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The ancient Greek had eight different words for love. Those words were philia, pragma, storge, eros, ludus, mania, philautia, and agape. Stone liked to imagine at least one of those words applied to him and Ivo.
It couldn’t be eros. As much as Stone wanted it to be eros, Ivo simply didn’t have that type of attraction towards anyone. Stone had made peace with that a long time ago.
To outsiders, mania would describe their relationship as it seemed one sided and generally unhealthy. Those people were wrong. Sure, Ivo didn’t experience romantic or sexual attraction, and sure, he inflated his own ego a lot, but that didn’t mean he was unable to make a genuine connection with another person. Stone knew from the way Ivo allowed Stone to remain by his side and care for him even after a sad, humiliating defeat that he too cared for him. He just had a different way of expressing his affections, which, if one was not a part of this strange relationship, one could not understand it.
Pragma, or maybe philia, or perhaps a combination of both, best described their relationship. It was an enduring love born of mutual respect for intellect rather than romance or lust. It was a love to rival Achilles and Patroclus. And as long as Stone could be there for Ivo when he needed him, Stone would be happy.
But he wasn’t there when Ivo needed him.
He knew there was something wrong when Ivo’s grandfather showed up out of the blue. He didn’t know what the old man and his black hedgehog were doing, but Ivo seemed happy, and Stone reasoned that was all that mattered in the end.
Now he was staring up at the sky as torrents of fire hurtled toward the Earth, only to fizzle out. Ivo’s last words still rang in his ears like a sacrificial prayer.
“…I love the way you make them.” With those words, he forfeited his own life in order to save the Earth— no, to save him.
What was the point, though?
Ivo often said that love made people stupid. And he was right. For how did he expect Stone to live in a world without him? If he could no longer serve Ivo, how was he supposed to live out his days?
He didn’t, really.
The next few months passed in a drunken haze. He traveled across Europe, running from GUN and other officials that wanted to ask questions he didn’t have answers to. Only staying long enough to earn enough cash for booze and a ride for the next town over.
He stayed in hostels, churches, or abandoned buildings. If he was lucky, some kind soul would let him sleep in a private until he turned his life around. He made promises he did not intend to keep, but he always left before the other party caught on, never overstaying his welcome.
Eventually, he ended up in Istanbul. Low on funds and hungry, he thought he could make some quick cash from pick-pocketing an ignorant tourist. That failed almost immediately and his mark threatened to all the authorities.
Luckily, he talked himself out of it by pretending to be a guide. Istanbul was a place he wanted to go to as a child, so he had studied everything there was to know about it beforehand. He showed the tourist all the best spots in Istanbul. They had fun visiting various temples, museums, and drinking at several hidden bars. His deception completely fooled her; she even gave him a hefty tip by the end of the day. She had to turn in early to host a literary seminar the next day, so they parted ways in front of an antique shop.
It was getting dark, and there was still quite a walk to the nearest hostel, so Stone agreed to help the antique shop owner close shop for a place to stay for the night. While moving some boxes up to the upstairs storage unit, he came across a beautiful glass bottle. It was blue and white and had an elegant swirled pattern that wrapped around the bottle and trailed upward. It felt heavy in his hand, though it seemed like there was nothing inside. He removed the stopper so he could get a better look.
Smoke poured out of the bottle and quickly filled the room. With a loud groan, a shimmering golden undulating mass pulled itself out of the bottle. For a moment, Stone thought it was Sonic in his super form in front of him, but as the smoke cleared, the golden mass reformed itself into a humanoid shape.
A large, black muscular man that looked a lot like the actor Idris Elba now stood before him. “Please do not fear me,” the creature said, “nor treat me casually. I am beholden to you for this release. On that account, I must grant you three wishes, for I am a Djinn. There are laws which cannot be broken. You may not wish for endless wishes. Nor may you wish for eternal life. Nor can I end suffering or bring life back into the dead. These are the limits. So what do you wish for?”
“Wow, a Djinn,” Stone said. He chuckled. “Man, there must have been something strong in that last drink.”
“You think you have been drugged?”
“Or maybe I’m dying of alcohol poisoning and this is what my brain is showing me as it dies.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I’m an alcoholic and Djinns aren’t real.”
“Tell me what troubles you. Perhaps I can help you. Why are you in such a state?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“It’s a matter of the heart.”
“Matters of the heart is why I’m trapped in the bottle in the first place.”
“What do you mean?”
The Djinn told Stone about his first love, the Queen of Sheba. He had tried and failed to get her affection before her suitor, King Solomon, showed up. Heartbroken, he could not stop himself from baring his soul before the two of them on their wedding night, and as punishment, King Solomon imprisoned him inside a brass bottle and cast it into the Red Sea.
“I cannot escape my imprisonment until I grant a mortal three wishes,” the Djinn finished.
Stone sniffed. “That’s so sad. If I could help you, I would, but I don’t have any wishes you could grant. The love of my life died a few months ago.” He sighed. “If only I could spend one more day with him.”
“I could grant that wish if that is what your heart desires.”
“Really? But you said you can’t bring people back from the dead.”
“Yes, but I could allow you to relive your last day with him. But I must warn you, you cannot change his fate.”
Stone considered this proposition. On hand, he’d be able to see Ivo again; on the other, he’d have to watch him die again. After a few more moments of thinking, Stone decided it was worth it. “Alright, Djinn, I wish to relive my last day with Ivo Robotnik.”
“Wish granted.”
The Djinn transported through time and space back to the day they were traveling to London to retrieve the key to activate the Eclipse Cannon. Unfortunately, the journey wiped Stone’s memory, so he had no recollection of the day that was about to happen or his encounter with the Djinn. Events happened exactly as they had unfolded the first time.
Ivo, Stone, Gerald, and Shadow arrived in London to steal the key. Ivo ordered Stone to stay behind with Shadow in the Mecha Crab. They passed the time watching Spanish melodramas and making guacamole. Tails figured out where they were and literally flushed him them out of their location. Stone tried to warn Ivo about something suspicious Shadow had said, but Ivo didn’t listen. He was already in space, about to fire the Eclipse Cannon with his grandfather. By the time Ivo figured out Gerald’s plan, it was too late to deactivate the Cannon. With Sonic, Shadow, and Sonic’s friends’ help, Ivo diverted the Cannon’s attack and pushed it away from the Earth before it collided with it.
“... I’ll miss your lattes with steamed Austrian goat's milk. I love the way you make them.”
Stone watched Ivo utter these last words before the screen went blank. He turned his attention to the sky to watch the Eclipse Cannon explode at a safer distance from Earth. Fire lit up the sky, but these last spasms of death from the Cannon were harmless to the world below.
Then the Djinn’s bottle appeared in Stone’s hand and he remembered everything. The Djinn emerged from the bottle a moment later.
“How was your last day with your love?” the Djinn asked.
Stone clenched his fists. “You tricked me!”
“I did not! I let you relive the last day with your love exactly as you asked me to. How dare you accuse me of such a thing!”
“I couldn’t remember anything! How am I supposed to enjoy reliving my time with the doctor if I can’t remember that’s what I’m doing?”
The Djinn’s gaze softened. “I apologize. I did not realize you didn’t remember. A mortal’s mind is a fragile thing.”
“I want to relive this day again, but this time I want to remember everything!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“You won’t change anything. He will still die.”
Stone rolled his eyes. “Are you going to grant my wish or not? I thought you wanted to be free.”
“Fine. Wish granted.”
The Djinn once again transported Stone through space and time to the beginning of the day. Stone wasted no time waking Ivo from his slumber.
“Doctor! Wake up!” he shouted as he grabbed Ivo by his legs and pulled him out of the bed.
“What is wrong with you?” Ivo demanded, kicking Stone’s hands away. “Are we under attack?”
“Uh, yes, we have to leave right now!”
“What’s with all the yelling?” Gerald asked as he burst into the room. Shadow trailed behind him like, well, a shadow. “Is this some weird new craze the kids are into?”
Ivo stood up, adjusting the buttons on his Christmas themed onesie. “Stone says we’re under attack. But the Crab seems pretty quiet to me. Did you have a bad dream or something? I told you not to eat pizza before bed.”
Stone leaned in to whisper into Ivo’s ear. “It’s your grandfather, sir. He’s plotting against you.”
“Really, Stone? You dragged me out of bed because you’re jealous of my grandfather? Pathetic.”
“Is there a problem?” Shadow asked, glaring at the two of them.
“Just a lover’s spat,” Gerald said. “No need for us to get involved.”
“You have to believe me!” Stone pleaded. “He’s going to betray you!”
“It’s clear your emotions have gotten the best of you,” Ivo said. “You’ve become a liability.”
