Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ On the Road Together ❯ Dashing Chase ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Dashing Chase

Unlike storm chasers, Sonic the Hedgehog and his crew left North Carolina behind, trying to avoid a heavy storm, which came with almost no warning. For a while, fog, rain, lightning, and wind were like road signs in the journey, but when they stopped in a small town somewhere in South Carolina, it was a little calmer there, so they rested after a long drive. The thunder could be heard from the distance behind them as the RV rested in a park. There was no rain yet, but the signs of a storm followed them there. It was expected for South Carolina to have rain next. While Sonic was taking a nap, very tired after the driving, Tails was quietly searching for his radio, which he packed in his suitcase. He pulled it out, and then he joined the others outside.

"I found it!" Tails announced, coming to the crew, and they were roasting hotdogs.

"Great!" said Knuckles. "Maybe now we can find out what that storm is all about."

"Turn it on, Tails," Amy requested, and the fox did so, sitting down on a tree stump.

Tails turned the dial, and after a few laughs of hearing Spanish channels and strange radio commercials, Tails found a weather channel. He turned the dial again to clear the sounds of static until the speaker was heard reporting. "…And it was reported yesterday that Hurricane Trucker has moved in toward North Carolina and is fast approaching South Carolina as I speak. We advise careful caution for all road travelers who may be passing these states…"

"What? Hurricane Trucker?" Rouge said, "That's a funny name for a storm."

"Did it say, all road travelers?" Freeway asked, shivering in a blanket.

"Good grief!" said Tails when he realized it. "That's us!"

"So?" Shadow said without worries of the uncertain. "We made it this far, alive."

"Yeah, but a hurricane can be very, very dangerous," said Tikal. "It's deadly."

Amy lifted her hotdog on a stick while Metal-2 watched. "Well, Sonic says it's okay."

"How can we tell that we're safe now, besides his snoring?" Knuckles smirked.

Rouge elbowed the red echidna. "Stop that, Knuckles," she said. "Let him rest."

"Ouch! Okay, okay," he said, moving away from the white bat. "Some humor."

"Still, we should be careful," Metal-2 cautioned the others. "We're not outta the woods yet."

"Oh, I know that," said Freeway, looking around. "There's trees here, and it's nice."

Metal-2 smiled. "That's not quite what I meant, Freeway, but you're right."

Knuckles blew on his hotdog to cool it off before eating it, and then Rouge looked at hers. She shook it slightly because a small flame was on the meat, and when it resisted, she shook it a little harder, but then it flew off the stick and into Knuckles' mouth when the echidna yawned. Surprised, Knuckles swallowed the meal with one big gulp, and then Rouge glared.

"You better pay me back!" she said, and Knuckles swallowed, passing his hotdog sick to her.

Tails sighed, turned off the radio, and he watched the cloudy sky. "It'll be here soon…"

"That's not good to hear. Must we go already?" Amy asked, and Metal-2 shrugged.

"Not sure about that question, Amy, but we'll have to leave soon," Metal-2 replied.

Shadow quietly took the last sip of his coffee. "Something is missing…"

"Well, well," said a voice nearby. "Perhaps I am what is missing!"

Shadow and the others jumped to their feet to face Dr. Eggman in the Egg Hornet.

"It's you, Doctor Eggman!" Knuckles said, surprised at the sudden appearance.

"So that's the Egg Hornet," Rouge said, looking up at the flying machine.

"And look, a talking egg is riding it!" Metal-2 added, mocking.

"Enough of this!" Eggman demanded like a man. "Now, I shall destroy you for good!"

"If you destroy us, that's not good, you evil man!" Tikal shouted at him bravely.

"It most certainly is, but since you guys gave me such an interesting chase with that miserable bus of yours, I'll give you a chance to survive…" Then Eggman called his robot, "Metal Sonic!"

The cold blue machine appeared beside the floating ship. "At your service."

"Would you like to see the menu, sir?" asked another voice, which was Chaos Zero.

"NO!" Eggman shouted. "Get rid of those pests!" he pointed to the crew. "And that RV!"

Chaos, below the Egg Hornet, saluted. "I compare and obey!" he said, chuckling.

