Archive of Our Own ^beta

The octo-cat’s eyes snapped open, their sclera white and the mouth and nose below unmarked by some edgy skull motif - symbolizing he’d left that life behind. But he had just awakened from a vision of a life where he never did - and it had cost him for the final time.

He sat up, shaking, his hair-tentacles fluttering behind him, and glanced at his surroundings. He saw the layout and heard the snoring of his roommates, the Skunk Brothers, and realized he was exactly where he had fallen asleep - the extra guest room in Amy Rose’s house.

Duo - not Mimic, Duo - managed to control his breathing and flopped back down to the couch.

“Yes, you went out like that,” he muttered to himself. “Good Gaia-damn riddance.”

He stared at the ceiling for a moment.

“I need to talk to one of them,” he concluded before getting up, leaving the skunks to keep dozing.

Soon, eyes glowing with deep-sea vision, Duo quietly and carefully made his way into the kitchen and grabbed the house phone. He took a deep breath before putting in a number ending with “2018” and raising the phone to his ear.

“H-hello?”

“Mi- Duo?”

“Oh thank Gaia, Tangle…”

Internally, he was just glad his former nemesis (Tangle’s wife) hadn’t been the one to pick up.

“Did you have the same dream as us?,” the lemur replied in a drowsy tone.

The cat frowned before taking a deep breath, having sort of expected this and being glad they could get to the point.

“The one where I blew myself up with a Power Core?”

“Yup. You woke up then? It ended on a happy note for us - Whisper smiling, me and Silver assuring her, us deciding to go home.”

“... How do you two feel about that?,” Duo asked.

“Like a weight has been lifted off our backs,” said Tangle. “Like when we finally let go of you and your family, but… a thousand times stronger. Like we can truly forget you’re alive.”

“I think… Surge would say… we saw ‘canon’ in that dream. The majority of other worlds. Other Whispers. Other Mimics. That was their ending.”

“... A happy one.”

“Yeah… and… I think this little experience has made me realize I’ve taken what I have for granted,” Duo explained. “I know I’m open to friendship and family now, but… it’s more than that. I have something I’ve been keeping secret that I need to do. I need to plan it with the Bad Guys. This universe spared me, and now I have an opportunity I cannot blow.”

Tangle simply chuckled on the other end of the line.

“Good luck with that,” she said flatly, solemnly. “Goodbye, once again.”

“Goodbye indeed,” Duo smiled, and hung up.

He cautiously made his way back to the bedroom, opening a small dresser next to the bed.

In the dresser was a tiny box.

And in the box was a rainbow moonstone ring.

THE NEXT MORNING.

The seven Bad Guys (counting Amy) gathered before the house’s whiteboard, Duo standing directly in front of it.

“You’re probably wondering why I called for a meeting,” the octo-cat began.

“Actually, we do this every Monday,” Surge chuckled. “To plan the week, decide who’s going to do which chores, all that stuff. Thank you, Amy, for getting us into the habit.”

“Flattering,” Amy replied, “but I seriously think Duo’s going somewhere with this.”

“That I am,” Duo said, putting his paws together, before spinning the whiteboard to show a series of medium-quality doodles of the events that had occurred, plus a few more. “Gang, last night I had a dream. An oddly coherent, bad-but-also-good dream.”

“Bad But Also Good How” Metal asked.

Duo pointed to a mediocre drawing of Mimic’s explosive self-removal-from-game. 

“The bad part was that I died at the end,” he explained. “The good part was that I could tell the dream was of a world where the Bad Guys never came to be. A world where, with my death, Whisper and Tangle received closure and happiness they never got in our world. A world where-”

“Oh, so comic canon,” Surge interrupted. “Have y’all forgotten I break the fourth wall all the time? Of course I read the comics. Yeah, I remember now, you died. And me and Kit made and will continue to make complete fools of ourselves, but that’s very off-topic.”

Duo flatly stared at Surge and Kit, who snickered a little, for a brief moment before continuing.

“So it was canon. As in, most of the multiverse. I knew this before you said anything, Surge, because I called Tangle after waking up and it turns out she and Whisper had the same dream. Also because I have experience with the fourth wall myself, but that’s very off-topic.”

