GALE THE HEDGEHOG: ADVENTURES OF THE DEAD SEA

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Chapter Eight: Proving Within, Part 3

The scene shifts to Zed, as we see the crimson chameleon making his way through the tunnels of the cave in which Craven's hideout was at. His sole intent was to find Princess Aleena and save her from this strange group of the Black Mist Crew. Even though he had to sail with Gale's crew, it was paying off so far. With each step he took, Zed was determined to find the princess of South Island.

"I still don't know why this Black Mist Crew took Princess Aleena." Zed thought to himself. "But if I'm able to find Craven, maybe he can tell me about the reason in more detail."

That's what he thought, anyway. But even if that's what he wanted to do, he would have to find Princess Aleena first. He was just hoping that this was the way that would lead him to Princess Aleena. As he continued forward, he noticed something up ahead that caught his interest. Zed picked up his pace and headed towards it as fast as he could. He could see that the silhouette he saw ahead was starting to fade away, but despite that, Zed continued forwards to see what he had saw. By the time he almost made it, the silhouette he saw with his eyes was gone.

"What the? It...it vanished!" Zed realized as he made it to where he saw the silhouette was standing. "I could've sworn I saw someone was here." The red chameleon looked around at his surroundings to make sure he wasn't seeing things. From the looks of it, he couldn't see anything in this area that was suspicious.

"Zed...? Is that you?"

Zed turned to see where the voice came from. His eyes widened in surprise. "Princess Aleena?"

There was Aleena standing there a few feet away from Zed. "What are you doing here in this cave?"

"What am I doing? What about you?" Zed asked. "Weren't you suppose to be captured by the Black Mist Crew?"

"Those guys?" Aleena remarked. "I escaped their trap before they even noticed. It just goes to show them how pitiful their defenses are."

That statement she made seemed suspicious to Zed. Was it really that easy for her to escape on her own? "Are you sure your not hurt?"

"Nope." Aleena shook her head in reply. "Not a bump or a scratch on me. Why do you ask?"

"As your personal guard, I'm suppose to know whether or not you are hurt." Zed answered.

"That's funny." Aleena snickered.

"What do you mean by that?" Zed questioned.

"It's just that...all this time, you were such a fool for not noticing the difference." Aleena replied unusually, with a dark smirk on her face.

By her answer alone, Zed realized that something wasn't right. "Princess Aleena...no, that can't be right. Your not really her, aren't you?"

"How very perceptive of you to figure it out so quickly." An aquatic voice echoed.

"Huh? Who's there?" Zed demanded, as he unsheathed his sword.

For a moment, he couldn't find anything that made the voice. He then turned to Aleena, where he saw something new next to her. It was a new figure, which turned out to be a black chameleon. However, this chameleon resembled Zed in almost every way. He was wearing the same attire, the same weapon, but the only thing that was different was his voice.

"What the?" Zed's eyes widened in shock. "That's...me!"

"Surprised?" The Zed look-alike asked with a smirk. "I was hoping that you would realize your mistake in knowing what was real and what's not."

"Huh?" Zed raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying that Princess Aleena...is a fake?"

The Zed look-alike snapped his fingers, making 'Aleena' melt into the ground until she was no more. "If you are wondering about where the real Princess Aleena is hiding, she's being kept in her cell, safe and sound."

Zed almost felt relieved to hear that. Now Princess Aleena wasn't in any danger. For now, anyway. "Are you suppose to be a part of the Black Mist Crew?"

"If you must know, then yes. My name is Clone." The chameleon introduced himself. "And you must be one of Gale's friends."

"We're not exactly friends, mind you." Zed scoffed. "But that's beside the point. The thing I want to know is that are you suppose to be one of these tests that Craven set up?"

"You catch on pretty quickly." Clone said, amused. "Maybe you aren't as rock stupid as I pictured you the first time."

"I'm a lot smarter than you think." Zed replied, as he pointed his blade at him.

"Well then, perhaps we should put you smarts to the test and see if your words match up to your fighting skills." Clone said, as he pulled out an exact duplicate of Zed's sword. "At your ready."

"With pleasure." Zed replied, as he charged at Clone.

Clone saw Zed charging at him with his weapon as he held up his sword in defense. Zed's sword clashed with Clone's, trying to break through his defense. Clone used his foot by shoving Zed backwards, making the red chameleon slide across the ground. Zed managed to stop himself as Clone took his chance. However, Zed managed to see this coming as he ducked underneath the swinging blade and went for a strike of his own. Clone's eyes noticed this as he slipped to the side and striked at the back of Zed, sending him stumbling a couple of steps before falling towards the ground.

Zed was able to get back to his feet as he turned around and charged at Clone again. Clone charged at Zed this time as he rolled underneath the red chameleon's blade, much to Zed's surprise. Clone springed at Zed, making a roundhouse kick to the back of Zed's head, knocking him down the ground again.

