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."

There was a bit of hesitation. Who should go first? Shadow shivered ready to make the first step when Amy did so a second earlier. She came forward, making a small curtsy and her face wasn't showing any big fear. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Amy Rose from Rosemary city and the only daughter of Rose family." Even her voice sounded firm.

Nigel nodded, giving her small smile. "I remember having a nice conversation with your father... four or five years ago I believe. His delivery company has always saved us a lot of time and provided exceptional service."

"So that squirrel man giving a salt into his morning tea was you, sir?" she smiled at him too and this remark made him blush.

"What can I say..." he giggled a bit. For his age, he had a love for playing harmless pranks from time to time. However, Mr. Reagan wasn't salty over it, but honestly, the overdose of sugar in his tea in return sure made him an exceptionally sweet gentleman. "So what is your ability, young lady?" he quickly asked, letting the nostalgia for later.

"I can see other person's soul," she simply answered.

"See a soul?" His brain kicked it into an overdrive. He knew a lot of stories and he had read plenty of books about supernatural abilities. He naturally came across of this rare and hardly explored ability. "Silver sure wasn't exaggerating," he muttered to himself.

"Young lady, if the information we have about this phenomenon, you should be able to discover demon's names, making their pacifying easier. And even if that won't prove to be true, winding a hidden danger inside of a human being is equally valuable." He paused for a moment. "However, I still wonder if it could be possible to get some weak demon to at least test it."

The pink lass slightly bowed. "There is no need for that. I have already proven the truth about seeing demon's names."

"Really?" how it was... his eyes fell on the red and black fellow, who hadn't moved a bit or looked into his eyes. 'Could he be...?' Nigel might have been behind the desk for ten years now, but he still could feel demons nearby. On the other hand, he would never think Silver would bring a demon with him.

Amy took his hand, patting the shoulder and the figure moved a step closer. "This person is Eclipse, he is a kind-hearted demon and my partner." She showed Nigel the ring she got and slightly pulled down the red scarf revealing the collar.

"So... he is a demon," he silently said moving a bit closer. There was nothing demonic about him. There were seals all around the city... the one around the HQ were exceptionally strong, so why... He reached forward and his open palm was hovering above the small demon's forehead.

The creature didn't move, it's body frozen. Mr. Acorn wasn't trying to harm him, but to evaluate his inner energy. It was one of his special skills. But even with this scan, there was nothing out of ordinary... yet that was making it exactly off. He put his hands behind. He glanced at Silver, but there was no change in his expression. 'How strange,' pondered the squirrel man.

He noticed the pink girl was looking worried, so he quickly smiled, saying: "I was only wondering where this small fella tucked his wings."

This time it was Gold answering: "Your Holiness, I have put a small seal over his body, hiding his demonic features."

"I see," he nodded at her, walking back to his table, hiding his shocked expression. There was something strange going on, but he had no explanation for it... yet. When he turned back, he was smiling. "I'm sure your talent will only grow."

The pink hedgehog girl did another curtsy. "Thank you."

Nigel looked at Sonic. "And what about you, young man?" He sure hoped this one wasn't a demon either... but in light of the recent discovery, it wouldn't surprise him. The blue boy kept staring at him. His head was empty despite making so many cool lines beforehand. There was only one thing he could do – to run.

The head of The Order had jaw-dropping experience as he tried to follow the blue blur. The demonstration took about ten or so seconds, but it felt like an eternity. The man had to catch his head and lean against the table to prevent the fall.

"I can run really fast and my parents were agents of The Order. I want to follow in their footsteps," the blue lad said once he returned to his original post.

"That's... That's amazing!!" Nigel shouted, still feeling a bit weak in his legs. "I can't even imagine the full extent of your possibilities! From confusing enemy to aiding a hurt person or making a delivery! Your talent is just as unique!!" He had high expectations, but both children surpassed them by miles. And if he remembered it correctly, Silver mentioned three of them.

His eyes had fallen on Shadow. There is no age limit when supernatural abilities may awake, of course, the sooner the better and he was supposed to have some clues about the infamous accident around the Emerald Coast. The ebony hedgehog let out a deep sigh and slowly took off his coat, tie, and shirt. Nigel patiently waited, knowing there was a reason for it. When he took his boots as well, he was sure now it had to do something with a physical change.

And to be honest, he had never heard of anyone to be capable of doing it, so that was making it even more unique. And yet again he had to question what gold... no, diamond mine his best S agent stumbled upon.

The black arm was placed on the cross and Mr. Nigel's fur bristled. He could feel it... a rise in demonic energy! Before he could react, the cross was taken down and green flames overcame his body. The man only watched as a par of wings emerged and the hedgehog's body gained many demonic trails. The most surprising for him was the third eye and the yellow sclera... but the biggest shock came when the demon knelt down.

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog... I'm a demon responsible for the massacre on the Emerald Coast and for the death of agent Blue and Maya Blue. The latter managed to seal my power. I assume with the combination of falling from the cliff and hitting my head it caused an amnesia.

I have been found by other people, who believed I was a priest who got into an accident. As I had no memories, I accepted that role and for eight years I lived that way. In the past days I have found out about my true form and with Miss Gold's help, I recovered part of my memory regarding that incident.

I'm acknowledging my crimes. I'm leaving my fate in your hands."

Nigel... said nothing... simply watching him.