Work Text:
On rare occasion, Stone wakes up with a clear mind. Just a moment of blissful peace, basking in birdsong and watching the sun dance across his walls, before reality hits him like a truck. It seizes the air from his lungs, threatening to swallow him whole. The grief is as all-consuming as the day he lost Ivo. Now he’s learned that having hope ripped away from you is far worse than having no hope at all.
On these mornings, Stone forces himself into impassivity. Tears are a waste of time, something he cruelly discovered he has an indeterminate amount of. So he drags himself up, resuming work where he left off mere hours before.
Stone was a percipient right-hand in his time working under the doctor. His knowledge in engineering was already nothing to scoff at, only expanding and refining through his years spent at Robotnik’s side. No one could match the doctor’s intellect, but Stone could now surely give him a run for his money.
At least, that’s what he hopes as he meticulously adjusts the details on his creation. Where the doctor lavished in showmanship, Stone operates like a viper. He has no need for flashy theatrics or drawn out battles. Those things are exactly what defeated them in the past, and besides, he doesn’t have the charisma Ivo did. Instead, he slithers under the surface, obtaining information and planning his revenge silently.
It took extensive resources, time, sacrifices… but Stone is a patient man. As he steps back from the beast of a machine before him, he breaks into a grim smile. If this doesn’t work, he’s sure nothing else ever will.
——
Stone has eyes everywhere: government agencies, underground labs, even the Wachowski home.
It’s not difficult to find a moment when Shadow is alone. He’s grown quite close to the Wachowskis over the last several years, but his brooding disposition still lends itself to much needed alone time. Stone has his habits memorized, knows exactly how to tell when he needs a moment to himself. The vermin-hoarding family is sickeningly sweet to him, despite everything he did to them. Stone despises the speed in which they forgave him. It seems Shadow does too, which is why when the generic white man and his puzzlingly beautiful wife give Shadow a gift in memorial of Maria’s passing, Stone knows it’s time to strike.
The other mobians watch in excitement as Shadow rips the wrapping paper to reveal a framed recreation of his photo with Maria, down to the lens blurred blanket fort behind them. It’s disgustingly sentimental, he thinks in a pure bout of hypocrisy.
Shadow inadvertently smiles down at it as the three begin to explain their process, but soon stiffens, the telltale sign that he has realized he’s out of his element. He mutters a quiet “thank you”, and speeds out the door. The others stopped following him long ago, knowing he needs the time to himself.
Stone watches through the mini badnik as the hedgehog makes his way to his usual hiding spot, a small clearing deep in the Montana forest. It’s secluded, and well beyond earshot of the family home.
Time to put plans into action.
Stone activates the chaos energy field from the comfort of his lab, miles away. It’s a small perimeter of interlocked circuits made of the same material as those gold rings on his wrists. Inhibitor rings, Stone discovered upon a stealth trip to GUN’s archives. The technology was surprisingly simple, but making it strong enough to fully disable Shadow without direct contact was the difficult part. It’s what he had spent sleepless nights perfecting, fighting against the overwhelming desire to give up and mourn Ivo in peace. He had sent the badniks to put everything into place the day before, and how lucky he was that Shadow would be here just the next day.
Now is the moment of truth, to see if Stone’s calculations had been correct. He sends the badniks, who emerge from their hiding places in the trees to swiftly apprehend Shadow. He struggles, of course he does, but Stone’s calculations prove to be more than accurate. He goes down easily, a delicious look of confusion and terror on his face. He can’t even cry out for help; he’s too far away to be heard. The photo in his hands falls to the ground, cracking the pristine glass.
Stone simply grins at the monitor as the mini badnik gives him a perfect view of the takedown. A shot of tranquilizer later, and Shadow is only a heap of black and red fur being loaded into a shuttle, set to be delivered straight to Stone. It’s satisfying to say the least, despite the pang of grief he feels when his instinct is to turn to Ivo for approval. Even after all these years, his body has yet to unlearn. He makes his way to the holding room as the shuttle makes its journey to him.
The lab is spotless, not a single tool or spare part out of place. All aside from one chair in a far corner. After the crab’s demise in London, Stone had salvaged what he could. Mockups, badniks, fixable tech, those he could understand saving. When he found himself desperately gathering the doctor’s chair, crocheted blanket, his slippers and robe, though, he mentally berated himself for it. He couldn’t let emotions take over when he had the doctor’s reputation to uphold, and yet there he was, cradling the few things he had left of him that still held his smell. He handled them sparingly since then, terrified of the day he’d hold them to his face, only to be met with his own scent.
