Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ On the Road Together ❯ RV Rediscovery ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 11: RV Rediscovery

On the road somewhere in Mississippi, Sonic the Hedgehog and his crew followed a path until they came to a city. They stopped to rest after a time of walking and running. Looking at a map of the place, Tails sat down with Sonic on a picnic bench while the blue hedgehog removed his shoe to shake the dirt out. Shadow sat alone, away from the others in a tree, thinking. Knuckles and Rouge were searching the ground in the area for coins and treasure, and Amy rested with Tikal on the soft green grass with Freeway in the cool shade. Metal-2 kept his eyes alert, but he seemed rested with Sonic and Tails. They still had a missing RV to find, and it could not be far now.

"Sonic, what if we never find the RV?" Tails asked.

"Never say never," Sonic told him. "Soon or sooner, we'll find it. Don't worry."

"This is more like a hiking trip to me," said Metal-2. "It's not too bad."

In the tree above, Shadow snorted, not saying anything. Tikal and Freeway were taking a nap, but Amy stayed awake, watching Sonic and the others. Sonic slipped his red shoes back on. Just then, he heard the sound of tires screeching to a stop. The picnic bench they were sitting on was near the road, and Sonic gasped when he saw a truck heading for them. It was losing control.

"Everybody, run!" Sonic shouted, leaping from the bench with Tails flying after him.

Metal-2 helped Amy, Tikal, and Freeway to safety while Knuckles and Rouge ducked behind some trashcans. The truck crashed into a tree, the same tree Shadow was resting it. The black hedgehog almost fell off the branch, but he held on tight to keep from falling down.

"Some vacation!" Shadow said, looking down at the black truck that finally stopped.

Sonic and the others returned. "Shadow! Are you okay? Come down from there!"

"Why should I?" Shadow asked, and then Metal-2 stood under the branch.

"Let go and I'll catch you!" Metal-2 promised, holding out his arms.

"No!" Shadow refused, and then suddenly, he heard the branch cracking. "Then again…"

The branch broke, and then Shadow came crashing down on the surprised android, but he quickly caught him to break the fall. Metal-2 put Shadow down on the ground and the black hedgehog stood unharmed. He brushed the dust off himself, looking at the truck.

"Who could it be?" Amy wondered. "Maybe someone is hurt."

"I'll go look," Sonic volunteered, and he approached the truck with caution.

Before Sonic came to the door, it opened and someone stepped outside. It was…

"Big!" Sonic shouted the name of the large purple cat. "What happened? You okay?"

"No, not with my fishing rod missing," Big said, and his pet frog, Froggy was on his head.

"How come you crashed like this?" Rouge asked.

"I only came here to fish, but a watery fellow took my rod saying he needed it to catch someone."

"Sounds like Chaos!" Knuckles said, and the crew agreed.

Big continued. "I tried to catch up with him, but I lost control and crashed here."

"Did someone attack your truck?" Tikal asked him, holding Freeway.

Big nodded. "He was about this high, he was blue, and he looked like a robot."

"Metal!" Sonic said, growling. "But where could your fishing rod be now?"

"If it was found, it's in Rediscovery Shop in this city," Big answered.

"Rediscovery Shop, huh?" Tails said, "Hey, maybe the RV is there now!"

"More than likely, Tails." Metal-2 agreed. "But I don't see this shop on the map…"

Tails shrugged. "It must be very new, or someone is imagining things."

"That's where I'm going now," Big told them. "If you want, you can come along."

"That'll be great!" Sonic said, grateful. "Come on, let's go, guys."

"What about the truck?" Shadow asked, pointing.

"We'll fix it later," Sonic replied, and he left to follow Big with the others.

And so, after turning down a few streets, crossing and following, they came to a large warehouse with the name Rediscovery Shop. It was a lost and found building where many items were kept. Big and small, they came in many sizes and colors and from different places, some even from other states. If Sonic found a lost RV from Alabama, he would consider himself very lucky.

"What goes up must come down," the blue hedgehog hummed the theme of Sonic Heroes.

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Big?" Knuckles asked.

"Of course, I know. I found Froggy there a few times before," Big assured him.

"Please, can't we stop and rest for a few minutes?" Tikal asked, tired.

"I'm tired, too. Sonic, let's stop for a little here, okay?" Amy asked.

Sonic sighed, stopping. "Well, all right." He stood, waiting.

The girls sat down, tired. Rouge removed a small stone from her boot.

"My feet will be full of blisters if this keeps up," the bat sighed.

Rouge threw the stone and it flew just over Knuckles' head, passing Tails, and it came to a stop in front of the Rediscovery Shop, which was behind the crew, and the stone hit Metal Sonic on the head. Angry, Metal turned to see Chaos Zero who was happily holding a stolen fishing rod.

"What are you doing?" Metal Sonic asked.

"Fishing!" Chaos answered proudly, and then Metal snatched the rod away.

After hitting Chaos on the head with the rod, he tossed it aside and left to find Eggman, dragging the dizzy Chaos with him. Behind the shop, Sonic tapped his foot, thinking.

