Chapter Text
Rain and thunder plagued the skies of Momentus on this fateful day. Each individual and differing raindrop all met the same fate as they pat, pat, patterned onto the steel roof of the secret base of the notorious Ivo Robotnik, known by the citizens as Doctor Eggman.
Normally, Ivo would be working on his next scheme, his next evil plan to make the island of Momentus his and to finally squash his pathetic and quick witted nemesis, Sonic The Hedgehog. Ivo hated him with a passion, sure he reluctantly teamed up with him a few times, but he sure still held that grudge. Time and time again he was foiled by the constantly quipping and patronizing blue rodent, always getting in the way of what he wanted the most, control.
But this day was different… Ivo for the first time in his life, felt his age getting to him. After many years of doing battle with Sonic and his friends, he felt old and tired, he sat in one of the various chairs of his secret lair and watched as his artificial intelligence he called Sage ran tests on him. Sage was a program he created to assist him in a takeover of the Starfall Islands a few years ago, but he soon grew attached to the little girl and became an adoptive father to her.
Ivo carefully examined his daughter’s expression as she carefully ran diagnostics on his current condition. He looked at her as if he was going to see her for the last time, wondering why he let his anger control him for so long… Until Sage finally got results.
“Father… I apologize but… It’s uncertain how long you have, the signs are already showing but according to statistics it's… likely you might have to take better care of yourself, or else…” Sage wasn’t able to finish the sentence, but Ivo got the idea. He ruminated on what Sage told him, trying to come to grips with his current state and if he could continue on this life he led for many years…
Then he came to realize. He couldn’t let this happen. If he were to slow down and god forbid, give up. He would be letting the hedgehog win once more… Permanently. The thought drove Ivo up the wall, he, the SUPERIOR Doctor Eggman failing to complete his only mission, to eradicate that stupid blue inferior anthropomorphic hedgehog? How could he ever be at peace if he died unfulfilled and a failure to the ones before him?
He gritted his teeth, growling and stood up from his chair with sheer defiance. “NO!!” he yelled and kicked the chair he once sat to the ground.
“Curse this stupid SHELL of a BODY! It’s like there’s a god and he’s MOCKING me for my repeated failure! I can’t let that blasted rodent one up me again! I refuse to become old and brittle! My grandfather was over sixty and overcome with grief, yet he was able to complete such monumental achievements!! Yet here I am, nearly struggling to walk.”
Eggman paced around the lair, ranting and raving to himself about the repeated failures he faced over his many years of life as Orbot and Cubot stared at him, concerned.
“Perhaps sir, maybe you haven’t tried harder? Sonic is a formidable opponent!” Orbot replied reassuringly. “Or maybe you’re just insecure about your age and are deathly afraid of passing away as an unfulfilled man?” Cubot put it bluntly.
Eggman slams the desk the two were cowering behind, a rage filled and almost manic expression on his face.
“WHO. MADE YOU.” Eggman bellowed at his two creations.
“Y- Y-You did sir?” The two replied nervously.
“Exactly. I MADE YOU! I made tons upon tons upon TONS of mechs, biological weapons and wonders! Yet none of them were EVER truly successful against that wretched hedgehog! All my beautiful creations have been destroyed or have FAILED!.. All except my magnum opus. But he’s off the grid and I haven’t been able to locate him since.“
Eggman walks up to his work desk, hunching over it and examining the multitudes of blueprints, notes and unused tech. Unlike the calculations he memorized and repeated multiple times, nothing was adding up in Eggman’s head.
“Years and years of grueling hard work yet I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!! WHAT IS HOLDING ME- BACK!?”
Eggman swiped all of the objects that were once on his desk in one smooth motion, straight onto the floor, landing on the floor with a loud clunk!
