Shadow and Mary will need to support each other and keep their wits in order as they take their first step to find a way out of the world of Guertena...

On the subject of Shadow's rose, I see to it that his rose is colored black because it fits his character and personality. Black rose do not naturally exist. While there are roses that look black, they are actually deep and intense shades of red and purple, bred and dyed by florists to achieve the color and you wouldn't see it until you see it up close. True black roses usually being dyed artificially reflects Shadow's creation as the Ultimate Lifeform, up in the Space Colony ARk so he wasn't born "naturally". As for the symbolism fitting his character, it is commonly associated with negative words like death and mourning, hatred, tragic love and revenge. On the flipside, they are linked with new beginnings, change and rebirth, as well as intrigue, mystery, confidence, courage and power. I believe all the words listed describes Shadow, his complex personality and his whole story, which is why I denoted his rose to be black.

Regarding the entity that chased Shadow and Mary... I shall not say because everything about is unknown for now, incomprehinsible even. I was thinking on describing what it looks like but then I remembered one quote from one of the books in Ib: "There is nothing greater than the fear of the unknown." In spired by this quote, I decided to leave its form unstated for now because I wanted to strike the fear in your hearts and minds regarding its nature, mwahahahaha...

Well then, I will stop this chapter's author's note. See you next chapter, everyone! Stay safe and have a great day/night!