Hey everyone! It's time for a new chapter! But first, the reviews from the last chapter!

Void Reader: Project Zero is definitely an interesting subject, and we'll get more of it as the story unfolds!

Perturbo: Writing Robotnik has been super fun, especially given the very unique nature of this story and the changes it makes to his and everyone else's characters!

Larry TFVW: Tails' conversation with Robotnik is an interesting subject, and as to how that affects the story going forward, you'll have to read and see!

Alright everyone! That's all so let's get going!

Nightstalkers

Charged

Sonic awoke early the next morning, yawning as he sat up and stretched, last night's sleep was the best he'd had in a while. Looking over at the other beds in the room, the hedgehog found Sally was also waking up for the day.

"How'd you sleep?" The hedgehog asked.

"Really good, you?"

"Best I've had since we started this whole adventure."

"Seems like Tails would agree with you there."

Sonic looked over at the fox's bed and found the kit still curled up in his blanket. The fox's three sleepy eyes looked back at him, as the fox groaned in protest at being awake.

"How'd you sleep bud?"

"Alright…" The fox responded, "I had another nightmare…"

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, I'm fine."

"Well, what's the plan for today?" Sonic asked, kicking his feet off the bed and standing up.

"Maybe we set off and try to find some of the other Chaos Emeralds." Sally suggested, "As nice as Robotnik has been, I don't think he's just going to give up the two he's got…"

"Well, we've got to get them somehow… I think maybe we'll stay here and at least see if there's anything we can do."

"Yeah," Tails added. "Staying here sounds like a good idea for now. Maybe we can even figure out a bit about how the Chaos Emeralds work!"

"Sounds like a plan to me, what do you think Sal?"

"I suppose it can't hurt to stay, Tails does have a point. Figuring out more about the Chaos Emeralds could be valuable, and I don't think we're going to find someone who knows more about them than Robotnik any time soon. It'll just be a matter of getting him to talk."

"I don't think that'll be too hard," Sonic responded. "Given how much he decided to tell us yesterday about the research he's been doing here. I think we'll just have to ask the right questions."

The other two mobians nodded in agreement. Tails was especially happy about the group possibly staying for a few more days, which would hopefully give Robotnik plenty of time to complete whatever research he needed to help fix the fox's own problems. He figured he'd bring up his nighttime talk with Robotnik some other time, he had no idea how Sonic and Sally would react to the information.

The trio gathered their stuff and exited their quarters. Immediately they ran into Orbot and Cubot.

"Greetings" Orbot began, "The doctor wants to talk to you."

"He said he's got tests for you!" Cubot added.

The three mobians exchanged quick concerned glances, what sort of tests did Robotnik have planned?

"Don't be alarmed," Orbot continued. "I assure you they're perfectly safe. If you'll follow me please."

Seeing no better option, the trio followed behind the two robots as they entered the elevator, traveling back down to Robotnik's workshop where they found him still looking over the device Tails had seen him working on last night. The ever stoic Hero of Legend waited nearby, its digital red eyes watching the group's every move.

"If it isn't you three!" Robotnik said, turning away from his work. "I was wondering when you'd be awake. With the storm having passed, I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me with some of my research. Your input could prove quite valuable. I don't have many opportunities to test these things given the rather remote location of this sanctuary…"

"We can help!" Tails volunteered, "As long as it's not anything too dangerous that is…"

"It's perfectly safe!" Robotnik responded, adjusting his bronze colored glasses as his attention turned to Sonic. "But I was more curious about your hedgehog friend's thoughts on the matter."

Sonic quickly thought over his options, at the very least, cooperating would maybe give Tails and Sally a chance to figure out how they were going to get the Chaos Emerald from Robotnik. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything better to do.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Nothing too complicated really, just wanted you to test how the new systems I'm working on for the Hero of Legend."

Sonic looked over at the mechanical hedgehog, eyeing the automaton with suspicion. "Alright, let's do it then."

