RETURN TO ANGEL ISLAND, Part 1: THE MESSAGE
Writer: Karl Bollers
Penciler: Jon Gray
Inker: Michael Higgins
Colorist: Jason Jensen
Letterer: Michael Higgins
Editor: Mike Pellerito

In the morning, King Max is yelling at Sally (with Sonic & Queen Alicia present) for going on a mission against his orders (Sonic #137) while Queen Alicia is telling him to watch his blood pressure. Sonic tries to cover by saying he kidnapped her which was not believed for one moment. King Max basically says that Sally is making it difficult for them to trust her if she's going to keep putting herself at risk so she apologizes. Leaving the royal parents, Sonic states the obvious in saying that King Max is "a grouch" though Sally tells Sonic that she doesn't want his help in her battles. She wants him to stop caring about her because he wants to be a hero while she is a royal princess with a totally different set of responsibilities and needs. Sally says that it's officially "over."

It's now noontime and the royal parents, Uncle Chuck, Antoine, and the Elite Guard leave for the Mobian tour to a complete media spectacle. Sally hugs her mom while Sonic, Tails, Jules, & Bernie surround Uncle Chuck and the D'Coolette's salute each other. The group boards the plane and heads off. "Later" we find that Uncle Chuck's Diner (run by Jules & Bernie) seems to be a Knothole City hotspot as Hope and Amy are cheering on Vector & Espio acting silly. Bunnie, Fiona, Mighty, and Ray are eating/ordering food at one table. However, at another table, Sonic is complaining about Sally being "impossible" to Tails, Knuckles, and Julie-Su. Julie-Su mentions that basically she can understand how Sally feels because she felt the same way about Knuckles when he came back from the dead a year ago. Sonic feels the comparison isn't the same due to Knuckles being "pretty much good for nothing" as Knuckles starts getting angry, but the conversation dies when an obviously hurt Charmy & Safron enter the diner and promptly faint. That makes everyone forget about whatever they were doing as they turn their attention to the two bees.

At Castle Acorn, Sally asks Charmy want happened to them and Charmy says that Robotnik has basically committed genocide as the Golden Hive Colony was destroyed. Charmy & Safron couldn't find any other survivors other than themselves. Before much of anything can be said, the meeting is interrupted since a message is coming through the Technolo-Tree. The message basically says that Locke is a prisoner on Angel Island. For Knuckles, that has ended his patience over not going to Angel Island. Since Sally knows she can't talk him out of not going, she tells him that he and the Chaotix can go to rescue Locke but not free the entire island. Sally is about to tell Sonic that she wants him to go and give her a report. Before she can say that, Sonic interrupts her because he expects her to tell him that he can't go. Sonic ends up being yelled at (as he figured incorrectly) to the point that he's so shocked that Knuckles has to move Sonic himself to get Sonic going.

As the crew flies over to Angel Island, Bunnie is the one piloting the group. Knuckles is worried about Charmy who along with Safron is making the trip to the island. Charmy is out for vengeance right now. The group gets out over Marble Garden Zone via parachutes (Sonic & Knuckles), Chaotix Fly Formation (Charmy carrying Espio & Vector for those without Sonic Heroes), Safron carrying Julie-Su, Ray flying, and Mighty just leaping out the plane. After the group lands, Knuckles asks Sonic to check things out though before Knuckles can finishing asking him, Sonic has run off and come back because he "found something." The "something" turns out to be an echidna prison (think concentratrion camp) run by dingoes. Funny moment with Sonic saying that they should "do it to it" with Knuckles and the Chaotix not getting it at all as they don't know the Freedom Fighters' rallying call. Anyway, despite the minor delay, the group does attack with Sonic taking away the weaponry and the Chaotix kicking butt in their own unique ways. However, Knuckles is getting his own butt kicked, which Sonic is the first to notice and takes care of the offending dingoes. Typical Knuckles says that he could've taken care of them to which Sonic responds "you're welcome."

Once the dingoes have all been defeated, the echidnas come to Knuckles chanting "Hail to the Avatar." Knuckles and company do recognize one of the echidnas as their friend, Remington, who is also calling Knuckles "Avatar." Considering no one understands what's going on, Remington explains that when Knuckles came back to life (Sonic #125) that he thought he was a fake. However, upon inspecting Knuckles' grave (which was empty), he began to believe that maybe he wasn't a fraud. Anyway, he didn't have much time to think about it as the dingoes sold out the echidnas to Robotnik in exchange for their own freedom/dominance. Remington was in a dungeon (and we can assume tortured based on the pic) for months before being sent to the camp. However, he managed to keep the faith as well as the other echidnas due to the prophecy that stated "A champion will bypass the afterlife and return hence to deliver the world from its suffering." Knuckles believes that they all are picking the wrong echidna.

Dingo City is the new name for Echidnaopolis and that is where we find Locke being chained upside down. Robotnik is talking to General Kage (current leader of the dingoes) about needing to know the location of the Master Emerald. Considering Locke is part of the Brotherhood and should know where it is, it seems Kage is ready to play the torture game to find out where.

Knuckles and company have the echidnas from that camp with them as they arrive at the Lava Reef Zone--the source of the transmission to Knothole City. Vector is the first to notice that the smoke has gotten a lot thicker and the group finds out that the Dark Legion has arrived.

To Be Continued in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #139