Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

POWER ON. INITIALIZING...

3…

2…

1…

ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL. BEGINNING SAFE MODE.

Emerald green eyes opened. They darted around the room, confused.

"Showtime already? There must be something wrong, the charge didn't even finish."

Somewhere from in the room, a voice hissed, "Would you shut up?!" The robot looked around the room, searching for the source of the voice.

"Who said that?"

"I did!"

"Well, what are ya doing, kid?"

"What does it look like? I'm hiding!" The robot checked his internal clock. It was 11:42.

"I don't think you should be. It's almost time for closing!"

"Listen, you were the only one that was sleeping so I snuck in here and climbed inside."

"Inside…?"

From across the room, the back door of the arcade machine popped open and a small kid popped out. Sandy blonde hair sat unruly on the kid's head, and bright blue eyes scanned the room quickly.

"Wh-kid! That's not a safe place to play in!"

"I wasn't playing, I was hiding!" The robot scanned over the young boy, a laser-thin sheen of light running over the boy like a barcode scanner. After a moment, a puzzled expression appeared on his face.

"That's weird, I can't find your guest profile. Who are you?"

"I….I'm Miles."

"Miles, huh? Well, I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. Where are your parents, kid?"

"That's not important right now! I need to hide."

"Sorry, kid, but  I can't let you stay here overnight. I'm gonna have to let the main office know you're here."

"No, no, no, dont!"

BEEP.

"A connection error? I can't connect to the main network."

"It's the security guards. They're not gonna let you call for help until they find me!" As Sonic was about to speak, Miles suddenly heard footsteps echo down the hallway outside.

"Shh! Someone's coming!" Miles ducked under the couch as the footsteps stopped on the other side of the massive pane of glass acting as a wall. A slice of light was projected into the room through the nearly closed curtains. A moment later, the footsteps walked away. As Miles climbed out from his hiding spot, Sonic spoke.

"There! We should get his attention." Miles turned back to look at Sonic like he was crazy.

"No! I don't trust either of them!"

"Really? Why not?"

"I don't know who they are, but they're trying to get me! Isn't there some way for you to communicate with me besides talking so loudly?! "

Sonic thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers. He pulled open a drawer in the vanity. He reached in and pulled out an orange present box with a blue bow. A crank was situated on the side. "Take this!" He said as he held out the present.

"How is a jack-in-the-box going to help me?!"

"There's a surprise inside!" Miles stared at Sonic for a moment, as if to look for a tell he was lying, before grabbing the crank and turning it. A music box melody began to play, slowly gaining in volume, before the lid flew off with a triumphant fanfare. Miles peeked inside the box. Resting at the bottom was some kind of watch. Curved blue spikes jutted out from the side of the face, where a screen was positioned. An earbud-looking device rested next to it.

"...What is this?" Miles said as he attached the watch to his wrist and tucked the earpiece into his ear.

"It's a STAFF Edition Security Watch. Normally I'm not supposed to give this to a kid, but you seem cool." Sonic was cut off by more footsteps from outside. 

Miles darted back under the couch right before the door opened. He peeked out from under just barely to see one of the security guards. Unruly-but-not-quite-curly silver hair tumbled down his back, and a scar crossed over his left eye.

"Oh, hey Z! What brings you here?" Sonic said, probably trying to play off the situation casually. Z said nothing for a moment, almost seeming unnatural.

"....Do you mind if I look around? I heard something."

"Uhh, go ahead!" Z moved slowly to peek in the different nooks and crannies of the green room. While he was looking away, Sonic stole a glance at Miles. " Please, " he mouthed with a desperate-looking demeanor. Sonic looked for a moment longer, some indecipherable expression on his face, before smiling, slightly nodding and resuming his previous behavior. Z stood up, seemingly satisfied with his work.

"....Let me or Gadget know if you see anything suspicious." Z said to Sonic as he left.

"Will do! See ya!" The door slid closed. Miles let out a breath he had barely realized he'd been holding as he pulled himself out from the couch. Sonic turned to Miles as he brushed himself off. "As I was saying, that thing can access the security cameras and a map, if you have the right permissions. You can also do this." Sonic paused for a moment as a beep sounded from the watch. Miles peeked down and tapped the screen. A message popped up on the screen. The message was narrated in Sonic's voice, which came through the earpiece.

PRIVATE MESSAGING

PARTICIPANTS: STAFF WATCH 1981, STH MODEL 23

Hey there, Miles! It's me, Sonic! I can get you to the main entrance, but I can't leave this room. You shouldn't have a problem, though. There's a button that will open the door to the back room. Go back there and travel through the vents to the main hallway in Superstar Row. From there, you can open the door from the outside. I'll make the button accessible to you now.

Miles looked up from the watch at Sonic, who gestured to a glowing green button on the back wall. Miles pressed it, and a large metal door opened next to it.

"Awesome! Now you just need to go back there and free me." Miles peered into the dark room.

"It's really dark in there…"

"Don't worry, kid! Nothin's gonna jump out at you!" Then, after a moment, in a slightly softer tone, "You've got this."

Miles took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before plunging forward. After a few steps, the door slammed shut behind him with a bang. As Miles climbed up and hoisted himself into a vent, his mind inevitably began to wander.

Well, this all went completely wrong. I just wanted a break, and I get hit with this? Why did this have to happen?!

At least I'm not alone. For now…

As Miles crawled through the vent, he could hear several sounds ahead. The closest seemed to be someone yelling.

"Your performance was PERFECT tonight!" Miles peeked through the slats in the vent to an almost entirely purple room. Plushies and racing paraphernalia littered the room, and right below the vent, a purple cat was serenading herself in the mirror. A large neon sign on the wall read BLAZE THE CAT in an angular font. "Your hair is beautiful. Your tail is beautiful. Everyone was watching you. Everyone loves you. You're the best . You…. are the best." Miles, at this point, decided to move on. Didn't know robots could have self-esteem issues, but okay. Not the weirdest thing I've seen .

