Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ On the Road Again ❯ Set me free ( Chapter 18 )

Chapter 18: Set me free

In a small town of Colorado, Sonic and his crew stopped the RV for some needed rest, but their sleep was disturbed when Metal Sonic and Chaos returned with trouble. Metal-2 detected the enemy robot near the RV, and so he warned the sleeping Sonic. The two went outside, and Shadow followed to investigate what could possibly be the danger late that night. They entered the small town, leaving the RV with the rest of the crew, and soon the three saw Chaos. Sonic moved toward the enemy to attack, but then Metal Sonic suddenly appeared in his way. Metal captured Sonic, and they disappeared in a bright light. Metal used a transporter that Dr. Eggman had made to fulfill his new, hideous plan to destroy the hedgehog and the RV. Shadow and Metal-2 returned to the RV to alert the crew, while Sonic was held captive in Eggman's hiding place, in an abandoned building. Now with the background known, we continue our tale…

"You say WHAT?!" Knuckles asked after he spat a drink of water from his mouth.

"You heard me." Shadow said, "Metal has taken Sonic, and we must leave to find him."

"Poor Sonic!" Amy cried, covering her face, and Freeway sniffed as she closed her eyes.

"We must never give up." Tikal offered comfort and courage to the worried crew.

"It kind of reminds me of my book." Rouge said as she closed it.

"What are you reading, anyway?" Knuckles asked her.

"Jurassic Park, the novel." Rouge replied, and then the red echidna gulped.

"But we must find him!" Tails said, "I'll try to locate possible hiding places in this area." He opened his laptop computer, working on the maps he had downloaded in his files.

"Tails," Knuckles said, "Stop typing with that thing. We've got more important things to do, like finding Sonic!" Of course, Tails knew that, and he nodded his head, yes.

"I just have to make this work, and maybe, I'll find the most likely location of Eggman."

"Good work, Tails." Metal-2 praised him, and he laid his robotic hand on the fox's head.

"Thanks." Tails said, quietly, and he shyly smiled. He continued working on his computer.

"I'll take the wheel." Shadow said, and he sat down in the driver's seat.

"And I'll be your navigator." Knuckles willingly volunteered, and he sat down, buckling.

"We must leave this area before they come back." Shadow said, and he turned the key, starting the RV engine, and then he began to drive through the darkness. They began to search.

= = = = =

Meanwhile…

In the abandoned building where Dr. Eggman was, the mad scientist felt that everything was going his way, but then suddenly, an alarm sounded in the laboratory room. He turned to a computer screen, pressed a few buttons, and then he learned what had happened.

"What's going on? Where did the RV go to now?" He asked himself, growling.

"A problem, boss?" Metal Sonic asked, standing behind the scientist.

"The RV traveled out of my radar's range!" Eggman told the robot. "It is no longer there, and I cannot find its new location, unless the hedgehog knows. He is the leader, after all."

"I will go and find out." Metal said, and then he turned, leaving the room. He entered the next room, where Sonic the Hedgehog was being held captive in a jail cell.

"This no good cage is for the birds, not hedgehogs!" Sonic said, angrily, and then he tried again to attack the bars, but he only injured himself. "Ouch, no!" He yelled as he fell down.

Then Chaos peeked out from behind his latest Spider Man comic book. "Hey, be quiet, prisoner! I'm just getting to the best part!" He scolded, and then he continued reading.

Sonic groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head with his hand. Then he heard Metal enter the jail room. Sonic froze, not with fear, but with anger. He hated to be held captive.

"All right, hedgehog, you better talk." Metal said, standing in front of the prison. "The RV has moved from its known location, away from our radar's range. Tell me the new location."

Sonic shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? I've been in this dungeon of yours!"

"You are the leader of the RV crew, therefore, you know all the plans. So, make this easy for yourself and tell me the location, or I will have to force it out of you!" Metal pointed.

"I'll tell you nothing!" Sonic snapped. "You will get nothing out of me, so there!"

"So be it, road hog!" Metal hissed, and he tried to attack him, but then Chaos stopped him.

"No, Metal, wait! Maybe he forgot. Give him some time, and he will tell us."

