Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ On the Road Again ❯ Hands of help ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5: Hands of help

Leaving North Carolina behind them, Sonic and his crew drove on the road, traveling together and enjoying the great view outside the windows. The world seemed to pass by them and one could lose the sense of time, staring out there, watching with gazing eyes. Soon they entered Kentucky, and it was truly a wonderful place to see. But the RV was low on fuel. Sonic had to stop in a town and refill. The girls shopped for a few needed supplies inside the building while Sonic refilled the RV. Knuckles cleaned the windows with Tails helping him. Shadow stood beside Sonic, and his eyes were cautiously watching for any danger. None was seen and it appeared to be safe, but his eyes widened when he saw the gasoline bill.

"I hope your wallet is deep." Shadow said with his arms crossed.

"Don't worry, Shad. I'll take care of it." Sonic said with a grin, using a playful nickname.

"My name is Shadow." He reminded the blue hedgehog. He felt a little confused.

"I know," Sonic said, "But I was just using a nickname for you. Get it?"

"Whatever." Shadow snorted, and then he shrugged. But he secretly liked the nickname.

"Hey, Sonic! Come and see the windshield." Tails called from the front.

"Wow, Tails!" Sonic said when he saw how clean it was. "That's great! Good job!"

"You're welcome." Tails and Knuckles said, together at the same time. They laughed.

Meanwhile, Freeway was playing by herself, leaping in the air, hopping around the RV until she suddenly crashed into Shadow's leg. Surprised, he looked down to see the young fawn, blinking her eyes at him. The black hedgehog sighed, and then he helped her stand up again.

"Watch where you're going. You could hurt yourself." He told the little deer.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles watched this, smiling. "How cute." Tails whispered.

"I heard that!" Shadow said, and he suddenly began to chase the others around the RV. Freeway watched them as they passed by her each time they ran around, around and around.

"We can't leave them alone for a few minutes." Rouge shook he head when she returned.

"Boys will be boys." Tikal said, and then she carried a bag of supplies into the RV.

Then Amy approached Sonic, as he stood alone, catching his breath behind the RV, slightly sweating after running. He was ready for more; always more running, but he wanted to stop and think for a few moments, wondering where their journey could take them to next.

"Sonic, are you thirsty?" Amy asked him, holding a cold soda drink.

"Nope, I like running better." He said, grinning at himself.

"Are you sure you don't need a drink? It looks like you could use it." Amy said, blinking.

"No, I said, no. You go inside with the others. We gotta go now." He told her.

"Okay, I'll save it for you in the icebox." Amy said, and then she finally went inside.

Sonic clicked with his tongue, and then he entered the RV, through the driver's side door. He placed the key in, and then Freeway nuzzled his cheek, tickling him. The blue hedgehog had to let a chuckle out, and he stroked the little deer's head, smiling. Now that everyone was inside and safe, the RV began to move on, and away they went down the road, leaving.

= = = = =

Driving along and listening to some songs, the RV drove as the team looked around Kentucky. It was a lovely afternoon, but it was hot outside. They stopped long enough to get some ice cold snow cones, and then they continued traveling. They enjoyed their cold treat as they drove on.

"Hey, this is pretty cold stuff. It's good." Sonic said after another lick of his blueberry cone.

"It'll cure my sweet tooth, for now." Knuckles grinned, holding a cherry snow cone.

"I've got orange, and it's the best flavor." Tails licked his cold treat again.

"Well, grape is sweet. I like it." Rouge said, holding a purple snow cone in her hand.

"Lemon is good, a little sour, but it's sweet." Tikal said with a yellow cone.

Amy smiled as she looked at hers. "Oh, strawberry is pink!" She cheered, happily.

"Hey, what flavor did you get, Shadow?" Sonic asked the driving hedgehog.

Shadow lifted a coffee mug to his mouth, took a sip, and then he grinned. "Coffee." He replied.

"How can you drink coffee in this heat?" Knuckles asked, surprised at him.

"Simple, I just drink it." Shadow answered, after another sip of the hot coffee.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Man, that's strange. Coffee is for the morning." He said.

"Then running is for greyhounds." Shadow teased him, still driving.

"If you were any other hedgehog-Shadow, stop!" Sonic said, "There's help needed." He pointed out the window and the driver saw two strangers with a broken car, waving their hands.

The RV stopped, and Sonic hopped outside with Shadow. "What's the problem?" Sonic asked the strangers. "We stopped and wondered if you need any help."

"Uh-huh." The first stranger nodded, and he could not speak English very well.

"What is your trouble?" Shadow asked them, standing alert beside Sonic.

"We are far from home." The stranger replied, very confused.

"Aren't we all?" Sonic said, "But what is the matter here? Is anyone hurt?" He asked.

"Our car is the Mustang…It is broken." He told the hedgehogs, helplessly.

"Oh, well then I'll take a look…" Shadow said as he approached the car. He opened the hood, dived in to take a look, and the two concerned strangers watched him.

"Can you make our car go?" The worried stranger asked the black hedgehog.

"Yeah, I think I can." Shadow replied, nodding. "You see, your problem is this, right here the engine over heated, lost power and now it needs a few special adjustments..."

"It is broken!" The strangers cried in a panic. They were also far from the nearest town.

"Chill out." Sonic said, stepping over to Shadow. "We'll do our best, and fix it up in a snap."

