Hello everyone! Here's another chapter!

Void Reader: Ironic isn't it, often those trying to destroy the monsters become monsters themselves, and Tails certainly saw that in his own life. As for Knothole, how exactly they'll approach that situation we'll have to see!

Perturbo: The angst was certainly palpable this chapter, but Tails having a bit more hope for the future and about himself is always good and it'll be interesting to see what it leads to! The third eye is kinda creepy, but I also find it kinda cute!

FaithMcKoy: I've always liked their relationship, and getting to explore another facet of it last chapter was fun!

Dino Girl 16: It's certainly an interesting concept, but I'm glad you're enjoying it! All their personalities have been fun to write, especially since they're in a very different environment then normal!

AndTails: He's had this emotional weight for a long time, so finally getting a bit of help for some of his problems is certainly a very cathartic experience! Hopefully things will continue to improve for him going forward!

That's everybody! Let's get this chapter going!

Nightstalkers

Rumors and Reports

The morning rose on the somewhat tired group. It'd been a rather chaotic past few days but luckily Knothole was close now, only about another day's journey away, and that would mean they'd finally have the chance to rest and report some of their findings.

Which left Sonic with a problem…

"Ok, so Tails is a Nightspawn." He thought to himself, "How in the world am I going to break this to Knothole? I mean, I have to, right?"

The hedgehog glanced over at the kitsune sleeping peacefully next to the burnt out fire. Maybe he didn't have to talk about this… Maybe he'd just let Tails keep it a secret, he'd been doing it for a while after all, so it's not like he couldn't. Still, he couldn't shake off the feeling that keeping this to themselves was a bad idea.

The kitsune stirred awake as the sun fell on his face, groaning in disappointment that he wasn't going to be allowed to sleep any longer.

"Morning bud, how you doing?" Sonic asked.

"Mmmm… Fine…" The kitsune responded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and brushing his bangs out of his face. "Had a nightmare last night but Sally helped with that…"

"Sorry about that… But hopefully you're at least feeling a bit better now."

"Yeah actually… Thanks for just talking with me yesterday, I don't think you know how much that meant…"

"I've got an idea, but if you need anything else, feel free to let me know. I'm here for you, also, I think this is yours."

The hedgehog handed the fox's headband back to him, the kitsune just smiled as he took it.

"Figured you'd be wanting that back," Sonic continued. "You decided what you're going to do about Knothole? We'll be getting back today."

"I think I'll probably just keep it a secret for now… I mean, there's no telling how they'd react. I just don't wanna scare them."

"That's perfectly fine, maybe we can help you break it to them someday."

The kitsune nodded as he put his headband back on, securing his bangs as well as covering his third eye, he was back to looking exactly the way Sonic remembered him.

Their conversation was cut short however by Knuckles yawning as he awoke, followed by Sally's return from the entrance to the cave.

"Are you all ready?" Sally asked, the trio looking over at her and nodding. Tails grabbed his satchel bag near him as they prepared to set out, he'd had to tie the strap back together after it'd been cut by Sally, but it worked just as well as it had before so he didn't mind. The group set themselves out once more. Sally led at the head of the group as they began the final leg of their journey home.

-X-

The group settled down for a short rest after having walked for a couple hours. Things were looking up and they were on good pace to be back before nightfall.

The kitsune pulled his cloak around himself to shield him from the snow, he wasn't quite cold yet on account of his thick fur, but things were certainly going to just get colder from here.

What the kitsune wasn't expecting was for a certain echidna to sit next to him.

"What do you want…" The fox began, anger tinting his voice.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Of course you didn't mean any of it. Just shut up…" Came the kit's response, sarcasm dripping from every word.

To say Knuckles felt guilty was a severe understatement. "I didn't mean any of those things I said. I was just-"

"Look I told you, shut up! I don't want to hear another word of your stupid excuses."

Sonic and Sally watched their conversation from nearby, and Sonic was the first to comment. "Should we get involved?"

Sally seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment, "I don't know, they might just have to work things out themselves. Not sure we'd be able to do a whole lot."

