Hello everyone! It's time for the next chapter!

Haloixix13: He certainly needs to try and keep his emotions more in check, but at least he's got the other two members of the group to help!

Perturbo: There's certainly some escalation with each chapter here, and you'll have to wait and see exactly where it's pointing!

1TGN: Sonic's certainly concerned for good reason with everything that's been going on with Tails recently, something is missing when it comes to him, and he's determined to find out.

Void Reader: I certainly like my cliffhangers don't I. Don't worry though, hopefully this chapter will satisfy that!

AndTails: We'll have to see exactly what's going on with our fox friend in the future!

Let's start!

Nightstalkers

Angel Island

Sonic was still in awe at the size of the floating island as the trio ascended toward it. The thing was much bigger than he'd ever anticipated, it would take forever to find anything here. Still, the large tower-like structure that dominated the center of the city seemed like a solid place to start. Upon reaching the top and setting foot upon the ground of the island, the trio quickly tried their best to take in their surroundings, while the homes that surrounded the outskirts of the landmass were similar to the ones back in Knothole, albeit, with less insulation against the cold, the one thing that stood out to them was the cabling. Thick wirelike cables ran through the sides of the streets, attached to the sides of homes and even branching off to reach each and every structure on the island. The cables converged into a large singular strand that seemed to run inward toward the tower that sat at the center of the island.

The many echidna that lived here gave the trio curious glances as they went about their business for the day. They were dressed in more traditional robes of various colors and Sonic noted that each one of them wore a silver pendant similar to the ones worn by the guards below. The green gemstone in each though glowed a bit more or less from each individual one, leaving the hedgehog increasingly curious about what it all was for. What was even more strange is that the echidna that wore blue robes seemed to be somewhat avoided by the other echidna, to the point that they were almost exclusively socializing amongst themselves.

While this was odd, the three of them were here for a reason, and he figured he already knew where to start.

"That tower looking thing seems like a solid bet," Sonic commented to the other two Freedom Fighters. "Maybe someone there can help us."

"I can't think of anything better." Sally responded, "Let's get going."

The group made their way toward the center of the island, passing by other groups of echidna on their way. The cables continued to converge as they progressively got closer and closer to the center of the island and their brief passes with echidna became more and more frequent. A few even pointed at them as they spoke to each other.

"What do you think is up with this place?" Tails asked, glancing about to see if anybody was looking at him.

"Well, I imagine they don't quite get many visitors up here…" Sally answered, seemingly somewhat on edge herself. "But whatever, let's just get to that tower and see if there's anybody that can give us the information we're here for."

The fox nodded back and the trio made the rest of their journey in silence. Eventually, they finally reached the base of the tower, a set of steps led upward to the entrance at the top, and a pair of guards like the ones from before sat at the base of the stairs. The cables they'd been seeing the whole trip also seemed to converge here, vanishing inside through holes in the structure's exterior. Sonic moved to walk inside, only to be stopped by one of the guards.

"You three here for something specific?" He asked.

"We need to talk to someone who can tell us more about Nightstalkers." Sonic answered.

The guard seemingly contemplated their answer for a moment before leading them up the steps and inside the large door at the top.

From the inside, the tower was very different, the cables were still here, only now they extended up the walls, heading to something far above at the peak of the structure. Inside was what seemed to be an ocean of shelves, they were stacked quite high and were filled to the brim with different scrolls, books, and even a few artifacts or relics that Sonic had no hope of even beginning to identify. The guard escorted them through the maze of shelves until the trio reached a ladder that led to the next floor. The guard gestured them upward and they did as instructed, Sonic taking the initiative to be the first up to the top.

As he set foot on the floor once more, his eyes were instantly drawn to a male and female pair of echidna present, seemingly gazing over a few select scrolls and drawings on a large table. Atop the table, sat a large device of sorts, seemingly fed by one of the many cables that seemed to continue to ascend upward. The two echidna turned to face the newcomers.

"What exactly brings you here?" The male spoke, bands of an emerald green color were wrapped around his wrists and ankles, along with a few more around several select spines on his head. White wrappings around his hands completed the look, and like the guards the group had seen before, he wore no robe.

"Oh hush Knuckles," The other echidna, an older female dressed in a white robe interjected, Sonic was somewhat surprised by the white colored robe as he didn't remember seeing any other echidna with a robe of the same color on the way here. A silver pendant hung around both echidna's necks just like all the others they had seen. "What can we help you with?"

Her eyes quickly moved to the young kitsune of the group, and specifically to the bandages around his arm from the scratch a few days ago. "You three didn't get yourselves hurt too badly coming here did you? Let me see your arm."

The fox tentatively let her remove the bandages and look at the injury, it had healed quite a bit by now, but was still certainly noticeable.

"Well, it's certainly nothing I can't help fix, just hold still for just a second." She spoke, as she did, a green glow began to emanate from the palm of her hand and from the pendant around her neck as she placed her hand over the scratch. Tails felt a warm sensation flood through his entire body and converge on his arm, eventually, the sensation faded as the echidna removed her hand, revealing completely intact fur and a missing wound. The trio of Mobians were left somewhat in shock at the event as the older echidna smiled.

"What? Never seen a little Chaos Energy before?"

"What the heck was that?" Sally asked, seemingly trying to make sense of the situation.

"Eh, it would take far too long to explain. Now, what can I help you three with?"

After taking a moment to collect herself, Sally finally responded. "We need to know whatever information you have on Nightstalkers. What do you know that could help us?"

The echidna scholar seemingly mused to herself for a moment. "Well, that's quite a broad question… What exactly are you looking for?"

