Greetings! It is I, Yuujin Zone, bringing you a crossover story featuring the one and only Ultimate Lifeform Shadow the Hedgehog, and Guertena's final painting of a little girl who came to life named Mary, and their adventure to escape the Fabricated World who have gone berserk after poor Mary foolishly tried to leave without sacrificing a living person to take her place.

This is actually my third attempt to write this. The two previous versions were deleted because I couldn't find motivation to write more chapters and believe, again, the second version's plot is unfeasible. No promises if this third version will survive but, if my love and passion for these two troubled characters match or are greater than my motivation to write, hopefully I'll finally fulfill my fantasies that these two will get to live together, forever.

By the way, this fic takes place while "A Painting's Demise" ending plays out, and two or three months after Shadow Generations. You'll understand why I chose it to take place after that game's ending (absolutely love it, just so you know). Please enjoy!

The painting that would finally bring her freedom from this fake world stood before her. Or more accurately, attached to a wall.

She knows what painting it is, but she doesn't know the entire name because she can't read the first word. All she got from it written on a plaque below is titled "? ? ? World", so she wouldn't have any idea what this painting is if it weren't for the description next to the title.

She's getting impatient however, so she doesn't read it again to make sure she came for the right painting or interpret what it means. She instead sets her eyes on the large canvas secured behind the glass.

Anticipation wells up within her as the thought of leaving the world she had lived in for all her life and trading that for a life in the real world she had admired will finally come true. She had had enough of waiting for visitors to come so she could have them take her place as this world's master. She finally decided this day will be the day she will leave this world for good. She had run around the entire gallery, announcing to her fellow artworks she wanted to leave. She was met with resistance of the concerned or threatening kind because she hadn't exchanged her place with the entrapped guest, and they warn her something bad will happen if she leaves without fulfilling that requirement. In fact, the fake gallery thought so and attempted to sway her away from her decision.

Impatient and very eager she is however, Mary didn't listen. She may be scared by the warnings sent her way but she won't be faltered.

They should understand… I liked the outside world better than here. Mary thought. I'm tired of waiting for visitors to come here and become friends with them, only to leave me behind once they're sick of staying here. I have to leave my siblings behind but… I have made up my mind. I cannot take it living here anymore…

Taking a deep intake of breath to prepare herself in leaving this world and her "siblings" behind, Mary focused her blue eyes on the painting. After three seconds of wondering how she can escape, the canvas suddenly exhibits brief bright glows, before her vision is filled with a bright light. It then recedes, revealing the glass and frame have vanished after she lowered her hands. Upon seeing the naked frame, she smiled brightly as she took this as a cue that she could go through the painting.

She will enter the real world at last, beginning with the real art gallery.

"I can get out from here… I can finally go outside!" Mary exclaimed in anticipation, "I'll eat lots of candy… and go to all sorts of places! And make lots of friends!" She closes her eyes for a moment to imagine making a friend she can talk and play with. It's an exciting thought, to be sure.

Driven by her desires and expectations to escape her isolation, Mary took a few steps backward before sprinting and leaping through the painting. Her entire form disappeared into the canvas as it rippled from the impact of her body entering, like it's made of water.

In another universe, Mary made a fatal mistake escaping the Fabricated World without trading her place with someone from the real world. The world of art agrees; a living painting with a fabricated heart has no place there. She soon realizes her dreams of living in the real world are all just fantasy and she only foolishly led herself to her doom at the Fabricated World's fingertips.

But not in this reality.

An encounter with a certain lifeform may save her from her horrible fate imposed by the Fabricated World, as well as possibly stopping its machinations.

Smooth, alluring violin music entered his ears the moment he stepped foot inside the building.

He stopped just shy of two meters away from the entrance door to listen, seemingly entranced. Before he knew it, he became relaxed and his intrusive thoughts ceased, or at least became quiet enough to not bother him. Whatever the purpose behind playing the music through a speaker, it may have done its job instilling a calming effect on all visitors visiting the Guertena Art Gallery.

This probably has something to do with the exhibit's building looking intimidating and eerie enough to unnerve anyone passing by or looking at it, which is odd especially in this time of day. In truth, it's not meant to scare people just by its appearance alone; rather, it's all thanks to a few rumors circulating around that a dedicated or interested person may come to know revolving around the mystery of the late Weiss Guertena.

Creepy rumors, one should add.

