Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ On the Road Again ❯ Conspiracy rising ( Chapter 20 )

Chapter 20: Conspiracy rising

When night fell on Salt Lake City, Utah, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends had done some great exploring of the place, but now that it was dark, Sonic knew it was time to keep moving on. After dinner, Sonic and the crew returned to the RV, and they traveled on the road again. The tired team looked forward to when the driver would stop, and then they could all get some sleep for the night. It had been a long day, and a good rest was something they needed. Sonic could hardly keep his eyes opened, and so Shadow was the driver. But still, they were all tired. First, hey had to find an RV park, where they could stay and be safe to rest until morning.

Sonic yawned, and then he asked, "Tails, is a park coming up soon?"

"Yes," Tails replied with his computer, using his maps. "We should get there soon."

"That's good." Knuckles said, sleepily. He rubbed his eyes to keep them awake.

"I think I'm going to fall asleep, sitting up. What if I fall over?" Amy asked, weakly.

"If you fall, I'll catch you." Tikal offered, and they giggled at the joke.

"Hey, I see the park!" Shadow told the crew, and everyone looked out to see it.

"Oh, it's nice." Rouge said, "But it looks crowded. They may not let us in there."

"Always plan ahead, and think of alternatives." Metal-2 said, calmly. Freeway nodded her head, and then she yawned, very sleepily. She half closed her eyes, resting on the robot's leg.

"Well, there's this, or the river." Knuckles joked, but it failed to amuse the others.

"Let's see if there's room for us." Sonic said, breaking the moment of silence.

"I'll go." Shadow said, and he stopped the RV, parked it, and then he stepped outside. It was dark and cold out there, but he made it to the park's office building. He returned to the RV, closed the driver's door, and he sat down. He shook his head. "They cannot take us in." He told the team.

"That's awful!" Amy said, covering her eyes. "Now where can we go?" She asked.

"We can't stay on the side of the road. It could be dangerous." Tails said, "There must be something else, something we missed." He looked at the computer screen again.

"You know, I have an idea," Rouge said, "Why don't we find a motel or something?"

"Great idea!" Tikal agreed. "But I've never been in one." She added, quietly.

"Let's change that," Sonic said, "Shadow, head down the road, and Tails will direct us to a motel. We will stay there for the night. It could be fun, and it's better than in the middle of nowhere."

"Utah is somewhere." Shadow said, after thinking.

"Yeah, but where exactly are we now?" Sonic asked him.

"Uh…" Shadow thought, closing his eyes. "In the middle of nowhere." He answered, finally.

Tails gave the location. "We are outside of Salt Lake City, in a place called American Fork."

What? American Fork? That's a funny name." Knuckles said, opening his tired eyes.

Tails nodded. "Yes, well, it's named for the American Fork River. Trappers from the American Fur Company trapped along the river that starts on the south slopes of Mount Baldy, or Bald Mountain. American Fork has also been called McArthursville and Lake City." He said.

Shadow began to drive again, into the night and they left the crowded RV Park behind. "You think you can possibly locate a place for us here, Tails?" Shadow asked him.

"Yes, right here is Quality Inn & Suites. My laptop will guide us there." Tails answered.

"Cool, then we're off!" Sonic said, suddenly feeling better and his green eyes brightened. The blue hedgehog soon saw a building, and it was the right place. Shadow stopped the RV.

"Are you sure about this, Sonic?" Shadow asked him, doubting.

"I don't know for sure, but let's go find out. Crew, move out!" Sonic called, and they cheered.

"Let's go!" Knuckles shouted, and he opened the door, letting the others outside.

"This is exciting!" Amy chuckled, and she hopped out, carrying Freeway in a backpack.

Rouge shrugged. "Why? It's probably full of dust and mice." She said, closing her eyes.

"I wouldn't mind to see mice," Tikal said, "But the dust makes me sneeze."

"Strange, most girls are scared of mice." Knuckles said, quietly.

"Everything should be nice," Tails assured them, "I read about this place, and it's fine."

"That's good enough for me. Let's check it out." Sonic decided, and he led the way to the building. He opened the door, and he entered with his friends. He came to a front desk, and an elderly man greeted them, welcoming the crew inside. Sonic signed his name for a room.

"Yes? How may I help you, folks?" A friendly old man asked them with a smile.

"We just need a room for the night." Sonic answered him.

"All right, how many are staying tonight?"

"Well," Sonic said, turning to the others. "There are nine of us all together, sir." He counted.

"My word, that's a whole crew!" The man said, surprised at the number. "But don't worry. We have enough room for you to have a comfortable stay. Now, how many children?"

"I'm not married." Sonic replied in a quiet voice, slightly blushing.