"Excellent. If you three would just follow me outside, we can begin the tests."

Robotnik motioned for the trio to follow him and they did after some hesitation, the robotic Hero of Legend filed in at the back of the group.

Stepping outside into the snow the five of them traveled around the side of the structure, eventually arriving at an exterior area the Freedom Fighters hadn't seen when they'd initially arrived. An observation deck had been raised high above the otherwise open area, and an elevator platform nearby allowed access to the top of it.

"You'll be needing this," Robotnik said, reaching into the folds of his cloak with his robotic hand and producing the purple Chaos Emerald that he kept on himself. He gave the gemstone to Sonic.

"What for?" The hedgehog asked. The gemstone in his hands was somewhat warm to the touch, and he felt strange tingling sensations occasionally pulse through his hand and up his arm before dissipating.

"That's partially what we're here to see." The scientist continued, before turning his attention to the other two mobians. "As for you two, you'll be with me."

The other two followed behind Robotnik to the elevator platform. As soon as all of them were on it immediately started to ascend up before arriving at the observation deck. From here, they could see everything in the area, including both Sonic and the Hero of Legend down below, with complete clarity.

"Now, let's see how you two perform then." Robotnik spoke, his voice amplified by several speakers built into the frame of the observation deck. "Hero, if you wouldn't mind showing our friend here just what you're capable of…"

The mechanical hedgehog turned to face Sonic, his red glowing eyes sizing up the other hedgehog as he drew the sword from the scabbard at his side.

Sonic immediately took a step back, "When you meant test, this isn't quite what I had in mind."

"I've instructed him not to kill you," Robotnik responded. "But what else did you have in mind when I said we were testing what the robot was capable of?"

Sonic didn't have time to respond as he stepped back to avoid the path of the automaton's sword swing.

"Alright fine," Sonic thought. "Focus, you've got this."

Drawing his dagger, Sonic focused his gaze on his opponent, quickly looking over the robot for any sort of vulnerability in its guard as its heavy mechanical feet crunched the snow beneath it as it approached.

Spotting an opportunity to strike, Sonic felt something unusual. A surge of energy charged up his arm from the Chaos Emerald he held, and suddenly, his brain ran at a thousand thoughts a second, every minor change in the machine's weight came to his head as he moved forward to attack, instincts taking over.

The hedgehog instantly closed the gap between the two of them in a cloud of loose snow, kicked up by the sudden burst of speed. Before the machine could even react, Sonic's plasma bladed dagger slashed through its torso, sending a shower of sparks flying out.

Stopping a ways behind the machine, Sonic took a second to look back and try to figure out what had happened. He'd experienced brief bursts of speed before, but they were exactly that, inconsistent bursts fueled by adrenaline, this was something different.

This was pure raw power.

The machine turned to face Sonic just in time to get another slash to the arm, leaving another sizable gash in the machine's plating. Its internal algorithms were unequipped to deal with something moving as fast as Sonic was.

Robotnik, of course, was watching the whole thing from his observation platform.

"Well, this was certainly unexpected!" The scientist said.

Sally and Tails also watched on with extreme curiosity as Sonic ran circles around the machine faster than either of them could even follow.

"Tails," Sally began. "Maybe you're onto something about Sonic being the Hero of Legend…"

"But, how?" Tails asked.

"Chaos Energy," Robotnik answered. "Chaos Emeralds are far more than just pretty gemstones. They're stores of endless energy, pure power condensed so tightly that it takes on a physical form. Some mobians, such as your friend, are capable of tapping into that power, using it to perform feats that others could only dream of."

"So Sonic can manipulate it?"

"It would seem so, those naturally attuned to Chaos Energy can sometimes access it in the very air around us, but a Chaos Emerald is an endless power source, a conduit that fuels anything it touches."

"What if I were to touch it then?" Tails questioned. "Would it also make me able to go really fast?"

