Chapter 4: The Meeting
The sun was just beginning to set as the Council of Acorn entered the civic center. Sonic and Sally stood just outside, waiting for the meeting to begin. Sonic nodded to Tails and Amy over by the fountain. "How's it hanging, guys?" he asked.
"We're good, Sonic!" Tails smiled. "All ready to go!"
Amy blew him a kiss.
Sonic sweatdropped. He turned to Sally, who was focused on her handheld. "Yo, Sal, how come we ain't havin' the meeting in the usual place? Ya know, the castle?"
"Nicole says the nanites in the castle are especially unstable," Sally answered. "It will be much safer to do this in the civic center."
Sonic scratched his nose. "If you say so…"
King Elias Acorn stepped out the door of the civic center. He smiled at his sister. "All right, Sally. We're ready to begin the meeting."
Sonic and Sally entered the building. The council members were talking to one another about what had transpired earlier that day.
Penelope Platypus groaned, massaging the sides of her head. "It's terrible! Just terrible! I really picked the wrong day to un-pack my fine china. It's all in pieces, now…"
"Oh my," Rosemary Prower shook her head. "That is terrible!"
Hamlin rested his head in his hands. "This is ridiculous. The ground shakes a little, and we have to have a whole meeting about it! It's not like much, if any, damage was done!"
Dylan twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Yeah. But don't forget, Knuckles has been missing for awhile. We have to discuss what's to be done about that, too…"
Hamlin snorted. "He'll come back eventually, I'm sure. He's tough as nails, that guy! Besides, we have other heroes here who can protect us!"
"This whole thing has me worried," Rotor Walrus said. "First Knuckles disappears on a mission, and now there's been an earthquake. Maybe it's silly to think, but, maybe the two are connected?"
Sir Charles Hedgehog nodded. "It's certainly possible." he noticed Sonic come into the room and called to him. "Hey, sonny!"
Sonic waved. "Hey there, Uncle Chuck!"
Sally stood next to him, speaking into her handheld. "Are you ready, Nicole?"
"Ready, Sally." Nicole materialized into the room. "Let's begin."
Elias sat at the head of the council and attempted to make himself heard over the talking. "All right, everyone! Let's begin the meeting!" The room slowly quieted down. The King cleared his throat. "Now, Sally, we're here to discuss the recent earthquake as well as Knuckles' disappearance, yes?"
"Yes, your Highness," Sally confirmed. "The effects of the earthquake seem to have been minimal. Nicole has informed me that the tremors seem to have made some of the nanites unstable. They are in the process of being repaired now. We still have not been able to find the source of this earthquake. But based on the effect it had on the nanite's structure, I'm guessing it wasn't natural."
Elias nodded, looking thoughtful. "Yes, I see. Rotor, I understand you've been doing some research on the earthquake, correct? Have you found out anything?"
Rotor sighed. "Nope. Sorry."
"And what about the Chaotix Leader's disappearance?" Elias addressed his sister once more.
"Knuckles went on a mission a few weeks ago," Sally explained. "He did not inform his teammates of where he was going, and he ordered them not to follow him."
Sonic face-palmed. "Oh, Knucklehead…"
"What do you propose we do about this, Sally?" Elias inquired.
"Well, I propose that we…" Sally trailed off when she noticed her friend, Nicole, acting very strangely. "What's the matter, Nicole?"
Sonic gave her a look. "Yo, Nicole!" he raised his voice a little. "You spacing out or something?" Then he chuckled. "I don't blame ya; I'm a little bored, myself."
Elias and all the members of the Council of Acorn watched the holographic lynx worriedly. She stood perfectly still, staring off into space.
Sally frowned and placed her hands on Nicole's shoulders. "Nicole? Is something bothering you? Come on, talk to me…"
"Okay, okay," Sonic said. "That is seriously freaky. What's she doing?"
"I haven't the foggiest," Sally answered.
Nicole's pupils turned to the size of pinholes. She groaned and fell to her knees, gripping the sides of her head.
Sally knelt beside her friend, her calmness beginning to fade. "Nicole? Nicole? What's happening? Nicole?"
The quiet in the room was gone now. All the council members began speaking to one another anxiously. Elias was the last one to remain calm. He squinted curiously at the hologram on the floor.
Sonic walked over to the two of them. "What's going on?!" he shouted over the commotion.
"Isn't it obvious?!" Sally yelled back. "She's in pain!"
Sonic scratched his head. "Uhh, hello? She's a hologram, Sal! She can't be in pain!"
