Chapter Four – Upgrade
Sonic The Hedgehog, especially in this dimension was not known for crying, but he did that day. In fact, all his friends did, as they mourned the passing of a true hero. Seeing Saffie in his true spender without the cloak was breathtaking and with this sacrifice, he earned the title of which the Wisps had given him. The greatest. The King. Sonic smiled, more then happy to let him have it. But Knuckles was absolutely dumbfounded, shaking with horror. He had no idea that what he was asking of the Sapphire Dragon, was an act of self sacrifice. He had genuinely believed that he simply carried the Power Stones on his person somewhere, just they all did with the Emeralds. Therefore making it a simple offering. But to find out that the Power Stones were actually physically inside of him, in his chest, his only source of life and power, reduced the Echidna to utter tears.
If he'd have known, they maybe they could have worked out another way, but as the Master Emerald finally settled back down on Angel island, he knew there wasn't one. He gulped, looking down at the mighty Blue Dragon, admiring the royal Blue reptile-like scales he had, instead of fur. He's saved them all, and did it willingly, knowing the costs. He then looked to Sonic, and grabbed the Hedgehog for a enormous hug. The Sapphire Dragon was his counterpart, and if he was willing to sacrifice everything for them, then so was Sonic. Knuckles never really understood this before today, and vowed to never turn his back on the Blue Hedgehog again. Whatever Sonic needed, he would get. He nodded, really appreciating that. He fully understood why Saffie did it, and swapped places with him, he knew he'd immediately do the same. But what was even more special, was the fact that this wasn't even Saffie's dimension. Sonic began to wonder what incredible feats he'd achieved back home, and more tears fell as he realised that the Sapphire Dragon would never get to go back there.
Different versions of 'Sonic' may exist across the dimensions, but they were all fundamentally one and the same. Real life true heroes, and as his friends cuddled him dearly, Sonic realised that also included himself. But as the friends all sat on the ground of Angel island, all gathered around the mighty Blue Dragon, suddenly they weren't alone. In the afternoon light, the sky above, completely out of nowhere, suddenly bust with life. They came by the thousand, every colour, every shape, descending down from the heavens, silently gliding down, to where the Sapphire Dragon fell. Sonic and his friends immediately scrambled to their feet and moved to allow the Wisps to gather around their fallen comrade. The Wisps are an extremely powerful race, especially when they work together. They are able to levitate at will, which served as their main method for movement. More and more came until Saffie completely disappeared beneath them and finally, with their mysterious and formidable superpower inside their own bodies. In the form of their ability to generate and store Hyper-Go-On inside themselves, which was an extremely powerful energy source and the Wisps' life source, they worked together to finally lift Saffie off the ground.
He was big and he was heavy. He had been lying on his back, and his enormous wings and tail were dragging his legs and shoulders downwards, and it cause his back to dangerously arch as he ascended upwards, still limp and lifeless. He went high into the sky, but his wings were so large that they barely left the ground at full assent. Dangling upside down, and still surrounded by Wisps, of every colour, as a white light emanated from them, creating a large halo around the Sapphire Dragon. Suddenly a Wisp touched his chest with one of it's tentacles and it appeared to open up. There was no blood or gore and the Wisp seemed to remove something from the chest cavity. It rose right out of the hole, a strange and bizarre looking black stone with visible cracks down on one side. But as it hovered above the Sapphire Dragon, it broke apart into two oddly shaped Power Stones, which perfectly fitted together. In fact, they could have been fitted together in multiple ways. The Deep Power Stones.
They would have been incredible, if they still had their power, but the Deep Power Stones were as dead as the Sapphire Dragon himself. The Wisps tossed the Deep Power Stones to one side, and they fell to the ground, only to be immediately collected by Sonic and Tails. They and Knuckles examined the stones, shrugged and then looked up again skywards, with both fear and awe at what the Wisps were going to do next. Nobody, had ever seen this level of power displayed by them before, and wanted to see it out. With the Deep Power Stones gone, the Wisps then gathered again around the hole in the chest of the mighty Sapphire Dragon and suddenly there was an explosion of pure white light, that completely engulfed the entirety of Angel island.
