Chapter 1

Robotnik walked through the mansion, listening to the sounds of music echoing through the halls. He went to the room that was his nephew's nursery when he was a baby. It was his favorite room. He longed for children of his own but Bartleby was a few months old before Maria had become pregnant and neither of them would ever get to hold their precious baby. He sighed as he looked through the room. He looked at the photographs of the boy.

"Julian…." A voice echoed through the mansion and he turned. He hurried after the voice. It called his name again and again. As he grew closer, the voice became decidedly more feminine. He came to the living room and froze. A young minkette smiled at him lovingly from her place by the piano. "You found me. You found me at last." She ran to him and he caught her in his arms.

"Maria!" He twirled her around and kissed her deeply, feeling varied emotions churning inside him until he could only cry, kissing her over and over again. "Oh, Maria… Maria…"

She cried with him as she returned his affection. "Julian, I have missed you so much."

He wept. "You're all I've been able to think about for so long… Am… am I… are we together forever now?" Perhaps it was best. Aleena would never return his love. He could be happy here.

She giggled. "We'll always be together, Julian. There is not one moment when I am not by your side. But no, you are still alive. But…" She grew stern and pulled away. "We need to talk." She directed him to the couch in the way Robotnik had often done to Bartleby when he was in trouble.

He had the grace to look chastised as he sat down. "Before you begin, Maria, I want you to know that I was only trying to protect Bartleby and make sure that he became king. It is only right that he be king after what Aleena took from him."

Maria shook her head. "Julian, you've been running on the assumption that she is the one who told her father about us." She frowned. "Aleena was our friend and she promised not to tell."

"Then how did her father find out about us? How did…" He shook his head. "No one else knew. She's the only one who could have told."

She put a hand on his. "It wasn't her. I won't tell you more because you need to talk to her and make things right. But it wasn't her. You've been blaming her for all this time but she kept our secret and would have taken it to the grave." Robotnik looked in her granny-smith apple eyes and knew she spoke the truth. "But even if she had, you know she would have meant well. She cared about us, she cared about you. I'm very disappointed in you. I asked you, I begged you, not to seek revenge. I knew it would change you."

He couldn't deny that she was right and he looked down sadly. "I'm sorry, Maria. I've disgraced you. You and our child. I'm sorry…"

She put her arms around his shoulders. "It's not too late to fix things, Julian. And I know you've forgiven Aleena. I just thought you should know that she didn't tell."

The old man looked at the floor. "I blamed her wrongly. She doesn't need to be forgiven. I have to beg forgiveness from her. I'm sorry, Maria. I'm sorry." He wept with guilt and pain. "I just… losing you… losing our baby… Albern and Delilah. I had no one. Bartleby was the only thing in my life that I truly cherished."

She rubbed his back soothingly. "I know. It's been so hard for you. I can see that. You're only 46. You should not have had two heart attacks this close together at your age." She held him. "Promise me that you will start taking care of yourself. Get rid of the hatred that has poisoned you."

Robotnik nodded and sighed. "I promise. Um… speaking of Albern and Delilah, how are they? Are they here too?"

Maria kissed his cheek. "No, they couldn't come. There's a rule that only one of us could come and naturally, it had to be me. They're well though. Delilah teaches a class of children to be prepared for their rebirth. Albern helps to keep the books straight."

"And… and our child? How is he or she… I never even got to know…" His lip trembled dangerously and she stroked his bald head.

She smiled. "Well, as she never got to be born she was reincarnated almost immediately… She's currently in your world. She's in her early twenties and she's very intelligent for her age. Very much like you."

"Do you know where she is? Where can I find her? I just… I know she's not mine anymore but to know that she is happy and well…" It would at least provide closure.

Maria giggled. "I'm not going to say. Only that you have met her, you just didn't know it." She kissed his nose. "When it's time for you to wake, you'll need to find her."

He nodded. "And when will that be? If she's out there, I must find her now. If I've met her… it's possible I need to beg her forgiveness too."

"Not for a while yet. Don't worry my husband. We'll just enjoy being together until then." She sat on the couch and spread out, laying her head on his lap. "And I know she'll forgive you." She raised a hand up to play with his mustache as she used to. "I will always love you and I am so happy that you have moved on. Aleena will come around and when she does, I know she'll be good for you."

His eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "I've been alone for so long. Maria… how could I have been so stupid? All this time I thought I hated her and her children but… It was love. It was always love."

She giggled. "I know… Love is weird. And sometimes we react to it in different ways. At the time, you weren't ready to love her. Now you are. And it's okay." She sat up. "Would you care for a drink?"

He stood. "I would love one. Let me help you…" If only for a short time, he had his wife back. Maria would always be his first love.