Knuckles went to speak again only to be met with a glare from the fox that cut through his soul, the kitsune immediately interrupted him. "Leave. Me. Alone."

The echidna didn't dare push his luck any further, and so he resigned himself to silence. Things were clearly not getting any better between the two of them, maybe the fox just needed some time to cool off. Maybe it'd be better to discuss things once it wasn't the first thing on the kit's mind.

The group sat in somewhat tense silence until it was time to continue their trek. They still had quite a bit ahead of them, and it was time to keep moving…

The remainder of their journey passed in relative silence, only the gentle sounds of snow underfoot breaking up the serene atmosphere as they walked. For a moment, Sonic could almost envision a world where things were always this peaceful, in whatever the case he didn't dwell on it very long, getting distracted was a sure way to get yourself caught off guard out here…

After a few more hours of walking, Sally let out a sigh of relief as the walls of the sanctuary came into sight.

"Finally," She thought to herself. "Back at Knothole."

Atop the wooden walls was a figure, they were dressed in a red colored outfit, and a large weapon of sorts rested nearby. As the group of four of them approached, the figure seemed to take notice, dropping a rope from the top of the wall for them to slide down.

"Amy! How have things been?" Sally asked.

The pink hedgehog ran over and pulled the chipmunk into a hug. Even with Amy's red coat as padding, she certainly felt the force behind the gesture.

"Thank goodness you're alright," The hedgehog responded. "Things have been alright around here, just an attack or two since you've left, nothing we couldn't handle!"

"Good to hear that, hopefully we'll be able to help out around here now that we're back."

"Seems like you've added one to your little group here," Amy spoke, looking over at Knuckles. "I don't think I've seen an echidna in a long time."

"Just here to help," Knuckles responded. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Amy. Freedom Fighter, and was in charge of protecting Knothole until you all got back. Elias will be glad to see you all in one piece, he's been worried sick."

"I'm sure he has," Sonic interjected. "We should probably see him as soon as we can."

"Right! You head on in there, I'll keep things covered out here!"

Sally nodded and led the group inside the walls of the complex. Things hadn't changed at all since they originally left, Knuckles seemed intrigued by the sanctuary and the fact that unlike his own, it seemed much more secluded in nature. The few Mobians outside in the cold gave the group curious glances at the echidna in their midst, but most of them seemed hopeful that at the very least, the Freedom Fighters were back.

The group continued onward until it reached the council building, making their way inside. Things had certainly been interesting the past few days, and now, it was time to discuss their findings.

-X-

Elias let out a sigh of relief as Sally entered his office. A further feeling of relief came as he noticed not only the other two Freedom Fighters with her, but also an echidna, something he hadn't seen in years.

"You're alright…" He said, "I was starting to get worried that something terrible had happened…"

"Did you really think anything out there would get us?" Sally responded.

"I guess I shouldn't have been worried after all, and by the looks of it, you've brought back a friend as well. We haven't seen an echidna here in a long time… I figure I should introduce myself, my name is Elias."

"I'm Knuckles, heard you wanted some information about Nightstalkers?"

"That would be very helpful of you, we've been struggling with their attacks recently and really could use anything you have to offer."

Knuckles quickly launched into an explanation of where the Nightstalkers had come from, explaining things similarly to how Sonic, Tails, and Sally had heard before. The three of them noted however that he omitted the explanation of anything relating to Nightspawns. Elias simply listened in deep contemplation as the echidna finished his explanation.

"If there is to be a chance of ending this for good, we'd have to return to Angel Island and locate Minerva. Perhaps she could know more about how to deal with these monsters, or possibly how to even stop them all for good."

Elias seemingly mused over his statement for a moment before speaking, "Well it won't do you any good to head out now… It's getting dark… But I suggest we continue with what the echidna has suggested. You four should go back to Angel Island, find wherever this Minerva is and see what you can possibly do… I trust you'll figure things out on your own. But please stay here tonight and prepare to leave in the morning, I'd like to be there to send you off."

