Chester was still reeling from the reveal. It couldn't be possible. A one-to-one doppelganger was directly in front of him. It was like looking through a parallel dimension.

His hair, his arms, his legs, his pores. Even his butt was an exact replica. He was looking at another Chester. He was staring at himself.

While Chester sat on his ass in awe the copy made a grand show of his arrival. He started fanning the crowd as they rallied behind his outrageous entrance. He took a moment to stop working the audience and address his main query, "YOU!"

His fingernails looked just like Chester's. Even though Chester's hands currently were swallowed up in a skin-tight sleeve. The imposter made a circular motion with his wrist as he spoke, "You thought you could copy me? With that cheap costume?"

That voice. It sounded like him. Or he felt like it sounded like him. He never realized how high his voice actually was. He wagged his finger back and forth as he spoke, "That costume is so winter special."

He was unable to formulate a sentence. The duplicate kept up a slurry of words that swallowed up his counterargument attempts, "You've been running all over town causing mayhem." He started pacing circles around the dark original, "The mines halting? You!"

He wanted to say, 'Wait a second,' but his voice was stuck in his stomach.

"Poco's concerts stopping? You!" This shouldn't be happening, "Lou's snow cones melting? Spike's crafts? Brawl Pines?" He stood in front of Chester now. The dark hero was frozen. His clone was now turning it all on him, "YOU! YOU! YOU!"

He continued to pace until he was behind Chester again. With his chin to the sky, he finished his announcement, "Even Mandy's Candy Shop. You greedy monster." He could hear a crocodile tear forming, "And then you framed me."

No.

"I had to hide for weeks."

No that's not true.

"If it wasn't for Pam. I'd be rotting in Starr Jails!"

That was the last straw. Chester turned on a dime ready to swing, "Liar!"

When he was finally looking at the copy he was staring into the smiling face of one of his old bells. It vibrated violently in the clone's hand much like the copy's own wild smile. The explosion was small enough to fit in a shot glass but carried the force to crack a brick. Chester was sent reeling as he covered his charred forehead.

His clone made a grand spectacle of this attack. He started juggling laughing bells like rubber balls. The crowd started laughing along. They requested Chester do some stunts to add to the show. He of course obliged by trying to juggle with his eyes shut and one hand. The stunt failed when all the spheres came crashing down on his head though they didn't detonate. He made a silly face by placing his hands on his head and sticking out his tongue.

They roared along in joy at the jester's antics. Meanwhile, the real Chester was just regaining his vision. It still hurt just to open his eyes from the brimstone and shrapnel plastic. When his vision finally returned his clone was dancing around on the crowd's perimeter. He was holding something above his head. It was a cube with a cranking handle on the side. Just seeing the blurred form of that made Chester's back ache. The genuine article must have felt threatened knowing it wasn't only Chester whose identity had been stolen.

The colorful clown cranked on the handle at a breakneck pace. The song it played finished before it could start. Yellow, green, blue, pink. An array of colors came spewing out from the latch as something appeared from within. A massive pink ball of wrapped candy delight. It glowed like a lightning bug as it arched through the sky. Its apex caused it to stand still as gravity continued its inevitable pull.

The new jester laughed like a mad banshee, "CANDY POPPER!"

All eyes followed its arch into the sky. It floated higher than the clouds to block the sun. The eclipse shrunk into a flashpoint-sized sphere. Chester shouted for them to take cover. The audience in their awe refused to oblige. He rolled away as a massive gust of syrup-scented air blew the pants off those in the front. Chester's ears were ringing after the shockwave sent him flying into the masses.

He was immediately thrown back into the center by the spectators. They hissed and booed at his survival, but their original bloodlust had been sedated. They no longer wished to burn him at a stake. Now they wanted to see justice served on a grand stage.

As Chester struggled to regain his footing his copy was dancing around with the fans. He was currently showing off a fancy set of footwork that dwarfed the childish jig Chester usually performed. For a moment his outrage shifted to jealousy. Then again it sauntered around the bend to irritation. His nostrils were being assaulted by a pungent odor. Like the brimstone explosion of the bell from before.

His hyper-sensitive nose followed the fumes to their origin. At the epicenter of the explosion the Candy Popper left. His own interpretation of the popper was a magical sucker that burst due to the rapid escape of highly pressurized carbon dioxide. The power was enough to break a few walls but shatter the ground itself. That was reserved for a higher caliber ordinance.

Chester could hear the faker's box cranking once more. That children's nursery rhyme about a curious little critter exploring the streets of London. Even still, Chester's lips couldn't help but mouth out a single word.

"Dynamite."

The box's latch sprung open once more. This time the Jester hid his mouth behind his cube. Though the edges of his smile showed from the sides. "~Salmiakki," he could hear his tongue forking as he emphasized the S.