When Aleena returned home, she found her children watching television and obediently laying in bed. She held a well-tied plastic bag and inside that bag was the promised cups of soup. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Sonia shrugged. "My stomach's been a little queasy but these two are fine." She smelled the soup and ran to the bathroom.

Aleena frowned. "Has she been getting sick all morning?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah but maybe she was sicker than us. Or maybe she's still sick."

"Yes, that must be it…" Aleena accepted the response. It couldn't be the potion and it was too soon for… that... Right? "But maybe chicken soup is the wrong thing for you dear."

Sonia called back. "Maybe I'll just have some toast. Or saltines." She came back out and rummaged through the cupboards until she found a pack of crackers. In the fridge, she found a bottle of ginger ale. "This should help."

Aleena nodded. "You three should be well enough to start school tomorrow." She showed them each a blazer with an emblem sewn on. "You were supposed to start at the community college a week ago but then you got so sick. But you'll start tomorrow. I know you were so upset at missing the first day." She kissed her daughter's forehead.

She smiled at her maternal affection. "I love school… I can't wait." Something just didn't make sense. Something felt missing. It felt like she was missing years from her life.

Aleena nodded. "Now, I've got to get back. But I've got some good news when I get home." She hated leaving them alone but she needed to work.

Sonia watched her leave while her brothers joined her at the dining room table. "Guys, do things feel weird to you? School? And… I've been through this apartment. It's just the one room and bed."

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "I don't know. Mom said we were really sick. Feverish and delirious…"

"Sonic, I don't remember how old I am right now. It feels as though I'm missing years worth of memories…" She ate her saltines. "Maybe I'm just tired…" She looked down, feeling a heaviness in her chest. A knock at the door interrupted her reverie. There was no one outside, just two baskets of roses. "Oh! Someone left us roses." She pulled them in. The card sticking out of one had her name in fancy script. "Oh, I love roses." She took a deep breath and a face flashed before her eyes. "Whoa!" She read the card. "To the most beautiful hedgehog that I know. From a secret admirer. How sweet. And Manic, this one is for you."

Manic grinned. "Wow! Wonder who is sending us flowers." He went looking for a couple vases. Together they got the flowers into the water.

Sonic chuckled. "Well, I'm jealous now. My brother and sister both have admirers." They both smacked him gently.

Sonia smelled the roses again. She loved the smell. "Well, we won't find out today I think. Let's play a game." She tried to put her concerns out of her mind. It must be the fever. She went to the window and looked out before laying back in bed, curling in on herself. The flowers had cheered her a little but it just reminded her that something was not right.

Manic and Sonic looked at each other as they watched her start crying. Manic sighed. "Could she be right?"

Sonic shook his head. "I don't know…" He sat beside his sister and gently rubbed her back.

From their apartment, he could look out the window and see her apartment. Sleet had the wisdom to get a telescope and had positioned it just so. "She's crying…" His own lip shook terribly. "I miss her so much…"

The wolf nodded. "Aleena can remove her memory of you from her head but she can't remove the love she feels. That's your ticket. You need to tap into those emotions. Get her to associate them with you. I hadn't gotten that far with Manic but tomorrow, I intend to start my courtship once more."

Bartleby chuckled and wiped his eyes. "Courtship? Last time I heard it phrased that way, Uncle was telling me about how he fell in love with Aunt Maria."

Sonia fell into a deep sleep and found herself waking in a beautiful mansion. It was made of marble and alabaster. The floors were carpeted with a fine fabric. She walked through the mansion, hearing ghostlike whispers that she followed into the living room. A young mink sat with a glass of wine. She smiled at the pink hedgehog.

"Hello dear. Would you like to join me for a glass of wine?" She gestured for Sonia to join her. Somehow, Sonia knew she could trust the woman and she nodded.

"Thank you…" She sat beside her and accepted the glass of fine red wine. "Who are you? I feel like I should know you."

The minkette stroked her pink hair. "My name is Maria Montclair-Robotnik and you are Sonia Hedgehog. I'm your guardian angel."

"I didn't know I had a guardian angel…" Sonia admitted. "Are you here because of how confused I am?"

Maria nodded. "I'm here to see you through this trial. Don't worry my dear. You will come through it and you will be stronger for having done so." She kissed the fuschia forehead, pulling her gently to her shoulder. "Just trust the rose."

Sonia nodded and let the woman comfort her. This felt familiar, this felt comforting. What her mother was doing wasn't comforting. It was confusing and unsettling. She didn't like it.

AN: Aleena didn't take into account that Sonia's not stupid and her bond with Bartleby is so strong. Why is Maria Robotnik comforting Sonia? How does Sleet plan to begin courting Manic? And if Aleena didn't tell her father then how did he find out about Robotnik?