Hello everyone! Been loving finally getting to write this story, so I'm not stopping now! It's review time!
Ieju: It'll certainly be interesting to see how things go once they get there! We'll have to see how things go for them!
Haloixix13: A nice little bit of fluffy angst never hurt anybody! I'm definitely trying my best to keep things structured as we go, but it seems things are gonna slow down a little bit until we reach Angel Island! Thank you for your review!
Void Reader: Well, they're in the mountains, so it's bound to be cold for most of the year! As for some of the other details, you'll just have to wait and see to find some answers!
AndTails: Tails has obviously got some emotions bottled up, hopefully the little adventure will help out with dealing with some of that!
That's everybody! Let's get started!
Nightstalkers
Decent
Now outside of the city, the first step for the group would be descending down the mountainside, away from the cliff that lined the back of Knothole. The trek would be quite simple for now, but it was still important to remain alert.
Sally lead the group from the front with Sonic in the middle and Tails at the rear. The trio trudged through the snow, the morning sun giving only a little bit of warmth to them as they continued.
Sally had been outside the city before, and she knew of a few caves along the journey down the mountain where they could rest for the night, assuming they hadn't become dens for Nightstalkers since the time the last expedition group had left the city. The first cave however was quite far away, meaning that in order to make it by nightfall, they would have to keep a good brisk pace, if they didn't, they risked getting caught out in the cold of night with no method of heat, not to mention the bloodthirsty monsters out for them…
"So Tails, your first expedition huh?" Sonic spoke after a while. "How are you doing?"
"I'm alright, just a bit nervous is all…"
"That's perfectly fine, if you get in any trouble though, make sure to yell so we know you need help."
"Got it."
"Alright you two," Sally added. "If we want to make it to the checkpoint, we'll have to keep moving. Once we're there, hopefully we can settle down and get a bit of rest. This part is definitely the longest of the trek down the mountain, but after that, it gets a little more forgiving."
"Can do Sal, you know speed is my thing."
"Just make sure you stay with us, the last thing I want is any of us getting caught alone out here."
The trio continued in silence for a while, eventually, after the sun had reached almost midday, they sat in the snow for a short rest. Sonic was very glad at the opportunity to rest his sore feet. The snow made their descent difficult, making each step take more energy than the last. Luckily, he was still quite warm from his cloak and boots, so that wasn't a problem yet. As the trio sat for a moment, Sonic took a moment to relax and think about the journey that lay ahead of them. The trek down would take about two and a half days to reach the bottom of the mountain, and maybe one more to actually reach the echidna sanctuary at Angel Island. Sonic had been on an expedition trip before, but they hadn't descended the mountain all the way, just more of a surveillance trip and preparation for future trips, charting caves that could be used at night for shelter from the harsh mountain weather. Sally had been a part of that trip as well, so the two knew the area somewhat. The hedgehog however was excited to be able to actually leave the mountain for the first time in years. It'd been so long he'd forgotten what it was like.
Thinking about that statement for a minute actually had him reflecting on his own life, being nineteen years old, he'd been four when the Nightstalkers had first started appearing, after that he'd been with his family for a while until he'd been about nine, just as some of the first sanctuaries had started to be completed. Both his parents eventually met their end against a Nightstalker, leaving himself alone. He'd eventually heard of the Knothole sanctuary, he met Sally and Elias on the way and had been living there ever since.
Speaking of the two of them, their story was somewhat similar. The two were his same age, and they'd gotten separated from their father during an evacuation to a nearby sanctuary. After searching to no avail, they'd both made their way to Knothole, they were both still unsure about their father's fate…
Tails, unlike himself and Sally, had never known a world without Nightstalkers. The fox was only twelve, and he'd apparently only ever known his mother. He'd lived with her for about eight years, but eventually she also had been killed, likely by the same monsters that had taken both his own and Sally's parents. He seemed to blame himself for her death however, and had been left with serious emotional scars as a result. Still, Sonic couldn't help but see some of himself in the fox, the two of them quickly became almost brothers in a way.
Sonic continued his self reflection for a bit, eventually though, the group had to keep moving. After finishing their short break, they continued on their way down the mountain.
The trip was quiet once again afterward, though there was always the thought of a potential Nightstalker attack in the back of all three of their minds. As the sun got lower and lower, the chances of such an attack would only increase, keeping moving was the only option.
Sonic's mind eventually began to wander however as he idly followed behind Sally. He glanced back at Tails and thought about what had led to this situation. Even fifteen years later, knowledge about Nightstalkers was slim. Many didn't know anything about where the monsters came from, the few who claimed to know often spoke of nothing more than rumors. Anybody who remembered when they first appeared however claimed they just came out of nowhere… Everyone was unprepared, and many Mobians across the planet died, it was only after a couple years that the sanctuaries had been built, before then it was just completely defenseless homes…
Things were better now though, the sanctuaries were quite safe, but having additional information on what exactly the Nightstalkers were would certainly be helpful to make them a more permanent solution.
