Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or anything in the Sonic series.

I know I should be writing for my other stories, but college is at fault for taking up my time and taking away my muse. I would also like to give a shout-out to Child at Heart Forever for her amazing Sonic adaptions and her adaptions were what inspired me to start this up. You're talented, Child! :)

Up to the Surface

"Sonic, you must live." Chip said spiritually to the unconscious hedgehog in Gaia Colossus's hand. Controlling the colossus from within, he threw Sonic up and out of the Earth's core. As Sonic flew out of his sight, Chip returned the Gaia Temples to their proper locations and removed his necklace from his person. He didn't want to forget Sonic and he didn't want Sonic to forget him. As a reminder of their friendship, Chip used the last of his power to send his necklace after Sonic before he would be sealed up inside the planet's core and returned to an eon's sleep. The necklace flew up to the surface as Chip spoke softly, "Bye, Sonic."

The planet returned to being whole and the last thing Chip could remember before falling asleep was feeling both his and Dark Gaia's powers becoming dormant within them. Their powers returned inside of them, recharging for the next time they would have to battle.

(A year later…)

Sonic laughed as he ran across Spagonia's rooftops and looked behind him. "Come on, Chip!"

Flying behind Sonic a few feet, Chip pressed himself to keep up with his fast friend.

"Easy for you to say, Sonic! You're the fastest thing on the planet!" Chip called out, his little wings fluttering furiously.

"You can do it! You've kept up with me this long!" Sonic replied, looking ahead briefly to make sure he wouldn't have any unexpected surprises.

Sonic's comment made Chip smile. It was true. Though he was small, Chip had managed to keep up with Sonic just as well as Tails can, tails or plane. At least that's what Sonic told him. Encouraged, Chip tried to fly faster to get up beside Sonic.

…

The two walked through Apotos, saying hello to the people that they passed by. Chip was perfectly content until something caught his eye.

"Sundae Supreme!" Chip yelled out eagerly. Flying forward, he approached the ice cream man's cart and eyed the delicious treat. Behind him, Sonic chuckled. He couldn't help it. The Chocolate Chip Sundae Supreme was his second favorite food, behind chocolate of course.

Shortly after, Sonic was lounging on a ledge on top of one of Apotos's buildings, munching on a chili dog while Chip indulged in his favorite ice cream. Sonic looked at Chip and offered a bite to the purple little guy. Chip shook his head negatively and then offered to share his ice cream. Sonic grinned and shook his head negatively as well. They both continued to eat their snacks while admiring the sunny day.

…

In Adabat, Sonic stood inside a hut and frowned at the pouring rain. Pouring rain did not make for a good run. He felt his shoulder get tapped and looked behind him to see Chip holding a folded up umbrella. With a smile, Sonic took the umbrella and opened it up. Chip landed on Sonic's head and they went outside under the safety of the umbrella.

…

Sonic finished talking to one of the people in Holoska's village and waved them farewell as they walked away. When Sonic turned around, he blinked surprisingly at Chip making a snowman. Chip finished putting the final touches on the snowman and presented it to Sonic. Laughing at Chip's antics, Sonic flashed a grin towards his small companion and quickly zoomed around the village. In a matter of moments, he completed a snowman twice the size of his own body. Triumphantly, he folded his arms and stood tall next to his creation.

Chip gawked at the size of Sonic's snowman compared to his own and promptly fell onto his back in an overwhelmed faint. Sonic blinked surprisingly again and reached one hand up to scratch his head in confusion.

…

Sonic, Tails, and Chip were in Mazuri and Sonic was currently talking to Kwod. Tails was making adjustments to the Miles Electric and Chip was off to the side, watching them both. [1]

Chip sighed sadly.

"You sound sad, noble spirit."

Chip's ears shot up and he scanned his eyes everywhere. "Huh? Was someone talking?"

"Yes, I'm communicating with you."

"Um, not trying to sound rude, but this is a little creepy." Chip responded, taking a few steps back, trying to figure out where the source was coming from. "Who are you? Where are you? Can we talk face-to-face? That would make me a lot more comfortable."

"Very well, look behind you."

Turning around like the voice asked, Chip slowly rotated himself around and saw something he didn't expect to see. Standing in front of him was an orange echidna, a female, and she was wearing a skirt that was red, white, and green with some gold jewelry on her neck and forehead. She looked friendly enough; she didn't look dangerous or anything to him.

"Who? Who are you?" Chip asked once he recovered from the shock of her appearance.

"I am Tikal. And you are the spirit, Light Gaia, am I correct?" She nodded towards him.

