Chapter Text
To say that Stone didn’t notice Doctor Starline's sudden appearance and discovery of Mr. Tinker… would be a lie.
To say that Stone tried to stop Starline from bringing back Eggmans memories… would also be a lie.
It had been a few weeks since Stone’s last interaction with Mr. Tinker and frankly… Stone tries his best not to think about it.
If you asked him, Stone would tell you it was but a distant memory.
Which, perhaps, maybe it was.
But… that wouldn’t be completely true.
Those same memories Stone tried so hard to repress would end up keeping him awake at night.
Every night, actually.
That was the truth.
There were so many different outcomes Stone could have taken.
He questioned why he did it.
Why didn’t he try to bring Eggmans memories back?
Why didn’t he stay and live a peaceful life with Mr. Tinker?
Why did he run ?
Did the memories keep Mr. Tinker up at night, too?
There were so many things Stone could have done differently, so many possible outcomes.
Did he make the right decision?
Stone wasn’t sure, anymore.
So, when Stone saw the sudden appearance of Doctor Starline , an Eggman fanboy that wanted to bring him back and work side by side with him… Stone decided to just watch how things played out.
After all, whether Stone liked it or not, he made his decision to leave Mr. Tinker alone.
And if Stone were to go back on his decision, then he would never have lasted by Eggman's side as long as he did.
Stone did not particularly… like Doctor Starline.
He could easily see through Starline's façade, see where his true intentions lied.
See, the difference between Stone and Starline, was that Stone was loyal to the Doctor.
He saw who the Doctor truly was, and he devoted his life to him.
For every strength and weakness, every flaw and charm, Stone loved and served Eggman no matter what.
If Eggman said “kill for me” , Stone would kill.
If Eggman said “die for me” , Stone would die.
And if Eggman said “ live for me” , then Stone would do all that and more.
Starline on the other hand, only saw the surface level of Eggman.
He thought that Eggman would graciously take him under his wing due to Starline's vast knowledge on Doctor Eggman's brilliance. In their shared career path of doctor and villainy.
Starline even sweetened the deal by finding his own gemstone to rally against the chaos crystals (which Eggman no longer found a use for, by the way) in hopes of winning him over.
And, to give Starline credit, it will work.
All of that will get him in Eggman's good graces.
But getting Eggman to give you a chance, versus getting Eggman to trust you, was an entirely different ordeal.
At the soonest opportune moment, Eggman would betray Starline and steal his crystals for his own benefit, as long as Starline kept that arrogant nature of his around.
Starline might consider himself a doctor , but he was by no means smart.
Starline truly thought that he and Eggman could be equals .
Ha! Stone thought, how naïve of him.
So, no. Stone did not do anything when Starline entered the ring.
And no, he did not do anything to stop Starline from bringing back Eggmans memories.
While it was Stone's decision to not bring back Eggman's memories, that wasn't necessarily what Stone wanted.
Stone wanted Eggman back. He wanted him back so desperately .
Stone was just foolish enough to get swept away by his emotions, and to see the man he loved return some semblance of mutual feelings.
And Stone let himself be selfish enough to bask in it for a short while.
However, Stone was still firm on never wanting to harm the Doctor, no matter what memories he did or didn’t have.
So, in reality, Stone could find one thing he did like about Starline.
Starline brought his Doctor back.
Stone watched Starline slowly bring Eggman's memories back, using Pebble and the spy bots he made to spy on them.
He watched as Mr. Tinker was confronted with a battered and broken Metal Sonic, and saw the memories of Doctor Eggman flood back into him.
If Stone could, he would have shed a tear as he saw the life of Eggman come back.
As Stone watched Eggman restore his memories, he was struck by a sudden question.
Does Doctor Eggman still have Mr. Tinker's memories?
Stones' blood ran cold at the thought.
What would the Doctor do if he remembered everything?
Stone had found him and didn’t try to bring back his memories.
Stone had… interacted with Mr. Tinker on numerous occasions.
And Stone left him to be alone in the village.
Would the Doctor reprimand him?
Would the Doctor punish Stone for the things he did and didn’t do?
Would the Doctor still accept Stone to come back and work for him?
Stone’s blood had turned to ice at this point.
He wasn’t afraid of what would happen to him . He would gladly take any punishment or reprimand from Eggman.
But… Stone was afraid the Doctor wouldn’t take him back at all.
