Little Ivo loved his grandfather. He wanted to grow up to be what his grandfather was: a scientist. No, he didn't know exactly what his grandfather did for a living, but from what he had seen and heard, it was one of the coolest occupations ever.
Grandpa Gerald's job was to make the world a better place – that's all Little Ivo really knew. His mission in life was to cure diseases and solve as many of the world's problems as he possibly could.
Every month, Little Ivo would wait and wait for a little package in the mailbox. Only eight years old, and he was already looking through the mail. But he had a good reason.
Every month, the people who worked with Grandpa Gerald would send him a videotape recorded by none other than his grandfather. Little Ivo always wanted to hear what Grandpa Gerald had to say, for every month he was getting closer and closer to finally coming home.
He and Maria.
Maria… Little Ivo had never met her. He wanted to so much – she was such a sweet person on the videos – but she was in space, and he was on Earth. Oh, his young eight-year-old mind couldn't describe how much he wanted to show her how beautiful the Earth was – the lakes, the forests, the mountains, the sunsets… But all she could see was a giant blue/green ball. A beautiful, breath-taking ball, but a ball nonetheless. A ball you could find on the beach at any given day.
It was sad, really…
A new video came one month, and Little Ivo didn't hesitate to pop it into his VCR.
Static, then visual.
"Ivo! Young lad! How are you, today?"
Little Ivo grinned happily. "I'm fine, Grandpa!" he shouted, though he found out a long time ago that his grandfather couldn't actually hear him.
"I hope you're doing alright, my boy. Now, I have some good news for you…"
Little Ivo's jaw dropped. If it was as good as he hoped it was… then…
"Our research is just about over. Hopefully soon, we'll be able to find a way to bring Maria to Earth."
His grin went even wider. Is it finally going to happen?
"Maria, would you like to talk to Ivo?"
"Sure, Grandfather." Little Ivo watched as Maria showed up on the screen. "Hi, Ivo! I hope you're doing well! I can't wait to meet you! And I can't wait to see Earth from… well… Earth. I hear it's beautiful…"
Oh, how Little Ivo wished he could reach into the television set and grab her by the arm, drag her into his room, and show her the world.
Grandpa Gerald began to speak once more. "Yes, well… we're coming close to a breakthrough… I can feel it! Take care, Ivo. We hope to see you soon."
The video ended, but that was okay. Little Ivo was just happy to see his two favorite persons in the world one more time.
…
Months had passed since then, and he hadn't heard from them since.
Little Ivo was worried. He continued to wait by the mailbox for hours on end every other day just to see if there was a package for him. There was none.
Why haven't they made more recordings? Were the tapes lost in the mail?
Little Ivo knew that was possible – it had happened once or twice before.
But it had been way too long since that last video. Even if one was lost, he would've had at least two or three new packages by now.
He checked the mailbox again. Nothing. Sighing, he walked back inside, bored, alone. He sat in front of the television and turned it on.
"…live execution of Professor Gerald Robotnik…"
What?!
Little Ivo watched, as did millions of others, as Grandpa Gerald condemned the world for Maria's death…
Wait, Maria's… dead?
…and was executed on national TV.
It was that day, that horrid day, that changed Little Ivo's life.
He didn't know it then, but that was the day that Ivo Robotnik had died…
…and Dr. Eggman was born…
-X-
Sonic the Hedgehog © SEGA. I own nothing.
If anyone has done something like this already, I had no knowledge of it, and I apologize for "stealing" your idea. This was just something I wanted to write. Ivo Robotnik is a complicated character if you take the time to think about it.