Up next: Knuckles. The room appeared to be completely wrecked, and it sounded like the echidna was tearing up the place. The lights were out with the exception of an occasional flicker, which made it appear as if the red walls were soaked with blood. Of course, it wasn't like Miles could see the destruction for himself, so he decided to keep moving when he felt the vibrations of something hitting the vent cover right in front of him.

The final room was decked out in all pink. Lots of pillows were scattered around the room. The neon light in this room read AMY ROSE in a curly font. The hedgehog in question was in the middle of the room, the bangles on her wrists sparking as she was killing it on the guitar. She looked to be entirely absorbed in her playing, as Miles' shuffling around seemingly didn't reach her ears.

As Miles reached the end of the vent, he dropped down onto a conveniently placed mat in the main hallway of Superstar Row. As he looked around at the various objects on display while making his way toward Sonic's green room, an automated voice played over the PA system.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for visiting, and we hope you enjoyed! Sonic and the rest of the Glamrock Gang are pretty tired, but they'll be back again soon! Please make your way to the exit, and make sure you have all your belongings and your entire party with you." Then, in a very speedy tone, "16-Bit Entertainment is not responsible for stolen private property."

Eventually, Miles reached the small alcove that contained the line to go into Sonic's green room. He went to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

"What the- It won't let me in!" Miles banged on the door a bit in frustration.

" Uh oh. " Sonic said over the watch. " You'll need a Photo Pass to get inside. Sorry about that, I thought you already had one. "

"Well, where would I find one?"

" Behind you is the door to the convenience counter. You should be able to find one there, though I'm not sure if they'll have any left. " Miles turned and, indeed, there was a large shutter open just big enough for him to walk through. When he emerged on the other side, he looked around the long hall to see a counter. A cardboard cutout of a smaller, less blue Sonic was pointing to the entrance to a maze of rope barriers with a sign that read "Line starts here!". Miles ran to the other side of the counter and dug through the small boxes until he found one labeled "PHOTO PASS". Miles grabbed one, slipping it into his pocket.

" Nice job. Now, please come let me out. "

Miles made his way to the green room door. He swiped the Photo Pass on the little scanner next to the door. A light on the handle turned green as the door slid open, revealing Sonic standing in the doorway.

"Nice job, rockstar!" Sonic brought up his hand for a fist bump, which Miles accepted. "Now, follow me and I'll take you to the entrance!" Sonic steps out into the hall, stretching a bit as he does so. "Man, it's so stuffy in there! I love this place, I really do, but sometimes it feels better to ditch the spotlight for a bit and break the rules. Just run free without anyone telling you how to act or what to do. You feel me, kid?"

"........I'm ten??????"

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry, I'm sure you'd feel at least kinda the same." Sonic held out a hand to Miles. "Shall we?" Miles hesitated for a moment before taking Sonic's hand. The duo walked toward a pair of red double doors, which opened automatically.

The pair descended a dark stairway, small signs of artificial life occasionally appearing. A locked gate with a mopping S.T.A.F.F. bot behind it. Liquid dripping down the wall. Something crawling-!

Miles startled away from the railing as something scuttled down the wall. His hand came out of the relatively loose hold Sonic had on it as he tripped, falling onto the upward-pointing stairs with a small bang. Sonic's eyes widened as he rushed over.

"You okay, kid?!" Sonic helped Miles stand up, sweeping his eyes over the boy for any injuries. Miles rubbed his elbow, wincing as he pressed on it a bit too hard.

"A little sore, but I'll be fine." Sonic grabbed Miles' hand, rushing down the stairs a bit faster. "Woah, what are you doing?"

"I'm taking you to a first aid station!"

"Wha-There's no time! I'm fine!" Sonic ignored Miles' protests as they arrived at a small stand. A shelf held a first-aid kit that looked like it'd seen better days, a tube of some kind of ointment, and a roll of bandages. Sonic sat Miles down in the stand and grabbed the bandages, appearing a bit panicked. "Alright, what hurts?"

"I'm not even bleeding!" Sonic's ear twitched as he picked up footsteps approaching. He shoved the medical supplies back onto the shelf, shutting the curtain and concealing Miles from view as he sunk into the shadows of the dark corners of the room to hide himself.

A moment later, a different security guard from before walked into the room. Light from his flashlight reflected off his glasses and dyed red hair, and his face wore an annoyed expression. The guard's STAFF watch suddenly lit up and vibrated. He pressed a button on the watch's face. "Gadget here." A pause. "Nope, not yet. Have you?" His face morphed into something more sympathetic, if not slightly confused. "What?...No, of course not! What gave you that idea?........ Hey, Z, listen to me. We're gonna find whoever this kid is, and get him home, okay? Hey, how about we meet up later? At 2 AM, we'll look around the kitchens and Parts and Service together……. Alright, I love you….. See ya." The guard- Gadget, apparently- hung up the call, turning around and going the opposite way. He walked up the stairs before Miles and Sonic heard the not-so-distant sound of a door slamming. Sonic and Miles stepped out of their respective hiding spots. Miles moved towards the way that the duo had originally come from. "Let's get moving." 

Sonic hesitated. ".....Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep." Sonic sighed, before taking Miles' hand and backtracking.

As the two walked, Miles could sense some kind of emotion coming off of the robot. He seemed almost apprehensive, cautious and glancing around the tunnel. 

"... These tunnels are pretty big. Where do they go?" Miles tried. Sonic startled a bit before looking down at Miles with a sudden small smile.

"Everywhere! A staff member can use the tunnels to go anywhere in the Pizzaplex-that is, if you have high enough clearance. We aren't allowed to take guests down here normally, but you're a…. special case." 

"Really? That's cool. So we're going the fastest way to the entrance, right?"

"Yep!" Sonic proceeded to half-ramble about the tunnels as they walked up the stairs into another room. A set of double doors was on the adjacent side of the room, with a sign above it that said TO ATRIUM.