"Well, we better get going now. The shop should be right behind us," he said.

"You think it really has the RV?" Amy asked.

"I'm hoping that," Sonic answered, and he began to walk, leaving. "Let's go."

Everyone followed Sonic except for Metal-2. Sonic noticed this, and so he turned back.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and the android stood still, not moving.

Tails came over to see. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"He won't move," Sonic said. "He's acting very strange today."

Knuckles shrugged. "Maybe something's wrong."

"Well, what is it?" Shadow asked.

Metal-2 turned his head. "It's nothing. We should go now."

"My thoughts exactly," said Sonic, leading the way.

When they came in front of the building, Big was surprised to see a fishing rod on the sidewalk. He picked it up, looking it over, and happily, he found that it was his missing rod. It was safe.

"I found it!" Big told the others that were approaching. "It was right here!"

Sonic whistled. "Cool! Now if only things could go this well for us for a change."

"Don't bet on it, blue," Rouge sighed.

"Hey, let's go in and see if they have the RV," Tails said excitedly.

Sonic agreed. "Right, we should hurry."

"Are you coming with us, Big?" Amy asked the cat.

"I'd like to, but I have fishing to do. I'm sure we'll meet again on the road."

"Count on it, Big." Sonic shook his hand, and they waved goodbye as Big left.

And so at last, Sonic and the crew opened the door of the huge warehouse building. It seemed friendly at first, but the lights suddenly shut off and the doors locked behind them. Everyone stood silent and still, staying together and wondering what caused the blackout.

"Oh, why can't we have at least one normal day?" Knuckles asked, shaking his head.

"Normal would be boring." Sonic grinned in the dark, winking an eye.

Tails gasped. "Sonic, we're trapped in a dark warehouse and no one is home!"

"That's terrible!" Amy exclaimed.

"Oh! What could be worse?" Rouge wondered.

"Being trapped with him." Shadow meant Sonic by this.

Sonic tried to assure them. "Don't worry, guys, I'm sure everything is under control."

Just then, they heard a voice say, "Yes, everything is under control…MY control!"

"Doctor Eggman!" The crew shouted in the darkness, and they were correct.

Eggman laughed out loud in his ship, allowing the lights to return. "Welcome to your doom!"

Sonic and the others blinked to let their eyes adjust to the light, and then they saw the RV. It stood alone in the building and Eggman was over it, hovering in his ship.

"Look, it's the RV!" Sonic said when he saw it.

"It's alive!" Freeway said happily, and then she hid in the backpack when she saw danger.

"Your time is up today, Sonic," Eggman said to him. "Metal has left a bomb just for your RV, and with you all trapped in here, I get a super size deal! This whole warehouse is toast!"

"No way!" Sonic yelled, shaking a fist at him. "We'll find a way to stop it!"

"You'll only speed things up a little, which is okay with me." Eggman turned his ship to leave. "Farewell, losers!" He laughed again and disappeared, leaving them dangerously trapped.

"Now…that's…just…lovely," Knuckles said slowly.

"But not totally unexpected," Metal-2 said, showing no fear.

"Come on!" Sonic called, running toward the RV. "Let's find the bomb and stop it!"

"Coming, Sonic!" Tails answered, following faithfully.

"How will we know if we found it?" Tikal asked, looking around.

"You'll hear a big, huge, enormous, loud BOOM!" Shadow replied, scaring the girls.

"Hey!" Knuckles called, "Sonic, I found something strange, and it's beeping, too!"

Sonic hurried to where Knuckles was standing, finding the bomb right under the RV. "There it is!" He shouted, diving under the RV. "Hurry, guys, let's do it!"

Shadow joined him under there with Knuckles. Metal-2 was already with the bomb, looking at it.

"There are two wires…" Sonic said, looking at the bomb. "A red and a blue one."

"Hmm…which one should I cut?" Metal-2 asked.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Knuckles asked, sweating.

"Place all your bets on the one you think is right!" Sonic sang.

"You know," Shadow said, on his back. "We could draw straws."

"No! We have to pick the right one, or it'll explode!" Tails said, also under the RV.

"I know! I know that, Tails!" Sonic swallowed.

"Can it be removed?" Knuckles asked.

"Negative," Metal-2 answered calmly. "It's too risky."

"We better pick soon because we've only got 12 seconds left!" Sonic pointed.

"What? That's hardly enough time to make a sandwich!" Knuckles gasped.

"Will you boys hurry up down there before we all get killed?!" Amy screamed.

"Speed is my middle name," said Sonic. "Knuckles, you do the honor. Pick one!"

"Huh? Wh-why me?!" Knuckles asked, sweating more.

"Because you're so good at it!" Everyone shouted the answer at the red echidna.

"Oh, right!" Knuckles looked at the bomb, and with only five seconds left, he said, "Blue!"

Everyone closed their eyes tightly except Metal-2, who cut a wire. The bomb stopped.

Sonic opened his green eyes. "We did it!" He shouted when he saw the bomb stop.

