This character exists primarily or exclusively within the Pre-Super Genesis Wave continuity. Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

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For the version of this character after the Super Genesis Wave, see Sally Acorn.

Princess Sally Alicia Acorn (born day 186, 3220)[2] is one of the main protagonists in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. She is a Mobian squirrel-chipmunk, the younger daughter of the former king Maximillian Acorn and former queen Alicia Acorn, and younger sister to the current king, Elias Acorn. Sally is also known as the leader of the Freedom Fighters. She was sent to the sanctuary of Knothole Village by her father when the Great War was going badly for the Mobians, and led the Knothole Freedom Fighters on many field missions against Dr. Ivo Robotnik when he took power shortly after the Great War's end.

After King Acorn healed and resumed his role as king, Sally once again led the Knothole Freedom Fighters for a time, until the group was disbanded. For months her ability to work with the Freedom Fighters was limited, as her royal obligations kept her occupied. This continued for over a year, until Elias took the throne in place of King Acorn. Thus freed from these responsibilities, Sally returned to field duty full time, where she took part in many different missions with the other Freedom Fighters until she fell in the line of duty during Operation: Clean Sweep when she sacrificed her free will to destroy the World Roboticizer, and during the process, became Eggman's newest robot henchwoman.

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Concept and creation

Sally's concept and design were based on the generic squirrel animal friend Ricky seen in the first Sonic the Hedgehog video game, which at time of her creation had been renamed "Sally Acorn" in the early Western Sonic media.

In the early comics, Sally Acorn went through several appearance changes, before settling with an anthropomorphic squirrel/chipmunk. In her first appearance, Sally had orange fur and blond hair, but it was soon after changed to pink fur with brown hair and blue white-trimmed boots. Her actual in-comic proportions change readily with the artist of the cartoon incarnation of Sally in Sonic the Hedgehog animated series. The creator of Sally's final design was Ken Kinoshita (the season 1 art director for the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series), which settled with Sally having brown fur and dark auburn hair. At that time, she had no vest.

Appearance

In the comics' early issues, Sally's design went through numerous color schemes earlier on (red and yellow, pink and black) before being finalized in sync with the Sonic the Hedgehog television series (which featured the pink and black design in the pilot episode. With these early designs, her cheeks were smooth and rounded, she sported a hairband of sorts, and her only attire consisted of a pair of blue boots with a white trim.

The general finalized design gave Sally brown fur (with light brown on the face and torso) as well as short, auburn hair, blue eyes, a short tail, and a short, open, light-blue vest and tall, matching blue boots (lacking the white trim). The alternate color schemes were eventually retconned as a story element. Depending on the colorist, her fur and hair often range a variety of warm colors (her hair going anywhere from dark brown to bright red, though it's generally accepted as auburn). For several issues, her hair had been depicted as waist-length, but it eventually returned to its original short style. Some artists add a high collar to the vest or depict it worn closed.

For a short time, Sally wore a headband. For more official functions, she is often depicted in some form of royal attire, including a heavy blue cape with white trim, scepters, crowns and tiaras, and even an ornate, winged mantle-like piece of gold and red. She has on occasion worn a white wedding gown, a rich purple dress with gold jewelry, and a light green slit skirt with matching sleeveless top and slippers (as well as a pink veil). When longer, her hair was sometimes styled in a fancy ponytail for special occasions. As a child, she was sometimes depicted as wearing a long shirt, sneakers and a blue/green bow (or two) in her hair, though more commonly the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series design was used: a green/blue quasi-Arabian-inspired outfit with curled slippers, and a jeweled, golden tiara set in her hair, which was bound in a long, segmented ponytail. For some missions, she has wore protective goggles. In the Genesis arc, her typical design was largely unchanged, although it was somewhat simplified, losing the eyebrows.

History

Early life

Sally was born to king Maximillian Acorn and queen Alicia Acorn during the Great War,[3] the first female heir ever born to the House of Acorn.[4] In the first few years of her life, Sally lived carefree, unaware of the conflicts surrounding her. She would often accompany her father to the Floating Island, where she first met Knuckles the Echidna. While King Max and Knuckles' father Locke would go off to discuss matters, Sally and Knuckles would keep each other company, forging a close friendship. However, after Sally's final visit the two would not see one another again for many years.[5][6]

Back in Mobotropolis, Sally befriended a fast blue hedgehog called Sonic. The two would often play together in the royal palace and cause mischief.[7] As the Great War escalated and Mobotropolis came under siege, Sally, Sonic and most of the other children in the city were evacuated to the safe haven of Knothole Village. During her stay there, Sally's mother and brother Elias, whom Sally had no memory of, were sent to Angel Island to hide during the remainder of the war. Their air craft was shot down however and the two were presumed dead for over a decade.[8][9]

Following the end of the Great War, Sally and the other evacuated families returned to Mobotropolis. However, not long after this, Warlord Julian unleashed a long-planned scheme of betrayal. Changing his name to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, he launched a full scale coup d'état, capturing Sally's father and rounding up millions of Mobians to be roboticized. Present in the castle at the time of the coup, the five-year-old Sally was quickly taken to Knothole along with many other children by Rosie and Julayla.[7] There, she would meet up again with Sonic and other childhood friends, including Antoine D'Coolette and Rotor Walrus. There they would remain in safe hiding and live free from Robotnik's tyranny.[10]

Sally and Sonic were deeply inspired by the Original Freedom Fighters and their resistance of Dr. Robotnik. Following the defeat and disappearance of the Original Freedom Fighters, Sally forged a pact with Sonic and her friends to continue the fight in their stead. As early as age ten, Sally began leading the Knothole Freedom Fighters in their struggle against Robotnik.[10][11]

Early campaigns and Knothole's leader

The ultimate goal of the Freedom Fighters was to oust the oppressive tyrant Dr. Robotnik and restore the Kingdom of Acorn. Hidden deep within the Great Forest in their rebel headquarters of Knothole, the Freedom Fighters carried out guerrilla attacks on Robotnik's operations.[12][13] As the leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sally oversaw a number of operations against Robotnik, but was not one to stay behind the front lines. She participated in many missions that put herself in great danger including a plan to disguise Rotor as Robotnik for a distraction to prevent the use of a bomb (which turned out to be a bug-bomb),[12] competing in a rigged Olympic competition set up by Robotnik,[14] a recovery mission to a waste dump for a treasure which was believed to be a powerful weapon left behind by Uncle Chuck (but turned out to a chest containing Sonic's bronzed baby shoes),[13] a land mine-disarming mission which lead to contact with the Nerb Kingdom and the discovery of Robotnik being behind an underground drilling scheme,[15] a direct attack on Robotropolis to steal a device that sent Sonic to Prehistoric Mobius and bring him back,[16] a mission to sabotage a mass-roboticization spacecraft which resulted in a landing on the planet Muckury and nearly dying of asphyxiation,[17] and a practically suicidal march on Robotropolis to force Robotnik to surrender after Sonic was believed to have died.[18]

On one such mission, Sally fell off a walkway while under laser fire and fell into a chemical vat that fortunately only discolored her fur. Despite the non-lethal effects, Sally was still very upset by this and it took weeks of bathing before the chemicals were completely washed out.[5]

After living in Knothole for some time, Sally's mentor and teacher Julayla grew ill. Sally had a deep respect for Julayla, and was deeply saddened when she died of old age.[19] Before she died, Julayla gave Sally the Acorn Royal Signet and told her she was ready to lead the Freedom Fighters.[19][20] Julayla also left for Sally a blue vest which she continued to wear for years. Immediately afterward, Sally gained a "friend" in the form of Nicole, a sentient compact super computer that originated from an alternative future where Sally was Queen. Feeling that her past self would seriously need a friend, Sally had Rotor design Nicole and sent her back in time. With Nicole's help, Sally went on what was meant to be a solo mission (but was accompanied by the Freedom Fighters) to the Forbidden Zone and made her way past the Cyclops, Griffon, and Polysaurus Rex that were guarding a scroll with the words "To thine own self be true" inscribed on it. This was presumably written by the future Sally as well.[21]

After Robotnik's supposed "death" at the hands of his renegade creation E.V.E.,[22] Sally supervised the other Freedom Fighters moving SWATbot parts out of Robotropolis, but shared her concerns about Snively carrying on in his uncle's absence to conquer Mobius. Her misgivings proved to be partly correct when Snively inadvertently uttered the code words that activated Robotnik's revenge plan from beyond the grave, which sent all his robots out to destroy the planet so no one could have it since he could not, and the Freedom Fighters got caught in the crossfire. Sally attempted to organize an evacuation, but the assault from the waves of SWATbots was too heavy for anything to work. Amazingly, Robotnik returned in the nick of time and canceled the program, allowing Sally and the Freedom Fighters to know that he was the one responsible for their survival while crippling Sonic's ego.[23]

Sally, Sonic, Rotor and Tails then went close to the border of Robotropolis to pick medicinal berries, but were ambushed by Robotnik and Snively, and then abducted by an alien known as Car-Heem who wished to study the inhabitants of Mobius by putting them in an artificial environment based on their home. Working together with Robotnik temporarily, Sally came up with a plan that resulted in their freedom, but at the unexpected cost of Robotnik ejecting both Car-Heem and Sonic into space. Sally and Tails then grabbed him and Snively while Rotor sucked them back in. Grateful to them for having his life saved, Car-Heem brought them back to Mobius. Once back, Rotor freed his ant farm, and Sally and the others were subjected to their constant itching.[24]

Training new Freedom Fighters

After seeing many of his plans fail due to her tactical prowess, Robotnik realized the Princess was a dire threat to his control and made her capture a top priority. Believing him to have defected to his side, Robotnik enlisted the help of the Rebel Underground leader, Geoffrey St. John, in a scheme to replace Sally with a malevolent robotic double, with a secondary plan of creating a whole line of robots modeled off of key resistance members lined up. With the help of Geoffrey, the real Sally uncovered this plot, unmasked the fake Sally, and destroyed the rest of Robotnik's duplicates while on a practice mission with her trainees to destroy the sub-stations that supposedly powered Robotropolis' defense grid.[25][26][27]

Freedom Fighter field leader

While Sally confirmed her trainees as Freedom Fighters and Sonic failed again to retrieve King Max, the Anti Freedom Fighters traveled to Mobius Prime and were causing havoc by pretending to be their Prime-verse counterparts. This got the villagers of Knothole to turn on the Freedom Fighters, so Sally and the others had to flee the village to figure out what happened. Sally decided to wait for the impostors to come out into the open and disguise themselves as gypsies. When the Anti Freedom Fighters arrived on their vehicles, Sally used a bow and arrow to quickly make a trip-wire, and the villains were thrown from their rides. A brawl followed, where everyone took on their opposite. These tactics proved ineffective since they could all match each other blow for blow, so Sally ordered everyone to switch opponents to mix things up (which proved to be a good idea as she took down Patch with little effort) and allowed them to beat their evil doubles and send them back home.[28]