A cloud of green and purple smoke spewed from the hatch. It dispersed itself wider as it traveled ahead. He couldn't avoid this and neither would the crowd. They all suffered under its volatile effects for what felt like an hour. For Chester, it was seconds.

Despite the flames lapping at his skin he managed to keep his eyes forward. Just long enough for him to notice something rushing toward him. It had two massive tails dangling from its head and a familiar fanfare followed its arrival.

*jingle**jingle*

The living mirror suddenly arrived below him. While Chester had an arm up trying to brace for the impact the assaulting clown was wrapping his arms around Chester's torso. The force of this tackle launched not just the air, but his breakfast, lunch, and future dinner out of his body.

There was a soft click as the smoke suddenly vanished. His back slammed against the ground and he slid away. The jester clone jumped up to his feet with a sliding stance. He planted his feet as Chester continued to roll away. The jester snapped his fingers and then readjusted his cap on his head. It must have been dislodged from its perfect perch during that brutish dash.

Chester was surprised to find his body not lacerated with torn flesh and exposed bones. The ground beneath them wasn't rough asphalt but waxed linoleum. He recovered his bearings from a knee and observed their surroundings. No longer were they staged amid the fans. Instead, there were empty bleachers and a basketball hoop on either end. The floor was painted with him perfectly positioned at the free-throw line.

From the opposite direction, the jester crossed his arms like a frustrated toddler, "Honestly I must apologize. I had to make a performance out of your arrival else those baboons would interfere." His voice had shifted, not in sound but tenor. It was still Chester, but he sounded less chaotic and more sophisticated. Like a butler at a posh mansion.

Chester was still trying to process this scene change. How and when were questions that came to mind, but something bigger was consuming his concerns. "Why?"

The jester noticed this warbling outburst from his blacked-out counterpart, "Well they would have only stayed between us if I didn't make it look like a show."

"No..." Chester finally managed to stand again. His knees felt weak and his stomach was turned inside out but he needed to know, "Who are you!?"

The copy stood with his arms crossed and a disappointed glare, "Really? That's your first question?" He put a hand to his face and grumbled, "How embarrassing."

"Wha-?"

"Also terribly cliché but..." a smile danced along his lips, "Wa-ha-heh. I guess I can't complain." He let his arms dangle at his side. No not dangle. He presented them like an open arm bow with his head only dipping a half rotation down. He kept his eyes aimed at the ground with the crown of his skull pointed just above Chester's head. "My name... is Chester."

The original was not amused. He shook his head violently and protested, "Cut the crap. Who are you, really!?"

"Oh, but Chester." He stood a bit straighter to stare at Chester from below his eyebrows, "I'm not lying. I am you. Except..." he fully straightened his back with a palm aimed toward himself. He counted along as he spoke subtracting a finger with each statement, "I'm stronger than you, faster than you, smarter, good-looking." He slowly lowered his thumb and stared at his fist as if it were a profound speaker, "Better..." He pointed forward, "than you." His mocking chortles were reverberating off the empty walls.

Chester was still stunned by how similar they sounded, despite his shift in tone. He wanted to punch his teeth down his throat but he knew he needed to hold off. He couldn't blindly rush into this fight. Blind emotions were what put Bo in the hospital. The only reason Chester hadn't been hospitalized was so that Pam could continue her attacks with him as the cover story. If this guy was a part of her plan he needed to know why. "Who do you work for?" The question was more akin to an order.

The jester smiled, "Now that's a better question." He stood up straight and cracked his spine, "I was originally designated as Project: J.E.S.T.E.R. I was born and bred within the underground lab masterfully hidden meters beneath the main floor of Pam's Scrapyard. After years of careful curation, I was born with a single goal. In order to perform this task with maximum efficiency I needed a face that would be both pleasing to the eye, believable as a powerful threat, and acceptable for the tastes of my target. It just so happens that your face fits the bill perfectly."

Chester was taken aback by his cooperation. Jester had shifted from a cryptic code to an open book with footnotes to boot. It was so stunning that his next question was less of a demand and more like a request, "Wh-Why are you telling me this?"

Jester leaned forward, "Come now, Chester. We both know that's not what you should ask next." Jester took a small step forward. He watched as Chester fought the urge to back away, "Or is it that..." Another step and the distance was infinitely smaller. Even if they had only closed the gap by two strides.

Jester craned his neck around in a circle. His interest was piqued with each quarter turn until the circle was complete, "You already know don't you..." Jester stopped his advance and leaned in, "My target."

Chester's mouth moved before his brain, "Jessie."

