For Speedy1236...
"Wait a minute," Doctor Robotnik said to his elder self, "If you're me from my future, then surely you've left here once before. Surely you must have some idea where the exit is."
The older Doctor Eggman hesitated, "Well, yes, but that was years ago, and I wasn't paying attention."
"Figures," Robotnik replied, "So what do we do now?"
The two scientists, the younger Doctor Robotnik, as well as the older Doctor Eggman, stared into the white. It was all there was, an infinite expanse of whiteness, surrounded by more whiteness, cloaked in white to truly emphasis just how white all the white really was.
After much thought, the older Eggman looked to his younger self. "We head this way, until we find either a way out of here, or something that isn't the white void."
"And what makes you so sure that way's the right way?"
"Well," Eggman mused, stroking his chin slightly, "Since I've been here before, and I managed to get out of here before, it's obvious that you, as my younger self, can't be stuck here forever, or it'd be a paradox, so if you follow me, then the very fact that you're pre-determined to leave means I can leave to."
"So we're just going to walk forwards, and somehow find something in this nothingness?"
"Basically, yes."
"Well that's an amazing plan," Robotnik sneered. "Almost as good as your plan to swap Sonic's running shoes with super-slow shoes."
"You laugh now; it'll be your plan eventually."
Robotnik didn't know how to reply to that. He considered the option for a moment, it really was such a stupid plan, and yet, he had to do it now.
"You don't suppose the only reason you did that was because your future self told you that you'd already done that, do you?" Robotnik asked.
"Of course not," Eggman answered, "I had thought of that idea long before I even met my future self."
Robotnik looked sheepishly at his older self. Yes, it was true that he had developed the idea, but at no point did he think he would ever become desperate enough to try it, and yet now, here he was being told that not only was he going to, but that he had no choice.
"So is there nothing I can do?" Robotnik asked, wanting something positive to have come out of this."
Eggman looked at his younger self. A much more determined and idealistic Robotnik, one who hadn't yet undergone many and several defeats, and one who hadn't quite become as desperate as he had. He thought back, about when he was in the very same position as the younger Robotnik. He stood there; wistfully thinking about the wisdom that he had heard at this point, when he was younger, when he was that idealistic, when he was meeting with his future self. Eggman knew exactly what to say.
"Yes," the older human said, "buy a different outfit; you look ridiculous in that tiny cape."
"What?!" Robotnik yelled in frustration, "Here I am with my future self, someone who knows exactly what I'm going to go through, and all he can tell me is to get new clothes?" Robotnik was figuratively beside himself in frustration as he stood opposite his older self. "Let me guess, I should buy a pair of stilts as well?"
Eggman didn't answer directly. "Why are we fighting?"
"You tell me, you started it you arrogant blow hard."
"As if you're any better?" Eggman snarked back sarcastically.
"But of course." Robotnik grinned.
"We're the same person you idiot!"
"Yes, but I'm the one who's not gone through all your failures."
"You're going to," Eggman stressed, "that's the point. I'm your future, and nothing you can do changes that."
The pair of scientists looked at each other. There was something quite depressing for each of them to think about. The younger Robotnik, able to see what a failure and laughing stock he would become, while the older Eggman able to directly see how foolish he was, and just how much the defeats had changed him.
"There is one thing we could do..." Eggman said, mostly to try and change the subject.
"I'm not that curious." Robotnik replied.
"I meant about Sonic, you moron," Eggman shuddered. A memory of what he'd imagined when he was younger came back into his subconscious. It was not pretty.
"What?"
"Start building robots. Lots of them, in secret, and don't use them."
"Now I know you're nuts." Robotnik replied, still convinced his older self had lost it.
"No, listen," Eggman continued as he began to go into detail, "Stick these robots somewhere safe. Then, when you return as me, you can walk out of this place with a massive army of robots you can use."
"But what about all the plans before this nonsense?" Robotnik asked, not quite understanding what he was thinking.
"Well, we both know those will fail right? So why put effort in? Why don't we, and by 'we' I mean you," Eggman grinned, his arm around the shoulder of his younger, stilt-less self, "go into those doing only the bare minimum. Build the space park, let Perfect Chaos roam free, do... whatever it was I did to cause that ruined lava city..."