"... Although they're usually locked during- AGH!" Sonic was cut off as he collapsed, a hand on his chest. Miles stepped back in surprise, trying not to get his feet crushed.

"Are you okay?" Sonic quietly groaned, slowly standing up while leaning on the wall.

"I'll be fine. The charge hadn't finished when I woke up. I just need to charge for a bit longer and I'll be fine." Sonic made his way to a blue metal cylinder in the corner of the room, which he opened and stood inside as the door swung shut. "You need to go ahead yourself. I can still guide you on your watch." Sonic said, his voice slightly muffled by the plexiglass window.

"What?! But I don't know where the guards are! What if I run into one of them?"

"You'll be fine, I promise. I know Gadget and Z, they wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Did you forget the part where I don't trust them?! "

"Look, I want to help you, but I can't right now. It's a very straightforward route from here to the atrium. I'll catch up with you as soon as I can. Okay?"

".......Okay." Miles, with a bit of hesitation, stepped through the door.

"Good luck, rockstar."

The door shut.

Miles walked through the empty hallway, making his way through. The trek was a relatively boring one. With one exception.

Miles peeked around the corner into the next part of the hallway. Smoke slightly obstructed his view, and large consoles took up much of the walls. After determining a lack of danger, Miles walked through the hall.

Suddenly, a bang rang out-something was hitting the gate behind him. Miles turned to look. The peace only lasted a moment before someone barged through the gate. 

"There you are!"

Knuckles looked around for a moment before locking his sight on Miles and charging. Miles scrambled back for a moment before turning tail and bolting . He didn't make it very far before another gate was assaulted by a robot, this time Blaze. 

"Are you lost?"

Although she didn't break through, Miles still bolted away as fast as he could. As he ran, a stack of crates was knocked down to reveal Amy. 

"Lost boy over here!"

She and Knuckles shambles towards Miles as he ran for the stairwell. As he climbed he could hear metal on metal scraping and stomping. Miles practically cried out in relief as he saw a door. He ran through as the door shut and locked behind him. He sat against the door, panting heavily as he slid down to the floor. He inhaled, before yelling into his watch,

"WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!"

" I-I don't know! " Sonic admitted. " None of us are allowed to chase a guest! Still, you did a good job, rockstar. The doors in the security office you're in are made to keep anyone inside the office safe. Just as long as there's enough power. " It was then that Miles noticed a blinking meter next to the door he just came through. It was almost entirely depleted.

"Sonic, the power's at 15 percent and they're pounding on the door!" Miles said, breathless. "How am I gonna get out of here?!"

" Hey, hey, hey, don't panic, okay? Take a second to calm down. " Miles began to take a few deep breaths as Sonic spoke. " There's a button on the desk next to you. Can you press it?"

"Y-Yeah." Miles stood up, his legs a bit wobbly, and darted to the desk to press it. A beep sounded from his watch.

" Awesome! Your watch is connected to the security cams now. Check the other hallway on your watch, and when it's clear, run for it! " Miles opened the CAMERA tab on his watch. Peeking into the next hallway (which was now unblocked by the other door), he saw that it was clear. He looked at another camera-Amy was coming this way! With barely a second thought, Miles ran through the hall, not stopping even when Amy yelled after him with a "Do you want some candy?" Miles shut the double door behind him and looked out into the atrium. Neon signs and LCD screens lit the entire area in an eerie, but still bright, glow. A few mopping S.T.A.F.F. bots and small, wet-floor-sign-looking robots dotted the area (Miles impulsively pat one on the head a bit).

Oh yeah. And the rapidly closing shutter at the front entrance.

Miles noticed the shutter and bolted for the entrance. However, he was too slow, as the shutter was far past closed when he got to the door. The PA system from before came back online.

"The Mega Pizzaplex is now closed, initiating nighttime protocols."

"No, no! Wait! I'm still here!" Miles banged on the door a bit. The cartoonish facades of the Glamrock Gang in the neon signs above the exit seemed to taunt him with their smiling faces. "Now what do I do?"

" I'm so sorry, Miles. Don't worry, there's still hope. You should be able to leave when the doors reopen. Until that happens, keep moving and don't draw attention to yourself. I promise I'll help you survive until 6 A.M. Does that sound like a plan? "

"Yeah."

" Great. I'll find you as soon as I can. In the meantime, try to get into the main area of the atrium. Good luck, rockstar. "

Miles took a breath. In, then out.

Keep moving.

Chapter Text

"Where are you~?" Amy called out to nobody in particular, walking along the upper level of the atrium. Miles waited for a moment before darting over to the other side of the entrance area. In front of him was a cutout of the Glamrock Gang, all posing under a sign that flashily displayed that it had "COMPLIMENTARY ENTRY PASSES-PLEASE TAKE ONE (1) PER GUEST!" Miles grabbed one and turned, before stopping. After a moment of deliberation, he turned and knocked the box over, spilling the passes onto the floor.

"Uhh, was that really necessary, Miles?"

"What? If anything, it might delay the guards."

Miles swiped his pass on the gate, which opened with the hiss of hydraulic pressure. He ran to a small stroller that had been left out, somehow wedging his entire body into the thing and pulling it shut.

"Alright, that thing can't really do much on its own, but you can upgrade it to get further into the Pizzaplex. There's an upgrade machine in Customer Service, if you can get in there. I'm not sure how you would, though, I'm pretty sure the gates are locked."

"Well, you said that the utility tunnels connect everywhere, right?"

"Yeah, but they don't all connect to each other."

"But if I could find one that did connect to it, then I could get in?"

"Yeah. There might be one in the restaurant on the second floor." Miles looked up and, sure enough, a giant sign for Nachos N' Rings was on the wall above him. After peeking out a gap in the side of the stroller, Miles got out of the stroller. He took a moment to steady himself before crouching and sneaking up the stairs. Amy was on the other side of the atrium, though Miles didn't think he'd need to hide from her as he passed a group of strollers and a brightly colored duffel bag.

