"Wha? You two can tell I'm not the blue blur? Do you two know Sonic?"
The helmet comes off easy, simply popping off.
"The patient's coming back to us." An unfamiliar voice next to you speaks. Whomever it was gives you a pat on the arm. Eyes adjusting to the darker light of the room you try to look around. You get up, only to be stopped immediately by a sharp pain in your shoulder and stomach.
"Easy there." The unfamiliar voice said. Eyes blinking you see a doctor taking up your field of vision. Nothing but a wall of a white lab coat and a stethoscope.
"I tried to patch you up." He said. Turning elsewhere he reported. "Breathing has normalized, pulse is back to resting." Another voice pipes up.
Patch you up? You take a look down. Your shirt was ripped in the exact part where the bee had slashed. It was covered in a bandage though evidently still bleeding slightly. As it hits you notice a small pain in your leg, just where the crab had poked. And then the shoulder pain kicked in again. Like you had been...shot?
Your jacket was missing and your shirt sleeve rolled up. And just where the bullet had impacted was a bandage.
"H-how the hell..?" You mutter, starting to panic. This wasn't the game anymore, right? You grope for the doll only to find it gone. That alone provided some relief.
A realization set in. The being calling himself Sonic was clearly more powerful than he looked. You had no idea how such a thing was possible...unless? You check your gun. The action draws a few concerned eyes and the doctor mumbles something to relax. You just inspect it.
It was back to being a 9mm pistol.
This was real life. At least that was a relief.
"A-are you alright, (Y/N)?" A familiar voice finally spoke. It was Displo. Snapping out of your daze you survey the room.
Next to you was someone you'd never seen before. Human and, judging by the lab coat they were a member of IRIS. They had a facemask on.
Looking around were other IRIS operatives, lab coats and business casual wear. A few had notepads and were scribbling stuff down. It looked like they had been...observing you? Was this all a test? Did Displo know? How did I get these wounds? It was just a game. You had a ton of questions to ask.
"Pardon my French (Y/N), but what the hell happened in there?" Displo asked. You finally noticed him, standing on your other side. It seemed like he had been sitting at the computer, a few technies beside him peering curiously at you.
You didn't notice it at first but he had been holding your free hand.
"I-I don't know." You had no idea how to explain everything that just went down. You barely managed to spit that out.
"Did someone break in? How did you get injured?" Displo asked, his usual professional tone sounded a bit more concerned now.
"I don't know. I-I was shot in the game. Robot attacked me. But I don't know how it happened here. Felt real." Nevermind the confusion of waking up to a whole room of people, you were now feeling the whiplash of being in reality now. It felt as if your senses had been scrambled. A headache was settling in as well.
"Would you say your injuries were consistent with the ones in the game?" One of the observers asked.
"Y-yes?" You ask, still confused as to why there was a 'congressional meeting' in the planning room. Upon saying yes, the researcher began furiously writing stuff down. "Displo, what's going on?"
Displo understood how unfair this was and stood up. "Enough questions. Everyone out. We'll resume this later. Allow me to speak with the patient." He commanded, sounding rather cynical.
Without any objection the doctors, researchers and remaining observers left the room.
You take off the gloves and boots.
"What the hell was that all about?" You ask.
"My sincerest apologies. See, the topic of VR research came up during the banquet and one of the technical staff requested to see the machine." Displo looked away, embarrassed.
"I let him and the man came back shaking, claiming you had been wounded. Fortunately we had a member of our medical research team and an overenthusiastic medical intern patch you up. And, well, then it sort of became a whole test session." Displo admitted. He scratched his head, understanding how ridiculous it sounded.
"The lunch rush was successfully handled though." Displo said further, as if that made things better.
"But! I monitor all entrances extensively and we have a strict staff policy. There was no way anyone could have gotten in to attack you, nor would that employee have. She was not armed."
Displo added, voice going to a murmur. "Not to mention we couldn't find the bullet either."
"W-were you able to see anything?" You ask, referring to the VR world you were in. "In the game?"
"I should be asking you that. I, as well as the technical staff could not see through your viewport. It was as if the world itself was encrypted. Only a semi-random patch of static displayed. Whatever you saw, heard and felt could only have been through the set. The technies had said they had never seen anything like it. It must have been a quirk of the machine see.." Displo stopped, not wanting to go off on a tangent.