According to the rumors, the Guertena Art Gallery, or at least the exhibit being hosted in any building, is being haunted by the spirit of Guertena himself. When asked how did someone came into this hypothesis, they point to the proof that can be found in his diary, where one entry reads:

"It's said that spirits dwell in objects into which people put their feelings. I've always thought that, if that's true, then the same must be true of artwork. So today, I shall immerse myself in work, so as to impart my own spirit into my creations."

Those same people were convinced that what Guertena says in his diary is true. If they are being gullible though, they claim they aren't because they have experienced spooky things happening in the gallery.

They might hear someone coughing when there's no one else around, a cat meowing despite no animals being allowed (the non-sapient kind), a person walking behind a window on the second floor inexplicably, then knocking on the glass scaring anyone awake, and (hopefully) red paint covering the first-floor window near the entrance when no one's around, which would be washed off by itself suspiciously if it weren't for someone taking a picture of it. These ominous occurrences are said to be encountered by many people who went to the gallery to see the artworks or only in it for the rumors.

Despite this and some photographic evidence, skeptics do not believe the Guertena Art Gallery could be haunted by the artist's spirit. For all they know, it could be the gallery's management's idea of a prank to not only spook but intrigue any person into believing it is true so it increases visitors.

However, Shadow is not interested in such rumors. Even if he were aware of them beforehand, he would not have come here for that reason alone.

"An art gallery hosting the late Guertena's famous artworks… Don't know what I'll expect coming here, but since I have nothing else to do other than taking a stroll so…" Shadow mumbled, scanning the entrance part of the gallery, taking note of the receptionist's desk filled with various paraphernalia related to the exhibit, a window occupied by a bushy-haired man, a big advertisement sign showing possibly one of Guertena's paintings, and a carpet. "Might as well check this exhibit and see what everyone is making a fuss of."

Actually, he wanted something to distract him. Distract him away from regretful thoughts he's been having after the whole incident pertaining to the Time Eater and the revived Black Doom has passed. A couple of months have passed since then after he was forced to confront his past again, one he thought he already made peace with and tried to move on.

Shadow shakes his head, shutting his eyes he didn't realize were gradually widening. "No. I need a break from having… those thoughts," he affirmed, his voice trembling a little. "That's why I came here in the first place. To have something relaxing to do to help me distract my mind."

With his decision made up, Shadow opened his eyes and approached the receptionist after taking deep breaths. After checking in, he begins exploring, wondering what kind of artwork he'll see that led credence to the fame Guertena accrued in his lifetime.

Wouldn't you know it? For a guy who has no interest in the world of art and couldn't care less about it, Shadow is unable to deny Weiss Guertena is truly a profound artist thanks to his unique, varied and impressive art pieces he made probably all by himself alone.

It seems any idea that came into his mind was never wasted, instead brought to reality through any methods and forms of art like painting and sculpting. He has to admit every single one of his works are not bad.

Of the artworks Shadow liked, there is a painting of a woman in red clothes named "The Lady in Red", a floor painting depicting a gaping, gray angler fish swimming in a dark blue water surrounded and guarded by stanchions named "Abyss of the Deep", a big, realistic red rose with green leaves and thorny vines interestingly called "Embodiment of Spirit", "The Hanged Man" painting, three headless statues wearing red, blue and yellow dresses oddly named, "Death of the Individual", and a tall and blue figure with balding head and dress titled peculiarly, "Fusion".

There are many artworks on the first and second floor, but of all the artworks, those listed above are his pending favorites. Not that I will admit it to anyone… Shadow mentally noted, caring so much of his pride.

He didn't realize how much he enjoyed browsing the exhibit that he had to snap out of his stupor. He became aware some time had passed, and checked the exhibit's clock installed on each floor told him approximately seventeen minutes had passed. He stood still to comprehend the amount of time he passed, before letting out a grunt. "Well… guess coming here is the right choice. I'm feeling calmer now," he muttered in relief. "Helps that not a lot of people are around."

He looked around to observe the visitors perusing Guertena's artworks. The majority of them looked enamored and in awe though there are some who might be intimidated or a bit too curious, like the one from the first floor wondering if the fish in the Abyss of the Deep painting wouldn't jump out and eat her, and one man gazing at the Embodiment of Spirit wanting to pull touch the stalk in spite of the rules forbidding anyone to touch the displays.