Knuckles looked over at Metal-2. He was holding the red wire, which was the one he cut. "You never listen to me," he said, almost breathless. "Good boy." And Metal-2 grinned.

Then they all came out from underneath the RV, and they were unharmed. The RV itself was a little muddy, but to them, it was still home sweet home. After all…

"Home is where you park it," Sonic reminded them. "We found it at last!" And everyone cheered.

Sonic opened the door, entering the RV with the others following. It was like returning home after a long journey. Everyone took their seats, buckled and ready to go. Sonic was the driver.

"Is there any way out of here?" Amy asked, looking around the locked warehouse.

"There might be," Sonic answered, turning the key, hoping for the best, and the RV turned on.

"YES!" They shouted happily.

"Okay," said Sonic, holding the steering wheel. "Let's see what else is out there."

"With the RV back, things will be different," Rouge said. "Back to normal, I hope."

"Oh no!" Knuckles gasped when he suddenly remembered what normal meant for them.

"YAHOO!" Sonic drove the RV toward the locked doors.

With the others screaming inside the RV, holding onto something, Metal-2 pressed a button on a small remote control he found on the warehouse floor, opening the doors before they crashed. And so, with the On the Road Again song playing on the RV radio, the crew made it outside of the dark, dusty warehouse, discovering that it was all a trap made for them. Sonic looked in his rearview mirror and the sign that said Rediscovery Shop fell down to the street. The warehouse was abandoned, but Eggman must have used it for bait. Luckily, they were the fish that got away.

"It was a trap," Shadow said, also looking in the mirror. "He actually set a trap…"

"But we got the RV back, Shadow," Sonic reminded his front passenger. "Cheer up."

Shadow took a sip of hot coffee, silent while watching the window.

"This calls for a celebration," Tikal said happily. "Let's have a party for the RV!"

"Hey, yeah!" Amy agreed. "If we could find a picnic area, it'll be great!"

Knuckles nodded. "I'm for it."

"Sounds like fun," said Rouge. "Let's do that."

Tails opened his laptop. "We're in luck," he said. "Picnic areas are only a few miles away."

"Great!" Sonic whistled. "We'll get there in no time, and then the RV could use a refill."

"Very well," said Metal-2. "But how do we have a party for the RV?" he wondered.

"Just think of it as a birthday party, okay?" Tails smiled at his friend.

"But I never had a birthday party before," Metal-2 told him.

Tails sighed. "Look, when we get there, maybe you'll learn something."

Soon the RV stopped near a picnic table, and after Sonic looked around from on top of the RV, he saw that it was safe. There was no sign of Eggman following them. It was nice and peaceful.

"It's nice here," he said, hopping off the RV roof, landing on the ground with the crew.

"So, this is it?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, we'll rest here for a little, welcome the RV back, and then head for a gas station."

"Okay, Sonic." Tails nodded. He looked around. "Are we going to cook anything here?"

"Leave that to me," said Shadow, walking toward the nearby barbecue.

"Shadow, what are you doing?" Sonic asked.

"I'll take care of this," he said, starting a fire. "I'll be the cook!"

Then everyone, even Metal-2, gasped with dread and fear.

"What?" Shadow asked innocently after putting on a white chef hat.

"Nothing," Knuckles lied. "We're just…just hungry, yeah!" He nodded, smiling.

Shadow grinned, opening a can of Spam. He fried it on a pan. The others sat on the picnic table with paper cups and plates, waiting and talking. Amy was making some ice-cold lemonade. They ate a lunch of Spam sandwiches together. Amy served Sonic a cup first, pouring lemonade.

Sonic, thirsty because of the strange tasting Spam, took a drink. He made a funny face and put it away. "Ew! Yuck!" He said, "It's pink!" Yes, it was pink lemonade, indeed.

Shadow reached for a cup that was the same one Sonic had. "Oh, yuck! Faker germs!"

He passed it to Tails, and the fox took a sip, unaware that it was Shadow's. "Weird," he said simply, passing it to Knuckles, who was very thirsty. The red echidna took the paper cup.

"Wow, pink lemonade!" He said, holding the cup. "Oh, it's my favorite!" He drank it.

Sonic and the other boys watched without blinking as Knuckles drank every single drop.

"You know, I'm beginning to like RV parties," said Metal-2. The others laughed.

Sonic stood up. "Well, now that we finished our lunch, let's make sure the RV is satisfied."

And so, driving away into the calm afternoon wind of Mississippi, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends, now together in the RV again, traveled down the road. After reaching a nearby gas station, the RV was filled up and they had a fun time washing it there also. Everyone was soaked with water and soap, laughing. When they were clean and dry, they departed. Twilight came early to the Mississippi sky, and soon the stars showed themselves after hiding behind their blue curtain. Parked at a rest area, Sonic and the crew relaxed on the RV rooftop, watching the sky. They stayed up late, roasted marshmallows, listened to music and shared ideas for the next stop. It was good to see a clear sky again, and Sonic was glad to see the RV back on its wheels.