Chapter Text
He did care. He did care, a lot. But he couldn’t say that: No one would believe him anyway. All proof points towards a purposeful betrayal of his team, but he knows his own situation better than anyone else. He was forced into it by Eggman with no option to say no and forced to comply. However, in a way, he feels ok with being seen as the monster. He ditched various other teams before finding comfort in the Diamond Cutters in the belief he was only doing so to survive. It’s a surprise the Diamond Cutters managed to change his point of vue, and he was going towards the light. He then failed to save his friends, the only people he saw as a family , let alone be there for them. So why should he ever deserve to explain himself or have a second chance? No one would care enough to believe his words anyway. No one else would actually care. His colleagues as an actor didn’t care about him, they only cared about the money and their own self-absorbed self. People are afraid of his shapeshifting abilities. Not many aquatic mobians actually live on land, so he’s even more alienated. The only people who did care are dead or believe he betrayed the team, so might as well play the role they think he played. Might as well make himself seem like the monster, because demons don’t have feelings, and they surely don’t deserve to live, it's so obvious. (Mama is that a kpop demonhunters reference? But, Mimic, PLEASE, this is not healthy sobs) He still remembers that day clearly, watching as his friends called out for his and Whisper’s help. He doesn’t deserve Whisper’s forgiveness. He’s just glad she’s alive. He knew she was in that tree, in the war, he just wanted at least one person he felt close with to be alive. That’s the real reason he faked Whisper’s death to Eggman during the war.
He thought he could take a break, hide for the rest of his life, but then he was forcefully brought back into the contract he had no choice but to sign by Eggman again, once his memories became clear again. Initially, he wanted to refuse and be killed under the hands of Metal Sonic, but deep down, he didn’t want to be taken out like this. If he dies, it’ll be either by his own disgusting hands or someone he cares about. At least he’ll be happy knowing Whisper’s still alive if he gets to see her again before his death. He begrudgingly agreed and went on the wolf hunt.
==Timeskip: Tangle & Whisper Issue 4 ↓↓==
It was a pain going to the place he once considered his home, it was difficult to act like he didn’t care for his team and It took a lot of his strength to not crumble to the ground and sob begging to be killed. He needed to be professional after all, and he didn’t need their sympathy. He’s a monster, he didn’t need their sympathy, he thought to himself.
So when Tangle trapped him in her elastic tail, he didn’t try to resist too much. He didn’t have the energy to just escape. He could’ve easily turned into a small robot or something, but he didn’t want to escape. He got what he wanted: defeated and potentially killed by someone he cares about. However, he still put on a show, transforming into different people that would not be small enough to escape the lemur's grasp. Only he and the oceans should know of his perspective, his turmoil and his death wish. Whisper points her wispon at his forehead, and he feels himself freezing in place. He just stares intensely at Whisper’s vengefully angry expression with a blank expression. He can’t bring himself to look angry at Whisper any longer. At least his death will make someone happy, and if she’s happy, he’s happy.
However, Tangle just had to place herself between him and her.
“Whisper? L- Listen to me, okay? Don’t do this! Badniks are one thing, but this is different!”
[No it isn’t]
He hides half of his face in the lemur’s elastic tail in frustration, and a secret sense of submission. He just wanted to be finished off as a stain on the ground.
“I know what he’s done, and it’s unforgivable. But if you do this, you’ll live with it for the rest of your life.”
[At least she agrees it’s unforgivable.]
“Wouldn’t it be worse for him to be caught? To live with the shame of losing to you? He’ll wake up every day, knowing he completely and utterly failed.”
[Oh wow, I already am halfway there! …hah. I wake up every day, knowing I failed to keep my friends alive.]
A look of contemplation crosses her face. She looks at the masks of our old comrades. [She and I both know how much it hurts her to see those masks, and yet I’m the only one who knows those masks make me want to kill myself from the agony.] He watches as Whisper takes her time to think. Then, with a sigh, she begins to speak in her hushed tone.
“...You’re right, it’s over. The Diamond Cutters are done.” She looks at the wisp that used to be Mimic’s. “Hush, I don’t blame you.”
