Hello everyone, new story. This one I'm still trying to figure out where to go with, but I don't think it'll be too shabby. I'm a sucker for dystopian stories, so this will be fun to write. Read and enjoy

I am just an empty shell—a husk of someone who once had ambitions, happiness, and motivation. I'm not even sure why I'm still alive. This world— no, Eggman has taken everything from me. My family has disappeared one by one. My friends have all vanished without a trace. I used to be able to feel. Now, my emotions have withdrawn so far inside my heart that I'm not sure I can ever get them back out. Nowadays, all feelings are a fraction of what they once were; everything is underwhelming. I can't seem to find a strong emotion.

I looked around my 5x5 meter cell that was my home, if you could even call it a home. Blinding white walls reflected the too-bright light that illuminated the space. A sink, a toilet, and a hard cot with a cushion on it. A screen sat embedded seamlessly in the wall, sourcing Eggman propaganda and television.

The few years after Eggman achieved world conquest were not that bad. He had conquered all of the world but couldn't produce enough robots to efficiently manage all the new territory he had. We were free. We could roam where we wanted, live in any house, eat and drink various things, and we were free to do what we wanted. It wasn't that different from before Eggman came to power. But after he was able to meet that demand, things went downhill. We were forced into cramped living spaces and not allowed to leave Eggman's establishments he built on our land.

The way his empire worked was different from any other. For one, his only goal as dictator (at least as of now) was to stay in power now that he had it. But Eggman doesn't really take many preventative measures against rebellion, as he believes in his own genius and mechanical creations to protect him and scare people into not rebelling.

Eggman realized a problem he had when coming to power. He controlled all these people, but what use were they to him when he had his robots do everything they could but better? He had a robot for every task imaginable; what would he do with all the extra human resources? First, he sifted through all the people in the world, looking for the smartest, and forced them to work for him and help him mastermind his diabolical plans.

This included Miles "Tails" Prowler, Sonic's number two. However, Eggman's poor foresight gave Tails an escape opportunity. As a result, he was never heard from again, most likely in hiding.

Those with special powers that Eggman knew about were also targeted by him for "testing." Anyone who showed any sign of having an ability disappeared, likely taken by Eggman and experimented on.

As for the rest of the population, about a fourth were purged. Wiped off. No longer a part of a statistic. Unfortunately, part of my family was included in that purge. Those that remained were sometimes put to work, doing slow and degrading tasks of sorting through robot parts; other times, we worked and supported each other within our communities. Tasks like cooking (with limited resources Eggman gave us), washing clothes, or providing entertainment were all things we needed to do to retain our dignity and support our community.

Speaking of our community, the people living within those squares are all relocated to a particular crummy metropolitan area every thousand square kilometers. Sometimes it's only a thousand people within that square; sometimes, it's a million. Everyone was crammed into these grey concrete boxes that were our living quarters. Those living complexes could hold up to 700 people on one floor. You are not allowed to leave any living area unless told to. Eggman tried to balance and spread the population; thus, people always came and went. If you refuse, you die.

Sometimes people are called upon to Eggman's lab for him to do testing, but they rarely ever come back. Who knows how many people died there.

People often had to wait in line to use the shower, as Eggman's services stopped at food, water, and shelter. In the winter, it was cold. In the summer, it was unbearably hot. We had no AC or heating anywhere.

Eggman doesn't care about us, really. All we are to him are just his playthings; we only serve to amuse. He will keep us alive at the bare minimum.

Basically, to sum it up:

You cannot leave your city unless told to You are to obey all commands given by Eggman or his robots The food is terrible; just mushy stuff that doesn't taste like anything Hygiene and temperature control are not provided Eggman doesn't care what you do in the communities; anything is "legal" aside from trying to overthrow him or diminish his Many days are boring, as there are few things to do. The only mandatory tasks you have to do are once a week.

As for Sonic, He disappeared shortly after his final defeat at the hands of Eggman. It was debated whether Sonic was in hiding, or dead.

I looked at my weekly schedule. I had sorting duty today, my only event of the week, at 13:00. Some jobs you worked with others, some you worked alone. Sorting could be either one; sometimes you had a partner, sometimes you didn't. There was always something monitoring you, though. An AI would listen to any words you say, searching for revolutionary thoughts or phrases. Sorting was a job the Eggman's contraptions would do pretty quickly, but we had to do it anyway. It was "concentration work," as the madman called it.

Eventually, the clock hit 12:50, and I headed to the job station. I punched my job number at a booth and was given a ticket. Subsection #3007, the slip of paper read. I made my way over there, arriving 5 minutes late.

"Minor Late penalty — new job added to your calendar." The robotic voice said as she inserted her slip into the job checker.

