When a new threat makes itself known in both the real world and a digital world that Ellidy is researching in, Sally and her friends must find out the truth behind this attack while uncovering Nicole's untold origins.
Tropes:
- Applied Phlebotinum: The Red Star Rings are a bit more powerful than normal Power or Magic Rings. Their true properties and origins are unknown, but that is why Ellidy is researching them in this story. They do, however, play a crucial role for Nicole. It is at least implied to be made from Chaos Emerald energy in the island's Lake of Rings.
- Armor-Piercing Response: Sally already has a good idea about Phage, but just has to ask to get the answer:Sally: Who do you work for?
Phage: Who do you think? (displays Eggman insignia) - The Atoner: Near the end of the arc, Ellidy expresses guilt for treating Nicole as less than a person, digital or organic. Even after being free of Dark Gaia's influence, he still doesn't feel much better about the things he previously said while arguing with Sally that night. He claims to Sally that he will need some time to make up with Nicole again, but gives the AI one of the Red Star Rings as a good start and a token of thanks.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sally and the gang defeat Phage, freeing Ellidy's robots and the island network from her grasp and driving away the dark monsters. As a bonus, they are given a Red Star Ring and another Chaos Emerald. However, Ellidy feels guilty that he hasn't treated Nicole fairly, while Nicole herself believes that her existence was because Ellidy's daughter Nikki died in their effort to save her in the past. It will take time for them to process these events, but have begun coming to terms with one another. With that, the Freedom Fighters take off to Apotos to learn how to fix their planet.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Seeing one of the Sling Rings in Ellidy's lab, previously used by the Chaotix in "The Great Chaos Caper", Sally has Nicole replicate one as a bait tactic to lure Phage outside of Ellidy's network.
- Sally believes the Red Star Rings can allow Nicole to maintain her physical form even longer. She didn't realize it could give her a substantial power boost until Ellidy equips it on Nicole's handheld so she can finally beat Phage.
- A Day in the Limelight: While Sally, Tails and Big are featured, Nicole is the true star of this arc, complete with her own origin story and nemesis.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Phage's speech patterns have her say three words with similar meaning at the end of most of her sentences.Phage: Are you really trying to run away, Nicole? There's nowhere for you to go. It's futile. Pointless. Hopeless.
- Evil Counterpart: Phage is introduced here as an "Anti-Nicole" of sorts; an AI that acts more like a virus. While Nicole is Sally's ally who has evolved into an AI capable of understanding emotion and life, Phage remains a cold and calculating servant of Dr. Eggman, adapting to her environment while assimilating and destroying everything useful to both of them.
- From Bad to Worse: When Nicole, then Sally's team, first investigate anomalies in Ellidy's island network, they also find that several of his reprogrammed Badniks outside have turned hostile. Nicole and Sally then discover that the network anomalies and hostility in the Badniks are caused by a malevolent AI belonging to Eggman, who is after Ellidy's Red Star Ring research and Chaos Emerald, and has now taken an interest in Nicole herself due to her unique coding. And then, Dark Gaia's Minions show up...
- Get Out!: Nicole's words when finally purging Phage from Ellidy's network.
- Hypocrisy Nod: Nicole snaps at Sally after she rushes in to save her from Phage during the arc's climax. Nicole quickly admits she is no better because she didn't want to leave her to deal with Phage on her own, especially when all exits have been blocked.
- Interquel: Takes place between "Champions" and "Ray of Hope" in the main comic.
- Jerkass Ball: Ellidy isn't exactly a total jerk to Nicole or Sally, so much as insensitive given how Nicole looks almost like his late daughter. However, he and Sally have an aggressive argument about it that lasts a good minute. Sally realizes from the confusion that they were briefly affected by Dark Gaia Energy (showing puffs of purple smoke near their heads), meaning that the monsters are closing in.
- Lame Pun Reaction: After hearing Cream struggle with Rotor's coffee maker:Sally: Guess "Cream" and coffee don't mix.
