Work Text:
Interesting.
My last recollection was exploding in a fiery inferno aboard dear ol’ grand-Pap-smear’s satellite, and now I seem to be...in a state of total sensory deprivation. Can’t see. Can’t hear. Can’t...well, probably can’t taste, but I suppose that’ll remain inconclusive unless there’s some sort of rogue empanada floating in the abyss. Can’t feel my limbs either. Do I...still have limbs? Hold on, let me try moving my arms. Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzzzt. NOPE! Not feeling any arms. Well then. Allow me to contemplate the various possible explanations of the reality of my current predicament.
Hypothesis A: The temporo-parieto-occipital junction of my ever-brilliant mind is experiencing increased electrical activity commonly associated with dying, thus drawing out consciousness and the illusion of time in my final nanoseconds before my body is completely incinerated.
Hypothesis B: I’m in some kind of sensationless afterlife in which self-awareness is maintained in the presence of eternal nothingness.
Either way...NOT LOVING THIS!
Still...if my calculations are correct - which they obviously are - I was able to stabilize the reactor long enough for ARK to get a safe distance away from the Earth before it exploded. So that’s something. I did it. He’s safe.
So...I saved the world, huh? Wonder what people are gonna say about me. “Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the savior of humanity.” Ugkh...not sure I’m too peachy keen on that. ’Course, I don’t mind being worshipped...but as a hero? Hopefully Stone will put in a bad word or two for me. Help keep my legacy grounded. Counting on you, Agent!
I can feel myself...drifting. Is this it? Is my consciousness fading for good? Am I finally passing on into the great beyond? Better than hanging around this lousy place forever, that’s for sure. Alright, then. Let death come and take me. Au revoir, vie misérable!
......
Nope, still here. Well...isn’t that just MOTHER-FREAKING FANTASTIC!? That’s karma for you! I save the WHOLE WORLD, and what do I get in return? An eternity of this! No chance to find out whether Gabriella ended up with Juan or Pedro. No satisfying little notifications when I get a new Twitch subscriber. Not even a rock to carve a face into and go all Wilson-the-volleyball on. God, why did I do this?! I could have found a way off that space station. There were other worlds out there to conquer! So many evil plans and nefarious creations just waiting to hatch!
See now, this is what happens when you have friends! You do stupid, pathetic, sentimental little things like dying for them. Ugh. How nauseatingly human of me. Let this be a lesson for you, Stone. Don’t make any more friends. Look what it got us. Look what it got you. What? Did you enjoy all those nights you spent sleeping in a chair while you looked after me? Did you like cleaning up my filth? The missions, the errands, the sewing, the cooking, the laundry...the whole “refusing to give up on me even after I’d given up on myself”...and all for what? For “friendship”? Well, I wasn’t exactly a friend to you, now was I? Tell me, barnacle, how many times did I go out of my way to hurt you, huh? You had literally nothing to gain - no power, no money, and very, very little kindness directed your way. But you stayed because you...you...
Oh. Wait. Was he...? Huh.
So...that means.... Okay, woah woah woah, let’s pause the game for a second here! Really wish I had fingers right now so I could rub them up against the temples I no longer have. So, Stone...Stone loved me. Right. Seems a bit obvious in retrospect, but in my defense, when you’ve got a mind capable of unraveling the greatest mysteries of the universe, it’s bound to overlook some of the more...pedestrian stuff.
Alright, so he loved and I...was feeling...what, exactly? Okay, screw that, what am I feeling right now? Stone’s...well, he’s a bit of a clingy groveler, but...he does make a good latte. Gotta give him that. And he has those big, beautiful dumb eyes. And a smile that vastly increases the luminescence of any room he’s in. And he’s not unintelligent...at least by non-me human standards. And he made me feel...safe...and warm...and seen...and.... Oh.
Oh, COME ON! Seriously?! I’m figuring all this out now when I exist as a stream of consciousness floating through an endless void, with NO WAY to get home? I had years. Years just...wasted. I’m so unfathomably brilliant, so how the hell did I not see...I had it all?
Well, I mean, not ALL all...not the whole world domination thing but...other than that....
Psh. Doesn’t matter anyway. Not anymore. I’m stuck here, probably for an eternity. If there were a way out of here, I’m the only person who could figure it out. But I don’t know how. I don’t know how to do anything anymore. I’m lost. Not scared, of course - that’s absurd! Not scared, but...I could really use your help right about now, Stone. Heh. Not too big on my situation, ya know? You hear me, Agent? I need you.
Help me. Somebody. Doesn’t even have to be Stone, I’ll take anyone right about now. Grandpa? Shadow? Sonic? Look, I’m more than willing to let bygones be bygones if you’d just...give ’ol Eggman a hand right about now. Please, help me. Somebody? I don’t like it here. Please. Help me. Help me! HELP ME!!!
Oh, that’s brilliant, Ivo. Yeah, maybe if you think loud enough, they’ll hear you! Airtight plan right there! Moron.
Alright. So that’s it then. Here I am. Just...existing. Just...picturing his face. His stupid smile. Feeling...something. A sinking feeling where my chest should be. Odd sensation. Don’t think I particularly like it.
It’s okay. He’s okay. If nothing else...he’s okay. You better stay safe, Stone. Alright? That’s an order, Agent. Keep living. Be happy, if you can. I’ll just...be here, I guess.
......
I miss you.