I merely grunted and sat down on one of the two chairs that sat beside a table. On top of the table contained practically a sea of parts, all disorganized. I rubbed my temples and stared into the box of parts. I had to sort all this out. I would be here for a while.

Fuck me. I ran down the aisles, looking for subsection 3007. I was already 10 minutes late. Goddamn, ever since I migrated here, I haven't been able to get the hang of things.

Finally found it. #3007. I inserted my slip, got my late penalty (it was some janitorial thing), and went through the door.

I was not alone; a quite beautiful woman sat at the table, already sorting parts. She did not look up or seem to acknowledge my entrance. I caught my breath and sat down across from her.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Hi"

I reached into the bin of parts and grabbed a handful. I began sorting them, dropping them in their corresponding boxes.

"Hey, um, do you know any cool things to do here? I'm new." I asked.

"No."

"O-oh…" I waited a while, thinking, "Really? At my last place, ther—"

She looked up at me for the first time, her eyes boring into my own. Wow. She really was beautiful. "Please, be quiet." She looked back down.

"Ah— O-oh… alright… I was just trying to make some conversation." I got no reply. Damn, this new way of life really affects people, huh.

We sorted in silence for a while. I looked up to stretch my neck after being hunched over the table for so long. I studied the cat in front of me. Cute ponytail, Stunning eyes, lovely purple fur, and a red thing on her forehead. I couldn't tell what it was. She looked outstanding. Not many people retained good looks in these conditions.

"Quit staring. Do your job." She said without looking up.

Fuck. Had I really been staring that long? How long has she known?

I struggled to find words, and I felt my face get hot. "O-oh, jeez, I'm— I'm really sorry about that —S-sorry, sorry." I couldn't tell if it was my eyes playing tricks or if she had the slightest hint of a smile on her face.

I quickly looked down to hide my blush and nervously started working again.

We had gotten about 3 quarters of the way through the big bin of parts.

She looked up at me. "Hey, maybe instead of grabbing a ton of parts first and then sorting them, you just grab as many of one type of part you can and dump them in the bin. It's faster."

"Oh, really? Thanks." I smiled. Hmm, she cared enough to give me advice.

A good amount of time later, we had finished, putting the sorted boxes into chutes where they were sucked away. I leaned back in my chair, stretching and yawning. "Man…"

The cat across from me stood up and began walking toward the door, but I still had something nagging me. "Hey, um… I'm Silver… and… uh, w-what's your name?" That came out terribly. Already better phrases to use flooded into my head.

She stopped in the doorway and looked back, cocking an eyebrow. It took her a while to respond. "Blaze. That is my name." She exited quickly, leaving me alone in the room.

I wondered if I would ever see her again. I wanted to. She looked like she had a lot more under the surface, and I wanted to know what was there.

Blaze. A fitting name, beautiful, even. I left the room after a few minutes and exited the building.

I walked to the laser fence that separated us from freedom. The vast, rolling hills looked so inviting. I had to resist the urge to fly over there with my telekinesis.

Someday. Someday we'll be free. I don't know when, but Eggman will be defeated… somehow. Maybe Sonic was still alive by some miracle? Tails and Knuckles too? I could only feed on hope in these desolate times.

I walked toward my living quarters. Winter would be here soon; you could feel it in the air. Winter was always the worst; heat was hard to come by.

The hedgehog from the sorting room —Silver was his name— wandered into my mind. He wasn't like a lot of other people. The terrible conditions we lived in didn't seem to get to him. He had liveliness in his gait and emotion in his voice. His eyes looked so determined and hopeful, while most looked tired and defeated. I don't know what to think of him. He is certainly nice to be around, I'll give him that. He was cute, too. He reminded me of my family… I miss them… But I don't even know if I'll see him again; people vanish and go away often.

I entered my room and lay down on my hard cot, tired, despite being early in the afternoon. I couldn't stay awake.

I sat down in the cafeteria and stared at my bland food. The mush looked uninviting. It was grey and dull, a mixture of who knows what, and tasted bland, but it kept us fed and surprisingly healthy.

Forcing the food in my mouth, I focused on Blaze, the cat from my work order. I could tell she would be hard to get any personal information from. I could just tell. She was very attractive, I must admit. Her gaze was scary. Not in the sense that it was a sharp gaze, but her yellow eyes seemed colorless, tired, and devoid of emotion. I mean, everyone looked different nowadays due to the immense stress of Eggman's regime, but she seemed to be even worse. I wanted to comfort her, maybe try and help her. Hopefully, we'd see each other again.

I had finished my late lunch and put my tray away.

When I got back home, there was something new on the calendar marked for tomorrow.

"All inhabitants required: gathering in The Plaza."

Chapters are gonna be coming out very slowly from now on. i dunno- expect them coming out every two weeks to a month, maybe? idk. Dont take my word for it though, whatever happens, happens.

Thank you all for reading.