"Get your slobbering hands off me!" Metal snarled, and he pushed Chaos away. "He knows where it is, but he refuses to give us any information! I have ways to change that…"

Then Sonic closed his eyes. "Team, wherever you are, stay safe." He whispered.

= = = = =

At this moment…

"We must stay safe." Shadow told the others, remembering the words of Sonic.

"Easier said than done, Shadow." Knuckles said, "Sometimes you have to play tough!"

"Strange, I remember Sonic saying stay safe before. I wonder if he did again." Amy thought.

"I don't know." Rouge shrugged. "But I just hope the raptors don't show up, and attack."

"What? Raptors?" Tikal whispered, trembling with fear.

"I will blast any intruders. Do not worry." Metal-2 assured her and the crew, also.

Freeway yawned, sleepily, and then she watched Tails work on the computer, seeking for clues. Shadow continued driving while listening to the information that Tails provided, which was very useful. Then the RV stopped at Shadow's command, and he scanned the area.

"Okay, I'm going to have a look around here. This could be the place." Shadow said, and then he hopped outside the driver's door, and Knuckles followed him into the night.

Without the others knowing it, Amy stepped outside, and she quietly followed Shadow. She saw Knuckles standing beside the black hedgehog, and they were looking around while talking. She moved toward them to help, but then, a robotic hand covered her mouth to silence her scream. She suddenly disappeared with Metal Sonic, the enemy robot, and they vanished.

"It's Metal!" Metal-2 warned the crew, and he hurried outside to the location of the enemy robot. But nothing was seen, and Amy was gone. Then Shadow and Knuckles came to the robot.

"What happened here, Metal-2?" Knuckles asked him.

"Another kidnapping has taken place, and it was Amy. Metal took her." The robot answered.

"She was most likely taken to make Sonic talk." Shadow concluded after thinking.

"Make him talk? You're kidding, right?" Knuckles asked, joking.

"I am afraid he is serious, and correct." Metal-2 said, "Now, we must find them both."

"Let's go!" Shadow called for the crew to follow him, and they returned to the RV.

= = = = =

Back in the dark jail room, the imprisoned Sonic the Hedgehog restlessly tapped his right foot, and then he walked, forward and back, forward and back again, thinking. He suddenly froze when he heard a familiar voice, and it was from a member of his team. His eyes became alert.

"Let me go!" Amy screamed, kicking the robot Metal as he brought her into the prison room.

"Huh? Amy?" Sonic whispered, and he came near the jail bars to see. It was Amy.

Metal tightly held Amy by the arms, and she could not escape, no matter how much she tried. "Now, hedgehog, you see? It will be too easy for me to terminate her!" He threatened.

"NO!!" Sonic yelled, and he attacked the jail bars again, furious.

"Help me, Sonic!" Amy called, struggling to escape, but it was in vain.

Metal silenced her cries, covering her mouth with his hand again. "That will be quite enough of that!" He said, angrily. "Since this has gotten us nowhere, I'll finish you outside!" Metal held a gun to Amy's head, and she closed her eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. Chaos avoided this with his comic book, trembling at the pictures. Metal backed away with Amy, and she screamed out for Sonic through the robot's ruthless hands.

Sonic heard her calls for help, and he attacked the prison bars, again and again, while somehow ignoring the pain it caused him. Before Metal reach the prison's exit door, Sonic came out, breaking through the prison with a powerful force. He stood firm, free again, and he growled furiously at the enemies. Chaos screamed with fright and dropped his comic, and then he ran with Metal down the hallway. Amy was dropped and left unharmed on the prison floor, and Sonic ran after Metal. No one and nothing could hurt his friend and get away with it.

Sonic came to a laboratory room, following after Metal and Chaos, and then he suddenly found himself captured again as ropes quickly wrapped around him. Sonic fought against them, but then he fell to the cold floor, unable to break free. He looked up, and he saw Metal Sonic.

"The sidewalk has ended for you, hedgehog. It's over." Metal whispered, and then he aimed his gun weapon toward the trapped hedgehog. Sonic did not close his eyes, but he stared bravely.

But then again, before Metal could fire, Knuckles and Shadow suddenly came down, crashing through the glass of the skylight ceiling above. Knuckles crash-landed on Chaos, knocking the enemy out, and Shadow landed perfectly on his feet, facing Metal Sonic.

