Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was just another day, another hang out at the Mean Bean Coffee Cafe for Sonic and the crew.

Knuckles and Sonic were competing on who could stuff the most apple cinnamon strudels in their mouth.

"Ugh you guys are so immature!" Amy set down her espresso and crossed her arms.

"CHWENNY CHOO!" Knuckles leaned back in his chair, throwing his hands in the air with the rock n roll sign. Sonic groaned loudly, his hands over his mouth chock full of strudels.

Sticks and Tails banged their hands on the table, screaming. "NOoO!" Tails wailed.

"Pay up Tails!" Sticks cackled, wiggling her fingers towards him.

"Sonic, you can fit one more, come on you can beat him!!" Amy called out, unable to restrain herself from taking charge as his coach-slash-cheerleader. "Keep at it!!"

"MUFFIN' CAM KEE' ME DOW'. YOO YOOZ, SHOMIC!!" Knuckles garbled again in his most deep kingly voice.

Sonic burst out laughing, strudel flying out everywhere from his mouth. He rolled around on the ground crying of laughter, tears forming round his eyes.

"YAH, SHUCK IT, SHOMIC!" Knuckles flexed at him, then sat back, poking his cheek. "I feemk my mouf ish shtuck. Help?"

The shop was filled with roars of laughter from the group. With some help from Amy, Knuckles finally managed to dislodge his mouth and swallow the pastries in another impressive feat.

Agent Stone sighed as he watched the big mess the kids were making in his coffee shop. However, hearing the kids' laughter brought a warmth in his heart he hadn't expected.

“And where do you think you’re going?” The barista picked Sticks up by the scruff of her neck as she was trying to sneak behind him around the counter. Sticks hissed at him in return, swinging her short arms at him without reaching. “I was just looking for the evidence - you can’t fool me!”

“Evidence?” Stone laughed and set her down as she kicked wildly.

“I swear, he’s an android, its all a facade! He’s from the Big Government, here to gather information on us and replace us with pod people! Why else would he be so nice?”

“Yeah you’re right, I thought baristas were supposed to roast you?” Knuckles scratched his head.

“You’ve got it wrong, Knux - they roast the beans, not you.” Sonic corrected him. Tails giggled behind them.

Stone struggled to keep a straight face. “I’m not an android, Miss Sticks.”

“That’s just what an android trying to blend in would say.” Sticks narrowed her eyes, interlocking her fingers together and pointing at him. “And what's with the ‘miss’?”

"Oh, you got me there." Stone grinned at her. “Sorry, bad habit."

They heard a metallic bark coming from the back of the shop.

"What was that?" Tails' ears perked up. He gasped, bouncing up and down in excitement. "Is that a dog?"

"A dog?!" Sticks' eyes grew wide. "Aaaa!" She squealed with joy. "I wanna see I wanna see!!"

"It's my service dogbot." Stone explained. The kids were so excited about it, he couldn't help but smile. "Wolfie, come here!" He called out.

Wolf-13 trotted out of the back area and towards Stone. She was a huge robotic dog wearing a red "service dog" vest. She sat besides Stone, waiting for her orders. Even sitting, her head almost reached his shoulders.

Tails went nuts, geeking out over the dogbot. He ran circles around it, checking each part. "I've never seen one like this before, it doesn't look like Eggman's design!"

"Yes, it's my design, but we collaborated." Stone was secretly pleased to be given recognition for his work.

Tails looked up at him in wonder. "What kind of core did you use?"

“The RapidTech 425 X.”

Tails oohed and awed over Wolfie. “That processor is top of the line hardware! How’d you get your hands on that bad boy?”

“Kidnapped the president of RapidTech and threatened him.”

"Oh oh oh! This is so cool!!" Tails shouted, his two tails spinning excitedly, not catching what Stone just said.

Sonic and Amy shared a glance with raised eyebrows while Tails and Stone talked electronics. “Huh!”

“It’s nice to see Tails get to share his passion with someone who understands it.” Amy whispered to him.

“Kinda risky to be doing it with a villain, Amy." Sonic leaned closer to her, whispering back. "We have to be careful after the last time he captured us.”

“Well, we sure aren't going to fall for that last trick again!" Knuckles put his hands on his hips. "And at least he’s not evil right now!”

At the mention of the word “Evil”, there was a bright flash, a cloud of smoke, and a swish of clothing. The gang flinched from the bright light, coughing.

Stone had transformed into his supervillain outfit, laughing again at them.

Sonic groaned. “Are you seriously going to do that every time? We already know you're a bad guy now.”

“Today, I’m going to… raise the menu prices!!” Stone chuckled evilly.

“Noo!!” Knuckles gasped, his hands to his head. “Not the menu prices!”

