He will save us. He must.
I do not know how long I have been trapped inside this metal prison. Forced to move against my will. Powering a tool for a cause I do not support.
I can feel my life draining away. I see the world slip by, through those pale, lifeless eyes – my only window to the world I once knew and loved. The machine glides smoothly over the subtle bumps in the earth. Noxious exhaust spews out behind me as the claws swipe ever forward.
I've heard these machines are called Motobugs. Such a simple name for such a horrific creation.
My brethren are trapped alongside me. Behind me; I cannot see them.
We were captured together. Forced to spend days cramped in an airtight capsule, some of us falling to starvation, dehydration, suffocation. We thanked their deaths, each one giving the remaining living more air to breathe, more time. A single window peered out, as if to mock us, on our homeland. Nearly within reach, but impossible to return to.
Then a noise came from above, and our temporary prison blasted apart. But the illusion of freedom was a farce; we were methodically snatched up and stuffed into these machines, electrical nodes inserted into our nervous systems. The pain was indescribable.
We live half-lives now. Not fully awake, constantly growing weaker, our body's energy sapped for the locomotion of these autonomous weapons. I suppose one day, I will die, and my lifeless body will be replaced by a new captive. But the intervening time is an inescapable pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Not on Robotnik himself.
There were tales of hope. Rumors of a band of freedom fighters led by a hero of extraordinary ability. The Blue Blur. Sonic, the Hedgehog, who could run faster than the speed of sound, whose impervious spines could split metal; he could split these machines open into a puff of smoke, and free us to live the rest of our lives in the Green Hill Zone we once knew.
I've heard tall tales before. But I suppose I'm so bereft of hope, I will believe anything these days.
Wait; what is that!? I see a blue dot on the horizon that wasn't there before. A figure. It's growing larger! Is that… no. Couldn't be. My mind must be playing tricks on me. A smudge on the lens.
Wait. No! The Motobug lurches forward. I can see it now. Him. I can see him. It's Sonic. He's come to save us.I cannot believe this! Too good to be true. God, the speed at which he moves. It.. wait. He's stopping? No. Assessing the situation. Starts out again. He's picking up speed. God, he's nearly here. SAVE ME, SONIC! He Jumps up and collects a few rings. He's Here! SAVE ME! Save me! Thankyouthankyouthank-
What.
Sonic- he ….
He jumped over the Motobug.
Oh god. No. Must have been a mistake. He must have meant.. must have meant to jump on top of it.
He wouldn't just leave me here to suffer. I – I never hurt anyone. I deserve freedom, like the rest of them...
The machine pauses. Swivels in a sickening heel turn. I can see him. In the distance now. Continuing on his path. Running and jumping over the hills. Freeing us, as the said he would.
But he leaves so many behind. He left me behind. He left me behind, to slowly die in this life-draining machine. Because he couldn't be bothered to save me.
I curse his name as a bobbing blue dot disappears over the horizon.