The group of Freedom Fighters nodded and made their way out of the office. Passing by Fiona who was just on her way back in. Tails hid his face from the vixen as they left back to their barracks.

Elias seemingly sat contemplating everything he'd heard for a moment before speaking.

"Fiona, I need to ask something of you…"

-X-

The Freedom Fighters returned to their barracks, finally able to rest from their journey, which by the looks of it, was going to continue once more in the morning. For now however, they had a moment to rest.

Which also meant more time for fresh wounds to fester…

Tails eyed the echidna across the room from him with contempt, he really hadn't wanted to spend another second with him, let alone possibly trek all the way back to Angel Island together. Besides, it wasn't like they couldn't figure things out on their own. Why did they even need an echidna with them in the first place? They were certainly able to make the trip back themselves…

Sonic could practically feel the anger in the kitsune from across the room, and he had to admit the fox had every reason to be angry. He had kind of hoped things would have blown over by now, but it seemed that he was going to have to get involved.

"Tails," The hedgehog began. "Can we go talk for a second?"

The kitsune eyed him for a moment before making his way over as the hedgehog led the two of them outside. The kitsune followed behind him until they were sure they were on their own and out of sight of any other Mobians before Sonic began.

"Alright, what's up with Knuckles? You two have been at each other's throats since we left Angel Island."

"What do you think it is?" The kitsune answered, anger still present in his voice. "He said he wanted to kill me! That I deserved to die! All because of the fact that I'm one of them…"

"Tails you're not a Nightstalker, you're-"

"Sonic, I don't care how many times you say it, I know I'm your family, but that doesn't mean I'm not a Nightspawn. That doesn't mean everything just suddenly fixes itself…"

"I know it doesn't, but you don't have to figure this stuff out on your own. You're not a brainless monster, I just really don't think you're getting that. So, just talk with me, let everything out."

The fox sighed before speaking again, "It's just… I guess I know he didn't really mean it that way. I've just been kinda stressed out because nobody else has ever known about this… I just feel like something's going to happen and you're going to get hurt because of me, or that I might hurt one of you…"

"Tails, I promise, everything is going to be alright. I can't imagine how stressful this whole thing is for you, but bottling it up like this isn't going to help. We're all here for you, so just please talk to us. You don't have to deal with this yourself."

The fox sat in silence seemingly mulling over his words for a second. "I'll try my best…"

"That's all I needed to hear," Sonic responded, the two shared a comfortable moment of silence, before Sonic put his arms out toward the kitsune. "Hug?"

The fox smiled before returning the embrace. The two would certainly figure out whatever came at them, no matter how strange it might be, their conversation being the start of a different but just as powerful relationship.

But little did the two of them know, a certain red vixen had heard every word...

-X-

"Knothole was built on a secluded mountainside specifically to avoid these things, and now they've decided to bring it with them," Elias spoke, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Maybe there's another explanation for all this…" Fiona responded, her black cloak over her head as she watched Elias pace back and forth in his office.

"What other explanation is there!? One of those monsters is within our own walls Fiona! That's the only way to make any sense of it! It would seem that all of them are in on it as well…"

Fiona felt a pit develop in her stomach. While she had noticed something off about the group of Freedom Fighters, she hadn't expected this. "There's got to be some other explanation, it… It can't be that he's a monster…"

Elias sat in silence, musing over his thoughts. "Why wouldn't they have mentioned that? Are they hiding something from us? How long did they intend to keep this a secret? Why didn't they say anything…"

"Elias, relax and let's think this through reasonably, it might be best for us to reconsider this in the morning."

Elias sighed, "I suppose I'll consider it, perhaps we can discuss more in the morning. It's late…"

Fiona nodded, "We'll think more about this in the morning… Good night Elias."

"Night Fiona."

The vixen left the office to return to her home, leaving Elias alone with his thoughts. It was late, and he should be getting to bed, though he couldn't help but shake the paranoia out of his thoughts that whatever the Freedom Fighters were keeping from him couldn't be good…

Alright everyone, that's all for today! Hopefully you all enjoyed it, leave a review with your thoughts and I'll see you all next time!