This is Sonic and the Freedom Fighters: Blue Horizon, a fanfic set to encompass elements from all incarnations of Sonic the Hedgehog (of which there are many,) into one cohesive whole. Sonic is a franchise that I love, and one which has a number of different versions to choose from, and I always wanted to see all of the different major characters and plot threads and whatnot in one place. This is my attempt at doing just that, while also aiming to bring some greater character development to the franchise and do some things I'd always wanted to do. Hope you enjoy it!

THE ACORN KINGDOM, EARLY FALL, NOW

"Oh, this is NOT cool!"

Sonic hadn't asked for much. Just a pleasant day or two hanging out at the Acorn Festival before heading out to wherever his feet led him. Just doing whatever he felt like doing. And that was how he liked it.

What he hadn't counted on was a madman rising up from beneath the Earth itself in some sort of mechanical contraption with a giant drill on it. Or taking the Princess hostage. Or declaring himself ruler of the Acorn Kingdom in front of the royal castle itself. Not to mention…

"BREAKING NEWS! Doctor Robotnik, Chief Scientist of the Acorn Kingdom, has just declared himself it's new ruler, and has taken both the Princess and what appears to be a young guard in training hostage! Are you catching my good side? Please tell me you're catching my good side."

Oh yeah. That doofus. Soar the Eagle, or whatever he called himself, reporting the news in as bold and macho a manner possible. Regardless, this was bad news. Fun maybe, but still bad news, and he wasn't sure just what to do about it. Just how did he get himself into this anyway?

THE ACORN KINGDOM, EARLY FALL, THIS MORNING

"Sire?"

"Hm?" King Max roused himself from his thoughts. He had been thinking about a great many things, which was something of a habit for him lately, but he supposed now wasn't the time for such matters. A servant was at the feet of his throne, bowing with his head hanging low in respect. "Sir Robotnik is here to see you, as you requested."

"Ah," said the King, remembering just why he was in sitting in his throne instead of preparing for the festivities in the first place. "Thank you, Sebastian. Send him in, will you?"

"Of course, sire." The servant straightened himself and walked across the red velvet carpet within the lavish throne room towards the large twin doors as he opened them and stuck his head out before he shut them once more. "Your highness, Sir Julian Ivo Robotnik." He then opened the doors with as much grace as could be expected from a squirrel in his sixties. Standing in the doorway was a portly fellow dressed in a form-fitting outfit with a red and yellow shirt and black pants, and sporting a rather polished pair of spectacles. He stroked his thick bushy mustache as he strode forward, acting almost as he if he owned the place, though that of course wasn't the case. Not yet anyway.

"King Max!" He said, arms open as he grinned like Father Christmas. "A pleasure to see you, as always! When you said you wanted to see me, I dropped everything at once and rushed here as fast as I could! What's the occasion, my boy?"

"It's good to see you too, Julian," said Max. "However, while my servants may have led you to believe this was a matter of life or death, the truth is, this is simply more of a social call."

"Ah." Robotnik briefly looked a tad perturbed before resuming his pleasant behavior. "Well, in what way can I console you, my liege?"

"To start with," said the king, "it's about all of those new robots you created to help guard the festival. I understand that safety and security are of the utmost importance, but do we really need so many of those, those… What did you call them again?"

"SWATbots, my liege."

"Ah, yes." The king slowly folded his fingers together, sounding disgruntled as he said the name. "SWATbots. And not only do they sound like they're oppressive machines of death just from the name alone, but they also look the part. For Gaea's sake, Julian! They're more than twice the size of my subjects and they look as though they're ready to pound them into paste never mind sounding as though they've had all the emotion sucked out of them!"

"Your point, sire?"

Max slid a gloved palm over his thin, furry face, wondering how one of the smartest men he knew could be so oblivious. If he was, indeed, being so.

"My point is, Julian, I'm worried it's a bit too much. That this all is a bit too much. These new SWATbots are just the latest concern I've had to worry about. The Troopers, the Chemical Plant Zone, your plans for even stronger weapons ordinance? I know at the time I said that I was willing to take a few risks to increase the standing of my kingdom and my people with the rest of the world, but now, I'm wondering if it's truly worth it. My citizens are getting concerned, Julian. I'm getting concerned. And when the king is concerned, there is without a doubt something to be concerned about."

