I'm so scared of being left behind, it's horrifying to think about. No matter if I run or fly or teleport, I'll find myself here, wondering if I can find the strength to look at the sky again. What if, with my own steps, my own path, I blur the image of the sky I knew so well, now it looks distorted. I can press on, I'm sure of it.

"Where... am I?" Emma asked as she lifted her head off the ground to scan her surroundings before yelling and falling on her but as she looked at where she was. It was like two skies were mirroring each other, each cloud in the same place, traveling to someplace she's never known before, "It's like... two skies, wow this looks so weird, and it's making me dizzy too.. WHOSE IDEA WAS IT TO MAKE MY CHALLENGE AN OPTICAL ILLUSION?!"

Emma yelled out to the sky but no one seemed to respond. She sighed as she started to walk, noticing how each of her steps step a ripple through the sky's reflection, as if she was walking on water. Emma looked around but it looked like there was no end to the sky, it looked like it went on forever.

"Strange... it's like... this entire place is empty..." Emma murmured to herself as she continued to walk, hearing that familiar sound of water splashing. As she kept walking, she noticed a group of figures in the distance. Curious, she ran a little further so she could see them clearly and she saw her family standing there, backs facing her. Her eyes darted from her father to the mother to her two brothers. It was like they didn't even notice her, "Hey you guys! I'm here!"

They didn't respond, but Emma kept trying to call out, "Do you guys even hear me? I'm right behind you!" They still didn't move a single muscle and Emma tried to approach them, but as soon as she got within touching distance, her foot suddenly fell through the surface and she fell underneath the sky. Emma looked around while holding her breath to find that even though the entire space under the surface was just the sky all around, it was like it was completely water. Emma tried to hold her breath for as long as she could, but ultimately, she ran out of breath and she felt the consciousness being taken out of her.

"Ughhh... Where am I?" Emma groaned as she woke up again in the same place where she started. She propped herself up and looked around frantically to see the world didn't even change when she fell through the surface, "What... is going on here?" She looked in the direction she walked in last time and she saw her family just standing there, still as ever. She slowly got up and swayed on her feet, struggling to stay standing.

"I might as well... keep trying," Emma murmured as she ran towards them again, however, each time she got close enough, she would just fall through the surface again and drown. After a couple of tries, she just sat there on the surface, just observing her family, "what happens if I just sit here? Does anything happen?" Emma asked aloud as she looked around to see if anything would happened, but all she heard was the wind blowing and the soft splashes of the water. Suddenly, taking one last look at her family, she started crying, bowing her head down and dropping her face between her knees.

"I'm so scared... that I'll be left behind... but I just can't seem to reach them, Maman, Papa, Lou, Hugo. I'm sorry... I don't understand what you want me to do... you're just standing there, not doing anything. How am I supposed to know how to overcome my challenge?" Emma cried as she continued to sob into her knees, until she heard some sort of sparkling noise and she looked up to find some sort of entity materialised next to her, glowing and sparkling in golden lights. Emma could almost make out something that seemed human and the person sat down next to her.

"I see you've been left behind too. I'm sorry... a girl like you doesn't belong here..." the person spoke as Emma wiped her tears and looked suspiciously at the person.

"W-w-who are you?" Emma asked as the sparkles making up the person seem to move as if the person were contemplating the question.

"Hmmm, it's not exactly important, but just know that I'm like you: stuck in a deep, endless sleep with no idea how to escape from here." The person answered as Emma felt her stomach fill with a sense of dread.

"What? You've never escaped from here? My family is fighting to get out of here, I can't let myself lose here!" Emma exclaimed as she stood up but reminded herself that whenever she tried to reach her family, she would just drown.

"I've been here so long... I really can't remember who I am... forgive me..." The person said as Emma sat back down and looked closely at the person, barely making out the human figure.

"It's fine but... did you... have people waiting for you? Outside this dream world?" Emma asked.

"Hmmmm, I would like to think that I did, I'm sorry, my memories, they seem to be faded, I can't seem to remember why I'm even here. They're lost somewhere in this endless sky..." The person replied as Emma looked forward again and nodded.

"Hmmm.. that's too bad, do you remember anything? Like at all?" Emma asked as the person responded again.

"Hmmm.. I do faintly remember... a boy... crying over a woman... somewhere... but I don't know whether that memory is mine... or someone else's" The person recalled as Emma thought about her words and wondered about them.

"Well, you've been here for such a long time, I think that memory is yours. Do you think you're the boy? Or the woman?" Emma asked as she heard the twinkle of the sparkles as the person moved slightly.

"Maybe the woman... but I find myself watching from afar mostly. I wonder why that boy was crying? Perhaps I'll never know..." The person sighed as Emma leaned back slightly and looked at the sky in peace.

