Sonia awoke to a peaceful morning. It was so quiet! She loved having her own room! She rolled over to look at her clock. Then she realized that something was very wrong. Sure, the palace was quiet- too quiet for 7:30 AM. She got up and tip-toed over to her wardrobe, selected a dress and put it on. She then put on her favorite pair of shoes before running down the hall to Queen Aleena's room. Her brothers, Manic and Sonic, along with all the palace servants, were already crowded around the queen's bed, heads hanging sadly.

Something inside Manic told him to look up. He did, and he saw his sister standing in the doorway. He nudged Sonic. The two brothers ushered their sister out into the hall.

Once there, Sonia asked what was wrong. Sonic hated to have to tell her, but he knew that since Queen Aleena was her mother, too, she deserved to know the truth. "Well, sis, after you went to bed last night, Mom collapsed."

Sonia gasped in fear. "Oh, no; is she okay?" she nervously inquired.

Sonic hesitated. "No. She's dead," he finally admitted. Sonia's eyes filled with tears.

"We did all we could do for her, but she passed away during the night," Manic gently added.

"But we… we barely knew her! We've only been reunited for a month!" Sonia sobbed. Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps running down the hall, and they turned toward the sound. "Knuckles!" Sonia cried in relief as he stopped in front of her. She fell into his arms as he wrapped them around her. She laid her head on his chest and kept on crying as he began to speak.

"Oh, Sonia, I… I'm so sorry, Sonia! I came as soon as I heard. Your brothers called. They… they thought you might need a shoulder to cry on." Sonia glanced up at her brothers with a shocked expression on her face.

"You (sob) sent for him?" Her brothers smiled as best as they could under the circumstances and nodded. "Thank you (sob) so much!" Sonia cried. She turned her attention back to Knuckles. "Knuckles, what I (sob) love most (sob) about you is (sob) how you always (sob) seem to come when I (sob) need you (sob) the most," she managed before bursting into tears again.

"I hate to interrupt, Sonia, but I must ask if you wish to see Mom one last time before her funeral," Manic told her. Sonia could nothing but nod. Leaning on Knuckles for support, she followed her brothers as they led her to their mother's side. The closer Sonia got, the more she could swear she could still hear their beloved mother's voice calling her name. "Sonia… Sonia…"

Then, she felt an icy hand touch her arm the way only her mother ever had…