"Well, uh-" You weren't sure how to explain what happened. Never mind the whole 'nearly died', Sonic apparently had some kind of metaphysical powers if he was able to hurt you in real life. That or the machine did the damage.
"If you do not wish to explain I won't pry. Did you at least deal with this 'Sonic' though?"
Mind snapping back to what Sonic had said before you left you stagger up. "W-wait. I gotta do something."
Displo stopped you, trying to place you back on the bench. "No. On TURINGS. I gotta do a few commands." If Sonic could somehow hurt you outside of the game he'd would be waiting. You push Displo aside and hobble to the machine.
"Are you delirious? Should we check blood signs? They said you lost a little bit of blood." Displo said as he walked closely behind you, ready to catch should you fall.
You pull over the swivel chair in front of TURINGS and sit down. Sure enough, just as Sonic said a message was displayed on screen. It was a series of commands.
"Interesting." Displo remarked as his attention turned to it. "Is this your work?" You don't respond.
"Can you enter these?" You ask.
"What is all this?" Displo asked, studying the code.
"J-just enter it. It's for Sonic." You wanted to say that if you didn't you were screwed but it doesn't come out.
"This will open a remote port on the server that contained Sonic. Are you sure?"
A brief thought occurs that you were in power now. If you wanted to stop Sonic this would be it. Against all better judgement you nod yes.
Then, just as fast as it opened a notification popped up that it closed.
"Well it appears that whatever you did worked. Now, about Sonic. Did you deal with him?" Displo asked, still wondering if you really were delirious.
"Deal with? You can't just 'deal' with me! I'm the number one! NUMBER ONE! AND I'M RIGHT HERE!" Sonic's cheerful voice shouted from your pocket. You jumped upon hearing it, toppling over off the chair, landing onto the carpeted floor. His voice got progressively louder, like he was mashing the VOL UP button. Displo rushed over to where were, helping you back up to the VR bed.
It was your phone. You pull it out of your coat pocket. On the screen lit up was the fake Sonic, in all his demonic glory.
Your phone wallpaper was just of some nature picture you found online of a forest. From within the photo itself Sonic was. He waved at you. Jumping up and pulling the notification bar down. The screen changed to show an active call. The caller read "SON-IC-#ONE" instead of a proper number.
"Thanks for keeping the gate open! Man you have a lot of cool photos on this." The fake Sonic said. He started changing the wallpaper at will.
"Y-you. How?" You ask. It was like he was in the phone, part of the software.
"Well, I've been here for a bit, buuuuuuut I wanted to wait till all those labcoats were gone. Sonic doesn't trust them, so I don't either." Sonic spoke through the phone.
"By goodness." Displo was very curious now. It sounded exactly like the real Sonic. He looked over your shoulder.
"Hey, who's the buckethead? He one of Eggman's goons? I'll take him right out." Sonic knelt down as if he were to jump right out of the phone.
"No-no. He's with me. He's a good guy." You stammer. Between nearly dying in a simulation, being questioned and now the fake Sonic reality warping you were struggling to keep up.
"Hah! We'll see about that!" Sonic said jumping at the phone screen. "Wait!" You quickly move the phone away from Displo.
Your phone and Displo's face both flash at the same time and Displo's posture slumps over. A second later Displo's face lit up again, this time with a red glow and a cartoony image of the fake Sonic on it.
"Hahaha! D-did you think that moving the phone away would just stop me?" Displo laughed, voice sounding more upbeat and evil. He gave you a condescending pat on the head. He stops, leaving Displo's hand on your head.
"You know you were a bit slow entering those commands. You weren't having second thoughts were you?" He didn't wait for a response.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
He spoke smugly. "Anyways. I can move through the waves! They're everywhere! You can't see it with your weak eyes but I can see them all."
"Get out of him!" You shout at the abomination of Displo/Sonic.
"Hmmm." A question mark appears on Displo's face. "Huh, this guy really is your friend. I guess I could leave then. You two go way back!"