Robotnik took a few moments to take in a good long breath before pushing back his glasses as he started to make his case. "Your Highness. I know this all may seem a bit much, but I assure you, this is all necessary to protect the Acorn Kingdom and keep it from being a laughingstock. Now, your kingdom is a fine one, strong in tradition and history and led by a mighty, strong ruler, but that simply isn't enough. As I've told you, I come from the Federation, as most of my kind do, and, if I may speak plainly, their technology makes this place look like a dumpster! Why, even other Zones in the other Islands have already surpassed your kingdom in terms of standards of living! Starlight City, Gigalopolis, Studiopolis? Just to name a few. To be blunt your highness, without my help, your kingdom would still be stuck in the Dark Ages."

Max creased his brow as though he were starting to have a migraine. He knew that in a way, Robotnik was right, and yet in others, he was still oh so wrong. "I appreciate that Julian, but surely there can be some sort of balance. I don't just want my people to be protected; I also want them to feel protected. But I'm sure they can't rest easy when there's one of those monstrosities on every corner. And this is all especially so with the annual Acorn Festival starting this very day."

"I am aware of all of that, sir, and I understand completely. Perhaps we could reach some sort of compromise?"

"That is exactly what I was thinking. I know you mean well, Julian, and I do want what's best for my people, but I don't want to frighten them in the process. One step at a time is more than sufficient, I believe."

Robotnik nodded in approval. "Of course. That said, do you think this could wait until after the festival? That should be our topmost priority after all."

"Most certainly. For now, it can wait. But after that, I expect a full overhaul of your Implementation Program. I'm sure we can reach a compromise that will work for all of my subjects."

"Indeed, your liege." Robotnik oh so slightly pushed up his glasses, obscuring his gaze from view as though it alone in that moment could somehow betray him. "Perhaps even sooner than you think. If that will be all?"

"Yes, though I will let you know if I need anything else."

"Of course, your highness." Robotnik took a moment to give a customary bow before strolling down the carpet until he reached the twin doors. "Until then, my liege." He opened the doors and closed them behind him, making sure they were shut as tightly as he could. Once done, he was now in the castle corridors, free from repercussions and kingly decrees for the time being. He moved away from the guards keeping watch over the throne room and instead turned around the corner. As soon as he did so, and as soon as those guards were out of sight, that oh so pleasant smile turned upside down into the most frowny of frowns imaginable.

Scowling as though the grocer just ran out of the last batch of eggs, he took a transceiver out from his pocket and set it to the most secure frequency while making sure that no-one else was listening. "Snively? Yes it's me, who else could it be?! Anyhoo, there's been a change in plans. We're going to have to move up the timetable. Have everything ready to go by this evening. Oh, and do make sure to throw in some extra flourish, will you? If we're going to be doing this during their insipid festival, we might as well celebrate the occasion. What was that? I don't know, fix up the giant drill car prototype or something! Robotnik out!"

Robotnik slammed down the button on the transceiver with his thumb and slipped it back into his pocket. He continued to fume as he sulked down the corridor, but it wasn't long before he started to straighten back up. Sure, things may have not been going quite according to plan, but so what? All he would really be doing now is what he would have done in a week or so anyway. No harm done. And besides. It was all part of the game.

As he started to make his way back to his office, he noticed through a nearby window that someone was traipsing across the courtyard. Upon closer inspection, he could see that it was none other than her Highness herself, Princess Sally. Looking to have a word with daddy dearest perhaps? And about what? Just in case, he would have to look into this at one point or another, but as he continued striding down the hall with his chest puffed out and his hand generously stroking his mustache, he mused to himself in between the odd chuckle that he would soon have all the time in the world to get the truth out of her. Though depending on just what she knew, it might not even matter anyway. His chuckles turned into an outburst, confident that no matter what stood in his way, nothing could possibly stop him now.

As the King was getting ready to head into his room and practice his grand speech, he heard his loyal servant Sebastian loudly call out to him from beside the twin doors. "Sire?"