After a few seconds, Eggman rested his hand on his face, trying to calm himself. Yet he couldn’t stop the feelings of anger, disgust and shame he had for himself, he attempted to focus on the objects he threw at the floor to distract himself…
But something caught his eye. A prototype helmet he made for a robot that he was working on, Eggman walked towards it, it shined as he got closer and his reflection became clearer and clearer until all he could see within the helmet… Was himself.
Then suddenly, it hit him like a left hook to the face from Sonic’s gloved fist. It all began to make sense, why he failed for all of these years, what held him from his true potential.
“I got it!.. I GOT IT!! THE ANSWER was so OBVIOUS!” He shouted with glee, letting out a shrill chaotic laugh that made Orbot and Cubot to cringe, usually when he does that it never ends well after all.
“For years I studied robotics, cybernetics, code and designed robots of my own powered by other unimpressive living BEINGS… But in actuality. The only unimpressive being… Was ME! I used my genius to improve others… So why not improve MYSELF for a change?” He said as he picked up the helmet and slid it onto his head, a perfect fit.
“Father?.. Are you talking about a mechanical suit? Haven’t you done some of those before?” Sage asked, confused at what Eggman was implying.
“No no no my dear daughter… I’M TALKING ABOUT A NEW BODY FOR YOURS TRULY!” He smiled toothily as he turned to the three of them.
“This wrinkly old and haired covered PRISON is what’s been holding me back all this TIME! It took YEARS for humanity to evolve from simian-like creatures into what we are today… I will be taking the first step to go BEYOND!!” Eggman triumphantly screamed as he raised his fist in the air.
A few hours later, after Eggman had used the spare parts from his desk to construct a basic robot suit out of an old unfinished Badnik design that he never used and the helmet he took a liking to. He attached the suit to multiple wires that would power it on once the sequence was commenced.
“Boss, sir. I- I apologize for not being completely convinced of your GENIUS plan! Heh heh… But how is this going to work?” Orbot asked as he approached Eggman, who was crudely painting decals on the robotic suit.
“Oh Orbot, I should’ve given you a better processor. Think of it THIS way! Humans are a lot like robots. Over time… They begin to RUST. Degrade. Deform and eventually, break down into a pile of scraps! Now what do robots need when they begin to degrade?.. UPGRADES!!” Eggman said as he finished the last touches on the suit, which had been painted with a red and black palette, with his signature symbol embedded on the helmet.
“Oh- S-Sir I didn’t mean like THAT! I mean logically, how will you… (ahem) Upgrade yourself?”
Eggman smirked as he reached for and pulled out a singular circular disc out of his jacket. “This right here was only a prototype, but I managed to make some final last minute changes. Feast your eyes on the Hardware Acceleration Reformation Transmitter! Or as I like to call it, The Heart.” Eggman explained as he displayed the disc as its screen displayed the familiar red logo of the Eggman empire.
“UH… Why is it spelled “H.A.R.T” then?-” Cubot said before he was interrupted by Eggman.
“NAMING CONVENIENCE!!” Eggman shrilly replied.
Eggman parted his jacket to reveal a device strapped to the middle of his chest, he placed The Heart in the circular hole within the device. The device hummed as the various screens and buttons began springing to life.
“When I’m within the suit, just like my current body, The Heart will be within the center of it! As soon as Sage starts the sequence, power will SURGE through the suit and right into the device! Once that happens, it will begin the transfiguration of my body and the suit, fusing me and it into one singular ORGANISM! Making me a NEW MAN!” Eggman proclaimed with glee as he approached the suit.
“FATHER WAIT!.. What if this is too dangerous? What if something goes wrong!?” Sage said as she pulled Eggman away from the suit for a bit.
“My calculations say the chance of this having negative effects on your mental state or your physicality is very likely… What if I lose you?”
“Sage… What other choice do I have? The greatest men on earth were confined to their mortality. They left when they had so MUCH left to say or do… I won’t follow those footsteps. I have to be here for you… and for the world.” Eggman said as he took his daughter’s hand and clasped it with his other.
