The meeting hall was modest compared to the grand council chambers Nazo remembered from later comic issues—those wouldn't exist until Knothole was rebuilt after Robotnik's defeat. For now, it was a simple wooden structure with a long table, several chairs, and maps of the region pinned to the walls. Candles provided illumination, casting flickering shadows that danced across the faces of those assembled.
Sally took a seat at the head of the table, her posture straight and commanding despite the exhaustion that Nazo could see lurking behind her eyes. Sonic sprawled in a chair to her right, somehow managing to look casual even in what was clearly meant to be a formal setting. Shadow stood against the wall near the door, arms crossed, his crimson eyes never leaving Nazo's silver form.
"Sit," Sally said, gesturing to a chair across from her.
Nazo complied, lowering himself into the seat with a grace that still surprised him. His new body moved differently than his old human one—more fluid, more responsive, as if every motion was optimized for maximum efficiency. He wondered if this was what athletes felt like, or if this was something beyond even peak physical performance.
"Before we begin," Sally continued, "I want to make something clear. You helped us today, and that matters. But Knothole is under constant threat from Dr. Robotnik's forces. We can't afford to let our guard down, not even for someone who appears to be an ally. If at any point I feel you're being deceptive or withholding critical information, this conversation ends and you will be detained. Understood?"
"Understood," Nazo replied. "I'll be as forthcoming as I can."
"'As you can,'" Sonic repeated, leaning forward. "See, that right there makes me nervous. Why not just be completely honest?"
"Because some truths are difficult to explain without context. And some truths, if revealed too quickly, can cause more harm than good." Nazo paused, considering his words. "I promise you this: I will not lie to you. But I may choose to delay certain revelations until you're ready to hear them."
"That's not exactly reassuring," Shadow observed from his position by the door.
"It's the best I can offer. The alternative is overwhelming you with information you're not prepared to process, which helps no one."
Sally studied him for a long moment, her brown eyes analytical. Then she nodded slightly, apparently accepting this condition—for now.
"Let's start with the basics. Who are you? Where do you come from? And how did you end up exploding out of the Master Emerald on Angel Island?"
Nazo took a deep breath—an action that felt strange, given that he wasn't entirely sure his new body actually needed to breathe. But the gesture helped center his thoughts, and that was what mattered.
"My name is Nazo. As for what I am..." He spread his hands, silver light flickering between his fingers. "I am the accumulated negative chaos energy that has been released every time the Chaos Emeralds have been used throughout history."
Silence.
Sonic blinked. Shadow's eyes narrowed. Sally's expression shifted from analytical to confused.
"Come again?" Sonic said.
Nazo leaned forward, his emerald eyes intense. "The Chaos Emeralds are sources of incredible power. You've used them many times, Sonic—to transform into Super Sonic, to defeat enemies that would otherwise be unstoppable. But power always comes with a cost. Every time you channel that energy, you're drawing on the positive aspects of chaos—courage, determination, the will to protect others. But chaos isn't just positive. It has a negative aspect as well."
"Dark chaos energy," Shadow murmured, his expression thoughtful. "I've encountered it before. It's what powers the Chaos Blast, what drives the more destructive applications of chaos techniques."
"Exactly." Nazo nodded toward the black hedgehog. "You understand better than most, Shadow. Light and dark, positive and negative—the Chaos Emeralds contain both. When they're used for heroic purposes, the positive energy is channeled into the user. But the negative energy has to go somewhere. It doesn't simply vanish."
"So where does it go?" Sally asked, her voice careful.
"For centuries, it accumulated. Every Super transformation, every Chaos Control, every time the emeralds were used to save the world—a small amount of negative energy was released. It gathered in the space between dimensions, in the cracks between zones, in the very fabric of the Chaos Force itself. Over time, that energy began to coalesce. To take shape. To develop... awareness."
Sonic's face had gone pale beneath his blue fur. "You're saying... every time I went Super..."