"That's me. I also go by the name 'Chip'. My friend, Sonic, gave that name to me."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Chip."

"Same to you, um, Tickle?"

"Tikal." The echidna girl corrected.

"Tikal, got it." Chip nodded in understanding. "Anyway… what were you saying about me sounding sad? As a matter of fact, how are you even here? I'm asleep."

Tikal glanced at him with concern. "You miss your friends?"

"Uh, what makes you say that?" Chip wondered.

Tikal gestured to the area surrounding them and to Sonic and Tails. "You're sleeping, but you're also remembering. You're remembering the times you had with your friends. You miss your friends so you are recalling the memories you had with them to make their absence less painful."

Turning his gaze to the ground in front of him depressingly, Chip asked, "How do you know that?"

"I'm a spirit, like you. I can sense these kinds of things."

Taking a peek up at the echidna, Chip pressed his questions further. "So why are you here?"

"I could sense your turmoil from the Master Emerald. I came to see what the problem was. It felt like you needed some help."

"The Master Emerald? Sonic, Tails, and Amy told me all about that. Their friend, Knuckles, guards it."

Tikal nodded her head. "That's correct."

Chip looked up at her completely. "So you live inside the Master Emerald?"

"Yes, the same way you live inside the Earth's core." Chip deflated a little once she mentioned the planet's core and turned away from her to look at Sonic and Tails again. As he looked at them, something was off.

"Hey, they're frozen." Chip observed, flying over to inspect Sonic closely and did the same for Tails. He glanced all over the place. "Everything's frozen in time."

Tikal nodded in acknowledgement and walked out of the shadows between the two huts. "When you began to speak with me, you paused the memory. Your attention was diverted elsewhere."

Chip looked at the frozen world before humming in thought. "I guess that makes sense."

"Now," Tikal said in a tone which meant she was going to change the subject, "tell me, why are you so sad about your friends? The world is restored, everybody is back where they belong, and Dark Gaia won't be harming anyone for another eon or two."

Landing in front of her, Chip glanced up at her sadly. "Well, I've never had friends before Sonic and the others. Whenever Dark Gaia and I woke up, it was always restore the planet, defeat Dark Gaia, go back to sleep, and the cycle repeats. When Eggman woke us up at the wrong time, I lost my memory. I crossed paths with Sonic. He promised to help me figure out who I was." Chip spread his arms out at the world around them. "We traveled all over the world to places like this, eat such delicious food, and returned the planet to normal with each Chaos Emerald. It wasn't until we restored Adabat that I got my memories back. By then, I had made so many memories with Sonic and the others. I had made friends, my very first friends too.

"We stopped Eggman soon enough and we beat Dark Gaia. Even though I knew it was coming, saying good-bye to Sonic and the others was so hard. They're so amazing. And because of the fact that they won't be around in the next eon, I'll probably never see them again…" He peeked over his shoulder to gaze at Sonic and Tails, frozen in action, and sighed as he turned back toward Tikal.

"I know how you feel." Tikal said, placing one of her hands over her heart.

"You do?" Chip asked with shock.

The echidna girl nodded. "I do. Before I became a spirit, I was with my clan. We were close. Then my father and his men tried to take the Chaos Emeralds and use their power for greed. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen to me. I was sent into unconscious and when I woke up… no one was there anymore. There was just me, the Chaos Emeralds, and the Master Emerald. I never saw them again…" Tikal's line of vision turned to the ground under her feet.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's alright. I've come to terms with it a long time ago."

Chip thought for a few moments before speaking again, "So, what does this have to do with me? Why are you here telling me this?"

Tikal met his eyes once more. "I came because I want to ask you something." She took a step forward to him and held out her hand. "Do you want to see your friends again?"

"More than anything." Chip answered and pulled his hands up to his chest. "But, what about sleeping? What about my powers? I need to restore them in time to defeat Dark Gaia when we awaken again."

"I can help you. I can help you get out of this life. If you want to join your friends on the Earth's surface, I can help you get there. You wouldn't have to be Light Gaia anymore. You could be just known as Chip."

"I could?"

"I have connections with powerful spirits. I am sure they could find another spirit to take your place. You've already done so much for this world that you deserve to be free, to be happy, to be with the friends you love."

"Are you sure?" Chip asked. "I mean, this sounds amazing, but is it really possible? Is it really possible for me to join Sonic and the others?"

"I can assure you it is." Tikal smiled and continued to hold her hand out to him. "What do you say? Do you wish to be with your friends on the surface world?"

