Gideon sat uncomfortably on the crystal-strewn floor of the cave. It was beautiful in here, but he couldn't find a good position in which to sit as he waited for his clones to return. "We'll just wait here for them," the lead clone — Gideon thought of him as 'Charles' — had told him. "That way, they know where to find us."

That made sense. But it'd become more and more difficult to wait as time went on. Gideon couldn't lean up against the sharp crystal walls unless he wanted to reopen his scars, and the bruises on his legs made it hard to sit for long without becoming unbearably sore. If he was at home, he'd have to stay still or else, but this wasn't home, and he could move all he wanted. So he kept shifting positions, trying to get comfortable, as he impatiently wondered when the clones would return.

He also wondered who would return. There were four pairs of clones — pink and forest green to represent feelings about the amulet, pale green and blood red for Gaston, purple and yellow for Geneva, dark blue and pale orange for Grace. The pink, light green, purple, and dark blue clones were the positive emotions: love, admiration, excitement. The opposites were the negative ones: hatred, fear, resentment.

The clones had explained the process: They'd leave and discover who was stronger, and then one clone would "kill" the other and return to the cave, becoming the dominant emotion in Gideon's mind. Gideon didn't mind the idea of the clones killing each other — since they were just projections from the crystal, as Charles had explained — but he did worry about who would win. What if all the negative emotions won? What would that mean?

Just when he thought he'd go insane from waiting and worrying, he heard clattering rocks in the distance.

He got to his feet. "Are they coming back?" he asked Charles.

"Sounds like someone is," the clone replied.

Gideon moved to the entrance of the cave and squinted into the darkness. He thought he could make out two separate figures, though one appeared to be taller than the other. Gideon's stomach buzzed with nervousness. Who was that? The clones were all the same height — so one or both of those figures was a different person entirely.

Fortunately, he only had to worry for a moment before the figures grew closer, and he could make out their faces.

"Evi!" he cried happily.

His sister scrambled up the last of the way up to the cavern, then put her arms around him. "Gids!" She pulled him close, careful not to put pressure on his scars. Then she pulled back. "What's going on, Char?" she asked. She jabbed a thumb at her companion. "This guy said he's your. . . emotion, or something?"

"Something like that," Charles said from across the room. "Speaking of which. . ." He nodded to the clone. Gideon noticed it was Pink Gideon — positive emotion for the amulet. His heart leapt. So PG had won?

PG motioned Grace to step aside. She did so, though Gideon noticed a wary look in her eyes. PG stepped forward. "Let me touch your hand," he said.

Gideon held out a hand. "Okay."

"Without the glove."

Gideon glanced nervously to his sister. "Oh." He took a deep breath. It was okay. He could do this. His hands didn't have any scars — the servants would never damage his hands.

But he was afraid that, without the gloves, he'd accidentally glimpse the scars above his wrists.

"It's okay," PG said gently. "It's just for a moment. It'll be worth it."

Gideon nodded. Okay. Okay, he could do this.

He pulled off the glove.

He tried not to look at the hand, but he couldn't help himself. Luckily, though, none of his scars were visible.

PG took off a glove as well, reached out for Gideon, touched his hand.

Then, he transformed into white smoke.

Gideon inhaled sharply, surprised by the sudden change. With the breath, some of the smoke fled into his mouth, traveling down his trachea. He eagerly breathed in the rest of the emotion.

This. . . this felt. . . wonderful.

"Gideon?" asked Grace. For once, Gideon ignored her. He just stood there, reveling in the feeling he'd just received. He. . . he felt good about the amulet. Better than he'd ever felt. He felt powerful, like he could use the amulet to make his life better. It made him want to run out of the cave, jump into the air, and fly.

"He's fine," Charles said to Grace. "He's more than fine, actually. He's content."

That was a good word for it. Gideon turned to his sister, unable to prevent a smile from appearing on his face. "He's right," he said. "I feel great." He turned back to Charles. "Is this what they all feel like?"

Charles shrugged. "I imagine the negative ones feel different. They all feel like a resolution, though."

Grace pointed to the spot where Pink Gideon had stood just moments before. "He said — he said there were more clones."

"Right," Charles said. "Three other pairs of emotions. One of them has to do with you, in fact. Have you come across a Gideon with a dark blue amulet, or one with a pale orange one?"

"No," Grace said.

Charles pursed his lips. "Hmm. They'll be looking for you. Maybe you should go find them."

"No thank you." Grace put an arm around Gideon. "I just spent an hour looking for my little brother, and I'm not going to go looking for copies of him."

"Evi," said Gideon, sounding embarrassed. "I think the clones need to find you for it to work. C'mon, this is helping! Please?"

Grace sighed. "If I leave, will you stay right here?"

"I'll stay right here with Charles," Gideon promised.

She didn't seem entirely convinced, but she nodded. "Okay." She turned to go.

And almost got bowled over by another clone.

"I won," the clone announced. Gideon's eyes brightened, and he turned, ready for the next resolution in his feelings.

But the excitement turned to horror as he saw the color of the clone's amulet.

It was blood red.