Chapter Five – Illusions

Dimension – 11699

'When a wall was pulled over your eyes, how do you discern fact from fiction?'

Traveling through inter-dimensional portals was a strange experience. Tossing and turning, and within seconds he'd landed. Except Saffie didn't land. The floor completely disappeared beneath him, forcing him to instinctively open his mighty wings, and flap them hard. He was in pitch darkness. He flapped and flapped, but the air was so stale, so thin, that Saffie was struggling to keep his enormous weight in the air. He heard was sounded like thunder from blackened sky above with flashes of light, which appeared to lightning. So he was outside, but couldn't understand how come there was so little to the air here. He was sinking and fast. He was now forced to beat his wings just to stay aloft, as he didn't fancy the dangerous dark abode beneath him. Now panting heavily, he noticed an almighty high black tower, tall and sleek, right next to him with waves of bright white electricity traveling across with voltages so high, that he feared for his life if hit.

He looked around, absolutely dumbfounded, as in the flashes of light from above, he saw more and more towers. Potentially hundreds of them. He gulped. What was this place? He looked back towards at the nearest jet black, extremely tall tower and noticed that it had red specks on it. Flying closer, as best he could, all the while avoiding the huge electricity surges, he saw to his absolutely horror, that the red specks were actually large perfectly spherical pods. They were attached to the tower on one side, with a clear outer case but containing a thick, bright red goo, and inside...

Saffie stared. Was that a person? A Mobian, naked, curled up into a tight ball, in the fetal position. Back of the head pointing in, towards the tower, hands and feet pointing out. It's body, within the pod, appeared to be surrounded by thick black wiring, and was completely unconscious. It's brain appeared to be jacked into come kind of system. Directly into the tower. Saffie looked up, down, left and right. He screamed in absolute disbelieve. Thousands more pods covered the outside of the extremely tall, black, energy tower, and as he looked around, all of the towers were covered in pods, and there were hundreds of them. All full.

The entire population of Mobius, reduced to this and it sickened Saffie to the stomach. Who did this? But he was horrified as he was, at what was ahead of him, he didn't check to look what was behind him. Out of nowhere, he was caught in a the grasp of what was the biggest flying machine he had ever seen. It was strong and powerful, had an inset-like appearance about it.

Saffie panicked. He despised being captured, especially from behind, and began to fight back, but before he could, something painfully plummeted itself deep into the sprocket on the back of his head. His Direct-Neuro Interface. He arched his back with the pain, and then suddenly he fell into the darkness, now out cold. His mind completely lost and confused as to where it was.

"Sonic!" Someone called. "Sonic!" They squealed. Saffie opened his eyes to find himself being mysteriously and rather violently shaken awake. He was in laying bed, obviously having been asleep.

"Come on!" The voice spat. "Your going to be late for work." It hissed. Saffie's eyes were very blurry. He sat up, his head very dizzy. He frowned

'What was going on? Work?' He thought, still really confused. Then he suddenly remembered. Oh, yes, work. He worked in an office in the big city, and now he was running late. Finally, his eyes cleared, and he found himself, looking face-to-face, to his absolute horror, with... He gasped.

"Sally?" He gulped, but the female Chipmunk was very put out. She had brown and tan fur on her body and around the front of her abdomen, muzzle, and had bright blue eyes. She had voluminous auburn hair. She was wearing tall, blue boots, and a white apron, and was now brandishing a spatula at him. She growled.

"I am not having my husband loose his job yet again for being late." He hissed. "Now move!" She shouted, which made Saffie jump so much, that he was out of bed in a flash. Satisfied, she disappeared into another part of the apartment. Saffie was left heaving, as he got ready. He put on his gloves, and the famous red and white shoes, and caught himself in the mirror, and saw a stunning, very well manicured fifteen year old royal Blue Hedgehog with jet black eyes looking back at him. Exactly how he looked in his...

Hologram!

Saffie swore as the memories began to return to him. His Extra-Sensory Perception kicking in, immediately making he stop and stare all around him. Something wasn't quite right, but Saffie had no idea what. He was in a one bedroom apartment in a skyscraper, in the middle of the big city, with a very nice kitchen, bathroom and lounge. But as further memories began to surface, Saffie could feel someone desperately trying to actively block them, all the while feeding him false ones. He could feel the fight inside his mind, as Saffie slowing comes to the fact that this world, whatever it was, was not as it seemed. Suddenly, further false memories were dumped on him, desperately trying to get him to follow their path, but Saffie fights back hard.

