Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ On the Road Together ❯ Monkey Business ( Chapter 15 )

Chapter 15: Monkey Business

East Texas soon came into their sight when the RV approached the state line. Shadow the Hedgehog was the driver when they arrived early that morning. It was not even dawn when they finally entered Texas, so the area was dark and quiet. Everyone except for Shadow and Metal-2 were asleep. Sonic and Tails were asleep on the sofa, the girls were sleeping in the back bedroom, and Knuckles took his place in the bed above the two front seats where Shadow and Metal-2 sat. Soon the sun began to rise, while Shadow kept driving, Metal-2 read the map.

"Houston is not far away," Metal-2 quietly said to the driver. "We'll need to refuel."

"And refill the propane tank," Shadow added. "I know."

The RV turned to cross a bridge and that is when it happened. Without any warning, a large truck drove across the bridge at the same time, illegally speeding. It was not slowing down.

"Shadow!" Metal-2 called, but before he could even finish the name, the rearview mirror was hit.

Shadow turned away from the truck as far as safety would allow it and the mirror hit his head. The RV stopped, but the truck disappeared in the morning fog. Sonic and Tails fell off the sofa, tangled in a blanket, the crash woke up the girls, and Knuckles punched at his pillow, still asleep.

"Shadow! Metal!" Sonic called as he climbed out of the blanket to see.

"What happened?" Tails sleepily asked, peeking out of the blanket.

"It was a hit and run," Metal-2 answered. "But the RV was not the only one hit."

Sonic hurried to the driver seat and he saw Shadow with an injured head. "Shadow!"

The black hedgehog let go of the steering wheel and Sonic placed his hand over the wound to stop the bleeding. Shadow closed his eyes and then Sonic silently blamed himself.

"Metal, get the first aid kit, hurry!" Tails requested and Metal-2 quickly found it.

"Those thoughtless drunk drivers!" Sonic said to himself as he opened the kit.

"Does he need a doctor?" Tails asked, concerned.

"No, the injury is not too serious, luckily," Metal-2 replied after scanning the hedgehog.

"He'll be fine," Sonic assured him. "Come on and rest, Shadow. I'll drive."

"All right," Shadow agreed, and he sat on the sofa with Metal-2.

Tails sat in the passenger chair to help Sonic in the driving. He looked at the broken window and then at the mirror. "We should get these things fixed as soon as possible," he told him.

"Right," said Sonic. "We're not far from Houston, so I guess that'll be the place."

"Hey, is everything all right out there?" Rouge asked from the room in the back.

"It's fine now, Rouge," Sonic answered, driving the RV. "Everything's okay."

"And I hope it stays that way," Tails said quietly, watching the road ahead.

= = = = =

Location: Houston, Texas…

A city is just what the crew was looking for, and so they came to a large city called Houston. Everything seemed to be big in Texas with endless things to see. The crew watched the windows to get a nice view of the buildings. Amy and Tikal took photographs with a camera. Shadow was feeling much better now and his wound was almost healed completely. Rouge kept an eye on him, anyway. Metal-2 and Knuckles were challenging each other in a chess game with Freeway watching, and the driver, Sonic the Hedgehog could hardly blink at the city he saw. It was huge.

"Sonic, how come they say everything is big in Texas?" Tails asked.

Sonic answered while he drove the RV into the city. "Well, because it's true. I hear they have some pretty good-sized chilidogs. They super-size things, and--"

Tails gasped. "Look out for that monster truck!!" He pointed out the window.

"Hold on!!" Sonic warned the others, and he dashed to make a turn.

The chess pieces were set flying off the game board when the turn was made. "Oh, great," Knuckles growled. "Just when I was close to beating you, this has to happen!"

Metal-2 chuckled and Amy ran up to the two front seats. "What is it?!" she asked.

Tails quickly looked in the rearview mirror. He saw the big black truck with a familiar driver. "It's Doctor Eggman," Tails told the driver. "He's following us!"

"And I doubt he wants to join a tour," Shadow said.

Just then, they were hit in the back. Sonic turned down another street to avoid another hit, picking up speed also. Tails looked in the mirror and they were still being followed.

"We gotta stop him!" Sonic said, standing. "Metal, Rouge, let's go!"

Shadow stood up. "I'm coming, too."

Silent, Sonic only nodded with a slight smile. He was not going to try and stop him.

"Can I drive?" Tails asked, excitedly holding the steering wheel.

"No, Knuckles will take care of that. Let's move it!" Then Sonic left through a window with Shadow, Rouge and Metal-2 following. Tails turned to Knuckles, offering the steering wheel.

"There's a small problem," Knuckles said, almost choking.

"What is it?" Amy and Tails asked him.

Sweating and trembling, Knuckles replied in a whisper. "I-I don't have a driver's license."

"WHAT?!" Amy, Tails, Tikal, and even Freeway gasped.

"Hey, I've been guarding a giant emerald on an island for years. No need to drive!"

