Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Sonic Adventures: "On the road" ❯ Zoo tangles ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13: Zoo tangles

After driving for sometime, Sonic the Hedgehog stopped the RV when he saw a city. It was a sunny morning with a nice breeze outside. Sonic turned to Tails who carried the map and he asked what city it was. Tails opened the map and searched until he found it.

"I got it!" Tails said, pointing down at the map. "It's San Diego, so we're in California."

"So, where's Carmen San Diego?" Knuckles asked, joking and everyone looked at him, confused. The echidna shrugged his shoulders, grinning. "Never mind. It was just a thought."

"Funny, you've got the thoughts of a moth." Rouge said, and then she blew a bubble with her bubblegum, annoying the echidna sitting next to her.

"Quit blowing that bubblegum. It gets on my nerves." Knuckles told her.

The pink bubble popped and then Rouge laughed along with the other girls. Sonic and Shadow, the two hedgehogs in the front looked at each other, shrugging shoulders and then they continued driving to enter the city of San Diego. They discovered it to be a large city, having almost everything and anything you can think of. One of the great tourist places was of course, the San Diego Zoo, and the Sonic crew found themselves there that afternoon. When the RV stopped everyone stepped outside, looking toward the entrance to the Zoo. It was all Amy's idea and after she had asked Sonic possibly a dozen times or more, he finally gave up and stopped there.

"This is so, so, so exciting!" Amy said, happily. "Let's go see the pink flamingos!"

"Okay, we will, just hold onto your hat." Sonic said, thinking for a moment.

"I don't have a hat." Amy said, after feeling on her head to be sure.

"Forget it." Sonic said, crossing his arms. "We're here now, so let's go see it."

"I'm not interested." Shadow said, not moving from the RV.

"But Shadow," Sonic said to him, "Everyone is going and we're not moving without you."

"Yeah!" The crew said together, and Shadow only snorted.

"I'll be fine here. You all go in without me." Shadow told them, but they refused.

"Shadow, come with us!" They surrounded him, asking all at once.

Shadow covered his ears. "Quiet! I'll go, just stop that stuff." He surrendered.

"Hooray!" The Sonic crew shouted with gladness.

= = = = =

Meanwhile, someone else also arrived at the San Diego Zoo. It was Dr. Eggman and with him was Metal Sonic and Chaos. The mad scientist saw the RV he had been hunting for and then he saw Sonic and his crew enter the gate to the Zoo. He grinned while rubbing his hands together.

"This will be a piece of cake." Eggman said, assured. "The hedgehog has no way out and the Emerald is with him. Now, Metal and Chaos, don't fail me and get the job right this time."

"At least here there's no car-wash." Metal said, after hitting the side of his head to let a little water out of his ear and Chaos stood beside him, ready for orders.

"Oh, we'll do our best, master. There's no way we can fail this time." Chaos chuckled.

"All right then, you know the plan, so go and get that Emerald!" Eggman commanded.

"Okay, boss." Metal said, and then he asked him, "But what are these feathers for?" He pointed to the pink feathers on the ground and then Eggman grinned.

"That's your way in, Metal. You and Chaos will have to be flamingos."

"No way!" Metal said; leaving but then Chaos held him there.

"No, Metal, don't go! Where would you go anyway?" Chaos asked, holding him back.

"I'll go find a job at a fast-food place, so I won't have to dress like a pink, stick-legged bird!"

"But Metal, you know they'll never take you. This is our only chance!" Chaos said.

"Yes, and it's your only choice, Metal, or I can easily deactivate you and use your parts for a new invention I've been dreaming of." Eggman said, and then the robot gave up.

"Sometimes I wish I was a microwave." Metal said to himself, leaving with Chaos to the Zoo.

= = = = =

When Sonic and his friends entered the Zoo, they found it to be a nice place and a good area to stop and rest after the long drive they had gone through together. The great team stopped walking when they came upon a fenced area where lamas where kept, which looked a little like camels. They chewed carefully on their hay and it was a funny thing to watch. Amy was given a small handful of food to give a white lama, which stood close to her. She reached out with her hand and the team watched as its soft lips gathered the food up and it began chewing it. Sonic laughed at the sight and then he heard a slurping sound next to him. He turned and looked, and to his surprise, he saw a lama, drinking his cup of water from his straw. The team all laughed, pointing toward Sonic who did not move while staring at the black lama, which finished the drink.

"Hey, Sonic, are you still thirsty?" Knuckles asked, breathless from laughing.

"No, I think I can go for a little while." Sonic said, and then he threw the cup into a wastebasket. He turned to the team and they were still laughing but then they stopped when he looked at them. The blue hedgehog shrugged his shoulders and then he began walking again. When he was turned from the team, he heard a chuckle and he quickly turned to see that it was Shadow.

"You got something to say to me?" Sonic asked, looking into the hedgehog's eyes.

"Yeah," Shadow said, nodding. "I learned that Zoo's aren't such a boring place after all." Then he stopped and covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing again.

"Let's go see the flamingos now, please Sonic?" Amy begged, very excited.

"Fine, we'll go, but watch your back, Shadow." Sonic warned, but in a friendly way.