The younger Robotnik looked at Eggman, a confused look on his face.
"For some reason I don't remember a thing about that plan, other than it involving a train, a sceptre, and a weapon that somehow broke every law of physics at once. It's not important. What matters is you do that, and then when you leave here the second time you'll have a massive army you can use, that Sonic doesn't even suspect."
Robotnik thought for a moment. "So what you're essentially saying is it's a good idea to swap Sonic's sneakers for the 'go slow' ones I made?"
"No, that's still a dumb idea," Eggman answered, "but you should do it anyway, it'll help lower Sonic's guard. If he thinks that you, and by extension, myself, to be nothing more than a bumbling idiot, then he'll be much easier to dupe when I show him my, sorry, our full force."
"So I need to be a fool?" Robotnik said, understanding what his future self was suggesting, "Is that why I start calling myself Dr Eggman? To seem more foolish?"
Eggman glared, "What's wrong with the name 'Eggman'?
"Nothing," Robotnik replied, before muttering, "If you've taken enough bumps on the head."
"I heard that!"
The pair kept moving, stopping frequently for rest, due to how out of shape the pair was. Even without time in the white world, it was a long while before any of them found anything noteworthy.
"Is that a door?" the older Eggman asked.
"You say something?" Robotnik answered, "I wasn't paying attention."
"What could you possibly have that's distracting you?"
"Excuse me for being a bit distracted. I've just found out that the next few years of my life are going to be a waste of time."
"It's not all bad," Eggman replied, "You'll find and keep the lost treasure of the Babylonian's."
"Oh really?" Robotnik's eyes lit up slightly, "What is it?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Eggman teased. Even though it was only himself, he still enjoyed winding up his younger self. The human found it quite amusing to transplant his own failures onto this younger Dr Robotnik. To Eggman, his younger self was now the perfect scapegoat, and it felt good to be able to acknowledge himself as someone else.
The pair of them kept moving, eventually making it to the door. The two humans looked at it, then each other. "It's just a door, there's nothing there," Eggman cried out, disappointed.
"Well, what's behind it?" Robotnik asked.
"Nothing," Eggman exclaimed, "You can see that for yourself look," he said, as he waved his arm behind the door.
"Well, maybe there's something inside it," Robotnik said optimistically. Carefully he twisted the knob. It rattled conclusively in his hands. "It's locked."
"Well that's just great, we go all that incalculable way, for all that incomprehensible time, to find a door and it's locked. Great going doctor, you led us to a locked door."
"Me!" Robotnik shrieked defensively, "All of this has been your idea. You're the idiot in charge."
Eggman was now fed up of this. He was getting angry. "You're the one who failed in the first place," he spat, no longer even thinking about how he was yelling at his younger self.
"Well you're the one who couldn't even get grandpa's experiment to work properly."
Eggman saw red at this point. He lunged for his younger self. His right fist struck the younger doctor in the right cheek, knocking Robotnik down. Eggman stood over him, repeatedly punching the human. Robotnik fought back, kicking wildly at Eggman's legs, knocking the human loose from his stilts and tumbling to the ground. The pair got themselves back up, Robotnik leaning against the door when Eggman came charging at him, using his shoulder to barge into the other human.
The older Eggman hit hard, knocking the wind out of Robotnik, the force shattering the white door, and sending them both hurtling out of the white void. The world appeared around them, and gravity suddenly kicked in, as the pair fell.
They landed hard with a splash. Both of the scientists eventually managed to swim back to shore. They stood, surrounded by peaked hills, at a lake.
"Where are we?" Robotnik asked.
"I'd guess Never Lake, the home of the Miraculous Little Planet. With any luck, we can get the time stones from the planet, and use them to get back to the right points in time."
Robotnik looked above the lake. It was clear blue skies. "I don't see a planet."
"That's because it's not there all the time."
"Great," Robotnik said, "So we just wait for a planet that's only sometimes there?"
Eggman turned around to face the younger Dr Robotnik, "It gets worse," he said spotting a familiar site in the sky.
"How could it possibly get worse?"
"This is the time period when I thought it would be a good idea to turn the Little Planet into the Death Egg mark two. Which means that the Time Stones are currently stuck in space."