Sally later assisted Rotor in installing a miniature camera on Sonic's shoe so they could keep track of his status while on his new mission to investigate the Collision Chaos Zone. After learning that Robotnik had taken Amy Rose hostage, Sally held a council meeting to decide on how to rescue Amy. Sonic took matters into his own hands however, and sent Tails off to scope out the new zone, making Sally wonder if "Princess Di" had days like this one. After Tails had been captured and Sonic had headed out to the zone, Sally noticed something odd about the footage from the Sonicam, and looked at the image upside down via handstand. Seeing it was Snively disguised as Robotnik burning the track behind Sonic, Sally wondered why Robotnik would want Sonic going one way. and ordered Rotor to get a fix on Sonic's last known location so they could get in on the action and help. They headed out to the zone by plane and once above Robotnik, Sally jumped out with a parachute and landed on top of him, foiling his chance to flatten Sonic in his final trap.[29]

During a particularly hot day, Sonic helped his Freedom Fighter allies, including Sally, by running atop the water of a river, spaying them with cooling water. Sally soon felt a sudden chill, and snow clouds began to appear in the sky. Sally ran this by Nicole, who determined the source was an "artificial environmental modulator," making Sally immediately suspect Robotnik. With a blizzard beating against them, Sally tried to lead them all to Knothole, but the snow made it virtually impossible. She tried using Nicole to find a nearby cave, but her circuits had frozen up from the cold. Luckily, they found a cave on their own. Sally and the others were then escorted by Flip to a warmer part of the cave, where they met up with his teammates, the Arctic Freedom Fighters. With their help, Sally and Knothole Freedom Fighters successfully managed to deal with the cold weather by practicing in the artificial environment the Arctic Freedom Fighters had created. Sally then organized an artillery assault on the Weather Annihilator, using the surrounding snow to arm a catapult they built. Eventually the weather got so bad that Sally could no longer aim, and they tried a direct attack which resulted in Snively freezing them all in ice up to their shoulders, though they were saved by the Arctic Freedom Fighters when Snively tried to transport them. Once the battle was over and Arctic Freedom Fighters left in Snively's vehicle, Sonic suggested a snow ball fight, and Sally joined in in bombarding him with snow balls for it.[30]

At one point, Sally was forced to confront Sonic as an enemy. Sonic lost his memory and had been convinced by Robotnik that the Freedom Fighters were the world's villains. While in the tunnel that led to Knothole, Rotor's security system detected a transmitter that had been secretly planted on Sonic's person. Sally ordered the route locked down, but Robotnik had taken the liberty of installing a laser in Sonic's glove, and he used it to blast the door shutting him out. Sally saw this as proof that Sonic had turned traitor, and was left with no choice but to flood the tunnel, though reluctantly. This too failed, however, and Sonic stormed into Knothole before coming to face Sally and Rotor.[31] Sally then tried to make it seem as if nothing was the matter, but failed as Sonic pummeled Rotor using his speed and then went for her. Sally threw him across the room when he grabbed her from behind and Tails and Bunnie came to back her up while she and Sonic were in the middle of a brawl. Despite their best efforts, Sonic overpowered them, and it was not until Sally's trainee Dylan landed on him in the dark that he was brought down. Sally was at Sonic's bedside and once he recovered with his memory, Rotor revealed to the both of them the microscopic transmitter. Sally had an idea, and had Tails provide reconnaissance and while Sonic used the transmitter to lead Robotnik's squadron of demolition tractors out into the ocean.[32]

Then, Sonic and Dulcy the Dragon discovered what Rotor determined was a portable De-Roboticizer, that was good for one last de-roboticization. Sally though they should use to cure Bunnie, but she had the idea of allowing one of them to be roboticized so they could sabotage Robotnik's headquarters right under his nose, and then be reverted back to normal later. Sally herself volunteered to be roboticized. Days, later, when Sally (equipped with a Neuro-Overrider) purposefully allowed herself to be captured, it was carried out. Unfortunately, the device fell off of her, and Sally was completely subjected to the roboticization sequence, losing her free will just like all the other Robians. Now Mecha Sally, Sally revealed the secret exit to Robotropolis she was to meet the Freedom Fighters at, and captured them all with the exception of Sonic, who was busy keeping Robotnik's SWATbots occupied as a diversion. Upon returning, Sonic saw his friends captured and in the presence of Robotnik, Snively and the robot Sally. After the Freedom Fighters refused to tell them where the De-Roboticizer was, Robotnik ordered them all to be roboticized at the hands of Sally herself. Fortunately, Dulcy came in the nick of time with the De-Roboticizer, and turned Sally back to normal with it before she roboticize her own allies. But then Robotnik shoved her aside, determined to roboticize the Freedom Fighters, but Dulcy melted the control panel with her fire breath, and set Robotnik's britches on fire in the process and they all returned to Knothole.[33]

A while after, Sally stumbled across a sleeping Sonic who was eating his shoe, and woke him. Sonic revealed that he had been dreaming about his uncle, Sir Charles Hedgehog, and their failed attempt to rescue him. Later that same day, Chuck revealed he'd regained his free will and that Snively was running things while Robotnik was trapped in Void. Sally used Nicole to estimate what Snively could potentially do, and she revealed that Snively would probably destroy the whole planet. Thankfully, Snively's plans were thwarted.[34]

Sally later infiltrated Robotropolis to investigate rumors of a new robot being sent to secure Robotnik's hold on the western side of the continent. She took Nicole with her and had her download the schematics for the robot. Then the Robotnik Express came along and Nicole had to download on the go when Sally jumped off a bridge on to the train. A while afterward, Sally managed to board the train in the car carrying the DYNAMAC-3000 and had Nicole scan it. She was then grabbed from behind by Geoffrey St. John fooling around, who quickly kissed her, but Sally wouldn't be distracted from her mission and found out she and Geoffrey both wanted the DYNAMAC stopped. Then the train was forcibly stopped by Geoffrey's men, and a fail-safe activated the DYNAMAC. Sally asked Nicole for suggestions, and she said they should retreat and wait for reinforcements. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. The DYNAMAC-3000 then went after Sonic who had just landed on the train, and Sally went to check on him after he'd been attacked. Then the DYNAMAC changed shape to the form of a spider and took on Rotor and Antoine in their plane. After showing her frustration at Sonic and Geoffrey's bickering, Sally consulted Nicole, and she said they should exploit the robot's two weaknesses, which were that it could only cope with one given combat situation at a time, and could be shut down by a device Sonic was carrying. Then Sally was grabbed by the DYNAMAC, only to be freed when Sonic distracted it and Geoffrey saved her from falling. Sonic deactivated the robot, and then Geoffrey's men blew it up. Both groups took advantage of the supplies on-board the train, and Sally and Geoffrey departed with a kiss before she left on the Freedom Fighters' plane.[35]

On a new mission, Sally and the others were in the snowy mountains when SWATbots ambushed them and Sally was caught hanging on a rope in the middle of a firefight. Her rope broke and she and only survived thanks to Tails and his ability to fly. They then ran for it, and discovered they were being tracked by Sonic's roboticized pet dog, Muttski. After Sir Charles called off the robots in the nick of time, he suggested a retreat, and Antoine accidentally stumbled across a frozen cave bear deemed "Mobie" by Tails. He was thawed out by Rotor and then went on a small rampage in Knothole, almost harming Sally carrying pots on her shoulders. Antoine confronted Mobie in an attempt to save the princess, but Bunnie quickly arrived and placed him up in a tree out of harm's way. They discussed what to do with him, and Bunnie suggested they speak with him through pictures, but it only stirred up memories of his lost life and he went back to the mountains where they found him. Mobie was later brought back to Knothole with Muttski, who's consciousness had been restored by Sir Charles, and it was then decided that Mobie should live in the jungle where he would be at home.[36] Soon after this, Sally and all the Freedom Fighters except Sonic ordered take out food because they were sick of eating chili dogs. The food came from McRobo's, which was really owned by Robotnik in his new campaign by germ warfare, using robotic germs he called the French Frirus. Sally was later hospitalized and after Rotor informed Sonic of what was going on, cured by Sonic's efforts with the help of Sally's own Auntie Bodies. Now back to health, Sally was treated to a proper meal in the form of chicken soup (really made out of chili dogs).[37] Later, on a snowy day, she participated in a game of hockey with the Freedom Fighters that later included Snively and a band of SWATbots in a wager for their lives.[38]

After Dulcy reported in to Sally and the other Freedom Fighters that Robotnik had made new Combots and planned to use them the next day to wipe out all those in the Great Forest, Sally realized that they would have to destroy the robots while they were all in the same place. Sonic, Uncle Chuck and Muttski opted to plant explosives where the Combots were being stored, and Sally agreed. At dawn the following day, Bunnie, Antoine and Tails came back to the Great Forest after failing to meet up with Sonic and the others and catching no sign of an explosion. Sally then spotted something moving towards them only to see Robotnik driving a tank with Sonic shackled to its front and Chuck and Muttski marching with the Combots. Sally realized that the roboticized Mobians must have been realigned to Robotnik's side and decided to move everyone in Knothole to the underground shelters, but Chuck guided Robotnik to the shelters in a hovercraft, cutting the Freedom Fighters off from their last chance of making it through. Sally faced Robotnik bravely and told him that he couldn't catch all of them and that one day one of their own would find a way to beat him. Robotnik corrected her in one area, revealing that the Combots could track organic lifeforms and that they would destroy the Great Forest to do so. Sally was aghast at this, saying Robotnik wouldn't dare do such a thing. Robotnik tried to prove her wrong by giving his Combots the order to destroy the forest and capture the Mobians, but they all marched towards a cliff and fell into the sea. Sonic then freed himself and took control of Robotnik's tank, only to be assaulted by Muttski while Robotnik flew off in a hovercraft piloted by Chuck. Sonic and Rotor then revealed to everyone that Chuck and Muttski still had their free will and were acting as spies, which both delighted Sally and infuriated her since she hadn't been let in on the plan.[39]

Sally was later told by Sonic of his encounters with the Ancient Walkers after obtaining his one billionth Power Ring and saw the magical object itself mounted on Sonic's wall.[40]