That is, until a very loud, very obnoxious BEEP emanated from the watch.

"I heard that." 

Amy's head snapped towards Miles, and he swore he could see and hear a few bits of her plastic shell crack and splinter off from the force of the movement. Miles immediately dove into the nearest stroller as Amy tramped toward the middle of the stairs. Miles could feel himself shaking as Amy stopped right in front of him, pure fear shocking any capacity to make a noise other than his shaky breathing (quietstopbreathingSOLOUDSHUTUP-) straight out of his system. Time seemed to stop as she looked around.

Left.

Right.

After a moment, Amy turned and slowly walked away, resuming her routine from only moments ago. Miles opened his eyes (when had they closed?) and looked down to his watch. A new message had come in.

PRIVATE MESSAGING

PARTICIPANTS: STAFF WATCH 1981, STAFF COMPUTER 001

From Customer 29482: My cousin used to work here. You can use a magnet to screw with some of the machines. Get extra tickets, upgrade passes for free, things like that. Just have to use it at the right time.

Miles, confused, decided to send a message back.

Sorry, who are you?

Call me R. I can send you stuff when you get close to one of those duffel bags. Whether it's helpful or not, I dunno.

Sorry about what happened with Amy, btw. There's a setting somewhere to turn the beep off.

Wait, you can see me???

Let's call it a benefit of having technical know-how and a broken system for security levels.

Ok????

Anyways, see ya.

Miles quickly found the settings on his watch, making sure to turn the 'Notification Sound Level' all the way down. After checking the coast was clear, Miles clambered out of the stroller, his legs still a bit shaky from the previous encounters. He all but ran up to the balcony containing the entrance to the restaurant, shutting the door behind him. He looked into the dining room. Several circular tables rested throughout the area. A S.T.A.F.F. bot patrolled the area, a flashlight in its hand. Another duffel bag was in a raised area with some booths. 

Miles ducked behind the counter, barely dodging the beam of light projected onto the floor. Running into the small cove next to the kitchen door, Miles held his wrist through the decorative barrier on the elevated platform. A light blinked on the side of the watch (no sound this time, thankfully), and Miles looked at the message he'd gotten.

From Keith: Thank you for contacting Low Budget Building Contractors. We have done a preliminary inspection and find nothing wrong with your ventilation system. The “loud clanging”, “banging” and “scraping” noises which were reported don’t appear to be reproducable. Call us if it happens again. Invoice attached.

That's a bit weird, Miles thought. Regardless, he made his way through the kitchen (the amount of onion rings and remnants of chili he barely avoided stepping on was genuinely concerning) to the stairwell. At the foot of the stairs, Miles peeked through the door to his left, opening it just a sliver. He checked nobody was inside before sneaking over to the upgrade machine. Another one of the tiny Sonics was dancing on-screen as Miles inserted the pass from before into the slot. After a moment, it beeped. The tiny Sonic held up a sign that said "Please select payment method!" with a few buttons below him.

"Crap! It ate my pass!"

''Okay, first of all, language. It's not cool to curse."

"Are you a walking talking PSA or something?"

"Yeah, kind of. Second, you could try Glamrock Gifts. People lose stuff all the time in there, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a pass of some kind. Your entry pass comes with a free gift, too!"

"Fine." Miles looked up at the Tiny Sonic again. His finger was wagging, as if to mock that Miles had no money.

Before Miles made his way back up through the restaurant, he made sure to open one of the gates that had blocked his way originally. It looked like Amy was going down the opposite stairs, leaving Miles an opening. He darted across the second floor, ducking behind the photo booths. He looked at the cameras as he checked to see if Amy was near him. She wasn't-perfect. Miles ran to the other glass walkway, pushing the door of Glamrock Gifts open. A bot was rolling around at an alarmingly high speed-close to the speed of sound, if one was to exaggerate it. Miles trailed the bot, staying just outside of its flashlight.

Seemed like these bots could probably only see him if he stepped into the flashlight. Huh.

Regardless, Miles broke off from the robot's track when he reached the stairs, descending and emerging into the first floor. Plushies, piñatas, and more were positioned around the store. One stand held a group of mystery boxes under the sign "FREE GIFT FOR EVERY ENTRY PASS!" Miles grabbed a box and reached in. He pulled out, of all things, a magnet of a cat thing. Somehow, Miles could still recognize his dumb face.

"It's…..a crappy Big the Cat magnet? Lame."

"That's what they have for the gift?! Sorry about that, rockstar. I thought it would be something cooler."

As Miles thought the situation over, he thought back to the message he'd gotten from R. He opened it up on his watch.

You can use a magnet to screw with some of the machines. Get extra tickets, upgrade passes for free, stuff like that.

"Hey, Sonic, if I were to, say, scramble to machine or something, could that give me my pass back?"

"Maybe? I don't really know how those things work. Hey, now that I think about it, kinda weird for a robot to not know that stuff, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Miles opened the gate that opened to the atrium. After doing a quick visual sweep for Amy, Miles darted across the room, dodging the security bot as he stepped into Customer Service. He rubbed the magnet against the side of the machine, moving it around until...success! The machine returned the pass. Miles let out a near-silent cheer as the screen changed to an image of the tiny Sonic laying face down, an error message displayed above him. Miles grabbed the pass.

"Sonic! I got the pass back!"

"Great job!" It was at this point that Miles took a closer look at the pass. It looked...different. While before the pass had a picture of Sonic and the pizzaplex's logo, now it had two new robots (though Miles didn't know who they were, they definitely looked a lot more like robots than everyone else in this place) and bold lettering that read DAYCARE.

"Uhh….Sonic? I think something got messed up. Now my pass is some kind of daycare thing."

"Oh, that's awesome news! I can meet you at the daycare, and there's a security pass at the daycare desk! Win win! The entrance is on the second floor. I'll see you there!"