"You contributed to my creation. Yes." Nazo held up a hand before Sonic could respond. "But don't misunderstand—this isn't an accusation, and it isn't your fault. You were doing what needed to be done. Saving the world, protecting the innocent, stopping threats that no one else could stop. The negative energy released was an unavoidable byproduct, not a consequence of any moral failing on your part."
"That doesn't make me feel better," Sonic muttered.
"It shouldn't," Nazo admitted. "But it should give you context for what I am. I was born from the darkness that heroism leaves behind. For a long time, I was nothing but raw energy—formless, mindless, a swirling mass of chaos without purpose or direction. But as more energy accumulated, I began to develop consciousness. Thoughts. Feelings. And eventually, a desire."
"A desire for what?" Shadow asked, his tone sharp.
Nazo met his gaze steadily. "Initially? Destruction. I was born from negative energy, after all. My earliest impulses were toward violence, chaos, the annihilation of everything that had created me. I wanted to tear this world apart, to make the beings who had unknowingly brought me into existence suffer as I had suffered in the void between realities."
The tension in the room ratcheted up several notches. Sonic's hand twitched toward his quills—a reflexive preparation for combat. Shadow's chaos energy flared, barely contained. Even Sally shifted in her seat, her hand moving toward something beneath the table—a weapon, probably.
"But," Nazo continued, his voice calm, "I did not act on those impulses."
"Why not?" Sally asked, her voice tight.
"Because in the moment before I could, something else happened. The Chaos Force itself intervened." Nazo closed his eyes, remembering the sensation of that vast presence surrounding him, speaking to him, offering him something he hadn't known he needed. "It showed me what I could become if I followed the path of destruction. It showed me the worlds I would burn, the lives I would end, the emptiness that would consume me once there was nothing left to destroy. And then it showed me an alternative."
"What alternative?"
Nazo opened his eyes. "Purpose. Meaning. The chance to use my power for something other than annihilation. The Chaos Force told me that threats were coming to Mobius Prime—threats that the current defenders wouldn't be able to handle alone. It offered me a choice: become the monster my origins destined me to be, or become something new. A protector. A champion."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"I chose to be something new."
The silence stretched on for several long seconds. Finally, Sonic let out a breath he'd apparently been holding.
"Okay," the blue hedgehog said slowly. "That's... a lot to process. You're telling me that you're basically the evil twin of every Super transformation I've ever done, but you decided to be good instead of evil because the Chaos Force asked nicely?"
"An oversimplification, but essentially accurate."
"And we're supposed to just... believe that?"
Nazo spread his hands. "I have no way to prove my story. The Chaos Force doesn't exactly provide references. But consider the evidence: I appeared at a moment of crisis, helped defeat a major threat, chose not to kill Scourge when I easily could have, and am now sitting here answering your questions instead of reducing this village to rubble."
"You're right," Shadow said unexpectedly. "You could have destroyed us all. The power you displayed against Crocbot was impressive, but you were holding back—significantly. If you wanted us dead, we'd be dead."
"Shadow!" Sonic protested.
"It's a simple tactical assessment. Don't let your ego blind you to reality." Shadow pushed off from the wall, taking a step closer to the table. "The question isn't whether Nazo has the power to threaten us. The question is whether we can trust his claim that he won't."
"And how do we determine that?" Sally asked.
"We don't. Not definitively." Shadow's crimson eyes fixed on Nazo with unsettling intensity. "Trust is earned through consistent action over time. He's been here for less than an hour. We have no basis for trust, and no basis for distrust. All we can do is observe, evaluate, and be prepared to act if necessary."
Sally nodded slowly. "That's... pragmatic. And probably the best approach we have." She turned back to Nazo. "You said the Chaos Force sent you here because threats were coming. What threats?"
Here was the delicate part. Nazo knew the future—or at least, the future as it had been written in the comics. But how much could he reveal without causing the very changes he was trying to prevent? The butterfly effect was a real concern; altering events too dramatically could make his knowledge worthless.