On another day, Rotor showed Sally and the Freedom Fighters pictures of the Zone of Silence from his camera, showing a person in red armor on horseback. Sonic observed that the zone looked nothing like it had on his last visit, but Rotor observed that Robotnik could easily access the Zone of Silence and yet they always failed when trying to save the king, and Robotnik also kept calling the zone Sonic was trapped in the Void, meaning they must have been going to the wrong place. Evidence from Rotor's readings then showed that Robotnik was using vast amounts of power, and Sally gave Sonic the green light to investigate as long as he didn't rush into anything. After Sonic rushed into something, Robotnik revealed to the hedgehog the zone he'd sealed King Acorn had made a breach and the machine he destroyed could mean the end of the world, so he provided him with an energy inhibitor to use when inside the zone. Rotor recommended they use it as a last resort since he couldn't understand the mechanics and everyone but him went inside the Zone of Silence. There, the person in red armor appeared accompanied by gargoyle-like creatures. Sonic took out the gargoyles and the knight became angered, aiming his lance at the hedgehog and preparing to fire it. Sally tacked him off his horse, only to knock his helmet off and see the knight was none other her father. King Acorn hit her so she was delirious, telling the Freedom Fighters to surrender. Sonic activated the device and a shock wave went off, making it so they'd miss the portal entrance. Rotor shot in a life-line into the Zone of Silence and they were saved. Sally let out tears at not being able to rescue her father, but Sonic and Rotor assured her they would.[41]

Sally and Sonic later went to Robotropolis's outskirts to meet with Sir Charles in a dump. He revealed himself from a pile of rubbish disguising his secret headquarters and informed the two that Robotropolis was about to be hit by a massive earthquake and the city would be vacated of Dr. Robotnik and his SWATbots when it struck. Chuck informed them that he planned on going into the city to de-roboticize the Robians left behind so they could escape the earthquake. They infiltrated Robotropolis and managed to get to the de-roboticizer thanks to damage inflicted by the earthquake. Sir Charles then rigged the machine to blow so when all the Robians arrived to capture the intruders, the blast would de-roboticize them. His plan worked and Rotor arrived with a plane to take everyone out, but was greeted with more people than expected. Sally ordered Chuck to stay behind so she could run out of the city with Sonic. While ordering Nicole to plot their route out of the city, debris fell on Sally and Sonic had to carry her back to Knothole unconscious. There she awarded medals to Sir Charles and Nicole for their actions.[42]

After the earthquake had finished, Sally sent Sonic, Antoine and Tails on a scouting mission to determine the damage to Robotropolis. After Sonic was injured when a Combot was struck by lightning and exploded, Tails brought Sally, Bunnie and Rotor to him at Robotropolis, only to find the hedgehog getting back on his feet already. Sally then tried to stop Sonic when he insisted on stopping Robotnik without a check-up or plan, only to discover the explosion had robbed Sonic of his speed. Rotor voiced a complicated theory, which only got Sonic angry and Sally had to step in to cool him off. Nicole then suggested that since Power Rings could give Sonic additional powers, if he had multiple rings, his speed could return. The Freedom Fighters then made their way back to Knothole Village and Sally hoped they hadn't been followed. Unfortunately, Nicole detected invisible Combots too late in the Great Forest and Sally and the others were captured and Sonic had apparently drowned in a pond. In Robotropolis, Robotnik had Snively worm information out of the Freedom Fighters and learned Sonic did not have his speed. However, when Sonic came to rescue Sally and the others with the Substitute Freedom Fighters and a Power Ring, he remembered he had a spare ring in his backpack and grabbed the Power Ring he had earlier and had attacked a Combot with. With his speed returned, Sonic defeated the Combots, but Robotnik was one step ahead and informed them that he set a bomb to detonate in his lab in sixty seconds so they could not steal any of his technology. Sally and the others all got out fine before the explosion and Sonic swore the next time, he and Robotnik would meet on his terms.[43]

Operation: Last Resort

Sonic later came before Sally and the majority of the Freedom Fighters with a plan to defeat Robotnik: he would use one of Rotor's Neuro-Overriders and willingly let Robotnik roboticize him and then he would use his robotic body to defeat Robotnik and destroy Robotropolis. Sally and the others denied him permission to proceed with the plan as there were too many factors that could fail. Antoine suggested keeping an eye on Sonic since he seemed so angry that they'd denied the plan, but Sally openly rejected the very concept of Sonic being disloyal to the Freedom Fighters and made sure Antoine didn't suggest such a thing again. Later on, Nicole detected a robot incoming and confirmed to Sally that it was Sonic roboticized. Mecha Sonic attempted to strafe her, Rotor and Antoine and she had to push Rotor out of the way of the Robian's laser fire. She then ordered Nicole to to execute maneuver DLG. 70 so holograms of the three of them appeared all over Knothole and that Bunnie was sent to help out. While Mecha Sonic blasted the holograms one by one, Bunnie flew through the air and went on the offensive. Sally then had Nicole patch her through to Tails and alerted him they had a "condition red" so he could call Knuckles the Echidna for back-up. Mecha Sonic then temporarily disabled Bunnie and Sally and Rotor went over to check on her, and while she seemed delirious, she soon recovered and used her pulse cannon on the Robian. Rotor then informed the princess that that was Bunnie's best shot at defeating Mecha Sonic. The Robian then used his laser cannon on Bunnie and knocked her out, but Knuckles arrived in the nick of time to take over the fight, but he was soon out for it too. With Knothole looking doomed, Sally ordered "Operation: Last Resort" to be put into action.[44]

Sally told the hesitant Rotor to go into action and he gave an unconscious Knuckles to Antoine. While he was gone, Sally ordered Nicole to show her Knothole and the computer informed her that while Mecha Sonic was on a rampage, all the citizens had been evacuated. Rotor then brought in a portable roboticizer recovered from the machine used to roboticize Bunnie Rabbot and believed it operational. Rotor asked if this was truly the right thing to do, as they would be stooping to Robotnik's level. Sally simply said they needed to fight fire with fire to win this battle. Knuckles then recovered consciousness and started attacking Antoine, thinking he was Mecha Sonic. He then mistook Rotor for Robotnik and attacked him and Sally had to bring him back to his senses with a flip back kick. They thought about old times for a few moments they couldn't spare, Sally told him they had a roboticizer and Neuro-Overrider at the ready and Knuckles didn't spare any time using them on himself to become Mecha Knuckles. A great battle took place and the two of them were sent colliding into Robotropolis and the nuclear warheads stored there and Sally silently cried away from the others as it seemed they had both met their demise. In reality, the two of them lived but were badly damaged, Mecha Sonic especially. Mecha Knuckles brought him back to Knothole and Sally came running back to find out what had happened and have Mecha Knuckles a hug for all he'd done. Nicole informed Sally of just how bad Mecha Knuckles was and she ordered Tails to get him deroboticized. Sally then reminded Rotor that the old roboticizer they were using wouldn't work on Mecha Sonic, but he pressed on that he could feel Sonic in there. He was proven right when Sonic spoke in his Robian form to Sally, saying that he didn't deserve to live for betraying his friends. Sally then gave Nicole to Rotor so they could think up a plan while she went to give Mecha Knuckles a quick salute before his deroboticization and then return to Nicole and Rotor. Nicole informed Sally about Sonic acquiring his One Billionth Power Ring and how it had granted him a protective aura and an interior shield, so his life force and personality remained deep inside him while roboticized. Nicole then let Rotor tell her the bad news; that his lab was destroyed and there wasn't enough time to make the necessary equipment to save Sonic. Nicole, however, said she could bring him back. Sally let her try and Nicole successfully restored Sonic back to his mental and physical form. Sally then stood by Sonic's side and Knuckles came over to talk with Sonic, only for him to diss him, not remembering a thing about the battle. Sally became infuriated with Sonic for insulting Knuckles and then watched as Antoine arrested Sonic for treason.[45]

Sonic was later imprisoned, pending trial. Sally observed a rally consisting of Amy Rose to set Sonic free outside his jailhouse while Rotor asked her if he'd be acquitted, and she said she couldn't discuss such matters and asked for a progress report on the reconstruction. Rotor informed her that King Maximilian Acorn's disaster plan was well thought out, as it had back-up units for most of their heavy equipment. Sally said that her father had always thought ahead, except for when Robotnik betrayed him. Rotor then took the time to tell Sally she had done well to fill his shoes, and she thanked him, saying it wasn't easy being royal, then breaks down a little when she remembers that she's going to have to court-martial Sonic. Sally then tries to get a grip on herself and confronts Amy Rose, who believes she is here to meet her demands and free Sonic. When she is proven wrong, Sonic speaks up about how he has been wrongly accused and Sally tells him to show some responsibility since Amy hangs on his every word. The day after, Sally resided Sonic's trial as royal judge. Antoine, acting as the prosecution, put up a good attempt at getting Sonic sentenced to banishment. Sonic, however, came back at him and pointed out that the jailhouse was vacant of another prisoner. Namely, Nack the Weasel. Sally pointed out that this was Sonic's trial, not Antoine's, however, and the judges declared Sonic guilty of treason. But Sonic had one final plea with Sally and she said she would delay his sentence for twenty-four hours. Later, before the twenty-four hours were up, Sonic himself appeared with Nack the Weasel apprehend to confess his innocence. Rotor took the criminal away while Sally thanked Sonic and said she'd announce a public apology and Sonic's reinstatement, but the hedgehog told her not to bother, as there was too much to do. Sally said that Sonic was the type of Freedom Fighter she liked, while she wished Antoine, who was arranging a band for his acceptance speech, could be more like him.[46]