Sonic and his friends immediately had to duck for cover to avoid being blinded. Screams filled the air, and more waves of white lights emanated from the Wisps at the origin. The power was incredible, but all they could do was hunker down and prey it was going to be enough. Finally, the light died down and faded away. The Sapphire Dragon looked no different, still hanging upside down in mid air, his back still arched, tail and wings dragging his down. The hole his was chest had been healed, but as Sonic looked back up at the Wisps, he immediately knew something was wrong. Whatever they tried to do, it hadn't worked, as he saw tears. The Sapphire Dragon was still cold, still lifeless, and many of the Wisps began to cuddle him, utterly heartbroken.
They had obviously tried to bring him back, but nothing. But one little Wisp wasn't giving up. A singular Cyan Wisp, slightly smaller then the others, wasn't going to let this be the end. He drifted round and down towards Saffie's head, his eyes closed, which was hanging upside down, his arms dangling downwards either side of it. Level and face-to-face with his nose, it bopped it with a tentacle. Nothing. This didn't deter him, as he drew back a tentacle again, and this time smack the nose rather hard. Again nothing.
The other Wisps were staring at him, as were Sonic and his friends from the ground and some of his fellow aliens even tried to intervene, but the little Cyan Wisp wasn't having any of it. He threw them off, and backed right off from the nose, and then charged at it, full on, to the shock of his friends. He crashed into it at speed, barely making a dent in the mighty Blue Dragon, and the poor little Wisp knocked himself silly. He hovered in mid-air, somewhat dizzy and confused. Then he heard it. A voice, deep melodious, but incredibly warm and soothing, and cracked as hell. It smiled.
"Hey, Squidling. You made it." He sniggered, then he smirked. "But I think we need to stop doing this." He added. The little Cyan Wisp suddenly exploded in delight, and hugged Saffie's nose with everything he had, as Sapphire Dragon looked at him through the smallest of slits in his eyes. But he was quickly coming too. He had been in deep darkness, and his been physically dragged back to the living, by these incredible little aliens. He opened his eyes fully and looked around, the cheers of everyone all around him, and sighed and rubbed his face.
"I have got to stop surviving these self sacrifices. This would be, what, the third time now." He sniggered, more to himself then anything. Once against Snively, the second against Robotnik, and now here. Sonic stared at his friends, utterly dumbfounded. They sighed. Wow. But Saffie quickly realised he had a massive problem, as he finally woke up. He was still being suspended in midair, upside down. He growled.
"Hey, put me down." He asked, but got no reply. Saffie was unimpressed. He sighed, as he spotted some of the Wisps showing serious signs of distress. "No, seriously, guys, put be down. I'm an Adamantium based Cyborg. I weigh a frigging' tonne." He demanded, as dozens of Wisps, mainly the ones holding up his weight collapsed, were unable to take it anymore. Saffie went crashing to the ground, but instinctively managed to somersault and land on his feet. He landed so hard, he made the entity of Angel island shake. Suddenly the aliens fell all around them, to be immediately rescued by Sonic and his friends.
But that didn't matter, the Sapphire Dragon was back, the Wisps would recover, but as Sonic looked at his counterpart, he quickly noticed all was not well. Saffie was extremely pale and swaying very badly on his feet. Suddenly his buckled, and immediately he had Shadow and Vector grabbed either side of him and held him up. Saffie was really struggling, his breathing extremely difficult, and he knew exactly why. It felt so strange. He smirked.
"I have a beating heart." He gasped. "An actual organic beating heart." He marveled He was amazed at the Wisps power. But the crowd that surrounded him, just stared at him. He just ignored them. "I haven't had a beating heart in six, almost seven years." He added. Tails blinked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Are you really a Cyborg?" He asked, of which Saffie nodded. He grinned. "Long story, kid, and not one I'm telling now." He added. Saffie noticed that there was clueless looks all around him as to what Adamantium was. This meant that thankfully he didn't have to explain it. Mobius' and potentially the universe's hardest metal was not a nice material to work with and apparently here, it didn't exist here. He was somewhat relieved. It's extraction and processing had cost lives back home. He quickly glazed over the subject, looking back at the Fox.
