Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Sonic Adventures: "On the road" ❯ Into the deep ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter 26: Into the deep

"Oh, why did I ever leave Wyoming? Why did I ever have to go?" Sonic the Hedgehog sang as the RV came in for a landing. It finally stopped and it was very dark outside. "How's that?" Sonic asked with a grin, turning to his crew behind him who were still hanging on tight to something.

"It was a fine landing. But please, don't ever sing that again!" Shadow begged.

"What? Why did I ever leave Wyoming?" Sonic asked him, musically.

"What an imposter!" Shadow growled and covered his ears, shaking his head.

"Hey, no fighting!" Tails said, standing between the two male hedgehogs. He waited until the two sat down again, and then he said, "I found our location, and we're now in Maine."

"Maine?" Everyone asked, surprised and Tails nodded his head.

"That's way up there, far up North." Amy said, blinking her green eyes.

"That depends on where you live, but right now, we're here." Knuckles said.

"Well, I'll be…" Sonic began and then Shadow suddenly finished it for him.

"A monkey's uncle!" He laughed and ducked down in time to avoid a playful push.

"Boys." Rouge snorted, shaking her head with her arms crossed, sitting down.

"Hey, everyone, I see the ocean out there!" Tikal pointed out the window, excited.

"But then that means we're on a beach, in the sand!" Knuckles realized. "Sonic!"

"You got a problem?" Sonic asked him, sitting calmly in the driver's seat.

"Yeah, and it could be you! How dare you land us on the beach? We're toast!"

"Whoa, chill out, Knuckles old pal. I think everyone needs some sleep before you blow your top." Sonic said, and he gently made the echidna sit down. "You all find a spot and get some rest."

"But what if Dr. Eggman comes while we're all asleep?" Amy asked, frightened.

"Well, I'll stay awake on the roof." Scotty answered, quietly and he opened the door.

"All night?" Sonic asked him, surprised at the crime fighter's plan.

"All night." Scotty repeated and then he closed the door. He was gone and outside. Sonic hardly heard the thud above him when Scotty climbed to the top of the RV to watch for any danger.

"He's a good soldier. I'll go out and join him." Shadow whispered before leaving.

Sonic sighed and weakly climbed back into the driver's seat, pulling his blanket to cover himself. He rested his head on the pillow, closing his green eyes to rest after a wild landing. The crew settled down for their needed rest, sleeping until the morning would call them to rise and shine. Above the RV, Shadow and Scotty stood as the watch hedgehogs until daylight.

= = = = =

Not too far away, the Warp Saucer of Dr. Eggman appeared and landed on firm ground. The darkness and the sounds of ocean waves were like messengers saying this is Maine. Eggman looked at his map on a computer screen in front of him and it was confirmed, true as a fact.

"Ha! Ha! Here I am in Maine and I'm the greatest scientific mind, wouldn't you say?" He asked himself and then he heard Metal Sonic through his ship's communication system.

"Where in San Diego are we?" The robot hedgehog's voice asked.

"Not San Diego, you aluminum foil brain! We are located in Maine." Eggman corrected.

"Hey, that rhymes!" The voice of Chaos chuckled in the background.

"I should slug you!" Metal growled, angrily but then Eggman stopped him.

"Silence!" Eggman commanded. "Metal, I have picked up a signal from the missing Emerald, and this one is hidden somewhere in the ocean. It must be found before the hedgehog finds it."

"As soon as I land this ship, I shall make hay, boss." Metal obeyed.

"How can you make hay on the beach?" Chaos asked the robot.

"That's only a saying, dipper!" Metal yelled, and then Eggman turned the communication off.

"I feel a headache coming on." The scientist let out a sigh, holding his head.

Meanwhile, somewhere on a shore, Metal Sonic and Chaos climbed out from their ship after landing, and they saw the ocean. It was very dark with no one around. The moon shined on the water and the wind blew softly to make the ocean waves move in a musical way.

"Oh, I should've brought my swim shorts." Chaos sighed and he shrugged.

"Gross!" Metal coughed and shook his head. "We're here to find the Emerald, not swim!"

"I'll have to do both to find it, so there." Chaos crossed his arms, nodding.

"Just get in there, you--" Metal tried to throw a punch at him, but Chaos vanished in a puddle of water and escaped into the ocean. "I hate it when he does that." Metal whispered.