"There's a need NOW!" Amy screamed, pulling her hammer out.

"Keep that thing away from me!" Knuckles said it so quickly; he was hardly understood.

"Wait!" Tails ended the war before it began. "I'll drive! Knuckles, you're the co-pilot."

Tikal sighed with relief when the two settled down in the front seats to control the moving RV. Amy held on to the driver's chair for support and Freeway stayed close to Tikal for protection. Outside, Sonic leaped from the RV to the driving truck, landing on top of it.

"That was too easy," Shadow said after he landed.

"Don't press your luck," Rouge warned. "Look!" She pointed ahead. The others looked ahead of them and there was Chaos Zero. He was not in a very friendly mood that day.

"I'll make you sorry for hurting my pal Metal!" Chaos said to them angrily.

Sonic and those with him stood to fight. "And you'll regret you tried!"

Chaos growled. "You will submit to me right now, or things will get very, very ugly!"

Sonic gasped. "Everyone, get down!" He fell flat on his tummy and so did the others.

Chaos blinked, surprised, and he stood tall. "Well, now that's better…"

Suddenly his head was hit in the back because the RV and the truck were driving under a low bridge. Sonic and the others stayed down, but Chaos was left on the bridge with a headache.

"He's gone," Rouge said, looking back while holding on. "We can get up now."

"I wonder what ever become of his brain," Metal-2 said as he stood up.

"Did he even have one?" Shadow asked, standing also.

"It's a mystery." Sonic shrugged and then he moved toward the front of the truck.

"Knuckles is sure a good driver," Rouge commented as she followed.

"How can we stop this truck safely?" Sonic tried to think of a way.

Metal-2 stepped ahead of the blue hedgehog and said, "Terminate the driver!"

"What? NO!" Sonic gripped the android's arm. "Metal, stop!"

"He's been following us for so long. He must come to his end!" He shook Sonic off and then Shadow punched Metal-2 in the face. He stood still for a moment, silent.

"Snap out of it!" Shadow shouted, "Control yourself, or you'll be worse than them!"

Rouge stood between them. "Hey, hey," she said, "Come on, let's stop Eggman together."

"Right," Sonic agreed. "Here's the plan…" He whispered it to them.

Inside the truck with his theme song heard playing from the CD player, Eggman laughed when he saw the RV ahead. "Splendid! Now I can finish it once and for all!" The truck began to move faster, heading strait for the RV and Tails had nowhere to turn.

"Yoo-hoo!" said a voice, and Eggman turned to look. It was…

"Sonic the Hedgehog?!" Eggman gasped, quite shocked. "It's you! But how?"

Sitting on the passenger seat, Sonic grinned. "That's a secret." He winked.

"Well, your death won't be a secret, hedgehog!" Eggman reached out to him, but then from behind, Shadow blindfolded him with a cloth. "Oh no! I can't see the road!" Eggman panicked.

"Take it, Shadow, hurry!" Sonic said, keeping Eggman away from the steering wheel.

Shadow turned the truck to get it off the road. Metal-2 and Rouge were still outside. The bat placed a small box underneath the truck and then Metal-2 helped her back up.

"Okay, your turn," she said, and Metal-2 nodded, aiming for the tires.

Metal-2 fired and the tires exploded. Shadow almost lost control of the truck, but he made it stop in time. Safely off the road, the truck rested with all of its tires, flat.

"Let's get outta here!" Sonic called, and he leaped outside with Shadow.

Rouge and Metal-2 flew off the truck, leaving it behind. Eggman angrily removed the blindfold, looking around. The hedgehogs were gone. Before he could guess it was all possibly a nightmare, an explosion was heard under the truck. After the burst, the truck was covered with bubblegum.

"I'll get that road hog!" Eggman promised himself in the gum-covered truck.

Behind the truck, Chaos woke up on the low bridge. "Where…am…I?"

= = = = =

Later…

"We're in Houston!" Sonic announced when they returned to the RV.

"Yeah, and now that things are clear again, we can enjoy the city," said Amy.

"Knuckles, you drove so well. Why don't you take us in?" Sonic asked, grinning.

Knuckles blushed, but quickly hid it. "No thanks, I had enough for one day." He winked at Tails and the fox returned the sign. They switched places before Sonic returned.

"Well, if you insist…" Sonic happily took the steering wheel.

"Sonic?" Metal-2 said quietly behind him.

"Yeah?" Sonic turned to see him, listening.

"Sorry about that. I don't know what got into me," he said.

"It's all right," Sonic assured him. "I think I understand, but killing is not our way."

"That bubblegum bomb will keep him busy for a while," Rouge chuckled.

"So, while he sticks around back there, let's get going," said Tails.

"Okay, guys, let's take a look." Sonic stepped outside with the crew following.

"Hey!" Amy called when everyone was outside.

"What is it now?" Shadow asked, sighing.