"Yes?", said Max.

"Your daughter is here to see you.

"Sally?" The king's calm and collected disposition suddenly resembled that of a hippo with a hernia. "I thought she made it quite clear that she was no longer speaking to me."

"Nonetheless," said the servant, "she has made it quite clear that she wishes to speak to you immediately."

The King still couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "But why?"

"You'd best ask her yourself. With all due respect to your Majesty, I am just the messenger."

"Very well." Max shook his head, sighing as though he wasn't quite sure what to make of anything. "Send her in."

"As you wish, your highness." The servant turned towards the doors, his hand reaching for the handle when, not to his surprise, they seemed to fly open all by themselves. "Ah .It seems someone just didn't seem to have enough patience.

Clad in blue boots and a matching vest, Sally stormed into the throneroom, pushing her way past the guards and marching right up to the King, only stopping until they were in the same general vicinity.

The both of them stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, the two of them wanting to say everything yet feeling as though they could say nothing. A paradox if there ever was one. This sea of awkwardness continued until, at last, someone finally saw fit to make the first move.

"Father," said Sally quietly, though less out of being shy and more because she could scarcely believe she was getting the words out after all this time.

"Daughter." Another moment of silence passed as if to almost make you believe the pair of them were mute until, finally, one of them gave. "So. I under the impression that you weren't speaking to me. When did this change, I wonder?"

Sally gulped, unsure if she could get the words out, but she just couldn't stand back and do nothing. She gripped a satchel strung around her shoulder, as if there were something precious inside that was giving her the strength to carry forward until she finally saw fit to use it. "Father." She took a step forward. "The only reason I'm speaking to you is because, well…"

"Out with it child."

"It's Robotnik."

"Oh?" King Max raised an eyebrow like raising a bridge. It was easy to learn, but it had been oh so difficult to master. "What about him?"

"Did you ever stop and think about why he agreed to come under your employ? About why he bothered to manufacture a Chemical Plant of all things? Because if I were a well to do scientist in the Federation, I wouldn't have just come over here and presented myself to you so easily. Nor is he making us feel easy. Have you seen the amount of SWATbots and Troopers out there? That's not a militia; that's half an army. And yet, there are more and more posted each day, with the only excuse being 'the populace needs protecting'. It almost makes you wonder what it really needs protecting from. Nevermind the security systems he personally has installed throughout the entire capital, against Intelligence Director Harvey Who's own recommendations."

"What are you getting at Sally?" The King straightened his back and stood his ground, almost as if he knew where this was going but wanted to see where it all ended up anyway.

"Think about it father!" she said. "Do you understand what Robotnik could do with that kind of firepower?"

"Yes. I could. And as a ruler, it is my duty not to put such mistrust onto my employees once they become such, or at least not to act on it."

"But why did you employ him in the first place, Father? Were you that desperate at a chance on the world stage that you would just throw caution to the wind?"

"Perhaps." Max's voice started to tremble, as though a door of stone sealed shut for many months was at long last starting to open up. "Perhaps I was. But perhaps if I had done this earlier, Alica wouldn't have—!"

He stopped himself right there. The both of them stood frozen in their tracks, neither able to move, both stunned as though the most meaningful thoughts had been drained out of them until there was nothing left but shock. At last, the King finally regained his nerve, as much of a struggle as it was to do so.

"Perhaps if I had, Alica would have survived." He whispered, just barely managing to get the words out out,

Sally stood there like a statue for a moment longer until the wheels began clicking together. "You mean, if the Acorn Kingdom hadn't been so stuck in the past, so isolationist, so stubborn in its' refusal to change, that maybe we would have had the means to save…" Her eyes began to cloud up as if covered with a fine mist, her hand only managing to get rid of one patch before another rolled in. "...to save mother."

"Quite." The two stood still like some sort of tapestry, one that managed to convey the concepts of grief, understanding, and desperation all in one until Max saw fit to alter the weaving. "That is why you refused to speak to me for so long, isn't it Sally? If I hadn't been so keen on holding onto the old ways, of preserving our country's traditions and customs, our way of life, then perhaps she'd still be alive. And now," he began to shout, starting to get indignant, "now that I have finally done as you so urged me to do, so that something like this among many other things might not happen again, you come in here and berate me despite having made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me for so long! I thought that at the very least, you would be grateful."

