Hey everyone! It's about time I got to another chapter, but first, you know the drill!

Perturbo: Tails has certainly got plenty of emotions in that head of his, and the nightmares and other things certainly aren't helping. Between the recent events and his own issues, it's no wonder he's in a bit of a sad mood.

Void Reader: They're certainly not totally brainless, and they're capable of communicating which makes it so Tails' ability to understand them is especially useful!

Haloixix13: You'll have to read on to see what's on the horizon! But hopefully the last chapter and this one serve as a bit of a break!

AndTails: The two of them finally having some time to talk things over was nice, and will hopefully lead to better understanding going forward! The confession about his love for Fiona was also quite cute!

That's all the reviews, time to get this going!

Nightstalkers

The Sage

The rest of the night passed peacefully for the Freedom Fighters and as the sun rose on another day, they set off on the final leg of their trek. With their current pace, they'd arrive at Angel Island soon.

Indeed, just as they reached about midday, the snowy mountain transitioned into the forest that Knuckles was more familiar with and soon, Sonic spotted the floating island sanctuary amidst a flat grassy plain.

Approaching the stairways that led up to the island itself, Knuckles moved to the front of the group nodding to the two guards stationed at the base of the stairs before leading the trio upward to the island.

Setting foot on the mass of floating earth, Sonic noticed that things hadn't changed much since they'd been here last. Different groups of echidna, each individual one dressed in various vibrantly colored robes talked amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at their small group as they moved through the winding streets toward the center.

Reaching the base of the tower that dominated the island, Knuckles led the group inside, "I figure we might as well find somewhere private we can discuss things."

Sonic took a second to look through one of the many shelves in the room. Dozens of volumes of books and scrolls rested on each one. Even if he had all the time in the world, he doubted he'd ever read everything in the massive library.

"Yeah, that brings up the question of what to do from here." The hedgehog responded, "I mean it's not like we can go back to Knothole."

"I thought I heard someone come in," A voice spoke. The assembled mobians looked over and spotted Myriam, the white robed female echidna from their first visit descending the ladder that led to the floor up above.

"Seems you four are back sooner than expected." She continued, as her gaze settled on the injured kitsune Sonic held. "And it seems you've got a knack for getting yourself into trouble, do you mind if I take a look?"

Tails shook his head as he and Sonic allowed the echidna to remove his bandages, the wounds had healed quite a bit, but were still easily noticeable. Myriam placed one hand on the fox's leg, the green glow of the energy contained in her pendant surrounding her palms. Immediately Tails felt a nice warm sensation in the injured limb as the healing process progressed extremely rapidly, the wound on his leg sealing up and repairing itself within a few seconds. The echidna then moved to the fox's arm with near identical results.

"There we go," Myriam spoke, taking a step back to admire her work. "Should be good as new."

Sonic gently set the kitsune down, and while the fox was a bit shaky on his legs for a moment, having to catch himself once on one of the nearby shelves before regaining his balance, both his arm and his leg were back in perfect working order.

"Whatever it is you do with that energy is a lifesaver," Sally added.

"It's not that big of a deal, figured it's the least I could do. Now, what can I help you with?"

"We've got that question ourselves, we've managed to cause a bit of a situation back at Knothole and let's just say we won't be going back."

"Well, if you remember last time you three were here we discussed where the Nightstalkers came from, and while we don't know what can be done to stop them, Minerva, the God of Destruction. Would probably be your best bet."

"What do we do to find them?"

"Nobody's heard from Minerva in years…" Myriam answered, "In the forest near here there was a temple built for her, but once the Nightstalkers started to appear it slowly became more and more abandoned. What's even stranger is that now the temple is guarded by a mobian-like being we call The Apparition. Any who try to travel to the temple don't tend to make it there…"

"What do you know about The Apparition?" Tails asked.

"Not very much, even our vast library of records doesn't have anything on them. They're a shadowy figure that seem to have the ability to manipulate smoke to a degree. They're quite dangerous, but traveling to that temple is the best bet to figure out what to do about the Nightstalkers."

