Mirror Image

XI - The Death of Sonic the Hedgehog

Down a deserted street strewn with abandoned cars they came, shaking the windows of the buildings as they streaked by, dragging a storm of litter and debris behind them.

The two Sonic's ricocheted off each other as they sped along their furious charge. The real Sonic recognised every strike that came towards him, and every attack he threw was countered just as he would have done.

He skidded to a halt at a T-junction, and the doppelganger followed suit, stopping on a dime and letting the wake of dust sweep over him. Sonic stood at one end of the abandoned intersection, squaring off against his mirror image on the other side, like two cowboys at high noon waiting for the other to make the slightest movement.

The other Sonic blinked first, running on the spot until his legs became a red & white blur, dust billowing out behind him. Sonic recognised his super peel-out technique, and ran towards his foe. The fake Sonic surged forward with a deafening sonic boom, but Sonic was ready for him. Leaping forward he held his arm at right angles to his body, propelling it into Fake Sonic's neck. The blue doppelganger's legs soared into the air, and he bounced across the tarmac before skidding along his front, stopping only when he collided face first with a fire hydrant.

"That must have hurt," said Sonic. The fake rolled onto his back, glaring at Sonic through his bruised eye. "There's no point in fighting," said Sonic, "I already know everything you're going to do."

"You might know everything I'm going to do," sneered Fake Sonic through heavy breaths, "but that's not going to help you, since I know everything you're going to do. Strange, isn't it?"

Sonic held out his hand to his prone copy.

"I don't want to fight you," he said, "I know there must be a good person in you, because I know how I am myself. Can't we work something out?"

Cautiously the other Sonic took a firm hold of Sonic's hand, and with both hands Sonic pulled him slowly to his feet. Fake Sonic stood resting his arm on Sonic's shoulder, his breaths becoming lighter. Sonic stared into his own green eyes, for the first time without fear. He wondered if there was a chance he could save this copy; he had to admit it would be pretty cool to have two Sonics around.

His wonder was smashed out of him by Fake Sonic's head impacting into his.

He staggered backward, clutching his throbbing face and squinting through his blurred vision. His disorientation deepened when he felt his legs being pulled out from under him. The back of his bounced against the hard road, thrusting a splitting headache into him.

"There's only one Sonic the Hedgehog!" his copy snarled, gripping Sonic's legs tightly around the ankles, "and I'm right here, baby!"

Fake Sonic began to pivot on the spot, spinning round and round, faster and faster. Sonic lifted off the floor, the world zooming around his head at blinding speed. The dizziness threatened to make him nauseous, and his head pounded in time to the rotations. The spinning abruptly ceased as the grip on his ankles was released, and he found himself soaring through the air.

With a crash he felt himself impact a glass window, ploughing through it without losing any momentum. A blizzard of glass span around him, cutting his skin in several places. Landing hard against a wooden floor, he smashed through several tables and chairs, dashing them into splinters, before stopping hard against a counter.

Pain thundered through every fibre of his body. He tried to lift his arms but they felt like granite. Fresh cuts leaked crimson and stained his fur. His breath became laboured and his vision dark. Squinting through his pain, he saw the silhouette of himself stepping through the yawning mouth of the broken window and into the ruined café.