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Rough asked. “How does your other selves kickin’ the bucket apply to us?”

“Other than us wanting to reassure you that you’re in the best timeline for yourself?,” Tumble added.

“Because Tumble’s right,” Duo answered. “I am in the best timeline. I’ve broken my cynical worldview, gotten friends and family, and survived. So, with all of this backing me, I’ve decided to take a step no other Mimic or Duo has…”

He pointed with one hand to a stick-figure drawing of himself and another unclear Mobian holding hands, surrounded by a heart, before with the other hand presenting his ring box.

“And propose to my boyfriend of fifteen years.”

“BRUH, THAT ONE-OFF BUMBLEKAST JOKE IS CANON TO THIS AU?,” Surge cackled.

Everyone else in the room just stared at her.

“I think she means,” Amy said, “you’ve got a boyfriend - you’ve had one for fifteen years - and you never told us about him?”

“We have a long-distance relationship. Actually, we only see each other once a year, and I’m shapeshifted into someone else every time.”

“So You’re Very Elaborately Catfishing Him” Metal replied.

“Yeah… at least I was catfishing him. Shoving myself into his life repeatedly for my own petty bad-guy amusement. But as we slowly went down the path towards redemption, I slowly dedicated myself more and more to being Duo, and I began to care about others…”

“You realized you truly loved him!” Amy said with a swoon. “D’awww!”

“Yup. When you keep having ‘first dates’ with a guy, you learn a lot about him… and it makes you feel like you’re not who you really need to be.”

“Like Mimic wasn’t worthy of loving,” Kit observed with glassy eyes, before they lit up. “But Duo is.”

“... Exactly,” Duo said, smiling back.

“Duo deserves love, this guy deserves love, and we’re going to make it happen,” Surge said with a nod as she stood up. “Everyone, throw an idea into the ring! I say that while they’re on their date, me and Metal run past faster than he can see with flower petals that blow around romantically. Multiple times.”

“They Could Go On A Picnic And Then I Could Get My Badnik Buddies To Spell Out ‘WILL YOU MARRY ME’ On A Hillside” Metal added.

“Puh-lease,” Kit replied, “it’d be easier for me to just hack a blimp to say that.”

“Or the rest of you could wait until tomorrow,” Rough explained, “while tonight, me and my brother break into this guy’s house-”

“No!”

“ROUGH!”

“Oh Bleep No”

“HEAR US OUT!,” Tumble yelled. “We break into his house and sing the names of all of his ‘past partners’ to him in his sleep.”

“So that he wakes up thinking about all his past partners,” Rough cheered, “who were actually Du-bro, and feeling extra romantic on the day of his proposal! See? It’s a good idea! All we need is a list of your past disguises’ names.”

Duo awkwardly cat-smiled in response.

“... Orrrrrrrrr,” Amy replied, “instead of giving the poor man a nightmare and getting the still-not-so-sure-of-your-goodness Restoration called on you, we could all listen to what Duo himself has in mind.”

The cat sighed in relief.

“I was aiming to be kinda low-key and simple, but still… kinda theatrical,” he began. “I’ve already told him to meet ‘me’ where our actual first date was this afternoon. I’ll shapeshift between all my previous disguises, end by showing my real face, tell him who I really am, and present him with the ring. I really just need you guys to watch me do it and comfort me if it goes bad.”

The rest of the crew simply blinked.

“Can I hack a blimp anyway?,” Kit quietly asked with a grin.

“NO!,” the other six in the room shouted back at him.

“Man.”

“So, that’s my simple plan,” Duo sighed. “I just want my squad to hype me up for the big moment.”

The octo-cat outstretched a hand.

“Will you accompany me to the Bridge Village at Crystal Falls?”

One by one, the others nodded and placed their hands in a circle.

“Let’s get you engaged.”

CRYSTAL FALLS.

BRIDGE VILLAGE.

THREE HOURS LATER.

What a site the location of Duo’s first meeting with his lover had turned out to be! True to its name, the Bridge Village was a big, sturdy bridge over the river at the bottom of Crystal Falls - big and sturdy enough to support many rustic houses and shops, and just far enough away from the falls that the sound they made was soothing and not annoying.

