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I lie here…in the dark…defeated…

I'm still able to look aggravated, tapping my foot in this lair of doom and despair. But that is all I can do. No rings to light the gloom, no shields to protect me from its entropy, no extra life monitors to enable me to shut out the laughter echoing through the dark. Or, you know, to stop that irritating music that after the theme that always accompanies Robotnik, is pretty annoying.

My greatest enemy has won…

No, I don't refer to Robotnik. He's tough, but after the wrecker ball, everything else seems less…memorable. Or something. I mean, the fireballs were cool, but then removing blocks with a giant spike? How on Earth did I lose all my lives to that? Ugh…if I had a sidekick, he'd probably be laughing at me. Yet how will I get a sequel if I'm beaten by a giant spike?

I wonder what he would have done in the Labyrinth Zone? Something far more intimidating no doubt.

But like I said, my greatest enemy has won. The enemy known only as Game Over, its letters filling the sky of the Springyard Zone, its tragic music filling my very soul with its minor key. All in the past though, fading as surely as this music is picking up pace…as surely as the numbers above me are going from 10, to 9, to 8, and so on. Mere seconds remain of my consciousness, before the unthinkable happens…me, trapped in this realm forever while the strange figure beyond the TV screen moves on to the Super Nintendo. Oh, the humanity!

But it's not too late. There is still hope. There is one more card I have yet to play. One final chance to save South Island, defeat Robotnik and get a sequel that will surpass this game in quality! And as I struggle through the dark, as I overcome the discordant music, as I thank my lucky rings for getting a high points score, I see it…

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A/N

At this point in time, I'd say that Robotnik's form in the Springyard Zone is perhaps the easiest of all of them in the original game. Back at the tender age of 3 or 4 however, I pretty much hit a snag with him. Whilst the wrecker ball and fireballs prompted timing and caution, here it was best to attack as quickly as possible. For too long, I was too cautious, ran out of blocks and saw many Game Over screens and if I was lucky, a Continue one. Eventually though, I beat him...

...and as I entered the Labyrinth Zone, realized the nightmare was just beginning... DX