"But being a Cyborg is my problem here. As much as I appreciate the heart. It's incredible that you've even managed to give me one." He heaved, nodding and thanking the Wisps, but he gulped and sighed. "But it's just not strong enough." He added, as he suddenly grabbed his chest as horrendous pain shot straight though it. He screamed and was left severely panting. He gritting his teeth. "It's already failing." He sniffed, to the horrified looked of both his counterpart, his friends and the Wisps. People began cry again, but Saffie roared in frustration. He was better then this.
Many of the Wisps were in a bad way, in bringing him back, obviously giving their all, and now he was going to die on them again. But as he looked skyward and marveled at the thousands of the little aliens that surrounded him, not all of them were down. Every colour, every type and suddenly he had an idea, as he looked down at his own hands, and remembered a fond memory of a favour to a friend, back on his own dimension. The energy and power the Wisps had, as incredible as it was, it had an air of familiarity about it. So much so, that he could potentially take advantage of it, if they let him. Suddenly, he threw his head back, looking behind him, to the small Cyan Wisp, he first met by the lake. The one who didn't give up on him. He grinned.
"Hey, Squidling." He hollowed, but the small Cyan Wisp looked somewhat put out. He huffed, rounding on him.
[I'm a Wisp!] He spat, but then looked somber at Saffie's suffering. He didn't have long left. But Sapphire Dragon giggled.
"You know, I had actually worked that out." He smiled. "I just prefer Squidling." He smirked. Everyone's stared. Saffie could directly understand the Wisps. Sonic and his friends all had to use a translator to understand them. The Cyan Wisp sniffed and smiled, mainly with his eyes. He nodded.
[What do you want?] He asked. But Saffie suddenly had to grit his teeth, as another wave of pain come over him, from his failing heart. Panting and now a little desperate, he grabbed the Wisp. He was Cyborg, time to act like one. He heaved.
"That incredible power of yours." He asked, indicating all of the Wisps, specifically ones unharmed hovering above him. "Can I borrow it? I can use it in combination with my own to do something only a Cyborg can do." He panted at he got to his feet, and threw of his supports. He was still bent double, but at least he could now stand unaided. He was breathing heavily, and with every passing minute, the pain was getting worse and worse, he needed an answer soon. Everyone looked at each other. Sonic frowned, asking Saffie before the Cyan Wisp.
"What?" He frowned, but Saffie giggled. Through the heavy breathing, he faced his counterpart, and grinned.
"Upgrade." He declared, and the Wisps didn't need telling twice as, all of a sudden, they immediately dived for him. Saffie's eyes widened as he saw one of them go for his chest and pass straight through him, leave a significant amount of energy behind. Then another and another, and soon the energy began to build exponentially. Saffie got his strength back extremely quickly, and was stood upright, but it still wasn't enough. He growled.
"Come on, Squidlings, keep it coming." He hollowed. He needed a huge amount of energy for what he was going to do. Suddenly more and more Wisps came down and deposited their energy inside of him, by passing through him, and finally he had enough to activate the Robotisation Energy Manipulation in his hands. The ability to roboticise and deroboticise at will. But instead of throwing it at someone, for the very first time, it turned it on himself, and changed, with a simple gesture of his hands, the bright white light of the Wisps energy that was all around him to deep green, it looking very foreboding. Everyone backed away, quickly realising just how dangerous this energy was. Instantly roboticising anything organic it touched. Usually, it would have done, but Saffie was anything but normal. He was a Cyborg, the organic elements he had when he first changed with the coma, were so heavily integrated into his body that they were now immune to any further Roboticisation. Basically, he couldn't turn himself into a robot, just alter or change the mechanical elements already there. But his new heart was different. His body saw it as foreign organic tissue and immediately the Roboticisation Energy went straight for it. Saffie began to change, roboticising and fully integrating the new heart into his body. Finally, the pain stopped.
