After escaping the Piston Pit, Sonic and the sisters decided to stay at a motel for the night. Inside in one of the rooms, Pipp putted some ice into a towel to ease the pain at the side of her sisters head.
"So let me get this straight: You have the ability to stop time and do whatever you want in a matter of a second?!" Zipp asked Sonic in disbelief.
"Half a second, actually," Sonic said with a smirk. "I could just had take us out of there, but where's the fun in that?"
"You could have saved Zipp from her black eye, you know..." Pipp pointed out, as she gave her sister the towel with ice and Zipp placed it over her cheek and eye.
"Okay, yeah, that was totally my bad," Sonic admitted with a sheepish smile. "Anyways! So, what's our next move?"
"I think we should just pass out watching TV and then hit the road in the morning," Zipp suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Sonic said with a smile, taking off his shoes and putting comfortable in the bed he was sitting on.
Zipp did the same, while Pipp putted the towel and the ice aside. As she came back and lay on the bed on Sonic's side, she got a bit more curious about Sonic and his world.
"Hey, Sonic..." Pipp called out. "How's that you and those Emeralds ended up here, exactly?"
Sonic opened his eyes and looked at Pipp. "You know that there's this other Robotnik on my world that I call Eggman, right?" He asked, while Pipp nodded in response. "Well, he tried to steal the Emeralds, but after a small fight between me and the robot he used to steal them, the Emeralds crossed the portal to this world. I guess once they hit the ground, they activated and then spreed around. So I decided to come here and take them back before they could cause any damage or get someone in trouble... I didn't did very well on the last thing, did I?"
Neither Zipp or Pipp could say something, but they both felt bad for Sonic.
"I'm sorry, girls," Sonic said, as he sat on the bed. "I never wanted to drag anyone into this. In fact, I only wanted to prevent things like this from happening, knowing how powerful and dangerous the Emeralds can be... but you two got involved, and I'm really sorry for, pretty much, ruining your lives..."
Zipp just moved her head to see Sonic with compassion. So far, he was acting like the kind of guy that loves to joke or make sarcastic comments in the worst situation, but right now, that same guy was actually sad for dragging her and Pipp into all this mess.
She was about to say something, but then the three of them heard something on the news. "Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals, daughters of Haven, have been accused of committing an act of domestic terrorism. They're considered armed and dangerous. Any information regarding their whereabouts should be reported to the local authorities immediately," The News Reporter said.
Pipp let out a gasp as she covered her mouth with worry, and Zipp frowned as she turned the TV off.
"Ugh, this just makes me feel worse!" Sonic cried out. "This is exactly what I wanted to avoid, but of course! Things have to be any way except as planned!"
Zipp sighed, and decided to sat on her bed as well, now facing at Sonic. "Hey, dude, look at me," She requested, while Sonic did said thing. "Look... despite how I treated you earlier, I don't think you ruined our lives."
That just made Sonic's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Zipp's right," Pipp said, as she looked at him with a smile. "You said it yourself: Nothing was on purpose. And besides, we decided to help you escape from that creep, so if anything, we're the ones to blame here."
"True!" Zipp agreed with her sister. "I shoot you on your leg, remember? And we both hid you from this Robotnik guy that's chasing you, so we also are guilty for our current situation."
"But nothing would've happened if I just left instead of just freeze in the middle of Pipp's room," Sonic said, still feeling guilty.
"That's also my fault, Sonic," Pipp stated. "I should've gave the Emerald to the school's principal instead of taking it home with me. You wouldn't had to brake on our home..."
"And it doesn't matter if this guy wants to take us down too, Hedgehog," Zipp added, smiling as well. "We'll find a way to take him down. Besides, knowing mom, she will move heaven and earth if necessary to clear our names, so I'll probably won't be worrying too much about that."
"Oh yeah! That too," Pipp said with a sheepish smile, while Sonic just looked on with a bored expression.
"I mean, that did made me feel better, but you could've said it before I got emotional, you know?" Sonic said, then he yawned tired. "Anyways... I think I'm going to––"
But before he could finish, he fell in the bed and immediately snored, because he fell asleep way too fast.
