The Crossing Destinies [OPEN Sonic the Hedgehog FF]

Choosing a path (8/11)

The door in front of them slowly opened on their own. Eclipse felt like running away... seriously, but deep inside the instinct was yelling at him, running means certain death. Behind these doors... was someone very powerful... scary... out of his league... He had no choice but to enter lion's den, and hope the fate will be merciful towards him.

Silver and Gold walked first, with the priest and boy behind them and Eclipse at the dead end... walking at snail's pace. With the corner of an eye, he noticed the door was slowly closing, once they were indoors, tears started to form in his eyes.

The room was enormous with tall bookshelves around the walls and ladders on rolls attached to them. There was no doubt the most information about the missions was kept here. The chandelier was made of crystals and it used small power rings instead of candles. The big carpet covering most of the floor was soft and held the symbol of The Order; a big acorn in front of a cross and crest.

They stopped in front of a long and heavy table that had behind big tall windows with a view into the city and garden in front of the building. The big swivel chair was facing the windows.

The young psychic cleared his throat, announcing their arrival: "Your Holiness, I have brought the promising people as I have reported."

There was no answer, but the chair started to slowly turn around. It was creepy since the atmosphere was so dense and most of the group was nervous beyond the belief. In the swivel was sitting a big, fat purple striped cat with a blank stare and long pointy ears. It was a mystery how such long ears weren't drooping since they remained horizontal the whole time.

Shadow gasped. 'So this is the head of The Order?'

'He looks lame,' thought Sonic.

'The appearance... can be deceiving, right?' Amy ensured herself. She expected a lot more noble person, but this one was... out of the place.

Silver was shaking, clenching his fists. "Your Holiness..." He turned his head back, barking: "This is not a time for jokes!"

The others mimicked him, noticing silently giggling person standing in the corner. "Why not? It's such a nice day," replied the figure in a friendly tone. The figure hidden in the shadows slowly approached them, revealing the head of The Order was belonging to the squirrel clan. He was wearing military uniform of a white color decorated by golden stripes and lining and with gold epaulets, his boots seemed to be ready for some heavy hiking and around his waist was a belt with acorn-shaped buckle. His fur was mostly brown but he had auburn hair and eyebrows.

He played a bit with his the same colored short mustache as he was walking closer and that playful smile didn't go away. Sonic was curiously watching his large, rounded and bushy tail. He wondered if he had ever used it as an emergency pillow.

The man continued: "Especially if you have arranged this meeting with such exceptional individuals. It's too rare opportunity to pass it." He made sure to glance at each of them, tho no matter how many times he had counted them, there was one extra. Was it that shivering fellow? He was aware of their arrival since they stepped on the stairs, but this little guy was making him curious. Did Silver encounter one more spectacular youngster?

His sensitive ears couldn't overhear the psychic to snort. What can he say? This was a small revenge for all the foreshadowing and not being specific. The atmosphere got significantly better since the head of The Order seemed to be a nice and easygoing person.

The man came to the table, standing in front of it. "Welcome to the HQ of The Order, I'm Nigel Acorn, the leader of this organization dedicated to protecting the people." He slightly bowed to demonstrate his friendly attitude towards them. "Since you are here, I'll skip all the commonly known information. From the time Silver have informed me, I was looking forward to meeting future agents with exceptional talents, tho he was close-mouthed about anything specific." He slightly frowned at him however, there was a mischievous spark in his eyes. "So please, introduce yourself."