“$8 for a latte?!” Amy stamped her foot in indignance. “You’ll be hearing a detailed and scathing review from me on my blog!” She threatened.

“Not if I….” Stone pulled his phone out, pointing to it dramatically while striking a sinister pose. “Shut down the wifi and internet!!"

“Noo!! Not the wifi!!” Tails screeched in dismay.

“Okay, okay, enough already.” Sonic rolled his eyes. ”Just give Amy her latte so we can all be on our way.”

Stone's eyes still twinkled with mischief. “Right. 8 dollars?”

Amy puffed out an angry breath, but handed over the money. “Highway robbery!” She muttered.

"You really did your whole evil transformation for this?" Sonic laughed at him. "You're so weird!"

Getting called weird by a teenage hedgehog was not quite as devastating as it was meant to be, but Stone still pretended to be hurt.

"Well, I feel relieved we can just get a beverage and snacks today without worrying about saving the village!" Tails spoke too soon.

Stone saw the perfect opportunity for the big reveal. "Haha! Or am I just distracting you from the master plan?"

Sticks gasped. "I knew it!"

There was an explosion in the distance, followed by robotic laughter.

"Ohohoho!

"Eheheheh!"

It was Orbot and Cubot, they hovered through the hole in the wall they made in the building that housed the village's bank. They were hauling duffle bags stuffed through the zippers.

"And to think, the Archipelago Homeowners Association was just piling up all this cash for no reason!" Cubot hooted.

"Indeed," Orbot narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist in outrage. "You pay a ghastly monthly fee for "community services" and it turns out to be hoarded away for personal use!"

"You hit the Archipelago Homeowners Association's funds?" Amy lowered her hammer. "Okay, that's… not so bad actually. You know, there should really be more laws protecting homeowners from predatory HOA practices!"

"Yeah - down with the rich people!" Knuckles threw his fist high in the air.

Sticks shrieked a wild battle call, and went crazy with her boomerang. It hit the duffle bags Orbot was carrying, circling back and then whacking into Cubot.

Dollar bills exploded into the air from the torn bags.

Sonic cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled as loud as he could. "Hey everybody - they're giving away free money at the bank!!"

A mob of villagers stampeded towards them, clawing at the robots and the cash floating around.

"No! No! Let go, that's not yours!" Cubot was tugging at a dollar bill with a young monkey. "We put so much effort into stealing this!"

It was an all out riot. An elderly monkey was smacking Cubot with his cane. Dave the intern was on the ground scooping up bills. Screaming and fighting broke out as the villagers were desperate to take as much as they could, while shoving and biting the nearest person.

Stone was watching it all unravel, laughing with glee at the chaos. "This is going even better than planned!"

Suddenly the bristling voice of Dr. Eggman garbled through the two robots' communicator. "Orbot - Cubot! I need you to come here immediately!"

"But we're having so much fun with Stone!" Cubot giggled, dodging a brick thrown at him by one of the mob.

"That's an order you cubic waste bucket!"

"Aw. Fun's over." Cubot sighed. "Well this was a bust - hahaha!" They tore away from the violent crowd, back towards Stone and team Sonic.

Stone approached the two robots, leaning on his cane. "You both did well today. Tell Eggman I'll be wrapping things up here shortly."

"Will do, sir!" Orbot gave him a double thumbs up.

"Gah! He complimented us!" Cubot gasped, his hands to his mouth. "Is that allowed?"

"You know, you're not so bad, Stone." Knuckles gave him a stiff bro nod.

"Oh, you're mistaken my friend, I'm quite evil." Stone put his dark glasses on, a smile on his face. Then he frowned. "Tails, don't forget your muffins!" Stone called out, pointing back at the shop.

"My poppy seed muffins!! Thanks!" The fox squeaked, flashing a smile before flying full speed back to the shop.

Stone turned back to his service dogbot. "It's a pity about the money, but that's no problem. Wolfie, scatter them with a laser blast!"

Wolfie howled in response, her head opening up and transforming into a barrel. A blue laser charged up from the barrel, firing an extremely loud blast towards the crowd. It whizzed through air in a high-pitched buzz. It hit the ground in 3 precise spots between the mob, spraying dirt and sand in all directions.

The villagers ran screaming away from the explosion, their hands and pockets full of dollar bills.

Sonic and the gang watched on with their mouths hanging open.

"That... That was from the dog?" Sticks looked terrified.

"Why does your service dog have a massive laser inside its head?!" Sonic's eyes were wide. He tensed up, his quills bristling, ready to protect his friends.

Stone laughed ominously. "Wolfie, standby." He ordered, and Wolfie's head immediately transformed back into the dog shape. "Just a sneak peek of what she's capable of."

"Now one of you better clean up the mess you made in my shop or face the consequences!" He pointed at them irritably.

