Me: I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter.

Sonic woke up shivering, his dream slowly fading. He'd dreamed the copy had taken his place. His friends had believed that it was Sonic, and that he was the imposter. He closed his eyes wearily. Just a dream…

When he opened them again, Amy was sitting in the chair across from him, and for a split second, he caught her expression. Her eyes were dark, though there was a strange fire in them. She'd never looked more serious. Then, it was gone. "You're awake." She stood and walked over to him, kneeling down beside the couch and smiling. "How you feeling?"

He glanced around nervously, searching for the clone. It was gone. Tails must have moved it. He refocused on Amy. "Peachy." He grunted, slowly sitting up. He sent her a grin. "You?"

She smiled, ignoring his question. "Don't worry so much. Tails will figure it out."

"Who's worried, you or me?"

"Both."

Her answer surprised him. He raised an eyebrow, giving her a look. "I'm not worried."

"Oh, don't give me that," Amy chided, smacking him lightly. "No one can look a perfect replica of themselves in the face and not be concerned. Besides, you were mumbling in your sleep." She rolled her eyes at his attempt at bravery. "Men. Honestly!"

Sonic flushed. "Uh…What did I say?"

Amy shrugged, standing. "Not a clue. The look on your face said enough, though." She started heading for the door, then paused and glanced back at him. Her expression softened. "You looked desperate."

As she disappeared through the doorway, Sonic reverently wished that the couch would swallow him. He hated showing fear. People were supposed to look up to him. He needed to be strong for them. A 'desperate' Sonic couldn't really encourage anyone.

Amy returned moments later, a small white box in her hands. Sonic glanced up, curious. "What's that?" he asked.

She kneeled beside him again. "It's for your wounds."

Sonic frowned. "Amy, I'm…"

"Sonic, you are not fine. These need to be treated." Her tone left no room for argument.

He sighed and turned to lie on the couch, exposing his back. Amy gave a satisfactory nod, though she couldn't hide her smile. "Alright, hold-"

"Hold still," Sonic interrupted dryly. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not going anywhere." Sonic sighed, then flinched as Amy carefully applied…something…to his wounds. He grit his teeth and searched for something to distract himself. His eyes fell upon Amy's face, eyes narrow with concentration. He could tell she was being gentle. She also looked angry.

Sonic blinked in confusion. "Ames?"

She glanced at him. Her hard expression vanished.

"What's up?" Sonic asked, concerned. "You look…uh…pretty mad." He shifted nervously, praying it wasn't his fault. No one in their right mind made Amy mad. She was sort of…extreme.

At his question, the girl froze a second, then laughed nervously. "Oh, it's nothing…"

He grinned. "Right, like my dislocated shoulder was nothing."

"Oh, so you admit it now?"

"Amy…"

Amy sighed. "Really, it's nothing. I'm just…" Her eyes returned to his wounds and her expression hardened again. "I just…really hate that clone for doing this to you." She shook her head. "Forget it."

Sonic resisted the urge to roll his eyes as she continued cleaning his wounds. Yup…She's still got a crush on me. The hedgehog sighed and watched her again. Actually, he'd recently been starting to think she didn't like him anymore. At least…not like that. She certainly hadn't mentioned it in awhile. When she got mad like this, though, it was just so obvious.

Still…

Sonic turned away, suppressing a grin. For some reason, he'd always found her protective nature humorous.

"Alright, that should do it," Amy told him, interrupting his train of thought. She leaned back a little, looking him over. "Yeah, that's about all I can do." She reached into her kit again. "Here, sit up for a sec so I can bandage them."

Sonic complied with a groan. "Do you have to? I don't want to walk around looking like a mummy."

Amy gave him a dry look.

He sighed, sitting up fully and raising his arms.

"Thank you." Amy grinned as she started wrapping the cloth around his middle. "Most of your wounds can heal by themselves, but the ones on your spine need to be protected, at least for awhile."

Sonic eyed her grin wearily. "What's so funny?"

Amy shook her head, still smiling. "You're just such a child sometimes."

"Look who's talking."

"Well, I am eighteen now."

"You say that as if it's something to be proud of."

"It is. I'm officially an adult now."

"So?" Sonic jerked a thumb at his chest. "I've been an adult for three years."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Officially, yes. Mentally, however…"

"Hey!"

Tails burst into the room to see the two playfully glaring at each other. "Sonic, come quickly."

Sonic's smile vanished instantly. He focused on his brother, all business. "What is it, Tails?"

The teenage fox looked frightened. "It's the copy. I think it's waking up."

"What?" Sonic cried, suddenly on his feet. "How can…Oh shoot…" He groaned, one hand messaging his brow.

Amy hurriedly clipped the bandage in place, looking at him curiously. "What is it?" she asked.

Sonic shook his head as he followed Tails out the door. "It's me," he explained to Amy as she trotted after him. "I've been hit with so much sleeping gas in my lifetime that it doesn't really affect me anymore. It takes a lot more to knock me out than the average person."

Tails led them down a flight of stairs, to an even lower part of the workshop. Sonic mentally congratulated him. His little brother had known what he was doing, keeping the copy down here. This place looked a lot more secure.

He was even more impressed when the door to the clone's room had to be heaved open. It was huge. "Jeeze, Tails," Sonic grunted, pushing against the giant door. "What do you keep in here?"

"Usually?" The fox dusted himself off. "Explosives." At Sonic's look, the teen raised an eyebrow. "What? What did you think the Tornado's missiles were made out of? Air?" He rolled his eyes, typed in another password, and ushered them through the final door. "Come on."

"Even I couldn't get out of here…," Sonic grumbled.

Tails grinned back at him. "Exactly."

