A week after the E.G.G Station's destruction at the hands of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik remained comfortably sheltered within Mad Gear. It was still around, despite Sonic's careless and thoughtless destruction of it from a week ago. At the very least, it was capable of igniting the fires of the scientist's evil desires.

Any ordinary villain would have been decimated by a setback such as this. But not Robotnik. He had a backup plan ready in case of failure. Almost immediately after returning to Mad Gear, Robotnik ordered his custom-made construction bots to begin production of a new fortress. This would be a vital instrument in his up and coming orchestra of domination. Production was going fine, as it took the week for things to get to only thirty percent completion.

However, it seemed as if something was missing. Robotnik realised he needed a very powerful source of energy in order to power his fortress. The Chaos Emeralds were out of the question since Sonic and friends would notice their absence, somehow. Robotnik wouldn't put it past the hedgehog to have some kind of innate detection for such an occurrence. The Master Emerald was also off-limits due to its guardian being of the protective sort. Another manipulation deal likely wouldn't work. Robotnik was out of options.

Luster the Cat: Season 1 Opening 1 (Haruka Kanata - Naruto, English) -

Let's step on the gas and never stop, I will never, ever lose my sight

We'll all go through the night!

I'll keep moving until the end and I won't care about the time we'll spend

We'll whittle days away...

If you open your heart

Just a little...

And bring your friends closer

Your feelings

Must get them or it's over

Yeeeaaah!

So let's hurry up!

We'll let it all out!

Even if my legs shake

I know they can still take

Me even closer to you!

But if you're not there

Can find you nowhere

I won't have time to cry

I'll never cease to try...

To find your way!

I'm going far away...

But then, one day, Mad Gear's central computer notified the doctor of something interesting. He put down the Egg Pie he was eating so he could focus his attention on this wonderful discovery.

"Little Planet's back, eh? I could use this...because of its unusual time energy, it'll be able to act as my power source. Sonic wouldn't even notice! I'll need to act quickly, else he does…" Robotnik schemed, with a delighted grin shaping his face. "That blue rodent has been the sole cause of my failures for a long time now. If I remove him from the equation somehow...no, how am I going to do that…?"

He picked his lunch back up and returned to consuming as he paced around, assessing his scheme.

"So I'll have some of my Badniks capture Little Planet...that will be simple. Then I'll get rid of Sonic...total domination will soon follow. Excellent."

Robotnik took one final look at his lunch - one bite left. Something that had been nagging at him for a while resurfaced. The scientist thought about this for a short while, before coming to a certain conclusion.

"Perhaps I should switch back to Eggman…Robotnik hasn't been working very well lately. Eggman...that name will truly strike fear into the hearts of Mobians across the world! It might not at first, but they will be all the more afraid when a man with the name 'Eggman' terrorises their homes. World domination will become all the more cathartic."

He broke through the pie with his teeth, allowing it to pass down his throat for digestion. Eggman returned to the comfort of his seat, looking at the different screens connected to his powerhouse of a supercomputer.

"Sky Fortress development...seventy-eight percent. Mech production...essentially complete. Badnik line...working normally. How is Metal's quest coming along?"

Metal Sonic...a complete robotic clone of Sonic, created from close analysis of the blue Mobian's features. It was almost left behind on Little Planet last time it was hovering over Never Lake, but Eggman was able to recover the robot before Little Planet left Mobius. Currently, the clone had been ordered by its master to investigate a strange power source emanating from the nearby Lost Labyrinth. Eggman was glad that he placed his Badniks in a way that made Sonic completely unaware of this peculiar source of energy. Metal Sonic was returning from the job and was just about to re-enter the central control room. The good doctor was there to greet his creation.

"Ah, Metal! I trust that your little journey went well?" Eggman asked. Of course, he knew the robot couldn't speak, but he felt the need to talk to it anyway. Metal Sonic nodded. "Good. Allow me to perform a checkup on your systems to see if the power changed you in some form."

Metal complied, following his master's mimed directions into a closeby robotic stasis tube. Eggman closed the hatch and logged onto the computer next to the tube. A massive amount of electricity began charging all through the tube, sparking ferociously in a manner that would have frightened any normal person. Eggman continued utilising the computer, his goggles placed over his eyes to protect them from the intense, blinding light show that was going on within Metal's tube.

"Let's see…" Eggman continued to think as he surfed the PC. "Metal's performance has increased dramatically. I'm detecting that unusual energy all throughout his body, almost as if he's powered entirely by it now...no, he is! Perfect! That means his previous operational constraints have been lifted! Now he'll really be a match for Sonic! That'll also cut down my overall power consumption by who knows how much exactly…"

Eggman garnered a smile. A sign that things were going his way.

