Chapter Text
Seated in the interrogation room with its cold brick walls, Ivo glared at the partially opaque glass barrier separating him and whoever was on the other side. His wrists were bound and chained to the floor, rendering him unable to get up. This was certainly new, GUN never usually bothered with such precautions given the doctor wasn’t the violent type.
“Evening, Mister Robotnik.” A voice spoke through the speaker just beneath the glass. Ivo could just make out a man's silhouette, though no details were visible.
“Please, call me Eggman.” The doctor replied, not quite used to the formalities. He heard a sigh from the man before he spoke.
“As you wish… Eggman.”
A long moment of silence passed before the man spoke again.
“I’ll cut to the chase. We have reason to believe that you have been in contact with someone aboard the ARK. Is this true?” His voice held a layer of seriousness, it sounded like the doctor's usual wits wouldn’t phase this particular agent. At least not immediately.
Eggman thought for a moment before answering. “It is. What are you trying to get at?”
“I’m not trying to get at anything. We’ve attempted to make contact with whoever remains, but every agent we’ve sent…” The man trailed off, “... I think you know what I’m trying to say.”
The doctor was silent. He knew exactly what was going on. How many agents hadn’t returned. Any mission to the ARK had been coined a “Suicide Operation.” It got to the point they had nearly given up on the premise of reclaiming the space colony.
“Who do you know up there?” The man asked, snapping Eggman from his thoughts. The doctor scoffed.
“Give me one good reason to tell you?” He sneered.
“GUN needs the documents up there.”
“Documents, huh? Why don’t you just ask nicely?” He snickered.
“We’ve tried. Kindness isn't an option here.” The man huffed as the receiver clicked off and the man moved away from Eggman’s line of sight. He glanced down at the cuffs, thinking of a way to get out of them, until the man's voice gave the speaker life once again.
“Your grandfather. Gerald. Did you know him?” Ivo paused, glancing back at the one way window.
“He lived in that space colony. I think I met him once.” Ivo muttered, looking away. The man knew he had hit a particularly sore spot for the doctor.
“Did you know your cousin, Maria, was it?”
“Oh I know Maria. Everyone knew Maria.” The doctor huffed, clenching his fists. “All anyone talks about. It was always ‘Maria this’ and ‘Maria that’. As if I wasn't right there!” He ended on a shout before taking a breath and composing himself. “I’m over it.”
The man only hummed as he picked up what looked like a stack of papers. He cleared his throat and spoke.
“E-123 Omega. The robot was transported to the ARK on September 12th, nearly two weeks ago. I assume the ‘E’ stands for ‘Eggman’, correct?” The doctor froze, he had sworn there were no visuals on his little gift. He grumbled something under his breath and looked away.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Another long pause. “Whoever it is that you’re talking to. Let them know we're sending another team. Maybe a heads up will keep this team from being slaughtered by whatever’s up there.”
Eggman growled and stared daggers at the window, although he was mostly just glaring at himself. “And who do I address the message from?”
The man leaned back, although nearly invisible to the doctor, he could feel he had a prideful grin on his face.
“Tell them it's from Abe.”