Knuckles gets a rude awakening when the planet below him begins breaking apart and its pieces join the floating Angel Island. A spirit informs him that while this is a part of a natural cycle, everything about it this time is off.
He is then asked to travel to the surface and seek out a weakened light spirit, who may be the key to help bring this world back to order.
However, while he finds the spirit, some old friends and a familiar stone, he also runs into some old enemies.
And something even more sinister, the likes no one has ever seen.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Context Change: In Sonic Unleashed, Chip's namesake comes from the chocolate chips on an ice cream he has in Apotos, when he starts his adventure with Sonic who gives him the name. In the comics, however, Charmy names him Chip when the spirit compares his lost memories to "chocolate chips with no cookies to hold them" .
- Adaptational Deviation: While the journey to restore the world is the same as in the game, Chip's debut is vastly different in the comic. Knuckles is tasked with finding him, and Chip doesn't meet Sonic until the "Champions" arc.
- Adaptation Distillation: Chip's role as Light Gaia is revealed to him early by Tikal by the end of the arc, rather than late in the game after accessing the second-to-last Gaia Temple. It still happens in the main comic's story "Keys to Victory", but in an earlier temple.
- And the Adventure Continues: The Chaotix successfully gets the red Chaos Emerald, and agrees to let Knuckles hold onto it while bringing the Light Gaia, aka Chip, back to Angel Island. However, before gets a chance to rest, Relic arrives to warn him about a possible "alien invasion" during his absence. As for the Hooligans, they return to Eggman emptyhanded. While he is inspired to investigate the strange energy that forms the monsters, he assigns the Hooligans with a new Chaos Emerald to get, held in Casino Park for an upcoming tournament.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Knuckles first lines of the arc:Knuckles: Why. Is. My. Island. Sideways?!
- Big Damn Heroes: Knuckles first moments in Pumpkin Hill leads to a fight with mysterious shadow monsters, later called Dark Gaia's Minions, but is easily overwhelmed. Luckily, the Chaotix arrive to help him wipe the monsters out while tracking a Chaos Emerald.
- Call-Forward: Chaos and Tikal would head down to the waters of the broken world to assist Sonic and his friends in "Waves of Change". When Tikal tells Sonic there about Knuckles' mission, he is surprised that something caused the echidna to seemingly leave the Master Emerald unattended.
- David vs. Goliath: The 2nd half of the arc has the heroes deal with a Titan, one of the biggest of Dark Gaia's Minions.
- Screaming at Squick: As part of the plan to throw the Hooligans off their back, Vector keeps Chip in his mouth until the coast is clear. Chip wished he was able to forget this moment just as easily as everything else when he first woke up.
- Too Desperate to Be Picky: Relic the Pika is literally the only living person on Angel Island close to Knuckles, so he hesitantly asks her to keep an eye on the Master Emerald while he is away on his mission.
- Walking Spoiler: The spirit talking to Knuckles at the start of the arc isn't fully shown, but those who have played Sonic Adventure, or read through "Waves of Change" in the main comic, will know her as Tikal, who is revealed and named by the end.
- We Need a Distraction: Vector has Espio sneak over to Nack's hoverbike to mess with the Emerald tracking radar. Before that happens or even discuss it, he asks for a way to keep the Titan busy. Charmy tricks Bean into helping them by making him believe that the Titan is insulting his bomb power.
- You Have Failed Me: Eggman is obviously not happy about the Hooligans losing the Chaos Emerald at the end of the arc, but doesn't fire them yet. Instead, he has them go after another Emerald, but refuses to pay them this time, even if they succeed.