"I can't give you specifics," he said carefully. "The future isn't set in stone, and revealing too much could alter events in unpredictable ways. What I can tell you is that Dr. Robotnik is not your only enemy, or even your greatest one. There are forces in the multiverse that make him look like a minor nuisance by comparison. And some of those forces have already begun to move against Mobius Prime."
"The multiverse," Sally repeated. "You mean other zones? Parallel dimensions?"
"Among other things. You already know that zones exist—Scourge came from Anti-Mobius, after all. But the dimensional barriers are weaker than you realize, and there are beings out there who view Mobius Prime as... an opportunity."
Sonic frowned. "An opportunity for what?"
"Conquest. Destruction. Absorption. The motivations vary, but the result is the same: your world becomes a battleground, and billions of lives hang in the balance." Nazo paused, then added, "I'm here to help prevent that. Or, if prevention isn't possible, to help you survive it."
Sally was quiet for a long moment, processing everything she'd heard. Then, unexpectedly, she rose from her chair and walked around the table toward Nazo.
He tensed slightly, uncertain of her intentions. Was she going to attack him? Demand more answers? Try to restrain him somehow?
Instead, she stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"You're telling the truth," she said quietly. "Or at least, you believe you are. I've interrogated enough people to recognize genuine conviction when I see it."
"Sally—" Sonic started.
She held up a hand, silencing him. "I'm not saying we trust him completely. I'm not saying we let our guard down. But I am saying that my gut tells me he's not here to hurt us. And right now, with Robotnik's attacks intensifying and Scourge running loose with chaos powers, we need all the help we can get."
She reached out and placed a hand on Nazo's shoulder.
The contact was like a lightning bolt.
Nazo gasped, his entire body going rigid as sensation flooded through him. The warmth of her palm through his fur, the slight pressure of her fingers, the texture of her glove against his shoulder—every nerve ending in his new body seemed to fire at once, overwhelming his consciousness with input he wasn't prepared to process.
He'd been dead. He'd been nothing but disembodied consciousness in the void of the Chaos Force. And then he'd been reborn, thrown into a body made of pure chaos energy, given form without ever experiencing what form truly meant.
This was the first time anyone had touched him.
"Nazo?" Sally's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Are you alright?"
He couldn't answer. He was drowning in the simple sensation of contact, in the reality that he had a physical form that could interact with the world. The warmth of her hand spread through his shoulder, down his arm, across his chest. He could feel his own heartbeat—when had he gotten a heartbeat?—pounding against his ribs. He could feel the air moving in and out of his lungs. He could feel the weight of his own body pressing against the chair.
He could feel everything.
"Hey, uh, is he okay?" Sonic's voice, concerned. "He looks like he's having some kind of episode."
"I don't know. Nazo, can you hear me?" Sally's hand moved from his shoulder to his face, cupping his cheek, and the new point of contact made him shudder involuntarily.
Her fur was so soft. Her touch was so warm. He could feel the calluses on her palm—the marks of someone who worked with her hands, who fought and built and led through action as well as words. He could feel the pulse in her wrist, the tiny vibration of blood flowing through her veins.
It was too much. It was too real. It was too—
"Breathe," Shadow's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding. "You're hyperventilating. Focus on my voice and breathe."
Nazo forced himself to comply. In. Out. In. Out. Slowly, gradually, the overwhelming flood of sensation began to recede to manageable levels. He became aware that Sally was still touching his face, her expression a mixture of concern and something else—curiosity, perhaps. Or fascination.
"I'm sorry," he managed, his voice rough. "I wasn't... I wasn't prepared for that."
"Prepared for what?" Sally asked, not removing her hand.
"Physical contact. This body is new. I was created from energy, not born from flesh. I've never..." He trailed off, uncertain how to explain. "I've never been touched before. Not like this. The sensation was... overwhelming."
