Alicia Acorn


 * You may be looking for the article on Princess Alicia, the Anti Mobius version of Sally Acorn.

Lady Alicia Acorn is the wife of Maximillian Acorn, mother of Sally and Elias, and former queen of the Kingdom of Acorn. Prior to Dr. Ivo Robotnik's coup, she and her son Elias were sent away from Mobotropolis for their safety, but ended up crash-landing on Angel Island. There, Alicia fell comatose and remained so for years under the watch of the Brotherhood of Guardians. She was later found by the Royal Secret Service and brought back to Knothole, where she underwent therapy through various means before finally being revived. Since then, Alicia has constantly been at her husband's side, often advising him and their children in the process of rule. Even with Max's retirement she remains a powerful force, serving as one of Elias' closest advisers and supporters. As her husband's health has deteriorated, Alicia generally remains by his side.

Youth & Marriage
While her life beforehand is uncertain, what is known is that Alicia was sought out by Max's father Frederick Acorn with help from the Source of All to become his son's future wife. At age eleven, Max and Alicia were betrothed, and upon their eighteen commemoration, the two formally married. Following this, Alicia became the mother of Princess Sally Acorn and King Elias Acorn. (StH: #58, #64)

Disappearance & Coma
When the Great War was at its worst for the kingdom, the Overlander forces had invaded Mobotropolis and were about to penetrate Castle Acorn. Since the route to Knothole Village had been cut off in the fighting, Max sent both Alicia and Elias to the relative safety of the Royal Compound on the Floating Island, but they disappeared en-route and Alicia was thought dead for several years. Traveling in a convoy to the Floating Island, they came under attack by Overlander aircraft and Alicia was grievously wounded. The convoy, badly damaged and with most of its crew dead, crash-landed on the island only to be found and then hidden by the Brotherhood of Guardians. (KtE: #20, #21)



Placed in stasis by the Brotherhood, Alicia remained in a coma for fifteen years before she and Elias were found by her husband's Royal Secret Service and returned home. She remained in a coma for some time afterwards, a result of the inability of either the Brotherhood or Dr. Quack to treat her for an illness which she had contracted. As a result, she was kept in low temperature stasis in Mobotropolis for some time, until the rise of Dr. Eggman necessitated her transport to Knothole. Dr. Quack soon developed a theory regarding her condition, much to the relief of a heartsick Sally. (StH: #69, #75, #77, KtE: #21)

For a time, the Ring of Acorns was considered for use in healing her, but after Amy Rose used the last of its power to change her physical age that route was blocked. Eventually, her son Elias managed to steal a vial that Dr. Quack believed would alleviate her condition from Robotropolis, only to be captured. Removed from stasis, injected with the substance, and operated on by Quack, Alicia remained comatose for some time afterwards. (StH: #79, #88)

Awakening
Shortly after her husband Max wound up hospitalized following an ill-fated attempt to rescue Elias from Robotropolis, Alicia awakened with her husband in a neighboring hospital bed and her children looking down at her. Unaffected mentally by the fifteen-year lapse, Alicia was welcomed warmly by her family, and was soon back on her feet - which was more than a now-paralyzed Max could say. She then found herself comforting her distraught children over the matter, especially Elias as he was appointed acting head-of-state due to Max's injury and her own need to catch up. With Sally as her guide, Alicia began touring Knothole, one of her first stops being a meeting with Nate Morgan. Sally's distraction over the current situation worried Alicia, but she was determined to help in any way that she could. As was the case with other parents of the Freedom Fighters reunited with their children after Dr. Ivo Robotnik's death, Alicia found herself in the sorrowful position of having missed Sally's childhood. Sally provided a brief recap, and Alicia was stunned to hear about what her daughter had accomplished in the interlude. (StH: #89, #90, #91, #92)



When Sonic the Hedgehog was arrested for stealing the Sword of Acorns, Alicia encouraged her daughter not to interfere in Elias' rulings. However, she soon had the family happily whole once again, enjoying their good fortune in relocating to Knothole. The reunited House of Acorn was then presented to their subjects, but the festivities were short-lived as the Secret Service reported their failure to recover the Sword of Acorns. When Knuckles the Echidna attempted to alter history to improve Mobius' situation, an alternate present found Alicia still comatose due to Robotnik's downfall before his rise to power, having been brought home to Mobotropolis by Knuckles himself. The time-line soon reverted to normal, leaving things as they had been. Alicia and her family then came under threat from Heavy and Bomb, having been reprogrammed by Dr. Eggman to assassinate the royal family after disabling their former teammates in the Secret Service. Later, she demonstrated a rather merciful air when the original Dr. Ivo Robotnik returned, taking pity on his bruised appearance and pleading words. She also agreed with Max to allow Hope Kintobor to remain in Knothole at her request, showing no malice towards the girl for what she herself had suffered as a result of an Overlander attack. (StH: #93, #94, #99, #101, #102, #108)