Chip gave the frozen Sonic and Tails one more look before they and the environment vanished. Now he and Tikal were floating in the fiery red core of the planet. He could see the green light of power surrounding him and the purple light of Dark Gaia's power a good distance away. Did he really want this? Or did he want to stay and fulfill his role as Light Gaia? Looking at Tikal's hand, Chip glanced at his own. The little, purple spirit outstretched his hand to Tikal's and made a decision.

…

Knuckles relaxed on his back against the stone steps leading up to the Master Emerald's altar. It had been a couple smooth months since Sonic and Tails returned from the Lost Hex after stopping the Deadly Six from siphoning the planet's energy. Eggman was working on some new evil scheme, no doubt; he hadn't seen head or tail of Team Dark or the Chaotix detectives lately either. Cream and Cheese came by every so often to keep him company so he wouldn't get bored on the island and Big, that cat was probably out fishing again like usual. Today was just one of those quiet days without any visitors.

In a matter of seconds, he went from completely serene to highly alert. "Huh? The Master Emerald?" He got to his feet and marched up to the large emerald he was supposed to be protecting. As he got close, he noticed the emerald was getting brighter. It got so bright to the point where he had to shield his eyes.

"Hi there!" A voice piped up.

Knuckles peeked his eyes open to see that the Master Emerald was no longer glowing brightly. The only thing different in this picture was the small, purple dog with wings standing in front of it.

"Huh?" Knuckles said, confusedly.

"Hello, Knuckles."

The red echidna looked up and on top of the Master Emerald was Tikal, sitting gracefully.

"Tikal…" Knuckles said, still confused on what just happened.

"So you're Knuckles. I should've guessed with those spikes on your hands. Those look like they could break something." Chip commented, getting Knuckles' attention again. "Oh! I forgot," He twisted around and pulled out a bar of chocolate. "Want some chocolate?"

"Uh…" Knuckles had no idea to respond to this sudden event.

"Knuckles," Tikal said and he faced her again, "This is Chip, Sonic's friend from when the world split apart."

Knuckles nodded, finally enlightened on the situation. "Oh, yeah. I remember Sonic, Tails, even Amy talking about him." He glanced at Chip. "Come to think of it, I think I remember seeing some pictures of him over at Tails' Workshop too."

"Do you know where Sonic is?" Chip asked, flying up to Knuckles.

"Um, yeah." The red echidna answered as if it was the easiest question in the world.

"Awesome! Let's go right now! Sonic and Tails will be surprised when they see me." Chip cheered and started flying towards the descending stairs.

"Um, right now? But what about the Master Emerald?" Knuckles asked Chip, gesturing to his prized gem.

Tikal waved Knuckles off. "Don't worry about the Master Emerald, Knuckles. Chaos and I can look after it while you're gone. We do it all the time, remember? How else are you able to join in on Sonic's adventures and know the Master Emerald is safe at the same time? Besides, Sonic and Tails' place isn't too far right? You'll be back and guarding again before you know it." [2]

"Okay, if you say so." Knuckles agreed with the echidna girl and started descending the stairs. "Alright, let's go." He said as he passed an awaiting Chip.

"Sweet!" Chip cheered again and followed Knuckles.

…

Tails pulled his head out of the open panel of the Tornado 1, put down the screwdriver he was using, picked up a wrench, and lowered the upper half of his body inside the open panel again to make his tweaks.

Sonic opened the door to the main room of the workshop and slouched when he saw what his little brother was up to. "Tails, you have to give that a break. You've been at it since, well, I don't know when you last took a break."

The fox pulled himself out and turned to face Sonic. "Sorry, I just really want to get the walker function working on the Tornado 1. If I keep building planes that can transform into walkers, there will be one for each of us to use. We'll have a plane/walker set. I plan on making sure the controls aren't so jerky like on the Tornado 2's walker mode and just in case two people are in the walker, there will be extra seating room. Do you have any idea how hard it is to control a walker when G.U.N.'s trying to arrest you and Amy is squeezed in behind you and arguing with you too? We almost got hit by a missile!" Tails ranted before he blinked and realized what just occurred, "I gave too long of an explanation again didn't I?" [3]

"Yep." Sonic hummed with a nod. Tails sighed and mumbled something about learning to stop rambling. "Come on, since the only real thing I know how to make are chili dogs, Cream's mom brought us some lunch."

"Okay, I guess I can take a break. What are we having?" Tails put his tools back in his toolbox and set it on his work counter before joining Sonic on his way to the kitchen.

"Some lasagna or something like that I think she said."

"Sounds good."

As they entered the kitchen/dining room area of the workshop, they heard three knocks on the front door.