The Freedom Fighters exchanged a glance, they'd been through a lot lately and now they had been hoping to just have a moment to rest. They would discuss this further when they had a bit of time alone.

Minerva noticed their quick glance and could sense the feeling of hesitation that had quickly enveloped the group. "But please, just take a bit to rest here. I imagine it's been exhausting for the past little bit. We'll be happy to accommodate you for as long as you need."

"Before we go, just one more thing…" Sonic began. "How does that energy stuff you do even work? Like… Where does it come from?"

Myriam turned to Knuckles, "Well it's your responsibility after all, would you be alright with me showing them?" She asked.

"I don't mind at all," Knuckles answered.

Myriam led the small group up the ladder to the second floor of the tower and then up yet another, one that led much further up than Sonic had expected.

Stepping out onto the roof of the large central tower, Sonic's eyes were immediately drawn to something he certainly hadn't expected to see.

An emerald green gemstone rested in a shrine on the roof, and to call the emerald large would be a severe understatement, it was large enough that if Sonic dared, he could lay down atop it with room to spare.

Dozens of different devices and apparatuses surrounded the stone, and each of the multitude of cables they'd seen spread throughout the island converged on this very spot. Thin wispy tendrils of energy occasionally emerged from the stone, their color identical to the same energy he'd frequently seen Myriam and Knuckles use.

"This," Myriam began once all of them had climbed up. "Is the Master Emerald. The primary source of the island's Chaos Energy. It's through this gemstone that most of what we do is possible, it's even what causes Angel Island to float the way it does. The echidna have existed for ages and it's mainly due to this gemstone, we've been tasked with protecting it from harm and preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. It's also where I come from."

"What do you mean by that?" Tails asked.

"As the echidna's sage, I have the opportunity and responsibility to act as a vessel for a spirit contained within the Master Emerald. While I have full control of myself, the spirit, Tikal, allows me much more direct access to manipulating Chaos Energy, as well as the memories of other previous sages before me."

"I… I don't really understand…"

"Well, let me put it in a way you might be more familiar with, especially on account of your interesting parentage."

Tails was more than a bit surprised, "How did you-"

"Each different species has a slightly different energy signature, yours is very different from the average fox's due to you being half monster. When I took care of your injuries during your first visit and just recently I could sense that much. But back to the subject at hand. Think of it as similar to the hunting urges you experience, only much more controllable and nowhere near as volatile. Tikal will occasionally give her own insights on things. In fact, she figured out exactly what you are before I did."

"You're not going to tell anyone right?"

"I haven't yet have I?"

She did have a point, leaving Tails satisfied with her answer as the sage continued. "Along with the Master Emerald, we also have both of these." She spoke gesturing to a pair of smaller gemstones resting in the base of the small shrine. Sonic had been so distracted by the large one that he'd initially failed to notice the others. Both were different colored, one a bright vibrant red, and the other a much dimmer gray.

"They're called Chaos Emeralds, and they were crucial to sealing Hizarn away the first time. That's why he and his Nightstalkers are so desperate to get their hands on them, they're the only things capable of keeping him contained.

"Why not just use them then?" Sonic asked.

"Unfortunately it's not quite that simple, there's actually seven, and we only have two, meaning there's the other five out there somewhere. The problem is we have no real idea how to even begin to locate them.

"What if we found the other ones?" Sonic responded.

"You're more than welcome to try, but I doubt you'll get a ton of help from here… Angel Island is more a small coalition and not one unified whole, the island itself resides in a neutral ground of sorts, and the present Nightstalker threat has almost forced cooperation between the different tribes. Despite this, most disagree on how exactly the threat should be dealt with. I'm sure if you could locate the other five gemstones, they'd be more than willing to supply the two already here, but I wouldn't get your hopes up about finding them… They've been missing for a while now. Minerva would possibly know the location of some, but that would require getting to her temple first."

"Well it looks like that's where we'll be headed!" The hedgehog replied, a new tone of confidence to his words.

Myriam smiled, "I'll gladly await your return, but please stay here on Angel Island for now, you can venture off into the forest in the morning."

The Freedom Fighters responded in agreement, traveling back down the ladder that led them back to Angel Island. Knuckles went to go behind them but was stopped by Myriam.

"When you go with them," She began. "I want you to keep a close eye on that hedgehog, I think he's the one we're waiting for…"

The other echidna nodded and followed the rest of the group downward as they exited the tower, leaving Myriam alone to contemplate her next move…

-X-

The Freedom Fighters were eventually led by Knuckles to a shack with beds where they could stay the night. Taking their gear off by the door they settled in, happy to finally have something soft to lay on rather than the hard walls and floor of the caves they'd stayed in on the way down. The echidna guardian had decided to stay with them for the night, primarily so he'd have the opportunity to help out when they ultimately decided to try and locate Minerva.

Speaking of which, their recent conversation with Myriam had left them with several questions, but one seemingly rose to the front of each of their minds.

"Do you think we're getting in a bit too deep?" Sally spoke, presenting the question to the other mobians as she sat atop her bed. "I mean I know we wanted to stop the Nightstalkers from attacking Knothole… But now we're not even part of it anymore, not to mention all the things that Myriam has explained during both of our visits…"

"I kinda feel that way too Sal," Sonic responded, he himself was more than a bit tired, and was currently resting his head on the soft pillow at the top of his bed. "But this could be a chance to actually do something to help. Worst case I guess it doesn't go anywhere, but we have to try right?"

"Sonic…" Tails added from his position sitting on the side of his bed, his feet hanging off of it. The fox's headband had been taken off with the rest of his gear, considering the more private environment of their lodging they'd seen no harm in it. "I mean, you know I'm with you… But I don't know if I'm even the best help… The hunting urges are back, and have been since the trip down. I'm just afraid I'll just get in the way…"

"You gonna be alright? Cause I think you're a great help, besides, maybe the fact you're half monster will come in handy again!"

"I'm fine for now, they're not too bad, but thanks Sonic." The kit responded, seemingly somewhat cheered up by the hedgehog's response.

"I'll say it's worth a shot." Sally interjected, "But you heard what they said, anybody who tries to travel there ultimately runs into whatever thing guards the temple."

"While that is true…" Knuckles added, standing by the door as he followed their conversation, "I'll say you three are probably our best bet, you know each other well and know how to fight, and while it isn't a Nightstalker, I'm sure at the very least you won't make it easy."

The trio contemplated the idea for a bit before Sally once again spoke up. "It's worth a try, it's the least we can do for you letting us stay here."

"We'll go in the morning," The echidna responded as the other two mobians nodded in agreement. "But get some sleep, you probably need it after everything."

Sonic couldn't help but agree and quickly he relaxed and allowed the clutches of sleep to overtake him as he and the other Freedom Fighters drifted off into their dreams.

-X-

The morning came far too soon for Sonic, who sat up as he awoke ready for the new day. The rest of the Freedom Fighters and Knuckles had just started to wake up as well. Sonic had to admit, it had felt good to sleep without boots on again, his and the rest of the Freedom Fighter's equipment still rested near the entrance to their little shack.

"Morning everyone," The hedgehog began. "Everyone sleep well?"

"Yeah," Tails answered, swinging his white furred pawed feet over the edge of his bed as he looked over at the hedgehog from across the room with his three eyes. "We ready to try and find Minerva?"

"I think that's the plan bud! Seems like you're ready to go, how about you two?" Sonic continued, looking over at the other two mobians present.

The chipmunk nodded as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I think so, hopefully things will go smoothly."

"I hope so too," Knuckles added. "Whatever that thing guarding Minerva's temple is, it's dangerous. But I think you're all the best chance we've had in a while to finally figure out what's going on."

"Hopefully we won't disappoint," Sonic responded. "But what are we waiting for? This temple isn't going to find itself!"

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and recovered their gear before setting off down the stairs off of the island and into the tree line that surrounded it, unsure of what would happen to them next…

Alright everyone that's all for this chapter! Hopefully you all thought it was good! A bit slower this time around but we should be back to normal by next chapter! I'll see you all next time!