Dani's head lies in her lap. This is familiar... An intrusive memory comes to mind as she remembers how she first became a Sonic fan.

Two months after her suicide attempt, she finally leaves the hospital with her caseworker. "You ruined a perfectly good home with that attention-seeking behavior, you know that!?" Her case worker yells. Dani says nothing, only looking out the window with sorrow-filled eyes. She hasn't really spoken a word since the attempt.

"Answer me now Daniellia!"

Hearing her old name, she looks at her caseworker and simply states, "I don't belong here, do I?"

The caseworker, now seething, yells. "STOP WITH THAT SHIT AGAIN! You and your sister are going to be apart due to your little stunt!" Dani shuts off. The words the caseworker says means nothing anymore, nothing matters anymore. She doesn't even want to exist anymore.

A few hours later, Dani tours around the cottage of the residential home she will be staying in for who knows how long. "And this is the isolation room, this is where we leave kids until they have calmed down and can learn to use their coping skills." Dani hasn't spoken a word since she arrived, other than when she was shown the cats in the barn, and the game room. Dani looks in. Plain white walls, and only a small window. Dani can already tell she isn't gonna like it here.

A few days pass and nothing happens, but then a teenager walks up to her. "Why are you here?" The teenager asks snobbishly. Dani doesn't speak, only staring blankly. "Uh, hello! Are you deaf?! She's not deaf is she?"

The other girls in the room mumble their no's and watch the tense scene. "OH, so YOU'RE ignoring ME?" The teenager shoves Dani. Dani channels all of her deep-seated anger and lunges at the teenager, punching, biting, and kicking while the teenage girl screams. Two staff run in and grab Dani off of the girl. They restrain her as they carry her to the isolation room. There she stays banging, screaming, and hollering. To make matters worse, the staff shuts off the lights, leaving the girl in total darkness. Dani cries until she can't anymore.

A few weeks pass, and all hope and life in Dani completely vanishes until one day, a nice, elderly lady walks into the isolation room with a bag. "Hi Dani. My name is Ms. D. The staff has been really concerned about you and has hired me to be your mentor." Silence. Dani doesn't even shift. The mentor walks slowly up to her. "May I sit down with you?"

Dani nods. "Are you gonna abandon me too?"

Ms D., shocked by her question, responds in a kind voice. "Oh no no no dear. I'm not gonna leave you. Do you want a hug?" Dani flinches but nods. The lady hugs her. This is the first time in months someone has hugged her. When the hug ends, the lady takes some books and a game out of her bag. "These are for you. I will see you tomorrow." She leaves. Dani, intrigued, looks at the book. It's a comic book with a blue hedgehog on it. "Sonic...the Hedgehog Encyclopedia?" Dani looks at the game, it also has the same blue hedgehog on it. "Sonic Generations?" Dani looks at the other books. "Sonic Universe...Scourge Lockdown...part 1. Part 2. Part 3."

Dani opens the part 1 book and reads. As she keeps reading, she starts to smile for the first time in what feels like forever. As a picture of a grumpy green hedgehog walks away from what appears to be a cafeteria, an interesting looking character sarcastically remarks. "That dude needs to lighten up." Dani laughs for the first time in forever. Okay, I need to see who this character is, he's funny. Dani flips through the encyclopedia. In the back of the book she sees a picture of him. "Mephiles the Dark..." She reads more. "That's weird, Sonic looks alive to me. This must be an error." She decides to read the entire encyclopedia, originally to see when Sonic died, but soon finds herself mesmerized by the world of Mobius Prime. She finally gets up. I wish the Sonic world and everything in it was real. And maybe it is and I can go one day. These stories and characters make me feel like I belong..."

She walks towards the door of the isolation room and notices five staff members have been eavesdropping near the door. "Why are you laughing?" One of the staff asks.

Dani smiles and stands with confidence. "I was just enjoying a good book. Is that game room free? I wanna play this new game I got."

The staff smile with sudden hints of joy as they respond. "You can play as long as you want."

Dani pulls herself up with the help of the purple glitch wall supporting her weight. "You can play as long as you want! Now look at what happened! I'm now stuck in here with no way out!" Dani mocks her memory as she starts slamming herself against the walls of the area she's trapped in. "Let...me...OUT!" She yells as she keeps slamming. She surrounds herself with light. "I'm not gonna stay here any longer!" With one final slam, the wall glitches and she falls through, straight on top of a familiar blue cat and bronze fox.

"Ow!" They yell.

Dani looks down at them. "Oh, it's you guys..." She gets up.

"Dani!" They both yell and hug her.

She pushes them away. "I don't need hugs from someone who made a deal with MEPHILES to go home, and I sure don't want someone hugging me when you both are going to LEAVE ME ANYWAYS!"

Dale flinches. "What's up with you Dani?! We came here to rescue you."

"I saw what you all did. You all just want to rescue me so you can go home knowing I'm safe." She looks at Dale. "You said you would stay by me, no matter what, but if you go home you'll never see me again!"