"Okay, see you." Miles pocketed the pass. Checking yet again to see where Amy was (really, this was getting a bit tiring), Miles jumped from stroller to stroller, traveling up the stairs. Next to the entrance to the gift shop was a set of double doors with a sign above it. The sign had a ton of stars, hearts, and rainbows, with the words SUPERSTAR DAYCARE CHECK-IN on it. Miles quietly walked through the door, shutting it behind him. As he ran across the reflective tile, he passed another one of those metal tubes-a recharge station, that's what it's called. Miles walked under the rolling door. A cheerful tune was playing through the entire area (was that a bicycle horn he could hear?) and a large net encased the play structures. A slide was embedded in the net. Miles peeked down the slide, before slipping into it and sliding down.

Miles landed in a deep ball pit. As he waded through, he heard laughing from above him. He looked up to a balcony on the wall. A robot (the same one on the pass, Miles belatedly remembered) was twirling around and laughing. Rather suddenly, the orange and yellow robot swan dived into the pit ahead of Miles. Miles decided to edge out of the pit-maybe if he got out, the thing wouldn't know he was-

Before Miles could finish his thought, the robot popped out of the balls rather suddenly, grabbing Miles by the shoulders. Miles started squirming to get out of its grasp, but to no avail. Oh, Chaos, was the thing going to kill him?! The thought had Miles struggling even harder as it dragged him out of the ball pit.

Only when Miles calmed a bit did he realize the thing was talking to him.

"Oh, you're a bit excited, aren't you? Well, we can start playing in a bit." The robot suddenly plopped Miles down next to a stack of cans. As Miles stood up, the foam slightly giving way, the robot continued to babble.

"Anyways, my name is Emerl! I'm the daycare attendant! What's your name, new friend?"

Chapter Text

She floated inside the dark void, waiting. The last thing she remembered was….well, she didn't really know. So much of her life was blurred together that she had no idea what was last, to be honest.

All she knew was that she had been here. Waiting.

…..for how long?

She didn't know.

Still, she somehow knew that she'd be pulled from the not-quite-death she was in someday. Even if she and him were supposed to have been dead years ago.

Whatever. Marianna Robotnik was legally dead.

Spiritually? No chance.

Damn you, Elise.

...

...Strange. She felt a tug. Not a physical one, no; she didn't even have a physical body anymore, and barely had a ghostly one at this point. It was more of a feeling at the core of her being. She heard a voice-Elise. Of course the young girl was tied to him too.

" He's back."

She-Maria-called into the void.

"Where?"

"Back where you last saw him . They built something new there. There's a little boy- he's using the robots to try and kill him."

"So what are we going to do, then?"

"I can already come back the way he did. You can disguise yourself as one of the AIs-you'd blend in."

"...This is never going to end, is it?"

"...Good luck."

With that, Maria closed her eyes-ones that actually existed now. With a single thought, she could feel herself bring pulled into the real world again.

Bring me back to where it ended.

Chapter Text

"Anyways, my name is Emerl! I'm the daycare attendant! What's your name, new friend?"

Miles stared for a second, glancing away awkwardly. This was oddly overwhelming. 

"....Miles."

"It's nice to meet you, Miles!" Miles was suddenly engulfed in a nearly bone-crushing hug courtesy of Emerl. "Oh, we're gonna have so much fun! We can play hide and seek, we can color, drink soda until our heads ex-PLODE! There's just two rules! Clean up," Emerl's voice suddenly dropped to something more serious as he stared into Miles- eyes. "And keep the lights on. ON." The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, Emerl holding Miles off the floor like that one elongated cat on the internet. Emerl's expression suddenly brightened. "So, what do you want to do first?!"

Miles was set down at that moment. Unfortunately, he was a little too close to the tower of toy bins behind him, as they crashed to the ground. The top bin's lid popped off, spilling an assortment of colored building blocks onto the ground. Emerl got a startled expression (well, the closest he could get to one) on his face and practically dove to the ground to pick the toys up, all the while muttering something along the lines of "Oh, clean up, clean up, so, so messy!"

Miles glanced to the other side of the play area. Against the wall, next to a large set of wooden double doors, was a medium-sized desk with some computer screens and a wheeled chair. With barely a second thought, Miles made the decision to bolt over while Emerl was distracted. He skidded to a stop and quickly turned behind the desk.

Miles searched through the filing cabinets that were beneath the flat top of the deal as Emerl skipped over. "Uhm, Miles? We aren't supposed to be over here! We could both get in troubleeeeeee!" Miles briefly looked over at Emerl before choosing to not give a crap. He spotted a small box on the counter, and opened the flip-top. A plastic badge was nestled into the thin plastic bottom. Miles reached into the box and grabbed the badge. Miles’ watch beeped, and a fancy emblem with a 2 appeared on its screen. Just as the box slammed shut, the entire area was suddenly plunged into darkness. The music slowed and lowered in pitch until it reached a stop. A sudden scream came from Miles' right. He turned, before recoiling at Emerl standing on top of the counter, seemingly pulling at his face.

"No, NO! STOP IT, STOP! T-TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON! I warned you, I WARNED YOU!!" Emerl froze up, every joint going rigid, before falling backwards. Miles slowly, cautiously approached the counter, where he had fallen off. Suddenly, a hand shot up and grabbed Miles' wrist. Miles tried to struggle away from the hand, but it wouldn't budge. A new, recolored face peeked over the counter. What once was orange and friendly was now black and yellow and murderous glowing red eyes that cast an unsettling aura over the area.