= = = = =

The next day, the morning arrived with a new beginning. But the clouds above made the day still seem dark. Knuckles was the first to begin seeking for the Emerald under the water. Rouge soon followed after changing into a purple swimsuit while Tikal wore a green swimsuit. Sonic and Tails began to work on changing the oil for the RV and making sure everything was in working order. Amy stood close to the ocean shore with dry towels, waiting for any news from the three treasure hunters who were swimming. The red echidna soon came up for air, close to shore.

"Knuckles!" Amy called and offered him a dry towel. Knuckles only wiped his face.

"Thanks, but this is a lot tougher than I thought it would be." Knuckles said, breathing.

"Just take it easy and do your best. You can do it." Amy encouraged the treasure hunter.

"I know. So long for now." Then Knuckles dived back under water, swimming.

Now when we turn to see Sonic and Tails, the blue hedgehog was under the RV, whistling the song: Escape from the City as he worked. Tails was down there with him, helping.

"Hey, Sonic, you think Knuckles and the others are doing all right?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure they're fine, little buddy. They do their part and we do ours."

"Do you think we'll run into any trouble?" Tails asked him, concerned in his voice.

"No way, don't worry." Sonic said, and he thought to himself, 'But trouble could run into us.'

"Maybe you're right, but I was just thinking of what happened before." Tails said, quietly.

"Tails, I won't let anything happen to you or any of the others. You got that?" He asked with a smile while looking into his eyes and then Tails nodded his head, yes, smiling back at him.

= = = = =

Back on the shore, Rouge and Tikal came back for air and they dried their faces with Amy's dry towels. They rested for a moment on a rock, but then Rouge felt something on her foot.

"Hey, something's on my foot…" She said and lifted it out of the water to see.

Amy screamed when she saw it was a lobster, holding on to the bat's toe. "An octopus got you!"

"An octopus?!" Tikal gasped with her eyes widening.

"Hold still, Rouge! I'll get it!" Amy took her hammer and lifted it to bring it down and on the lobster, but the fearful sight of the hammer made the lobster flee away into the water.

"Amy, STOP!" Tikal screamed and held the hammer back. "It's okay! It's gone!"

"Good and it better not come back." Amy said, gently placing her hammer down again.

"Thank goodness." Rouge sighed with relief, holding her foot.

"Are you hurt, Rouge?" Tikal asked her and she looked at the foot for any wounds.

"Nah, it takes a lot more than that to hurt Rouge the treasure hunter." The bat winked.

"Then let's continue. We still have to check the deeper side over there." Tikal pointed.

"Into the deep should be fun. Here we go!" Rouge said, and into the water the bat dived.

She swam toward the unexplored area, but she did not see Knuckles around. She stopped for a moment and signaled for Tikal to go left while she would go right. Tikal nodded her head and swam the way she was shown and Rouge swam the other way, seeking under the water. It was blue, clear and beautiful in that underwater world and it seemed peaceful, but the bat did not see a deadly shark watching her. Following its predator ways, it began stalking her.

Rouge suddenly stopped at the sight of something green. 'The Emerald!' She thought, and it was so. She moved to swim toward it, but then the shark suddenly made itself known. It swam around her and Rouge saw it. Rouge froze for a moment with shock at its large size. Then without a warning, the shark turned to attack her and she backed away until she was trapped against a large rock. She felt dizzy from lack of air and closed her eyes, wishing it were only a nightmare. She opened them again to see the shark coming right for her, but then Knuckles appeared and punched the predator's nose, throwing it away from her. Rouge watched in horror as the shark turned again to attack the echidna. Rouge shook her head, no and tried to move, but she was slow underwater and she needed air badly. 'Knuckles!' She called him, screaming in her mind.

Knuckles punched the shark again, but then he took a hit and crashed onto a rock underwater and the shark angrily came toward him. Before the shark could attack him, a certain dolphin with the name of Ecco appeared and attacked the shark, pushing it away from the red echidna. The shark faced failure and swam away, not turning back and Knuckles lifted his thumb to Ecco before he left the area. Then Knuckles quickly turned to Rouge and pulled her up to the surface.

They both gasped for air and then they coughed. Knuckles reached for a rock and gripped it for support with his arm still around Rouge who was weak and shaking.