"Daddy," she started to say, before hushing it up at the last minute. "Father. I love you. I always have. And it was probably wrong and selfish and stupid of me not to talk to you after all these months. I just want to let you know how sorry I am."

"I know.

"That said." Sally closed her eyes and took a deep breath as though calling together her forces for the next round, gathering herself for another blow. "I understand why you're doing this, I truly do, but that doesn't change any of what I've said. If anything, it only makes it all a lot more foolish! I know, or at least I know now anyway, that you blame yourself for Mother's death. I blame myself too. But that's no excuse to start looking for any way to make up for that, regardless of the risks! I mean, do we even really know just who he is? What his background is? None of it adds up! It's a recipe for disaster, and you've become too blinded by sadness and remorse to see it!"

Any other ruler might have grounded their daughter on the spot for such behavior, and just several months ago, King Acorn might have been such a man. But he was no longer such a man. And as such, as he slowly opened his eyes and did his best to put aside his oncoming fury, he raised one finger and told her, in no uncertain terms, "Proof."

"Come again?"

"You heard me," said the King, not even quite sure whether to believe what he himself was saying. "If you, against all odds, can deliver to me proof that Robotnik is up to even so much as stealing cookies from the royal pantry, I will do everything in my power to investigate into him myself. Mind you, I still believe the odds of finding anything circumstantial are so low that, believe it or not, that's the reason I'm even considering letting you do this in the first place. Much as you might think otherwise, I am NOT a fool. Despite what I may have told you just a few minutes ago, I have ordered Director Who to look into Robotnik personally. One does need to be sure after all. But so far, the good Doctor has been squeaky clean. Not one of Who's or Deputy Director 's agents has found anything on him so far, or at least from those that have been sent have told me. So if you were to discover something where they have not, it would in all honesty be a miracle."

Sally wasn't quite sure what to think at first. She had believed that she was going to be sent to the stockades for sure. Perhaps that was a bit too an extreme an action, but in times past, her father was known to be somewhat extreme in his ways. Obviously, this was no longer the case. Obviously.

"You're serious?"

"Completely."

After a moment's pause, she then leaped towards him and squeezed him like a snuggly little teddy bear. "Oh thank you, daddy! Thank you thank you thank you! You won't regret this! I won't let you down!"

"Um, actually dearest, if you could let Daddy down, that would be much appreciated!"

She noticed that she had actually managed to lift her own father slightly off the floor in her jubilation, and blushing like a rose, she quickly placed him back down upon the ground in short order before slowly releasing her grip.

"Yes, quite. He brushed the dust off his uniform, as though the touch of his own daughter was in some way contagious. "In the meantime however, now that we seem to be back on speaking terms, do you think you could clean up a bit? After all, you still have your duties to attend to, and making yourself presentable for the Acorn Festival is one of them. Which I need to start getting ready for myself as a matter of fact."

"Ah. Quite." Clean herself up. Exactly. Of course. Terrific.

Just how in the name of Gaea was she going to do that?

As the sun continued to rise over the Green Hill Zone, a blue blur darted ever onwards across the checkered plains, hopping over treacherous pits, leaping up hills and mountainsides, and blazing through any obstacles that might happen to get in his way. As he continued to race across the green grass, he began to notice something rather peculiar. The checker patterns and hills became less frequent. The twisting pathways were disappearing altogether. And everything was starting to become, for lack of a better word, 'normal.' He noticed the decrease in hillsides and mountains and the increase in trees and distant villages as he sped through the plains, and only when it finally hit him did he grin like a maniac. He'd managed to finally reach it. The Wood Zone, heart of the Acorn Kingdom that ruled over all of South Westopolis Island.