"Wow... that was a lot quicker than I expected..." Zipp said with a smirk.
"Yeah..." Pipp agreed, and then looked at her sister. "Zipp... did you mean it?"
"What?" Zipp questioned confused.
"That we can take this Robotnik guy down, clear our names... do you mean it?" Pipp asked again.
"Of course I do, sis!" Zipp assured with a smile. "Trust me, once all of this is over, we'll go back at our lives. And, who knows, maybe this is what you needed to encourage your 'non pop star' self after all."
Pipp rolled her eyes but smiled, then she covered Sonic with the blankets and turned the lights off to lay down on the bed as well. "Good night, Zipp," She said with a smile.
"Good night, Pipp," Zipp said back, turning the lights off as well.
The next day, Robotnik and his team arrived at the Piston Pit after the incident last night. Two workers were replacing the broken window that the thug crashed into. Inside the bar, Robotnik and Agent Stone were interrogating said Thug from last night, who was wearing a neck brace.
"Did she say where she was going?" Agent Stone asked the man, while holding a picture of the sisters.
The thug snatched the photo from Agent Stone and took a closer look.
"Maybe, maybe not," He growled, handing the photo back to Stone. "Like I'd ever tell you."
Then, Robotnik pushed his colleague aside. "Stand down, Agent Stone. This well-meaning citizen obviously doesn't understand the urgency of the matter," He said while glaring at the thug, who stood up and glared back at the Doctor.
"Really?" The thug asked with a smirk.
Robotnik smiled sinisterly before throwing the man straight through the same window that has been replaced. Both he and Stone left the restaurant.
"Now, that's what I call 'good cop, bad cop'," Robotnik said. Stone held up his hand for a high five, only for Robotnik to punch him in the gut. "Hoy!" Robotnik walked away. "Let yourself open."
Stone got back up to his composure and followed his boss to the truck. The two men made it back into the truck and walked towards Robotnik's laboratory. The Doctor approached the computer and pressed a few buttons.
"Judging by the quickest route to Manehattan, the approximate speed of their vehicle, local weather conditions, they should be... right about... here!" Robotnik stated, as he and Stone looked at the computer's screen, revealing a map where the car was marked red and was showing where their targets were going.
"That's brilliant, sir," Stone commented.
"Thanks... for nothing," Robotnik said lastly under his breath.
Meanwhile, the trio were back in the highway, with their energies charged up and all ready to get to Manehattan.
"You know, this whole trip I only have talked about me, but I've been wondering some things about you two," Sonic said suddenly with a casual tone.
"Really?" Zipp questioned a bit confused.
"Then why didn't you said anything?" Pipp asked, confused as well.
"I mean, I could, but we either ended up somewhere unexpected, or you kept bombing me with questions," Sonic pointed out.
"Huh... he's got a point," Pipp said.
"I know," Zipp admitted a bit annoyed. "Alright then, partner. Fire away."
"I though you said we were not partners," Sonic said on a teasing tone, getting a giggle from Pipp and an eye roll from Zipp, who still smiled anyway. "Well, Zipp, I was wondering... How do you feel whenever it comes to find thing out? You know, solve mysteries and stuff like that."
That actually caught Zipp's attention. "Well, I admit I'm the kind of person that likes to find things out."
"Oh, you do like it. You like it a lot," Pipp said teasingly.
"I don't know, its sorta of an instinct of mine," Zipp said casually. "A mystery pops in, and I cannot just ignore it."
"So you do are some kind of Detective, huh?" Sonic said with a smirk. "Maybe solving mysteries its your thing after all!"
"I've been telling her that for years, but just wait for what's she going to tell you now..." Pipp said with annoyance.
"Mom would never let me," Zipp said coldly. "She's always reminding me that I'm the heiress for her company, and that I pretty much have no other choice with my life..."