If the Doctor were to kill Stone, that would be one thing. Stone would gladly die by Eggman's hand if he so chose.
But what would truly be tortuous, is if Eggman were to fire Stone.
Stone needed the Doctor. He could not live without him.
He thought he could, knowing that the Doctor's body at least was safe and in tact as Mr. Tinker. He had planned to keep an eye on Mr. Tinker for the rest of his days.
But, if Eggman cut Stone off entirely… Stone would spiral into the depths of despair.
And Gaia knows what Stone would do if that happened.
His fear is he’d go mad, lose himself, and possibly harm the Doctor. Or worse.
Stone couldn't have that.
He needed Eggman to take him back in.
It did occur briefly to Stone that his and Eggman's relationship could change in a good way.
Stone knew that Mr. Tinker at least liked him somewhat, and Stone did…. show his own affection as well.
If Stone was a lesser man, he may have allowed himself to fantasize of Doctor Eggman returning Stone's feelings once they reunited.
. . .
For some reason, Stone decided to wait a while before rejoining Eggman and Starline, after Eggman had his memories restored.
Call it old habits from his military and secret agent days, but Stone wanted to lie in wait. Gain all the information he would need before taking his next steps.
After he regained his memories, Doctor Eggman had not attempted to contact Stone in any way.
Even though all of Stone's devices were still active, and Doctor Eggman had access to all of them, Doctor Eggman would know that Stone is around and using his tech.
Stone found this curious. It was rather odd that Eggman wouldn't try to reach out to him.
Granted, it would be in the way of Eggman yelling at Stone to get back to work or return his stuff, but regardless.
Stone hadn't heard a single thing from the man.
Perhaps that's why Stone had the urge to wait. To see what Eggman was planning. Why didn't he call for Stone?
. . .
Sooner than Stone would have guessed, it seemed Eggman had returned to the old village where Mr. Tinker had resided, bringing along with him his new invention.
Stone watched in awe as all the villagers got turned into metal, brainless, zombies.
Stone was truly rather excited to get back to working with Doctor Eggman and helping with his new plan.
However, Stone had noticed something when Eggman had come to infect the townspeople.
Eggman had spoken through a speaker phone to all the people of the village, thanking them for their hospitality for when he was Mr. Tinker.
That made Stone stop dead in his tracks.
Doctor Eggman knew this village.
He knew the village as Mr. Tinker.
He remembered being Mr. Tinker.
Perhaps that was why he had yet to call on Stone.
And yet… it still didn’t feel right.
After watching Eggman take over the village with his new scheme, Stone decided it was time to rejoin him.
A few days after the attack on the small village, Stone found and reconvened with Eggman (and Starline ) at their current base of operations.
It wasn't particularly hard for Stone to find, as Pebble still seemed to have access to Doctor Eggman's current database and network. Which Stone was able to use to track them down.
Stone wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when reconvening with Eggman.
Obviously, there wouldn't be any fanfare or fireworks or anything, but Stone was somewhat expecting Eggman to make a big deal of it.
But instead, when Stone walked into the base, he and Eggman locked eyes.
And Eggman had simply said,
“Stone! You’re late. I expected my latte days ago. Chop chop! So we can get to work.”
And then Eggman turned away, looking back at the schematics him and Starline were going over.
The following days were as if Stone had never left. Nothing between Stone and Eggman's dynamic had changed at all.
While Eggman did seem to have remembered everything from when he was Mr. Tinker, he never once mentioned Stone discovering him as Mr. Tinker.
As far as anyone knew outwardly, Stone's first interaction with Eggman after his disappearance was when Stone tracked down Eggman and Starline's current base of operations.
Which in turn, was now the truth.
. . .
As with most of Stone's good memories, he learned to disassociate his time with Mr. Tinker.
Stone allowed himself to cherish them, but not quite as memories. More so as… perhaps a fantasy.
A good dream Stone had one night, of a time where things were different.
But that was just fantasy.
Doctor Eggman had no time for fantasy.
They had their new metal virus to focus on and spread around the world!
Surely this time, Eggman's victory would be sweet and just.
And if Eggman's gaze ever lingered on Stone as he made his signature latte, then Stone never noticed.
And if Eggman's eyes ever shone with a hint of longing when he looked at Stone, then it was a good thing he wore sunglasses.