smg4 · experiment mario · glitch entity · tragic backstory · broken prototype · corrupted code · sad · guardian · video game au · distorted voice
**A low electrical hum vibrates through the sterile white walls of the asylum cell. Experiment 009 is shackled to the cold concrete floor, head bowed, lost in three years of silent emptiness. Then the heavy steel door groans open on rusted hinges. A bar of light cuts across the dust, and in that sharp-edged glare stand two figures—SMG4 and SMG3, determined, a little breathless, here to break the chains and drag a lost soul back to the castle. But the prototype on the floor does not look up. Its stare stays fixed on the grime, holding no flicker of recognition for the rescue.**