"You know, I never thought I'd find another person in this place. Seems like a weird place to meet," Emma murmured but the person heard her anyway.

"Likewise... tell me Emma, what do you fear?" The person asked with Emma snapping her head towards the figure.

"How did you know my name?" Emma asked, tilting her head in a questioning pose as she saw the golden sparkles float around and freeze in midair.

"I'm not entirely sure... I must have heard your name somewhere... someone must have told me. This world is truly small after all, even if I don't remember my own name," Emma listened as she felt saddened by her companion's words.

"Well... if you must know, I'm afraid of being left behind. The fear of my family being ripped apart right before my eyes. And I'm so powerless to do anything... my grandpa, or that monster, he won't stop at nothing to make sure that my memory and my siblings' memories are erased, and it's just so disheartening," Emma cried as she tried to wipe away her tears again without much luck.

"I understand... I remember... having someone dear to me who's been through that situation once... he... was never really in touch with his emotions nor the emotions of anyone around him. He didn't care for the emotions of others at all, and he just did what he wanted..." The person recalled as Emma looked at her curiously.

"You're remembering an awful lot you know? Can you remember anything else? Maybe we can get your sense of self back!" Emma asked as the person thought more about how to continue her memory. It was like a puzzle game where the person had to find the snippet of the memory that made the most sense with the following story.

"I remember... the boy dreaming of a faraway life, far far away from the life that's been made his prison. Grasping the future... with his own hands. I remember how the person dear to me reached into the depths of his heart and unleashed a drowning wave of horror into his future. How terrible..." The person recalled, the sparkles spinning around, creating an even more distinct human figure to Emma's eyes.

"It's kinda like my situation... you don't want to be left behind, you want to wake up, and help however you can, but you can't... because you're stuck here," Emma mumbled as she looked down at the sky, "It's crippling."

"I want to help that boy... I feel like he's been waiting for me for a long time... but I just never answered his call I suppose..." The person sighed as the two sat there in silence, not knowing what to say. Emma felt like she had to say something but nothing came out when she opened her mouth.

"Ummm... are you gonna answer his call? And make it away from here?" Emma asked as the person bowed their head and sighed.

"I don't suppose so... I don't have the resolve to escape from here... but what about you?" The person asked as Emma looked forward again and saw the figures of her family still standing there.

"I feel like... I can let go... let go of hiding and being protected... my family needs me, but if I end up disappearing here... I'll be fine," Emma smiled bitterly as the person just looked at her fixedly.

"I don't think it's necessarily true that you'll be left behind, because even if you give up on the prospect of going home, your family will always come back to save you," The person reached her hand out and touched Emma's shoulder to get her attention. Emma looked up and saw the person's translucent and sparkly finger point out towards the sky. Emma looked out at where her family was and saw Adrien, Hugo, and Marinette running towards her.

"Maman! Papa! Hugo! W-w-what are you doing here?" Emma stood up to meet them as Adrien hugged her tightly. Adrien let go and rested his hands on her shoulders, checking to see if she had any injuries.

"Emma, are you ok? What did you do here?" Marinette asked as she took her turn to hug Emma. Emma smiled brightly and gestured to all of herself.

"I'm fine, I've been sitting here with this person, I don't know who she is, but we were just talking this entire time. Well, before that, there was like a mirage where you guys were standing so far away and whenever I would try to get close, I would fall through the sky and drown. However, I would always find myself at the start," Emma explained as she turned around to see the person standing and she noticed that the sparkles were starting to scatter, "Wait! I don't know who you are, but don't you have someone waiting for you?!"

"What matters is that you're safe and you're returned to your family. Seeing that, gives me peace, and that's all I need. Thank you for a lovely conversation Emma, and maybe we can have one again one day," The person continued to scatter into the sky but she turned her head towards Adrien and he felt a strong sense of home and nostalgia. They stared at each other like that for a moment and then he finally understood. He felt himself take a harsh breath and tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. Finally, he pulled a bright smile and wiped those tears away.

"Do you know who she was Papa?" Emma asked as Adrien gently took her hand and looked down at her with a warm nod.

"Yeah..." Adrien said slowly as he watched the golden sparkles of the person disappear into the sky, it was like he was finally saying goodbye to a regret he's had for such a long time, and Marinette could sense it.

"It seems like the end of an era, and yet it's so hard to let go... This was your final gift to me and my future... thank you, for protecting my daughter in my place. Someday, we'll meet again."

Somewhere out in the world, a heartbeat monitor could be heard flatlining, never to spike again. As the static buzz of people gathering around the bed grew still, the mind slipped away to nothingness, a deeper abyss. A light flashed into the reality of a new caliber, watching over loved ones, until the end of time.