"You crazy echidna," She said, breathlessly, "You could've been killed down there."

"Look who's talking." Knuckles said, still breathing heavily.

Rouge shook her head, but she did not know what to say. She could not think. She felt herself shaking and realized how heavy she felt after the swim. It was strange to her in a way, but she felt safe in the echidna's arms. When she experienced a frightening flashback of the deadly shark, she buried her face in his shoulder. She was glad her face was wet so he would not notice a tear on her cheek. But Knuckles somehow knew and he stroked her head to comfort her.

"It's okay, it's all right now." Knuckles said, gently and his tender voice surprised her.

Then Rouge tried to change the subject. "But the Emerald is still down there."

"I know that perfectly, but are you all right?" Knuckles asked, quietly.

Rouge breathed deeply before she could answer. "Yeah, I think so." She sniffed. Then she turned to face him and his face was still shining with water. "You risked your life to save me. Why?"

"Because I'm responsible for you and Tikal while in this mission…and I care." He answered.

Rouge had her eyes closed when he was speaking and after he finished; she slowly opened them, meeting his in a soft gaze. Knuckles swallowed as she came near his face and then she greatly surprised him with a kiss on the cheek as a silent 'Thank you.' After that, they heard Tikal.

"Knuckles, Rouge, I've got the Emerald over here!" Tikal called, not too far away. She held the jewel in her hand for them to see. "It wasn't very hard to get down there."

Knuckles and Rouge just smiled, keeping the secret. But then suddenly, Tikal screamed as something pulled her down underwater. She disappeared with the Emerald.

"Tikal!" Knuckles called, but she did not answer and never came up. "Something's wrong!" Knuckles realized and he placed Rouge on the rock before diving underwater to find Tikal.

When Knuckles came underwater, he saw that it was Chaos trying to take the Emerald, but Tikal fought back. The enemy finally realized he had to take her with it so he held the female echidna and took her away while she struggled in vain. Knuckles swam faster and he quickly reached Chaos, blocking his path. Chaos held Tikal with one arm and used his other to punch Knuckles, but he escaped the attack and gave Chaos a hard kick, forcing him to free Tikal and the Emerald. Knuckles push Tikal away to safety, but then Chaos came back and dragged Knuckles deeper underwater to drown him. Knuckles was pushed against a rock while Chaos held him tightly by the arms and the echidna could hardly move. He needed air desperately, but the enemy would not let him go. Before Knuckles could close his eyes with hopelessness, Rouge came out of nowhere and kicked Chaos away with her black boots. She hit him hard and Chaos fled from her.

Rouge took Knuckles by the hand and together, they swam to the surface for air and they breathed when they reached it. They found Tikal on a rock, safe and sound with the Emerald. Unharmed and with victory as theirs, the three treasure hunters began their journey back.

= = = = =

"They should've been here by now." Sonic said, tapping his restless foot.

"I wonder what's keeping them." Tails said as he looked toward the ocean, thinking.

"They could be in trouble." Amy said with concern. "They haven't been back yet."

"Maybe we should…" Before Sonic could finish, he saw Knuckles, Rouge and Tikal with the Emerald coming on shore to dry land. "Hey, they're back! Come on!" Sonic called and he ran to meet them with Tails and Amy following him. "Knuckles, good job!" Sonic cheered.

"I wasn't alone." Knuckles said; smiling at him and the others were confused.

"What are you saying?" Tails asked him, curiously.

"I'll tell you guys all about it later, but for now, we have to go. Chaos is not far away." Knuckles answered, and then the team entered the RV together and the door was shut. As we watch the RV of our crew depart, we hear voices inside it, familiar voices talking to each other.

"Now this time, don't make a mistake and crash land on a beach." Shadow reminded him.

"Yeah, and don't ever do that cliff thing again!" Knuckles added, and then Sonic sighed.

"I never make mistakes in my landings," Sonic assured. "Just watch and learn."

"Live and Learn!" Shadow corrected him and then he began to play the song, using the CD player. The RV traveled onward, continuing in the journey to the next stop. Knuckles and his two fellow treasure hunters had a whale of a tale to tell the others, which they did. There was a road to explore and Sonic the Hedgehog with his adventurous heart wanted to see the way clearly.