Nicole: Please don't tell me you're proud of that joke. - Logical Weakness: According to Nicole, transferring to the Digital World allows someone to pretty much do anything they set their mind to, but the digitalization "interprets the system in a way that the mind can understand". Sally wishes she could fly like Nicole or Tails or run as fast as Sonic to move around more easily, especially when facing Phage, but if her mind believes that's not possible while in her world, then it can't be possible for her digital self.
- Noodle Incident: Phage laments how she needs to complete her mission to steal the Red Star Rings and Chaos Emerald to make up for her past failures to Eggman. We never find out what those failures were and a powered-up Nicole doesn't bother to ask before she boots Phage out of the network to rescue Sally and the others.
- Oh, Crap!: Sally clears her head long enough, after her heated argument with Ellidy, to realize the Dark Gaia Monsters are close by, adding another problem to the island situation.
- Origins Episode: A downplayed example, but sheds some light on Nicole's existence. She was once a regular mapping AI that helped Ellidy create a Digitizer that would hope to save his daughter Nikki's life, by transferring her subconscious to the Digital World as her body is succumbing to an untold illness. It was implied that they were too late, and the AI would later assimilate that data by accident to become "Nicole", though not yet called that. Rather than destroy her out of frustration, Ellidy gave her to a young Princess Sally Acron, whose father dubbed her "Nicole" after a queen of the Acorn line.
- Super Mode: Seeing Phage's desperation to return to his network and destroy everything and everyone inside, Ellidy loads one of his Red Star Rings to Nicole's handheld. This leads to Nicole having a Super Sonic-style form called Overclocked Nicole, giving her the power boost she needs to finally kick Phage out of the network and seal the backdoor that led her in.
- Villainous Breakdown: Phage loses it when Nicole damages her core before escaping with Sally. Phage had told Nicole earlier that all the data and power she acquired prior to her infiltration to Ellidy's systems was stored there, so it is implied she lost some from Nicole's attack. She becomes further enraged when trying to fight back before Nicole obtains the power of the Red Star Ring.
- Villain Respect: Phage is interested/intrigued/fascinated by Nicole's unique data which allows her to be more physical in the real world. Enough for Phage to try to destory her and take that data for herself.
- Wham Line: Phage demands not only the Red Star Rings and any research related to them, but also the Chaos Emerald. This is the first time Ellidy had heard about one existing on his island, and Sally realizes the readings in the Lake of Rings might be it, sending Tails and Big to retrieve it.
- Wham Shot: Sally spots a shrine dedicated to Ellidy's daughter Nikki and claims she looks like Nicole, much to Ellidy's chagrin. Ellidy explains that he and the AI who would become Nicole tried and failed to save Nikki, and seeing Nicole gain a physical form of sorts that suspiciously resembled his daughter only frustrated him.
- When Nicole finds an old archive containing photos of Nikki, she doesn't know who she was at first. By the end of the arc, she processes the possibility that she was born sometime after Nikki died, assimilating the neural data originally meant to transfer the girl's subconsciousness into the Digital World. She at least understands now why Ellidy resented her above.
- What Measure Is A Non-Organic: The main conflict for Nicole in this arc. She may have been a simple mapping AI at first, which Ellidy still sees until the end, but Sally has watched her evolve beyond her basic programming all her life to act more organic, at least with a more developed personality and a desire to see things beyond her handheld screen. Nicole is a Freedom Fighter and friend/companion to Sally above all else, and perhaps even more; so it's all the more reason why Sally is willing to risk her own life for her.Dr. Ellidy: Absolutely not! You can't risk yourself like this! For crying out loud, you're a princess!
Sally: You're right. I am a princess. And as far as I'm concerned, my family exists to serve its people. I get it. You didn't intend to create Nicole. And maybe you don't like having her around. BUT DON'T YOU DARE SUGGEST TO ME THAT SHE ISN'T A PERSON WORTH SAVING!- Earlier when Sally asks Big if it's weird to see Nicole as a friend despite being purely digital, remembering her time with her when they were just starting out as Freedom Fighters, he simply responds that it's not weird at all. He believes "as long as they're nice, it doesn't matter what they are".
- What the Hell, Hero?: Nicole to Sally when the latter saves Tails from the dark monster on the Sky Patrol, then again when she rushes in to save her from Phage; both times because Nicole sees Sally as being too reckless for her own good.