[What. No. No. Stop. Please. I don’t- I don’t deserve to be spared. Just shoot me. Please PLEASE just shoot me, I cannot put up with this antagonistic act anymore. I am about to break, please just KILL ME before I embarrass myself.] He closes his eyes shut, hoping that would stop him from crying. [DAMNITDAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT-]
“So, what do we do with him?”
“I have no idea, but I know just the genius who would!”
And that’s the last thing Mimic hears until he succumbs to his exhaustion from the fight and falls unconscious in a dreamless slumber.
—
He finds himself in a weird cell thing, whatever it is. He sits on the stool provided while he watches the lemur, Whisper and some fox he couldn’t recognize converse. However, the attention is mostly absent-minded as he thinks of other things. He has so many thoughts behind those eyes, and none of them are good. Why do these people care enough about him to try and keep him alive? He feels like he shouldn’t be spared like this. A part of him wishes that-
“I’d rather you had pulled the trigger.” He accidentally says outloud. His face goes slightly pale at the realization of what he said.
[Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. Now they,re going to get concerned and it’s going to be an absolute pain in the-]
“I’ll bet! I built this test chamber to run models through all sorts or artificial climate and atmospheric conditions! There’s no way he’s getting out of there!”
Oh. They thought he was saying that just to get away from trouble? Understandable. He wants to keep it that way. He’s a monster, they don’t need to know how genuine these words really are. No one expects a killer to be suicidal anyway!
“What did I tell ya? The kid has an answer for everything.”
He could hear the others talking, but the conversation quickly becomes nothing but background noise to his ears. Does this kid’s words imply he wouldn’t care whether he was dead or not? He’s not sure. Maybe it doesn’t actually mean much, but it feels that way. Affirming and agreeing to a secretly suicidal person’s statement about being killed isn’t exactly the best idea, but he couldn’t blame them. None of them know. None of them will know what he’ll do once in prison. Too absorbed in his own thoughts, he doesn’t catch the look of concern and horror flash through the blue cube wisp’s three eyes. He stays silent for the rest of his time in this yellow fox’s house until he’s moved to a prison.
==Timeskip: Bad Guys issue 1 to 4 (summarized)↓↓==
He doesn’t even know why he agreed to be freed by Starline. He had no reason to. What, just to take revenge on Eggman and get off his radar?... Y’know what, that’s probably why. He didn’t like the others at first, and the planning was chaotic at best. However, he found himself bonding subconsciously with the others, but not enough for it to be really meaningful. Perhaps the reason he joined in is that he craved the adrenaline, and he thought he was putting it to good use by plotting against eggman. The others probably had more malicious reasons in mind, but he didn’t pay any mind to it. At least his reasoning was justified: Eggman forced him to betray his own team, and he can’t stop feeling so much guilt. If he does one good thing by plotting against him and potentially killing him, even if it goes unnoticed, he’ll be somewhat happy.. That would bring some temporary peace to this miserable world.
Then, he and Zavok found out Starline was using them to get approval from that fucker Dr Robotnik, just like how Eggman had once used them. It took all his effort to not act irrationally. And before he knew it, He, Zavok, Rough and Tumble were now plotting against Starline. Sitting by the others as they planned to betray Starline, then become worse villains made him feel like an imposter. Personally, after betraying Starline, he would take a break, perhaps put a low profile. …Or maybe kill himself, because at least he’ll die knowing he did a good thing, by taking out one of the many villains this world has to offer. He doesn’t want it to be known that it was him who took that platypus out though. He deserves to be treated like a monster for the things he’s done, he thought to himself.
Now there he is, restraining the platypus on the desk chair with the others taunting him and forcing him to do what they wanted.
“Did you really think you could betray us so easily, doctor? We have everything we want now… Except your hide !” Zavok taunts angrily.
Mimic grins at the Platypus’s fear. He’s always had a flaw for liking seeing his enemies’ fear in their eyes. Not Whisper, though. He doesn’t see her as an enemy, he just sees her as someone he’s forced to kill, otherwise Eggman will do much worse. But he doesn’t want Whisper to die.
