Mirror Image

XIX - To Home, To Heart

"Vyyti! Ostav'te moyu sem'yu v pokoye, vy zver'!"

Sonic slowly backed away from the angry Cybernian grizzly bear advancing on him, raising his own hands up in surrender. In the cold, dark storage room serving as a makeshift cell, small children wept into their mother's fur, and men stared daggers into him, clenching their fists and snorting.

Sonic desperately tried to calm them down, making odd gestures with his hands and speaking to them as if they had brain-damage.

"No! Me... save... you!" he babbled, pointing from himself to the bear in front of him. He flinched as the bear drew back his fist, narrowly ducking under the powerful blow.

"Ty smeyesh', chtoby pokazat' vam stalkivat'sya zdes'! Ya ub'yu tebya!"

"What's the matter with you?" said Sonic, completely baffled, "I... Sonic! Big hero, yes?"

A dull thud impacted his head, followed by a clang of metal. Nursing his skull, Sonic saw a tin can rolling along the floor, and the child that threw it scowling at him. As more tins flew through the air, Sonic beat a hasty retreat into the corridor.

From the cell opposite, a similar clamour suggested Shadow was having just as much success. The black hedgehog appeared in the corridor, his face heavy with concern.

"What's going on?" said Sonic, "I thought they'd be happy to be rescued!" Shadow closed his eyes, sighing in frustration.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Shadow, "How do you think these people were kidnapped in the first place? Those robots copies you met in the woods must have taken them. No wonder they're so hostile."

"So what do we do? We can't just leave them down here." Shadow scratched his chin contemplatively.

"We'll open all the doors," he said, "and then leave them to make their way out on their own."

Sonic nodded, and the two boys tore along the corridor at blinding speed, throwing open the locks of each door in quick succession, a heavy clang reverberating along the narrow passageway with every handle turned. When they reached the final set of doors, they turned and sprinted back to the entrance, high-tailing it up the stairs before anyone caught sight of them.

With a solid thud Shadow punched the cellar doors clean off their hinges, scattering them across the deserted streets outside. A rush of cool, fresh air washed over them, and the daylight seemed blinding in comparison to the dank enclosed cellar.

Stepping out into the snow, Sonic and Shadow dusted themselves off, glad to be in the open air once more. Shadow took hold of Sonic's hand, throwing him a coy smile. Sonic blushed slightly and turned to face him, leaning in for another kiss.

Before their lips could touch, a voice pierced the stillness of the air.

"How sweet," it said, "two little hedgie-pigs in love. Makes me glad I can't actually vomit."

Sonic turned to face the voice. Ahead of him yet another doppelganger stood watching them, wearing that same grin that made Sonic's blood boil.

"You again!" snapped Sonic, his hackles rising, "give up already! We got you beat!"

"Have you now?" said the fake sonic, smirking, "Your tenacity impresses even me, Sonic. It's no use to keep fighting though, GUN are on their way, and they won't like what they find here."

"Ha!" Sonic laughed, "that's where you're wrong, buddy! We've got a town full of rescued innocents to show them." The other Sonic shook his head, his smile never faltering.

"What you've got is a town full of scared, angry people who will swear blind to GUN that the person who kidnapped them... was you." The obvious truth hit Sonic like a boxing glove on a spring.