Return of the King

Later, Sally intended to go out on a rescue mission to save her father from the still unstable Zone of Silence. Rotor informed the princess that he was missing a crucial piece of equipment to make a neutralizer so they could save the zone and rescue the king, so Sally sent Sonic on a retrieval mission with Geoffrey St. John waiting to act as back-up. Soon, Sonic had the part they needed and just as quickly, started butting heads with St. John again, leading to Sally have to break up the fight. Rotor finished the neutralizer and Sally informed everyone she'd be going alone due to the danger they faced the last time. Sonic and Geoffrey both spoke up against this as the Freedom Fighters needed their leader, which again led to more fighting between the two of them. Sally broke it up again and agreed they could come with her. Rotor opened the portal to the Zone of Silence and gave the three of them prototype jet packs. Sally and her two friends went through the portal floated through the Zone of Silence, Sonic and Geoffrey continuing to bicker before Nicole informed Sally of fluctuations in the zone's magnetic field and they were all sudden in pain and drifting before landing on a rock. Sonic then found King Acorn's helmet from the last time they saw him and Sally assumed the worst. Then they were treated to a surreal scene of themselves the first time they confronted King Acorn in the Zone of Silence. Sally asked Nicole for an explanation and she said that it could be the result of Dr. Robotnik's experiments on the zone and have effected its quantum energy levels, destroying energy at the basic atomic structure and creating "rips" that allow people to see past and future events in the zone before their eyes. They then saw King Acorn's arrival in the Zone of Silence and how the zone's creatures took the king in and gave him his new armour, appointing him their leader. They then notice a storm in the zone and are flung through the air and make another rough landing. After Sonic experienced a time lapse thanks to the zone, Sally explained the Zone of Silence was collapsing with them in it and that they could do nothing to prevent it. Geoffrey then wonders why the jetpacks don't work, and after Sally ponders the same, Nicole responds that they are out of fuel and need positive energy to recharge. They then see all the minions of King Acorn being sucked into the cosmic whirlpool that was consuming the zone, then Sally realized the neutralizer was a source of positive energy, but would mean sacrificing the Zone of Silence. The situation was further complicated when King Acorn appeared demanding the device. Sally tries to get her father to remember her, but fails, so Sonic attacks the king while Geoffrey powers up Sally's jetpack and takes off. Sonic meets up with them riding the king's flying horse and tells St. John to activate the neutralizer. They then made it back to Mobius Prime with Sonic carrying the unconscious King Acorn.[47]

Sally later invited Geoffery St. John to her hut and cleared up a misunderstanding with Sonic when he caught him stealthily approaching her home. She invited them both in and showed them King Acorn, whose condition had worsened and was now turning to crystal. Sally then revealed that Geoffrey's role was to protect her father and keep his return a secret while they tried to cure him and the skunk accepted his duty immediately. Sally asked Rotor for a theory about the king's condition and his best guess was his body adapted to the conditions in the Zone of Silence and being brought back to Mobius Prime was what was causing the crystallization. Tails then pointed out the crystal looked like a Chaos Emerald. Sally and the others then thought of using their power and similar magical objects to see if it had any effect and Sonic rushed off to get his one billionth Power Ring. It helped bring the king back to sanity, but only for a few moments before he reverted. Rotor theorised that since the one billionth Power Ring was attached to Sonic, it would not work for the king and only option was to gather as many other Power Rings as possible. The Freedom Fighters then began planting the seeds of a plan and Sally suggested going to the Lake of Rings since going into zones would be too long and dangerous. Tails thought she meant the one outside Robotropolis, but she meant the one recently found in the Great Forest. Sally then decided to split the Freedom Fighters into three groups; Bunnie and Antoine would investigate one lake while Sonic and Tails searched the other and she and Rotor would stay with the king.[48] A while after the two teams had gone to search the lakes, Sally turned to Nicole for help on her father's condition but she could give no help, only supply an update. Rotor then reported in that Antoine and Bunnie were still en route to the lake near Robotropolis while they still hadn't heard from Sonic and Tails. For a moment, the stress got to Sally and shed a few tears in Rotor's arms as everything they had ever worked for seemed to be coming apart.[49] Sally and the rest of Knothole (along with most of the planet) then saw and felt the destruction of Robotnik's new Death Egg after Sonic and Tails destroyed it, though she didn't know this at the time. She then immediately radioed Sonic and she ordered him and Tails back home with their Power Rings as the king was now critical.[50]

Near death and revival

Robotnik later managed to infiltrate Knothole with a duplicate of Sally's father, King Max. The traitorous freedom fighter named Drago arranged for Sally's assassination, pinning the blame on Sonic in an elaborate frameup: he had Hershey disguise herself as Sonic (using a mask with built-in sensors to make everyone appear as Snively), and cut Sally's rope, with Sally seemingly killed by the fall.[51]

Robotnik then appeared unexpectedly in Knothole after the fake King Max leaked its location. After arriving at the Freedom Fighters' doorstep and holding them all hostage, Robotnik announced his plan to use the rebel headquarters as a testing ground for his super-weapon, with which he intended to eradicate all non-robotic life on the planet. His "Endgame" scheme was nevertheless foiled by the rebellion, and Robotnik was vaporized during the weapon's backfiring.[52]

It was then revealed that the fall had actually rendered Sally comatose, and Dr. Quack had managed to preserve her life. After learning that Sally was still alive, Sonic managed to revive her.[52]

Rebuilding the kingdom

In the wake of Robotnik's defeat, Sally worked hard to re-establish the old kingdom, beginning with the reclamation of Robotropolis from Snively and his DYNAMAC robot.[53][54] Prior even to that, she made contact with the various other Freedom Fighters across Mobius.[55] She was quick to welcome the remaining Robians back into the fold, refusing to allow them to be separated from the rest of the people.[54] She also welcomed a visit from Knuckles and Julie-Su.[56]

The desolate wasteland of Robotropolis proved difficult to rebuild, and discrimination against Robians threatened to spark a civil war.[54][57][58] Worse yet, Sally's own father wanted the Robians disassembled, which was later revealed to be a product of Ixis Naugus' efforts to dominate his mind and to claim the kingdom he had been promised by the king in exchange for his help in surviving the Zone of Silence.[57][59] Together with the other Freedom Fighters, Sally would also contend with the menace of Snively's Eggbots,[58][60] the cyborg Monkey Khan (whom Sally herself accidentally released from his prison),[60] and even Master Mogul on Angel Island[61] before finally freeing her father from Naugus' grip and restoring him to normal using the Sword of Acorns.[62] Sally was quick to dispatch Sonic and Tails after the fleeing wizard, bidding Sonic a fond farewell before he set out.[63] With her friends wandering Mobius, Sally was treated to a history lesson on her family's history-and the responsibilities of the Source of All-by her father. She was then treated to a rude set of demands from King Max: namely, that she marry Antoine D'Coolette and forget about Sonic. Proving as strong as ever, she refused to give in to her father's orders, even when faced with losing her title, choosing instead to follow her own heart.[64][65][66]

Sally's decision to go against her father would have unexpected results, as he locked her out of his new project involving the reformed Royal Secret Service.[67] The arrival of Sonic's birthday redirected her attention, particularly when a satellite motivated meteor shower came down on Mobotropolis at the same time that Sonic made his return with Tails and the Overlander Nate Morgan. Sally received an even greater surprise as the Secret Service returned from a mission to Angel Island with her mother Alicia and brother Elias in tow. Furthermore, Max announced that Elias, not Sally, would take the throne.[8][68] To make matters worse, Max then announced that the Knothole Freedom Fighters were to be disbanded, with the Secret Service taking on many of their duties. This began after Nate was abducted by a group of escaped convicts, who nearly took out the Freedom Fighters in the process.[69] Sally would then help Sonic in his efforts to save Knothole from a satellite attack.[70]

Princess, diplomat, warrior

Following a hijacking of Mobotropolis' television network by a broadcast on Dr. Robotnik and the disappearance of the Robians from Knothole, Sally would lead the Knothole Freedom Fighters on a mission to the satellites.[71][72][73] There they would discover the re-enslaved Robians, along with their old foe Robo-Robotnik, who had returned to take the place of the original Robotnik.[73][74] He was destroyed in battle, but through the digital transfer of his mind into a new robotic body, he was able to live on as "Dr. Eggman".[74] For a time, Sally presided over the newly-established Kingdom of Knothole, a haven from Eggman until he too, like Robotnik, learned of its location.[75][76][77] Prior to that event, Sally helped plant a virus to prevent him from obtaining the information from his predecessor's files,[75][76] Sally would also led a mission to Station Square where the Freedom Fighters helped the human inhabitants deal with the threat of Dr. Eggman and Chaos.[78][79][80][81][82][83][84] They would then face the menace of first Silver Sonic v2.0 before returning home.[85]

Sally and the Freedom Fighters found themselves back in action, joining King Max in an effort to save a kidnapped Elias from Robotnik.[86] They succeeded, only for Max to suffer paralysis-causing wounds, leaving her to watch over him and her mother Alicia as the latter recovered from an operation to awake her from her coma.[87][88][89][90][91][92][93] Alicia soon woke up to the joy of the family,[87] only for Elias to run away, blaming himself for all that had befallen the kingdom and saying the Sally would make a better ruler.[94]

In her efforts to return to her former role, Sally sneaked out of Castle Acorn to help her friends deal with a mad Warlord Kodos, defeating him using the reclaimed Sword of Acorns.[95][96] Afterwards, she would use the sword to free the Robians of Robotropolis, escaping with them and the Freedom Fighters.[96] Like other inhabitants of Mobius, she was caught up in Chaos Knuckles' attempts to alter history, leaving her in an alternate reality where Robotnik had been defeated before his coup and where she was engaged to Knuckles, but remained close to Sonic.[97] After reality was restored to normal, she and her family were attacked by a reprogrammed Heavy and Bomb, former agents of the Royal Secret Service.[94] Afterwards, she was appointed as an ambassador to Station Square, only for negotiations to be interrupted by the hostile dragon Zan.[98][99] She and the other Freedom Fighters would then deal with the return of Dr. Robotnik,[100] Hope Kintobor's desire for asylum in Knothole,[101] freeing the Walrus Herd from Dr. Eggman using the Sword of Acorns,[102] talking with Mina Mongoose about their feelings for Sonic,[103] and facing the threat of nuclear annihilation due to information Sally had provided for Station Square's O.T.I.S. computer.[104]

Sally would then be pursued by the Arachne, children of the late Uma Arachnis, who wished to possess the Sword of Acorns their mother had possessed. Terrified by the Sword's increasing attempts to force a destiny she did not want upon her, Sally entrusted them with it.[105] She then welcomed a visiting Lupe and the Wolf Pack, helping them convince Chuck to forgive himself for actions he had committed under Dr. Eggman's control.[106] Later she bid farewell to Geoffrey St. John and Hershey Cat as they set out to find her brother Elias.[107] She would also assist in the training of Mina Mongoose as a Freedom Fighter,[108] and spend quality time with her mother Alicia Acorn in remembering her late mentor Julayla.[20] Later she would help rescue her brother Elias from Eggman's encroachments, meeting her sister-in-law Megan Acorn at the same time.[109] Nack the Weasel and his henchmen (Karl, Jeff, and Konor) would later kidnap her, but she handily escaped them even before Sonic arrived to save her. The two would then admit their love for each other, and Mina would save Sally's life by taking a bullet fired by Nack.[110][111] Sally and Sonic would then announce their engagement to her parents, only for the alien Xorda to arrive and deliver their deadly ultimatum to the inhabitants of Mobius. After careful research, Sally discovered that the Xorda claims of Mobius having once been Earth were true, and attempted to communicate with them and find a peaceful solution. Rejected, she accompanied Sonic to Eggman's city, where the two of them boarded his Giga-Bot Prime to battle the Xorda, only for it to take them hostage. Escaping, they discovered that the only way to stop the Quantum Dial weapon from destroying Mobius would be to let Sonic sacrifice himself, leading to a tearful farewell between the two.[112][113]