He’s quickly snapped out of his thoughts when Starline suddenly bolts out of his chair in a yellow flashing bolt. WHAT. Tumble charges at Starline in an attempt to knock him out, trying to land a punch, only for Starline to counter with a red-bolted punch on the skunk’s fist. Tumble retracts his hand very quickly as his face contorts from anger to pain.
“Owie-owie-OW!!”
“That dweeb has muscle? Use the gear-thingy and smush him!” Rough squeaks out.
“Gimme a minute!!”
Zavok suddenly lunges forward while yelling: “I WILL END HIM!”
“You’ll have to catch me first.” Starline says while he taps on the tricore. He then zaps away in the speed of light before Zavok could strangle him, leaving Zavok and the others surprised.
“He’s fast too?!” Rough shrieks as he grips some of his fur on his fluffy head.
“No, you idiot!” I shout, “He made a better version of the gears he gave us. He can get all three kinds of boosts, while we only get one.”
“Mimic! Stay here in case he doubles back. Rough, Tumble, you’re with me. We hunt. ”
Mimic watches as the three stomp off to go find the traitor. He keeps his gaze on the door for a moment before thinking to himself. [Makes sense. The doc needed access to the database to get what he wanted. I could find somewhere to hide and ambush him from above.] He pauses his train of thought for a moment, only to start up again. [Then again, Starline had a point. These guys are dangerous. Deleting me from the database won’t mean squat if one of them tells him everything. But if Eggman were to get here in time and wipe out all four of them? Nobody left to tattle on lil’ ol’ Mimic.] He thinks to himself. He’s taken aback by his own internal statement. Betrayal? Again? What, he betrayed various teams before to survive. I mean, he didn’t bat an eye at that. But the idea of betrayal stung this more. It reminded him of when Eggman forced him to betray the only team he actually cared about. But… It didn't freeze him for long when he reminded himself that this time he was betraying bad people. It still hurt a little, and it might only make his mental wound worse, but he didn’t care. At least the worst of villains will be gone. At least he’s doing a good thing for once lately. He taps Zavok’s name into the database, and closes the computer. He grins proudly and slowly leaves the building.
==Present time (at least in this fanfic)↓↓==
What is he doing here? Why is he holding the handle, mentally trying to get prepared for meeting his past friend again under a new identity, after months of hiding, after so much guilt, so many night terrors, so many doubts knowing he traumatized Whisper? Why is he even thinking about his past? Why is he even still alive up to this point? Perhaps he’s trying to turn a new leaf, even if it’s so difficult. These past few months making up his new identity as Duo the cat made him see things differently. Sure, what he was forced to do is unforgivable to the public’s eye, but the least he could do is forgive himself and move on by doing good: by joining the Resistance. It hurts trying to find a new team, knowing his nightmares about his dead friends and his feeling of guilt will only get worse, but a part of him wants to be validated, to mean something to someone, to be cared and care for others in return. To help. His suicidal thoughts didn’t go away, but he’s learning to manage them, slowly but surely.
One thing though: why the new diamond cutters out of all teams? The other resistance districts were either full or were fine with their low numbers, so this one was the only option left, even though it hurts. He's glad Whisper's still confident enough to keep their legacy going, though! He gulps slightly as his hand shakes violently on the door handle. He could easily just turn around and leave. He could easily just run away and just find a smaller job like a cashier at a grocery store. It hurts so bad to join a team with people who would absolutely hate his guts if they knew who he was, in which one of them was directly traumatized by his past actions. So why? Why is he so intent on staying? To help? Would it matter to help others, if he’s still miserable in the end from imposter syndrome?
…Yes. It matters.
He takes a deep breath, bracing himself to join a team after so long of playing solo, and turns the handle, which in turn opens the door slightly. He’s never been this shy to meet people before, but I guess that's what happens when you partially isolate yourself for months at a time. He can feel little butterflies of joy in his stomach, just like when Whisper introduced him to the Diamond cutters 1.0, so long ago. The same butterflies, when he was praised during a mission.
“Uhm… Hello? Sorry, am I interrupting?”