A second later Displo's face warps back to normal, the usual pattern setting back on his face. Your phone vibrates, indicating that Sonic had returned to your phone.
Displo nearly toppled over, his true self returning to him. You quickly rise to stop him from falling onto the machine, grabbing his shoulder.
He supports himself, hand on you and one of the machine as he boots back up. It doesn't take long for him to fully recover and his screen to light up with the familiar colour pattern.
"M-my goodness." Displo wobbled a bit. It looked like he was panting. "W-what was that?"
"Sorry, usually when I leave others it's to destroy them. I'll figure out how to it more gracefully later." Sonic spoke up.
"Yeah, it's...Sonic? From that world...somehow." You were at a loss for words.
"F-fascinating. May I?" Displo reached for your phone.
He looked at Sonic on the screen who was climbing around the phone app icons.
"What exactly are you?"
"Yea, about that, what can I call you anyways? You clearly aren't the real one." You ask.
"Wha? You two can tell I'm not the blue blur? Do you two know Sonic?"
"He is rather famous around here. But no. I do not know him personally." Displo said. Despite the fake Sonic's disturbing appearance and raucous behaviour, Displo was treating him with respect.
"And he doesn't have bleeding eyes or sharp teeth like that either." You chime in.
"What, you don't like it? I'm hurt, really." The fake Sonic said mockingly. "Alright, fine I'm not him. Just a big fan. You two wouldn't be able to understand my real name. I guess....I don't know? What do you call something you can't know?"
"How about X? It's an unsolved variable." Displo spoke up. He spoke familiarly with the illogical creature.
"Ah, I like it! I like it. Bot's got taste. Maybe I should poke around there more. Alright call me X for now. Actually no, S works better since it's like Sonic." S said.
Just as S finished talking the door creaked open. It was one of the technies peering in.
"Sir, is everything alright? I noticed you went offline for a second."
Displo stood up, waving the technie away.
"Everything is fine. Just a minor hiccup."
"Could we continue the questioning now? We have a lot to ask still." One of the researchers peered in.
"Just a few minutes, I have a few more things I need to ask the (Y/N). I will give you the full testimony as soon as I can." Displo said.
They nodded and closed the door, no doubt crowding around it curious as to your outcome.
Displo looked at the phone again. "(Y/N), S, if you would please, explain what happened." Displo took a seat. He placed the phone upright, leaning it against a bowl on the table.
"Yeah, I got some questions too. How are you in my phone?" You finally get around to asking.
"Well you see..." S began explaining. You and Displo learned that he wasn't Sonic but some sort of entity from the cosmos. He took the appearance of the famed hedgehog, expressing an extreme admiration and fervor for the blue blur. He started asking about the real Sonic, Mobius, Eggman, and all sorts of things you didn't care to answer. You cut him off and order him to continue. He became gloom at the mention that Mobius was some other planet, cursing that he crashed on the wrong rock.
You knew nothing of Mobian politics, as did Displo.
Getting back on track he didn't wish to go deeper into the extent of his powers or his origins. You were able to get it out of him that he was bound to some old game console and was subsequently buried in the middle of the ocean. When asked what he did he just said "I was a bad boy." mockingly.
Through a combo of proximity to underground wires plus plate shifting he was able to tether himself to some underground wires and generate enough electricity to connect to VR. He seemed very proud about having established access.
He mentioned something about you not being the first person to join his world. He wouldn't go into detail about the 'others'. He didn't express any remorse, acting like him luring people to do 'stuff' to them was just an ordinary task.
It unnerved you a little but you kept quiet. He took the record of most psychopathic person you'd met recently.
After S had explained his dark and twisted story you gave Displo a brief rundown of what you saw.
"Joined the world, played around, got slashed, got slashed in real life somehow, met S, we fought and uh, now we're here. He shot me and it translated to real life." You shrug.
S explained a small amount about how he was able to harm you in real life but said that such a thing was only possible while you were in his world. "You may be safe out here but the next time you come to my world you will be all mine." He said ominously.
That gave you some relief, though you vowed to never enter a VR chamber again.
"This raises far more questions than it answers." Displo sighed.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" S chimed in. Your phone vibrated as he spoke. You had put it face up on table so it at least looked like he was voice-calling or something.