One thing he noted about the visitors, other than the majority being almost filled with humans and almost no anthros in sight, is that they are attending with a friend or family. Even for those who are visiting alone, they aren't bothered not one bit. Shadow scrunched his brows, becoming aware again he's all by himself. Which is not to say he doesn't mind it since he tends to work alone, but he can't help but envy those who have a friend or family to take with them to the exhibit. "Rouge was busy so I couldn't get her to go together to this gallery and Omega… Would he appreciate artwork? Actually, it's best he didn't go with me because he'll stick out like a sore thumb."

With his two closest friends busy with work or hobby, and ill-fitted to come here, there's only one person he knows who may take a liking to Guertena's art. Unfortunately, she's long gone… He thinks bitterly, then realizes he's having those thoughts again so he shakes his head. "Urgh, I better look at another art. Maybe these stairs will lead me to one?"

Shadow stared at the stairs leading possibly to the third floor. Wondering what he may find, he climbed up the stairs. Sure enough, he found a painting. Just one painting hanging in a smaller than expected third floor, and a big one at that.

"Huh… A big painting." Shadow noted before he started scrutinizing the rectangular painting. If he thought the previous artworks he had seen had bizarre proportions or eye-catching forms, then this painting made him reconsider that perhaps, this is the most abstract painting Guertena ever created.

Depicted on the canvas is a background composed of blue, green, yellow, pink, black, violet, and gray forming the walls and floors. A red-and-black rose was depicted on the upper left corner, while a small crescent moon hangs on a pink wall. Additionally, there seemed to be three eyes on the gray portion, and finally, The Lady in Red painting was displayed prominently in the red section. If there's one word Shadow can say to describe this piece, it would be… abstract.

"No… Abstract is not the right term, even though it's fitting," Shadow touches his forehead with his index finger raised from his hand, a habit he has when he's thinking. He takes a second look at the painting and tries to find a more appropriate word to describe the painting, "Because of the random objects thrown in, I would call it, hmm… 'surreal'"?

He considered what he just said, eyes blinking twice, before he sighs "I may not be good at describing something correctly. Guess it's too difficult, even for me."

Wanting to finish eyeing the painting, he lastly reads the name of it, "…Fabricated World?"

Suddenly after he said the title, the light flickered three times. "Huh?" Before Shadow knew it, the lights turned off without flickering again, coating the room in darkness. "What the? The lights… What happened? Is there a blackout?"

The sudden blackout is not the only thing he noticed; the air here became suffocating and still. This was not like the calming ambiance he found himself in when he entered the gallery; it's not quiet, but it still offered some level of comfort to the visitors so they wouldn't feel overwhelmed or intimidated.

He can feel the knot in his stomach tying. Shadow usually doesn't get nervous, but he's feeling it for some reason. No matter how much he tries, he can't shake it off. "Hmm… I better head down and see what changed here." Shadow did just that.

The first thing he notices is the absence of people. It's like they vanished abruptly, and so he's left alone. Next, quickly see the dim darkness is progressively getting dark. Too dark for an average person to see properly. Fortunately, as a hedgehog, his eyes can adjust quickly to the dark owing to the species' nocturnal affinity. However, that could be a curse in disguise this time because he saw a few unnerving sights even he can't help but question.

In the gallery's second floor alone, he saw red paint dripping on the ceiling above a window, which he cannot see through for some reason even with a light shining near it. Two statements are also seen splattered against a wall between two paintings and near the stairway leading up to the third floor. Both of them read:

It's too late

Poor little Mary. Forever wandering all on your own.

Shadow stared at the red messages silently, his eyes widening a little. Mary? Are these messages directed to her? If so, why?"

When he stepped down to the first floor, he became alarmed as his surroundings grew increasingly darker than he's comfortable with. He questioned whether being blinded by the dark was preferable for his sanity when he had encountered other creepy things that he was certain did not happen during his tour of the gallery, such as the Abyss of the Deep leaking liquid to cover not only the nearby floors but also the walls and one painting, the Embodiment of the Spirit's petals turning yellow and wilting, blue paint dripping from a ceiling, and other messages similar to the ones in the second floor written on various parts of the first floor. Each messages read:

Welcome to the Wor_ of _. We tru_ _ank _ for _ tod_. We're _ _ a _ on _ the _ _ss _tena.

You can't go back. You can't go anywhere.

We're lonely, come back. Everyone's waiting for you.

