A/N: Originally intended to be a series, it now stands as a one-shot. Pretty self-explanatory once you read it. Oneshot, AU. Enjoy.
"Well you see... he's the genie of the magic lamp from the story of Aladdin."
- Shahra, Sonic and the Secret Rings
rara avis
And now, the curtain rises one last time, Amy thought as she rounded the bend of Night Palace and entered the dark, empty stretch of hallway before her. Let's set the stage for the finale. Out loud, she called, "Erazor! I know you're there!"
The djinn unfurled from a puff of smoke that seemingly erupted from mid-air before her. Amy felt a surge of apprehension and dread, her fingers of her left hand unconsciously moving to touch the ring sidled upon her right, making sure that it was still there. She would need all the help she could get from Shahra at this point.
"Ah," Erazor said, looking even more sinister than usual in the encroaching darkness. What little light the cooridor offered came filtering in through between columns and overhead, basking the genie in an eerie, half-trulescent glow. It gave him an even more otherwordly, ethereal-like quality - made him seem that much more imposing and dangerous. "It's the little pink brat again."
Amy tried her best to swallow her fear, bracing herself for what was surely going to transpire between them. She suddenly wished Sinbad had seen her further along - that he could be here now, standing alongside her, offering support and strength. Unfortunately, The echidna had abandoned her long before this final stretch. "My debt to you has been repaid," he had announced suddenly, hours before; the adventurer gestured out before them into the black unknown, speckled liberally with the far-away, distant stars and the crystal remains of a shattered palace. "From here on out, you will continue forth without my company." And just like that, he was leaving. She had whirled around to shout at his retreating back.
"You coward! You're going to leave a lady out here in the dark, defenseless and alone?!"
"You're hardly defenseless," Sinbad had said, pushing his tussled dreadlocks away from his face as he turned back to stare at her. His eyes openly stared at the front of her dress, where piko piko hammer was hidden within the confinements of cloth, toy-sized and waiting to be called upon again. "And you're definitely not alone." Those brilliant violet optics - so similiar to Knuckles' own, yet so entirely unfamiliar and different - flicked to the ring on her middle finger. "Be well, Desert Rose." And he was gone.
His exit had been hours before - and she was still pissed at him about leaving so uncermoniously. But even though her anger and resentment at his sudden departure, she couldn't help but wish she had a little extra muscle to help her with what was coming next. Especially since she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to go toe-to-toe with a djinn equipped with rippling muscles, an enormous sword, crackling black magic, and a bad attitude to match. She wasn't fast like Sonic, smart like Tails, or strong like Knuckles - any one of them, she was sure, would take on Erazor without so much as a second thought. Amy, however, inches away from a formidable adversary, was suddenly acutely aware of her short-comings - how her pace could only be leisurely at best, how her aim could be poor, how her reaction time could be painstakingly slow. Any of her friends were smart enough, brave enough, talented enough to have an edge here - either with natural ability or cleverness alone. Amy, however - Amy was ill-suited for battle, ill-suited for saving the world; it had been a mistake to allow herself to be dragged into this, to be sucked into the Arabian Nights - to take on the destiny and responsibility that was to be thrust upon the title of "Legendary Hedgehog." When Shahra had first came forth from the book, looking for a hero, Amy should have looked for Sonic straightaway, should have found the blue hedgehog and passed on the job description onto him -
Sonic, who was heroism manifested, a protagonist through and through - Sonic, who was brave and fast and true - Sonic, who was light of heart, a hedgehog to which saving the world from certain doom came easily - Sonic, her love, her mentor, her saint, her life -
Sonic -
There's no use dreaming, Amy thought, gritting her teeth. He's miles away from you, in another world. No one is going to help you get through this but yourself.
And, not exactly feeling re-assured by any means, Amy said, a lot more bravely than she felt: "I'm not a brat, I'm a hedgehog! It's time to finish this, Erazor, once and for all!"
"I agree entirely, girl," Erazor said airily, running one elegant finger along the razor-point edge of his enormous sword. "Do you have the Seven World Rings?"
"Yeah, funny thing, that," Amy said crossly, pulling out her own weapon of choice. Piko piko hammer came alive in her hands, the handle expanding rapidly like an extendable baton. The blunt edge of it ballooned up and out, suddenly becoming almost too big to be allowed - it was yellow and bright, lined with red, looking almost comical in her tiny, gloved hands. The hammer offered a stark contrast to the djinn's blade, glinting evilly in the moonlight. Amy held the weapon out before her, readying herself for the rapidly approaching battle. "I'm not your errand girl, Erazor. If you want the World Rings that badly, you'll go out there and get them yourself! And once you find those Rings, you know what you can do?"
The eraser lifted one eyebrow curiously.
"You can take those Rings and shove them up your ass!"
