Goodbye, Eggman (Tribute Fic to the late Deem Bristow)

[Azier the Swordsman]

As you all probably know by now, Deem Bristow, the voice of Dr. Eggman in the English version of the 3D Sonic games, passed away recently due to a heart attack. This guy did one of the best Eggman voices ever, and while I generally prefer playing the game in the Japanese language, his was one of the voices I really enjoyed in the English version. It’s going to be extremely difficult to be able to find someone to fill his shoes. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends, he will be missed.

Sonic’s POV

Why? Why did you have to die? I mean, sure we were enemies and all that…. But like this? Sure, there were many times I may have wished that you weren’t around to cause so much mayhem all the time, but I never wished for it to be like this.

You really did cause so much trouble, didn’t you? I can still remember our first encounter, on South Island. That was where it all started. I still remember our first battle, as you attempted to level the island with that huge, wrecking ball of yours. Heh, I managed to smash that contraption up good. From then on, we fought battle after battle, not only on South Island, but West Side Island, the Little Planet, the Floating Island, even all the way to Station Square and many times in Outer Space. Because of you, the world was nearly completely destroyed several times.

But you know what? In spite of all that, I can’t really say that I ever really, truly hated you, though I may have said it more than once. The truth is, everything that I am now, even my whole life, my friends, my love, I owe them all too you. Because if you really stop and think about it, before our first fated encounter, I was nothing.

My best friends, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Cream, Vanilla, the Chaotix, heck, even Shadow, I would have never met if it wasn’t for you. If it wasn’t for you, I would never have inadvertently met, and eventually fell in love with my soul mate on that fateful day on the battlegrounds of the Little Planet. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have had so many adventures, heck, I may have never even seen beyond my humble home on South Island. I never would have tasted the fame of being elevated to worldwide hero status. (Although, sometimes I feel that in some ways it’s a curse… heh…)

I honestly owe much more to you than you will ever know. It’s still hard to believe… at times it felt like you were like an annoying fly that couldn’t be squashed… every time I defeated you you came back, with yet another scheme, often causing more trouble than ever before. To finally be brought down like this seems impossible, like a dream. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at least respect your determination and ingenuity, even if I didn’t necessarily like you. Although, I sometimes sense you felt the same towards me.

Three years… three long years and it’s finally over. While part of me feels glad to finally have a chance to settle down and have a normal life, the other half is filled with regret. Regret that it had to be this way, that things couldn’t have been different. Maybe we could have someday been friends instead of enemies. Maybe instead of terrorizing the world, you could have discovered the error of your ways, and even devoted your life to helping others, without it being just another sneaky trap, like your “Robotic Moonâ€