"He is smart." The stranger nodded, and his friend did the same, smiling.

Shadow continued working on the car. "Unlike some hedgehogs, I have the ability to learn."

"Hey, I can learn." Sonic said, and then he looked down at the car engine. "Hmm…what's this thing?" He asked, and before Shadow could warn, a bolt of electricity shocked him. "Ouch!" Sonic yelped, and he quickly moved his hand away, and then he blew on it.

"Good work, Sonic. Now we're another step closer." Shadow grinned, working.

Unharmed, Sonic growled at him. "That was my special finger!" He snapped.

"Look, you still have it." Shadow calmly pointed. "You just got a little buzz, luckily."

Sonic snorted. "You're lucky I keep my temper, Mister Ultimate."

"Yes, I know." Shadow said, ending the ridiculous argument. They finally worked together, and soon, they had it working perfectly again. The engine turned on and everything was fine.

"It's alive! It's alive!" The strangers clapped for their helpers, thanking them so much.

"No problem." Sonic said, calmly and he tossed a washcloth to Shadow, to clean his face.

The two strangers were so grateful for their help, and they even offered to pay them, but Sonic and Shadow refused the money. They thanked them for the nice offer, but it was time to move on. After that, the RV continued to drive and followed the lonely road to another town. But they were unaware that Metal Sonic and Chaos were following their trail, stalking them. The robot watched silently as the RV entered the next town. He would wait for the right moment to strike. He turned to face Chaos, and then Metal growled when he saw him playing with a yellow yo-yo.

= = = = =

Through the town they drove, in a place called Louisville, Kentucky. It was a great sight to see, and Amy was taking pictures whenever the RV stopped. Sonic drove while Shadow finished his third cup of coffee. Everyone watched the windows, enjoying the view. Everything went along fine, but then suddenly, the RV began to behave strangely. Sonic stopped, parking it in a safe place, and to his distress, he found the fan belt burned and broken. He sighed.

"Not again! This happened last time..." He said to himself, and Shadow heard him.

"What's the matter?" Shadow asked him with concern, and with coffee.

"It's the fan belt again." Sonic answered, pointing to it, and sure enough, it was ruined.

"We can't go anywhere without it! We're trapped like rats." Knuckles said, very worried.

"Hey, what are we? Men or mice?" Sonic asked, standing with good courage.

"We're neither." Knuckles replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"My point, exactly!" Sonic said, and then he turned to Tails. "Go get the spare under the seat."

"Okay, wait here!" Tails called, and then he hurried inside to the driver's seat. But to his disappointment, he did not find a spare fan belt. It was nowhere to be found. They had none, so Tails stepped back outside with the bad news. "We don't have a spare." He said.

"Oh no!" Knuckles gasped. "We're doomed, lost, trapped in Louisville with hedgehogs!"

"Not too bad." Sonic licked his lips, and then he began to think of a plan.

"There is no need to worry," Shadow said, calmly. "We can simply find one."

"Start digging." Knuckles groaned to himself, shaking his head.

"No way, we can just find a car shop, and then it will be as good as new." Sonic explained.

"But it will be new, won't it?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, if we can find one in this place." Sonic answered, a little doubt but hope still found. "Well, guys, I'm going. Knuckles, you watch the RV with the girls. Tails and Shad, you're with me. Let's go!" He called, and then he ran with Tails and Shadow following him.

Knuckles snorted. "They always leave me behind to be a watchdog." He said to himself.

= = = = =

Location: Somewhere in Louisville, Kentucky…

"Where are we?" Shadow asked with a confused look on his face.

"Look up, silly. We're in Louisville, Kentucky." Sonic said, pointing to the sign.

"But we still didn't find what we are looking for." Tails sighed, feeling a little tired.

"No, but I found what I have been stalking!" A harsh robotic voice spoke.

"It's Metal Sonic!" Tails gasped as he turned with the hedgehogs, facing the robot.

"Back off, Metal!" Sonic said, keeping Tails behind him. "We don't want to fight."

"Don't want to fight? Ha!" Metal said, "You're not so brave without the echidna around."

"We're only looking for a part to fix the RV, so I say again, back off!" Sonic repeated.

"Oh, but we have to capture you, like the Doc said." Chaos told them, "Sorry."

"So am I." Metal said, "I'm sorry that I have to work with you!" He pointed to Chaos.

"Ah, it's okay, Metal. I can handle work just fine." Chaos said with a smile.

"Never mind, ding dong. Get that hedgehog!" Metal pointed toward Sonic, but before the robot could attack, a stone was thrown at him, hitting him behind the head. "What's this?" He turned and everyone was surprised to see a young female fox, 8-years-old, all white in color with black ears, hands, feet, little above the nose, and a black ring around the tail. She stood, bravely.

"Go back where you came from, you big bully!" She said, before turning to run from the robot.

"After her!" Metal growled angrily, and he chased her with Chaos following with his yo-yo.

"Oh no!" Sonic gasped. "Metal is going to catch up with that kid, no doubt!"

"That's awful!" Shadow said, "We don't need anymore trouble from Metal Sonic!"

"No problem, I've got a plan. Listen…" Tails whispered in the ear of Sonic, telling him an idea. After he finished, Sonic smiled with a nod of approval. They hurried and went another way.

To be continued in the next chapter…