"No? How many are with you in the group then?" The man asked him.

"Oh, well, there's my friend Tails, Amy, and little Freeway there." Sonic pointed.

"I am not a kid!" Amy angrily denied, but Tikal and Rouge kept her quiet.

"Then rooms number 14 and 15 would be the best choice for you. Here are the keys for you, Mr. Hedgehog. Enjoy your stay with us." Then he saw Metal-2, standing beside Tails. "What…what is that?" He asked, pointing, and Metal-2 looked behind himself; thinking something was there.

Tails tried to help. "Oh, uh…this is…um…My Uncle Bob, yeah." He told the man.

"Uncle Bob, how nice. Well, goodnight, everyone." The man waved his hand before returning to work, and then Metal-2 looked at Tails, confused and unsure in his face and voice.

"Uncle Bob?" Metal-2 asked him, quietly, and Tails simply shrugged his shoulders.

"The girls get room number 14, and the boys go in 15, like it or not." Rouge said, and she snatched the keys from Sonic, playfully before closing the door. Amy, Tikal, and Freeway followed her, and so the girls had a nice room for themselves.

"Then I guess that leaves us with room number 15." Shadow said, and he shrugged.

The boys nodded, and then Sonic opened the door to the room. "Here it is." He said.

"Nice, very nice, it reminds me of home." Knuckles sniffed, looking around the room with memories. Just then, the phone rang from the wooden dresser, beside a bed.

"Answer it, Metal-2." Sonic requested, with a toothbrush in his mouth.

Metal-2 did so, and he lifted the phone to his robotic muzzle. "Hello?" He asked, and then after a pause, he looked at Sonic. "There is a female voice asking if we want room service." He said.

Sonic shook his head. "Tell her, No."

Then Metal-2 returned to the phone. "No." He answered, and then he placed the phone down.

"Metal-2, it's always good to say, 'No, thank you.'" Tails explained.

"Oh, very well." Metal-2 made the sound of a sigh, and then he said, "No, thank you," to the phone before hanging up again, and Tails made a weak smile at the learning machine.

"You'll get better at it. You need to know how to talk nicely to people, and smile."

Metal-2 slightly turned his head, confused at his words. "Smile?" He asked.

Tails sighed. "Well, maybe you could practice in a mirror, or something."

= = = = =

Meanwhile…

In the next room, the girls had a great time together, brushing their teeth, pillow fighting, and they shared memories of special moments, so they just did some girl talk. Amy tucked young Freeway in bed and then she climbed in, snuggling under the warm blue blanket with the baby fawn.

"Hey, Amy, you think the boys will be with us to have breakfast?" Tikal asked her.

"Yeah," Amy said, "I remember the last time we had breakfast on the road. Sonic called me, and asked if I would like to go with him, and I said, yes. And when we got there, Sonic said, would you like to dance? And I said, yes. Then after we danced, Sonic said would you like a glass of fruit punch? And I said, yes! That would be very nice, I would like to have a glass of punch."

Rouge rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "I don't believe that ever happened."

"Well, it should have!" Amy said, angrily, sitting up in bed. Freeway fell asleep.

Then Tikal tried to change the subject. "Hmm, I wonder if the boys are okay…"

"You don't have to worry about them. Boys are brave." Rouge said, and then she turned out the lamp light before going to bed, and Tikal was on the other side, and Amy was with Freeway.

= = = = =

Back to the room with the boys, we find out that everyone had finished brushing their teeth, and so they settled down. There were two beds in the room. Sonic and Tails took one, leaving Knuckles and Shadow with the other. Sonic sat down on the bed, and he kicked his red sneakers off and away, and then he flopped down, very tired. Tails yawned, and then he climbed in.

"Goodnight, Sonic." Tails said, sleepily and he rested on the soft pillow.

"Goodnight, Tails, sweet dreams." Sonic said, weakly, and then Tails sat up.

"Goodnight, Metal-2." Tails whispered, and the robot turned his head, hearing him.

"Sleep well, Tails." Metal-2 wished, quietly, and then he returned to watching the window.

"Goodnight, Knuckles, goodnight, Shadow." Tails whispered to the others.

"Goodnight." Knuckles yawned, and then Shadow snorted, pulling the blanket away.

"Well, now that we're all settled down, turn out the light, Metal-2, please." Sonic requested.

"All right, lights out." Metal-2 turned off the small lamp, which gave light in the room. Everything became dark, and then Knuckles screamed in fright at something. Metal-2 turned the light back on, and Shadow sat up in the bed next to the red echidna, sleepy but also very annoyed.

"What's with him?" Shadow asked, pointing at the trembling Knuckles.

