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Sonic the Hedgehog Publication Details Issue  155 Date Published  November 2005 Publisher  Archie Comics Production Staff Cover Artist Sanford Greene Writer Ken Penders Pencils James Fry Inks Jim Amash Letters John Workman Colors Jason Jensen Editor Mike Pellerito Managing Editor Victor Gorelick Editor in Chief Richard Goldwater Special Thanks Rober Leffler and Dyna Lopez at Sega Licensing First Appearances Characters Glint Locations Vesuvio

Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 155 was the one hundred and fifty-fifth issue of the main Sonic the Hedgehog comic series.

Summary

Story One

"Line of Succession" Part One

Staying as a guest in the castle of King Leonus, King Max is approached by Antoine with a nightcap and consolation about their failure to convince the King to join their coalition. As Max remarks that Robotnik's limited interest in that particular region leaves the citizenry reluctant to join in on the war, with Antoine's agreement, he is unaware that Antoine is watching him drink with anticipation. Feeling ill, Max lies down to sleep while Antoine goes out to stand guard, scheming to himself regarding his plans to take over the Kingdom. Back in Knothole, Tails is wandering through the forest looking for Sonic, when how should he spot him but embracing and kissing Fiona Fox! Tails is immediately upset, and questions how Sonic could become involved with her, of all foxes, which briefly affronts her, and she demands to know, of Tails, why he'd been acting so weird around her. Tails then explains that he met a robot duplicate of her when he was younger, and after the real version turned up he was hoping that there might be hope for a relationship between the two of them. Fiona then reminds Tails that the robot he fell in love with was based on her at a much younger age, and that she is now five years older than Tails. She then tells him that although she likes him, it's not in a romantic way, and that she's more interested in boys closer to her own age, such as Sonic. Tails is devastated, and then becomes livid, screaming "I HATE YOU!!!" in Sonic's face. As he storms off, Sonic at first wants to go after him, but is convinced by Fiona that nothing he does will make him feel better.

Meanwhile, the royal shuttle is closing in on Knothole, with Antoine assuring Queen Alicia that he has alerted Doctor Quack regarding their imminent arrival. The doctor soon has the King checked out, the two old friends joking over the King's long history of medical dilemmas and the doctor's role in helping him through it. He then recommends plenty of bed rest and provides Antoine with a jar of pills to give the King, unaware that the scheming Coyote has other plans in mind. Later, he admits Sally to her father's bedchamber, where she greets her parents only to be informed that her father intends to step down as king due to his failing health. He then informs her that she will be elevated to queen, and that she must marry in order for there to be a king. Once again Max names Antoine as his choice for Sally's husband-to-be, unaware that he is listening outside with obvious satisfaction. As she had on a previous occasion, Sally immediately objects to the thought of an arranged marriage, leading Max to cruelly remind her what happened the one time she let her choose her own consort. He then remarks that he's glad she and Sonic broke up before she could have married "that commoner", leading Sally to storm from the room in tears.

At the Hedgehog residence, Sonic plays on his guitar, leading his mother to request that he play Strawberry Valley, though he objects. His mother than goes to answer the door, and Bunnie then comes to Sonic's room with a distressed look on her face. At his prompting, she grabs him and sobs that Sally and Antoine are going to be married, inflaming Sonic and sending him running through Knothole to the castle. He is furious that Sally would get married without telling him, even with their stormy history of late, but is even more angry when Antoine blocks his path. Antoine refuses to let him pass, and startles Sonic by drawing his sword when the Hedgehog refuses to be hindered. The two then struggle briefly, and with unprecedented skill Antoine stops Sonic and boots him off the bridge they were standing on. He then warns him that he could have killed him as a threat to the royal family, and remarks that "Next time I won't be so generous!"

Antoine then goes to visit Sally in her room, and in response to her queries about why he would want to go through with the marriage cites that though neither of them wants to marry the other, they have their duties to the Kingdom to think of. Sally then laments that she had hoped for a fairy tale ending, only for her father to fall into a coma the next morning. Realizing that her father may not recover, Sally decides to honor his last request and marry Antoine, out of duty to country and family, and, more likely, out of the anger and hard feelings she still harbors toward Sonic for choosing to fight instead of being her liege. Elsewhere, Sonic leaves his home despite his mother's objections, leaving Jules to reassure his wife that Sonic will be all right. Sonic contemplates breaking into the wedding and getting Sally away, but decides that it would be better to seek help. While he is gone, the wedding takes place, and Sally-though she is unhappy with the situation and knows it will take a long time to get over Sonic-goes through with the ceremony as the Chaotix and Freedom Fighters look on uncertainly.

Story Two

Dulcy the Dragon in "Price of Flame" Part One

The Freedom Fighters hold a pep rally to celebrate Dulcy's contributions to the war effort against Robotnik, and ask her to light the bonfire. Upset and tearful, she takes off, leaving the Freedom Fighters puzzling over why she would leave, while Sonic remarks that they haven't actually seen her use her fire breath in a long time. As she continues to fly away, Dulcy thinks about her childhood, when Dragons lived on Mobius' surface without fear of its other inhabitants. Then came the day when Robotnik's forces came after the Dragons, Roboticizing them and leaving Dulcy an orphan. However, she was not the last of her kind: others of her colony had also escaped, and led by the Dragon elder Glint they made their way to the ancient city of Vesuvio, ancestral homeland of the dragons. Other dragons had also made their way there, and they soon formed a new civilization with Glint as their leader, leading to a ban on interaction with the surface world. Unfortunately, the homesick Dulcy longed for the surface world, and eventually discovered a fissure that allowed her to leave. During her first real flight outside, she met Sonic and Sally as they were being menaced by SWATbots and saved them with a blast of her fire breath. She then accepted an invitation from them to join the Freedom Fighters, but was eventually found out by the other dragons. As punishment, her black singe ring was removed and replaced with a gold ring that prevented her from breathing fire, and she left Vesuvio in disgrace. After years of aiding the Freedom Fighters without her fire and suffering through depression over her punishment, Dulcy decides to return to Vesuvio and plead for her punishment to be lifted. She lands just outside the main entrance, but is then blasted by one of Robotnik's "Mecha-Dragons", Dragons who remained as Robians despite the efforts of the Bem. Robotnik then gloats over his success in at last locating Vesuvio by observing Dulcy, and orders his Dragons to invade the city and claim its energy and inhabitants for him.

Key Events

• Sonic finds out about Sally's marriage to Patch.
• Tails catches Sonic kissing Fiona and is furious with him.
• The origin of Dulcy the Dragon is revealed.
• An army of Robian Dragons, unaffected by the Bem De-Roboticization, follows Dulcy to Vesuvio.

Background Information

• This is the first issue to foreshadow the eventual fight between Sonic and Tails in StH: #178.