"Wow. Maybe I didn't just inherit my looks from you? Speaking of-" Jester somehow contorted his arms to reach the top of his back. He pulled on the zipper and removed the top half of his jumpsuit. The turquoise shawl around his neck did next to nothing to cover his chest. When the suit dropped to his waist he pulled the white shirt beneath up to his nipples revealing a toned stomach that hinted at something in the future. Jester ran his fingers up and down the length of his midriff, "-thanks for the body. It's rather impressive for a candy addict like yourself. Though..." he casually began to redress himself as he ended on a snide remark, "...it's just shy of the perfection she deserves."

Chester could feel something bubbling up from beneath. Disgust at the sight of his flesh, impatience at the tone of this copy, and a bile of sludge bubbling from his torso.

Jester began to walk in a circle which Chester instinctively matched. The lab-born bio-man decided to poke the bear, "You know she loves you? Like she really loves you." He couldn't help but snicker, "Well I guess I should say... me. I mean, why would she settle for almost amusing when perfection is right in front of her?"

Chester ignored his backhanded comment. He knew that was just to rile him up. Instead, he decided to be the one at the helm of this ship, "Well if you're so perfect you must know what I'm going to do next."

The two stopped with their back to the seats. Chester instinctively reached for his cap even though there was nothing to grab. An action that tickled Jester's funny bone. "Missing something?"

Chester smiled back. He pivoted on his right foot and dashed for a nearby door. He didn't bother with turning around, he needed to hurry there. He finally caught Pam in the act. This wasn't something she could so easily cover up. He just needed to contact-

"Running to Starr Security?" His body locked up. Jester's words created an inescapable room. He stopped with his hands on the push bar as he turned around. "What do you think will happen when you go there? Do you think they'll just believe your story?" Chester met him face-to-face. "What? You ran into a clone of yourself made by Pam and all the disappearances have been her framing you?"

Chester felt a bit of his hope fade away. Jester capitalized by mocking him, "Do you hear how ridiculous that sounds?"

Chester thought about it for a moment, "The crowd. They took videos. There's proof."

Jester rolled his tongue around his cheek, "My bluff has been called. They would believe... part of your story. Everything up to the part where Pam is at fault."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well... look at you. They've already released hundreds of reports stating that I have a lookalike that looks just... like... you."

Chester looked at his attire. The white top of his blue face paint was starting to streak, "I'll take off the paint."

"And what will that do?" Jester turned away to walk to the opposite court, "You really don't think she thought of this? We've already been to Starr Security. Chester has been proven innocent of all crimes against Starr Park. The REAL Chester."

Chester didn't want to show his paranoia but his voice was shaking, "Y-Yeah? Well, th-that just means it's your word against mine. Me versus Pam."

"No. This case is you vs. Starr Park."

"That's not true. They'll know the difference. You're just some robotic clone that took a little longer to make. You're not me!"

Jester gave a bewildered huff, "You're right. I'm not you." Jester turned on a dime, he stood where Chester first got to his feet when they came flying into this court. "And just like I'm not you. You'll never match me."

Chester had been blocked off from escape without any physical barricade. His mind and body were locked in place as he stood a court length away from his mirror. This sparmy sinister physco was created to be his equal yet claimed to be superior. Chester told himself that emotions wouldn't dictate his actions but he couldn't handle it anymore. First Mandy, then Crow, and now this thing claimed to be taking his life.

He'd be damned if he ran with his tail between his legs.

Jester stretched his arms as he awaited Chester's next move, "There are only two ways out of this, faker." Chester began his walk back to the clone. Jester noticed this and smiled as he continued to advise against it, "You could just walk away. Leave Starr Park, your friends and family. Go live a quiet life in the outside world." Jester crossed his hands like he did when they first arrived in the gym, "Or you could fight for your life."

Chester smacked his cheeks staining his hands white and blue, "You're my perfect copy, right?"

Jester seemed a bit unnerved for once, "Don't call me a copy. I'm the new and improved update."

"Well, Jester. Tell me, what would the original do?"

Jester tapped his finger against his skull in playful contemplation, "He'd die trying."

Jester's eyes were closed with his face turned away. Chester took this opportunity and rocked his jaw with the hardest right hook he could muster. The feeling he was expecting was a gooey shield for a tough metal undercarriage. A cyborg's exterior. His fist didn't hurt as much as he expected. It wasn't like punching the metal frames of Rico or Barley. It was more like punching against a boulder. The sturdy skeleton of his opponent was akin to the unshakable frame of Bull and El Primo. It was like he had just punched a mountain.

What's worse is the response. Jester rocked back as expected. However, a hook of that magnitude with no preparation should have put him on his ass. He shouldn't be standing and his arms were still crossed. All Chester did was cause him to take a step back.

The clown turned back with his eyes still shut. He opened them with the speed of a rising castle gate. There was a bit of bruising visible on his cheek which he brought his hand up to slowly. He felt the rapidly forming blood and scoffed. He took a moment to breathe before returning to his calm demeanor. The glare he shifted to could kill a puppy, "Everybody gets one."