"You're a very foolish hedgehog, Shadow." Metal said to him, "You are going down with your friend right here." But then, Metal was stopped when Amy slammed a hammer on his head. He moved in a circle, unsteadily, and he fired in the air, letting the crew outside hear it.

Just outside the building, the RV crew heard the deadly shot, and they knew what it was.

"That was a gun!" Tails gasped with fear when he heard it.

"Rouge, get over here!!" Tikal called for her, but the bat was making a call at a nearby pay phone, to the police. Metal-2 was inside with them, and he saw that there was only one thing to do.

"There is no time!" Metal-2 said, after Tikal tried to call for Rouge to come drive. He reached the driver's chair, sat down with the keys, and then Tails and Tikal gasped with shock.

"You can't drive!" Tikal screamed when she knew what the robot was thinking.

"You don't even have a driver's license!" Tails added, and his eyes widened.

Metal-2 turned the key, and he was prepared to go. "We're going in!" He said, and then he began to drive the RV with Tikal and Tails screaming. Freeway sat in the passenger seat, amazed.

Meanwhile, Rouge tried to give the location of the building to the police. "I don't know where!" She said, "It's a big thing! It's a warehouse…I don't know, but it's a…" She stopped, and her mouth dropped open when she saw the RV moving, but what shocked her was to see who was driving it. Rouge dropped the phone, and she ran. "Metal-2, STOP!" She called, running.

Back to the robotic driver, Metal-2 was doing a great job on driving, but then he turned toward the building, driving faster. "Yahoo!" Metal-2 shouted as he crashed through a wall. The RV continued on, going strong and unharmed, but Tails and Tikal continued screaming.

The fight in the laboratory room suddenly ended when the RV entered with a loud crash. Metal-2 came out from the adventurous RV, armed with his blasters ready to fire. "This evil must be terminated!" He said, and then he fired toward Metal and Chaos, using his blasters.

Chaos screamed, and he escaped in a puddle, fleeing away. Metal Sonic avoided the attack, and he gave Metal-2 a hateful look before he vanished from sight. Outside, they heard a ship flying away, leaving and with no doubt, it was Dr. Eggman. Metal and Chaos escaped with him.

"Sonic!" Tails called, and he ran to the blue hedgehog who was safe and free again.

"Tails, Tikal, and Freeway! Metal-2, you saved us!" Sonic thanked him.

"Too easy. Piece of cake." Metal-2 said, in a Sonic the Hedgehog way, and Sonic laughed.

Then someone else was heard. "Knuckles!" Rouge called, running and panting for the RV.

"Be careful!" Knuckles warned as the bat made her way through some broken glass.

"Are you guys all right?!" Rouge asked, entering the room.

"Yeah, but where were you?!" Knuckles asked her.

"What do you think?! Shopping?! I called the police!" Rouge told him.

Then Knuckles explained what happened, overwhelmed after what came to pass, and what he had gone through. "I fell through the ceiling, I fell on the guys, and I fought the guys!"

"What?! You're kidding!" Rouge screamed.

"No, I'm not! And you let Metal-2 drive?!" Knuckles asked in surprise.

"I didn't let him drive! Don't yell at me!" Rouge defended herself, in truth.

"I'm not yelling, Rouge!" Knuckles said, happily, and he hugged her. He opened an eye, and then he saw the crew, staring at him, oddly. "Well, the taste of victory is sweet." He grinned.

"Maybe a little too sweet. Yuck!" Tails shook his head.

"Is everyone okay?" Sonic asked his friends, and they all nodded, yes to answer him. Then Sonic smiled with relief. "Thanks, team. You set me free, but it was very dangerous to come."

"It's our way." Amy said with a cute smile, and she was very glad to have him back again.

"Hold it!" Sonic said, "Our way is on the road again! Let's see what's out there! Move out!" He called, and then everyone followed the leader hedgehog.

They safely entered the RV, and Sonic took the wheel again. He backed it up, out of the abandoned building. They adventured into the dark, leaving the area to find a safer place to stay for the night. After that adventure, the friendship of the crew became stronger, not weaker. The road was a path for them, a path that could not be forsaken, and it was truly unforgettable.