"So you have mommy issues too..." Sonic said with a frown. "Well, in that case, let me give you the same advice I gave to the pegasus Zipp once: If you're not what your mom expects you to be, then screw her. She may be your mom, but that doesn't give her any right to choose over your life decisions. You're not your mom Zipp, and that's okay, because you don't have to be her."
Zipp still focused on the road, but she was surprised by Sonic's words, and even a little inspired by them. "Wow... Look at you, man, you don't seem like the kind of guy to give family therapy."
"Even I feel surprised by this, Sonic," Pipp confessed.
"Well, what can I say? I'm the kind of guy who helps anyone he can," Sonic stated with a smirk. "By the way, Pipp. You're next! So, when I presented myself, I couldn't help but notice that you reacted a bit... surprised," He said, now with a serious expression. "I don't like to bring this kind of stuff, but... can I ask why?"
At that moment, Pipp froze in place. Again, her memories with that kid named Sonic were a bit blurry, to the point she couldn't remember why she stopped talking with him suddenly. However, Sonic kept staring at her, waiting for an answer, and she didn't knew how to react exactly.
"I-I don't know..." Pipp ended up replying. "I-I just remember knowing someone with your name when I was a child... a guy with a light blue skin and blue disheveled hair... I used to play with him, but one day... I don't know, we stopped."
Not hearing a reply, Pipp looked at Sonic, who just stared at her as he analyzed her face, like if he was looking for something. "Hmm... maybe... you had a fight with him? Or maybe it's one of those childhood memories that you forget as you grow up?"
"M-Maybe..." Pipp said, considering his suggestions, and feeling surprised that he didn't seemed mad.
Although he had no reason too. After all, he may be called Sonic, but he wasn't her Sonic. And then, Sonic noticed that Zipp was looking at the road a bit sweaty, so he immediately suspected that Zipp knew something about this situation.
"Say, Zipp..." Sonic called out. "You're too quiet about this. Maybe you can help?"
"I-I don't think so..." Zipp said nervously.
"Are you sure?" Pipp asked to her with a begging tone. "We used to be inseparable as kids, even with that Sonic kid."
Zipp got a bit tense, still looking at the road. "I-I don't remember either, Pipp."
Sonic felt that he should keep pressuring her to speak, but instead, he decided to stop.
Pipp, on the other hand, kept pressuring her. "Oh, come on, sis!" She said a bit concerned. "I'm pretty sure there has to be something!"
"Even if it was, why do you want to know? It doesn't matter to him, right?" Zipp said, looking at Sonic.
Sonic was about to agree with her, but Pipp kept insisting. "Zipp! Even if it doesn't matter to this Sonic, it matters to me! After all, I-I used to like him, you know..." She confessed with a frown and a blush.
Sonic just looked at Pipp with a mocking smirk. "I guess my charm its irresistible in every universe!"
But that joke made Zipp explode. "But you were not charming enough for mom!" She shouted in anger, not daring to move her sight from the road.
And that, that was what shocked Sonic and Pipp the most. Sonic didn't cared at all, honestly, but Pipp, she stared daggers at Zipp.
"Oh boy..." Sonic muttered to himself.
"What do you mean, Zipp?" Pipp asked with a frown.
Zipp sighed in defeat. She already said that out loud, so the best was to tell the whole thing "We moved away from Sonic's neighborhood years ago..." She started to explain. "He tried to convince mom, but... she said that you deserved something better than a problematic guy like him... Sonic used to get in trouble by protecting his adopted brother, Miles, and Mom hated it whenever we played with him. That's why... we moved away. I guess we both forgot with time, but... I realized all of this last night, after this Sonic said how guilty he felt... because our Sonic said the same."
Sonic felt sympathy for Zipp and for his human self, specially after knowing that he has the same noble and brave heart if he really stood for Tails' human self. Pipp, on the other hand... she stared with her jaw dropped and a few tears at Zipp.
"MOM DID WHAT?!" Pipp yelled in anger.
"Oh no..." Sonic muttered again, now a bit afraid of the situation, because he could felt that making Pipp mad was a bad signal in every single universe that existed.