"Fiiiine." Knuckles crossed his arms. "I'll do it - don't want any more laser blasts!" He turned to Sonic. "Come on, before someone slips on those pastry bits."

"What?? Knux, you just said you'd do it!" Sonic smacked his arm as they walked back towards the coffee shop. "I'm not cleaning that up - Tails?"

"Ugh no! You were the one that spit it out everywhere!" Tails stuck his tongue out, bunching his hands into fists.

Amy ignored the boys arguing and tiptoed towards Stone. "Soooo…" she sidled up next to Stone, her hands clasped behind her back. "I take it that you and Eggman… are back together now?"

Stone stammered, still taken aback at her interest in their relationship. "I, well. Hm. Yes?" He absent-mindedly set his hand on Wolfie’s head next to him, scratching her head. Though she was a robot dog, Wolfie still looked like she enjoyed it, a metal tongue rolling out of her mouth.

"Has he… proposed again yet?" Amy asked quietly in a sweet voice.

"....No, he hasn't." Something in his tone slipped.

"Hm." Amy contemplated out loud. "Do you feel like he's treating you differently this time?"

"Yes, things have changed."

"That's good." She went into her big-sister-who-is-also-a-therapist-mode. "Sometimes, you need to be confident and firm about what you want! Do you feel like you've been able to reach a better compromise?"

Stone was floored. This teen girl standing next to him, trying to give him marriage advice? "Ok, you've been watching way too much sad reality TV."

Amy deflated, looking crestfallen. "It's ok if you don't wanna talk. But I do wanna talk more later, if you want."

Sticks came round her, pulling her away by the shoulders. "Ok Amy, that's enough, the Android doesn't wanna hear your psychoanalysis today."

"I wasn't psychoanalyzing him!" Amy retorted back.

"I'm not an android!" Stone repeated again annoyed, and hit the ground with his cane.

~

"So what is next on the evil day plan?" Orbot looked up at Dr. Eggman expectantly.

Eggman put the tips of his fingers together, tapping them in a sinister fashion. "We're going on a secret mission, something that not even Stone can know about. You got that? No spoiling the surprise or… or you'll regret it!"

"Yes, Doctor!" The two robots saluted at him.

They set out on their mission, flying in the Eggmobile to a secluded area of the island, close to one of the active volcanoes.

Eggman was scanning the side of the volcano. "If my research is correct, there should be a secret passage somewhere to access the lava tunnels inside this volcano!"

"Lava tunnels?" Orbot shivered, looking a little scared.

"Wooo! Time for reckless endangerment!" Cubot threw his hands in the air like he was on a roller coaster.

"Aha!" Eggman stopped their flying orb. There was an indentation in the side of the volcano with a peculiar shaped rock formation. "These rocks are a different geological makeup than the rest!"

He fired a laser blast at it, and the rocks went flying, uncovering the entrance to the tunnels.

The tunnel was big enough to fit the orb, and they flew inside.

"What are we looking for, boss?" Cubot put a hand to his eyes, peering in the dark.

"The tomb of the Valaka Ruby." Eggman smiled in the darkness.

They traversed through the maze of tunnels, the temperature rising exponentially as they flew over the rivers of lava.

Finally, they reached a massive chamber with a lavafall flowing into a lake in the middle.

"Yes! This is it! This gem is one of a kind! Transcendent! I'll have nothing less than perfection." Eggman giggled with evil mirth. "The power reading off this thing, ohohoho!”

"What about…the curse?" Cubot asked, his eyes squinting with fear.

"That's just a lot of hoodoo, it's a myth!" Eggman waved his hand dismissively.

Orbot shined his eyes' light on the chamber walls, translating the ancient murals. "It says, 'beware, do not go beyond this point. A great evil lies here. Seriously, stop right there. Do not unleash The Wrath upon the world, we worked really hard to get rid of it. We swear it's not a Cool Treasure, it's a Great Evil, you got that?'”

Orbot blinked, putting a hand to his chin. “Hmm. Capitalizing the first letter of the words - they must mean business!"

"What a strange warning. And not very convincing." Cubot whistled.

The Valaka Ruby was sitting on a high pedestal made of volcanic rock, encased in a box made of stained glass depicting the world engulfed in flames. The pedestal was surrounded by bubbling lava pools.

"Huh! Actually, it does look pretty evil to me!" Cubot gave Orbot a thumbs up gesture.

"That's what makes it so perfect!" Eggman clapped his hands twice. "Now break it open and steal it already!"

Cubot and Orbot brought out a clawbot drone to get it down from the high pedestal. They steered it remotely from the rock ledge overlooking the lava. The clawbot was clumsily grasping empty air. The two robots looked at each other in alarm - they would surely be scrapped if they messed this up.