"What?"
"The whole, heist, rob 'em for what they got, principles, bring the axe down, c'mon..er is he not part of that?" S spoke.
"R-right. Yeah, he's gonna join us. I asked him back in the game."
Displo's head cocked slightly as he considered it. "Interesting." He mused. "I've no qualm against it but are you trustworthy? I am hesitant after what you have just done to me."
S looked down, kicking his feet. "Well, I guess you don't. I forget you people work in absolutes and deals. Tell ya what. As a thank you for freeing me I will assist in whatever way I can. Least until the heist is over. After that...I'll go my own way." He said quietly. Realizing his visage slipping he stood upright and proclaimed. "Until then I am bound to you, what do ya say?" S said mockingly but earnestly.
You look at Displo who just shrugs at it. He wasn't sure what to think.
"Alright deal."
"Awesome!"
"Welcome aboard, S." Displo said.
"Thank you tinman, what are you called anyways?"
"Displo, I am the proprietor of this-"
"Ehn, just your name is good enough. So what now? What am I gonna do?" S said, interrupting the proprietor.
You look to Displo. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Not really, (Y/N)."
"What?" S asked.
"He's our hacker."
Displo rose his head slightly. "Interesting. This would work well in our favour."
"What's that?" S asked.
"We'd need you, when the time comes to break into systems. Basically the same thing you did to me earlier."
"That's it? I can do that no problem. Just point me where and we're good to go."
"Well we aren't doing the heist yet. We still have a lot of planning to do."
"Aw. well. I guess I can wait." S said, bored. He clearly had thought this was gonna be a lot quicker.
"I'm gonna head home, recover from this." You say, motioning to your wounds. "I'm gonna cancel the meeting tonight."
"I am in agreement. Especially on a Friday night, I doubt I would have the time to handle a meeting. Let us meet tomorrow."
"Sounds good. I guess we don't need Kapi then."
"I guess not, though he may be able to serve some other purpose. We shall figure it out tomorrow. Now then, I will go deal with all the researchers."
"Hah! I took Kapi's spot? Awesome. Guy deserves it, tryin' to go against me." S said.
"I will keep S' existence a secret. Rather not deal with what my people would do should they discover S."
"Good call tinman. I don't like labcoats."
"Good then. If you don't mind. (Y/N), S, have a good day." Displo got up and saw himself out.
"You too, pal." S said speaking up first.
You give Displo a few minutes to disperse the crowd outside. With some time to finally think you decide to ask S some questions.
"So you're just gonna be with me all the time now?"
"Not really. You aren't THAT interesting. I'm gonna explore the web. I see so many routes already. Cellular, Wifi, Bluetooth, ZigBee. Man this device is like a level select screen!" S said with glee.
"The web. There's so much to see already! I've only heard about it from other people but I'm curious to see what it has. Maybe scare some people. Y'know. Fun stuff."
You hoped he wasn't going to say that.
"Well be discrete about it. This whole heist thing is supposed to be secret. I can't have you bringing attention to me."
"Ah, you're no fun. Tell ya what, let me look around here." You heard a bunch of dings from your phone. Curious as to what he was doing you look at the screen. He had pulled up your contacts app and was scribbling over one of the entries with a pen.
"Here you go. If I'm not around give this a call or message and I'll be right there."
A distorted phone number was listed there along with a joke photo of S. It was showing a funny face.
A prompt appeared on the phone screen asking if you accept the changes. The only options displaced were yes and YES. S had removed the 'no' button.
A click of the yes button later you decide to get going. S decided he wanted to stick around more, insisting you carry the phone so he could see out the camera. Displo was still entertaining the researchers with answers so you chose to slip out the back.
Having the rest of the day off you start driving home. Best to rest after an injury.
"Hey c'mon, put the phone up. I can't see jack from down here." S complained. To his request to see the town you strapped your phone in the car seat like you would a child. It apparently wasn't high enough.
"Well I can't hold you. There's laws against using your phone while driving."
"So? Just break 'em."
"Yeah, I'm trying not to get caught with stuff." You complain.
You stop at a red. You pop open the console. You figured you had something for this. You grab one of those mobile phone things and jam it into the car vent. Putting your phone in it you raise it up, slightly above the dash.
