Dr. Ivo Robotnik was ecstatic, euphoria seemed to roll off of him in waves. Metal Sonic's assimilation would be complete, and a god would be his ally. It had all started two days ago, after a particularly humiliating defeat at the hands of a certain blue hedgehog.

Flashback within Flashback:

While slinking off into Emerald forest in order to escape the persistent GUN members attempting to arrest him - unsuccessfully - yet again, he - literally - stumbled upon an underground staircase skillfully hidden beneath grass and dirt. Figuring that he could use the exercise, and the egg walker was trashed anyway, Ivo descended the steps swiftly - and surprisingly, considering his large girth - in search of anything interesting, to spend some time investigating, until Metal Sonic came and located him. Twenty minutes of walking - and an aspirin - found Eggman standing before a plain wooden door, sweaty and wishing for a change of clothes or at least a glass of water, not to ease his fatigue, but to calm his nerves after being so thoroughly frightened by whatever presence seemed to be emanating from behind this simple door.

Taking a deep breath and slapping the sides of his face with his hands, the man grasped the doorknob, pushed open the door and stepped back. The sheer feeling of malevolence in the room seemed to weigh down upon the poor man, but just as suddenly as it had come, it disappeared, leaving a terrified, hyperventilating scientist in its wake.

However, considering himself a man able to adapt and thrive in any situation, Robotnik merely calmed his breathing, all the while whispering "Easy there Ivo, easy there" brushed himself off and stepped into the room. What he found both surprised and disappointed him.

What lay behind the door was a simple, massive room. Equal in length to a football field and with a width just the same, he expected to find various treasures or tapestries littering the ground, but the room was bare, save for the table, no, a small altar in the center of the room. With only a small bit of trepidation, the good doctor strode towards the point of interest, noticing some things lying atop it.

Upon closer inspection, there were two items resting atop the slab of stone "offerings, perhaps?" he mused aloud. Forcibly drawing the eye to it first was a dark blade, black as night, seemingly endless as the doctor found that he had been vacantly staring at the blade, admiring the razor sharp edged and straight, rather than curved blade make of the finely crafted weapon. Eventually, his eyes came upon the hilt, a pristine, unblemished white, free of any designs and lacking a crossguard. "Well now, isn't that peculiar?" he muttered, viewing what must be the sheath of the sword due to its resemblance of the hilt, the same ivory color, simplistic and unassuming, yet as soothing and calming as the blade beside it was malevolent and frightening. "Fascinating" he muttered, reaching into his filthy, tattered red jacket and removing a silver pen from one of the many pockets within. "Computer, scan" he commanded, pointing at the table.

A thin red beam flashed over the contents of the altar for a moment, then disappeared, followed by a gentle whirring sound from the extremely thin supercomputer. A few seconds later, it responded "analysis complete" before continuing to drone on in its feminine voice "unidentified metal detected, components unknown. Blade style similar to the Chokuto of early tenth century, late ninth century Japan. A single edged straight sword twenty five inches in length, the Chokuto in general was later rendered obsolete when invading mong-"

"Enough, Computer" Robotnik sighed "report your analysis of the next subject."

"Understood, doctor" the computer complied "Subject identified as ironwood, hollowed out and fashioned into the ten inch Tsuka, or handle, of Subject One, and the entirety of Subject two appears to be made up of ironwood as well as hollowed out to serve as a sheath, perhaps for Subject One, their lengths do appear to be ideal for each other. Also, unknown energy signature located within Subject O-" is as far as the computer got, before the dark presence from before spiked, sending the doctor to his knees, finding it to be a struggle just breathing. While on the ground, he noticed a few symbols etched into the base of the altar but unable to concentrate due to the predicament he now found himself in.

"Rise, pitiful creature" a deep, dark voice boomed across the room, creating an earsplitting pain in robotnik's skull, adding to the pressure in the room and forcing him to his hands as well, dropping the supercomputer in the process. "Cease your cowering and stand" the voice demanded.

To his credit, he tried, valiantly in fact. Unfortunately, it only amounted to a bit of shaking before he completely collapsed, face down on the cold stone floor, trembling and gasping for air. "Please, calm your spirit, my body can't handle it!" he cried out, realizing what sort of entity he was dealing with.

"Very well, pathetic creature"the room echoed. The pressure of the room now noticeably weaker but still there, always ready to spike back at any moment. "I do believe you'd be more useful to me alive, anyhow" the presence mused.