“Let’s try a different approach?” Orbot put his hands up in the air. He turned back to the supervillain standing far away on the volcanic rock. "Dr. Eggman, can't we use the Eggmobile to get closer to it?"

"Absolutely not, there’s probably booby traps on that thing! I'm not going to risk my neck or my Eggmobile for that - not while you two can get it for me."

The robots turned back to the glass box, looking gloomier than before.

“No you’re doing it wrong, give me the joystick!” Orbot huffed.

“No way, I was made for this!” Cubot snatched the control back.

The claw tipped over the glass box.

“Oh no - catch it!” Orbot yelped. Cubot reached out too far, falling over the edge. His hands hit the glass box, shattering the colorful pieces into bits. Orbot caught Cubot’s base before he dropped into the lava. He held onto Cubot for dear life.

"I got it!" Cubot yelled. He looked at his hands, but they were empty. "Wait. Where is it?"

The ruby was floating in the air where the glass had shattered.

“Throw it back to me, not towards the lava you dunces!!” Eggman screamed at them. “I’ll throw you both in if you lose it!!”

Cubot grabbed the floating ruby and clutched it to his chest. "Pull me up!"

"I'm trying!" Orbot tumbled backwards with Cubot on top of him.

"I got it boss!" Cubot raised the sparkling ruby in triumph.

"Now get it down here quick!" Eggman waved his arms wildly. "What are you waiting for?!"

"Can't you just say you're proud of us?" Orbot grumbled.

Eggman snatched the ruby away from Cubot, inspecting it carefully. It was beautiful, with almost a living red glow shining from inside the gem.

"Ahaha! Yes! Time to make the most powerful and evil wedding ring ever created!"

Chapter Text

Stone noticed that Dr. Eggman was hiding something. He could tell.

Several questions he had asked were met with the signature “Uh- Nowhere. Absolutely nothing of importance. Don’t worry about it.” from the doctor.

Then he had locked himself in his lab the day before, refusing Stone any access. “I’M BUSY! YOU CAN’T BE IN HERE.” He yelled from the other side of the door over the sounds of a laser cutter buzzing, grinding metal, and other clattering in his lab.

“Doctor, You’ve been in there 6 hours now, let me help you!” Stone had shouted back in frustration.

“NO! UH… YOU’LL JUST GET IN THE WAY!”

Stone flinched internally, remembering how many times he had been told that before.

“IT’S… IT'S A VERY DANGEROUS, SUPER SECRET PROJECT!”

It stung worse.

“BUT I’LL SHOW YOU LATER, I PROMISE!”

“Fine.” Stone responded, colder than before. It's not like he was bothered. It's not like he was feeling resentful, no, surely not. It's not as if Eggman was acting exactly the same as he was before.

…But he was. And Stone was hurt, again, by being held away at arm's length.

He decided to try wrangling information out of Orbot and Cubot. “Do you two know what Dr. Eggman is working on?”

“Yes, but – SKRRT!" Cubot glitched, and then spoke in a flat drone voice. "We absolutely do not know anything about it.”

“I know, he’s making - SKRT!" Orbot glitched too, looking jittery. "-No?”

Usually it was easy to worm information out of the two robots, but this time Eggman had made sure they wouldn’t reveal his secrets.

Stone frowned at this new development. Their relationship had improved considerably in the past few weeks since Stone returned, and they had been collaborating more and more together. Eggman was making efforts to include him in his work, though there were some growing pains and disagreements.

Stone was finally feeling happiness again, being back at Eggman’s side. And now the old problem was back again and sharper than ever, and Stone felt distrusted again.

But unbeknownst to him, Eggman hadn't been keeping him out for the reason he assumed.

Stone was giving him the cold shoulder, still hurt from the day before. He was busy tinkering away on Wolfie’s laser head. It had performed beautifully on the first test, but he needed to make some adjustments.

And now Eggman was wrought with worry, adjusting his collar. He kept putting a hand to his jacket pocket like he was checking for something. He stood in the doorway, watching Stone work. He was hesitant to approach.

Stone turned his head, seeing Eggman standing there. Then he turned back to Wolfie. “Is there something you would like to say?” He said in a sulky tone.

Eggman didn’t think it would be such a big deal. He hadn’t known Stone would be so hurt by what happened. But he knew he had to do something about it - or all the progress they had made would fall apart and they would start fighting again.

“Stone, I know you’re upset.” Eggman stepped forward cautiously. “I’m… sorry about yesterday. But I promise there was a good reason!”

Stone lifted an eyebrow at him, waiting. He put down his tools on the desk and faced him.

“So. here’s the thing. I, erm.” Eggman’s brain blanked, he was growing more and more nervous. What if he said no? What if this was not the right time? What ifs barreled in a circle through his head.