"You're telling me that the same stupid woman that claims to be my mother, that doesn't give a damn about me, and that even acts like if I didn't existed, that same woman, made us move because she thought she knows what's better for me?!" Pipp yelled out in anger.
"U-Uh... Well, when you put it like that..." Zipp tried to say, but Pipp kept shouting.
"All these years, and she's still the same damn witch that keeps messing with our lives!" Pipp kept complaining.
"I don't like where this is going..." Sonic muttered again with worry.
Inside the Truck, Robotnik stood in the middle of his lab and raised his arms high. Several holographic images got switched on, and he looked in front of him as an image was displaying the Truck driving on the road.
His smirk increased as he was finally able to catch his targets, now Robotnik can unleash his attack on them.
Images of different types of machines were shown for display for Robotnik to choose. But, he couldn't figure out which one suits best for the job.
"Hmm, eeny, meanie, miny... mayhem!" Robotnik said, as he selected the tank before pressing a couple of buttons.
The tank got sent onto the road and drove after the Truck, while a red lens got switched on, allowing Robotnik to see from the control room.
"I can't believe this!" Pipp shouted. "All this years I thought I did something to him, or that he did something to me, but no! Mom is the culprit!"
"Would you calm down?!" Zipp yelled back.
"I say you let her say what she wants to, Zipp," Sonic advised with a worried look towards Pipp. "The experience I have backs me up."
"I just don't get it!" Pipp started to cry. "Why does she have to be like this?! Why wouldn't she let us live our lives in peace..." She complained, trying to wipe out her tears as more came in.
Both Sonic and Zipp looked at each other with worry, not noticing that Robotnik's tank was following them behind, getting ready to launch a harpoon towards its targets.
"Look, Pipp, I get that––" Sonic tried to say, but as soon as he turned to face Pipp, he noticed the harpoon that was pointing straight at her head. "Pipp, look out!"
The blue hedgehog launched himself to make her duck, while the harpoon passed through the back window, the backseats and landed in the dashboard.
Zipp got startled with a jump while she tried to get full control of the car.
"Yeah!" Robotnik cheered loudly in victory, pleased to see that he hit his target.
Zipp and Sonic looked behind, just to find a familiar styled tank that was chasing them. Zipp tried to keep steady on the road, but the harpoon was making it difficult to at least keep it steady and the tank was reeling back the harpoon for the truck to come close.
"That's it! Once all of this is over, I'm not only quitting my stupid life as a pop star, I will make sure mom doesn't mess with our lives ever again!" Pipp stated with anger.
"You almost got your skull pierced with a harpoon, and the first thing you do is complain about your mom?!" Sonic yelled at Pipp on disbelief.
"HAVE ANY OF YOU NOTICED THE HARPOON STUCK IN OUR DASH?!" Zipp screamed, as she attempted to hit the gas pedal, but the harpoon still remained where it was.
Sonic immediately moved back to the front passenger seat and tried to get the harpoon out of the dash board by using his own hands, but the harpoon was very, very stuck in the dashboard. And then, the truck collides with the guardrail, and Sonic flew out the window because for some stupid reason he wasn't wearing a seatbelt during the whole ride. He quickly held onto the hood of the car.
"Sonic!" Both Zipp and Pipp yelled.
"I'm fine! As long as I don't fell from the car, that is..." Sonic assured to the sisters.
Then he looked at the tank on the back and frowned, and then he looked in all directions, trying to come up with something to get them out of this situation. And then, he remembered he could Spin Dash, and he also remembered his electrical powers. Smirking, Sonic looked at Zipp.
"Zipp! Smash the brakes, now! I have an idea!" Sonic instructed her.
"What?!" Zipp asked confused.
"Trust me on this one! Smash the brakes!" Sonic assured.
Zipp sighed frustrated and looked at him with a determinate look. "Pipp, hold on!"
"Why?!" Pipp asked in panic.
"Because I'm gonna do this!" Zipp then hit the brakes with full force, sending the spear flying out of the dashboard and shattering the back window again.