"Ņ̵̢̾a̵̯͆̅u̶͇̣͝g̷̛̘͐h̴̜͎̋ť̸̙̠y̷̫̲͊̽ ̴̣̼͝b̵̭̉̒o̴͉̐̀ÿ̷̻̪́̄.̸͕̙̿.̵̓͘͜.̵͖͚͗N̸̘͊å̵͎ų̷̝̊g̷͕̊h̴̡͝t̴̡̒̚y̴͙̎ ̷̺̉ḃ̷̥̳ǒ̷̢̥́y̶̟̹͂̎.̸͕͖͛.̴́͜.̷̦͎͝" the thing said, dragging Miles over the counter. “I̸͙̯̊͐ṱ̶̫̣̣͇̰̃́̄̒'̶͖̭̍s̵̡̫̜͈̹͔̤̺̎̋̒͗͗͊͋ ̷̧̯͉̺͖̘͍̣͐̾p̸̨̛̩̘̭̖͎̙̀̑̈́͋͋̕ä̶̱͍s̵̯̐͑̂́̕t̷͖̤͖͑̎̚ ̴̥̭͎̫̿y̶̪͐̔͝ȍ̴͇̓ư̷̡̥͇͔̖͛̓̿̏̽̂r̷̰͓̩̮̘͉͎̥̆̓̈́́̚͝ ̴̧̢͙̈́̅̃̓̋͝b̸̲̀̈́̀̈́̍̔̓̚ẻ̶͈͖̞̯̻́̔͛͜͠d̴͇͍̫̑̈̐̓̀͌̚̚t̵̨̙̫̪̰̣͆̑̾̇̔ȋ̸̝̰̣̲̊̾͑̌̎̂m̷̱͈͙̿̒͂͆e̸͈̽͋͛̀͂̏͝͠,̵̢̧̤̪̊̀̉̍̍̄͜ ̵̡͔̠̈͊͂͆̍c̶͚̲̝̣̲̼̻͌͒͗͊̚͜h̵̳̱̮͑i̸̹͕̩̮̜͎̜̇̂̅͋̋͜͝l̷̢̙̭̝̜͉̋̂͊̂͗̽̈́ͅd̸̛̺̝̻̮͇͈͉͊̏̇̇͘͠.̵̤̈́̽̓́ͅ” Miles reached backwards, grabbing for anything to hold onto, when finally, his hand connected with a flashlight laying on the counter. He took the flashlight and slammed it into the robot’s forehead. The robot recoiled in what seemed like pain, and Miles scrambled out of his range to the play structure closest, running up the spiral slide and taking refuge in a corner blocked by a giant cutout of Amy in a space helmet.

“Sonic, what-” Miles paused to catch his breath. “What the HELL was that?!”

“ Gemerl’s acting weird too?! I knew his voice box was on the fritz, but this is getting out of hand! Okay, first off, turn on the generators. There’s 5, I think? They’re all in the towers. Can you do that? ”

Miles looked down at the security desk - Gemerl had recovered from Miles’ earlier attack, but was going in the wrong direction. “Yeah, yeah, I can do that.”

“ Okay, I can help you once I get there, just give me a few minutes, okay? ”

“Yeah.”

“ Good luck, rockstar. ”

Miles took a breath. He crawled through the technicolored nightmare, coming across a purple box with a handle and a red light. Miles pulled the handle down, turning the light green. A large floodlight suddenly sparked to life, washing the plush floor in a fluorescent brightness. Gemerl got caught in the light, skittering back into the darkness with a hiss. Miles suddenly got an idea - the generators were turning the floodlights on, and Miles swore that he could see his arm switch to the warmer colors of Emerl, so maybe turning a light on him would turn him back to normal! That conclusion only strengthened Miles’ resolve, and he crawled through the tunnels to search for one of the thick cables leading to the generators.

~~~

Maria opened her eyes. She was in some kind of back room - hair products and combs were scattered in boxes around the area. She could hear wheels turning beyond the door to the supposed front, and some sort of jazzy music was drifting in from somewhere else in the building. Maria looked down at herself, not surprised to see the burnt and dirty security guard uniform she’d been wearing during the fire. She sniffed the air a tad - yikes , she smelled of smoke, and not the pleasant woodsmoke kind - more like some unholy mix of burnt metal, dust, melting flesh and Remnant.

A knock from behind her startled her. She turned to see an arcade cabinet labeled Princess Quest , and the mildly annoyed face of Elise looking back (wearing a crown? And a dress? What in the world was that cabinet even about?).

“Great, you’re back.” Elise spoke, her voice slightly muffled by the glass. “Okay, here’s the plan. One of the guards is getting brainwashed by Gerald. I can free his soul and kill Gerald, but I need you to get him here.”

“How the hell are you going to do that?!”

“AI and soul magic. Anyways, there’s three of these around the building. I don’t know where the other two got moved to, since they’re not unlocked yet, but they have to be played in order . Okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay! Just do that, and we can finally scrub all remains of Gerald Robotnik from the face of the earth and send him to the deepest pits of Hell!”

“Alright, alright, let’s do this. I’ll go find the kid.”

“Good luck!” Elise vanished from the screen, leaving a title screen behind. Elise glanced around the room, spotting an abandoned employee outfit in the corner next to a sign pointing to a door that said “SHOWERS”. She looked at the shriveled black ends of her hair.

…Well, she didn’t want to scare the kid one way or another. Plus, it’s not like it was the first time she’d cut her own hair.

~~~

So, fun fact: running for your life from a crazed robot who can inexplicably climb up walls, find you at nearly every turn, and fly with a rope is tiring, physically and emotionally. Needless to say, Miles was exhausted by the time he reached the last leg of his journey. Miles ducked into a tube connecting two of the towers, catching his breath and stretching his sore, shaking legs. Wide eyes flicked around anxiously, searching for the telltale harsh shadows and red glow of Gemerl’s eyes.

“Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.” Miles whispered to himself. “One more generator and then I’m done, it’s fine, it’s fine, this is fine.”

A pair of hands suddenly wrapped around Miles from the back, pinning his arms to the sides. Miles screamed , violently squirming as he was dragged backwards. He’d survived this long, there was no way in hell he was giving up yet-

Miles was suddenly let go onto something…soft? as he zoned back into reality. It suddenly came to him that a hand was stroking his hair and that a blanket(????) was draped over his shivering form.