"Then come home with us. I'm sure it's not gonna be bad for long since you're an adult now." Dale says.

"I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME DALE!" Dani yells. She runs away from them sobbing.

Athea, stunned by Dani's words, can't even speak. She runs after Dani and Dale follows her. The walls glitch away from Dani's aura as if her light dispels the walls around her, but she doesn't notice. She feels a hand on her shoulder and stops. She looks behind her.

It's Athea, clutching onto her shoulder as if her life depends on it. She's crying and breathing hard, but that doesn't stop her from speaking. "Dani...what has he done to you?"

Dani stubbornly crosses her arms, wiping her tears. "He didn't do anything to me other than show me what you all were doing without me and the deal you made. How could you wanna go home? How could I wanna go home? After what fostercare put me through. Mephiles may be the issue with staying, but I rather be stuck here than go home. Don't make me fight you."

Athea stares at Dani, unsure what to say. There's so much to unpack here, where do I start? How do I reach her? "Dani...I know you don't want to go home, being here on Mobius is basically your dream, I know that. I didn't want to lure you there Dani, you weren't supposed to see me gone at all. I just…"

Dani calms down, uncrossing her arms. "Well I know Mephiles has tricked people before, but at the same time, he said you knew I followed you…" Saying it out loud, she realizes something isn't right. "Ok so why did you go meet him in the first place ya dummy? He could have killed you."

Athea trembles at the memory. "I thought he had my brother." She whispers. "I thought he had Renny and he was going to kill him if I didn't bring you to him. I snuck off, I thought I could save him with my power. But it was a trick, Renny wasn't there, just him."

Dani realizes her mistake and she looks at Dale. "So what makes you wanna go home then? Your mom and you aren't on good terms. I dunno anything else about your inner circle. Why do you wanna go home when you can stay on Mobius and eat ice cream with me once this is over?"

Dale hesitates. Why do I wanna go home? Dale thinks on this and ponders. I actually wanna stay here too. But before Dale can respond Dani frowns. "So I guess I'm not real either...But that's okay, thanks for 'saving' me. Let's just get out of here and you all can go home and forget me." Dani says her words in a sarcastic tone.

"FORGET you?" Athea stares at Dani, absolutely floored by this suggestion. "You can't actually be serious- forget you? What? WHAT?"

"Yes, because eventually your lives will move on to something more fulfilling to you. Eventually you'll meet new people that are more into your so-called 'reality' and you will have so much happiness you will think I was just a dream and forget about me.I never belonged on earth. I wasn't supposed to be born. And now that I'm here with the only people who I valued most in my life and they are gonna leave me too. Just like my family, just like every adoption parent did, and just like-"

Dani turns pale and her expression grows cold and numb. "I don't feel so good."

Dale and Athea hug her. "It's gonna be okay, maybe Tails can come up with a device before we leave so we can still communicate." Dale reassures her.

Dani finally hugs back. Her face now lightens up to a tearful fake smile. "Okay, that's good I guess. At least I can talk to you guys." The hug breaks off and Dani, now feeling slightly better, laughs weakly. "Now how to get out of here?"

They look around the area but it's all just glitched walls. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" A voice echoes.

Dani ignores the voice, thinking it's her imagination, but Dale speaks up. "Uh, did you all hear that, or am I trippin?"

Athea manages to look away from Dani and nods.

"Oh good! Someone can! I'm so happy! Are you here in Nullspace or on Earth? I want to go home but Mephiles said Earth got wiped out by the ocean and that he saved me from being drowned."

"Oh hey, we're from Earth as well, what a coincidence. What's your name homie?" Dale asks.

"Wiped out by the ocean?" Athea repeats. "That never happened."

"I saw it happen. He showed me on the monitor. You must be from a different Earth. Darn…"

Dani, confused about his situation, continues the conversation. "Where are you? Do you know a way out?"

"Mephiles usually opens a portal to get out. But I know how he does it since he showed me. I can help you get to your home. I wish I could go to mine. I miss my brother Dakota and Levi. And I hope to see my friend who was like a sister to me as well. I should be in the next room on your left. The walls may look like walls but it's not, just a silly illusion so people don't come to hurt me."

Dani feels a familiarity to the names but doesn't question further. "I promise we won't hurt you. We'll find you."

With nothing left to lose, they head through the wall, and Nullspace disappears. All that's left is a big bedroom fit for a sporty child. There is even an Old Nintendo game system from the 80's attached to a TV, and a wide view of a huge yard with a willow tree in the middle. The owner of the voice looks like a red anthropomorphic dog. He's wearing blue swimming shorts, a blue hoodie, black tennis shoes, and fingerless gloves. His eyes are green like the ocean.

"It's so nice to finally meet grownups. I don't see other grownups other than Mephiles. He's been in and out of here and I've been having so much fun! I can do what I want and don't even have to worry about starving!" The boy says excitedly.

