Chapter 13

Sorry about that one day gap! I was tired was not in a mood to type out this chapter. So anyways, there you go!

Sonic reached the Nucleus room precisely at the time he was asked to. Being in time was not a problem for the Blue Blur. He sped around the room twice before he stopped next to a sofa. Silver hadn't reached yet and so he sat back on the sofa, crossed his legs and placed his arms behind his head and relaxed.

He hadn't noticed it earlier but the room was octagonal in shape. The ceiling was dome shaped with concentric circle designs carved onto it. Looking at the white ceiling and its design made Sonic sleepy and he realized that he didn't have a proper sleep ever since he got there.

He closed his eyes half way and was about to doze off when he heard footsteps. He shot his eyes open and looked toward the entrance to find Silver standing there feeling embarrassed with his right arm on his waist and his left arm behind his head. He smiled awkwardly at Sonic.

Sonic grinned and got up. 'Ha, talk about punctuality Silver!' he joked and pointed at Silver with both hands and winked.

Silver laughed, 'Well, I was quite busy discussing alternate solutions with Blaze and well, I guess it delayed.' He shrugged as he sat down opposite Sonic.

'Alternate solutions? What about it?' Sonic asked, intrigued.

'No hope, Sonic. Sorry.' Silver replied and shook his head.'

Sonic sat down now and crossed his legs. He looked at Silver intently and asked, 'Well? Why'd you call me?'

Silver cleared his throat, 'Well Sonic, I suppose you know what's going on now right?'

Sonic nodded, 'Provided I was given the right information.' He couldn't help thinking that something was being kept hidden from him and the others. He looked at Silver cautiously, searching for any sign of hesitation. Nothing.

'Don't worry. We've given you what is relevant. I mean…all there is to know.' Silver nodded at Sonic.

'Okay so,' Sonic said, 'then why did you call me here?'

'To let you know that we'll start working on this object soon.'

Sonic shook his head and said, 'Not soon Silver. We should start either by tonight or tomorrow. We can't delay this for longer. It's not that simple.'

Silver sighed, 'I know Sonic. But we have to take an X-Ray first and then try to get the coding on the object visible enough for you to decipher it. It'll take time for that.'

'That doesn't seem like a herculean task to me!' Sonic remarked, clearly amazed.

'Well apparently it is; getting that coding visible isn't that easy a task since it's small print.'

'Oh, well that's…obvious considering the fact that the object is barely the size of your little finger.' Sonic said as he lay on the sofa with his hands crossed on his chest.

'You look tired.' Silver remarked, 'I thought that visit to Vanilla's would lighten you up!' he laughed.

Sonic grinned, 'Yeah well it did. I felt good seeing Amy again. Say, she doesn't know what's going on doesn't she?' he looked at Silver.

Silver shook his head, 'No. We didn't tell her anything in detail yet.'

'Why is that? She deserves to know what's going on.'

'She does, but we don't intend her to freak out or anything.'

'She won't freak out Silver, believe me, she's a really smart girl. She's knows how to take care of herself.' Sonic sat up now.

'Well, I don't know…' Silver said softly.

'Well you should.' Sonic told him, 'She has to know what's wrong with her. Only then would she cooperate. We were about to tell her ourselves but refrained from doing so since you guys didn't tell her yet.'

'We will, Sonic.' Silver nodded.

Sonic then asked, 'Hey, why don't you guys just try to operate it out from her and dispose it off in the ocean or something?'

Silver shook his head and said, 'It's no use. The thing is radioactive and there is always the possibility of the substance getting into the atmosphere. That's why we choose to deactivate it at first and then remove it.'

'Oh! I hadn't thought of that!'

'So we'll start soon Sonic. Till then stand by Amy. We'll let her know soon too.' Silver said as he stood up. Sonic did the same and they both shook their hand and smiled.

'So that's it huh?' Sonic asked.

'Yeah, that's all I had to say.' Silver replied and laughed. 'Say, if you want, you may spend the night here. Otherwise you can stay at Vanilla's.'

Sonic thought about that. Staying over at this cool place? Sounds great! But then there's Amy, alone at Vanilla's. He recalled all those empty rooms he saw upstairs. He could stay there and at the same time, be there for Amy. It was the least he could do to make up for his ignoring her for three months back home. He knew where he was going to spend his nights here.

'I guess I've made up my mind! See ya Silver!' he said with a wink, waved and sped off.

xxxx

Sonic raced through the city. He felt free. He raced through the streets, the parks, the subways and glided along the railways lines, changing tracks every now and then. He jumped, skidded, smashed and glided as he made his way through with great zest. He felt the wind rush past him and he knew that it was one of the best feelings ever. He ran to the airport and then ran up a plane taking off and stood on its fuselage and before the plane sored higher, he sped to the cockpit, bent to gain grip and then jumped off. He extended his arms out like a bird and from where he soared; he could see the entire Station Square beneath him. The city was huge and spectacular. Tall sky scrapers adorned the streets and cars flew about everywhere. The citizens were out and about constantly. He took in the breathtaking sight and etched it in his memory, never to forget it. He took a deep breath and landed gracefully on a patch of grass in the park and took off again. He came to a clearing and then stopped to look around. It was at this very place that he, Tails and Knuckles had landed with the X –Tornado to search for Shari yesterday. The place hadn't changed one bit over the years. There were the same trees and shrubs. The air smelled sweet and a breeze blew by. He chuckled as he took off again to explore the countryside.

He ran along a straight, clear road the both sides of which were covered with grassy hills. He enjoyed the scenic beauty of it and ran faster. He stopped at a quiet lake that was surrounded by tall pine trees and shrubs. The grass here was soft and wet. The water in the lake was crystal clear and the ambience was warm and peaceful. He relaxed and made a mental note to bring Amy here one day when everything would be over.

When everything would be A –okay! He thought.

And he sped off again to explore more places. The future was waiting for him.