Maybe too hard.

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright white light, and he opened his eyes to find his enormous Sapphire Dragon body painfully and forcibly being bound, on its back, in extremely strong metal chains, to a table. Saffie could feel a plug in the back of his head. There was nothing above him but the dark, black thunderous sky. He was bearing his teeth and roaring at an unknown enemy who was desperately trying to control him and obviously struggling and failing.

Within seconds, there was another flash of light, and Saffie was back in the apartment, still looking in the mirror. He was left badly panting, with his instincts screaming at him not to trust anyone or anything. Saffie decided to flex his muscles and to his delight, he could still feel his superpowers. Wherever here was, at least he had a means of defending himself. He was slowing working out where he was.

He was obviously in his digital self, his avatar, and inside a some kind of computer program, but one so elaborate that he just couldn't work it out, and like his digital projections before, he still had his Super-Speed. But who was attacking his body and why? Thankfully, it was putting up one hell of a fight, as expected, so Saffie had some headway this end, to try and work out what was going on.

Suddenly he heard his name being called.

"Sonic!" She screamed. It was Sally from the kitchen. His wife. Or was it? His E.S.P. told him otherwise. Oh, how Saffie would have loved all this to be real, that was how much he still loved Sally, but his experience as a Cyborg told him otherwise. But in order to find the answers he sought, he realised that he'd have to follow the path forcibly being set out ahead of him. He decides to go along with the situation.

He walked to the kitchen, to immediately be kissed and hugged by Sally. It felt so good. So real. It wasn't but for that split nanosecond, it was, and Saffie relished every bit of it. She let him go and smiled.

"Finally, you showed." She grinned. "I thought for a minute, you'd gone back to bed." She smiled, but Saffie took a deep sigh. He heaved.

"Sally?" He asked. "Do you think there was anything strange going on?" He wondered. Sally frowned and shook her head.

"No, why?" She asked. But Saffie shrugged, looking at the female Chipmunk, almost desperate for her to be real.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just a hunch." He sighed, but Sally was unimpressed. He growled.

"Well, take that hunch of your's out of the door and to work. Your already late." She hissed, forcibly grabbing him by the shoulders, turning him around and shoving him out of the already open front door. "Bye Bye. Sonic The Hedgehog." She spits and slammed the door in his face. Saffie was left panting yet again, stood in the corridor that connected all the apartment. He growled in return.

"My name was Saffie!" He hissed, and then he realised that that was the point. Suddenly, Sally was gone. Silence filled the air, as there was no further sounds coming from the apartment. Like she'd just vanished into thin air, nothing more then an illusion. He frowned. Wherever here was, it was desperately trying to block the powerful Cyborg from the truth, to steer him away with a barrage of false memories. But Saffie was strong. Much stronger, he suspected, then anything it had ever encountered before. A Cyborg experienced in running around the digital realm. But as confusing as it all was, Saffie had to hold onto himself. He wasn't Sonic The Hedgehog. Not anymore. That person died in the final fight against Snively. He was the Sapphire Dragon, sent here to help. Saffie sighed, as he descended the stairs of the skyscraper.

'Help?' He thought. 'How?' He wondered, and soon he'd made it to the ground floor of the skyscraper and out into the big city. He knew exactly which office, in which building in the big city, he supposedly worked at, and for now, decided to make his way there. He looked around the bright and bustling hugely expansive city, on this warm, sunny day. He'd never been here before and yet he knew it. It was bizarre. Then his jaw dropped. All around him there were thousands of Mobians. Ordinary Sapients just going about their business, completely oblivious to the potential horror of the truth that lay just behind the normal. Bus drivers, car drivers, business people, families, every walk of life you could think off. But that truth, Saffie still had no idea as he walked through the city. He'd decided to walk rather then run, especially with his Super-Speed. He suspected the less attention he drew to himself, the better. Tall skyscrapers filled the downtown area, with parks and outdoor areas in between them, and ordinary housing towards the edge. The city itself sprawled, in every direct, as far as the eye could see, and was very clean and beautifully maintained.

As Saffie walked down the busy pavement, absolutely nobody paid any attention to him whatsoever. It was like his fame didn't exist, or never had existed, which in itself was both refreshing and strange, that wasn't what caught Saffie's eye. As the people walked passed him, every single one of the them had a strange digital signature, that he could definitely feel, that Sally back in the apartment didn't have, which was why it stood out to him. Again, these people took no notice as he walked and tried desperately not to stare.