All conversation stopped as they entered the room. It was made entirely out of metal-or at least what looked like metal-and had nothing in it but a few lights, a bulky, beeping machine, and a small table. Lying on the table, groaning and shifting, was the clone.

Amy frowned hard as Tails typed in a code on his small hand-held computer, closing the doors behind them. "What do we do now?"

Sonic glanced over at his brother. "You need to give it more gas. The dose isn't strong enough."

"Yeah, I can see that," Tails muttered, fiddling with his computer. "How much?"

Sonic sighed. "Try enough to down a full-grown elephant. We'll start with that, see how it goes."

Amy stared at him. "You really have built up an immunity."

A groan from the table diverted everyone's attention. The clone had removed its gas mask. It sat up slowly, then rested on one elbow and held its head. "Ohhhh…Anyone get the number of the truck that hit me?"

Amy immediately took out her hammer. "Try anything and that 'truck' is coming around for a second go."

The clone opened one eye to look at her bemusedly. "Seriously? I got decked by a girl?" It frowned, studying her. "Oh right…You're Sonic's girl. Amy, wasn't it?"

The pink hedgehog colored a little at the reference, but her eyes narrowed and she raised the hammer threateningly.

The clone held its hand up in surrender. "Woah, hey, easy there! Relax, Ames. I'm not doing anything." It grinned. "My assignment was to take out your boyfriend 'before he escapes'. Technically, he's escaped, so…"

Tails glared at him. "Right, like you're just going to give up."

The clone snorted. "Why the heck not? I did what he told me to." It sat up fully and groaned, dropping its head in its hands. "Ugh…remind me never to make her angry. What've you got stuffed in that hammer? A refrigerator?"

Amy twirled said hammer expertly. "More like a Volkswagen."

Sonic's throat was dry. This clone was acting exactly like him. Every detail, every action, every relaxed, teasing grin was like looking into a mirror. The familiar way Amy was arguing with it was getting on his nerves. Just how easy would it have been for this thing to replace him? Would they even have known…?

Sonic held up his hands, trying to wrap him mind around what the imposter was saying. "Hold on. Eggman installs a failsafe in everything he creates. You can't just stop obeying him."

The copy raised an eyebrow. "Chaos did."

What? Sonic thought, bewildered. How did he know about…?

Tails shook his head at the reference. "That water monster wasn't created by Eggman, only taken control of. He just broke off the control." He narrowed his eyes. "You can't do that."

"Nope," the clone agreed cheerfully, raising its hands. "Ya caught me. The good doctor programmed me with a bunch of rules." It stared at the ceiling, counting on its gloved fingers. "I've gotta follow his every command, be 'forever in his service', and not destroy any of my fellow creations."

It looks so bored, Sonic thought. Almost like he himself when he was told to repeat back Tails numerous 'safety tips'.

The clone frowned, removing its shoe and shaking the pebbles out of it. "Which stunk, 'cause that metal hedgehog was being a real pain. 'Are you not aware of the gravity of the situation?' 'It's vital that you do not stray from you task.' Yah. Dee. Yah. Dah." It replaced its shoe and grinned. "Fortunately, he never told me I couldn't leave the base. And, technically, I'm not really required to kill you or anything. Mr. All-Hail-Robotnik is the one with the orders to kill ya on sight. Me? I'm just supposed to get you 'before you escape'." His grin widened. "Ha! So there."

The clone launched into a stretch, looking very proud of itself, and Sonic wished, not for the first time, that he'd never met the thing. The reason now was entirely different. The truth was, Sonic was starting to have trouble thinking of it as an enemy. It was nothing like the robots he usually fought. They were straightforward; destroy them before they kill you. This one, however, seemed to have a mind of its own. It even seemed…rebellious. Just like Sonic.

He glanced worriedly at his friends and could see the same struggle displayed across their features. Especially Tails.

The clone leaned forward, looking Sonic up and down. "So, you're the original, huh?" It raised an eyebrow, its eyes flicking back and forth between the hedgehog's numerous wounds. "You look like you've seen better days."

Sonic's glare returned as he folded his arms. "You rammed me through a wall," he reminded it viciously.

"Yup." The clone shrugged, looking completely unapologetic. "Sorry 'bout that. Just doing my duty." It rolled its shoulder, frowning slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, ramming you is like hitting a brick wall." At the silence, the thing looked up, its gaze flicking between the three angry glares directed at it. "Hey, I'll be good now. Honest!" It shrugged nonchalantly, standing. "Just keep me away from the good doctor and I shouldn't be a problem." Frowning, it looked Sonic in the eye and folded its arms, leaning against the table. "Believe me; I don't like taking orders any more than you do."

It seemed completely serious. Sonic looked away, his resolve cracking. He needed to get away from this thing, to think. "Tails."

The fox turned toward him, startled. "Uh, yeah?"

"Open the door will you? Amy, keep an eye on it. Make sure it stays."

Amy nodded, her hammer ready as Tails typed in the password.

The clone actually looked offended. "Hey, what gives? You're seriously just gonna leave me here?"

Sonic focused on the wall, refusing to meet its eyes. "I need to talk to my brother. We'll be back later."

The clone crossed his arms again. "With food, I hope. I haven't had a thing since that old rust bucket gave me Egghead's assignment. I'm starving."

Sonic, who was following Tails out the now-open door, froze, his blood chilling. Hadn't he been hungry too, right after he'd woken? For a moment, his mind started panicking, but then he rolled his eyes and shoved his fears aside. He was just paranoid. He'd been through a lot…and that dream hadn't exactly helped.

Give it a rest, man. He's the clone, not you!

As the door shut, Sonic glanced back at the copy, back into his own eyes, perfectly reflected, and was suddenly nervous.

Still…

Me: *dramatic hand wavy thing* ThE plOt THicKeNS! Muahahahahaha! Now go poke the review button!

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