Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I had a little trouble getting motivated. On with the story! (And I've decided that I will indeed make a sequel.)
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Chapter 25: VS Alternate Leo
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Yes, that was Metal Leo, the jerk who'd switched bodies with me. He had slipped back into the lab while I was out and snatched Tails while he had his guard down. An unconscious Tails was now dangling by his tails from Metal Leo's grasped hand. A fresh bump was on Tails' head; my doppleganger must have clubbed him.
I approached the culprit. "You're not going anywhere with Tails," I called out. "Drop him!"
"It figures you'd be back," he replied, ignoring my remark. "When we first battled, I realized that even though I was built in your image, you were still much more powerful than I was. Dr. Eggman anticipated this, so he equipped me with the ability to steal your body."
"And leave me with your body," I added. "Not too witty, Meta… wait, you really can't be called Metal Leo anymore, I guess, now that you're me. What can I call you? How about Alternate Leo? That doesn't sound too bad."
"Don't get hung up on names, fool! Now, let me finish. Obviously, now that I've got your body and you've got mine, I have all the power you had primarily. And don't count on getting it back. You don't even know how the body switch trick works, and I don't intend to tell you!"
I nearly fell over. "Ugh! You're a sly one. That won't get in my way, though. I don't need that stupid trick to put us back to the way we were. I have friends."
"Friends! Your friends won't help you here!"
"As if I need them to lay down a thorough beating to you!"
Around that time, Tails regained consciousness and opened his eyes. "Let me go!" he yelled as he slapped Alternate Leo's hand and pulled himself free, falling to the ground.
When Tails got up, he looked at me, then at Alternate Leo, then at me again. It looked like he was having trouble deciding who was on whose side.
"C'mon, Tails," Alternate Leo told him, "what are you waiting for? Let's take my robotic twin together!"
Tails was still too dazed from his blow to remember what had happened that evening, so he didn't have any reason to disbelieve Alternate Leo. "All right, Leo," he agreed, "that robotic jerk is going down!"
Oh man, I thought to myself. It's two against one, and I'm the one. I've never battled with the numbers against me like this before. I'm in trouble.
I tried to explain. "Tails, wait! Remember this evening? I'm Leo, and you're next to my alternate! He stole my body, and left me with his own!"
"As if I'd ever believe THAT wild tale," Tails shot back. "You're wasting your voice chip!"
It's no good, I thought to myself. That blow must've given him some major amnesia. He can't remember a thing about this evening. Tails, I hope you'll forgive me for doing this…
I raised my hand and pointed at Tails. For a split second, my index finger glowed red, then an energy blast of the same color launched from it and headed straight for the two-tailed fox.
Not one to be fooled easily, Tails spun his twin tails and lifted off the ground. The energy blast I'd fired passed right under him. With a smirk, Tails then launched forward in an attempt to ram me.
Seeing what Tails was doing, I reacted immediately. I crouched, then spun around and around like a ballerina, keeping level with Tails. One of my metallic wings connected with Tails' head, and he crashed to the ground.
Alternate Leo didn't intend to be left out of this entire spectacle. He withdrew a yellow Bolt Feather from his arm, placed it on his wing, pulled back, and shot the golden projectile at me.
Upon seeing it, I balked. That's a Bolt Feather! I can't let that hit me. I know what it does to robots. Here goes …
Fortunately, I knew how to counter something like this. Raising my arm once again, I shot a green wind energy blast at the oncoming feathery projectile. Both projectiles collided, and the Bolt Feather found itself fluttering harmlessly to the ground.
"Split up and slam him!" Tails yelled out, and Alternate Leo nodded. Tails flew left, Alternate Leo flew right, and they attempted to smash me between them. For a moment it looked like I would get sandwiched.
I wasn't so easily defeated, though. A simple aerial dodge fixed my oncoming problem, and fur and feathers slammed right into each other with a resounding noise. I couldn't resist a quick laugh.
"Don't be so stupid, Tails," Alternate Leo snarled. "That was the worst attack move I have ever seen!"