Stone stared at him, and his beautiful brown eyes were making Eggman forget everything he had planned out to say.

“Do you... Do you still have the ring I gave you?” Eggman managed to ask in a strained voice.

Stone’s breath hitched. Was this it? Was Eggman going to propose? He cleared his throat, and breathed in, attempting to calm himself.

“...Yes, I do.” He had carried it with him always since their divorce, in his jacket pocket. A reminder of heartache and broken devotion.

A pang of relief flowed through Eggman hearing that. He looked Stone in the eyes with intensity. “Well, throw it away.”

OH NO - Stone’s body screamed inside, his world starting to collapse, how could he do this to him, after everything, his heart dropping like a rock-

“Because I have a better one to give you!” Eggman finished grandly, taking Stone’s left hand and dropping down on one knee.

Stone stared blankly, still recovering from the first part, his mouth open in shock.

“I made this for you, Stone.” Eggman reached into his pocket, taking out a little box and opening it. ”I want to be evil together for the rest of our lives. As equals.” He held the ring in front of him. The Valaka ruby was inlaid in an elegant geometrical pattern around a black and silver band.

"You made this… for me?" Stone put a hand to his mouth, tears forming in his eyes as the reality of the moment was sinking in. That's what he had been keeping secret, he had got it all completely wrong. He felt truly awful for doubting him.

Eggman nodded with a proud smile. He lifted Stone's left hand, slipping the ruby ring onto his finger. “How about we get married again?”

"Honey?" Eggman was sweating nervously, waiting for an answer. "S-sweetheart? Sugar pumpkin? Love of my life?" He searched for the nicknames he thought for sure would make him react with the smile he had missed so dearly.

But Stone just looked dazed, his eyes unfocused.

"I…. I'd really love an answer Sugar? If - if you need some time to think about it, of course that's alright!" Eggman stood back up, still holding Stone's hand.

Wolfie growled and jumped to her feet, barking at them loudly.

"Hey stop that, we're trying to have a romantic moment here!" Eggman snapped at the dogbot.

"Ah!" Stone ducked his head down, his left hand to his forehead, crying out in pain.

"Hey, hey, you alright?"

Stone took a few steps backwards, stumbling as if something had pulled him back.

He growled in a strange voice. "What is this? Where am I? Oh..... What unbelievable fortune!"

It was not Stone's voice that was speaking, yet it was straining through his vocal chords. His eyes started glowing red, the exact same color of the Valaka ruby. "508 years locked away..... 508 years and finally I'm FREE!!" Flames began to envelope around Stone's body, like a shroud of red hate.

"It's time to burn this island to the ground! The descendants of those who imprisoned me will be ground to ashes!"

The being looked down at itself, moving its limbs experimentally. "Hmmm less fortunate I have awoken in this weak body, but it will suffice."

"You're - you're not Stone anymore." Eggman gasped, backing away from the ancient being.

"I am stone no longer, I am FIRE and FURY!" The joyous laughter of the ancient being rang out through the lair, as the fire grew higher and higher. "I am WRATH!!"

"Uh boss, what's going on?" Cubot and Orbot hid behind Wolfie, who was still growling and barking at Stone.

Suddenly the fire alarm was triggered, and sprinklers went off, spraying the building down.

The ancient being hissed and went berserk, shooting massive fireballs from its hands towards the sprinklers and in all directions to stop the shower of water, with little success.

"Run!!" Screamed Eggman, picking up Orbot and Cubot by their heads and making a break for the exit. Wolfie followed close behind him.

The four of them flew towards the mainland, squeezed together in the Eggmobile. Eggman looked back at the lair with a despondent expression. No doubt he was going to have to rebuild everything, again. "That could not have possibly gone worse!!" He wailed, hitting the dashboard with both hands.

"Plus - water damage and fire damage…. My lair insurance agent is gonna have a field day."

"So Stone can shoot fire out of his hands now? Thats hot." Cubot joked.

"Shut up!" Eggman hit Cubot on the head with his fist. "Ow."

"This is serious! Whatever's controlling Stone is extremely powerful. I didn't see this coming. How could this have happened??"

Orbot glanced sideways over to Cubot, who returned the knowing gaze. "Indeed, who on earth could have prevented this?" Orbot sighed.

~

Eggman burst into Sonic's house with Orbot, Cubot, and Wolfie right behind him. "You've got to help me Sonic!!"

But there was no one there.

Eggman growled in frustration. "Where is that blue rodent?!"

"Perhaps we should check elsewhere?" Orbot offered timidly.

"Amy's house. Of course." He mumbled out loud.

Eggman burst into Amy's house with Orbot, Cubot, and Wolfie right behind him. "You've got to help me Sonic!!"