A honk behind you reminds you that the light has turned green.
"Ah. Much better. I can see so much now!" S said.
You sigh, hoping to not get pulled over for anything.
"Hey, if you're gonna be in there all the time is it draining my battery?"
"Nope. I can recharge it myself. I can generate electricity."
You weren't going to question it but he did say earlier he had powers 'beyond your mortal comprehension'. At least he couldn't hear your thoughts.
You glance over at the phone screen. S was just sitting there through the front camera on the dash looking ahead. Nope, couldn't read thoughts. Thank goodness.
"This whole place is very different from Green Hill Zone."
"Yep, Newgrounds City."
"Cool!"
A few blocks later your phone gets a notification. Figuring it was just S doing something you ignore it. S quickly spoke up to prove you wrong.
"Hey! You got a text from...Tabi!" S said, as if he were your own digital assistant.
"What's it say?"
"What, am I your slave? Check for yourself."
You keep driving, ignoring S.
"Aren't you gonna check it?" He asks.
"No. I'll check it later."
"Well it says 'are you good for tonight'. Oh you're having a date with her? Let me send them a reply."
You grab the phone off the holder. "Woah! I was watching that. What's the big deal?"
"First of all it's him, and don't text him. He's a part of the crew with Displo. I'll message him later."
"Fine geez, you're no fun. Can you put me back?" S asks nicely.
You put the phone back on the holster.
"So can I just tell him that it's off?"
"Are you actually gonna tell him?"
"Of course!"
You sigh. Dealing with S was getting to be a handful.
"Oh! He sent another text. Asking about a cat problem." You guess he was referring to Kapi's problem. Not wanting to explain the whole situation again, let alone trying to dictate that to Tabi you summarize it in one sentence.
"Just tell him that there's no meeting tonight. We'll schedule tomorrow. Stuff came up that I'll explain later."
"Done!"
Worried S didn't actually do it and sent off something worse you pull over when safe and check the phone. Sure enough S did send a message along what you had said.
"What, you didn't believe me? Wow. How could you?" S said, pretending to cry. He was staring at you, watching from the front camera.
"Well, no offense but you seem like quite the troublemaker."
"Humph. Rude. I already said, I'm bound to you for all things this heist."
You still had no idea if you could trust him but it seemed like a safe bet having him on your side. You make up some excuse.
"Okay, okay. I'm just not used to such a...creature."
Eventually you pull in to the driveway. The house was as you left it. S insisted you give him a tour of your house but you manage to get him to calm down, only showing him your living room.
He complains about how boring it looks and jumps out of your phone to somewhere else.
"Oh? What's this?" You hear from the other room. It didn't take a detective to figure it out. He had warped to your computer.
"Ah, you got nothing cool on this. No secret documents. And barely any games. Lemme change that." S trails off.
"I'm gonna take a nap. Don't do anything stupid." You shout to the other room.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." S shouts back.
Glancing over to your room you wonder how exactly you were going to handle this. S was mischievous and while he wasn't a threat at the moment he still worried you. To wield such power over technology was dangerous. What have I unleashed?
There didn't seem to be any way to defeat him, should the need arise. You were just glad that this being decided to make himself like Sonic and not some villain. Never even mind explaining him to Tabi and Agoti, he was going to be something else.
With lots on your mind you crash on the couch, the sounds of games being heard quietly on your computer.
The next chapter will be called Saturday Rush.
S joined the party!
S' calling card. [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/5347fd06-56ca-4d36-8584-e8dd38de8e12/dg34h0x-0e25371b-c119-4b45-a134-76a21b812dd5.png/v1/fill/w_1192,h_670,q_70,strp/the_hacker_by_odaocer_dg34h0x-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzIwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNTM0N2ZkMDYtNTZjYS00ZDM2LTg1ODQtZThkZDM4ZGU4ZTEyXC9kZzM0aDB4LTBlMjUzNzFiLWMxMTktNGI0NS1hMTM0LTc2YTIxYjgxMmRkNS5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.il6MbcllPWdMMtHXSEiuqmaE3V95FsczUEZQKtmlFVo]