"It's not my fault," Tails shot back. "You are the one who- LEO! LOOK OUT!"
Too late! I had shot a flame blast at Alternate Leo's wing, and it connected, setting it on fire. In a quick reaction, Tails grabbed the same fire extinguisher he'd used when this had happened earlier that evening, and had the fire out immediately.
That was where the strategy came in, though. I mentally switched myself to ice mode and shot a light blue icy energy blast. Since Alternate Leo was soaking wet, the blast froze the water, and he was coated in ice in an instant.
Tails was furious. "That was cheating! Now I'm going to get serious!"
It was go time! Tails lunged at me with a diving kick, and followed with a barrage of punches and kicks that I had a hard time blocking. His finisher was a resounding tail-whip, knocking me across the room.
CRASH! I slammed into a bookshelf, knocking some books out. I was caught in a hail of novels, reference books, and a few picture books. Taking advantage, I threw the hardcovers and paperbacks at Tails one at a time.
Tails had impeccable reflexes, though. He caught every single book and threw aside five encyclopedias, three picture books, an operator's guide, and two novels … until he misjudged a dictionary, and it got him right between the ears.
All of a sudden, Tails' expression changed from anger to surprise. The second blow to Tails' head must've jarred his cranium enough to cure his amnesia, I guess.
It was then that Tails remembered everything, and he fell to his knees and burst into tears. "I'm terribly sorry, Leo. I completely forgot what'd happened to you. I hope you'll forgive me."
"I forgive you," I assured him. "I can understand the error. Heck, I bet you've treated your own brother in worse ways. By the way, Tails, I need you to do something real quick."
Tails looked up. "What?"
It took a moment to explain to Tails what I wanted. "Don't worry about me. If my twin breaks loose, I'll be here to fend him off."
"Gotcha."
Giving me the O.K., Tails opened the exit door and made a quick exit. I hope this works, I thought as I looked over at the frozen Alternate Leo. During Tails' moment of remembrance, though, he had managed to weaken the ice, and at once he broke through it.
Alternate Leo looked around. "Tails? Tails, where are you? Why'd you abandon me like this?" He took out the Tails phone. "This must be what Leo used to contact Tails. I bet it'll work for me, too."
As Alternate Leo activated the Tails phone and waited for him to pick up, a telephone-looking device beeped from across the room. My duplicate didn't notice it, so I sidled over to it and picked up.
I barely had a chance to speak before Alternate Leo's voice came over the phone. "Tails, where did you go? That robotic idiot is still at large!"
Thinking quickly, I did my best imitation of Tails' voice. "I, er, I left to get some reinforcements. Could you check the back window and watch for me?" I surprised even myself at how well I was able to imitate Tails; perhaps there was a voice recorder in this robotic body of mine?
Alternate Leo took the bait. He rushed over to the back window and peered out. I immediately seized him and threw him to the floor, where I prepared to burn his feathers with another blast of flame.
"Wait," Alternate Leo interrupted. "Think about what you're doing. Remember, I'm using your body, and you're using mine. If you cause any physical harm to me, you're actually harming yourself!"
I hated to admit it, but he was right. I didn't back down, though. "Aren't you forgetting something, though? The reverse applies as well. Any physical harm you cause to me is actually caused to you. You didn't realize that when you shot the Bolt Feather, did you?"
He couldn't speak, so I continued. "So spill it. Where is Sonic? Dr. Eggman has him captured, but where is he? If you don't speak up, I intend to cause some not-so-physical harm to you!"
After a moment, Alternate Leo spoke up. "I won't like it, but I'll tell you. Dr. Eggman is holding Sonic in the Death Egg III, which is currently in orbit above Emerald Town. There's no easy way up to it."
At that moment, the door flew open. Tails was back.
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I can't believe how long this chapter turned out to be. I guess that's the power of writing.
Quote of the Chapter:
"But sir, the prisoner is-" "SHUT UP AND HELP ME FIX THIS THING!"
-Arrogance-revealing dialogue exchange, How, Ch. 1