If anybody knew what exactly these things were, it was the echidna…
-X-
Sally smiled as the entrance to the cave came within sight, the sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, it would seem that they'd made it after all.
The trio checked around the corner of the cave before entering the small outcropping, seeing if there were perhaps any Nightstalkers that were currently calling the place home. Luckily, it appeared to be empty. Tails and Sonic set out to find some wood that could be split to make a small fire for warmth. Eventually, they returned with a few pieces of wood and split them open with a small hatchet from Tails' bag, exposing the dry surface inside. Using a few other fire starting components from the bag, they eventually had a small fire at the entrance of the cave. The group then finally sat down for a moment to rest, just as the sun was finally dropping below the horizon.
Eating some of the food that had been packed with the group, they started to relax, getting enough sleep tonight for the remainder of the journey tomorrow would be essential. Still, someone needed to watch the cave, and as the expedition leader, Sally volunteered to take the first watch, Sonic would take over about halfway through the night.
As she took her position at the cave's mouth for the night, Sonic rested his head against a smoother part of the cave wall, draping a small blanket that had been in Tails' bag over himself, the warmth from the fire making things nice and comfortable. Tails had curled up into a ball near the fire as well, with his cloak still wrapped around him and using one of his two tails as a makeshift pillow. Sonic wondered how he wasn't completely burning up near the fire, especially with the thick fur of his, but the fox seemed to manage well.
"Tails, you want to back up from the fire a bit? You look really warm." Sonic asked, a bit concerned for the fox.
"I'm fine." Tails responded, peeking his head out to look at the hedgehog. "Besides, I like it warm."
Sonic internally chuckled, "If by warm you mean being in an oven."
Tails simply curled back up into his ball, leaving the cave once again silent. Eventually, he fell asleep, Sonic could hear the soft purring noises coming from the fox as he also gently allowed his own mind to carry him off to sleep.
-X-
The sun slowly rose on the horizon and Sonic took a deep breath of anticipation for the coming day. He'd swapped out for Sally during the night, but his watch had been rather uninteresting. The Nightstalkers seemed to have left them alone for now, but there was still the nagging feeling that there could always be one nearby in his mind, staying vigilant was very important.
Taking a glance back at the other two sleeping Mobians, he couldn't help but smile. Tails was still curled up next to the small embers of what remained of the fire. Sally had gotten some sleep herself, using one of the fox's two large fluffy namesakes as a pillow.
The rest of the assembled group slowly awoke as the sun gently shone into the cave. Sally was awake first, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as Tails quietly groaned, protesting against the light in his face. Eventually however he too uncurled from his ball and joined the other two of them in completely waking up. After some short preparation, they set back out on their journey down the mountain in relative silence. This part of the journey would be the shortest for the day, but it also would involve scaling down a cliff in order to make it in decent time. They could certainly go around, but that would only add about a day to their trip, something they certainly didn't want.
Sonic allowed his mind to wander a bit as they made their way downward through the snow and trees. Thinking about both Sally and Tails and how much like a family they'd become over the past few years, to the point he couldn't even imagine his life without either of them.
Sally was more a sister than anything now, the two knew each other so well that sometimes they'd simply be able to know with absolute certainty what the other was thinking. Having worked together as Freedom Fighters for that long made it easy for them to understand one another.
Tails was in a similar situation, being an adopted younger brother to the hedgehog. Sonic had taken him in when they'd first met shortly after the kid's arrival at the sanctuary. He quickly bonded with the kitsune, leaving them very close. They shared everything with each other, to the point where Sonic was almost more of a parent to the fox in a way. It was a strange relationship, but it certainly helped the-"
The hedgehog was instantly pulled out of his mental wanderings by a dark shape amongst the trees. With his brain instantly on high alert, he pulled the dagger from the folds of his cloak, igniting the plasma around its blade as he recognized the trio of eyes staring out from the morning shadows. As the other two Freedom Fighters noticed, they drew their weapons. Two additional dark figures made themselves known as they gazed out at the Mobians, slowly making their way toward them, their nine collective eyes staring down the assembled group.
"I'll take the middle one." Sonic spoke, as they approached. The monster central growled at its two companions, communicating in some unknown language.
The tense atmosphere that had surrounded everything was broken as Tails raised his plasma pistol at one of the beasts and fired, it staggered backward slightly as the blast connected with its head, but otherwise was unharmed. The remaining two monsters charged the Mobians together, snarling with the simple thought of a successful kill.