Normally a simple roboticised heart wouldn't have been strong enough either to power such a strong Cyborg, such as himself. When a organic beating heart was roboticised, it turns into a power source set to run for a finite amount of time. But Saffie's power consumption was far higher then the average power source could provide, hence the use of the Power Stones, back in his own dimension. But this heart was different. The Wisps had created it for him using their incredible powers. A heart made of pure energy, of pure gold and took to the Roboticisation process extremely well, and now it hummed, beautifully pulsating and providing him with more then enough power. All the power he would ever need.
Now that he'd fixed the heart, time to upgrade, while he had the chance, with the energy and began to violently shake. He suddenly felt his mind grow as it was becoming more open to wireless signals. His limps, became stronger and more power, but leaner in stature as all his muscles across his entire body were restructured to become more efficient but lighter in weight. He felt the integration extend still further from his heart, as he felt the highly sensitive wires dig down right through his arms and legs to the tips of his fingers and toes. There the integrated exploded in his back as the wires extended down to his wings and tail, heightening his nerves system and strengthening the bones and muscles. His eyes glowed a deep green as the integrated wires dug deep into his skull, seemingly directly hot-wired into his brain.
His mind exploded, expanding exponentially, as he began to see, feel and hear every electronic signal and wave. It felt fantastic, strong and powerful, and within minutes, his mind and body was completely fully integrated and was now completely wireless. He still had his Direct-Neuro Interface, the sprocket in the back of his head, but he no longer needed it to access a computer network. He could do it completely wirelessly, from absolutely anywhere. As the shaking finally stopped, the green Roboticisation Energy dying away, he marveled at the beautiful colours of all the wireless signals that covered this dimension, used for everyday life. For the very first time, he could see them.
Suddenly Saffie collapsed to the ground, completely out cold, absolutely no signs of life whatsoever. Sonic had been watching in horror, but Tails in fascination, but before Sonic got there, as he ran for Saffie, but was immediately stopped by an extremely cocky voice from behind him. It giggled.
"Whoa! Easy, Speedster Boy. I'm rebooting. Give me a second." He hollowed. Sonic stopped. That was definitely Saffie but coming from behind him? His body was on the floor in front of him, until finally Sonic turned around. His jaw dropped. He was looking face-to-face at himself, literally. Opposite him was a hologram. Slightly white and see-through, Saffie stood there with his arms folded, powerful and strong, his large jet black eyes fixed on Sonic. They used to be emerald green in his holograms before, as well as in his in body. The reason why was because of the huge amount of exposure to Roboticisation Energy he endured when he originally transformation. It permanently turned his eyes from jet black to emerald green, and at the time, even digitally, he couldn't change them back.
As much as he loved the green eyes, they weren't truly him. He'd been born in his dimension with jet black eyes and had been desperate for them back. His body he couldn't change but with this upgrade, he could change his digital form. So, finally, at last, he did, back to how they used to be. He was thrilled to have his dark eyes back, at least in his hologram and avatar anyway. The beautifully manicured Blue Hedgehog quills flowed his back from his forehead, looking spectacular, and his gloves and shoes were spotless. The white stripe on his red shoes glistened in afternoon light, his short royal blue fur shined like silk.
Saffie was exactly the same height and weight as Sonic opposite him, not a monster, a true mirror image except for the eyes colour. Sonic had noticed over the years that several of his counterparts had black eyes, but only a very small handful. Green was much more common. Classic Sonic, had black eyes, and now, as he smiled, so did Saffie. Or at least, in this form. Sonic suspected that this was how Saffie looked before he changed. Almost exactly like his fifteen year old self. Saffie giggled, as he felt extremely enlightened.
"You know how you said earlier that I used to be exactly like you. Well." He smiled, throwing out his arms. "You were right. But you forget, there's a ten year gap between us. Your still in your teens, I'm in my twenties, and as you know, a lot can happen in that time." He heaved, twitching heavily. Saffie smiled.