Understanding dawned in Sally's eyes. She didn't pull away—if anything, her touch became gentler, more deliberate.
"You've never been touched," she repeated softly. "Ever? In your entire existence?"
"I had no form to touch. I was raw chaos energy floating in the void between dimensions. Then the Chaos Force gave me this body, and I was thrown into a battle, and then I was here, and..." He shook his head. "This is the first time I've experienced what it means to have a physical presence in the world."
Sally was quiet for a moment. Then, to the shock of everyone in the room—including Nazo—she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
The world exploded.
If her hand on his shoulder had been a lightning bolt, this was a supernova. Every inch of his body that pressed against hers registered the contact with impossible intensity. The warmth of her body heat. The softness of her fur. The firmness of her muscles beneath. The rhythm of her breathing. The sound of her heartbeat, so close to his ear. The scent of her—forest and flowers and something uniquely her.
Nazo's hands came up involuntarily, hovering uncertain inches from her back. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know the protocol for this situation. In his old life as Marcus Chen, he'd been awkward with physical affection—a product of an introverted personality and years of isolation. In this new life, he was even more lost.
"Sally, what are you doing?" Sonic asked, his voice carrying a note of bewildered concern.
"He's never been touched," Sally said simply, not releasing Nazo. "He's never been hugged. He's been alone since the moment of his creation, and now he's here, trying to help us, and he doesn't even know what basic physical comfort feels like. The least I can do is show him."
"That's very touching," Shadow said dryly, "but perhaps we should consider whether embracing the potentially dangerous chaos entity is strategically sound?"
"Hush, Shadow."
Nazo's hands finally made contact with her back, and the sensation nearly undid him again. He could feel the play of muscles beneath her vest, the ridge of her spine, the expansion of her ribcage as she breathed. He could feel the trust implicit in this gesture—she was holding him, vulnerable, exposed, within arm's reach of his chaos powers. If he wanted to hurt her, there was nothing she could do to stop him.
But he didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He just wanted... this. This simple, human—no, Mobian—connection that he'd never known he needed until it was being offered.
"Thank you," he whispered, and he was horrified to find that his voice was cracking. Was he going to cry? Did this body even have tear ducts?
"You're welcome," Sally replied, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
She held him for a long moment—longer than was probably appropriate, longer than the situation warranted. But she seemed to understand, on some instinctive level, that he needed this. That after an existence of isolation and darkness and newly formed consciousness, he needed to be reminded that warmth and kindness existed in the universe.
When she finally pulled back, her hands lingered on his arms, maintaining contact even as she created distance.
"Feeling better?" she asked.
Nazo nodded, not trusting his voice.
"Good." She returned to her seat, and if her cheeks were slightly flushed beneath her fur, neither Sonic nor Shadow commented on it. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes—threats to the multiverse and your role in preventing them."
The shift back to business was jarring, but Nazo was grateful for it. It gave him something to focus on besides the lingering phantom sensation of Sally's embrace.
"I'll help in any way I can," he said, his voice steadier now. "But I should warn you: I'm still learning the limits and capabilities of this form. My power is substantial, but my control is... developing."
"We noticed," Shadow said. "Your chaos signature fluctuates irregularly. You're not used to containing this much energy."
"No. The Chaos Force gave me power without much in the way of instructions. I'm figuring things out as I go."
"Then we'll train together." Shadow's statement was matter-of-fact, brooking no argument. "If you're going to be operating alongside us, you need to be able to control your abilities with precision. Uncontrolled chaos energy is more dangerous than malicious chaos energy."
"I'd appreciate that."
"Don't appreciate it yet. My training methods are not gentle."
Sonic snorted. "Shadow's idea of 'training' involves getting punched in the face repeatedly until you learn to dodge."
"It builds reflexes."
"It builds bruises!"
"Same thing."