"Anything about where they might be from, or how we can better deal with them."

"Well, perhaps we should start at the beginning…"

"Myriam, do you really think it's best to start there?" Knuckles interjected, "I mean, they don't know anything about-"

"I'm sure they can understand a little mythology." She answered, "Now where was I… Ah yes… Long ago, in the days of your ancestors, the forces of this world were worshipped as great powerful beings. So much so that many of them were able to use that power in their worship to manifest a physical form. The first among these was a being known as Heria, the God of Life. Heria was soon joined by another named Hizarn, the embodiment and God of Death itself, her own polar opposite. Rather strangely however, the two found each other fascinating, Heria would create gifts for Hizarn and he in turn, would give her gifts a greater sense of purpose and worth. Eventually, the two fell deeply in love and from them came many other Gods, creating the many forces in our world today."

"So what happened?" Tails asked, rather intrigued by the story.

"Well, eventually, Hizarn grew tired of his position. Yes, it was his ability to collect the souls of the deceased, but he still wanted more, he saw the domains of the other Gods that he himself had helped to create and decided he wanted some for himself. Soon, he found himself turning against the other Gods, in so much that they all rallied against him, even his own children, he was eventually bested, but it left the Gods with a choice. You see, killing Hizarn would simply be impossible, he controlled death after all, what was to stop him from simply being unable to die? So a decision was made, Hizarn would simply be sealed away, where his power could still affect the realm of Mobius. Death is an essential force after all, but somewhere that he would be contained for eternity, unable to fully leave the binds of his personal prison. With him contained, the Gods returned to peace once more."

"But that's not the end, is it?" Sonic commented.

"Unfortunately long after, the Gods of Mobius were forgotten, their power dwindling due to losing their followers. Hizarn however, sat in his prison, scheming for a day he would finally have the power needed to claim his freedom once again. You see, while the other Gods had locked him away, they had forgotten one critical thing, Hizarn was the God of Death, and the souls of Heria's creations would ultimately make their way to him. A soul is a powerful thing, and with enough of them at his disposal, Hizarn was able to expand his direct influence beyond his own prison, though he was unable to break his own bonds. Capturing and using Heria's power to his will, he crafted the perfect killing machine, one that would be sure to give him more souls to finally be able to break his confines."

"Nightstalkers…" Sally mused, prompting Myriam to nod her head in confirmation.

"While there is a way to perhaps seal Hizarn away once again, only a God would be able to call upon such a power. Minerva, the God of Destruction, may be able to help, but nobody's heard from her in years… There is a forest nearby this island where one of her temples originally was built, but its recently been guarded by a shadowy figure cloaked in red smoke. We don't know exactly what it is, but we simply call it The Apparition. She might perhaps be of more use to you to finding a permanent solution… If you can find her, that is."

The trio sat in stunned silence for a moment, taking in everything. Sonic eventually spoke up, "Is there anything you can tell us about Minerva?"

"It is worth noting that she herself has the appearance of a Nightspawn, but unlike most other Nightspawn, she's quite friendly."

"Nighspawn?" Sonic asked, he'd heard the word before, didn't know much about it however…"

"Nightspawn are half breeds of Mobians and Nightstalkers. They adapt traits from both species, retaining a mostly Mobian appearance, but have the increased senses, aggressive urges, and most importantly, the three eyes of a Nightstalker. Their aggressive urges make them incredibly dangerous however… Should their instincts get out of control, they could turn into nothing more than a Nightstalker who has the appearance of a Mobian, quite dangerous for anyone caught unprepared…"

"Turns out we had one of them hiding up here on Angel Island." Knuckles interjected, "One of the members of the blue robed tribe turned on an entire group of other echidnas a few weeks ago, killed six before we even managed to respond… Didn't help that they looked just like everyone else… I'm telling you, they're incredibly dangerous… Honestly, I'm kinda glad we killed him, simply way too dangerous to keep alive…"

The somber mood hung over the group for a moment, before Sally spoke. "Well, this is a lot to take in, but thank you Myriam."

"It's not a problem, I'm sorry I can't answer more about how to permanently deal with these things, but I hope you'll be able to find Minerva to get the information you need."

"If you'd like…" Knuckles began, "I'd be willing to help you three find her, I know where the temple is at, so it's really not a huge issue…"

"We'll have to think about it," Sally answered. "But we need to return to Knothole with what we have so far… We promised we'd be back soon."

"Sal, this is a chance to fix this all for good!" Sonic responded, "I say we just go find Minerva right now and see what she has to say."

"Sonic, we promised we'd just head to Angel Island and back. There's no point in staying out here longer than needed when we have information that could be very useful to Knothole."

"Alright, but we'll be back here after… Right?"

"We'll have to see, but I hope so… Thank you so much for your help Myriam."

"You're very welcome, and I wish you all the best on your journey."

As the trio left the two echidna alone in the tower once more, Knuckles broke the silence between them.

"That hedgehog… You don't think he's…"

"I think he is, but we'll have to see, if it truly is his destiny, then I'm sure they will discover that for themselves…"

"Do you want me to travel back with them?"

"Perhaps, but that is a choice you will ultimately make yourself…"

Knuckles allowed himself a look into his own inward thoughts, if this hedgehog truly was who they were looking for…

"We'll be back in a few days…" Knuckles spoke, making his way over toward the ladder and grabbing a cloak. "Then we'll be getting to the bottom of who this hedgehog really is…"

Alright everyone, that's the chapter for this update! We'll pick back up with our favorite trio next chapter! Leave a review with your thoughts and I'll see you all next time!