Zed rolled on his back as he felt the effects from that kick moments ago. The moment he did this, though, he saw Clone swinging his sword down at him. Thinking quickly, Zed used his sword to stop the blade in time. Clone tried to push down, but Zed was stronger as he was able to spring back to his feet and toss Clone's arm, making Clone flip upside-down and land hard on his back.

"You should've been smart enough to see that coming." Zed remarked with a smirk. "Otherwise, your just another amateur who can't learn from his mistakes."

Clone slowly made it back to his feet after wearing off the pain he had received. "Watch who you call an amateur. Otherwise, you just might regret it."

"And what makes you think I'm intimidated by your words?" Zed questioned, sounding a little amused. "Just because you impersonate me, doesn't guarantee that you can defeat me."

Clone chuckled at this. "Then perhaps I should use that to my advantage."

Zed was confused by this. Clone morphed himself into a whole new being. Actually, it was something that took Zed by surprise. The new figure he was seeing was Princess Aleena...with the exception that her fur was also black, and she wasn't wielding any weapon this time.

"How do I look?" Aleena, or rather Clone asked. "I may not exactly have the physique, but this body will prove quite nicely, if you know what I mean."

"W-What in the...?" Zed was obviously baffled by this. "How did you do that?"

"My name isn't Clone for nothing." Clone retorted with a smirk. "I can clone myself into anybody I want. Of course, this isn't the only thing I can do."

"What do you mean by that?" Zed questioned with his eyes narrowed.

"I'd rather not say. If you want to know though, your going to have to defeat me, first." Clone told him.

Zed was worried for a moment, seeing Aleena's body being used against him, but he then started smile for some reason. "That won't be a problem at all. You don't even have a weapon to use against my sword. Which gains me the advantage."

Clone just shrugged it off. "I don't need a weapon to help me. You wanna know why? Perhaps I should show you why!"

Without a moment to waste, Clone sprinted into action. Zed prepared to swing his sword at her, but before he could do that, the Aleena clone leaped a few feet in the air and kicked Zed with both of it's feet, making the red chameleon fly backwards and landing on the ground. His sword also fell out of his hand when he fell towards the ground.

Zed got back to his feet and saw that his sword was laying a few feet to where he was standing. He went over to pick up his sword, but the Aleena clone kicked the sword out of the way, sending it towards the wall, much to Zed's dismay.

"I want to see if you can fight without having to use a weapon." Clone told him. "Besides, you fighting with that sword was just boring to me."

At first, Zed seemed reluctant, but decided to follow along anyway. "All right. If that's how you want it, then I'll show you that I can fight without my sword."

Without hesitating, Zed swinged his fist at Aleena's clone. The Aleena clone, or rather Clone, swiftly ducked underneath it and punched him in the gut, making Zed grasp it in pain. Clone sweeped Zed from his feet, making Zed drop on his back. Zed looked below as he kicked Clone in the shins, which made him flinch for a moment. Zed springed back up and went for a punch to Clone's shoulder. However, Clone caught Zed's wrist and kicked him in the chest before shoving him away. Zed managed to stop himself as Clone went for a punch to his face. The red chameleon jumped downwards and kicked Clone in the legs, making the morphing chameleon drop face-first towards the ground.

Clone slowly got back to his feet as Zed waited for him to turn around. Once he was facing him, Zed used his knee to attack Clone. But unexpectedly, Clone quickly grabbed his knee and flipped him upside down, which would take Zed off guard. However, Zed leveraged his legs and quickly did a swift kick to Clone's stomach, sending him flying backwards. Clone used his feet to skid himself to a halt before going back any further. Zed saw this as his chance as he rushed forward and took him down with a swift kick in the head, knocking Clone to the ground.

Clone slowly back to his feet, as Zed went for another punch. Clone saw this and quickly ducked underneath it, and used his knee to hit him in the gut, taking him off guard. Clone did an uppercut to his lower head, taking him off his feet. However, Zed quickly used his arms and flip himself up to his feet and making another spin kick to Clone's face. The shot connected, and Clone slowly fell on his back, making an impact on the ground.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Zed asked, with a small grin on his face.

Clone spat some blood from his mouth and smirked back at Zed. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"Defeated someone that wasn't as tough as they looked?" Zed asked amusingly.

"No." Clone shook his head. "You do realize that you are fighting your own princess, right?"

"You mean the clone version of herself?" Zed retorted.

"You still don't get it." Clone shook his head. "While you may be fighting a clone of her, there's also something that you forgot while you were fighting me."

"Really? And that's that?" Zed questioned.

"As I am an Aleena clone, every shot that you took at me throughout our fight, it also affects her too." Clone told him.

"Huh?" Zed's mood started to change dramatically. "You mean..."

"Yes." Clone nodded. "You have not only been fighting me, you have also been fighting the real Princess Aleena all along!"

Zed's eyes flashed in horror. The thought of now hurting Aleena might've been too much for him to hear. If he had been looking at a dark mirror, it probably was the image of Aleena getting hurt right in front of him. The pain she had taken was probably took much for her to take at this point. What would Aleena's condition be? Would she still be alive? Or was she severely hurt? The thoughts that were in his head seemed to much to bare. He was suppose to be her royal guard. Instead, he could end up possibly hurting her greatly.