"That's 'I compute and obey!'" Metal corrected the water creature with a slap.

Eggman sighed, and when he looked, he was shocked to see the RV gone. "After them, now!"

Metal Sonic dashed ahead, and Chaos waved his big hand before leaving in a puddle. Back in the RV, Metal-2 had the wheel, almost sure they made an easy escape, but it was too good to last when he saw Metal Sonic in the mirror. Strangely and quite amazingly, Sonic continued sleeping on the sofa, covered with a warm blanket with his white socks on. If he only knew…

"Metal-2, I see something evil in the mirror, and it's closer than it appears!" Tails warned.

"Acknowledged, Tails," he said, looking again. "Looks like our escape plan failed."

"My plan in the beginning was to fight!" said Knuckles.

"But we can't risk damage to the RV," Tikal reminded him. "We must keep it safe!"

"Of course," Rouge added. "After all, it is our home on wheels while we're out here."

"Leave this one to me," Shadow said, heading for the door.

"I'm going with you, Shadow," Metal-2 said. "Here, drive!" he said to Tails. …To Tails?!

"Wow!" Tails said happily, taking the steering wheel, driving on the road. "Way cool!"

"That crazy kid can't drive!" Rouge shouted when the fox made a slight turn.

"No time to argue!" said Metal-2. "I'm going to help Shadow, and you help Tails!"

"Fine," Rouge agreed, but she looked away from the android when he left.

"Tikal, get down!" Amy warned, pushing the echidna away from walling pots.

"I think we're in the rough!" Freeway said, and then a little pot fell on her head. "Hey!"

Tikal lifted the pot from Freeway so the fawn could see, and then she held her. Knuckles looked toward the exit door to leave, but then, a cabinet above opened because of the rough ride, and a heavy pot hit the echidna's head, knocking him out. Knuckles fell over with colorful stars.

"Hold on, everyone!" said Tails, and Rouge sat down in the front passenger chair.

After all that noise, the poor, tired Sonic began to snore cutely on the sofa, dreaming. And now, we join Shadow outside, where the black hedgehog found himself on top of the RV, seeking. Metal-2 climbed up after him, and then suddenly, Metal Sonic knocked Shadow down from behind, and the hedgehog gripped the edge of the moving RV to avoid falling. Metal-2 glanced at the fallen Shadow, and then he quickly turned to see the enemy robot land on the RV.

"I've waited a long time for this," said Metal Sonic. "Now, surrender your defeated vessel!"

"Surrender is not in my language!" said Metal-2, preparing to fight.

Angry, Metal Sonic attacked him, and the two machines fought each other. The Egg Hornet followed the RV, and soon found it escaping. Eggman laughed his famous, evil laugh.

"The poor things," he said, looking down at the RV. "They can't escape me this time!" And then he moved in for a closer look, and if he timed it just right, he could fire on the RV target.

Chaos crashed into the back of the RV, and he held onto the ladder where Shadow was. "YOU!" they both said at the same time when they saw each other. "Hey! Where did you come from?! Quit copying me! You started it! Get lost!" Shadow ended the childish fight with a kick.

Chaos yelped, lost his grip, and then he fell onto the approaching Egg Hornet. Eggman had a close encounter with the water kind when Chaos Zero suddenly landed right in front of him.

Chaos rubbed his head, blinked, and then he waved. "Hi, Doc. Um…what's up?"

"Get back down there, you beast!" Eggman shouted angrily, throwing Chaos back.

"WhoOOOOOoooOOooAAAaaaaaaaaaa!" Chaos screamed in fright as he fell back.

"You're not welcomed here!" Shadow said, and so he kicked Chaos away again.

While flying back to the Egg Hornet, Chaos shrugged. "I don't know if I'm coming or going!"

Back to the robot fight, the two had each other at the throats when Metal Sonic pinned Metal-2 down with strong force. "And now to put you out of your misery, failed experiment!"

"Let's just take you out!" said Metal-2, and by surprise, he threw Metal Sonic up into the air, and the robot that was caught off guard was sent into the Egg Hornet, and the ship crashed.