"I always do." Shadow said, and he winked his eyes before they began walking again.

They soon reached a place where pink flamingos were kept in a fenced area and Amy was the first to reach it. She giggled happily and clapped her hands when she saw the birds. Her friends came to her side and they watched as the pink birds came out into the open, and the flamingos looked as if they were expecting visitors. Sonic watched for a moment and tried to avoid yawning. Then his eyes widened when he saw two pink flamingos walk passed them, walking strangely, and he did not know it but it was Metal and Chaos on stilts, covered with fathers and they held a banana for a beak. The blue hedgehog turned his head with wonder, thinking.

"Those are the strangest flamingos I've ever seen." Sonic said, pointing.

"Flamingos are supposed to look funny." Knuckles said, hardly noticing anything unusual.

Amy took a few pictures with her camera and then the team walked again, continuing down the path. Chaos was having trouble keeping his balance on the stilts while Metal used his radar to learn that the Emerald was with the team, no doubt about it and it was in Rouge's purse.

"I knew it!" Metal said, standing tall on the stilts. "I found the Emerald and it's with them. All we have to do now is follow them and approach in a stealthy way, without being known..."

"M--Metal, catch me!" Chaos screamed and fell down from his stilts into Metal's arms.

"You miserable soda pop!" Metal slapped Chaos on the face before dropping him.

"Ouch!" Chaos whined, and he removed the feathers. "You gave me a headache."

"You don't get headaches; you give them! Now, get going!" Metal commanded.

= = = = =

Sonic and his friends were near to the end of the Zoo tour when they came to the gorilla cage. Amy and Tikal were taking pictures while Rouge was powdering her nose, looking at herself while using a small pocket mirror from her purple purse. Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow stood in the path together; trying to decide where they should stop the RV for the night while the girls took pictures. But it was an unknown threat that Metal and Chaos were still-hunting them down, and this time in the most unusual way. The robot hedgehog held a gorilla costume head and began placing it over Chaos who was quite nervous at the moment.

"Hey, Metal, are you sure this thing is going to be okay?" He asked him again.

"Of course, of course, everything is under control." Metal reassured him. "Simply look cute for a picture, sneak up to the bat and take her purse, and then bravo, we've got the Emerald."

"Oh, that sounds pretty easy, all right. Wish me luck, Metal." Chaos said, and then he left.

"I wish you sense for once in your pathetic life." Metal whispered to himself.

Outside, in the gorilla cage, Chaos came walking toward the fence, so Amy and Tikal began placing more film into the camera while Rouge was looking at herself in the mirror. She screamed when a gorilla suddenly pulled her purse away, stealing it. Sonic opened his eyes when he heard the scream and then he was surprised to see a gorilla, escaping with the purse.

"I thought I saw a robber gorilla." Sonic said, but he found it hard to believe.

"You did!" Shadow said, "You did see a robber gorilla and it's getting away!"

"We cannot allow that! After that hairy beast!" Knuckles ran, bravely.

"Hey, I'm coming!" Sonic called, and he ran after the swift red echidna.

"Right behind you, guys and I'm not enjoying the view." Shadow murmured, following.

Knuckles jumped into the air and began gliding while the two hedgehogs jumped over the fence, running for the stolen purse. Knuckles came right to the thief and knocked him down before he safely landed on his feet, turning to see that the gorilla was in fact Chaos. The head of the costume has fallen and rolled away, so Knuckles lifted him from the ground.

"Looks like the game is over for you, King Kong. Hand over the purse!" Knuckles demanded.

"Yeah, give it up, Chaos!" Sonic added, coming with Shadow beside him.

"Ah, raspberries. I was so close." Chaos shrugged and he was forced to surrender when he was tangled in a net, trapped and the team stood with victory again. Just then, to the team's surprise and shock, Metal Sonic landed on the ground, standing between them and Chaos. Knuckles stepped away with Rouge's purse, which was safe now.

"The game is far from over and farther than the end between us, Hedgehog! We will meet again!" Metal pointed to Sonic and then he reached for Chaos to escape.

"What a loser." Sonic shook his head after the robot disappeared from sight. He turned to his team, silently nodding his head and then they returned to the others who were waiting for them. Knuckles returned the purse to Rouge and it was unharmed.

"Here you go, Rouge. Nothing was taken." Knuckles said, and he gave it to her.

"Thank you." The bat said, gripping it and then she turned away to hide a smile.

Sonic stood alone, looking up toward the gray sky and he whispered something but Amy did not hear it as she approached him. She wondered if anything was wrong and she stood by.

"What's wrong, Sonic?" Amy asked him, trying to see his green eyes.

Silent at first, he turned and looked at her. "It's nothing." He said, simply. "Come on, team; let's head on back to the RV because on the road, home is where you park it." The blue hedgehog led the way to the exit of the Zoo and they all safely returned to the RV. They drove on, continuing in the journey on wheels to new places. Sonic secretly faced doubts in his heart, wondering if danger was ahead of his friends and himself if they continue. But he pushed that thought aside, driving into the city where on the road, anything can happen. He wanted to see the mysteries, discover those hidden treasures and find out with a learning mind what may be waiting to be known.