"W-What have I done...?" Zed asked shakily. "Princess Aleena...have I really hurt her?"

Clone could see that Zed was already at a loss. While Zed's guard was down, Clone spin-kicked the red chameleon in the face, taking him down. Zed groaned as he made it to his knees, but Clone just kicked him in the side, adding more damage to Zed. The red chameleon dropped to the ground as he tried to roll away for him to breath, but Clone just kicked him in the back to add more insult to injury.

"Look at you." Clone said, just taunting Zed. "You had no idea that Aleena's life was at stake, and you were risking it just to defeat me. Why don't you get back to your feet and fight?"

Zed had no answer, as he was still trying to recover himself. Clone wasn't impressed in the slightest as he did another hard kick to the side of Zed's stomach, making him cough out some blood from his mouth. He was really hurt now. The pain was now almost too much for him to handle.

"Princess Aleena..." Zed murmured slowly.

"Come on, Zed. Get back up!"

Zed wasn't sure where that voice came from. One thing for sure though was that the voice didn't belong to Clone. "Huh? Who's there?"

"You really can't tell, can you? Does the term not wanting to be a princess mean anything to you?"

That's when he recognized who's voice it came from. "Princess Aleena...?"

"Took you long enough to figure that out." Aleena's voice replied sarcastically. "You need to get back up and defeat that freak."

"But Aleena, what about you? You're not hurt, are you?" Zed asked.

"Do I sound like I'm hurt? That guy is just spouting out lies to make you lose your spirit to fight." Aleena's voice told him.

"Are you sure about that?" Zed asked curiously.

"Trust me, I'm fine. Don't let his words get to you. You can win this fight. Just get yourself up and defeat him. I still have faith in you."

Zed had heard the last words she had spoken. Those words had seemed to affected Zed in some way as he looked at the ground, only to see that his sword was nearby.

"It looks like you've already made your decision." Clone said, looking down at Zed who could barely move from his eyes. "You were too weak, anyways." He turned around and began to walk away. That was, until something from behind grabbed his arm, catching Clone's attention.

Zed had managed to grab his arm, despite being on the ground. "I'm not...done yet."

Clone could only be amused by this. "You have no idea what your getting yourself into, do you? Do you actually wish to fight me, despite harming Princess Aleena? You do know that her life would still be at stake, right?"

"Are you sure about that?" Zed asked.

"What do you mean?" Clone questioned.

"I'm saying that...Princess Aleena's life isn't in any danger. But someone else is. You want to know who that it is?" Zed asked, tempting Clone.

"W...W...Who?" Clone asked, a little shaken up.

"The answer is pretty obvious." Zed grinned. "It's you."

Clone's eyes flashed brightly as Zed grabbed the hilt of his sword, jumped to his feet, and slammed the sharp end through his body, impaling him on the other side. Both of them stayed in silence, it was as if time itself had frozen over.

"W-What...h-have you...done?" Clone asked weakly. "Did...you forget about...the life of your princess...?"

Zed only smirked. "I had to admit, you had me fooled. I was certain to believe that if had the advantage in our fight, Princess Aleena would get hurt herself. I had thought that, until a little voice in my head spoke to me."

"Voice...?" Clone whispered out in surprise.

"Let's just say that the voice told me that Princess Aleena would be fine, and you were only spewing out lies, forcing me to believe what you told me." Zed answered.

"Heh..." Clone grinned slowly. "Do you honestly...trust this so-called voice...? You could've been hearing things for all I know..."

"Trust me, I could hear it loud and clear. Princess Aleena will be just fine once I get her out of here. And as for you...well, you don't look exactly in the best of shape yourself."

Clone coughed, trying to speak. "Then, I guess...you got me. I didn't think...anyone could hear voices inside their head. Let alone believe it."

Zed could clearly see the green blood pouring out of Clone's body. "I guess I should put you out of your misery."

With a swift movement, Zed spinned Clone around and kicked him straight in the gut, sending Clone flying at high speed until he crashed into a wall with a hard impact. Clone dropped towards the ground, obviously dead by now. His body soon started to melt as it started to bury itself in the ground. Zed watched this until it was completely out of sight.

"OK...I don't want to see something like that happen again." Zed said, admitting that was pretty gross. "Then again, I don't want to see this place ever again. I better find Princess Aleena fast and get her out of this place. And maybe I'll find Craven, too. If I do...then he'll pay for kidnapping Princess Aleena. " He said, as he saw the pathway in front of him opening. He probably thought that was the way to go, so he went ahead towards the hidden darkness until he disappeared.

Having something close to you is very important, no matter what the risk will be to reach it. Will Zed be able to save Aleena from the Black Mist Crew? Does Craven have something sinister planned for him? And will Vanilla be able to pass her trial and reunite with the others? Find out on the next Gale the Hedgehog: Adventures of the Dead Sea!

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