In the year that Sonic was gone, Sally let her hair grow long and never stopped mourning her fallen love. She was thus found at his grave site when Sonic returned, having been transported into space rather than being killed.[114] Their happy reunion was cut short as Dr. Eggman launched Operation: Triple Threat, forcing Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters to go into battle while Sally remained behind in safety.[114][115][116] Watching the fight from afar, Sally was traumatized by the sight of Sonic being hurt, terrified that he would be lost to her yet again.[117] Upon his return, she offered him a place at her side, ruling while her parents went on a world tour. Sonic refused, saying he could not, leading to her slapping him, accusing him of being selfish. This was followed by an intense argument in front of most of their friends. In tears, Sally asked Sonic if he would rather fight Robotnik, or be with her, and because Sonic was unable to answer, Sally ran away, later breaking up with Sonic after a routine mission.[118] She would then lead the Freedom Fighters in a mission to stop Eggman's new Auto Automatons and save Tommy Turtle.[119] Then she let Sonic and the Chaotix, who had taken up residence in Knothole, set off to rescue Locke at the news of his capture.[120]

During a celebration, Sally addressed the Knothole Freedom Fighters while celebrating Amy Rose's contributions to the defense of Fort Acorn. Realizing she had matured and become a capable fighter on her own, Sally asked Amy if she would become an official member of the Freedom Fighters after awarding her the Medal of Honor, an opportunity Amy accepted.[121] Later, in her efforts to heal her own broken heart, she started a column in the Knothole Inquirer under the pseudonym "Dear Aly", answering letters from such lovesick residents.[122] Sally's relationship with Nicole would then reach a deeper level when a lab accident briefly resulted in the two of them switching bodies, allowing Nicole to see what it was like to have a Mobian body.[123] This led to Nicole creating her own, which she showed to Sally during a rare night of peace.[124]

When King Max fell into a coma unexpectedly, Sally finally gave in to his long ago demand that she marry Antoine.[125] However, the day afterwards, the wedding was quickly annulled when her groom turned out to be Patch, an evil version of Antoine from a parallel universe. After her brother Elias took the throne and her father still into a coma due to Patch's poisoning, Sally returned to taking a more active role in overseeing the Freedom Fighters, even joining them in combat once again.[126]

Back on the front lines

Sally agreed to be the maid of honor at Bunnie and Antoine's wedding, with Sonic serving as best man.[127] Not long after the ceremony, Sally became one of the many Mobians that were captured during the aerial bombardment of Knothole, but was promptly freed by a rescue mission mounted by the few who were not captured: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Nicole. With Knothole completely crushed, Dr. Eggman turned his sights on New Mobotropolis.[128][129] During a period of rest within the safety of New Mobotropolis' shields, Sally spoke with Bunnie and Antoine and had Bunnie cut her hair to its previous shoulder length, symbolizing that she was her old self again and had regained her confidence. She then led the charge against the enemy forces herself, resulting in the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix defeating Eggman's Egg Beater battle suit.[130]

Not long after, Sally interrupted a duel between her brother Elias and Amadeus Prower, both of whom were leading separate factions in a schism that threatened to plunge New Mobotropolis into civil war. Reminding them of her own ruling experience, she managed to bring the duel to an end and worked with them to establish a new system of government. Though the new ruling body called for seven council members-including Elias-Sally declined running, apparently quite fine with leaving politics behind for a while. Sadly, her relief at the averted crisis was short-lived, as Dimitri arrived with horrifying news: Enerjak had returned.[131][132]

Upon learning that Enerjak had returned and that no mission would be sent to Angel Island in spite of Knuckles' continued absence, the Chaotix attempted to leave New Mobotropolis without authorization, only for Sally to stop them and ask that they remain in the city to help prepare for Enerjak's arrival. To appease them, she also sent Sonic and Tails to Angel Island to see what they could find out about Knuckles.[133] At the same time, Nicole sent a probe to Angel Island to observe Enerjak's activities, which Sally also watched after failing to contact the various global Freedom Fighter groups for support due to Eggman's jamming. Luckily, she was able to make contact with Rouge the Bat, who assured her that a GUN agent would arrive to provide assistance. Sally then assembled the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix as Enerjak arrived, only to be horrified as he revealed himself to be none other than a brainwashed Knuckles.[134] Fortunately, Sonic and Tails returned just in time, Sonic battling Enerjak while the others took cover. Unfortunately, even the arrival of Shadow failed to stop Enerjak, as did a mass charge which Sally led against him. The arrival of the Egg Fleet resulted in Enerjak being transported to New Megaopolis, and Sally was unsure whether a rescue mission was advisable given the threat he presented. The decision was soon taken out of her hands as Enerjak escaped and then virtually leveled the city.[135][136] In the end, Knuckles was returned to normal thanks to Super Sonic and Locke's sacrifice.[137]

After Mammoth Mogul's escape from prison, he then took over Robotnik's old Casino Night Zone and changed it to his own image. Meanwhile, Sally spent some time alone with Sonic in the ruins of Knothole talking about their past and feelings for one another. Their conversation was interrupted by Bean and Bark and the Destructix. Eventually, Sonic was knocked out by a shot from Nack the Weasel, who then gave Sally ten seconds to run for help while Sonic was dragged off by the Destructix.[138] She soon liberated him with the help of Amy Rose and Geoffrey. When the heroes confronted Mogul, however, he denied all claims of wrong-doing as his accusers lacked any incontrovertible evidence. Sally and her friends were then sent away publicly humiliated.[139]

Following this, the Suppression Squad came to Mobius Prime through the Star Posts and began attacking Freedom HQ. Sonic arrived back at Freedom HQ just as Scourge emerged.[140] Unfortunately, the Freedom Fighters found themselves matched blow-for-blow with the Suppression Squad, and the battle was taking its toll on the base so Sally convinced Sonic and the rest to retreat.[141]

Later, Sally told Sonic he was being sent on a mission to invade Anti Mobius with Amy Rose. While they were gone, Miles from the Suppression Squad was sent to bomb New Mobotropolis. Sally and the Freedom Fighters arrived on the scene, only to find that Miles was actually willing to propose an alliance against Scourge. After Miles explained how Scourge took over their world, Sally agreed to helping him.[142][143]

However, the Freedom Fighters and Suppression Squad were no match for Scourge. After Sonic returned to take on Scourge, they were both blasted by Boomer and thrown back into Moebius by Miles. Afterwards, Boomer shut down the star posts; therefore, Sonic and Scourge were unable to return to Mobius.[144]

Sally and Alicia ended up arguing about stranding Sonic and Amy in Moebius, but the two were interrupted when Rob O' the Hedge and Silver the Hedgehog arrived. Sally proceeded to explain to them what had happened to Sonic and Amy and how they were stranded in Moebius. Silver then used the warp ring to go there with Rob O' the Hedge. Sally then told Tails to start fixing up the Star Posts.[145]

Shortly after Tails had repaired the Star Posts and they went through them to Moebius, the Suppression Squad and Freedom Fighters where ambushed by Super Scourge and he tried to injure the cowardly Miles, but Silver used his psychokinesis to grab and hold Scourge before he could, but he managed to break free nonetheless. Sally then ordered Silver to try this again so the others could pile on top of Super Scourge long enough for him to lose his super form, but Silver's power failed him yet again and Scourge threw the others off of him. Scourge was later defeated thanks to the quick thinking of Sonic, as the Anarchy Beryl drained Scourge of his strength when he powered down. Sally then walked back with the others to Dr. Kintobor's tower to go back to Mobius via the Globe Posts.[146]

Tried for treason

After returning from Moebius, Sally was brought before the Council of Acorn to a hearing to decide if she deserved arrest for going against their orders of not retaliating against the Suppression Squad (as they had ruled in favor of acting against Eggman instead), with her former student Hamlin as the prosecutor. The case against Sally was quite strong, but the princess turned the situation around by saying that if she was found guilty of making a decision against the wishes of the council, she would in the future refuse to act without the council's say-so, even during a battle, to ensure she would not make the same mistake twice. She also added that she would not turn to the Chaotix for help. Then she suggested an alternative; that the council allow her to continue to make decisions as a field leader as she always had and simply trust her to act out her duty properly. Everyone but Hamlin then voted for the charges against Sally to be dropped. She later spoke with Hamlin, not understanding his actions, and he explained that he had joined the Substitute Freedom Fighters wanting to make a change, only to be largely left behind. He then said that if he was not allowed to make a change on the field, then he wanted to ensure that the Freedom Fighters acted by the book for the good of all. Sally was left somewhat upset by his bitterness.[147]

Leading the charge against Eggman

The next day, Sally led the attack against the Eggdome, commanding both the Knothole Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix. Using her tactics, both teams managed to defeat the Dark Egg Legion and force it into retreat. Before they could get the group to surrender, the Egg Phoenix showed up and began attacking. Sally came up with the plan to have Sonic distract Eggman while Ray, Charmy and Saffron Bee planted Tails' Neutralizing Mines upon the craft, causing its engines to fail and crash. After the Egg Phoenix was destroyed, Sally ordered the groups to set up camp for the night, as they were all battle-weary (except Sonic).[148] The next day, Sally assisted Rotor in setting up a live feed to New Mobotropolis, thinking the citizens back home had a right to know how the battle went. After making their way inside the Eggdome itself, she linked up with Julie-Su via Nicole in order to coordinate the two teams. However, they eventually found that the Legionnaires had retreated; they also found they could go no further because of a barricade designed to bottleneck the group; investigating it, Espio came to the conclusion that it was designed to allow Sonic through alone. Sonic decided to take the invitation with the rest coming in later to back him up, though Sally was against it, however Sonic reminded her that this was how they usually fought. Sally reluctantly agreed, giving Sonic a hug and telling him to be careful before he left.[149]