Dani frowns at this. Why is Mephiles keeping a child here? I don't know any kids who play such an old nintendo set...well other than one, but he would be my age if he was still alive. "How old are you, kid?" Dani asks.

"I'm eight!" The boy smiles. "How old are you guys?" The boy asks.

Dani hugs him. "That's not important. We need out of here and you can't stay here either. Don't you want to go home and see your parents?"

"Why are you hugging me? I don't have parents. I'm an orphan. Plus, my world is gone." The boy responds.

Dani lets go of him. "Mephiles lied to you as well it seems. Your world is intact. Because we are from the same world. Though I don't know why he would want an 8 year old boy… But your brothers and your friend must be worried sick. How do we get us back to Mobius?"

"Mobius? Oh! You mean that world Mephiles goes to? I'll lead you to it." The boy grabs Dani's hand as Athea and Dale follow quietly.

Athea stares at the back of the boy's head. He's not much older than Renny… "So...Mephiles told you Earth was drowned huh? You mentioned a monitor that showed this?" She crosses her arms. Is that all it took to convince you…?

The boy smiles. "Yeah! He lets me see what I want when I ask a bunch of questions. Do you wanna see that first?"

Dale snods. "Yeaah, I'm actually curious about that myself."

The boy slightly changes direction, and not to Dani's surprise, leads them to the room Mephiles kept her in.

"Oh wow! I don't even have to summon it myself!" The boy cheers and speaks to it. "What happened to earth?"

The screen changes to a scene. Fish and frogs swim as if the scene is underwater. Dani frowns. "You didn't ask for anything else, did you?"

The boy shakes his head. Dani smirks deviously. Oh boy. I get to ruin Mephiles's plan with a question!

"Watch the queen of questions kid. This will rock your socks." Dani giggles.

"I have shoes." The boy points out. Dani, excited, ignores the kid.

"What is a human and where can I find one on that planet?" Dani smiles when the screen zooms out and finds its target, an old lady sitting on a porch not too far from a pond.

"Hey, that's the mom who adopted me!" The boy points out. "She looks older though. Is this a trick?"

"By Mephiles, yeah. By me, nope." Dani says in a matter of fact tone. The boy huffs.

"Hey, you've been here the whole time. None of us touched the monitor." Athea points out. "She just asked a different question."

The boy crosses his arms. "Maybe it's broken. Well I still got to get you grown ups home. Follow me!" The boy walks faster until a single crystal forms on the floor. The boy picks it up. "Just picture where you wanna go, and a portal appears like MAGIC! I don't know if I can do it though. So you'll have to."

"Dani?" Athea gestures for her to take the crystal.

Dani takes it. She smiles sadly at the boy. "I used to be like you. I believed and wished so much I didn't listen to the warnings I was given. I understand that you may want to learn by yourself or want to believe Mephiles is right. But Mephiles is dangerous. Are you sure you want to stay here? There might be a slight chance that your family and your friend are still alive and that your world is intact."

The boy frustratingly shakes his head. "No. I like it here. I get what I want. And I'm not that lonely. I got a yard, and videogames, and I don't have to worry about dying or starving. I don't have to worry about getting punished by the bad grown ups."

Dani frowns. She focuses and pictures Sonic's quills, voice, and red shoes as it patters on the ground when he runs. A portal opens. "Fine. But before we go, can I at least know your name so I can come back to see if you changed your answer? Or to play that game you had with you?"

The boy smiles timidly. "My name is Micheal."

Dani freezes before stepping in the portal. Athea and Dale look between her and him before Dale recognizes the name. "Bruh. Isn't that your dead friend's name? Would Mephiles get that low?" He asks, shocked.

Athea stares at Dani in horror. "He would."

Dani, before the boy can protest, hugs the boy tightly. "Micheal, it's me, Dani. I was the friend that used to hang out with you and play games with. We used to share secrets under a willow tree. Our world isn't gone! You have to-"

Micheal pushes her off. "Ya see, the thing is, Mephiles already warned me about your lies." Micheal summons roots from the ground, knocking her friends into the portal. Dani tries to say one more thing with tears streaming down her face, but Micheal interrupts. "I hate when grown ups lie!" He pushes her into the portal. Before she can jump back in, the portal closes.

A crisp morning breeze blows across her face. Athea and Dale walk up to Dani and hug her. "We'll get him back. He seemed like a strong kid." Dale reassures her.

Dani wipes her tears and angrily gets up. "The next time I see that half breed, I'm fighting his ass. I don't care about Fate anymore. He's gonna be a disco ball by the time I'm finished blasting him over and over-" She notices Athea looking at her in concern.

Dale however, stands there trembling in anger. "Yeah that asshole definitely has it coming".

They hear a crash in the distance followed by Infinite's evil chuckle. "Welp, that's where Sonic is." Dani sighs.

"Alright! Round two!" Dale smirks trying to lighten the atmosphere. Dani pretends to smile and looks to where the portal was. I'll find you again, and this time I'll save you.