“I can mourn when this is settled.” Stone murmurs to the makeshift shrine.
Stone settles himself into a heavy leather chair in front of a massive one-way window. The dark room on the other side is briefly filled with sunlight as the ceiling opens up, the shuttle lowering to meet the chamber in the center. It opens at the bottom, unceremoniously dropping Shadow into the cage. With a whir of closing doors, Shadow is left to wake up in the unidentifiable space, lit by a single bulb on the wall.
Stone waits for what seems like an eternity in giddy anticipation, but what could only have been minutes. When he spots Shadow’s eyes fluttering open, he has to refrain from walking into the room himself just to see his fear up close.
Immediately upon returning to consciousness, Shadow launches himself at the energized barrier around him with a yell. In return, he’s flung to the ground, convulsing from the force of the chaos barrier. Stone barks out a laugh from his sound-proofed perch. Shadow continues to fight against his confinement, to no avail. Even if he does break through, Stone muses darkly, at least Shadow will put him out of his misery. If there is a heaven or hell, he knows he’s going to the same place as Ivo.
“Agent.”
Stone snaps out of his thoughts to find Shadow standing deadly still now, eyes boring directly into his. It’s unnerving, considering Shadow couldn’t possibly see him. Stone chooses to remain silent for a moment longer, giving the hedgehog the opportunity to finish his thought.
When nothing else follows, Stone shakes out his shoulders, reaching for the intercom button before him.
“Shadow.”
Silence again, with nothing to break it but the hum of lab tech. Stone feels his face heat up in anger. How dare he be silent, when they both know exactly why he’s here. That pompous, remorseless-
“I’m sorry.”
What?
“I’m sorry for my part in the doctor’s death.”
Stone searches in vain for any hint of deceit in Shadow’s eyes, and is almost angrier to find none. What’s the fun in a heartfelt apology when he didn’t have to rip it out himself? It’s too little, too damn early.
“If you think apologies will spare you from what I have in store for you, you’ve made a dire miscalculation,” Stone hisses, knuckles pale from his grip on the neck of the mic.
Shadow’s shoulders drop a bit, but his expression doesn’t change.
“I deserve whatever you intend to do to me. I’m sure of that,” he nearly whispers.
“Why are you so easy?” Stone breathes, “Your resignation is pathetic. Do you need some motivation?”
A press of his control glove brings up a video feed from the Wachowski home. The family gathered on the couch together, some action movie Sonic picked casting their faces in flashes of light. Shadows eyes furrow in confusion, then widen a fraction in horror.
“No, please…” he says with a satisfying quiver in his voice.
“Desperation, just what I was hoping to see today.” Stone gloats.
Shadow breaks his gaze at the screen and turns back to Stone again, tears visible in those typically steely eyes. It’s nearly enough to make Stone clap his hands in glee.
“The best part? You’re in control!” Stone giggles. The thrill is enough to make him begin to understand Ivo’s love for grandeur. It’s pretty fun to play with your food, when you know it’s as good as dead.
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t, you imbecile.” Even Ivo’s lexicon seeps its way out, coloring the entire interaction in his hue. “I can’t just kill anyone, you brainless cactus. You get to choose. For once in your miserable life, you get to make a decision. Make it a good one.”
Shadow hurls himself into the energy shield again, clawing at the shimmering barrier as if it could sense his despair and spare him.
“What do you gain from this? How are you any different from the professor?” he heaves, sinking to the floor.
“He tried to punish the entire world. I’m delivering justice to the guilty. We have nothing in common,” Stone growls. To even suggest he’s anything like the man that stole his Ivo away… Just for that he could smite Shadow on the spot. “Choose! Or I will kill them all, and I’ll make sure they know it was your decision.”
“You learned nothing,” Shadow sighs, “His sacrifice was for nothing.”
Stone sees red.
——
The first time Stone lost the doctor, he had full faith in his return. The months of picking off baristas and setting up their lab in solitude were less than ideal, but the doctor’s return was inevitable.
The second time, Stone was reminded of just how human he was. His body, broken and bleeding, lived like a perpetual TV rerun in his mind. Fragility was never a word he associated with the doctor until then. In the end, he was just a man. A brilliant, awe inspiring man, but a mortal one. And in the end, Stone was only a man as well.