Sonic got launched in the air by the force of the breaks, looking on with a smirk as he charged his electrical powers, and then he curled up into a spiky glowing blue ball. Once he hit the ground, he started to spin at incredible speed, while dashing straight towards the tank. Once Sonic collided with the tank, the vehicle flipped over with sparks of blue static covering all over it.
Zipp hit the brakes again and quickly turned the truck around, then she drove back to where the destroyed tank is, but there was no sign of Sonic anywhere.
"Sonic!" Pipp called out across the destruction. "Sonic!"
However, before the smoke could clear out, Sonic jumped over it and landed at the side of the truck.
"Well, now look at that!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Seems like Robotnik couldn't stand the Super Sonic style!"
"Oh thank God!" Pipp said with relief.
"Hey, buddy, how you're not dead?" Zipp questioned with a smirk.
"Honestly? I have no idea at all!" Sonic confessed, then looked at the tank with a smirk. "What's the matter, Egghead? It's that all that you got?!"
Robotnik smirked. "No, but thank you for asking!"
Then, he swiped his digital blueprint of the original tank away from his screen, switching to a different blueprint of his mini-tank on its place.
Suddenly, the red light from the tank's 'eye' faded, and the inner wheels shrunk into the bigger wheels as the machine roared into life, making the sisters and the alien nervous.
"Uh oh!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Sonic, get in the truck, now!" Zipp instructed.
"You girls, go! I'll catch up!" Sonic shouted after them, eyeing the tank warily.
Zipp nodded in response and began to drive away, but not before Sonic chased after the car. He opened the passenger's door, got back inside and then closed the door. The spider-like vehicle came out from the destroyed tank before it began to drive after them.
"Huh, I think that tank just had a baby," Sonic commented.
The mechanical spider opened a hatch, revealing several rotating disks. When it got a perfect aim at the target, it fired towards it, skidding over the asphalt.
"INCOMING!" Sonic alerted Zipp, as she quickly switched lanes and the disc went towards the red car in front of them.
Inside the car, a brother and a sister were fighting over a tablet at the backseat. In the passenger's seat was a mother doing her makeup while looking at a mirror. The father, who's driving, got irritated from his children's arguing.
"It's my turn!" The brother yelled.
"You just had one!" The sister argued.
"Hey, stop fighting, or I'm taking that thing away!" The dad threatened.
The sister wasn't faced by this and scoffed. "Yeah, right, dad..."
The disc latched itself against the underside of the car and shocks it, causing the car to spin and causing the family to scream. When the car stopped spinning, Zipp passed them, while the family were still in shock with the mom having her lipstick ruined, and the boy slowly handed the tablet to his father.
Meanwhile, Sonic crawled out of the truck and into the cargo box, which didn't passed unnoticed by the sisters.
"Where are you going?!" Pipp asked in worry.
"Just stay here! And Zipp, keep driving!" Sonic instructed, now hanging on to the edge of the truck. "I'll handle this from here. I've got my experience, remember?"
The spider fired more discs from the hatch that were heading straight for them. Sonic leaped off from the edge before running over to them, grabbing one of the incoming discs, throwing it at another one, and using two as skates while grabbing the remaining one. He landed on top of the robot and looked into the lens, his face appearing on Robotnik's screen and startling the doctor.
"Hey, everyone! Welcome back to my livestream! Today, we're destroying robots! Step one..." Sonic mocked up.
Then, he smacked the disc against the top of the spider, that started to shut down and flied off the road, exploding. Sonic then quickly ran back into the car.
"Yes, we did it!" Sonic cheered.
But then, one of the wheels was left chasing after them, controlled by a red-eyed device at the top of it. Sonic's cheered smile quickly turned into a disappointed frown.
"No, we totally did not did it..." Sonic said with a bored expression.
"Ugh! Who's this guy supposed to be?!" Pipp cried out with frustration.
Robotnik grinned as he witnessed his robot chase after them in its newly transformed state, which was one of his many backup ideas in case of situations like this.
"Ever wonder where your tax dollars are going?"