“S̵͈͇̜̾͊̋̾̕h̶͎̓ĥ̴̜͍̏͂̉̾ḩ̵̥͓̘̔̃̕.̵̳̞̑͝.̴̗̯́̍͛͋.̸͎̣̰̃͂ͅS̴̨͕̙̹̓̓͘h̴̲̀̈͠h̶̘͋̊̇̋̎h̷̜̳͖̳́̽͐̉.̵̛͖̭̞̒͛͂͠.̶̛͠ͅ.̴̢͈̫̲̽̾͝i̵̲̳͌̾t̷̫͚̓ͅ'̸̹̒̆̇͌s̴̨̾ ̷̛̖̭̿̐̐̓t̷̯͈̝̻͕̚i̴̧̙͉̒̉̿́͘m̶͔̙̼̗̂ȩ̷̮͑̄͗́͘ ̵̜̮̀̀̏͐f̶͕̲̱̞͈̆̈́ö̸̢̖́̒͛́͝r̴͈̠̾̽͆̉͒ ̸͍̱̈́̃̚b̵̤̻̰̺͊͗͊̌͜e̸̱̯̲̦̎̄͌̏̈d̶̘̆͗.̴͔̲͒̆̋̈́̐ͅ.̸͖́̐̽͗͘.̸̯̼͕͆͘” Now that he wasn’t panicked, Miles thought Gemerl’s voice was actually…kind of peaceful.

“T̸͙̻̝̖̒h̷̼̹̫̍͘e̸̺̤̅̓͝r̸̡͍͕̗̎̔͂ȅ̵̖̟ ̴͉͗͋͘̕y̶͚̞̓̾õ̶̜͎͍͂̌͋ṷ̷̌̋̚̕͜͝ ̴̘͛̀̊̓̚a̷̮̾r̷͓̅e̶̤̩͖̼̎,̵̣̟͇̿̄́͘ ̴̤̬̾c̶̣̀̌͠h̶̝̹̊̀̇́̈́i̴̼̽̋͆̾l̵̥̜̣̅́̚d̸̢̩̯͇̝͠.̷̛̞̈́̈́ Ţ̸̙̺̉̾i̴͇̼̜̯͚͆̓̕m̷̳̘̪͕̔̕e̸̪̍̇ ̵̀͜͝ḟ̶̨͙̮͖̳͊̽ö̸̡̦̙r̴̛̖͖̓͆̿͊ ̶̳͇̮̈̀̅̅̿b̵̢͚̪̮͈̊͒̕̕͠ę̸͊͊̿̑̕d̵̦͈̣̞̏.̸͖͉͙͈̓”

“Wha…you weren’t trying to get me?” Miles asked, confused.

“N̶̬͉͍̄͘o̴͎̝͌͊̀̀.̶̦̖͍͔̪͂ ̴̠̣̝̋͐́̑Ḯ̴̟͚̖t̷̝͔̄͊'̵͖̱̤͔̥͌̈́s̷̖̚ ̷̯̼̫́͆͂̅̀p̵̣̎̎ą̷̡̭̣͎̆̉͊̕s̸̟̍͂̈̑͝t̷̨̗̖͓̬̅̍ ̷͔̅ý̷̝̐͜ȍ̶̬̟͍ú̴̠̫̺̩͓͛̇͛̕r̷̩̺͍̙̔̑̎̐̈ ̶̳̩̪̘̈́̾̚b̸̧̘̞̏e̴̺͙͔̹̅̎͜d̸̦̜̤̤̈̋̎̆͠t̷̜̪͠i̸̢̽m̶̗̫̱̽̾͐̊͝ẹ̶̀̊̓̍.̷̹̰̙̙̓̆́͝”

“Well, you really scared me.”

“I̴̩̊̈́ ̸͓͑̆d̵͖͈͆i̷̯̅d̶̪̗̿̀?̷̞͓̙̈́̊ ̵̤̒̅I̴̦͆͛̇'̷̟͚̉̌m̴̜̯̑̍ ̵͇̺͛́̍s̴̛͚̙o̷̫̦̙̾r̴̫̰̀̓̋ͅr̷͎̲̾̄̑y̸͙̬̣͑̾,̴̱͉̂͘͜ ̵͇͉̹͑l̴̺̈́i̶̠̿̚t̵̨͍̊t̷͕͈̟̀̾̓ļ̷̈́̾e̸̺̋ ̶̠͂̌ȯ̴̝͕̪ň̵͕̎e̵̘̺͇̽͝.̸̛͚͎̜̈́͂”

A few knocks suddenly echoed through the daycare.

“Miles? Gemerl? Hello~o?” Sonic’s muffled voice reached the boy and the attendant. Miles suddenly shot up from the sleeping mat.

“Oh, crap! I gotta meet Sonic!” Miles ran to the large doors and went to pull them open. Gemerl sighed and followed him.

Miles tugged the oak doors open, revealing Sonic on the other side. “Hey, rockstar! How you doing?”

“Good! Gemerl just wanted to get me to sleep.” Said bot walked up to Miles and Sonic.

“H̶̦͘͜ë̵̱́͒l̸͙̂l̶̯̋̈́ͅǒ̵̲,̴̩̺͗ ̸̤̜̿S̵̰̥̉ọ̷̱̄n̷̙̝̔ï̷̙̔c̴̰̓͝.̵̙̣͆ ̷͎̓Ì̸̼̈́ ̶̟̆w̸̭͈̔a̵̮̖͆̊s̶̲̏̚ ̵͎̝̏j̴̟̲́ù̴͚͂s̵͇̓ṱ̴̮̿̚ ̵̜̻̎ẗ̷͚̙́̍r̵̡̅̆y̶̻̍̈́i̸̬̿͝n̵̻̼̋g̵̢̏ ̷͉̇̚͜t̶͓̃ô̶̢̼ ̸̯͒g̷̺̩͝e̵͇̪͋ṫ̷̡ͅ ̴̢̱͒̔t̶̞̼́h̵̫̄i̵̹̞͛̈́ṣ̵̤̏̑ ̸̜̻̚l̴̥̗͗̄í̴̘̯t̶̹̜́t̷̠̼͐̀l̸̠̉ë̷̟͈́ ̶̖͋͝ͅô̶̯̖̆n̶͉̐̊e̵̠͈̊̉ ̸͈́t̸̜́͘o̷̊ͅ ̴̤̿̈́s̶̟͆̉l̷̼̤̔͐e̵̡̪̒̍e̴̦͕̍͆p̸͂ͅ.̸̗͑”

“Hey, man. Parts & Service hasn’t handled your voice box yet, huh?” Gemerl gained a disdainful look on his face.