After Bunnie and Mighty eventually managed to pull the doors, apart she ran ahead to see if Sonic needed help only to find Eggman in a state of insanity. After Snively told them that Sonic "broke" Eggman and that they had won, they decided to leave Snively to care for his now-ailing (and seemingly harmless) uncle. However, Sally noticed that Sonic was feeling uneasy about his victory, having not won in the way he was expecting, and tried to comfort him. They then joined the two teams as they returned home.[150]

Combating the Iron Dominion

During the celebration of Eggman's defeat, Sally took Sonic to a concert in an attempt to get Sonic to enjoy himself, while he mulled over Eggman's descent into insanity. However, before the Forget Me Knots could start playing, Monkey Khan violently interrupted, chastising the heroes for celebrating while other parts of the world were in turmoil. Sally was surprised by Khan's appearance, but Sonic simply attempted to attack the cyborg. Fortunately, Sally intervened before physical contact could be made. Sally attempted to explain to Khan that Eggman had been defeated, but Khan stated that a mere change in management had taken place, and the Iron Dominion was now in control of the Eggman Empire. While Sonic and Khan decide to attack head-on, Sally tries to warn them of the dangers they might face, but her warnings fall on deaf ears, with the two fighters leaving to fight, while Sally stays, worried.[151]

Upon their return, she was the first to learn of New Megaopolis's current status, along with the apparent betrayal of Espio the Chameleon.[152] Sally later led the Freedom Fighters in confronting the Iron Queen and Snively Robotnik when they entered New Mobotropolis, demanding the two surrender and sending Bunnie and Tails to engage the intruders when they refused to comply. She then called for backup from the Chaotix when Bunnie's cybernetics were taken over by the Iron Queen's Magitek powers and forced her to attack her allies. Sally then watched in dismay as the Iron Queen used her powers to take control of Monkey Khan and unleash him against the city.[153] Once Sonic returned from delivering Bunnie to safety, Sally briefed him on the situation, and bade Sonic not to hurt Monkey Khan when Sonic engaged him. She was then joined by Antoine, Vector and Mighty in stalling the possessed Monkey Khan long enough for Sonic to obtain a Power Ring from the Lake of Rings. Once Monkey Khan was free from the Iron Queen's control, Sally consoled him over what had happened, even embracing him as she reiterated the importance of remembering who their friends and allies were.[154]

Sally would later be one of the many Mobians to witness Eggman's imprisonment in New Mobotropolis after he escaped.[155] The princess would later have some heart to heart conversation with Bunnie and Ken, deciding to fully reconcile with Sonic and make a relationship with Ken.[156] The Iron Queen would later take control of Nicole and New Mobotropolis forcing Sally, Tails, Ken and Sonic to use the Tornado and escape.[157] At Freedom HQ Sally blamed herself for the events that transpired. After being comforted by Ken and Sonic, Sally and Sonic then transport themselves into New Mobotropolis's software. When Sally managed to get through to Nicole using a firewall, Nicole informed her about the Iron Dominion's forces and devised a plan. After they went through the plan, Sally and Sonic returned to Freedom HQ and Sally informed Tails, Sonic and Khan about the plan.[158]

Journey to the east

After arriving in the Dragon Kingdom, Sally was captured by the Gossamer Clan to ensure Sonic would meet with the Bride of the Endless Reach along with Monkey Khan and Tails. Upon Sonic's arrival, they were freed, but Khan noticed Sally seemed out of it and held back for a few minutes to talk with her. Sally confessed to him that her actions lately had caused her severe stress and even had her questioning her own abilities, but Khan helped her get her mind on track by saying she was the only hope they had for victory right now. After this, negotiations began with the Bride of Endless Reach, and Sally introduced herself, and insisted Khan refer to himself as the King of the Free People, and they convinced her to rebel against the Iron Dominion for peace, and although she predicted it as a long and difficult journey, she agreed to this. Later on, they returned to the Temple of the Golden Lotus, and she conversed with Ken while eating with Li Yuen before a shuriken came through the window bearing a note, saying the Yagyu Clan wished to meet them.[159]

After combating several Yagyu members who believed the four heroes were travelers, Sally and company traveled with one member to their headquarters the following day. Along the way, Sally questioned Ken if he thought that convincing the Yagyu would be easier or harder, as they had no proper bride and probably would not fall back on tradition or not want to give up the Iron Queen. Ken replied that he did not know, and that if they couldn't deal with the lord, then they would have to play it by ear. After a difficult meeting with the Yagyu Lord, Khan eventually negotiated a deal to let the Yagyu return to their old thieving ways in exchange for breaking away from the Iron Dominion. Knowing that the Yagyu would be less efficient without its clan system, the pair felt a measure of success, which came to an end as they found Sonic and Tails in company with Fiona Fox and the original Fearsome Foursome, minus Lightning Lynx.[160]

As Sonic and Tails launched an attack, Sally ordered Monkey Khan to join in the fight as she herself got into the fray, but it quickly came to an end when Fiona announced she wanted to make a deal, explaining that their goal - getting the Raiju Clan to break from the Iron Dominion - could tie into their desire to get Lightning Lynx to return to them. However, as Sally and Sonic showed distrust, she tried to take advantage of Tails' lingering feelings for her and attempted to manipulate the young fox; Sally, disgusted by Fiona's actions, punched her in the stomach and told her that if she wanted to deal, she should do it. Eventually the teams came to work together, with Sally and Fiona working together to disengage a door inside the Iron Fortress; Fiona likened the teamwork to her days as a Freedom Fighter, to which Sally replied that while Fiona had been on the team, she was never a Freedom Fighter. The two teams watched as Monkey Khan and the Bride of Conquering Storm agreed to a duel, which resulted in Sonic defeating Lightning, the latter being banished from his clan again. Having reached their goal, Sally and the others stepped outside, where Tails thanked Sally for stopping Fiona earlier. Sally said he was welcome, and explained that while she understood that Tails was growing up, she couldn't stand to see Fiona toying with him. She admitted however that the act made her feel brutish, and when the boys seemed pleased with the action, muttered that she was drowning in testosterone. As the group then contemplated the task of locating the Shinobi Clan, Espio-clan member and former member of the Chaotix-appeared offering his help.[161]

Naturally, Sally and her teammates were immediately suspicious of Espio's motives. Though he assured them that his loyalty was to the Shinobi Clan and that he only served the Iron Dominion through "extenuating circumstances", Sally was still unwilling to trust him to guide them to the Bride of Constant Vigil. The Chameleon then decided to reveal information he had acquired about each of the four that he had kept secret, eliminating any sort of advantage he might have possessed, one which was the location of Sally's royal birthmark-the latter of which caused her some embarrassment.[162]

Returning To New Mobotropolis

Later, their mission in the Dragon Kingdom completed, Sally and her teammates returned to New Mobotropolis to confront the Iron Queen.[163] They arrived just in time to aid Amy, Antoine, and Geoffrey St. John, and were aided in turn as Nicole revealed her true colors by attempting to capture the Iron Queen. During the conflict she confronted Snively, telling him that she had given him chance after chance at redemption and was deeply disappointed at how he treated her generosity. For a moment, he felt he had the upper hand since the Iron Dominion had three more ninja clans to unleash, but Sally just showed a nasty smirk as Monkey Khan flew up to the sky and informed the Yagyu Clan their hold to the Iron Dominion had been severed. Once the Iron King had been dealt with and the rest of the Iron Dominion's forces had fled, Sally and the others rounded on the Iron Queen, informing her she was all alone now and that if she surrendered quietly no harm would come to her, something she'd discussed with Khan on the way back. But she refused and used the city's nanites to construct a mechanical dragon at her control. Sally rounded on Nicole, hoping she could do something, but it was currently beyond the AI's power and could do nothing more than stop her from using any more of the city. Then the more powerful and resourceful Freedom Fighters in the city banded together to fight the dragon and Sonic issued the final blow, and Sally watched as the Iron Queen fell from it into Monkey Khan's magic cloud. After a quick report from Nicole, Sally declared they had won the day before embracing Ken at their victory.[164]

Sally and Khan later returned to the Dragon Kingdom to ensure that the Iron Queen was safely imprisoned, and talked over the trials that lay ahead for them both. Khan asked Sally if she would stay and become Queen of the Free People, but she turned him down, feeling a need to remain in New Mobotropolis and to explore her relationship with Sonic further. Returning home, she was welcomed by Nicole and then Sonic, whose cryptic report to Nicole left Sally wondering what had occurred in her absence. To Sonic's surprise, Sally invited him to tell her about it over lunch, and the two walked off arm-in-arm.[165]

Sonic and Sally were later invited to become honorary members of the new Wolf Pack Nation, accepting the invitation of behalf of their entire team, as the others were unable to attend. They were surprised to learn that Lupe had stepped down as chief of her tribe, but things were cleared up after she announced herself as the Grand Chief of the Wolf Pack Nation. After catching up and learning that the Ancient Onyx, an artifact sacred to the Wolves and necessary for their initiation ceremony, was gone, Sally and Sonic were surprised by the appearance of Big the Cat. Their old ally explained that his people, the Felidae—ancient rivals to the Wolves and with their own claim on the Ancient Onyx—were in an uproar over the artifact's disappearance, and so he had decided to approach the Wolves about it. Thinking over the matter, Sally decided-along with Sonic-to help the Wolves recover the artifact and settle things with the Felidae. While Sonic and Big went to meet with the Cats, Sally traveled to the Mystic Ruins based on stories Knuckles had told her about his own encounters with the Felidae. After reflecting on the sad history of the culture, Sally was alarmed to find a Dark Egg Legion chapter operating in the area, and briefly engaged Grandmasters Drago Wolf and Razorklaw before surrendering to the far superior numbers of the Legion.[166] Later, held prisoner by the two Grandmasters, she briefly contended with Drago before playing off his ego in hopes of gathering information on their plans. With this task accomplished, Sally found herself threatened with death, but fortunately Big and Sonic accompanied by the Wolves and Felidae arrived in time to save her. Carrying the Ancient Onyx, she used it to focus the attention of the two feuding groups, reminding them how they had overcome their differences to come together against their common foes. She then worked out a deal to keep the Ancient Onyx in the ruins in Felidae territory, where the Wolves would retrieve it when needed. Afterwards, she and Sonic were finally inducted into the Wolf Pack along with Big. Sally shared with Sonic her fears that the Onyx might somehow be a Chaos Emerald, but Sonic reminded her that only seven Emeralds now existed, and he couldn't sense the same power they possessed emanating from the Onyx.[167]

Sally later had lunch with Amy Rose at Chuck's Chili Dogs and greeted Tails, Bunnie and Antoine back from their vacation before giving Sonic and Bunnie a mission to Sand Blast City.[168][169]