He continued to dart forward like a bullet, only stopping himself when he finally reached the only proper ledge in miles. The blue hedgehog just barely kept himself from falling straight over to his death, his arms flailing about as he tried his best to regain his balance only to finally right himself at the last possible second. Wiping the sweat from his forehead in relief, he took a good long look down at the valley below. Straight at the center of it was the capital of the Acorn Kingdom, Mobotropolis. And as he rolled down the hill like a bowling ball out of control and on caffeine, he knew this was the place he wanted to be. For the next day or two anyway.

"Now just hold still, sugar!"

In a small salon in the East District of Mobotropolis, an orange rabbit in a purple dress was busy putting the finishing touches on a squirrel who in all honesty didn't seem to be sure if she should actually have been there. "Bunnie?"

"Yeah, Sal'?" She got a kit of makeup out from a shelf in the back of the salon before returning to who was at present her customer. Not that she hadn't had any guests in the past, but it wasn't exactly a hopping establishment to put it lightly.

"Thanks. For doing this I mean."

Bunnie smiled as though she were a Southern belle basking in the sunlight of a warm sunny day. "Well, it's not every day the Princess of the Acorn Kingdom comes into my shop wanting a makeover, is it? You sure you didn't want to have someone at the castle be doin' this for you?" She brought her kit over to Sally whereupon she began brushing light drops of eyeliner upon her eyelids in carefully calculated doses.

"No. To be honest, I've been feeling, I don't know, trapped I suppose."

"You, trapped? This coming from the gal who keeps on coming over every week incognito? Seems to me like you could go anywhere you please."

"You know what I mean, Bunnie. I know that one day I'm supposed to rule over the kingdom and govern the land and be the greatest ruler this country's ever seen, but sometimes, I'm just not sure if I've got what it takes. Or if I do, if it's really what I want to do with my life. And even then, that might be a moot point considering that I'm the only heir to the throne and—"

"Oh my stars!" Bunnie slapped one of her long furry orange ears with one hand as she applied some lipstick to Sally's face with the other. "Come on now, sugar. It's still gonna be years yet before you've gotta become Queen. No sense worrying about what may or may not even happen, or at least not anytime soon." She put down the kit on a nearby stool and grabbed a nearby pair of scissors, trimming the Princess' long flowing hair. "You ask me, you're makin' a whole lot of fuss about nothin'."

Sally began to fidget like a nervous wreck. "I know, but I can't help think about it anyway. What if something happens to Daddy and I'm stuck having to run the throne at sixteen? And what if I'm just not up to handling the responsibility?"

Bunnie continued to clip away at Sally's locks, leaving not a single strand of hair unclipped. "Sugar, that's something you're just goin' to have to work out yourself."

"It's more than that though." The wheels suddenly began to turn in Sally's noggin, so much so that they could practically be seen on her face. "You know about Robotnik, right?"

"How could I not? You keep tellin' me about him every time you stop by to visit."

Sally's arms folded together, her thoughts racing like wildfire. "It's just that something about him feels off. My Dad wants to believe that he came here from the Federation out of the goodness of his heart, that he truly wants to help us because he took pity on us of all things. I suppose he's just desperate to have any chance of competing with the rest of the world or even the other islands no matter how farfetched it is. But I just can't think that someone of that level of genius would come and help us for nothing in return. Maybe he just wants to be remembered for turning a third-rate kingdom into a global power, but I think he might have something else in mind. I just don't know what.'

"Well," said Bunnie, her clipping starting to slow, "whatever it is or isn't, there's no use in dwelling on somethin' that you don't even know might happen. I'm not saying you should forget about it or anything, but you shouldn't be letting this get to you. Sides, without any real proof, there's nothin' you can do."

"Proof," sighed Sally. "To be perfectly honest, when Daddy suggested the idea, I was ecstatic. And now that I'm actually thinking about it, I'm not really sure how to get it. I actually tried hacking into Robotnik's systems with Nicole before I came over, but it was a no-go. You'd think the fact that he's encrypted his systems with technology and programs that, even if I can't identify them, are still so advanced that we can't see so much as what Robotnik ate for breakfast today would be enough to tip Daddy off, but I think I'm going to need more than that."

"Uh, question sugar," said Bunnie, halting in her clipping. "Who's Nicole?"