His love was always a constant gnawing at his insides but ultimately, one he could tame into submission. Now, it teared at his ribs from within, until he could no longer contain it. While he nursed the doctor to health, Stone grappled with how to put into words exactly what he felt. Months of writing, rewriting, rewriting the rewrites, all to realize that words couldn’t capture a single thing he wanted to say.
The doctor had become a master in self deprecation after losing the master emerald. Remarks typically saved for the bozos they were forced into proximity with at their military base found their way to himself. Every one of them poorly disguised as a joke, but Stone could see the hatred in his eyes for himself. As much as he turned his anger to himself, though, he turned it away from Stone.
Something had softened in their solitude together. Stone assumed it was tentative gratefulness for taking care of him at his lowest, but over time, he knew it was something more. Requests were gentler, praise more frequent. With nothing to do, the two found themselves spending leisure time together for the first time. It felt domestic in a way that made Stone ache. So much so, that when the doctor commented that he could never be loved like someone in a telenova, Stone kissed him. It was completely outside of his plan, potential results unaccounted for. He was sure he’d be pushed away, told he crossed a line that couldn’t be undone.
How lovely was it, then, when Stone felt him kiss back.
It was slower than any relationship Stone had ever been in, but he would spend the rest of his life inching along if it meant the doctor letting himself be loved. It began with kisses, light and exploratory, then hands and fingertips lightly grazing each other in passing. The first time Stone tried out his first name, the doctor’s face contorted in conflict.
“No one has called me by that name since I was a young man.”
“Then let it be mine?” Stone asked.
“We can try.”
Ivo never told him to stop.
Stone crept under Ivo’s skin. Ivo now asked about his life, his feelings, his opinions. The words sounded clumsy coming out of his mouth, after a life of intentional self absorption, but Stone felt his heart flutter regardless. Ivo was trying to change for him, and him alone. Simple questions about Stone turned to late nights delving into their pasts. Love, loss, triumphs that the other hadn’t been there to witness. The whys and the hows, breaking it down until the sun drenched their lab in that hazy early morning glow. Then the two would fall asleep side by side in Ivo’s bed, Stone’s room in the crab long abandoned. He was going to tell Ivo he loved him soon, and hopefully he’d be ready.
He regrets ever looking into who was using the doctor’s tech. His life was perfect. The moment Gerald and Shadow entered the scene, he could feel himself growing bitter. Who had spent years at Ivo’s side, supporting him in every endeavor unconditionally? Who carried his lifeless body from the rubble, not even knowing if he would survive? Who had given Ivo every ounce of love he had to offer for nearly 10 years? Not Gerald, though you’d never know based on the immediate bond Ivo formed with him.
Stone felt wrong to even be upset. Ivo found his family, something he secretly yearned for since adolescence. Just like every time before, Stone would give him time. Time to come back to him once the novelty wore off. They would rule the world together, as they were always destined to.
They were so close to a fairytale ending (if fairytales included world domination), then he was gone in a matter of hours. A sacrifice, to save the world for Stone. It was a hollow gift when he knew just how easily it could have been avoided. They took Ivo away from him, just when he nearly had the whole of him. Self absorbance was understandable, expected even. Pure selfishness was something he didn’t know if he could forgive.
——
When Stone returns to himself, the one way glass is shattered, his knuckles bloody and gloves shredded. He takes in gulping breaths while swaying in place. He has never lost control like that. When he lifts his eyes to Shadow, he sees pity. The heat of anger rises again, but tears are all that come. He’s heaving, choking sobs ripping out of him. It’s too early to cry. He hasn’t finished the job yet.
“You took him from me! You made him sacrifice himself for me! Why would I ever forgive you?”
“I can’t expect you to,” Shadow admits. “But I’m pleading.”
Stone turns. He approaches his control panel, smearing blood on the buttons as he types.
“No!” Shadow cries, only for the energy holding him in the chamber to dissipate. He straightens himself up. The video feed remains the same, the family unharmed.
“Tell them you love them. Don’t waste the time you have.”
Shadow is gone in a blur, leaving Stone alone once again. He stalks over to Ivo’s chair, leaving a trail of glass shards and blood in his wake. It still smells like him. He’s still here, for the time being.
“I love you, Ivo.”
Maybe in his next life, he’d say it in time.