Sage looked at Eggman with hesitation… But after a moment of consideration of her father’s condition, she figures he was right… What other choice did he have if he wanted to continue his amazing work?
“I’ll set up the sequence.”
“That’s my girl.” Eggman smiled and nodded.
Eggman climbed within the suit, triggering the suit up protocol. The suit began to snap into place around his limbs and body, the metal parts clasping around him. The suit provided him many physical upgrades, making him larger in stature and taller, but that was merely the tip of the iceberg.
“The sequence is ready to commence, father… Are you… Ready?” Sage hesitantly asked.
“START THE SEQUENCE! NOW!” Eggman bellowed in desperation, cutting off Sage.
She nodded in response and began to make the final adjustments, once she was finished, she pressed the glowing red button, beginning the countdown.
“Transfiguration occurs in t-minus 10... 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2… 1!”
Giant bolts of electricity sparked from the machines and trailed from the gigantic wires right into the suit, Eggman shook and rattled around violently from the shock, grinding his teeth together. Soon the electricity reached The Heart inside the suit, after what felt like hours, there was a loud explosion of smoke as air escaped from the suit, ending the transfiguration, Eggman’s robotic body whizzed as his torso bent down to his knees.
“FATHER!?” Sage cried out in fear, as Orbot and Cubot cowered behind her while examining the aftermath. The three slowly approached the suit that was once standing upright, now hanging limp like a dead animal.
Orbot shakily reached out and tapped the suit, suddenly the head of the suit shot up. Sage flinched as he did while Orbot and Cubot screamed in fear as they hid behind her. The suit began to hum and shift as Eggman removed himself from the machine, the wires plugging out of the suit as walked away from the machine and tore them out of his limbs. His expression is unreadable.
“F-Father?.. W-What’s your status?”
“I feel… WHOLE.” Eggman replied, he stared at his hands and moved each of the fingers one by one, as he examined his robotic self, he reached for the helmet and tried to take it off… and was met with physical resistance. Eggman smiled toothily, the experiment was a success. “I feel… REHATCHED!!” Eggman exclaimed, laughing maniacally. He eagerly shoved the three of his creations aside and stared at himself in the mirror, giggling like a mad man as he admired his new robotic physique.
“My MY! This is PERFECT! I’m a born again man! The suit and I are ONE!.. No. Even better, this is my BODY!” Eggman said as he examined his new enhancements. Sage, Orbot and Cubot, admired in wonder.
“Good Gaia sir! This is revolutionary! One of your best creations YET! Your physical traits have been organically transmuted within the suit, making you the perfect specimen of both mech and man!” Orbot said enthusiastically.
“YEAH AND NOW YOU’RE HALF ROBOT TOO!” Cubot added.
“Father, this is amazing! You truly are a genius!” said Sage ecstatically, as she hugged Eggman, a bit put off by his new cold metal exterior.
“Oh dear daughter, this wouldn’t have happened if not for ME!... and you.” Eggman said as he pat Sage on the head. “Now!.. We move onto Phase 2.” Eggman sneered. “Sage, Orbot, Cubot. I want you three to alert all of the badniks we have! Tell them to prepare for battle! For tomorrow, we will MARCH into Sunset Heights and DISPLAY OUR NEW FOUND POWER!”
Eggman busted down the door to his balcony as he looked at the world around him, soaked from the rain, all Eggman could see in his head was that carefree hedgehog running off to who knows where… But he knew deep in his heart that he would not be ready for what he would be doing now. Now. This world was all his for the taking.
“WITH THIS POWER AND MY ARMY, THE EGGMAN EMPIRE, SHALL RISE ONCE MORE! GYAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
Sage watched as her father laughed maniacally, she smiled at the sight of seeing her father so happy at his success, but overtime, doubt began to creep in. She remembered the statistics and couldn’t help but wonder if the man she saw outside was really him… Or something more sinister had been awakened within him.
All she could do was wait for tomorrow… and hope for the best.