Stella and Stylus were out for a morning jog, going from Chester to Fearless Winds all the way around Lake Echoes, and then straight back to Chester. It was an hour-long run, and Stella maintained her fitness that way.
Even at fifty-two, she still looked young.
One morning, during one of these jogs, Stella suddenly asked "You ever read up on Chao?"
"Chao?" Stylus asked.
"I guess not, hm?" Stella replied. Both slowed near a park bench stationed on the edge of the path- flattened into fine dust by the feet of many other joggers. "They're yea small," she added, holding her palms horizontally with about a foot or more in-between, "Very adorable, like a baby."
Stylus got the hint and smiled. "Sign me up for Chao-raising," he said.
"Well, let's just get one. Leo's friend in Fearless Winds has a Chao farm. We could get one there."
Stylus nodded. Never again was he more excited. The emotional state kind of caught him off-guard, what with emotion-based reactions next to impossible with robots. Perhaps the years spend in Chester and area helped him reformat his mind into something more dynamic.
He stopped processing the train of thought when he realised that he hadn't picked out a new hat, backpack, and trousers yet.
Stylus spent the next few minutes doing what he had planned to do. Eventually, he got a pair, a pack, and a hat that he found suitable. Now he just needed to rendezvous with the others.
It was remarkably easy to spot them. Stylus was in fact, taller than the more "normal-looking" organics Amy, Cream, and even Sonic. That, and the fact that they're easily noticed amongst a crowd- one of which had formed around the trio, asking questions. They were serious celebrities, Stylus confirmed.
He gently pushed his way through the crowd to rejoin the trio, with his select items under both armoured arms. As he added his four select items to the proverbial shopping cart, he noticed that the ladies had collected an insurmountable stock.
"Um... Is that really necessary?" Stylus asked.
The response was a "What do you think?" look from Ella and Amy. Cream and Cheese seemed to silently convey "They're insane!" through their expressions. Cheese in particular tapped his head- driving a rather obvious point home.
Stylus shrugged. At least he wasn't paying. Hell, he didn't have the correct form of currency as it is. He was relying on the trio to pay for the items- obviously as the material "thanks" for the two conflicts that the robot took part in.
The next half-hour was comprised of Stylus carrying his select items in a bag... and then he got loaded with more and more shopping bags. Pretty soon, he was a walking pile of filled bags, with little visibility. Stylus had to rely on his motion tracker to avoid contact with organics and to follow the trio and chao.
"Are we done yet?" Stylus asked. Alarms were starting to blink on and off on his heads-up display, mostly due to the mass amount of torque his arm joints are going through. He could lift up a vehicle if he needed to, but in this case, his arms are outstretched and have constant stress put upon them.
Stylus got no answer. Perhaps they didn't hear the robot under all of the consumer goods and ambient noises from the many organics that inhabited the mall.
"Are we done yet?" Stylus asked again, this time louder. This time, he stopped when his motion tracker detected multiple pings converging on his position.
Said pings appeared to be organics with devices in their hands... They looked like cameras. Oh son of a-
Stylus carefully put down most of the bags, then picked off the others standing over his shoulder pads and helmet. He then turned to get a look at the assorted members of the collective paparazzi.
"Rumors say you pack weaponry capable of taking down Eggman's minions with ease. Is this true?"
"Assume all answers are "No Comment." Now go away," Stylus answered.
They continued asking questions, such as "Where did you come from?" "Are you an Eggman Robot?" "Are you a friend of Sonic's?"
One in particular piqued Stylus' interest. "Are you from the same world as Sonic?"
World? As in an alternate dimension? Stylus cocked his head to the side, trying to display obvious confusion at the question. He refrained from answering any of the questions, as he had already established his answer for every question: "No Comment."
Unfortunately, these random dipsticks with cameras continue flashing their cameras at the robot who remained standing still amongst the pile of shopping bags. Fortunately, Amy, Cream, and Ella arrived on the scene. Ella chased off the paparazzi with an umbrella.
"Are we done yet?" Stylus asked as he held his arms out for the trio to load up the shopping bags again.
"Yes, we're done." Cream replied as she hoisted a shopping bag through Stylus' outstretched arm.
Stella handled the egg all the way back home in Chester. Stylus wasn't permitted to handle it with his bare hands because his bare hands were not soft a all.