"It's picture time!" Amy pointed her camera at them. "Smile, everyone, and say, Sega!"

Everyone hurried into a pose for the picture. Sonic and Shadow were doing the bunny ears sign to each other, Tails waved with a friendly smile, and Tikal held Freeway in her arms, ready and waiting. Rouge held a jewel and Knuckles pointed his fist at the camera while Metal-2 rested a hand on Tails' head, smiling. There was a Houston City scene in the background.

"SEGA!" They said, smiling, and then Amy took a photo of them with the city.

Amy smiled as she lowered the camera down. It was a neat picture taken and she still had more film for the city ahead. Suddenly she felt something tugging at the camera. She gasped when she looked down. A little monkey with a red vest and hat grabbed the camera and ran away.

"My camera!!" Amy shouted, "Come back here with it!" She chased after the monkey.

Sonic and the others blinked, watching. "After it!" Sonic pointed the way.

"The crazy monkey or the pink hedgehog?" Shadow asked, and Sonic glared at him.

"No time for this monkey business," Rouge said, stopping them. "Let's go get it!"

"That way!" Metal-2 pointed toward a building where the monkey was running.

Sonic and the others chased after it with Amy in the lead. She stopped when there was a red light, but the monkey kept running with the camera, crossing the dangerous street.

"No, stop!" Amy called out, unable to move.

Sonic and the others arrived and they stopped also. It was a busy street with many cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and trucks crossing at that time of day.

"We have to look both ways before crossing," Knuckles reminded them.

"There are cars everywhere!" Tikal exclaimed, out of breath.

"I could fly after it," Metal-2 said, but Sonic shook his head.

"No way! If people see a flying android hedgehog, it'll cause wrecks all over the place!"

"Turn green, already!" Tails said to the crossing sign.

Amy watched the little monkey barely dodge the cars and trucks as it crossed the street. Sonic and the crew watched also, closing their eyes each time the monkey barely escaped a hit. Thankfully, he made it to the other side unharmed and Sonic saw him enter a hotel building.

"There he goes!" Knuckles pointed at the tall building.

Finally the light turned green for them to cross and when it did, they all ran for the hotel, after looking both ways, of course. The monkey saw them coming inside, and so he quickly leaped for an elevator. Sonic and the crew stepped inside the hotel, looking around for any signs.

"How may I help you?" the manager asked the seeking crew.

"Maybe you can help," Shadow said to him. "We're looking for a little Big Foot."

"Excuse me? What?" said the man, confused.

"A monkey with a camera," Amy told the man. "MY best camera!"

The manager chuckled. "There is no monkey in this hotel," he said.

Suddenly they heard a woman scream from the elevator. "A monkey!!"

Sonic jumped and landed on the manager's head to see through the crowds of people. He saw the kitten-sized monkey run inside the elevator after the frightened people left it empty.

"That's it! Let's go!" Sonic leaped off and ran through the crowd.

The crew followed the blue hedgehog; running passed the manager so he was sent spinning in circles. Tikal was last in line and she helped him stop spinning before running again. The monkey pressed a button and he waved his hand as the door closed. He was getting away again.

"STOP!" Sonic pressed his hands against the closed door. "Open this door!" He knocked.

"We're too late," said Tails. "But wait, we can take the stairs!"

"Up to the stairs!" Sonic pointed and he ran for them.

And so Sonic and the crew ran up the stairs, turning and climbing higher to reach the top. Sonic rolled into a ball and forced the door open. He landed on the rooftop of the hotel. He looked around and when he saw the city from there, he almost forgot about the missing camera.

"Whoa," said Tails when he made it to the top. "What a view! We're so high up!"

"Oh, it's lovely," Tikal said with Freeway nodding.

"Got jewels?" Rouge asked when she stepped onto the roof.

"No," Knuckles answered, turning to her. "But I've got the foil wrapper of my gum."

"How pathetic." Shadow shook his head.

Metal-2 shrugged and then he asked, "Have we forgotten something?"

Amy gasped, remembering. "My camera!"

Everyone turned to face the little one they were chasing. "THE MONKEY!" They said.

The monkey smiled and gave the camera back to Amy and she took it.

"Oh," she said, surprised. "Thanks. So, you led us here to see this place, huh?"

The monkey nodded his head to answer, yes.

"That was very nice of you, but next time, just ask." Amy smiled. She lifted her camera and took a picture of the monkey. "There," she said. "That way we can always remember this."

"Oh, joy," Knuckles sighed.

"You gotta look at the bright side, Knuckles," said Sonic. "Look, we have the best view of the city and a little adventure on the side."

"Yeah, a little hairy adventure," Tails added, chuckling.

"I told you," Rouge reminded the crew. "It's monkey business."

After viewing the city and taking pictures there, Sonic and the crew departed after saying goodbye to the monkey that loved tourists. They refilled the RV and the propane tank was also filled in Houston. The mirror was repaired and at sunset, they left the city to move on.