Mina's message and a reunion

When news reached New Mobotropolis that Geoffrey St. John had seemingly gone rogue, it was suggested the Acorn family be moved for safety's sake; however, Elias knew his sister would not be content to sit and hide.[170] As time passed, Sally remained concerned about Geoffrey's actions and the possible threat, even when she and Sonic attended a Forget Me Knots concert in order to take their minds off their problems. Before the concert began, Sonic and Sally discussed Mina, her music, and their relationship before Nicole joined them. Sally was overjoyed to see her and they hugged, but eventually Nicole admitted that she felt self-conscious and worried that she was no longer welcome in public. Sally told her that after the Iron Dominion occupation, as well as the Destruction of Knothole, it made sense that the citizens are jumpy, but she assured Nicole that they'd calm down eventually. However, things soon fell apart as Mina's songs, affected secretly by Ixis Naugus, turned the crowd against Nicole; the A.I. became distraught and fled the concert, despite Sally's attempts to talk with her. Concerned, Sally and Sonic went to speak with Mina after the concert; thanks to the influence of Naugus, tempers soon flared as Mina explained that she felt that Sally and the others were being irresponsible, while Sally explained that Mina had not considered Nicole's feelings at all.[171]

Some time later, Sonic and Sally finally arranged for a proper date; Sally spent the day in the Dragon Kingdom, talking with Monkey Khan about her fears, and later, preparing for her date with advice from her mother. However, when she and Sonic arrived at the restaurant, things began to go downhill; Sally saw that Mina and Ash were there as well, and admitted that she understood Mina's concerns, wishing she had handled things better earlier. Then the staff began to pester them for answers regarding Nicole, which soon degraded into bickering among the patrons as well. With some help from Amy Rose, Sally and Sonic got away from the crowd and continued their date by the Lake of Rings, teasing about their past relationships and discussing their own.[172]

Naugus' coup

A few days later, Sally had the Freedom Fighters stake out a free concert by the Forget Me Knots to ensure things didn't get out of hand as they did before. However, Geoffrey St. John suddenly appeared and began to rally the crowd against Nicole, promoting Ixis Naugus as the rightful king able to handle the "threat" of the AI. Sally told Sonic to stop Naugus from reaching the Council, then ordered the Royal Guard to arrest Geoffrey as a traitor; Geoffrey used his rank (Commander of the Secret Service) and the situation to his advantage and told her if she wanted to get past him, they'd have to get their hands dirty. Angry at his apparent betrayal, she readily gave the order to attack. The Freedom Fighters fought Geoffrey, and despite his technical advantage, Sally managed to manipulate him into a trap sprung by Nicole. However, Geoffrey escaped using magic, revealing himself to be an Ixis wizard. Sally asked what his wife has to say about all this, and to everyone's shock, Geoffrey revealed that Hershey had died.[173] The struggle resumed, and Sally said that while she had been willing to give Geoffrey the benefit of doubt earlier, she can no longer abide by his actions; she went so far as to call him a murderer, causing a confused Geoffrey to insist that he had had nothing to do with Hershey's death and to tell them all to not belittle his wife's sacrifice. Eventually, as the fight dragged pointlessly on, Sally tried another tactic; if Geoffrey truly believed his actions to be in the right, he should surrender and allow justice to take its course. Amused, Geoffrey gave in. With the traitor under control, Sally went off to check on Nicole, who sat distraught on the ground. Nicole explained that Naugus had used his magic to completely alter the structure of her nanites, destroying them. Hearing his, the nearby crowd began to murmur, and Sally suggested that Nicole "disappear" for a bit. While escorting Geoffrey with the other Freedom Fighters, Sally looked on in horror as the Death Egg Mark 2 suddenly rose above New Mobotropolis.[174]

Shot down

As the Death Egg represented an immediate threat to everyone, Sally struck a truce with Naugus. She , Sonic and Tails boarded the Tornado while Antoine, Bunnie, Amy and Geoffrey (under watch) took off in the Freedom Fighter Special. Realizing that the Death Egg is actually the former Egg Dome, Sally was able to locate their previous point of entry and directed Tails to fire upon a specific weak point, opening a hole in the hull. Sally and Sonic leaped from the Tornado towards the Death Egg, entering through the breech. It is sealed closed again by a robot, trapping the two inside. They soon found a hidden elevator and begin to explore, finding a strange room. However, the elevator soon delivered a new threat: Silver Sonic v3.0. Sonic was enthralled by the challenge, but as Doctor Eggman began to taunt them over the intercom, Sally realized that the robot was a mere distraction; she announced that they needed to move on, but Sonic continued to battle the robot doppelganger. Sally ran down a hallway, only to find herself facing a turret that deployed from the wall and shot her down. While Sonic raced towards Sally, who lay motionless on the floor, the world became awash in white as Eggman began Operation: Clean Sweep.[175]

Genesis

Sonic found himself in a strange world, unable to quite remember what it was he was doing. He came across a prison pod and, opening it, released several trapped animals within—including Sally and her friends, "Boomer Walrus" and "Antoine Depardieu." She explained that she and her friends were investigating recent strange events (including kidnappings and earthquakes) which they thought to be the work of someone called Dr. Eggman, adding that they could use Sonic's help. They traveled through the Marble Zone, finding that things seemed oddly familiar at times. Eventually, they decided to use one of Eggman's smashed robots to their advantage; however, the robot would need a small animal as a battery. In a singsong tone, Sally called to a nearby Flicky bird and asked it to help them by temporarily powering the robot. They escaped a magma flow caused by a sudden earthquake, and then Sonic and the Flicky-powered robot ran off ahead, confronting Dr. Eggman himself. After a quick battle, the madman retreated, and Sally thanked the Flicky for its assistance. Sally then lead the group to an underground passage she believed would lead to Eggman's lair, declaring that they'd teach him a lesson for having messed with their world.[176]

Sally led the group through the Labyrinth and Scrap Brain Zones, eventually catching up to Dr. Eggman. Sonic seemingly chased off the doctor, leading Sally to think they had succeeded in their mission; however, using a computer in Eggman's base, she discovered that his production plants were still functioning, forcing them to conclude that Eggman had not given up. Sonic took the group to meet his old friend, Tails Prower. As more earthquakes struck, Sally insisted that they still needed to shut down Eggman's operations; she wanted to target his infrastructure primarily, while Sonic thought it would be better to take out Eggman directly. With Tails alongside, they journeyed to the Chemical Plant Zone, dodging its dangers through another earthquake. However, after narrowly escaping another hazard, Sonic and Sally again began to discuss their plan of attack. Sally told him that rushing in would only get someone hurt. Sonic began to retort but was suddenly struck by a vague memory: Sally in danger on the Death Egg. He suddenly told her that she could do things her way, but he was going after Eggman alone. The two had a brief argument, and then Tails apologetically left with Sonic while an irritated Sally led Boomer and Antoine to shut down the plant. Later, in the Oil Ocean Zone, Boomer stepped in, saying that Sally should have made more of an effort to keep Sonic around, as they could use his help. She admitted to as much, but then another quake struck. Feeling the need to hurry, they rushed on ahead, unaware that Badniks were approaching.[177][178]

Soon, Sally and the others were attempting to find cover while being chased by Badniks. Boomer again said that Sonic being around would have been helpful, and Sally agreed that she should have tried harder to reason with him. They soon found their path blocked by an odd trap featuring spikes on its sides; as Boomer wondered what such a contraption could be, Sally noticed the incoming Badniks. With little room to move and under attack, both Sally and Antoine fell from the narrow platform upon which they were standing; Antoine landed safely while Boomer grabbed Sally's hand, dangling her over the edge. To her shock, Sally suddenly remembered another time she'd been in a similar position. However, as Boomer pulled her to safety, she found the memories already beginning to fade. Telling herself to focus, she asked a nearby small penguin (freed from within a Badnik) if it knew where to find the main control valves of the region. With a new direction, they set off. They eventually managed to shut down the oil flow, finally cutting off Eggman's resources (unknown to them, this led to Eggman fleeing back to the Death Egg). While they were unaware of what happened on the massive ship, they all witnessed the massive wave of light that emanated from it. While Boomer was concerned, Sally was sure that Sonic had everything under control. As the world faded away, she reached out to the sky, saying, "See you, Sonic..."[179]

Sally's sacrifice

The world had reverted to a point ten seconds before the first wave of light. As Sally headed down a hallway, Sonic scooped her up and saved her just before the turret shot her, leaving the pursuing Silver Sonic to take the hit instead. Sally was slightly bemused, but they continued on, eventually reaching a computer console. Sally hooked Nicole in, noticing that a lot of the Death Egg's power was being diverted to a deck below, so they took an elevator to the lower deck in investigate. There, they found what appeared to be a roboticizer, and Eggman arrived explaining it was a roboticizer intended for the entire world. At first the heroes were doubtful, but as the doctor explained his plan, they realized with horror that the planet truly was in immense danger. Sally desperately tried to reason with the doctor, pointing out that his plan would prove devastating to his own Dark Egg Legion forces, but Eggman cruelly brushed it off, saying that he would no longer need them once he had a new army of Robians. Enraged, Sonic attacked, only to be stalled by not only the badly damaged Silver Sonic, but a new Metal Sonic as well. While Sonic kept the robots distracted, Sally crawled beneath a floor tile; crammed between large cables, she hooked Nicole into the system again. Sally desperately looked for a way to block the roboticizer's command signal or otherwise prevent its firing, but with as little time as they had, Nicole informed her that it would be impossible; the only option available would be to invert the beam. Without hesitating, Sally ordered her to do so, setting up a manual executable before ensuring Nicole's core programs would be safe back in New Mobotropolis. Worried, Nicole protested, saying that Sally would not be immune. Sally told her friend that she'd been given a second chance and the opportunity to save everyone with it; she needed Nicole's help.[180]

Once Nicole had finished her download, Sally smiled sadly, said good-bye, and executed the program as Eggman ordered the world roboticizer to fire. The roboticizer rebounded into the very chamber it was in, destroying much of the machinery (including the two robots) and causing a large explosion. Sonic and Eggman struggled from within the rubble, when Sally suddenly emerged from the rubble, roboticized and damaged by the explosion Sonic looked on in horror and Eggman cackled in delight as Mecha Sally got to her legs.[180]