"Okay, that's it! Now's my turn!" Zipp stated, as she unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled over to the backseat. "Here. Just keep us going straight. I put in cruise control," Zipp told Sonic, who immediately sat on the driver's seat and kept going.
"What? You're letting him driving?!" Pipp cried out almost offended.
"I may be a blue hedgehog from another dimension who was super speed, but trust me, I know how to drive," Sonic assured with a serious look.
Spikes shoot out of both sides of the tank wheel. Then, Zipp opened the door and tried to knock out the robot with a baseball bat. However, the machine managed to dodge all for her attacks, and that just frustrated Zipp.
"I can't reach it!" Zipp complained.
"Sonic, Bring it in closer!" Pipp instructed.
"What?!" Sonic yelled.
"Bring it in closer! Hit the brakes!" Zipp shouted.
"Got it!" Sonic replied with a smirk, hitting the brakes.
As the car slowed down, the robot slammed itself against the open door. Zipp smirked at this and, with her bat, whacked the robot causing it to break down and slide to a stop.
"Yeah!" Zipp shouted.
"Whoo!" Pipp cheered, as her sister got back inside before closing the car door.
From within his lab, Robotnik was seething in rage as the blueprint of his machine was now covered in a warning yellow light. After witnessing another part of his robot being destroyed yet again, Robotnik threw his hands up with an angry roar.
"Ugh! Give me a big. Fat. Break!"
But Robotnik still had one trick up his sleeve, as a tiny drone emerged from the camera hole of the destroyed robot and flied after the trio. It caught up to them rather quickly and hovered Sonic's window.
"Seriously? Another one?!" Sonic yelled with frustration, looking at the drone.
"Aw. This one is cute! Can we keep him?" Pipp gushed.
"Please, let's not!" Sonic begged.
And then, the drone proved to be anything but cute, as it began to saw into the car with a laser, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Waaah!" Sonic jumped back in shock.
"Oh, come on!" Zipp whined.
"Forget what I say!" Pipp cried out. "How could something so adorable be so terrible?!"
As the drone reached Zipp's window, she tried to wave away the smoke and sparks. In seconds, the robot almost finished circling the cab of the truck.
"You got car insurance, right?" Sonic asked to Zipp, looking at her with a nervous look.
The roof of the car immediately flew off and crashed on the road behind them, while the trio Sonic screamed in terror. Then, the drone flee back over to Sonic, who quickly grabbed it.
"Buzz off!" Sonic snarled as he snapped the drone in half, only to find the base attached to his gloved hand. The base started to make a beeping noise and the red light blinking. "That doesn't sounds good..."
"No, beeping is bad! Get rid of it!" Zipp yelled in panic.
"I'm trying!" Sonic stated, waving his hand around
"Just throw it out the win–– Throw it anywhere!" Pipp cried out.
"Ugh, I can't get it off!" Sonic panicked.
"Alright, I'm pulling over!" Zipp said, swinging the car off-road onto a dirt path.
Sonic quickly dashed out of the car and desperately attempted to remove the bomb from his hand, even biting it. Seeing that the bomb disappeared from his hand, Sonic looked around before facing the sisters.
"Did I get it?" Sonic asked.
Zipp ran over with a cloth in her hand. "Nope."
Sonic glazed up to where she was pointing, and saw that the bomb is on his head, so he tried to wipe it off.
"Here, hold still," Zipp used the cloth to pluck the bomb off of Sonic's head, then fling it into the distance.
"It's going, it's going..." Sonic said, then he saw the bomb on Zipp's hand. "It's still here."
Zipp heard the beeping, noticing the bomb in her hand, and tried to shake it off, but Sonic grab it, effectively getting it stuck on him again. The hedgehog used a screwdriver to pry it loose, then lay it on a nearby rock as Sonic backs away from it.
"Haha! Nailed it!" Sonic cheered, raising his hand for a high five.
But then, Pipp gasped as the bomb beeped loudly. "Sonic, look––" She tried to say, the bomb exploded, knocking Sonic and sent both Zipp and Pipp to the ground, letting them almost unconscious.