He had no idea what this strange digital signature meant inside this 'computer program' whatever it was, but things then suddenly when from the strange to downright weird. Saffie, being a Cyborg, was well aware he had a heightened awareness of his surroundings, able to feel it desperately trying to manipulate him. As he walked through the cities, he noticed the shadows all around him were not moving and acting the way as they should.

Suddenly, his ears were filled with loud whispers, of multiple voices, dark and foreboding and but none of the words of which could be made out. The whispers seemed to move with the breeze and got so loud that Saffie fell to his knees, his hands over his ears. But as suddenly as the whispers arrived, they vanished, leaving Saffie somewhat dumbstruck, and being helped to his feet, by several passer bys, who again where completely oblivious as to what happened. He thanked them and they went on their way. Now, for the first time since arriving, Saffie's confusion turned into outright fear as he still had no idea what was going on.

He took a deep breath, regained his composure and started walking again. Further on down the street, something instinctively made Saffie immediately turn around. A feeling. Another digital signature, but at odds from those all around him. Very similar, but not quite the same. It was incredibly subtle but it was just different enough to catch Saffie's eye. Looking behind him, he couldn't see anything to indicate who it was, in amongst the crowd on the street, but this odd digital signature, no correction, two odd digital signatures were coming towards him. This meant only one thing.

He was being followed.

Saffie decided to walk faster, but not break out into an all out run. He wasn't at that point yet, and plus he was intensely curious as to who it was. He could feel his pursuers get closer, as he rounded a corner, he then broke out into a normal run (not Super-Speed, which took a lot of concentration, as that was where he always instinctively wanted to go.) and straight down a narrow, dark alleyway, between two skyscrapers and into the shadows. He then stood completely still and waited for his pursuers to catch up. The owners of the two odd digital signatures. They did, and they were the last two people Saffie expected to see, as his jaw completely and utterly dropped. Both looked perfectly normal, no roboticisation whatsoever and stopping by the mouth of the alleyway, somewhat confused at having lost him. Saffie gulped.

"Bunnie? Antoine?" He gasped but before he could do or say anything, he felt an incredibly sharp pain right at the back of his head, as someone had struck hard with something blunt and suddenly he collapsed to the floor, his mind swimming, completely out cold again, for the second time.

Saffie had no idea how long he was out, but as he slowly came to, he heard voices all around him, as he quickly realised he was strapped to a chair. He could feel yet more odd digital signatures, and he pricked up his ears to try and understand what his going on. The voices seemed to be at odds with each other.

"Are you sure that's him?" One voice asked. But another answered defensively, somewhat desperate. It heaved.

"Yes, look at him. It has to be him." It declared. But another voice again, wasn't convinced. It sounded distant, like it was coming from a communicator.

"Yes, but his digital signature was like nothing I've ever seen before. It was reading really strangely." it stammered, but unfortunately, it just got ignored. Saffie's jumped. He recognised that distant voice. Tails, and what was the 'Grid'? Having absolutely no idea he finally opened his eyes, and as the blurriness cleared, he was immediately greeted by yet another familiar face, again looking normal, but her attire had changed. A tall Wolf with grey and white fur and deep blue eyes, with thick black hair (in the shape of a mo-hawk). Her hair was tied in a ponytail that ran down her back. She also had a black tail with a grey tip and a scar under her left eye. Instead of the blue body suit, she was black camouflage gear from head to foot. In fact, everyone on the room did. She had a strong leadership voice, and came over to Saffie and appeared to be strapping wires attached to a nearby machine to his wrists and legs. She sighed, looking Saffie deep in the eyes.

"Do not be afraid, Chosen One. We mean you no harm." She declared. But Saffie was staring at her. He gulped.

"Lupe?" He stammered, only to have the Wolf immediately back away. She looked frightened.

"You know me?" She gasped. All of the comrades also stared, and yet they were all there. Bunnie Rabbot, but looking completely normal, not roboticisation at all, Antoine D' Collette, Rotor, Elise Acorn, and Sally Acorn. She was here again, except looking very different and staring at him, with a look that clearly said that she didn't know him. She was very quiet, standing in the background. Very unlike the Sally he knew and Saffie thought it best just to respectfully leave her in peace and not pursue it. She had a job to do within the Freedom Fighters, but as brutal as it appeared he decided to just ignore her. To engage further wasn't worth it.

But as he watched her, something else caught the Blue Hedgehog's attention. To Saffie's utter surprise Geoffrey St. John was there, all working together for some greater purpose. Seven in total, plus Tails' down the communicator. He nodded, and panic seemed to set in amongst them. Lupe completely lost it. She panted.