Then Tails explained. "Knuckles is afraid of the dark when in a strange, new area."

Sonic sighed. "Okay, we'll leave the lamp on, anything to get some rest."

"Thanks." Knuckles whispered, and then they all settled down again, finally going to sleep. Metal-2 watched the window, and the RV was safe in the parking area. It was quiet…for now.

= = = = =

Meanwhile…

Dr. Eggman was working on an invention to make Metal Sonic and Chaos back to normal, because as you know from our last adventure, the two switched bodies when something went wrong with Eggman's secret project, and then it happened. Metal could not be more miserable. He stood with his arms crossed, quietly thinking while gazing toward the wall, and then Chaos, who looked like a robot hedgehog then, flew passed him, happily chuckling. Eggman continued working, but in truth, he did not know how to make them normal again. It was a mystery. Metal's eyes widened when Chaos came in with the music CD player and a microphone.

"Hey, Metal, guess what? I finally finished my theme song, and it's ready! Here, I'll play it for you." Chaos turned on the CD player, and loud music played through its speakers. "Raging Waters, coming your way!" Chaos sang in a terrible voice, and Metal yelled with frustration.

Chaos screamed when Metal suddenly attacked him, and they rolled toward the invention Eggman was working on. The scientist saw the two fighting toward the unfinished machine.

"Oh no!" Eggman cried in a panic. "STOP!"

But it was too late. Eggman realized that, and so he jumped out of the way just in time. There was an explosion after a bright yellow light flashed. After the smoke cleared, Eggman saw Metal and Chaos on the laboratory floor, not moving. Then the form of Chaos slowly sat up, shaking his head. Eggman stepped toward them, and he saw that his invention was ruined like the last one.

"Metal? Chaos?" Eggman asked, looking at one and then the other, wondering if it worked.

Chaos looked at his hands, his feet, and then he knocked on his head. "It's me again! Yippee!" He cheered, and he leaped into the air. Then he turned to the robot hedgehog. "Metal?" He whispered, and he came to him. Chaos lifted Metal to stand, and the robot slapped him away.

"Leave me, you--"Metal stopped in the middle of yelling when he saw his hand. He looked all around himself, and then he saw that he was finally normal again, back to be a robot. He sighed with great relief, and he hugged himself, falling backward on his back to the floor.

"Well, back to my theme song!" Chaos said, and he ran passed Eggman for the CD player.

Meanwhile, the mad scientist had come to a conclusion. He realized something important. There was no way he could ever stop the RV or destroy his hedgehog enemy, because Metal-2 stood to defend them. That robot was in the way of the scientist's plans, but he wanted to change that.

"Oh, I have such an evil web, ready to be spun." He whispered to himself. "I have a new plan, and I will put it to work." He turned and opened a door, and when it opened, he saw a small glass capsule with a single but deadly computer chip. "Hmm, I had forgotten all about it. I must have moved it here after that garage sale." He recalled, thinking. "Metal, get over here!"

"You rang?" Metal asked, after coming to his side, and he stood firm.

"Tell me if you recognize…this…" Eggman said, and in his hand, he held the computer chip.

Metal began to back away when he saw it. "I think there are dishes to be washed in the kitchen. Excuse me." Metal said, and then he turned to leave, but Eggman took him by the arm.

"Get back here, you robot! Identify this object." He commanded the machine.

Metal looked at it again, and then he answered. "It is the Corruption Chip."

"That is correct, and do you have any idea what I intend to do with it?"

Metal made the sound of a gulp, and then he simply shook his head, no.

"Don't you see?" Eggman said, "If we bring Metal-2 down where he belongs, he will no longer be able to stop us, and once the chip is in place, he will do anything I say." He grinned.

"What is the point?" Metal asked him, still confused.

"You must go to American Fork, find the location of the RV, and Metal-2 will fall right into my trap. Here, now take this crossbow and arrow I made. The arrowhead is implanted with a new computer virus, and that will disable until you transport him here, and then I will do a little brain surgery on him. When he is under my command, the hedgehog will be destroyed!"

"He is stubborn. He will not comply, I know." Metal doubted.

"When I'm done with him, he will." Eggman said, "I will prove my great scientific capabilities. Metal, you have only one shot at this, so don't fail me. Now, go." He commanded, pointing.

Metal held the weapon and the arrow invention. "By your command." He obeyed, and then he left the building. "Oh, well, at least I will get a vacation away from Chaos." He said to himself, flying to find American Fork, and it was night. It would not be long until he reaches the area, and he was armed to stop his robotic enemy. The clouds darkened the stars of the sky, and it was a sign.

To be continued in the next chapter…