Dr. Robotnik, his gaze fixated on the slot machine six inches from his face, was in a trance-like state. As he fed more coins into the machine and pulled down on the lever, the glow of the lights dancing off of his sunglasses, he meditated over the various disappointments in his life. Far too many, he thought.
Dr. Robotnik was an orphan. His parents died in a tragic accident when he was far too young to remember. No one knew what to do with him. He was always being shipped from one distant relative to another, never having a steady home. Thus, he never experienced love as a child.
And although he never experienced love, he was somewhat of a spoiled brat. Indeed, his subsequent guardians after his parents' untimely passing were all quite wealthy and bent to his every whim. His passion for science was always nurtured. And while he was always distant from other humans and never had any real friends, he took refuge in two things: animals and technology.
Dr. Robotnik fed more coins into the machine. He got to thinking about the Chaos Emeralds and how he had grossly underestimated their awesome power. After making the mistake of unleashing Perfect Chaos into the world and nearly causing the demise of all mankind, the UN had let him free with just a slap on the wrist. Of course, it helped he had friends in high places.
He thought about Sonic. Always one step ahead of his every move. And that blasted friend of his, Tails, who was the real brains of the two, he thought. All Sonic was really good at was running really fast. If he could split the two apart…
Then, of course, there was Knuckles he had to worry about. Knuckles used to be Sonic's enemy as well, and as the saying goes, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." So he sat there pondering how he could somehow convince Knuckles again that Sonic was indeed his enemy. Or maybe just keep him out of the picture altogether.
He had bought himself time by leading Sonic and Tails astray in their search for Shadow. But it would only be a matter of time before the black hedgehog would make his debut. Hopefully, by then, it would be too late for Sonic to stop him. And Dr. Robotnik would relish in the blue hedgehog's fall from fame and relevance. He was very much looking forward to it.
He was currently without work. It had been months since his last contract gig. Ever since his blunder with Perfect Chaos just a couple of years back, he had been running out of money, although he refused to admit it or even acknowledge it. He had squandered nearly all of his savings on building robots and gambling. He kept telling himself he was on the brink of hitting a jackpot. But in all reality, he was on the brink of bankruptcy.
He put more coins in the machine, pulled down the lever, and watched the colorful pictures whirl past. Only for them to, once again, misalign. It was just another day in Vegas.