"Chaos Energy manifests itself differently in each living thing that comes into contact with it. It itself is part of every living thing in the universe, but it's only those who are attuned to its use that can manipulate it to such an extent, and those are a relative minority. In all likelihood, you'd simply feel a sort of power from the gemstone, but wouldn't be able to control or harness it."

The scientist watched Sonic assault the automaton again and again, racing past it with blinding speed, and while each strike didn't do much damage, the outcome was inevitable.

"Alright, that's enough!" Robotnik said, his voice projecting across the area as he and the two mobians with him made their way to the elevator platform.

Sonic stopped his assault, slowing down once again to reasonable speeds. He felt incredible, whatever the emerald had done to him, he knew he wanted more.

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Robotnik continued as he walked over to the hedgehog. "Perhaps there's more to you than I first thought."

Sonic took a second to check the damage he'd done to the Hero of Legend, several sections of its external plating were destroyed, leaving some of its externals exposed to the snow. Despite its damages, however, the machine still seemed completely functional as it sheathed its sword.

"I guess I could say the same," Sonic responded. "Never done anything like that before."

"I'll be looking forward to going over the information that Hero has been recording. I do wish he wasn't quite as damaged, but it's nothing that can't be fixed… I am, however, going to need that Emerald back."

Sonic somewhat reluctantly handed the gemstone back to Robotnik, feeling the power he'd felt drain out of his system as soon as he'd set the gem into the scientist's robotic hand.

"I'll go over the data as soon as possible, I'm sure you're just as curious to know what the findings are. I explained a bit to both of your friends here so hopefully, they can fill you in."

Sally and Tails nodded as the group traveled back through the snow to the main structure. The five of them were immediately greeted by Orbot and Cubot as they entered back into the workshop.

"Hey boss!" Orbot exclaimed, quickly noticing the damage sustained to the automation among the group. "Seems like testing went poorly again…"

"Watch these three while I go over the results." Robotnik replied before turning his attention back to the trio of mobians with him as he made his way to the elevator, the Hero of Legend close behind him. "You're free to explore the place, Orbot should be able to keep you out of trouble. I'll find you to share any findings shortly."

The trio nodded in acknowledgment as the elevator doors closed, leaving the scientist and his machine alone as they descended downward. It wasn't long before the doors opened into Robotnik's personal quarters.

"Now then," Robotnik began, speaking to the automation with him as he sat at his desk, his own personal computer springing to life. "Let's give whatever you've managed to gather a look."

The Hero of Legend stood nearby as the scientist connected him to the computer, and it wasn't long before all of the machine's files were visible to him.

"That hedgehog is capable of far more than I could have ever imagined." He thought, "Let's see what exactly is going on here…"

Accessing the machine's memory banks, he quickly located the files for the most recent testing session. Opening the results files, he started to comb over the data for anything interesting or unusual. The Hero of Legend continuously scanned those it met, creating very detailed information files of each living thing it came across and the Freedom Fighters were no different. These files were used to allow the machine to learn, adapt, and change to its environment.

They also proved quite useful for combat and research purposes…

Sonic's file had received substantial updates during the testing exercise, and the Hero of Legend had been busy recording information about how the hedgehog fought, he'd also been busy recording how much Chaos Energy had been used by the hedgehog, as well as how exactly that energy had been channeled. Its sensors were practically built to be able to refine that data down to something far more usable, giving the scientist detailed information about whatever facet of it he desired.

Immediately, Robotnik's thoughts started to form a design in his head. Looking over detailed information about how Sonic had managed to utilize Chaos Energy piqued his curiosity. He quickly grabbed a set of blueprints and a pencil from nearby and started to scribble down his designs.

"So, Hero, I think it's about time you got an upgrade…"

Alright everyone, that's all for now! Let me know what you thought of the chapter in a review, and we'll check back in with the Freedom Fighters next chapter! Until next time!