Chapter 4: Caught up in a dream

It had been two weeks since Nic had brought Fiona back to Knothole, and the vixen was currently under the watchful eye of Nicole, and, if Nicole wasn't around, she was kept under house arrest. She'd passed the time by continuing her medical studies, and had received regular visits from Nic, Sally, and, naturally, Tails.

Currently, she was pouring over another textbook, while the Freedom Fighters were on a mission. Soon, however, Nicole materialised in the room.

"You really need to start knocking." Fiona said sarcastically.
"Sorry. Apparently, I'm supposed to just barge in to make sure you aren't hiding anything. I don't see the point, in all honesty. I can sense your vitals, and I can tell if you are, but appearances have to be kept up."
"Yeah." The vixen shrugged. "So I take it the mission's over?"
"Yes."
"What was this one?"
"Well, come to the lab, and I will show you."
"Okay."

Fiona closed the book, and pulled on her boots. She'd gone back to her old style since returning to her old friends, since she'd always felt more comfortable, and honestly, not having to dress up in less-then-modest clothing to please Scourge was a release. People still seemed to be avoiding her, but she didn't blame them for it.

The journey to the lab was thankfully uneventful, so she decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, aside from the mysterious objective, how did the mission go?"
"It was fairly easy. There was a token resistance from Eggman, but he's fallen pretty far since the incident with Mecha Sally."
"Good."
"There was... one thing, though..."
"What?"
"Sally had a... dizzy spell, during the mission. She's been complaining about headaches and tiredness lately. She's probably just overworking herself, as usual, but I'm still worried. The others are too, and with Quack out of town..."
"Hey, why don't I take a look at her after we're done at the lab?"
"That would be much appreciated."

Soon after, they arrived, stepping through the sliding door into the sterile, immaculate building. The two stood in the lift, and made their way up to the top floor, heading out into the expansive main laboratory. The semi-dismantled Roboticizer stood in the corner, and the other Freedom Fighters were clustered around a table on the other side of the room. Something Mobian-sized was on it, covered by a sheet.

"Whoa, have you got a body under there?"
"Something like that." Nicole smiled.
"Good you two made it." Sally said. Fiona couldn't help but notice the bags under the squirrel's eyes, and her slightly glazed eyes, but decided to leave her concerns for the impromptu checkup later. "No more incidents?"
"Thankfully none."
"Good to hear, Fiona." Tails broke in.
"Th-thanks..." Fiona replied, turning away, just in case she was blushing. It wasn't just that Tails had become rather handsome, in her mind. It was that, despite the way she had treated him, he was still being genuinely kind, and looking out for her. Even before things had fallen apart between her and Scourge, she wasn't proud of what she'd done, but now she was feeling more guilty than ever. "So, er, what did you find?"

Nicole grinned, and pulled the sheet away, revealing a gold-coloured robot, with bronze accents. Its proportions were Mobian. It had three circles on its chestplate, and a jetpack on its back. It had a three-pronged crest on its forehead, and a third, closed optic sensor at the base of that.

"So, er, what did you find?" Fiona repeated, causing Nicole's shoulders to sag slightly.
"It's an ancient robot, called a Gizoid. They're supposedly able to copy any fighting ability they see, even to the point of somehow producing replicas of weapons. We had to keep it out of Eggman's hands, and, well, I've always wanted to study one of these."
"However, they're supposed to be sentient." Tails added. "Which makes things a whole lot more interesting."
"Wow, cool." Fiona. "But do you really want to turn it on? It's probably dangerous."
"If I can form a link with it, or Sonic can, or someone else, and then it will be loyal to them." Nicole explained. "Then it'll be perfectly safe."
"Right."

Later, Fiona returned home, followed by Sonic, Sally, and Nicole. The couple had come along on Nicole's suggestion. They sat down on the couches, with Fiona taking a few of her books and leafing through them.

"So, Nicole told me that you've been having dizzy spells, headaches, and tiredness." Fiona said. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"
"Yes, I've been going to sleep before Sonic lately."
"Hm..."
"But... I have been getting a fever... and... seeing that robot reminded me of something..."
"Oh?"
"I had... I had a dream last night. I can barely remember it, but there was this figure, and... they had a third eye in the middle of their forehead."
"You think it was the Gizoid?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know... but the eyes were black, with green irises, and I... I couldn't look away."
"Hmm... well, the Gizoid has blue optics, so it's probably not that." Fiona said. "Besides, you didn't even know about it until this morning. How long have you been having these symptoms?"
"About two weeks now, and... and... I... I'm sorry, I need to go to the bathroom for a second." The squirrel said, standing up, and walking out of the room.

She stumbled, dazed, into the bathroom, and locked the door behind her, before resting her back against it. She touched the back of her hand to her forehead, feeling the intense heat radiating through her.

'I'm burning up...' She thought. '... and my head... it's killing me...'

She forced herself upright, and stepped over to the sink, running the tap and filling up the plastic tumbler she and Sonic used during their morning ablutions.

"Hey, Sal, you okay in there?" The blue hedgehog's voice echoed from the other side of the door, wracked with worry.
"I have a fever, and a headache, but don't worry, it's probably nothing serious. I'll take some aspirin, and be out shortly." She replied, turning back to face her reflection. This time, however, something was amiss with her reflection.

In the middle of her forehead, where the hot sensation was at its worst, there was a glowing green gemstone, almost ovular in shape. She raised her hand to her face again, but felt nothing. Screwing up her eyes, and rubbing them, Sally looked back at her reflection, only to see the stone gone.