"No, no. There was no way you should know us. We perfectly covered our tracks." She panicked. But Geoffrey St. John grabbed the Wolf, the black and white Skunk looked highly professional in his specialist gear. He growled.

"Look, I think this was just a simple case of mistaken identity. He was the Chosen One." He declared, pointing right at Saffie. The Blue Hedgehog gulped.

"The Chosen One?" He stammered. Everyone stared until Tails' voice suddenly piped up from the communicator, again.

"Can someone please tell him. Being born on the Grid, he won't know." He instructed and this time it was Elise Acorn who took charge, his familiar strong voice, soothing Saffie significantly. He heaved.

"You think the world out there was real. That perfect big city that everyone lives and works in. Sorry, to disappoint you, but it isn't. War broke out between Robotnik and Mobius. But the madman got completely carried away and the misuse of his own technology blocked out the sun, scotching the sky outside and his access to solar energy. He responded by capturing the Mobians and harvested their bioelectric power, in a central mainframe, all while keeping their minds pacified on the Grid. Where we are now. A shared neural-interactive simulated reality modelled on the world. A computer generated dream world. Ultimate control. Robotnik then won the war, and the last remaining free Mobians took refuge, aka us, on the ground between the super high energy towers. We currently hack the Grid, from a bunker beneath one of the almighty towers. The captured Mobians are kept in pods attached to the towers and combined with a form of fusion, Robotnik had found all the energy his technology would ever need." He explained.

Saffie went white. So it was a computer program. The ultimate computer program. The Grid, desperately trying to force him into line along with the others. He gulped. The others. The digital signature he felt on everyone. It was their organic signatures. They meant that he was not the only person plugged into the Grid. Potentially thousands, or even millions of people were. Imprisoned in pods, their bodies used for nothing more then power. Now the true horror of the situation set in for Saffie. So Sally, back in the apartment was just a computer generated illusion, composed by the Grid, to try and fool him. A hologram with the program. Saffie smirked. That had failed, epically. He'd realised relatively quickly that something was going on, even if he didn't know what. As for Sally here along with the others, they all carried they odd digital signature. Saffie quickly worked out why from the information he just received. They were hacking the Grid from outside the mainframe, hence the variation. It was impressive, but as Saffie suspected, incredibly dangerous. But Elise sighed.

"Apologies, I know it's a lot to take in." He comforted. But Saffie nodded.

"It's alright. I believe you." He sighed, understanding far more then his captors suspected he knew. He remembered the pods on the outside of the towers, he saw when he first arrived. His stomach turned again. To use the Mobian population, as nothing more then power-cells was sickening, the Grid completely subduing their minds. It was ingenious, but now he realised that he had a problem as he started pulling on the straps on his chair. "Hey, why am I tied to this thing?" He growled, as he watched Lupe, Bunnie and Antoine work all around him. But Elise put both his hands up to calm him.

"We are setting up an 'exit point'. We are going to free you from the Grid, Chosen One. It was prophetised that the Chosen One, a Mobian born inside, will free the people from the almighty grip of the Grid. He will carry the 'Freedom Code' in his digital signature, and bring peace to the world." He smiled. But he got immediately cut across by Geoffrey, who was rather frustrated. He glared at him.

"Everyone knows that story, Elise." He spat. But the Chipmunk defensively turned to the Skunk. He growled.

"Do you discredit the great words of The Elder, who had been with our cause since the very beginning?" He hissed, and the Skunk vigorously shook his head. He went white.

"No." He stammered. "It's just your stating the obvious, thats all." He shrugged, but then Elise turned to Saffie. He smiled.

"That Mobian was you. The Blue Hedgehog." He nodded. "The Chosen One!" He announced, bowing slightly, absolutely delighted to have finally found him. But Saffie eyes widened. Blue Hedgehog! All of the Freedom Fighters he knew from his own dimension was here, in these weird and strange versions, and he'd now learned, especially from the previous dimension he'd just visited, that someone was missing. Now extremely inconspicuous by his absence.

Sonic!

Saffie outright panicked, as the machinery all around him began to whir. He began desperately pulling on his straps again.

"No, wait." He pleaded. "I'm not the Chosen One. You've got the wrong Blue...Hedgehog!" He stammered, but suddenly he felt an enormous spike of pain in his wrists and ankles, as well as the back of his neck, and suddenly everything plummeted straight into darkness.

Again.