Metal-2 turned from his back onto his stomach, on top of the RV, and he watched the explosion on the side of the road. Just then, he remembered Shadow, and so he hurried to the ladder.

"Shadow, grab my hand!" Metal-2 called, reaching out to the black hedgehog.

For a short moment, Shadow hesitated, but then he took the helping hand, and Metal-2 pulled him back up. "Are they gone?" Shadow asked after nodding thanks to him.

Metal-2 nodded. "Affirmative," he answered. "That damage will keep them busy for a while, and besides, the hurricane will most likely slow them down in their chase for us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Shadow, looking at him, and then they left for the others.

Shadow climbed into the RV and Metal-2 followed, closing the door after them. Tails chuckled, driving along the road while Rouge relaxed, Amy and Tikal were busy picking up the dishes and things that fell during the escape from the dashing chase, and Freeway nuzzled Knuckles to wake him up. The echidna blinked, and then he sat up, rubbing his head where a bruise appeared.

"Is everyone all right?" Metal-2 asked the crew while Shadow looked around.

"We're okay," Rouge gave the answer. "But I think he's a little too fine." She pointed to Tails.

The young fox was having a great time, hardly noticing Metal-2 and Shadow's return inside the RV. Metal-2 approached the driver's chair, and he leaned an arm on it, grinning.

"Okay, Tails, you can stop now," he said, and Tails sighed, nodding with understanding.

After a look of disappointment, he slowed the RV down to a stop. "All right."

"Good work, Tails, you did great," Metal-2 proudly praised, and Tails smiled brightly.

"What a chase," said Amy, sitting down to rest in a chair. "He almost had us then."

Knuckles rubbed his head again. "I didn't get to fight, but man does my head hurt."

Tikal placed an ice bag on Knuckles' head to give some pain relief. "There you go."

Shadow turned to see Sonic, who was still asleep, believe it or not. Shadow took a deep breath to warn the others to cover their ears, and then he shouted, "WAKE UP, BLUE THING!"

Surprised, Sonic quickly sat up on the sofa, looking in all directions with pure confusion. He yawned, stretching as he turned to see the others. "Oh, you're all here," he said, sleepily.

"And it's a miracle that we are still here," Shadow said, which confused Sonic further.

"Is it the storm?" Sonic asked, and then he said, "I almost thought I heard thunder in my sleep."

"It's a hurricane!" Tails told him, "I heard about it on the radio back in the RV Park."

"You mean we moved already? But who drove us?" Sonic asked, and Tails swallowed.

"Never mind that now," said Metal-2. "We need to get moving before the storm arrives."

"You're right," Sonic agreed, slipping his red shoes on before taking the steering wheel. "I'm all rested and ready to go again." Sonic turned the key, and the RV took them away for safety.

"Buckle up!" Shadow told the others as he did so in the front passenger chair.

With the song Escape from the City playing, the RV moved on with everyone safe in their places, some resting, some watching windows, and Tails was busy with his maps to find a way.

= = = = =

Behind the RV, the storm entered South Carolina, and in that same state, Dr. Eggman had to repair his Egg Hornet ship in an abandoned garage for shelter and some needed tools. Metal Sonic was damaged after the fight also, and he locked his arm back on while Chaos Zero held his dizzy head. He had been tossed and thrown back and forth from the RV to the ship.

"How can you take it, Metal?" Chaos asked the repairing blue robot.

"I've been in pieces before, so it's no big deal," Metal Sonic replied, finishing up.

"They're not going to get away with this!" said Eggman. "We'll find them, whenever they're going to next, and then finally, I shall have them right where I want them."

"Like a mouse in a trap, huh?" Chaos asked sadly, and he sighed. "Poor Jerry."

"That road hedgehog will be history, and his RV will join the landfill!" Eggman laughed.

Metal Sonic and Chaos shrugged, unsure about the next plan, but whatever it was it could not be good for the traveling team ahead. Their vacation was going to become yet another dangerous adventure, but Sonic the Hedgehog would not have it any other way. He expected something like this to happen, but with a hurricane storm chasing them, they had to move on to find a safer place to be, to continue their ride on the road together into the exploration of towns, cities and streets.