Following the octo-cat’s lead, the Bad Guys, casually disguised in a use-your-imagination sense, snuck between the edge of the bridge and the backs of the nearest buildings, making their way towards a spot Duo had promised he knew.

“Seriously though,” Surge whisper-asked, “where exactly are we headed? ”

“The nearest cafe to the court in the middle of the bridge,” Amy replied. “I’ve been there before - they always doll the place up and sell lots of special pink treats in February!”

“Yup,” Duo chuckled. “The Fairy’s Tooth won me over with their specialty boba tea. We used to meet every Valentine’s Day, but eventually it just became once a year at random times. He’ll head right to the Tooth after he’s done with his performance in the court, which we planned anonymously.”

“Performance?,” Kit asked.

“I grew up a theater kid,” the eldest Bad Guy replied. “I remembered his face.”

And as they approached the spot where the bridge completely leveled out, that’s when they heard the song - played on a lute and sung in a spiritual voice.

With brambling mates and na'er alone

Filled with swill to unchill the bones

Brothers in arms with cask at hand

Least we awaken the hinterland

“That’s him.”

“... He’s actually pretty good,” Rough admitted.

“Does he always speak old-timey?,” Tumble asked.

“Nope, he only sings that way,” said Duo.

Reeraw, well ye ken

Our toils can wait for a time

We saw the folly of men

Who rather than revel, repine

Surge, Amy and Metal quietly sped up to the corner of the building, making sure they weren’t seen yet, to gaze into the court. There, next to a bag for tips, stood a tall Mobian in his mid-thirties strumming a sturdy-looking lute and singing - a brunette-furred, blue-eyed spotted hyena with a mohawk ridge of hair going down his back. He wore a navy blue tunic, black boots with buckles on them, and simple black eyeglasses. Many Mobians danced and cheered around him.

“Behold my Prince Charming,” Duo said with a smile behind the three girls. “Angel with a mohawk, the final boss of my homosexuality: the wandering bard, Graham the Hyena.”

No fortune found, nor faith divine

Come close to topping the juice of the vine

With cherry crew, we sip and sway

Let’s tip the tankard and waste the day

Amy smiled, Surge chuckled, and Metal shrugged.

“He’s handsome,” Kit chuckled. “But he must be pretty stupid if he kept falling for you before acting lessons from Metal.”

“I may or may not be into that,” Duo admitted. “He’ll head right for the Fairy’s Tooth after the last verse of this song.”

No fortune found, nor faith divine

Come close to topping the juice of the vine

With cherry crew, we sip and sway

Let’s tip the tankard and waste the day…

With that final verse, Graham put down his lute and bowed as his watchers rejoiced, lining up to drop rings and bills into the bag.

“Gaia provide your kindness,” he cheerfully finished. “Tips are appreciated, but I have somewhere I need to be. Thank you! Thank you!”

And thus, the hyena picked up his bag and meandered out of the court, heading for a green and pink building the Bad Guys quickly recognized as the Fairy’s Tooth Cafe as he muttered something under his breath.

“I’m going in,” said Duo, beginning to shapeshift. “If anything happens, I’ll come running back.”

The rest of the crew took a collective deep breath.

“Are you ABSOLUTELY sure I can’t hack a blimp?”

“YES.”

“I can’t believe it’s been fifteen years…”

Graham sat at an outdoor cafe table murmuring to himself as a pink butterfly girl, identifiable as Duo by her brown eyes and suckers, casually walked up behind him.

“Hello again, Graham!,” she piped, alerting the hyena enough to make him jump in his seat a bit before turning around.

“Hello! You would be the ‘secret admirer-’”

“Remember me?”

Graham’s eyes widened as he realized he recognized the face he was looking at.

“Rina?”

“Oh. You, um, do remember me.”

“And vividly remember the first and only day we met, at this exact cafe on Valentine’s Day. Why?... did you reach out to me again after fifteen years, I mean?”

Graham looked and sounded like he was hiding something.

“It’s… because I - we - have a confession to make,” “Rina” established, getting herself back on track.

“I… also have a confession,” the shapeshifter’s hyena lover replied. “I’ll wait for my turn.”