“Ņ̸́̀ö̷̫͉́́,̶̙̀̏ ̵̲̈́f̷̫͆o̴̲̓ŗ̵̘̚ ̵̬̿s̵̭̄̿o̷̧͓͂̅ḿ̶͈e̸̟̣͆ ̷̼̲̇r̶̟̄ȩ̶̱̾a̸̟̺̓͘s̶̞̞̈́̋o̶̫͍͂n̶̙̰̏́.̴͔͛͠ ̷̠̂I̵̖̔̈́ẗ̷̗̟́͠'̵͈͗͠ș̴͘ ̷̠̊̕b̴͍̑e̴̦̱̔͝e̸̹͉̒͠n̷̗̓ ̸̩͆͊m̴̛̜̳͠o̵̞͐ṉ̷̄͗t̵̫̿̅h̵̺́s̵̝͋͘,̶̜́̆ ̴̼͌̎á̷̢̰́n̸̢̧̒͛ḓ̷͍̓͠ ̵̝́̎t̶̮̘͂h̶̞͆͋ḙ̷͊͗y̵̿ͅ ̸̝̽͛k̶̘̥̓é̴̜è̷̺̳̃p̷̠͉̉̈́ ̶̙̰̃͘p̷̫͇̕ǘ̵͙ṯ̴͕̊t̵̖̽̎ĭ̸̧̛̹n̴̡͚͗͑g̷͔͆̏ ̷̩̈́̕ì̷̧̏t̶̖͛̀ͅ ̶̽ͅó̷̟̈f̷͓̃̔f̴̰̺̽̿.̸̰̐̚”

“Yikes. Anyways, I was just coming here to pick up Miles, so I guess we’ll be on our way.”

“Ẇ̶̼h̷͕͇͐͑á̴̼̙̌-̴̫̉ ̷̭̽M̴̩͖̎̿ì̴͇l̷̪̰̽̊ė̶͙͔s̵͖͆͜ ̸̢͗ń̷̻̘ḛ̷̯̀͐è̶̛͙̤d̵͉͝s̸̤̿͆ ̴̬̈̚ṭ̵̍̒ơ̷̠̬̎ ̵͚̇g̸͍̣̃e̸̙̅t̴̳̳̐s̸̨̼̍͑ ̸̜̬̍t̴̡̥͑ǫ̴̘̃ ̷̰̈́͆s̴̳̓ļ̶̣͂̕e̸̛͖̿ḛ̴̭̅ṗ̸̢͒!̸̱̼͊̈́”

“Sorry, man, but we need to keep moving. Everyone’s acting weird, and I don’t want anyone to find Miles before the doors open. Feels…” Sonic paused. “...Feels like something bad might happen.”

“.̸̮͍̅̔.̵͙͋́.̶̢͈̀J̸̪̕u̷͙̾s̷̡̗̓̒t̴̳̓͝ ̸͚̬͑m̶̟̳͒̽à̶̧͇͑k̷̨̽̏ę̴̱͛ ̴̩̺͒̓s̴̻̖͋u̸̝͂r̴̼͝͝ẻ̶ͅ ̶͚̋͌h̵̹̍̊e̴̤͇͆ ̴̞̿s̷̯̝̒l̵̘̟̃̃e̷̘̓̈e̵̲͙̊p̶̠͉̏s̸͇̬̿͐.̴̮̓ ̶̳̰͑C̷̡͗h̵̘͊̈́͜î̶͓̍l̵̺͒̄d̷̘̣͆̍ŗ̸͐̚ë̵̜̊ͅn̵͕͝ ̶̠̓n̴͎͗̃ͅḙ̶̡̈́e̶̖͎̊̀d̷̥͒̎ ̶̞̀t̷̜̕h̴̨̏è̷̡̝̕ï̴̼̑r̷̜͕̒͐ ̴̦͇͑̾r̵͇̂ȇ̶̻s̴̢͖̄̆t̴̤̭̆,̶͔́̔ ̶̼͂̀ŷ̶̳̠͐o̴̩̳͗͆u̷̯̐̏ ̸̞̻͆k̶̖̇n̸̛̠͆o̷͉̣̍̇ẉ̷̰̅.̴̼̅”

“Gotcha. I’ll see you soon.” Miles stepped outside of the door as it shut.

“Well? Where are we going now?”

Sonic checked the time. “I’m gonna need to charge soon, but after that we can head to the atrium. Okay?”

“Yeah.” Sonic guided Miles towards the daycare exit, but Miles’ mind was in another place. Surely, the rest of the band wouldn’t act like this normally, right? He’d met a couple kids a while ago that said they were all the kindest people (robots?) ever! From what happened with Gemerl, it didn’t seem like the mechanics were the most diligent of people, so who was to say that the others had a glitch or a virus or something? Maybe, if he could get Gemerl to stop pursuing him, he could do the same with the rest of the band.

Miles looked up as he zoned into reality. He and Sonic were standing in front of the elevators to the atrium.

“Ready to go, rockstar?”

Whatever the situation, Miles couldn’t help but feel that, somehow, he had stumbled into something really, really important.

“...Yeah.”

Miles and Sonic stepped into the elevator.