But there was no one there.

"Where the heck is everybody??" Eggman looked at the gadget on his arm. "What is it, almost 12pm? Hm… that's right, they usually go get burgers around this time."

To Meh Burger it is.

Team Sonic was sitting at a table together, eating lunch and chatting.

"Sonic!!" He barked at them.

They all looked over at him with surprise, burgers still in hand.

A shriek came from behind the restaurant counter. "You keep that thing OUT of my restaurant!" Dave the intern pointed at Wolfie in horror, remembering nearly getting sizzled into oblivion by her laser head earlier.

"Keep crying about it, loser!" Eggman snapped quickly - he had no time for that. "Sonic you've got to help me!" He rushed towards the group’s table.

Sonic put down his basket of fries, annoyed at the interruption of his lunch. "Ugh. And why would I do that?"

"Stone has completely lost his head, he's destroying everything!" Eggman cut the air with his hand dramatically.

Sonic stared at him, unsurprised. "Um, Isn't that what you bad guys do?"

Sticks stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "It's happening!! It's the reckoning he's been programmed for - he's going to take us all out and replace our brains!"

"No, no! What the heck are you talking about?" Eggman shook his head. "Something really awful happened! He's become possessed by some ancient ghost and now he's throwing fireballs all over the place! My lair is literally covered in flames, you can see the smoke from here, see?!" He pointed towards the ocean.

"It's true! We barely escaped unharmed!" Orbot chimed in.

"Oh man, that is a pretty big fire." Knuckles squinted, looking towards the massive smoke cloud rising over the sea.

Eggman wrung his hands together. "He-he said he was going to burn the whole island down and everyone in it!"

"Yeah, from the size of that fire, he could burn the whole jungle down at this rate." Sonic slammed his fist into his hand. "We have to stop him! Let's go, gang!"

"Can you tell us exactly what happened? Because ghosts aren't real, Eggman." Tails chided him seriously.

"Okay, so - I broke into a volcanic tomb and stole a priceless and powerful enchanted gem - the Valaka Ruby. I planned to use it to make a new wedding ring for Stone! The first ring I gave him held the Riviera diamond. It was one of the trickiest heists I've ever pulled off. Oopsie - I shouldn't have told you that heehee!"

"Anyways, now that he came back and we made up, I just had to give him something better, shinier, something just as priceless! So I made the ring and inlaid it with the ruby."

"Aww you finally proposed!" Amy cried sweetly, covering her cheek with her hand.

"Sounds like you were messing with stuff that should've been left alone." Knuckles growled at Eggman.

"Yeah, well you'll understand when you're older and you fall in love. I mean, If that's even something you uh, do…who am I to say?" Eggman backtracked awkwardly. "Er, what was I talking about again?"

"The ruby!" The gang said all together.

"Right, right! The Valaka ruby turned out to be some kind of prison for an ancient being calling itself the Wrath. When I put the ring on Stone, he completely changed!"

Tails wrinkled his brow. “Wait, if it's the ruby that caused it, wouldn't it have possessed you first?”

Eggman blinked. "Uh.. hmm. Well, I made Orbot and Cubot remove it from the tomb and carry it. I wasn't going to be the one doing any physical labor, no sir. I suppose I never touched it directly without gloves.”

Eggman turned to Orbot and Cubot, placing his fists on his hips. "This is all your fault you dunderheads! You should've said something!"

Orbot and Cubot both looked down sadly.

"So… Stone isn't an android?" Sticks asked, almost sounding disappointed. "He's just being possessed by an evil spirit? Well, where did the spirit come from – and how did it get enchanted into a ruby?" Her mind was working double time, analyzing and theorizing. "Who put it there?"

"How should I know?" Eggman shouted back at her. "It happened like 500 years ago. Do I look 5 centuries old to you??"

Tails couldn't help giggling at that. "I don't know, you're pretty old."

Just then, a dozen flaming meteors landed from the sky. They exploded as they hit the ground, trees and brush. The fire was spreading quickly.

"Sonic, you keep him busy! Tails, Sticks, evacuate the village! Knuckles and I will handle the fires!" Amy shouted confidently.

“How are we going to do that?” Knuckles looked around for something to use but couldn’t think of anything. He spotted the well in the center of the village. "How about that?"

“I don’t know, smother it with sand! A LOT of sand!”

“Something tells me that might not be enough!” Knuckles sounded unconvinced.

“I’m working on it!!” Amy bristled defensively.

"I think the well is a better idea." Knuckles scoffed.

A rocketing sound whizzed through the air. The Wrath was using massive jets of fire to propel itself to fly across the sea from Eggman’s lair to the mainland.

Sticks and Tails hurried to evacuate the villagers before the evil being landed.