Inside the confines of her mind, Shahra groaned. Amy! the little genie admonished, and Amy knew she had gone too far; no doubt, Erazor would be especially angry with her now. The purple djinn's face had contorted up into an ugly shape, looking slightly taken aback and highly offended by the statement. Still, putting on a good face made Amy feel a little more brazen. Her words were very reminiscient of something Sonic would have said, she thought, and in realizing this she felt a little more confident about the fact that there was no turning back now.
"Have a death wish, do we?" Erazor said finally, having at last recovered from shock. The faintest trace of a smile was pulling at his cruel lips. "Hrm, if you are so adamant in fighting me, I suppose I shouldn't deny you any longer. Death... ah, yes. This is one wish I would be happy to grant."
Shahra, grant me protection! Amy thought desperately as the purple spirit charged, his lethal sword swinging out to meet her.
The battle was a long and grueling one, most of which Amy spent dodging a flurry of never-ending attacks. She chased the Djinn down the seemingly infinite stretch of hallway, bringing up piko piko hammer to parry his thrusts, sometimes opting over to jump over them completely. She swung wildly, side-stepping and twirling as she did so, their interaction like a cherographed dance. Amy had decent stamina, and for a while, it was simply finding a break in his pattern and seizing the opportunity to strike - almost like simple clockwork, really. As their fight continued to drag on, however, the Erazor Djinn's stabs and slashes became more erratic and sudden, becoming harder to dodge. There were several near-misses, and actual collisions in which rings were lost and Amy had to scramble to recover some, snatching them from the floor just in the nick of time.
My power is waning, Shahra warned her. I don't know how much longer I can hold out...
The columns of the palace were going whipping past as they raced down the hallway, Amy's mind a whirlwind of fear and anxiety that was flying even faster. The Erazor cackled with delight, feigning left, and then right, just to watch her leap and stumble, trying to rectify her mistake in mid-air. He's playing with me, Amy thought, her breath coming out in explosive little gasps. Each intake of air was a struggle now, her head feeling light-headed as below, her legs felt as though they were turning into rubber. Her chest was heaving, her heart was hammering in her chest, and she was beginning to lose her momentum -
Oh Shahra, Amy thought desperately, eying the glittering edge of Erazor's sword with a mixture of terror and dread, this was a mistake! I wish Sonic was here, he could finish this...
Her feet began to drag, and so Erazor slowed down as well, trailing in mid-air just a foot or so before her. He was watching her amusedly as she trotted along, becoming slower and slower until she was half-walking, partially hunched over at the waist as she tried desperately to regain her breath. She could feel her face burning. I can't let it end this way, she thought, hefting piko piko hammer in front of her, preparing herself for her final stand. I have... to keep... fighting!
"Your persistence is commendable," Erazor said loftily, looking her up and down appreciatively. Amy grimaced, her expression hardening. "That's why it's such a shame, to have to do this--" And his hands raised high above his head, the sword whistling as it came down in a lethal, metallic arc--
There was a sudden flurry of movement, and Erazor was knocked backwards, his blade swinging wildly around as its mark was missed entirely. "What the--" he and Amy began at the same time, but then she saw it - a streak of familiar blue, aiming straight for the back of Erazor's head -
No, her mind whispered. It can't be--
"Hey, ugly!" Sonic said, after administering a rather fantastic blow on the back of Erazor's head. He had his hands on his hips, the tattered baggy pants slung low around his slender hips. "Don't you know you're never supposed to hit a lady?"
"You rat!" Erazor snarled, slashing sideways with his sword. He was incredibly quick, Amy had to admit - but still no match for Sonic the Hedgehog, whose speed was unrivaled in any world. The hedgehog simply jumped over what could have been a fatal blow, curling up into a classic sonic spin and aiming for the face. There was a roar of rage and pain as sharp spines met Erazor's face.
"I will destroy you!" he roared. "I am immortal! Eternal! You cannot defeat me!"
"Yeah, whatever," Sonic said. He was already on his feet again, his brilliant green eyes locking with Amy. The little pink hedgehog was so stunned, so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, that she found she couldn't speak. "Let's ditch this freak, whaddya say?" he asked, and Amy's mouth moved stupidly, unable to produce neither sound nor simple words. Sonic didn't really appear to be waiting for an articulate reply, regardless - he swooped Amy up into his strong, wiry arms and suddenly shot down the hallway, already miles away before the Erazor Djinn could recover.
They rounded a bend and exploded into the dark, sandy dunes of the desert beyond. The cool air shook free the fragments of Amy's reverie and she snuggled closer into Sonic's chest as they raced through the night. "I'm so glad to see you," she whispered into the soft fur of his throat. "Oh, Sonic--"
"Wha?" She felt him stumble on the sloping hills beneath them and she looked up, alarmed. The cobalt hedgehog looking slightly taken aback by the statement. "Who's Sonic?" he asked her earnestly, one browridge cocked in curosity. "My name is Aladdin."