"What the..." Sally muttered. "Must've been seeing things..."

She knocked back the water, and then refilled the glass, before taking two pills from the cupboard, the door of which held the mirror, and swallowing them. Then she took another drink, and sighed, closing the cupboard door, only to come face to face with another twisted reflection.

The figure in the mirror still had the same body as her, and was mimicking her pose, but she was grinning, the stone was in the middle of her forehead again, and her eyes were completely black, with green irises.

"Hello, Princess." She said, a forked tongue lashing out of her mouth briefly.
"Wh-who are you?" Sally gasped. "What are you?"
"My name... you will know soon enough. As for what I am... I am Mobius' reckoning, and I am here because I have chosen you to be my vessel."
"Reckoning?" Sally parroted. "That can't be anything good."
"Au contraire, my dear royal partner. Mobius has become chaotic, tortured, plagued. The planet is sick, Princess, and I need your help to restore it. To cleanse it."

"You sound like Finitevus. Find someone else to be your vessel." Sally spat.
"Oh, that mad doctor is part of the problem. He thinks too small. I do intend to purge the world, yes, but I also intend to restore it to the way it should be. No wars, no strife. Just eternal, blissful peace." The reflection said. "Does that not appeal to you?"
"It does sound pretty good, but how do I know that I can trust you? Because right now, I don't. You sound crazy, and the ends don't justify the means. You sound like you're going to kill everything."

"An excellent question, my dear vessel. In truth, you don't know... but I can show you. The is a slight catch, though."
"And what's that?"
"You need to come into my realm to see it." The reflection moved her hand, and pressed it against the other side of the glass. "Put your hand on mine, and I shall show you the truth."

Sally looked around herself, and considered reaching out to the hand, then scolded herself internally. There was no way this could be real, was there? She was somehow negotiating with a hallucination. Still, maybe following 'her' request would let her wake up faster...

Sally sighed, and pressed her hand against her relfection's. Immediately, the surface of the mirror rippled, and Sally gasped as she saw her mirrored self's fingers pushed through it and wrapped around her hand. Then she gave a tug, and Sally screamed as she was pulled straight through the mirror.

When she came to, she was seated on a rooftop in Robotropolis, the old Robotropolis at that, but as alive as it ever could have been. Her mirror counterpart was standing near the edge. Rubbing her head and fighting disorientation, Sally approached her.

"What's going on?"
"I am showing you the truth about Mobius. It is ruled by fear and oppression..." Now they were on another rooftop, overlooking the city as it was ten years prior. "... money, classes, and decadence..." Now they were in Albion. "... segregation and xenophobia..." And then overlooking the shrine of the Master Emerald in the Hidden Palace "... and heresy and sacrilege!"

"I... never saw it that way..." Sally admitted, as her doppelganger laid an arm around her shoulders.
"Then let this be an eye-opener for you, Princess." The reflection said softly, gently, turning Sally's head to face her. The gem in her forehead looked almost... eye-like, and it was positively radiant in the dark, a pulsing, inviting green light, that was beginning to reflect in the young squirrel's field of vision. "Tell me, Sally... do you see the light now?"
"I... I do..."
"And what must be done to Mobius, in order to rectify this torrid state of affairs?"
"It... must be... purified..."

The figure grinned, releasing Sally, and stepping back.

"Good girl... I see I made the right choice when I picked you to be my vessel. Truly, you are worthy of looking upon my true form, the form of your new liege, your true goddess... Iblis."

The mirror-Sally's tail immediately grew at an incredible rate, taking on the appearance of orange-red scales. It grew thicker and longer, and rested on the ground, lifting her body up off of it. Her legs lost a lot of mass, until they matched her arms, then snapped forwards. Her boots burned away, revealing a second pair of hands, and her new arms pulled up her torso, stopping at what was once her armpits. The jewel sunk into her head, forming an eye identical to her other two, as a fiery aura surrounded her. When it faded, her fur was gone, replaced my more scales, and a large hood stretched from her head to her upper back.

Sally fell to her knees before the majestic, but twisted form of Iblis, as the goddess slithered over to her, resting two of her hands on Sally's shoulders, and pulled her to her feet, as her tail began to coil around the girl.

"Do you know what you must do now, Vessel?"
"Yes, Almighty Iblis. I will gladly offer my body up to you, so that you may use it to begin the great cleansing of Mobius' sins..." Sally murmured, her eyes now glowing green.
"Perfect... now, your friends may feel alienated by my actions while I am in control of your body, but do not fear... they shall thank you and praise you a thousandfold once the world is purged of its impurities... They shall adore you for doing your holiest of duties..."
"Yes, Almighty Iblis..." Sally smiled as Iblis finished coiling her, up to her shoulders.

"Good vessel. Now... open wide." Iblis commanded, holding Sally's helpless form closer to her own. Sally obeyed, and Iblis' forked tongue extended, plunging down Sally's throat. Her eyes rolled back into her head, as her eyes began to turn black, and a green glow started to emanate from her forehead.

Back within the bathroom, Sally's body was flung back from the mirror, and she fell against the wall, rubbing her head. She stood upright, and smiled her her reflection, with the gem in her forehead, and the green eyes with black sclerae. She looked down at her hand, and snapped her fingers, causing a small fireball to appear in her palm. It felt warm, but it didn't burn her skin or fur, much to her delight. 'Sally' extinguished the fire, and opened the window, climbing out, and crawling up onto the roof, somehow without any real handholds. She looked down at the disgusting, decadent city below her and spat on the surface next to her.

"Prepare yourselves, Mobius..." She hissed. "Iblis is home."