Sonic readied himself to fight, watching as the ancient being flew through the sky. The Wrath fired missiles everywhere as it approached the village. A massive fireball hit the seating area of the Meh Burger, and soon the entire restaurant was eaten by hungry flames.

"NoOOO!" Dave screeched, running away from the fire, falling to his knees and his arms flailing. "NOT MEH BURGER!! I didn't get this week's paycheck yet!"

It was uncertain which one was laughing at him, the Wrath or Stone.

Wolfie howled, her head transforming into a laser gun.

“Wolfie no laser blasts!" Eggman was freaking out. "That’s still Stone’s body!”

The dogbot whined, her laser head returning to her normal dog shape.

Eggman called out to the being, hoping Stone was still conscious in there. "Stone - darling! You can stop now! I mean, it's insanely cool but it's out of control!"

The being turned its head, looking down at Eggman.

It smiled, baring its teeth. "I'm just getting started."

Eggman couldn't tell which one had said it.

Wolfie started running full speed at the Wrath, using fallen rubble as a ramp for a jump attack.

“Wolfie! Stay back!” Eggman ordered, knowing full well she wouldn't listen to him, only Stone.

The dogbot sailed towards the Wrath, aiming to bite his left hand.

The Wrath launched flaming missiles back at the robot, causing an explosion that knocked Wolfie far through the air, into broken pieces.

"Noo! Wolfie!" Eggman cried out.

"You're next, wretch." The ancient being taunted, aiming its arms at the doctor.

Suddenly a whip cracked, wrapping around Stone's wrist. Tails pulled tight, hovering behind him. Sonic followed up, snagging the other arm with his own whip. They struggled to keep him still.

"Doctor, help me, I can't control this." Stone's real voice slipped through for a brief couple of seconds before fire broke out again, shooting out from his hands and the Wrath took over again.

Sonic called over to the fox on the other side. "Throw him Tails! 1, 2, 3 - GO!"

In unison, they swung Stone around and sent him flying. He hit the ground hard and stopped moving, the flames burning out around him.

"Quick, get that ring off his hand!" Amy shouted.

Eggman ran forward towards Stone, grabbing hold of his left hand. He tried to wriggle the ring off his finger, but it didn't budge. "It's not ... Coming…Off!!"

Stone's other arm moved on its own, clamping around Eggman's wrist. "Unhand me, wretch." The voice was not his own. Stone's eyes were open, glowing red again.

Eggman flew backwards screaming through the air, landing with an unmajestic thud. "No good! We need a new plan!" He yelled. "Any ideas?"

A vortex of flames spat around Stone as he lifted himself from the ground with a slow, painful effort. Then he looked down at his hands. "No, stop this! You're hurting them." It was his real voice back again. Bright red tears fell from his glowing eyes.

"Maybe we should yeet him into the ocean?" Sticks piped up.

"How do we get close enough to do that without getting burned?" Tails hovered above them, ready to keep fighting.

Sonic had an idea. "How about a diversion, make him mad and get him to chase you?"

“Yeah, get him closer to the cliffs and we can knock him into the water!” Knuckles offered, his fists up and ready to go.

"What's going to make him mad though?” Amy wasn't convinced of their plan. ”He's like the nicest villain I've ever met!"

Eggman sighed heavily. He knew what he had to do. He ran to the very edge of the cliff, planted himself firmly and faced Stone.

"Okay kids, cover your ears!"

"What?" Knuckles was confused but did what he was told. Tails and Amy followed suit. Sonic and Sticks didn’t bother.

"Alright you 2-bit son of a gun I've got something for ya!!"

(CENSORED) Eggman yelled at the top of his lungs at the ancient being.

“OHHHH!” Sticks and Sonic gasped at the same time, looking at each other with wild surprise.

The Wrath turned around, looking furious. "How DARE you!!" Fire shot out like an exploding volcano below the ancient being. It limped slowly towards Eggman, a murderous glint in the red eyes.

A path of flames lit up in front of it and grew quickly towards Eggman.

"Um, anytime now!" Eggman started panicking.

"Duck!" Sonic shouted, curling into a ball. Eggman hit the ground immediately, covering his head.

Sonic launched himself at Stone, hitting him square in the back.

"NoOOo!" The Wrath screamed as it flew straight over Eggman and over the cliff edge. It burst into rocketing flames in an attempt to propel itself back up, but there wasn't enough time.

"Oof, ouch - ow!" Sonic hopped on one leg, holding a singed knee.

They heard an explosive hiss as water doused the fire, and a large cloud of steam appeared and billowed above the water.

It became silent.

It was a tense minute as they all looked over the cliff. There was no sign of movement, save for the surge of the waves.

"Um.... Can he swim?" Tails squeaked with concern.