Your heart is fabricated.

At least Shadow thought one painting and sculpture had changed; he saw the Fusion sculpture had no head, and an advertisement sign had a red diagonal scribble above a motionless, lying girl. He didn't get to properly observe them all before the darkness became so intense that he was unable to see anything at all. Even his nocturnal eyes are becoming not immune.

Eventually, Shadow found himself enveloped by the blinding darkness. He feared that he might stumble over a sculpture or walk up against a wall as he aimlessly wandered about. Shadow is a tough and brave, if reckless, hedgehog. He would not let this creepy phenomenon get to him easily. However, he would be lying to himself if he said he wasn't at all perturbed by this unnerving phenomenon occurring in the gallery, which is starting to affect him for his discomfort.

"What is going on here? Why is the gallery acting like this?" Shadow asked out loud, agitated and a little freaked out. He wanted his questions to be answered quickly; he's really not liking this. If there was one thing he knew for certain, though, it is this, "So I guess the rumors about the Guertena Art Gallery being haunted are true after all. Hmph, can't believe I'm bearing witness to the rumors becoming reality before my very eyes…"

"Either way, I better teleport out of here. Can't afford to stay here anymore." Shadow decided, grabbing a yellow Chaos Emerald out of his quills. He had owned this specific emerald after the Time Eater/Black Doom incident ended, even finding it again lying out in the wilds after it and the other six scattered after Sonic used it. While he preferred the green emerald, he doesn't mind owning any color of the emeralds so long as they provide him an ample source to tap into his skills.

Before he can do his signature technique to get out of this nightmare quickly, a desperate and scared voice enters his ears, pulling his attention to it.

"Noooo… I hate this! What's happening…? I can't see a thing! Why… Why is the outside world like this? It's supposed to be bright, and fun, and… And full of people too! Why is it just me here!?"

Shadow glanced to where he thought he heard the panicked voice of a young girl. "Huh?"

Running footsteps are heard going from his right to left before a female voice speaks again, "Big sis… Where are you…? I'm lonely…" She sniffled in fear.

She ran again to the other side as she became more scared and frantic, "I'm so scared… Help… Someone, p-please…!"

Her sobbing becomes outright crying as she runs for the third time, exclaiming, "Waaaaahhhh… Somebodyyyy…"

Whether she can't see where she's going or she was so scared out of her mind, Mary bumped into someone, causing her and the person she ran into to fall to the floor.

"Ugh!" Shadow let out.

"Aaah!" Mary yelled out.

In the process, Shadow dropped the yellow emerald, the clinking sound it made unmistakably recognizable to him. At this very moment, the pervading tension in the air and the echoing footsteps he just realized was here has found them and started to approach them.

This… feeling! Something bad may happen… if they get me!

Alarmed, Shadow pushed the person off of him and rushed straight to the emerald, a hand reached out to grab it. He then started saying the specific words required to activate his technique. "Chaos…!"

At the same time Shadow moved to grab the emerald however, Mary also rushed towards him, either to have them protect her or get rid of them out of fear they're the ones following her. Desperate eyes hidden in the darkness happen to glance at the faintly glowing gem laid on the concrete floor, as she utters her possible last words. "…Dad…!"

"…Control!"

Just as the two finally reach the emerald and the ominous footsteps are close by, a bright flash of light pours out from the emerald before they know it, the cursed gallery, which was completely blanketed in total darkness, becomes engulfed in the Chaos Emerald's light, swallowing the entire gallery, its sole doomed escapee and an unintended visitor whole. A high-pitched sound accompanying it continues ringing out and before they realize what's happening, everything went dark.

…

…

…

…

"Hm?!"

Abruptly feeling his senses coming into being, three things are noticed by Shadow immediately: one, he's standing upright when he was lying on the floor earlier; two, he's alone again; and three, he realized he might not be in the art exhibit's main hallways anymore, instead he's in a short, singular hallway. It's hard to notice at first but he can see the walls and floors are colored blue… and the smell of paint lingers in the air, almost making him gag if the smell isn't intense.

Shadow stood there for a second, processing the change in surroundings and the event leading up to it. Then he opens his mouth and asks one question, which kickstarts this brand new adventure…

"What… What just happened…?"

I'll try to target a weekly update as I planned each chapters to be 5k words long. If it exceeds, hopefully it won't reach 10k words.

Well then, see you next time!