He was indeed older. He thought and crunched the numbers. Back in his dimension, Julian Robotnik, with that military coup took over when he was five years old. He defeated the Human for the first time, eleven years later at sixteen. Then came the war again Snively, which lasted for two years. Now eighteen, infamous coma that transformed him lasted six years, when he awoke as the Sapphire Dragon for the first time at twenty-four. He finally defeated Robotnik a second time, winning the war, six months ago and he not long had a birthday, not as a Cyborg that really mattered anymore. So yes, exactly ten years.
Sonic stared. He'd suspected the Sapphire Dragon was older then him. The tone of voice and the mannerisms were much maturer then his own, but he wasn't expecting as much as ten years. The complete opposite to Classic Sonic. Saffie rubbed his face.
"That was one hell of an upgrade." He heaved, and then looked skywards. "What are you Squidlings made of?" He asked the Wisps above his head. But they all just shrugged in reply as they drifted and hovered all around him. But Tails had been staring at him, absolutely transfixed on Saffie's hologram. His mouth was hanging, and he promptly got elbowed by Sonic. Tails shook himself and finally spoke to the Sapphire Dragon. He was panting heavily.
"You can manipulate Roboticisation Energy." He gasped. Saffie nodded. Tails gulped. "How?" He stammered. Saffie sighed in his hologram.
"Unfortunately, Kid, I'm not telling." He hissed, to the very disappointed Fox. He shuddered, the memories were still just too raw. He heaved. "It came with a very heavy price-tag, so just be grateful I can do it at all, considering I have just saved myself with it." He spat. He had a very good point, and Sonic put his hand up to Tails, making the Fox drop the subject. He looked over the body of the Sapphire Dragon. He hadn't moved from where it fell. Tails gulped.
"Is it alright?" He asked, pointing to the body. The hologram looked behind him. He narrowed his eyes. He frowned.
"Er, yep." He smirked. "Should be coming back online in five, four, three, two, one." He counted and suddenly, the body sprang to life, twitching and moving, opening it's big green eyes, them glowing brightly. Saffie's grabbed his head, inside his hologram. "Whoa, oh yeah. That's working." He grinned. "I'm completely wireless in here. Used to have to plug myself in the get my mind out." He smirked, pointing to the back of his head. "Not anymore. I can even generate my own hologram's now." He giggled. But the Fox just stared.
"You can completely separate you mind from your body and not die in the process." He stammered, but Saffie shrugged.
"Er, yeah. It's a thing I can do. Don't ask me exactly how, because I genuinely don't know. It came as part of the transformation from this." He smiled, indicating himself as a hologram, it obviously showing exactly how he used to be. "To that." He added pointing to his body, which was still lying on the floor, twitching. Sonic looked at it. He heaved.
"The Sapphire Dragon." He sighed. Saffie nodded.
"Despite the looks, Sonic, we're not so different." He smiled. Sonic smiled and nodded. Of all the counterparts he'd met over the years, none had he'd bonded with more then Saffie, but truthfully, none had done more for him and his friends then the Sapphire Dragon, and now he felt extremely somber, because he'd have to send him home, and truthfully he really didn't want him to go.
Tails had also come to the same conclusion, and had been using his handheld to track down Saffie's dimension. But there was a problem, as he looked horrified at the screen. He gulped. The planet he was seeing was nothing more then a desolate wasteland, no life, no people, nothing. He began to cry. Suddenly, Sonic and Saffie joined him, stood either of him. Sonic was horrified but Saffie smiled, immediately recognising home.
"Yep, that's the right dimension, Kid." He announced, but Sonic and Tails looked terrified. But Saffie sighed.