Mecha Sally seized Sonic by the throat, with Sonic pleading with Sally to fight Eggman's control. Eggman, delighted about this turn of events, stated that while it would be sensible to order her to march the two of them into an incinerator, he wanted to enjoy this, and so had Mecha Sally throw Sonic out of a waste disposal hatch. She then accompanied Eggman to the bridge of the Death Egg where they were met by Snively. When Snively objected to Eggman's order to launch an assault on New Mobotropolis, stating that the Death Egg was too heavily damaged, Eggman had Mecha Sally grab him by the collar of his uniform and demand that he follow her master's commands.[181]

Upgraded enforcer

Dr. Eggman later unveiled the new Mecha Sally to his assembled Grandmasters, presenting her, along with other Metal Series robots, as enforcers to "help" ensure the Dark Egg Legion chapters were performing effectively. After dismissing the Grandmasters, Eggman then had Mecha Sally accompany him aboard the Egg 'Stache Flyer in pursuit of Snively after he fled.[184] He then deployed Mecha Sally and the new Metal Sonic v3.6 in Central City, along with an entire army, in order to find Snively. After fighting with E-123 Omega, Mecha Sally and the rest of the army retreated due to finding out that Snively left Central City.[185] After tracking down Snively to the Dragon Kingdom, Mecha Sally arrived with Eggman and was sent out to confront Monkey Khan. She started to have difficulty fighting him since her Power Ring was practically all used up. Khan selflessly gave up his Power Ring crown in order to save her life after Eggman explained to him that she would die without one. After being restored, she grabbed Khan's throat, enabling Robotnik to fit him with a Command Crown, putting the Monkey under Robotnik's control. She then got crushed under some trees along with Khan when Snively arrived with the Iron Oni.[186] She was then forced to fight Khan yet again when Regina Ferrum took control of him with her technomagic. Sally's knowledge and memories of Khan were manipulated in an effort to distract him, but the brainwashed king paid it no attention as he attempted to destroy her. Khan was then freed from Regina's hold, and Mecha Sally went into standby mode. In her damaged state, she was returned to Robotnik by Khan, who recognized that the mad doctor was the only one who could hope to repair her.[187]

While this was going on, the Freedom Fighters reorganized themselves into two new units: Team Freedom and Team Fighters. The latter team embarked under Sonic's leadership with a twofold mission: to thwart Robotnik's plans and to rescue Sally.[188] Their pursuit took them to Soumerca, where Robotnik once again took advantage of Sally's knowledge and previous involvement with local groups. Having brokered an uneasy peace between the Felidae and Wolf Pack, Mecha Sally recognized that the two factions would go to war if their leaders were not present to maintain the truce. Taking advantage of her expertise, Robotnik sent her to abduct Queen Hathor and Lupe.[189] Mecha Sally would then engage Team Fighters when they arrived looking to rescue the two rulers. After forcing Tails to let her go with the realization that stopping her could jeopardize others, Mecha Sally was sent on another diabolical mission: leading an invasion force to Feral Forest to assassinate her own brother Elias.[190] Despite the assistance of Silver Sonic v3.0 and her Egg SWATs, Mecha Sally was unable to complete her mission, and left her troops to be destroyed while she rejoined the Death Egg.[191]

Mecha Sally would later appear in attendance to Eggman giving orders to the latest Metal Sonic to travel to the Interdimensional Gateway in order to meet his newest partner.[192] She would then be deployed against Team Fighters and the Arctic Freedom Fighters, who had joined forces in a rescue attempt. After stunning Amy and Sonic, she attempted to kill the pair, but was then shorted out by Silver the Hedgehog. The time traveler had joined the mission to rescue Sally, whom he had identified as having a part to play in his future's devastation. However, realizing her unwilling role, he determined to rescue her rather than eliminate her as he had attempted with previous "traitor" suspects. Unfortunately, the heroes had no time to celebrate before both they and the inert Sally were caught up in a second Genesis Wave.[193]

Note: From this point, Sally's history continues from her new life in the altered timeline.

Personality

Sally is strong-minded and opinionated. She is often logical and focused with a playful side, and prefers to plan ahead in almost all situations. She often takes the role of a leader, not only in directing and organizing people en masse but also through mediation and offering suggestions or compromises to difficult situations.

Sally's attitude towards her title of princess is one of duty; she is a firm leader with a strong sense of justice and a warm heart. Caring by heart, she loves her people and strives to do the best she can for them. In this she shows passion, bravery and determination, often remaining undeterred by setbacks. She similarly goes out of her way to make sure her friends are safe and happy. While inwardly compassionate, she can often come off as confrontational, overbearing, hard, sardonic and condescending when stifled enough. When her emotions are open however, she is often only protective of her friends, constantly worried about their well being in the field.

Her personal emotions are sometimes less well-controlled, and under some extreme situations she's fallen into turmoil concerning her relationships with others, especially with her father, King Acorn, and Sonic. She cares deeply for her family and was quick to establish connections with her long-lost mother and brother, though her love for her father is sometimes strained as his past, actions and decisions often cause friction with her ideals. In some cases she fostered some feelings of betrayal and jealousy, though she usually recognizes it while she's doing it. As such, she often confides in NICOLE. Having a tendency to put too much pressure on herself to react in the most wise way, should Sally think herself to have failed or misjudged a situation in the past, she will often have tremendous self-doubts in herself, sometimes coming to tears in frustration of her perceived inability. Despite being a princess, Sally is a bit of a tomboy (sometimes referred to as a "Tomboy Princess"), not hesitating to get into rough or messy situations if needed and does not typically dress regally or act as a damsel, but rather acts as a fighter.

Powers and abilities

Sally is agile and proficient in basic combat, martial arts (such as judo, karate, and kung fu), weaponry skills and hand to hand combat, having been trained by her mentor Julayla to improve her reflexes and self-defense abilities despite average physical strength. Her agility often lends itself to acrobatic maneuvers and skilled climbing. She's a quick thinker and tactician, often using NICOLE to gain information or statistics in order to create her plans, and is familiar with computers in general. She has strong leadership and organization capabilities and has shown to have good aim with various projectile weapons. Sally can also work and operate many varieties of vehicles, aircraft, and machines. Her "Genesis" reality self could also talk to Flickies by singing, though it is unknown if Sally retains this ability following reality returning to normal.

Another noteworthy skill is Sally's ability to settle most disputes, whether trivial or outright hostile, in a short time. She is a natural mediator and diplomat.

Weapons

Main article: Sword of Acorns

Relationships

Antoine D'Coolette

Early in the series, Antoine very openly declared his love to Sally on a regular basis, but the feeling was never mutual. As Antoine won the heart of Bunnie Rabbot however, he no longer had interest in Sally.

Years later, King Maximillian Acorn was in bad health and commanded Sally to marry Antoine, so he could help her rule the kingdom. Sally was not happy about this arrangement, but went through with it out of obligation towards her nation. It turned out Antoine was actually Patch D'Coolette in disguise, and he had set it all up to get himself into power. After Patch was defeated and the real Antoine was found, he went back to Bunnie and Sally was once again single.

Nicole

Sally and Nicole were very close friends. After the two switched bodies and Nicole wanted to be alive, Sally supported Nicole's quest to become a living being.

Romances

Sonic the Hedgehog

Over the years Sally has had numerous flirtations and love-interests, the largest being Sonic the Hedgehog. During their battles against Dr. Ivo Robotnik as Freedom Fighters, the two hid their feelings for each other, though the idea of marriage had come up on occasion, mostly as a joke. Additionally, because of their clashing personalities, both were reluctant to make anything more out of their relationship. Their mutual feelings for each other became far more obvious when Sonic discovered Sally had survived Operation: EndGame and the two kissed romantically.

When King Max discussed the topic of marriage with his daughter shortly after he'd been freed from the wizard Ixis Naugus's control, Sally requested that Sonic should be her future husband. The aged king furiously refused this offer, saying that the Source of All would ultimately decide who her husband would be, as it had dictated Max's wife and his father's wife before him.

Sonic and Sally spent the next few months apart, while Sonic was chasing after the Ixis Naugus around the planet with Tails. Shortly after his return, Dr. Eggman began his campaign to retake Mobotropolis and roboticize the Mobians, which prevented Sonic and Sally from getting close. To make matters worse, after the Kingdom of Knothole was formed, Sally was forced to be home schooled while Sonic and the others went to public school. Sally's duties as princess kept her both busy and distant from Sonic for some time. When Sally finally attempted to visit Sonic, she caught him being kissed by Mina Mongoose. After this, Sally believed Sonic had moved on. The two later recovered and fully admitted their love for one another when Sonic freed Sally from the bounty hunter Nack the Weasel.

After almost a year had passed since Max's original decision to force Sally to marry Antoine, his opinion had drastically changed, after Sonic had proven himself a worthy candidate for a spouse. Max accepted Sonic and Sally's request for marriage, but shortly after this, the Xorda's attack on Mobius occurred, which resulted in Sonic being lost in space for over a year. With all of Mobius believing Sonic to be dead, Sally is left emotionally shattered.

Upon Sonic's return from space, the two wasted no time rekindling their love for one another: Sally claimed that she had known that Sonic was alive this entire time, but it is later revealed to be a lie. However, their relationship took a turn for the worse when Sally was put in charge of the kingdom and requested that Sonic stay by her side, as opposed to risking his life on numerous combat missions. Sonic reluctantly refused. An enraged Sally slapped him and accused him of being selfish, when in reality, she didn't want to lose him again. She asked whether his fight with Eggman was more important than his love for her. Unable to get an answer, she ran off in tears, later resulting in a bitter break up.

Even though Sonic tried to work things out Sally usually acted cold to him and bossed him around, eventually getting to the point where she actually had Sonic unilaterally thrown in prison for illegal trespassing and crashing her wedding reception following her brief marriage to Antoine (who was really Patch). She did, however, start to calm down after Antoine's return. Since then, Sonic has dated Fiona Fox, but the two broke up when Sonic discovered Fiona was actually more interested in his evil double, Scourge the Hedgehog. After Antoine and Bunnie announced they were getting married, Sally admitted she missed Sonic and felt jealous that it wasn't her and Sonic who was getting married.

Since Antoine and Bunnie's marriage, Sonic and Sally have once again showed signs of interest in one another. Sally in particular has flirted and hinted at this with Sonic. At one point, the two almost kissed each other, but were interrupted. Immediately prior to Dr. Eggman's final defeat and push into insanity, Sally shows intense concern for Sonic's personal safety, along with her hugging him before Sonic dove into the hole leading to Eggman, telling him to be careful.

After Monkey Khan showed up, Sally decided to fully rekindle her friendship with Sonic, and start a romance with Ken. It has been hard for Sonic to get used to the change, 