Chapter Text
“It’s been a real drag… Thanks for nothing!”
And that should have been the end of it— a proud, brazen statement of ego and ingratitude to top off Ivo Robotnik’s sacrifice, his exit in a brilliant blaze of glory. To the world, he went out with a smile on his lips, an insult on his tongue. He didn’t even turn to look back at the explosion! Total badass.
No, he didn’t turn to look. His eyes stayed trained on the mini-badnik recording the live feed, on the little red dot signalling a transmission, until it inevitably blipped out of existence. His last connection to humanity— to Stone— severed, forever.
Hmm.
Maybe instead, he should have—
—
—
—
—
—Something cold was touching his hand.
It was hard to tell, through the heat and light and pain and pain and pain that he even had a hand at all, much less what exactly was touching it. But the temperature was cool, and that provided a sliver of relief. A focal point. A center.
Within a few seconds, he was lucid enough to tighten his grip.
“Okay,” a voice spoke. Somehow, Ivo heard it over the explosion ringing in his ears. “Good. Hold on tight, now...”
And in an instant, the heat retreated, light dimmed, pain subsided. For a moment, caught up in the ecstacy of no longer being boiled alive, he felt nothing at all.
Then a soft, summer breeze tickled his face, and Ivo opened eyes he hadn’t realized he’d closed.
Blue.
The sky was a perfect-crystal clear blue, unobstructed by clouds. It seemed to stretch on forever, perfect and calm and still and blue.
Ivo blinked as his vision was suddenly blurred by tears. He took a shuddering breath in, tasting the sweetness of the morning air.
He never thought he’d see the sky again.
That thought sobered him up, and Ivo found himself frowning. By all accounts, he shouldn’t be seeing the sky. Unless…
“If the Christians were right about Heaven, I’m going to personally find and kill God.”
Ivo wasn’t really expecting a response to his comment, so the peal of light laughter caught him by surprise.
Ivo sat up, twisting his torso to look towards the source of the sound. In the middle of the field of flowers stood a young girl, blonde hair and blue dress swaying slightly in the breeze. She held a hand over her mouth as she laughed, but Ivo could see the glint of her smile between her fingers.
“And who are you, one of the angels?” Ivo asked, incredulous.
“Mmm, something like that,” The girl said with a smile. “It’s good to see you, Ivo.”
The girl reached a pale hand down to help Ivo up. He didn’t take it, opting instead to stare at her slack-jawed as shock and anger coagulated in his brain. “You— what?”
His reaction caused the girl’s smile to falter. “I was joking, you don’t— you really don’t know who I am?”
“Why should I?” Ivo snapped, unaccustomed to the embarrassment of not knowing something.
The girl maintained her smile, though it had thinned significantly. “I suppose you wouldn’t remember…” she said softly.
The way she was looking at him seemed dangerously close to pitying, and it only added fuel to Robotnik’s fiery frustration. “Listen, kid,” he spat, pushing himself into a standing position so that he could tower over the girl, “I don’t know who you think you are—”
“Maria Robotnik.” The girl was still smiling politely.
Oh.
A wave of despair battered his heart as he recalled his grandfather's words, gentle but firm. Oh, Ivo…
You’re no Maria.
Blinking away the unpleasant memory, Ivo scowled at the kid. “Ah, yes. Another member of the family that abandoned me. Gerald’s daughter, I presume?”
Maria’s eyes widened at that, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Ivo barreled onwards. “Well, I’m sorry to put a damper on this family reunion, Auntie, but I’ve had enough of that useless mush to last a lifetime. A bloodline’s only as strong as its weakest link, after all.”
“That’s not—”
“Ab-bab-bah! Not interested!” Ivo made a pinching motion with his hands. “Look, sorry you died, real tragic, but I’ve got better things to be doing. So good riddance.”
A bit harsh? Maybe, but excerpting his anger was exceedingly satisfying. Ivo turned away from Maria before she could respond, stalking through the field of flowers.
To his ever-growing ire, Maria called after him. “Wait— hey! Where are you going?”
That was a great question. He surely had an answer, he couldn’t just be stalking off to sulk like a child, so he said the first thing that came to his mind– “To find Stone, of course.” The words carried the bitter taste of vulnerability with them, and Robotnik wrinkled his nose before continuing, “Hopefully that remora of a man still has the safehouse coordinates, I’m going to need all our remaining resources if we’re ever going to fix this.”
“Ivo.” Maria drifted behind him, sounding exasperated. “I know it’s hard to accept, but… you’re dead.”
Ivo stopped walking. Noticed how the blades of grass seemed to cleave directly through his semi-translucent legs.
He didn’t even flinch when Maria caught up to him, brushing her hand against his. “I know, it’s not fair,” she said softly. “But you aren’t alone in this. We’re still family, and we can get through this together.”
“...Nah.”
Ivo turned, if only to see the shock and confusion on Maria’s face. “Wh– what do you mean, ‘nah?’”
“I mean no. I’m not planning on staying dead.”
“You–” Maria stammered, cheeks beginning to flush pink, “You can’t just come back to life!”
“Maybe you can’t. Sounds like a skill issue.” Ivo resumed walking, with a renewed sense of purpose. “Fortunately, I happen to be a genius unlike anything the world has ever seen– if anyone can come back, it’s me. Now, I’ll lie and say it’s been a pleasure meeting you, but I really have to be going. Have fun haunting the narrative, and all that–”
“Fine!”
Ivo was startled by the raw anger that had suddenly appeared in Maria’s tone. It was enough to stop him in his tracks, and even managed to stir something slightly similar to guilt within his gut.
But by the time he turned around, Maria had wiped her face and was looking at Ivo with another saccharine smile. “I really only saved you because you saved the world, and I thought that meant you might have changed. But I guess if you haven’t… then there’s no reason for me to stick around.”
Ivo bristled at the insults. “Fine, then. See you never–”
But Maria had already vanished into the wind.
Ivo scowled at the space she used to occupy. Well, that was fine. It’s not as though he needed her. If his death had taught him anything, it's that his fellow Robotniks were not to be trusted.
Now then.
To find someone he could trust.