Sally cleared her throat, drawing attention back to herself. "Alright, I think we've covered the essentials for now. Nazo, you're not a prisoner, but I'm going to ask you to remain in Knothole for the time being. We'll assign you quarters, introduce you to the other Freedom Fighters, and start integrating you into our operations. Shadow will oversee your training. Sonic will... try not to antagonize you too much."
"Hey!"
"Am I wrong?"
Sonic opened his mouth, closed it, then shrugged. "Fair point."
Sally stood, and the others followed suit. "We have a lot of work to do. Crocbot's attack was just the beginning—Robotnik's been ramping up his aggression lately, and intelligence suggests he's planning something big. Whatever you know about future threats, Nazo, I'd appreciate you sharing it with me privately. But for now, let's focus on the immediate crisis."
She moved toward the door, then paused and looked back at Nazo.
"One more thing. The way I acted—the hug, the touching—I want you to understand that it wasn't... I don't normally..." She trailed off, her cheeks definitely flushed now. "I don't know what came over me. It felt right, in the moment. But I don't want you to think—"
"I understand," Nazo said, and he did. There was something about his chaos signature that seemed to affect people in strange ways—he'd noticed it with Rouge, and now with Sally. Whether it was an intentional effect of his creation or an unintended side effect, he didn't know. "No explanation necessary."
Sally nodded, looking relieved. "Thank you. Now, come on. Let me introduce you to the rest of the team."
The tour of Knothole Village took the better part of an hour.
Sally led the way, pointing out various buildings and explaining their functions with the ease of someone who had given this tour dozens of times. The medical building where Dr. Quack treated the wounded. The machine shop where Rotor maintained their vehicles and equipment. The training grounds where the Freedom Fighters honed their combat skills. The mess hall where everyone gathered for meals.
Everywhere they went, Nazo drew stares.
It made sense—he was an unknown hedgehog radiating visible chaos energy, walking alongside their princess and their greatest hero. But there was something else in some of those stares, something that made him uncomfortable. The female Mobians they passed seemed particularly... attentive. Their eyes lingered on him longer than curiosity warranted, and more than one blushed when he met their gaze.
What is happening? Nazo wondered. Is this another side effect of my chaos signature? Am I inadvertently affecting everyone around me?
He filed the question away for later investigation. There were more pressing concerns at the moment.
The first major introduction was Tails, who had finished his force field generator and was eager to show it off. The young fox's eyes went wide when he saw Nazo, and he immediately began bombarding him with questions.
"Your energy signature is incredible! How do you maintain coherence with that much chaos power? What's the frequency of your base resonance? Can you manipulate matter at the quantum level? Do you need to eat? Sleep? What happens if you run out of energy?"
"Tails," Sonic said, placing a hand on the fox's shoulder. "Breathe."
"Sorry! I just get excited about new phenomena. And Nazo is definitely a new phenomenon!" Tails's twin tails wagged enthusiastically. "I've never seen anything like him in any of my research. He's like a living Chaos Emerald!"
"That's... not entirely inaccurate," Nazo admitted. "I'm still learning the details myself, but from what I understand, my body is essentially solidified chaos energy given form and consciousness."
"Fascinating! We should run some tests—non-invasive ones, I promise! I want to understand how you work!"
"Perhaps later. Right now, the Princess is showing me around."
Tails deflated slightly but accepted this. "Okay, but I'm holding you to that! Nice to meet you, Nazo!"
"Likewise, Tails."
The next introduction was Bunnie Rabbot, whose southern drawl and metallic limbs made her instantly recognizable.
"Well, sugah, ain't you just the shiniest thing Ah've ever seen." She looked him up and down appreciatively. "Sally tells me you blew up Crocbot like he was nothin'. Gotta say, that's mighty impressive."
"It was a coordinated effort," Nazo replied modestly. "Sonic and Shadow had him on the ropes. I just finished the job."
"Aw, listen to him bein' all humble! Ah like that in a man." Bunnie grinned, her organic eye twinkling. "You ever need anything, sugah-hog, you just let ol' Bunnie know. Ah'm always happy to help a friend."
