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When Belle caught wind of a conversation near Riverside, she recognized one of the voices as Dr. Eggman himself.
Ducking behind a rock formation, the marionette-like robot kept her voice low and peeked out to find the scientist with an Artificial Intelligence taking the form of a young girl with short white hair. Her eyes and entire color scheme were red and black down to the little dress she wore. She hovered by his side while the Doctor observed the area around them.
"Father," the A.I. began.
Belle nearly gasped when she addressed her so familiarly. Although she was a robot, Belle was built with a heart of gold. It was something that Eggman kept in mind when creating her to serve as a spy within Sonic and his group of friends.
"About one of your creations...Belle the Tinkerer," the girl continued. "I have learned that she was disabled according to recent log entries."
"That's because she was shut down following the test chamber's destruction," Eggman explained. "I lost track of her after Sonic, Tails, and Amy managed to escape. After a week or two, I couldn't recover the tracker and declared her a lost cause."
Belle's mechanical heart felt like it could shut down on the spot. Was she always intended to be discarded even after she served her purpose?! Belle was led to believe that the Doctor was a good man and he even encouraged her to get out into the world and make some friends. She even found a friendly Motobug who became her lifelong companion!
"You, my darling daughter," the Doctor continued. "You have performed above and beyond my expectations. I'm overjoyed to work alongside you after we left Starfall Islands."
"I am happy to hear this, Father," Sage replied kindly. "And I feel happy...that you are happy."
Belle heard enough and abruptly turned and ran.
Within a storage room in the Restoration, Belle's Motobud drove up to her to give her company in this troubling time. After sacrificing themselves to allow Tails to develop a signal that broke lesser Badniks from the Doctor's controls, Tails convinced Belle to let him repair them. Since then, they've served as a mount and companion for Belle.
"...I should never have been made if this was going to happen," Belle lamented. "I should never have been given a soul if I was going to feel so sad!"
Although they couldn't speak, Motobud understood this sentiment. Likewise, they developed a heart and were also declared a faulty product. Motobud prayed that they could fix Belle's issues despite this. Yet, to them, it seemed the only robot Belle couldn't repair was herself.