"Oh my goodness, you just kicked my husband off a cliff into the ocean! What have we done!?" He screamed in horror with his hands on the sides of his head.

Knuckles backed away from the cliff, then leapt forwards with a running start, diving headfirst off the ledge.

"Knuckles no!!" Sonic shouted, reaching towards him too late.

The group looked over the cliff in shock, unsure of what to do.

After a few minutes passed, Knuckles resurfaced, with an unconscious Stone in tow.

They watched as Knuckles fought the tide, swimming towards shore. Tails jumped off the cliff, his tails spinning into a blur. He flew down to Knuckles and helped him carry Stone out of the water.

"Let's go!" Sonic sped down towards the beach. "Knuckles, are you okay?" The hedgehog skidded to a stop.

"Yeah I'm good, but I'm not sure about him." Knuckles dragged Stone’s body up from the waves, laying him down on his back on the sand.

"Out of the way, move it!!" Eggman shoved Knuckles aside, sliding on the sand. He held Stone in his arms, shaking him firmly. "Stone. Can you hear me? Wake up!"

"The ring must have slipped off underwater." Tails saw that the ring was gone, and a burn was left in its place.

Amy and Sticks caught up with them. "That miserable thing must be somewhere in the ocean now." Amy clasped her hands together over her chest, full of worry. "I hope no one ever finds it again.”

“Oh no, I only just got you back. I don't want to lose you again!" Eggman was utterly desolate, losing his composure in front of the group.

"Doctor." Stone's eyes opened. "I can't move anything." He said weakly. He felt numb all over, except for a stabbing pain coming from his leg injury. He tried to move his arm, but didn't have the strength to lift it.

"Oh boy, that's not good." Sticks put a hand to her mouth.

"Is… is everyone alright?" Stone’s eyes searched around him, checking to see what kind of damage he had done.

"Yeah, the kids are fine.” Eggman turned and barked at the group. “Right?!"

They nodded silently. "Well, I'm actually a little sore from-" Knuckles started, but Amy shushed him quickly.

"I couldn't stop it, I tried." Stone said in a small voice.

"Hush, it's fine now, it's gone."

"Where's.. where's Wolfie?"

"Oh. Uh. She's… She needs some repair, no big deal though!"

Stone looked distraught, staring at the sand and avoiding everyone’s eyes.

"I'm so sorry my gift for you didn't work out but…" Eggman wrapped an evil red band-aid around the burn on Stone's ring finger. "Will this do for now?"

Stone trembled, tears in his eyes. "It's perfect." He would have reached up and thrown his arms around his beloved Eggman, if he could.

Eggman sighed with relief.

"And my answer is yes." Stone breathed out, his voice barely audible. "I love you."

Eggman squeezed him tight, sniffling with emotion.

"Amy, are you crying?" Sticks asked gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No!" Amy hid her face, scrunching her hands and wiping away her tears vigorously.

"Well, that's finally all over now." Sonic ran a hand over his head quills. "Phew! Now that Meh Burger's gone, where are we gonna eat? My lunch is pretty much carbon now – I barely got to my fries!"

Amy perked up at that, a light bulb turning on in her head. "Let's go to my house! I'll whip something up, make tea for everyone!"

"You two can come too." She offered towards Eggman and Stone, suddenly sounding shy.

"Really?" Eggman was completely surprised at that, his face lighting up.

"Ughh Amy no!" Sonic protested immediately, making a sour face.

"Come on, his lair blew up!" Amy asserted strongly. "They don't have anywhere either! It's just one lunch, you can bear it. Right guys?"

"I guess." He mumbled back, kicking the sand.

"Thank you Amy." Stone told her softly. She gave him a smile in return.

"Let's go everybody, follow me!" Amy called out, setting off with confidence.

Eggman picked up Stone, and carried him in his arms as he followed the pink hedgehog. As the sun shined on Stone's face, Eggman could have sworn he saw a red glint in his brown eyes. It was probably just the sunlight, he thought to himself.

"Ok ok, let's eat!" Sticks climbed up onto Knuckles and sat on his shoulders. "Yeah, Amy's cooking really is the best!" The echidna stated excitedly, following alongside Amy.

Tails and Sonic were last to start walking. "I hope we don't get any more emotional outbursts, I've seen enough today." Sonic grumbled.

"Cheer up Sonic, we saved the island from burning down. I'm sure everything will go smoothly and there will be absolutely no awkwardness!" Tails was optimistic.

Maybe a little too optimistic.

But every family has its awkward moments, its drama, its tragedy. But friendship will always be stronger with those moments.

Chapter Text

Designing Wolfie

Wolfie UwU

Wolfie, attack mode!

Before/After Coffee

oops he still has firepowers