"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."
Antoine D'Coolette was considerably less welcoming. The mustachioed coyote regarded Nazo with undisguised suspicion, one hand resting on the hilt of his ceremonial sword.
"I am not trusting of zis strange hedgehog," he declared. "He appears from nowhere, with power like nothing we have seen, and we are simply accepting heem into our ranks? Zis is foolishness!"
"Noted, Antoine," Sally said patiently. "Your concerns are valid, and we're taking precautions. But Nazo helped us today, and he's agreed to stay in Knothole where we can keep an eye on him."
"Keep an eye on heem? We should be locking heem up! For all we know, he is working for Robotnik!"
"I assure you," Nazo said, keeping his voice calm, "I am not allied with Dr. Robotnik. Quite the opposite, in fact."
"And we are simply taking your word for zis?"
"For now? Yes. I understand your distrust, Antoine. It's a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation. But I hope that, over time, I'll be able to demonstrate my good intentions through action."
Antoine harrumphed but didn't argue further. He shot one more suspicious glare at Nazo before stalking away to attend to some other duty.
"Don't mind him," Sonic said. "Ant's paranoid about everyone. It took him months to stop suspecting ME of being a robot spy."
"A healthy dose of paranoia can be valuable," Nazo replied. "It keeps you alive when others let their guard down."
"Yeah, well, there's a difference between healthy paranoia and thinking everyone's out to get you. Trust me, I've seen both."
The tour continued. Nazo met Rotor, the walrus mechanic who maintained Knothole's technology and defenses. He met Nicole, the AI who existed primarily as a handheld computer but whose consciousness was vastly more sophisticated than her hardware suggested. He met the various other Freedom Fighters and support staff who called Knothole home.
And everywhere he went, he noticed the same pattern: the male Mobians were cautious, suspicious, or at best neutrally curious. The females were... something else. They stared at him with an intensity that bordered on uncomfortable, their body language shifting in subtle ways that even his newly formed consciousness could recognize.
It wasn't until they reached the quarters Sally had assigned him—a small but comfortable hut near the edge of the village—that he finally asked about it.
"Sally, can I ask you something?"
She turned from where she'd been lighting a candle on his desk. "Of course."
"The way some of the villagers were looking at me... particularly the female Mobians... is that normal?"
Sally's expression flickered through surprise, embarrassment, and finally something like resignation. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice. Or that I was imagining it."
"So it's not just my imagination?"
"No." She sat down on the edge of his bed—the gesture casual but somehow intimate in the small space. "I noticed it too. And if I'm being honest, I felt it myself. There's something about your chaos signature that's... attractive. Not just aesthetically, although you are striking to look at. It's more fundamental than that. It's like your energy resonates with something primal in us."
Nazo frowned. "I'm not doing it intentionally."
"I believe you. That's almost worse, actually—if you were doing it on purpose, I could be angry at you. But if it's an unintentional side effect of your nature..." She shrugged. "It's not really your fault, is it?"
"Is there a way to suppress it? I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."
"I don't know. Maybe Tails or Shadow could help you figure that out. In the meantime, just... be aware that some people might react to you in ways that seem disproportionate. And try not to take advantage of it."
"I would never—"
"I know." Sally smiled, and the expression softened her features remarkably. "That's one of the reasons I'm inclined to trust you. A less honorable person with your power and your effect on others would have already started exploiting it. The fact that you're concerned about making people uncomfortable says a lot about your character."
She stood, moving toward the door, and Nazo felt an irrational surge of disappointment that she was leaving. He crushed the feeling immediately—he barely knew her, had only met her hours ago, and she was a princess with responsibilities far beyond babysitting a newly formed chaos entity.
But she paused at the doorway, looking back at him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"Nazo?"
"Yes?"
"That hug, earlier. I meant what I said about not knowing what came over me. But I also meant it. You seemed like you needed it, and it felt right to offer. Don't..." She hesitated. "Don't read too much into it. But don't think it meant nothing, either."