Sonic and Sally spaced themselves apart a bit, making sure they wouldn't be directly atop each other while they attempted to fight off their own attackers. Sonic waited until the beast coming after him had gotten close enough for the hedgehog to dodge out of the way, while he intended to simply deliver a slash to the side of the monster, his blade struck deeply into the Nightstalker's thick outer fur, becoming lodged in its side as it passed, wrenching the blade out of Sonic's grip as the beast yelled in pain and anger.
Without his weapon, Sonic found himself in an interesting situation, he quickly yelled over to Sally, who was also still busy with her own Nightstalker. "Hey! I need one of your blades!"
He could hear her sigh as she quickly deactivated one of the two weapons and tossed the golden bracelet used as its housing to him. He quickly donned it, rolling out of the way of another strike from his own beast. The weapon activated as he stood up, extending a blade of cyan colored plasma. While he wasn't a fan of ring blades himself, it wasn't like he had a better option…
Rushing down his monster before it could attack again, he swiped at the Nightstalker, creating a solid cut in the beast that stained the area around it a deep crimson. Another screech of pain erupted from it as it pounced at him. As it came down, one final thrust from the blade made contact with its underside, piercing through its outer skin and deep inside the monster. It let out one final cry before it fell limp, its yellow and purple eyes still open.
Deactivating the blade, Sonic let out a sigh of relief, he turned to where Sally had been only to discover her own monster dead as well. The chipmunk made her way over to him as Sonic pulled his still activated dagger from the corpse, passing his borrowed weapon back to her.
"Where's Tails?" She quickly asked, the two of them quickly looked around for a moment before spotting the orange kitsune still fighting his own Nightstalker. As they made their way over to the fox to help, they heard something they didn't quite expect… Tails could be heard quietly growling under his breath as he took aim with his pistol once more. The bolt of plasma struck true, piercing the outer layer of the beast and the monster fell over limp. The two made their way over to Tails, as they did however, the kitsune didn't holster his pistol as he usually did, instead, he took aim once more at the dead form of the monster, and fired, the bolt striking the creature and staining the snow underneath where it lay.
"Well, now it's definitely dead…" Sonic thought as he went to speak to the kitsune, only to be stopped when another shot was fired into the Nightstalker.
Then another, another, and almost a dozen more as the fox simply stared at the dead carcass before him, his eyes wide with anger as flashes from each bolt reflected off his pupils. Sonic and Sally could only simply watch in confusion and terror as one plasma blast after another struck the monster.
Eventually, the kit seemed satisfied and lowered his weapon, still gazing at the dead beast. Then, almost as if snapping out of his trance, the fox's eyes went wide with horror as he took a step away from the now mutilated corpse. His breathing instantly became panicked as his pistol fell from his grip to the snow below. As soon as Sonic felt it was safe enough to approach, he did so, quickly reaching the distraught fox.
The kid was almost having what seemed like a panic attack, his breathing and heartbeat was incredibly quick, to the point that Sonic struggled to try and calm him down.
"It's alright Tails, just relax, you're safe."
Sally made her way over as well, though it seemed Sonic was already making progress in getting the kit to relax. Slowly but surely the fox's heart and breathing calmed, leaving Sonic with a question on his mind.
"Tails, what happened back there?" The hedgehog asked, "I've never seen you like that… It scared me bud…"
"It's just…" The fox answered, "I just thought of my mom again and what those things did… I couldn't control it, I just got so angry I…"
"It's fine, just don't beat yourself up about it."
"It's not fine, I could have hurt you!"
"Tails, you're probably just stressed out about everything that's been going on. Just take a second to relax, everything is going to be alright."
Sonic had a good point. The kitsune knew his mother had really only been on his mind since the night they'd first discussed leaving, he hadn't ever really left the sanctuary since he'd arrived, which means there was plenty of space for his thoughts to break out of his mind. All he needed to do was remind himself he was in control…
Eventually, the fox was stable enough to continue their downward trek, retrieving his weapon and putting it away. As the morning slowly passed into afternoon, the trio continued on their journey, unsure of what other dangers lay ahead…
-X-
"Well, that certainly makes things more interesting…"
The figure gazed curiously at the trio of Mobians from the shadows, a black cloak and mask the only discernible features, not that anybody was looking anyways, they seemed far too busy with the fox's recent outburst to bother looking around.
"Perhaps the boy is more interesting than I thought…"
"Why even bother dedicating any time to the kid?" The figure's subconscious asked.
"Because, any other travelers with the hedgehog are just as important as he is… Perhaps it may be simply worth keeping an eye on each of them… I've got three after all…"
"If you say so…"
"I know so…"
Then, without another thought, the figure vanished, disappearing in a wisp of red smoke…
Alright everybody! That's it for this chapter, let me know what you thought in a review and thank you all for the amazing support on this story! I'll see you all next time!