Following the destruction of Robotropolis by nuclear weapons launched by the United Federation's O.T.I.S. (Outer Threat Immobilization System) computer, Alicia was present as the Sword of Acorns possessed Sally, telling her of the destruction of the main body of the Source of All. After receiving a chilling message from the Source informing her that she now had no choice but to view future events, in which she might see herself and her friends come to harm, Sally was shaken out of this trance state by Alicia, who wept in fear for her daughter. Her fears were soon increased as Sally warned the Freedom Fighters of a forthcoming attack by the Arachne which she had seen through a vision given by the Sword. When the vision came true, Alicia encouraged her daughter to accompany her and her father to safety, but Sally refused to leave Sonic at the mercy of the spider ninjas. Some time after, Alicia and her daughter shared a tender day remembering Julayla, Sally's late teacher, on the anniversary of her birth. Together with Rosie, who had nursed Sally alongside Julayla, the two visited the beloved mentor's grave. After bidding their farewells to their shared friend, the two went off with Rosie, Sally fondly bringing up a story of her time under Julayla's care while the old teacher's spirit looked on. (StH: #110, #111, #120)

Alicia and Max later called upon Sonic and Sally to join Geoffrey St. John and Hershey Cat, who had been dispatched to retrieve the missing Prince Elias and bring him home. Despite restoring their ties with Elias, the pair were unable to convince him to return home, as he had become accustomed to his new life with his wife Megan Acorn. Following Sally's abduction by Nack the Weasel, Alicia and Max supervised the interrogation of one of his captured cohorts, and with the help of their royal guards learned where Sally had been taken. Her return was soon followed by her and Sonic announcing their engagement, an event that pleased Alicia greatly due to the obvious happiness it brought her daughter. The happy news was soon countered, however, when Shadow the Hedgehog arrived to warn the Royal Family of the impending threat of the alien Xorda, a race bent on destroying Mobius. Following the Xorda's ultimatum, the Kingdom spoke with the Brotherhood on Angel Island and with Eggman through teleconference, and brokered a deal with the megalomaniac to work together to defeat the Xorda in exchange for his surrender of half his global territory. With the Xorda's defeat, however, Alicia was forced to attend a most sorrowful event: the apparent funeral for her son-in-law-to-be, Sonic. (StH: #118, #121, #122, #124, #125)

One year later, Alicia agreed with her husband in forbidding Knuckles and the Chaotix from returning to Angel Island, which had been occupied by Eggman's forces. Both monarchs and the young band of fighters were then surprised by the reappearance of Sonic, who had in fact survived his apparent demise and been rocketed across space and eventually made his way back home. Happy as this news was, it was tempered by Sonic's announcement of Eggman's plan to devastate Mobius with nuclear fallout. Once this information had been revealed, Sonic immediately inquired after Sally, and received the unsurprising news that she was at his supposed grave. When Eggman delivered his ultimatum regarding his deadly scheme, Alicia stood by her daughter in refusing to move to safety while Max remained in exposed Knothole where he would die if Eggman's plan succeeded. The trio then watched as the Chaotix and Freedom Fighters moved against Eggman's forces in Old Megaopolis and near the ruins of Robotropolis, determined to prevent his plan from coming to fruition. Alicia and Max then had to caution Sally against going to Sonic's aid, reminding her that the Kingdom depended on her as much as did Sonic. When Sally witnessed Sonic taking serious injury in a battle with Mecha, she fled hysterically from the room with Alicia in hot pursuit. She then soothed her daughter's fears, reminding her that Sonic had survived and not been taken from them again. Afterwards, she happily told Sonic of the celebration that had been organized in honor of his return, expressing continued happiness at the match between her daughter and Sonic. During the celebration, Max announced that he and Alicia would be departing the city on a world tour aboard the Acorn One, and that Sally would be ruling in their absence. Unfortunately, Sonic's reluctance to join Sally in her new role strained their relationship to the breaking point, and the two of them split up. (StH: #130, #131, #132, #133, #134)