"Look. I won. I actually won. Against Robotnik. The Human wasn't like yours, a person who could be actually negotiated with. Mine was the pure evil devil, reincarnated himself, literally. He completely took over the world, and ruled it with an iron fist. There was nothing left but me, alone with superpowers and a small group of Freedom Fighters. But against all the odds, we won. He was gone and never coming back, at least not in my dimension anyway." He heaved. Sonic and Tails gulped. "I won the war, but unfortunately, I lost the planet. As you can see, it's a mess." He added pointing to the screen. "But.." He smiled, taping the handheld with one singular holographic finger. "I saved my people." He added, as the picture on the handheld zoomed out and showed in all it's full glory the four Floating Cities of the Mutant Movement. He beamed. "They just don't live on the planet surface anymore." He grinned.
Everyone stared. It was amazing, the technology needed to achieve such a feat was staggering. But Sonic really felt for Saffie, to outright win against Eggman would be amazing, and the Sapphire Dragon had done exactly that, but the price he'd paid was a ruthlessly high one. But as he looked at the holographic Hedgehog, he seemed very distant. Sonic suspected there was something else going on.
But Tails was having a major problem. Even though inter-dimensional portals happened at random, he had invented a method of dialing up a portal to a specific dimension to send the counterparts home, but now he was struggling. He just couldn't dial Saffie's dimension, try as he might, it failed every time. All Tails could get from the dimension was just a few pictures. Nothing could get in or out. It was completely locked. Tears began to fall as the Fox cried, and as Sonic hugged him, he realised they were alone. The hologram was gone. He looked around, and immediately found Saffie. The mighty Sapphire Dragon was back. He was sat upright on the ground, perfectly fine, inside his body. His wings and tail had been folded away and he had his knees to his chest. His eyes were still glowing green, but he had a very somber look on his face.
He sniffed.
"I can't go home, can I?" He asked. "I suspected as much. That would have been too easy." He added. Sonic shook his head, but before he could say anything else, a White Wisp came to join them. She hovered just in front of them.
[Sorry. I'm afraid not.] She explained. [Because you achieved true everlasting peace on your world, in your dimension, it had been locked in order to protect itself. Nothing can get in or out, and that, Sapphire Dragon, includes you.] She smiled. [But that's was not your destiny, is it?] She asked. Sonic stared but Saffie nodded. He took a deep sigh.
"Yes. I understood now." He smiled. "I came here and helped this dimension. Now having found out I can't go home, it time for me to move onto the next one. To help more people in need." He sighed and giggled, the old cockiness back. "I wouldn't be a 'Sonic' if I didn't." He added, then his thoughts turned to Sally. Now he'd never see her again. That was tough, but considering how much of a pain he'd been to his dimension in the months just before he left, the figured it was probably for the best. He sighed. "My dimension doesn't need me anymore." He sighed. The White Wisp nodded in approval. She smiled.
[Precisely.] She agreed and then pointed to tentacle to a group of her fellow Wisps who quickly gathered together and then exploded apart, forming the deep purple portal. It was large and circular, a white ring, with a purple swirling centre. The white Wisp pointed at it. [Your carriage awaits.] She encouraged. Saffie's eyes widened as he very quickly scrambled to his feet. Tall and strong, the mighty Dragon that he was. His wings folded beautifully on his shoulders, long tail resting on the ground. He was gobsmacked.
"What! Now?" He panted. But the white Wisp rounded on him.
[You are ready, Sapphire Dragon. Now go and save them.] She declared. Sonic and his friends were stunned. The Sapphire Dragon was leaving right now as the Wisps gathering all around him and pushed him towards the portal. As to where that portal was heading, was utter guesswork. Could be anywhere, and the chances of them seeing him again were so tiny, that it was practically none existent. All Sonic and his friends could do was wave him off. It had been an incredible three days and one Sonic would never forget. The Sapphire Dragon had come here and saved them. Putting the war against Eggman back in their favour again. He was not meant to win it for them, Eggman was now a threat he and his friends could easily handle alone. Sonic smiled, proud even. Saffie really was the King. A King he'd be deeply honoured to bow too. The greatest of them all, of all 'Sonics' everywhere. Time for his incredible counterpart to help others swing their own wars in the right direction. He nodded.
"Good luck, Saffie." He sniffed, as the almighty Sapphire Dragon went through the portal, to a new and completely unknown destination.