Realizing that he had no choice in the matter, the doctor quickly jumped at the opportunity to please. "Yes, of course!" he said, stumbling to his feet, now that breathing was no longer an issue. "I." a pause for dramatic effect "The great Doctor Robotnik" a flourish of the hand and an elaborate bow "will do all in my power, to serve you." And you can help me along the way he thought to himself.

"Yes, you will serve me perfectly" the voice purred. "But first, a test."

"A test?"

"Yes, a test." It repeated. "Before you lies a blade, within this blade is where I reside."

"I'm assuming, you either wish to find a much more mobile dwelling…. Or even more unlikely…."

"Correct" it finished."Someone with the, qualities, necessary to wield my power."

"Hmmmm, that is rather interesting" he mused, stroking his moustache in thought, honestly intrigued. "But first, this test?"

"Take hold of the weapon, myself, known as Oblivion" it commanded.

"Ah, so your name is…. Oblivion?" he queried, stepping toward the blade. He grasped the hilt.

For a split second, inexplicable pain engulfed him. Images flashed before his eyes, words of power, concepts, the gods, conflict, a god among gods, a cataclysmic surge of power, fear, anger, elation, rage. Robotnik collapsed.

"A shame" is what he heard upon awakening. "However, I did bestow innate strength upon you, among other, talents" Oblivion the blade stated.

"I was deemed unworthy to wield you, my apologies, sire" Ivo bowed, on his hands and knees, head touching the floor.

"Ah, it would seem you understood more than I expected you to" Oblivion claimed, a touch of surprise evident. "Unfortunately, not enough for complete comprehension" it added.

"No matter" the now standing man replied. "I do believe there is a way to get you into a more mobile dwelling. A host, of sorts" he explained, standing straight, elbows in palms and held behind his back.

"Is that so?" the blade inquired, intrigued. "Do go on."

"At this moment, a subordinate of mine is on his way here."

"And, what is so special about him?"

"I am positive that one of the various upgrades that I have installed into him will enable the two of you to merge. A few assimilation nanites, I do believe" he replied, pride evident in his voice.

"When shall he arrive?"

"No more than a few hours, three or four at most."

End of Flashback within Flashback:

Unfortunately, it had -suspiciously - taken a little over twelve hours for Metal Sonic to detect his creator's presence & locate the hidden entrance. His circuits were also unable to withstand the random bursts of pressure that Oblivion seemed to be exuding - Ivo's portly, yet drastically improved body was able to cope with them, effortlessly now - and promptly began to malfunction.

On the bright side, Robotnik could now punch through stone - discovered when he stomped the floor in frustration, gouging a hole into it - and Metal Sonic had gotten a large bucket of waffle fries from a Chick-fil-A it had been passing by on the way - and burned down after recieving his order - thus averting a serious crisis.

"Stupid marvel of genius technology" Ivo grumbled to himself, eating out of his waffle fry bucket with one hand and examining Metal Sonic with the other, his multipurpose screwdriver held at the ready, scanning Metal's interior.

"No abnormalities detected" it chimed in the same female voice as the supercomputer.

Ivo sighed "The pressure must simply be too much for your metal frame to cope with" he informed the android, tapping it on the shoulder with his screwdriver, a signal to stand. "Anyway, I need you to assimilate that blade over, posthaste, if you will" he ordered, directing his underling towards the ominous blade.

"Yes doctor" he replied, synthetic voice devoid of inflection, yet reflecting it's irritation anyhow as he began slowly tromping towards the altar, wondering how the fool had no trouble maneuvering in this overly pressurized dungeon and why he sent him to get the useless strip of…. Metal? As his hand clenched around the dark substance of the actual weapon, he began assimilation, which is when his systems failed and he was lost to the world.

"My god" he breathed, awestruck. Robotnik couldn't believe his eyes. He had ever even imagined it possible for assimilation nanites to be not only overcome, but reversed as well. He thought that perhaps a bit of mental cohabitation with his machine would be the worst of it, but not…. This. His goggles had been pulled down over his eyes, allowing him to see past the otherwise blinding white light and into the greatest feat imaginable. Cold steel, circuits and wires, becoming warm flesh, blood and bone. The light became too much to ignore, even with the goggles, and his eyes burned in protest, forcing him to shut them while crying out in pain and frustration, clutching them and falling to his knees until the light suddenly died down. Is it over? He thought. Then the wall exploded.