**Author's Note:** After doing quite a bit of research on names related to greed, gentlemen… let's go with the name **Midas Vegapunk**!
---
In Midas's room, one could see him with noticeable dark circles under his eyes, reading through the Flame Mother project files. This was difficult for him at first—why? Eggman had always been solid in the mechanical field. Sure, he understood biology too (the Metal Virus being the prime example), but the Flame Mother? For Oda's sake, how the hell did Vegapunk even create this thing?
*Cough cough… damn it…* he muttered, coughing into his hand and seeing something like pitch-black oil. He wiped it on his pants, ignored it, and went back to studying.
"I need to create an organic body… Mahito once said that 'the body follows the soul,' but I'm not organic. I'm more like a cursed corpse. If I make a deal with Big Mom…"
He gathered the Flame Mother research papers, grabbed a pencil, held the stack with both hands, and started walking out of the room.
"Use kairoseki as a base to absorb raw sea energy, then control the output in a confined space so the raw heat gets evenly dispersed and the energy source can be regulated…" Midas muttered to himself as he passed by Lilith.
"Hey, Midas, what are you up to? Planning more ways to make money~?" Lilith teased with clear mockery in her voice.
Midas simply raised his middle finger without even looking at her.
"Ugh, so boring…" she huffed and walked away.
…
"Okay… I just need to figure out how to concentrate all that raw energy in one single point… If I manage that… I could start working on an island similar to Angel Island, controlled by Neo Metal Sonic. But what would really be ideal is a loyal subordinate. Treasure isn't an option right now… Redfield? God, that guy wouldn't even show up… Brook…? Yes… it's gonna be him. I just need to plan the theft and the escape…"
Midas was sitting in one of Egg Head's cafeterias, scribbling notes on a sheet of paper, completely unaware of the massive figure standing right behind him.
"Hey, Midas… planning a little betrayal?" came a lazy voice from behind.
Midas jumped, quickly pulling a laser pistol from inside his coat—an armament he had built based on V1's weapons from ULTRAKILL.
"York…" he said, eyeing her carefully. Now he had to deal with her.
"Planning to betray Vegapunk and you didn't even invite me?" York said calmly, glancing at the papers and noticing the sketch for a biological body based on the future Seraphim project.
"York, what the hell do you want to keep your mouth shut?" Midas asked.
York smiled, gently pushed the barrel of his gun down with her hand, and brought her huge face close to his.
"I want you to take me with you," she said with a calm, gentle smile… yet one completely filled with the same greed Midas recognized very well in himself.
"What makes you think—never mind, asking is pointless. If I refuse, you'll snitch anyway." He sighed. "Fine. The deal is: you give me funding to build a robot that can go toe-to-toe with Lilith's and take on multiple Vegapunk Pacifistas…"
He quickly jotted down the requirements on a piece of paper. York took it calmly, read it, and seemed genuinely interested in the sketch—it was basically Eggman's Egg Dragoon, but the Mk1 version.
"You know, Midas… I do wonder what happened to make you decide to go rogue~" York said as she turned and walked away, swaying her hips.
Midas kept a poker face but didn't look away.
"She's a treacherous bitch? Yes. But is she hot? Absolutely—with all that thickness," he muttered to himself, grabbed his papers, and calmly continued toward his next project: **'Rebirth'** or **'Mechanical Egg'**.
…
In a room full of machinery, Vegapunk could be seen writing down new ideas. Next to him was a framed photo of himself with all the satellites. In the very back corner of the picture stood Midas—back when he was still human—looking isolated, sad, and excluded.
"Hey, Doctor, do you know what's up with Midas lately?" Lilith asked as she entered, hands in her pockets. She sat on the edge of the desk and casually picked up a sheet to read.
"At most, just another bad day…" Vegapunk replied without taking his eyes off the computer screen—he was already used to Midas's tantrums.
"Okay, but seriously… you should check on him. He looked like a walking corpse. I'm not kidding—huge dark circles under his eyes."
Lilith left to work on her own personal projects like the other satellites. Vegapunk finally paused what he was doing, reached for the framed photo, and stared directly at young Midas in the background.
"I really regret creating a satellite of greed…" he said softly, placing the frame back down before returning to his work.