The egg was pretty sensitive that way.
Back at home, Stylus used a blanket to cushion his hands so he would be able to hold the egg safely. The robot lay across the hand-made sofa, securely holding the egg so there was no chance of it falling.
"I'm gonna get some work done at the shop. You can stay here if you want," Stella said with a smile. She could sense Stylus' excitement. It was something different, and she liked those kinds of positive changes. "Just don't dedicate all attention to the egg instead of me, eh?"
Stylus smirked as he looked at Stella. "I know."
Stella left the house to continue work at the shop. Luckily, there were not many things that needed to be serviced this time around. Most of the tools throughout Chester were upgraded with the metal Stylus salvaged from that armadillo smith.
He trusted everyone in Chester. After all, he had been living there for thirty or so years now. The only people to leave the town was Lorem (for obvious reasons) and Leo. Leo left to Robotropolis on request from an urgent letter. Leo had been gone for about three years now.
It was something about family. As he slowly cradled the egg in its comfortable blanket. Stylus remembered the conversation they had the night before Leo left.
"Family matters in Robotropolis... Jeez, I have to go back there again..."
Stylus sat across the fire pit from Leo. The embers of the last fire glowed enough to illuminate the two citizens of Chester.
"Listen Stylus... You're a great guy, an incredible, well-hearted exception to the murderous robots over at Robotropolis... But between you and me, I never liked robots."
It wasn't a surprise to Stylus, who responded with "I remember you saying something less-detailed when I first arrived."
"Yeah, but..." Leo scratched something from his eye. Over the years, Stylus learned that it was Leo's sign of nervousness. "That was because I was the only one apart from you who's been there."
"Is this going somewhere?" Stylus asked.
"I dunno, really. It's just Robotropolis isn't the kind of place you can perfectly describe. You know?"
Stylus nodded. He did know. He fondly remembered the dusty, typically empty streets, the faint smell of oil and charred matter. He was a bit of a nutcase among others; what with being one who actually relished the sort of thing.
"I'm nervous about going back, man. Hell, I don't want to go back. But I've got family there. What if they're in serious trouble? I'm too far away to make a difference even if I left right now. They might as well be mindless slaves to Doc by tomorrow morning."
Stylus wasn't sure of what to say. He's never experienced something like that before. Thinking about it now, he remembered his own family getting roboticized for being Freedom Fighter sympathizers. They were taken away while Stylus was away on a walk. When he returned, he didn't really notice until the next day. He was suspicious when he realised that he just spent the night in the family abode and nobody else was even here.
Once he left, he spotted his dad and brother, clad in metal and pushing a supply cart under guard by four SWAT Bots.
"Dad? Thomas?" he remembered whispering. The SWAT Bots didn't detect the audio. Instead of following, Stylus stared intently at the duo pushing the cart. "You'll outlast me now... You'll both bury me."
He refrained talking about his memories of family members becoming mindless slaves, fearing that his personal reaction would seriously frighten Leo. Hell, Leo's scared out of his wits as it is.
Indeed, he was all but completely engrossed in the idea of immortality at the time. Lorem's words still clung to the back of his synthetic mind. Contradicting ideals continued clashing, taking up much processor power.
He still listened to Leo, who continued babbling.
Eventually, Stylus said "Family comes first."
"Yeah, For better or worse..." Leo added. "That's why I'm going tomorrow. Just... now, I have the feeling that if they're in as serious trouble as the letter implies... then..."
"By the time you get there, it would be too late," Stylus finished the sentence.
Leo nodded, then sighed. "Still, it might as well be a good thing that you never found RELIC."
Stylus cocked his head. What was Leo implying?
"I mean, if you did, and took him... or her out, then you'd be back at Robotropolis, or somewhere completely different. Stella might have remained a lonely person, despite the community."
Stylus slowly nodded. There really were no other bats in Chester or Fearless Winds, and inter-species romance is just plain weird, even to a guy so obsessed with the concept of immortality.
"Anyway, in case I never make it back, but you eventually do? Well. Try to find me. If I became one of Robotnik's slaves..." Leo teared up, "I just... I wouldn't ever want that."
"Acknowledged," Stylus finally said. That was a promise.
Stylus kept promises, even after roboticization. This was the third person to make this kind of request.