"Oh, sorry. I must've been so distracted, I forgot I never even brought her up." Sally reached into a small satchel around her brown furry shoulder and, as though excavating a priceless heirloom, carefully pulled a small handheld computer out from its' depths.

"That's a computer, right sugar? I gotta' confess, I'm not really too good with all this fancy technology. Give me a pencil and a piece of paper any day."

Sally chuckled a bit. "That's okay, Bunnie. Nicole, say hi, won't you?"

The computer or Nicole immediately responded in as monotone and blunt a tone as possible, seemingly only interested in doing what was required and nothing else. "HI, WON'T YOU?"

"No, Nicole," said Sally, as though she were attempting to teach basic common sense to a newborn babe. "Just hi. Please?"

And like a broken record, Nicole gave the same exact result as before. "JUST HI. PLEASE?"

"Looks like Nicole here's a bit slow on the uptake," said Bunnie.

"ON THE CONTRARY," said Nicole, shocking Bunnie into silence while visibly irritating Sally, as if they'd gone through this same song and dance more than once. "I WAS ATTEMPTING TO GENERATE WHAT YOU LIFEFORMS REFERS TO AS 'HUMOR.' IT WAS MY THOUGHT THAT IF MY EXISTENCE WAS SIMPLY TO BE A MERE TOOL, I MIGHT AS WELL BE AN AMUSING ONE."

Bunnie dropped her scissors straight onto the hard wooden floor. "Holey moley! It can think?!"

"Yes," said Sally, "'she' can, thank you very much. As hard as it may be to understand, Nicole's more than just your run of the mill computer. She still doesn't have full emotions just yet, but at the very least, she's more than capable of independent thought. And she's learning by the day."

"My stars!" Bunnie mussed her fingers through her poofy peach-colored hair, almost as if to match her current state of mind. "Just where on Mobius did this contraption come from?"

Sally looked down at Nicole, like a mother remembering the day her daughter was born. "Daddy gave her to me for my birthday. He got it from an up and coming computer engineer from Starlight City. I'm still not really how he got hold of it or why. That's something else I've been trying to figure out for a while now. In any case, this was about 7 months ago, and me and Daddy, well, let's just say we still weren't talking just yet. Not after Mother. I was still indignant enough that he had to leave her right outside my bedroom!"

She giggled as though reminiscing about old times with a friend, which was in a sense what she was doing. "It was a bit silly, looking back. Especially after today. Still though, after about an hour or so of just whiling away the hours in my room out of sheer stubborn pride, I caved. I couldn't wait to see just what Daddy had bought for me, even if I was determined not to speak with him. And once I did, I think I made the best friend I've ever had. I guess now that we're back on speaking terms, that's something I'm going to have to thank him for."

"AFFIRMATIVE." Nicole's systems started to vibrate, almost as if she were in a state of happiness. At the very least, Sally would like to imagine this was the case. Who knows? Maybe she really was that happy. She'd certainly like to think so.

"Quite the story!" said Bunnie. "But that ain't gonna help you get your proof, ain't it?"

"Not really, no," said Sally. "To be honest, I'm not really sure what else to do. I mean, if I really wanted to, I could always waltz in like an idiot and say I'm here to inspect his work, that I'm a big fan or something, but…"

Bunnie filled up a spray bottle with water from the nearest sink, the shock of it all finally starting to wear off. "But what?"

Just then, the wheels in Sally's head began to turn like clockwork. As if in unison, Nicole's systems began to whirr, as though she had the same idea.

"That's it." Sally hopped out of her chair in a flash of a genius, or at least she was almost certain that was what it was. "The air ducts."

"What about the air ducts?"

"Don't you see? Everything else is going to be guarded, and now that I think about it, even if I tried to just tell Robotnik I'm only there to see his work, he'd probably just shut me out anyway if he really is up to something. But with the air ducts, I can sneak in with him being none the wiser.

"You sure about this, Sal? If Robotnik's up to something like you say, then if he catches on to what you're doing, you're toast."

"Maybe. But I've got to try. And besides, I'm not going in alone."

"That so?" Now she was curious. "Who'd you have in mind?"