Turning Over the Mantle
Max and Alicia soon returned home from their trip, only for Max to fall ill due to the machinations of Patch, the Anti-Mobius version of Antoine D'Coolette who had been impersonating his counterpart for some time. Not suspecting the treachery, Alicia supported her husband in telling Sally that they intended to step down, forcing her to become queen and to marry so that the Kingdom might have a King, the intended groom being none other than the impostor Antoine. Alicia's attempts to break down Sally's reluctance proved futile, and Max's tactless expression that he had always disapproved of the idea of Sally being together with Sonic drove her away in tears. Patch's poisoning soon had Max comatose, and Alicia finally convinced her daughter that she no longer had a choice, and so the wedding was arranged. To the surprise of all - and the infuriating of Patch - Elias returned to claim his throne, having been informed of the situation by Sonic, who had begged him to intervene. A proud Alicia willingly proclaimed Elias King, and Patch's exposure resulted in Sally's marriage being annulled. Sonic's heroics soon brought Max back out of his comatose state as he retrieved a Chaos Emerald needed to power a machine that restored the former King's health to some degree. Another wedding involving Antoine - this time to his sweetheart Bunnie Rabbot - had Alicia and Max fondly remembering their early romance, particularly Sonic and Sally's teasing and its similarities to their own. The matter soon had both Freedom Fighters embarrassed and the rest of Sally's family looking on knowingly; soon afterwards, they all witnessed the wedding ceremony. (StH: #155, #156, #170, #174)

Alicia was among the many captured when Dr. Eggman's Egg Fleet destroyed Knothole, and with the rest of the inhabitants was trapped in the Egg Grape Chamber. Despite their predicament, the Mobians stubbornly refused to submit to Eggman's taunts, and were inspired further by the bravery of Charmy Bee as he faced Eggman's life-draining machine. Luckily, Sonic, Knuckles Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, and NICOLE had escaped capture, and quickly liberated their friends and fellow citizens. Eggman then targeted them all again with his Egg Beater's teleportation beam, seemingly recapturing the entire population-only to learn that the beam had been reprogrammed to send them elsewhere. Thus Alicia and the others all found themselves transported to the city of New Mobotropolis, which became their new refuge from Eggman and his forces. (StH: #175, #176)



Unfortunately, problems soon arose as Amadeus Prower sought reform for the government, which the Royal Family strongly rejected. It was only after Elias and Amadeus engaged in a duel that ended with interruption by Sally that the matter was resolved, and the new Council of Acorn system was set up. Elias was disappointed by the lack of approval from Max, but Alicia encouraged him that he had to be his own king, and not the king his father had been or wanted him to be. (StH: #178, #179)

Later, she and Max appeared at a concert celebrating Eggman's defeat, only for it to be interrupted by Monkey Khan with news of the Iron Dominion. (StH: #201)

Due to his numerous traumas and his great displeasure concerning the kingdom's reformation, Max's condition began to deteriorate further. Alicia often found herself apologizing for Max's sour mood, later telling her husband that he couldn't continue to push people away. When Max admitted that he did want to see someone in particular, Alicia was momentarily encouraged, hoping he wished to speak with Elias or Sally, but Max instead asked her to fetch Geoffrey St. John. When St. John and Sonic later arrived, Max was initially somewhat cantankerous, which Alicia in part attributed to the stormy weather outside. (StH: #218), #219)

Personality
The Queen loves her family deeply, and was particularly distressed when Elias ran away. While she wasn't completely pleased with her husband's attempts to marry Sally off, she also believed that certain traditions would leave Sally with little personal choice, having had a traditional royal marriage herself. As Max's condition deteriorates, she's become increasingly concerned with his attitude, particularly in regards to his relationship with his children.

Appearance
Alicia is an almost exact duplicate of her daughter Sally in terms of physical appearance, the only differences being Alicia's different hairstyle and the later addition of wrinkles to her face. In her youth, she was also the splitting image of Julayla. While in cryo, she was often depicted in a long vest-like garment and later, a plugsuit of sorts. She was briefly shown wearing a hospital gown and Sally's blue vest. Her attire usually consists of orange dresses accented in gold jewelry with a golden headpiece or tiara. One particular dress - featuring elaborate trims and a hood - was designed by artist J. Axer.