Sally glared at him. "Then what do you call this, Sonic?!"
Nicole whimpered and dug her fingers into her hair. A single tear slid down her cheek.
"I…uhh…" Sonic stammered. He couldn't fathom why or how this could be happening. It made no sense.
Then the rumbling started. Though, it wasn't nearly as intense as before.
"Everyone!" Elias raised his voice over the noise. "We should end this meeting now! It may not be safe here!" he directed them to the doorway.
The council filed slowly out of the building. The rumbling continued, and it was starting to get worse. Elias found that his sister and Sonic were still with Nicole. "Sally!" he called to her. "We have to go!"
Sally looked between him and Nicole, conflicted. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Sonic smiling at her. "Don't worry, Sal! I'll take care of Nicole!"
Sally hesitated a moment, then she nodded. "Okay. Okay." She followed Elias out the door to where the others were waiting.
Sonic felt something falling onto his head, specks of something. He looked at the ground by his shoes. Tiny little pebbles. Bits of the ceiling. The tremors were more intense than they'd ever been. Sonic leaned closer to Nicole so she could hear him. "Nicole! We gotta move! Now! Things are gettin' hairy!"
Nicole struggled to stand up, but immediately fell back down again. "I…I can't!" she cried.
Sonic grabbed her arms and pulled as hard as he could, but she wouldn't budge. Then he saw her feet. They were bonded to the nanites in the floor. Sonic gritted his teeth. "DARN IT!" Another shower of pebbles fell onto them.
"Sonic!" Nicole shouted. "Forget me! Get out of here!"
"No way!" Sonic shouted back. If Nicole could now feel pain like flesh and blood Mobians, she could be killed like flesh and blood Mobians, too. And he wasn't about to leave her there to perish.
"Sonic!"
The blue hedgehog saw Sally standing in the doorway. She was about to run into the civic center but Elias pulled her back. Just as that happened, the nanites engulfed the doorway, sealing it off completely. "What the?!" Sonic's eyes widened. "What are ya doin', Nicole?!"
"I di-didn't do that!" Nicole stared in shock.
Now rocks were falling from the ceiling, and Sonic was knocked away from Nicole. A wall of debris now separated them. Sonic could feel the rumbling rattle his bones. He struggled to stand up. A fairly sizable rock bounced off his head. Sonic yelled out in pain and fell backwards. More ceiling debris was falling onto the ground around him. The tremors were so intense; he could no longer stand on his own two feet. He crawled through the dust and over the rocks, trying to reach Nicole. Finally, he found her. She was where he had left her, and she seemed miraculously unharmed. Sonic put his arms around her protectively, coughing as the dust filled his lungs, and squinting as it stung his eyes. The unbearably loud roar of the earthquake was all around him.
"Sonic!" Nicole sobbed, clinging to him. "I'm scared!"
"It's okay!" Sonic assured her. "I won't let you get hurt! I promise!" He heard another strange sound through the rumbling. Looking around, he noticed several large cracks snaking through the walls and—"The windows!" Sonic shouted. He ducked his head just in time as the glass shattered. Nanites swarmed to where the windows had been, and filled the openings. There was no getting out now.
"No! We're trapped!" Nicole cried.
Sonic saw the wall beginning to lean forwards. It was ready to cave in at any moment. He knew it was probably futile, but nonetheless, he dashed forward and pressed his palms against the wall. He took a deep breath, gathering all the strength he could muster, and pushed as hard as he could, trying to force the wall back into place.
"Sonic!" he heard Nicole gasp behind him.
Sonic could feel beads of sweat falling down his face. His legs felt rubbery. His heart was pounding. The ground rumbled at his feet. "COME ON!" he shouted in fury.
Then, suddenly, it stopped. Everything stopped. The ground was still, and the wall was no longer collapsing. The only sound was Sonic's exhausted breathing, and Nicole's terrified whimpers. Sonic stumbled away from the wall, and walked slowly back towards his friend. As he reached her, he found that her feet had now been freed from the floor. Sonic used the last bit of his strength to lift Nicole into his arms. His legs shook with the effort. "All right…okay," he panted. "We'll…find a way out of here, Nicole. Don't worry." Sonic stumbled forwards, surveying the damage.
"So-Soni…" Nicole attempted to speak, though her voice was nearly gone from all of the yelling.
Sonic was barely able to take another step forward before it happened. A thunderous crash split apart the silence. Everything, all at once, fell apart around them. Then, there was nothing left but darkness.