“Mine is probably bigger,” “Rina” said. “The truth is, I know about your love life. It’s been a rollercoaster.”

“That it has…”

“I know… because in spite of you thinking you’ve only dated me once, I’ve been there the whole time.”

With that, “Rina” transformed right in front of Graham into an androgynous green lizard.

“... Trouble,” Graham whispered to himself, his eyes wide. “From Emeraldville.”

“We all have. All your partners. Because in actuality, we’ve - I’ve - been playing a bizarre long game.”

Next on Duo’s list of disguises was a red-skinned shark…

“Nimo…”

“At first, it was a game and nothing more - inserting myself into your unsuspecting life for my own amusement.”

… and then an orange maned wolf, whose appearance made Graham raise a finger before stopping himself.

“But as the years passed, my love for you became genuine. So I’ve decided, now that we know each other so well, not to hold back my feelings anymore, tell you the truth, and show you my real face.”

“I…”

With that, Duo reverted to his preferred cat form - dreadlock hair, white sclera and smiling mouth…

“I am Duo the Cat. Shapeshifter and infiltrator of the Bad Guys.”

… and got down on one knee, presenting the rainbow moonstone ring in the box.

“Graham the Hyena, will you make me the happiest ‘mimic octopus’ in the world… and marry me?”

Graham gasped and put his hands over his mouth, before letting words slip.

“... I knew.”

“... Knew what?,” Duo awkwardly asked from on the ground.

“That I was dating a shapeshifter. In fact, I knew I was dating you.”

“Y-you did? For how long?”

“Nine years out of the fifteen we dated. My suspicions started with your eyes and suckers, were supported by the internet, and were ultimately confirmed by wanted posters when the Bad Guys were formed.”

Duo.exe had stopped working.

“... so will you marry me?,” he managed to squeak out.

And with that, Graham himself fell to one knee, placing a paw on Duo’s face and leaning in to kiss him deeply on the lips. The shocked octo-cat only hesitated for a brief moment before accepting the kiss, relishing in the taste of hyena saliva he had never actually tasted before…

Okay, I’m getting too sappy. They were pulled away from each other by an invisible force.

“... Does that answer your question?,” the hyena asked, slipping the ring onto his appropriate finger.

The Bad Guys were alerted by the sound of suction-cupped footsteps, and turning in their seats on the benches in the square, found Duo stomping back to them. He placed his hands on the side of the bench to his right and sighed.

“... How’d it go?,” Kit asked, the others waiting with bated breath.

“I was utterly humiliated,” the octo-cat replied.

“In a good way,” Tumble asked, “or-”

“He made a complete fool of me.”

“Does he need roughing up?,” Rough snarled in response. “But seriously, what’s going on here?”

“He played me like a fiddle.”

“So What Does That Mean For Your Ship” Metal asked.

“HE DIDN’T CARE!,” Duo yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

“Sounds like a manipulative prick who doesn’t deserve y-”

“No,” the cat interrupted Surge. “He didn’t care that I was catfishing him.”

The tenrec stopped dead in her tracks.

“He knew,” Duo explained. “He figured me out. He even knew my name. He knew of my struggles, of my infamy, of my straight-up body count…”

“And?,” Amy anticipated.

“AND HE SAID YES!”

…

Cue group hug.

“Oh my gosh, I’m planning your entire wedding YESTERDAY!,” the pink hedgehog cried.

“In love they were mad…” Rough began.

“Now they see the sunrise!,” Tumble finished.

“A fairytale romance in the Bad Guys!”

“I still think you’d get a more certain answer if I hacked a blimp,” Kit shrugged.

“Overly long gag, Drippy,” Surge replied.

“We Will Have To Familiarize Ourselves With This Graham Fella” Metal droned. “No Rush But Get Us In Contact With Him Soon: You Hear?

“Oh, trust me,” Duo snickered back, “we’ve got plenty of time. He’s a wanderer with many good memories of Central City. I suspect you lot will be seeing him a lot more soon.”

“Maybe even soon enough to sneak him into the full-length sequel?,” Surge chuckled at both the old cat and the fourth wall.

Duo also looked at you, and cat-smiled.

“Maybe.”