“No.”
“Leave immediately and don’t come back until you sort yourself out.”
Stone grabbed Ivo’s hand. “I’m not leaving! Not this time.”
Suddenly, Shadow appeared between them and punched Stone in the stomach. Stone gasped and fell to the ground, doubling over in pain. Ivo bent down and pried the communication watch off his wrist.
“Consider this your resignation, but I still expect you to be available until I can clone you, understood?”
Stone tried to respond, but he was still struggling to gasp for breath. Ivo shook his head. “So hard to find good help these days.”
“Agreed,” Gerald said. “It’s like no one wants to work anymore. Shadow, could you escort Mr. Stone out?”
Shadow grunted an affirmative and then bent down and slung Stone over his shoulder. Before he did anything else, Gerald crouched down and whispered into Stone’s ear. “A valiant effort, my boy, but I’ve already got Ivo wrapped around my finger.” He chuckled. “Enjoy your last moments on Earth.”
Then Shadow teleported Stone outside of the Crab to a shore somewhere on the River Thames. Shadow dropped Stone on the muddy ground. Then he teleported away.
Completely dejected, Stone wondered around until he ended up in the square where he would see Ivo’s last moments and waited. And waited. And waited.
The surrounding people in the area started to panic when a laser broke off a piece of the moon and the Cannon came hurtling towards them. Stone was beginning to think he messed things up too badly. That the whole world would die this time, and worst of all, Ivo would die hating him.
Then it happened. Ivo came on the screen. He issued a brief apology before saying those words Stone had come to memorize.
“... I love the way you make them.”
It was nice Ivo still thought about him in his last moments. He closed his eyes as the people around him cheered, realizing they were safe.
“I told you, you can’t change his fate,” the Djinn said after the crowd dispersed.
Stone opened his eyes. “I know, but I had to try.”
“What is your final wish?” the Djinn asked after a moment of silence.
“I want to relive the day,” Stone answered.
“Really? Again? Why go through that again when you know you can’t change your beloved’s fate?”
“You wouldn’t understand; your lover betrayed you.”
“As did yours.”
“Did you ever resent her for it?”
“No, I only wanted her to be happy. Besides, it was Solomon who imprisoned me.”
“Still, she let it happen.”
The Djinn sighed. “That is true. But my own emotions brought her turmoil. I had to pay my penance for that.”
Stone chuckled dryly. “I don’t know if that’s a healthy outlook on the situation, but who am I to talk? Listen, I just want his last moments to be happy. Can you grant that wish?”
The Djinn thought for a moment. “This is your last wish. You won’t see him again after this.”
“I understand.”
“As you wish.”
Then the Djinn transported Stone through time and space to the beginning of the day for the last time. “Enjoy your freedom,” Stone said as the Djinn disappeared.
The Djinn bowed. “Thank you.”
Stone fired up the espresso machine and got to work making the lattes Ivo craved so much. He made four one for him, Ivo, Shadow, and yes even Gerald. They all stumbled into the kitchenette, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, as he finished making a stack of pancakes to go with their coffee.
“What’s all this, Stone?”
“I just thought you should be properly caffeinated before the big mission, sir.”
“Ah, good thinking, Stone. I can always count on you.”
Stone smiled at that.
Gerald rolled his eyes, then grimaced when he sniffed the coffee. “Can’t believe you kids like this stuff. What’s wrong with a nice full bodied coffee? No sugar. No cream. Nothing. That will put some real fur on your chest, Shadow.”
But Shadow had already finished his cup. “A bit bitter. Could use some chocolate.”
Stone chuckled. “You’ll never win, old man.”
“What was that?”
“I said I’ll gladly make you another cup to your liking,” Stone said, forcing a smile.
“Sure fine.”
“What about you, Shadow?”
“Don’t give him any more! Do you want him bouncing all over the place?”
Shadow crossed his arms and pouted.
“How about some hot chocolate?”
“I guess that’s fine,” Gerald conceded.
Shadow perked back up. “Redemption chocolate.”
Stone smiled at that. “One black coffee and one redemption chocolate coming right up!”
“Can you make me another, Stone?” Ivo asked. “I can still feel the effects of caffeine withdrawal.”
“Of course, sir.”
He returned to the espresso machine. He knew the day ahead of him would end in tragedy, but right now, things were calm, content. He’d be sure to savor his time at Ivo’s side this time. That’s all he ever wanted.