"It seems he can also manipulate this energy to some extent, though it's limited. If I leave it as it is and have Metal do nothing, the energy will only last for about a year, give or take a month or two. Just what IS this energy? It's similar to magnetism, but it's clearly more powerful than that. And it feels...natural. Is Lost Labyrinth a magnetically charged place? If that's so, then this magnetised energy must be naturally occurring. Interesting."

As he tapped some more keys and initiated a process, Eggman sighed. The electricity was still going, so the goggles had to remain. It didn't hinder the scientist at all - it just wasn't his preferred fashion choice. But for the sake of his eyes, Eggman was willing to do anything.

Though, one thing he didn't see coming was an unknown robot, similar in physical appearance to Metal Sonic, appearing within the control room. The robot was light blue as opposed to Metal Sonic's darker blue body and had only three spikes, contrasting against Eggman's machine's several more spikes. Each of its familiar features seemed to suggest that Eggman himself created this mech - that clearly was not the case. Eggman frowned, for he was confused to no end. The humanoid machine was also heavily beaten, implying that it was designed for battle. Eggman was interested.

"Repair...I require healing…" the robot spoke, causing the scientist's frown to die out and be replaced with utter shock.

"It can talk?!" Eggman commented to himself before speaking aloud. "While I am impressed by your ability to speak, I'm afraid I cannot simply bend to the whims of whomever or whatever shows up in my lair. Explain to me why I should repair you."

"You must, Doctor Eggman...I am from the future," it answered.

Now Eggman was truly intrigued. "Hmm? The future? Are you from Little Planet?"

"No...I am a creation of yours, master…" the robot replied, creating a great deal of surprise within the scientist himself. "I was ordered to come to this time to kill Sonic the Hedgehog before he can become a greater menace to your schemes, but it seems I have failed. I was instructed to come to you should I have failed. Allow me to fulfill my objective so I can return to my own time."

"That certainly sounds like something I would do...but if this is the truth, then how do I even end up making a time machine?" Eggman thought about it for some time. The robot from the future waited patiently. If it was future Eggman's creation, then it was clear to the present Eggman that his current skills still needed development. He was willing to trust the stranger for that reason. "Alright, I'll comply. Can you make it back to your own time yourself?"

"I am anchored to a time machine that is present in my master's fortress...one simple command is all I require to return."

The robot's broken everything had been pulsing electricity for the entire conversation and the rate of pulsing had not decreased. Eggman ascertained that he needed to move quickly, or else his future self may become doomed.

"I see. Come quickly then, I'll repair you as best as I can. You'd best not betray my hopes," Eggman accepted aloud.

"Affirmative, sir."

Whatever it was, exactly, Eggman couldn't tell. The coding was similar to Metal Sonic's, but it was different. Streamlined. More efficient. Eggman couldn't even copy it for himself, because the code was copy protected. The inner wirings surrounding the 'brain' and the rest of the machine's insides were also made of a substance he hadn't seen before. It felt like something he made, but it was certainly more advanced than anything he could produce presently.

Not only that, but the robot was definitely obedient.

Eggman finished all the necessary procedures in only a matter of hours. Metal Sonic's checkup had been completed long before then, but Eggman wanted to give him a rest, knowing that the robotic Sonic copy would be useful in the doctor's coming plan. Best to rest, else the machine performs poorly - Eggman's motto for mechanical management came into effect here. The unknown machine removed itself from the table it had been carefully placed upon.

"I thank you, Doctor Eggman. You have allowed me to fulfill my given requirements. I will now return to the future, where your future self awaits for me," it told the scientist.

"Excellent," Eggman was pleased, if only because he'd be helping himself in doing this. "Tell him that I say hi."

"Sub-order received. I will do that once I return," the robot complied without any resistance. "Goodbye, past master."

Eggman was not of the romantic sort, so he said nothing as the robot of the future's menacing red eyes flashed a rainbow of wonderful and differing colours. It then disappeared in a sudden flash of electricity that Eggman did not need to protect his eyes from. He was impressed of the control over light that had been displayed in front of him.

It was then that Eggman knew his genius was going to expand far beyond its current level. Time was the only obstacle between him and finding out just how evil he would become.

Luster the Cat: Season 1 Ending 1 (Can You Feel My Soul? - Overman King Gainer, English) -

Can you, hear my burning voice?

Can you, feel my echoing soul?

No matter how far away we stray

I find myself always sticking close to you

Just so you're not alone in what you do

We'll start running the road of tomorrow

No matter how heavy the storm becomes

The two of us can overcome it

In the pounding downpour of wetness

I will run with you for great success

Can you, hear my burning voice?

Can you, feel my echoing soul?

Can you hear it?

You, can you get my soul?

Can you feel it?

You, can you feel my soul?

Author's Notes: I'm back to doing these Redux chapters! Since I'm now out of school, I have plenty of time to write freely and without having to do it for class or exams or anything like that. Expect more of these in the coming months.