Failure. Failure is something we all fear. It's in our nature. If we fail, we curse what caused us the failure – or what we want to believe caused it. Only when our pride is harmed will we accept that the failure could be of our own design. Those whose pride and ego are still of perfect health will continue to attempt to achieve a goal – no matter how futile. Failure can drive a being to perfection and triumph or insanity and self-rejection.
For the former, a prime example laid dormant in the mechanical genius and automation enthusiast Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik. A tall, heavy-sat, egg-shaped man with an Intelligence Quotient as impressive as his distinctive, orange mustache. His dark presence has been felt by the entire planet life-sustaining Earth many times. His goal has always been to capture and rule over it with an iron fist, but he has always been bested by a hedgehog as blue as the Earth, Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog was a creature that loves the live fast lif – very fast. He could move quicker than the human eye – faster than the speed of sound. Sonic's movement was his best weapon against the industrialist Eggman. If Sonic alone was not enough to thwart the Doctor's plans, there existed many of his friends that helped him out to conquer the Eggman – each with their own special abilities.
For the Doctor, this was a sad tale of repeating one fate – failure. Every chance when he got, every opportunity he had, no matter how close – he was doomed to fail. Sonic the Hedgehog would always be the source of it. Did this damper his ego? Did this make the Eggman cease or even limit evil plans? Not at all. For the Eggman was hatching a new scheme. A new scheme that he was positive would lead the Doctor to great power and ultimate success.
Deep in the metallic belly of industry, Doctor Robotnik's underground base, the Doctor worked tirelessly on a experiment that would guarantee him victory. He pressed his thumb and index fingers down on a tightly contained, clear, plastic vial. What was inside it? Nothing the human eye can see. The evil engineer lifted it up to a light that shined all across his lab and squinted at the container. It still appeared empty. The genius grinned.
One of his sentient robots entered the lab. He was a small, round being, with seeming tired-eyes and a red coated body. His name was Orbot.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" The automaton greeted.
"Yes, Orbot. Scan this." Robotnik replied handing the robot the vial.
Orbot's eyes changed from its normal bright blue to a bright pink, his fist clinched the bottle and released as his eyes returned to blue.
"Scanning indicates that an unknown gaseous substance exists."
"Indeed, Orbot. Follow me."
Eggman marched across his lab to large, secured door. Beside it, stuck out a keyboard. Eggman punched a few keys and struck a large button. Ping and the door spread apart, allowing the Doctor to enter. The Eggman stepped inside.
"Lights!" He shouted and the room lit up.
Orbot followed in his foot steps and gasped at a sight – many pods were in this room, and each containing many of a familiar creature – an alien specie they knew all too well – The Wisps.
"Oh my! Sir?"
"Shocked my faithful servant? Don't be. You see, upon learning that the meddlesome hedgehog had came to my amusement park, I knew from my past experiences that my plan would be doomed. Yes, I would have liked to believe my efforts would not go in vain, so I continued on as normal. However, I took some precautions. I sent a number of these pods for a space voyage to Earth. After Sonic got the better of me, I fished these creatures out of the sea and brought them here. Their energy is something to be desired."
"Sir, I've compared the vial scanning to The Wisps and have found their readings to be similar, if not nearly identical!"
"You're not malfunctioning, Orbot. What you're reading is true. I took a sample from one of the limbs of these aliens and converted it into a gaseous form. You see, I was trying to force their Hyper-Go-On energy for fire arm uses – resulting in an inefficient, energy depleting mess. Once the energy ceased being fed to my victim, they would regain their free will. Case in point? Tails. That is quite honestly the most fallacious move I've ever committed. After my defeat, I began to think – rather than feeding my victim with Hyper-Go-Onic energy, would it not be more efficient to to convert it to a gas that could be breathed? This would cause the Hyper-Go-On gas to mix into the blood stream and the entire body resulting into a longer lasting mind control! Fortunately, I saved a few of these Wisps."
"Oh, wow, someone's sure been learning from their mistakes, eh?"
The Doctor growled at robot. Orbot backuped and quickly recovered.
"But, eheh! Hey, you're sure this will work? I mean, have you tested it out?"
"That, my friend, is what I'm about to do."
The Eggman took lead down a deep, dark hallway and into a new room. There existed a clear, strong, glass cell. Inside it was a man, woman, and young girl. The father caught a glimpse of Doctor Robonik and his mechanical assistant. The father slammed his fist onto the glass, but to no concern of the Doctor.
"Let us out, you mad-scientist!" Demanded the father.
The Doctor smiled.
"Orbot," the Doctor started, "Meet my test subjects! A family of three that happened to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Shortly after I recovered the pods, I just happened to stumble upon these fine volunteers enjoying a nice, summer vacation at the beach."
"Dastardly, if not genius, sir!"
The Eggman punctured the vial with two tools – converting the container into a type of syringe.
"I know!" The Eggman followed up to the cell, he activated the intercom, "I'm sure you would all be happy to know that you're about to make some noble sacrifices to the advancement of science! As well as your service to the Eggman Empire!"
"Please," started the mother, "just let us go! We promise we won't tell anybody!"
Inside the cell existed a small, single hole that was plugged by the vial. The Doctor pressed the backside of it and released the invisible gas for the family to breathe.
"Not likely." Replied the Doctor.
"You're a monster!" Shouted the father, "You're an insane, inhumane mosteeeeer..."
Then silence followed. The family stood there quiet. Their mind cleared of all thought. Their face was blank of any kind of expression. They were simply sparkless life.
"Heheheh. It seems I've done it. Now, to test it out. The father should step forward, the mother should step back, and the daughter should go to her lower right corner. Go!"
As the Doctor commanded, so they did.
"Excellent! My mind control gas works!"
"This is great, sir!" Stated the robot, "But are you sure you'll have enough for the entire planet?"
"Of course not. Even if I did, I'm sure this stuff is only temporary. What I just need to know is how long it'll work. My guess is only up to an entire week. Which will be plenty of time for my latest plan."
"Your latest plan, sir? What IS your latest plan?"
"I'm glad you asked. I've come to realize that I have been going about world domination in the wrong way. Why take it over by force when good ol' political corruption works just as well?"
"So, what you're saying is...?"
"That Election Day is right around the corner for the United Federation! And Ivo is running for president! I'm going to exploit the democratic system and snatch up the spoils of its victory! I've taken in account of how many votes I'll need, plus how many of these Wisps it'll take. One Wisp should give me enough gas for a one-hundred mile radius. All it should take is just a little bit of breathing and someone should fall under my mind control. If I use a single Wisp for each major city in the United Federation, I should have more than enough votes to steal the election. Just to remind the fools to vote for me, I'll even add a few hundred micobots to the gas."
"Wow! That's using the old noggin, Doctor!"
"Yes! Let's see how well Sonic can fight against me when a whole nation is against him! Not just a nation, but one of the most powerful ones! Hahahahahaha!"
With a plan set in stone, and a stressed evil pulling out all the stops, the time of the Eggman Empire is at hand. Can Sonic overcome such odds? Will the plan even be fulfilled? Only time will tell.