Tails looked at Sonic curiously, "I'll get the dishes and you get the door?"

"Sure." Sonic shrugged. Tails went to go get the dishes for lunch and Sonic walked to answer the door.

Sonic pulled the door open and saw Knuckles on the front stoop. "Hey, Knux, what's up? Couldn't stand your little island for a little while and need some hangout time with your buds?"

"I enjoy my island, thank you very much." Knuckles said gruffly. "I'm not here on social business. I came here because I had to show the way to this guy." He gestured down next to him.

Following Knuckles' gesture, Sonic's eyes widened. "Chip?!"

Chip waved in greeting. "Hey, Sonic! I'm back!"

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in deep sleep for the next eon to face Dark Gaia?" Sonic asked the dog.

"Nope," Chip shook his head, "I'm free. I'm not a spirit anymore. Knuckles' orange spirit friend helped me break free of my duties as Light Gaia."

"Orange spirit friend?" Sonic glanced at Knuckles.

"Tikal." Knuckles answered simply.

"Oh…" Sonic realized. He forgot about Tikal.

Chip fired up his wings and hovered at Sonic's eye level. "Now I can be part of your team, Sonic. I can be part of it just like I was when the planet was broken, but now I can stay forever."

Finally caught up on the situation, Sonic grinned. "Chip, that's so cool!" He looked over his shoulder. "Hey Tails, we might have to have a third plate ready!"

"Okay, but why?" Tails asked, coming over and freezing in surprise. "Chip?!"

"Hi, Tails! I'm part of the team again. I can't wait to see more of the world and help fight off Eggman's robots." Chip said, mimicking fighting moves. He got a dreamy look on his face, "Most important of all, I can't wait to taste more of the world's tasty food!"

Tails, along with Sonic, laughed. "Good to see you haven't changed since we saw you last, Chip. Come on in, we have some lasagna waiting for us. There's enough for all three of us to eat."

"Thank you!" Chip thanked the fox excitedly and flew into the workshop. A moment later, he returned to the door. "And thanks for bringing me here, Knuckles. Tell Tikal that I thank her for this."

"Yeah, no problem, I'll be sure to tell her that." Knuckles replied and Chip took off back to the table.

Tails looked from where Chip flew off to and back to Knuckles, "You can come in too and eat if you want. There's plenty to go around."

"No thanks," Knuckles declined. "But if you have an apple I wouldn't mind."

Sonic dashed into the kitchen, making Chip spin in mid-air twice, and brought back an apple. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Knuckles thanked him and took the apple. "Later." He walked back to Angel Island, taking a bite out of the apple as he went.

"Bye!" Tails waved after him.

Sonic gave him a two-finger salute. "Catch you later, Knux."

…

Tails was back in the workshop and working on the Tornado 1 again. Sonic and Chip watched from the doorway.

"Wow, he really wants to get that done, huh?" Chip asked Sonic.

"Tails is dedicated to his work, maybe a little too dedicated." Sonic answered, leaning against the doorway. He stood up straight and walked to the front door as Chip followed him. "Say, have you been on a night run before?"

"I don't think so." Chip scratched his head confusedly. "Why?"

Sonic opened the door and jogged outside. "Come on and I'll show you."

Curious and a bit worried since it was night out, Chip quickly made a decision to fly after his friend. "So where are we going?"

"Wherever we feel like, let's go!" Sonic encouraged him and started running faster.

Chip flew behind Sonic a few feet and watched as Sonic picked up speed. At that moment, he could feel the wind around him and he could see the landscape around him whizzing by, just like in the daytime. He felt so alive! And wherever Sonic was going, he was going too.

"Yeah!" The flying dog yelled joyfully and flew faster to keep up with Sonic.

[1]- I'd like to note that these aren't exactly memories Chip is having. They're more like things Chip wished they could have done together after the world was restored.

[2]- Tikal and Chaos watching over the Master Emerald is a head-canon of mine that explains why Knuckles is able to leave Angel Island and join in on Sonic's adventures like he often does. It is also probably them that call out to Knuckles when the Master Emerald shatters or is lost.

[3]- This is a reference to Child at Heart Forever's scene in her story, Live and Learn. Child writes story adaptions of Sonic games and they're so good that I think her stories are how the games actually went. The scene that Tails talks about is one of the ones that made me seriously LOL. XD

So, Chip returns to the team. It really stunk that he didn't get to stay with Sonic and the gang so I decided to bring him back to the team. I think it is unfair that a lot of the characters created for the Sonic series are written as one-story characters. Characters like Chip could have been very interesting members of the gang in later games.