Before he could formulate a response, she was gone.
Nazo sat in the quiet of his new quarters, processing everything that had happened. His death. His rebirth. The Chaos Force. The Master Emerald. Scourge. The battle with Crocbot. The Freedom Fighters. Sally.
Especially Sally.
I need to focus, he told himself firmly. I'm here for a reason. There are threats coming—threats I know about, threats I can prepare them for. Robotnik's final battle. Robo-Robotnik's invasion. Everything that comes after. I can't afford to get distracted by... by personal entanglements.
But even as he thought it, he could still feel the phantom sensation of her arms around him. Still feel the warmth of her body against his. Still hear the sound of her heartbeat, so close to his ear.
This was going to be complicated.
The night passed slowly.
Nazo discovered that his new body did, in fact, require sleep—or at least, rest. His chaos energy reserves replenished naturally over time, but the process was faster when he wasn't consciously using his powers. So he lay on the bed Sally had assigned him, staring at the wooden ceiling, and tried to quiet his racing mind.
It wasn't easy. Every time he closed his eyes, memories flooded through him—not of his old life as Marcus Chen, but of the void between realities where he'd existed as formless energy. The emptiness. The silence. The slow accumulation of consciousness without form or purpose. The rage that had built inside him, the dark impulses that had nearly consumed him before the Chaos Force intervened.
I could have been a monster, he thought. I was supposed to be a monster. Every cell of my being was created from negative energy, from the darkness cast off by heroic actions. I should be evil.
But he wasn't. Or at least, he didn't feel evil. He felt confused, overwhelmed, and slightly terrified by the responsibility that had been placed on his shoulders. But not evil.
Maybe that's the real test, he mused. Not whether I have the power to destroy, but whether I have the will to choose otherwise.
He finally drifted into an uneasy sleep, and his dreams were filled with chaos.
Morning came too quickly.
A knock at his door roused Nazo from slumber, and he sat up groggily, trying to remember where he was and why his body felt so strange.
Right. Dead. Reborn. Chaos entity. Knothole Village. Freedom Fighters. Sally.
The memories crashed back into place, and he rose from the bed, calling out, "Come in."
The door opened to reveal Tails, who was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Good morning! Sally said to let you sleep, but it's almost noon and I couldn't wait any longer! Do you want to run those tests now? I've set up my lab and everything! Oh, and Shadow wants to see you after lunch for training, and Sonic said something about a race but I think he was joking, and Rotor wants to know if your chaos energy could power the village generators, and—"
"Tails." Nazo held up a hand. "One thing at a time."
"Right! Sorry!" The young fox took a deep breath, visibly forcing himself to calm down. "One thing at a time. So, tests? Please?"
Despite his lingering exhaustion, Nazo found himself smiling. There was something infectious about Tails's enthusiasm—a pure joy in discovery that reminded Nazo of his own childhood, back when the world had been full of wonder instead of disappointment.
"Lead the way."
Tails's lab was a chaotic masterpiece of scientific curiosity. Half-finished inventions littered every surface, blueprints covered the walls, and the air hummed with the energy of multiple devices running simultaneously. In the center of the space, a scanning apparatus had been set up—clearly cobbled together from spare parts but obviously functional.
"Okay, so what I want to do is map your energy signature in detail," Tails explained, gesturing toward a platform beneath the scanner. "Stand there, and try to stay as still as possible. The sensors are sensitive, and any movement will distort the readings."
Nazo complied, stepping onto the platform and standing motionless. Tails began activating controls, and a web of blue light descended from the scanner, playing across Nazo's silver form.
"Fascinating," Tails murmured, eyes fixed on a display screen. "Your base energy signature is completely different from anything I've seen before. Sonic's chaos signature is blue, Shadow's is yellow-gold, the Chaos Emeralds each have their own color... but yours is silver, and it's not just a different color. The fundamental frequency is unique."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm not sure yet. But look at this—" Tails pointed to a waveform on the screen. "—your energy doesn't dissipate like normal chaos signatures. It's self-sustaining. You're essentially generating power from nothing, which should be impossible according to the laws of thermodynamics."
"Chaos energy doesn't follow normal physics," Nazo observed.
"True, but even chaos energy has to come from somewhere. The Chaos Emeralds draw from the Chaos Force. Super transformations are powered by the emeralds themselves. But you..." Tails trailed off, his expression thoughtful. "You're like a living conduit. Your body is converting something into chaos energy continuously, but I can't figure out what that something is."
"Perhaps the Chaos Force itself," Nazo suggested. "When I was created, the Chaos Force... infused me with its power. Perhaps I'm drawing from it directly."
"That would make you unique in all of known existence. The only being with a permanent, direct connection to the source of all chaos energy." Tails's eyes went wide. "Do you know what that means?"
"I have some idea."
"It means your power is theoretically limitless. As long as the Chaos Force exists, you'll never run out of energy. You could maintain a Super transformation indefinitely. You could perform Chaos Control continuously. You could—" Tails cut himself off, suddenly looking nervous. "Um. You could be really, really dangerous."
"Yes," Nazo agreed quietly. "I could be."
The implications hung in the air between them. Tails—young, brilliant, but still a child in many ways—had stumbled onto a truth that made him visibly uncomfortable.
"But I don't want to be dangerous," Nazo continued. "I want to help. That's why I'm here, letting you scan me, learning about my own capabilities so I can use them responsibly. Does that make sense?"
Tails nodded slowly, some of the tension leaving his small frame. "Yeah. Yeah, it makes sense. You're like Shadow in that way—you have all this power, but you're trying to control it instead of letting it control you."
"Shadow and I have more in common than either of us probably wants to admit."
"Speaking of Shadow," a new voice said from the laboratory doorway, "he's waiting for you at the training grounds. He specifically said to tell you that tardiness will not be tolerated."
Nazo turned to see Sally leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, a small smile playing at her lips.
"How long has he been waiting?" Nazo asked.
"About ten minutes. He's not happy."
"I should probably go, then."
Sally pushed off from the doorframe and fell into step beside him as he left the laboratory. Tails waved goodbye, already absorbed in analyzing the scan data.
"How did you sleep?" Sally asked as they walked.
"Restlessly. Dreams of... before."
"Before you came here?"
"Before I had form. When I was just energy in the void." Nazo shook his head. "It wasn't pleasant to remember."
Sally reached out and touched his arm—a brief, gentle contact that nonetheless sent a shiver through his oversensitized nervous system.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't imagine what that was like."
"Lonely," Nazo said simply. "Very lonely."
They walked in silence for a moment, and Nazo was acutely aware of how close Sally was to him. The warmth of her presence, the subtle scent of forest flowers that clung to her fur, the way she moved with confident grace despite her comparatively small stature.
Stop it, he told himself firmly. You have more important things to worry about than a schoolboy crush on a princess.
But it wasn't that simple, and he knew it. Whatever effect his chaos signature had on others, he was beginning to suspect it worked both ways. There was something about Sally that drew him, something beyond her physical beauty or her leadership qualities. Something that resonated with the chaos energy in his core.
Dangerous, he thought. This is dangerous. But I can't seem to stop it.
They reached the training grounds, where Shadow was waiting with his arms crossed and an impatient expression on his face.
"You're late," the black hedgehog said.
"Blame Tails," Nazo replied. "His enthusiasm is difficult to resist."
"I blame you for failing to resist it. Now." Shadow uncrossed his arms and dropped into a fighting stance. "Show me what you can do."
Sally stepped back, but she didn't leave. She watched from the edge of the training grounds, her expression unreadable.
Nazo faced Shadow, feeling chaos energy crackling beneath his silver fur.
The real work was about to begin.