Lynkia, Akari, Sonicsis, Heart Reveries: Thank you guys a ton~ Love you all~ Please enjoy this chapter. :)

Arabian Nights

Sand. Nothing but sand for miles and miles. The weary traveler, a deep blue hedgehog named Sonic, stood out like an oasis as he ran through the desert. It was no stretch to say he was lost - each dune he passed appeared the same as the last, and the sands seemed to go on eternally. He tried to run in a straight line, thinking he'd eventually reach the end, but an endless sandstorm made him have to change direction. Sonic also attempted to follow the sun as it sunk further down into the horizon, but ran into the same challenges. No matter what he tired, nothing but desert as far as he could see. Though normally speedy, Sonic was slowed down by the the sand. It took more effort for him to wade his way through the ground, his favorite red shoes were sinking further in with each step.

Sonic was tired. He was sore. He was hungry and very thirsty. He was lost. And most of all, he was regretting his decision to explore the one place on the planet he hadn't explored yet. And he was beginning to see why he'd left it untouched. But his wanderlust always kept him coming back here, eager to see the Eternal Sands with his own green eyes.

The sun was giving way to a modest sunset - and Sonic knew that the temperature was about to drop dramatically. If he didn't find his way out of the desert soon, he would freeze, it would be too dark to see, and who knew what manner of creatures would come out then - scorpions were the least of his worries. If only he could find the edge of these sands, could find firmer ground where plants could actually take hold, he could speed up and get out -

The last few rays of sunlight glittered on the sands, painting them a light coral. If only he could find an oasis, one drop of water, he was getting weak and wouldn't last the night out here. Everyone told him his risk-taking would be the end of them, and Sonic hated to admit he was wrong. No. He wouldn't give up until the last breath was stolen from his sand-filled lungs. So the blue hedgehog trudged along, determined to find an escape. There had to be. Despite not seeing any sign of life for miles and miles, Sonic kept going. He wasn't about to lose to a desert. He desperately scanned his surroundings, looking for hope.

There. In the distance. A very faint smog above a faraway dune. A smoke signal? Sonic immediately changed direction and headed towards it, his shoes kicking up a sandwave behind him. After crossing the top of the dune, he spied a brightly colored tent, tinted even more lovely due to the sunset. Sure enough, a fire was lit inside, smoke billowing up towards the darkening sky. He made his way towards the tent, by this time panting yet dry as a bone, exhausted, and weary.

"Hello?" he called out in a raspy tone, surprised his voice even worked.

A female figure in the corner suddenly jumped up. She was covered completely in brightly covered fabric - except for her face. Before Sonic had time to react, a pink hedgehog was already running over to embrace him. Sonic was too tired to push her off, so he just stood there confused as she hugged him tightly, his throat burning.

"Water?" he gasped.

"Oh, sorry," she answered, and let go of him to to grab a leather flask. "I nearly forgot myself. I'm just so happy you made it. I was hoping tonight would be the night!"

Sonic snatched the flask from her and opened it, pouring the entire contents in his parched mouth. It felt like nectar from the gods, heaven's liquid, so sweet and refreshing.

"Feel better?" his companion asked. "How long have you been stuck in the desert?"

He gasped and laid down on his back, not caring about propriety at the moment, and just took a moment to catch his breath. "Too long. They named this place right, huh? Sands really are eternal here."

"In a way. My name is Amy Rose, by the way. I'm so happy you're here, I've been waiting on you. I've prepared a meal as well, if you're hungry…"

Sonic's ears perked up, and that was all it took to jump back on his feet. The girl offered him a full plate, and he didn't even care what it was, he gobbled it down in few seconds.

"Wow." The girl blinked, and then cleared his plate from him.

"Thank you," Sonic said as he recovered. He lied back down again, supporting his quills with his hands and closing his eyes. "For helping me. I may need to stay the night if it's not too much trouble. What're you doing all the way out here, anyway?"

"Of course you can stay the night. But, you really don't know? You have no idea who I am?"

"...no, should I?" he opened one eye to study the girl. The intensity of her gaze was creeping him out a little bit. She sat kneeling on her legs, her hands on her knees.

"I'm here because of the prophecy. That one day, a weary traveler, the world's greatest hero, would get lost in the Eternal Sands, and perish. In order to do our part, one of my people would have to stay out here in watch of him, in hope that we could prevent the prophesied disaster from taking the hero's life."

Now both of his eyes were wide open as he stared at Amy. "Wait. Lemme get this straight. Yer tellin' me, you've been waiting out here, in the middle of nowhere, for your hero - for me - to get lost and somehow find you?"

She nodded eagerly, a smile on her face. "Yes. I've been waiting my whole life to see you~"

Sonic burst out laughing, and Amy drooped. "Seriously? Not gonna lie, that's kinda lame- "

"Hey!" She suddenly yelled at him, and her angry tone made his blood freeze. "I just saved your life, remember? If I hadn't been out here in the 'middle of nowhere' waiting for you, you'd probably still be lost and the desert would have taken your life. Show some gratitude!"

She had summoned a gigantic hammer and held it over him. Sonic backed up so quickly, he ran into the back of her tent, his sharp spines cutting a small hole in it. The evening wind blew inside, dampening her fire.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," Sonic quickly apologized, raising his hands. "I am grateful, didn't mean to make you mad, or tear a hole in your tent, or - "

"Can't believe I waited all my life for you and you're an ungrateful and lazy jerk! And you destroyed my home, argh! You're not the hero I've been waiting for, you're just a dummy who went into the Eternal Sands for fun! You didn't even bring any water or food, did you?"

Maybe the fire was dying, but the flames in Amy's eyes more than made up for it. She was pointing her hammer right at him, ready to strike, and Sonic gulped. "No, I am a hero, I promise! Either way, you helped me out and I insulted you, that's my bad. Can you put that hammer down please…? Pretty please? As pretty as you are please?"

She blinked, the fire disappearing from her eyes, but the heat had transferred to her cheeks. "You think I'm pretty?"

Sonic nodded, relieved he'd found an opening. "Yes. You're very pretty. When I saw you after lookin' at nothing but sand for ages, you're the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen."

Her hammer instantly rose again. "You're lying. All you cared about was food and water and then you were gonna take a nap. You ignored everything I said to you!"

Sonic had had it with this girl. No one outdid his attitude. "Well, forgive me for getting lost in the desert! It's my job to protect the whole world, and so I just had to come here, too!"

"Well, forgive me for waiting here my whole life, and being your hero and saving you!"

"Forgive me for asking for water and food, like that's so horrible! It's your fault for living in this desert in the first place!"

"You took advantage of my hospitality! Ooooh, I should have listened when they said you'd try to charm me, you're lucky you're so handsome."

The two hedgehogs just stared at each other, emotions running wild.

"So, uh," Sonic finally spoke, the wind from the torn tent ruffling his quills. He raised a hand to the back of his head, not sure why he was suddenly bashful. "You really think I'm handsome?"

Amy lowered her hammer but still kept a tight grip on it. He could see her muzzle turning pink in the firelight.

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting, I mean, I was hoping and dreaming you'd be cute. When I was out here all alone, most of what I did was daydream about the day you'd come, and what you'd look like, and what you'd say to me." She gave a dreamy and romantic sigh. "And now you're here you're so dreamy and handsome yet such a jerk and it makes me mad." She pouted.

"Hey, I wasn't tryin' to be a jerk, I'm sorry, 'kay? I'll fix your tent, here.." he kicked up a wave of sand as he rushed around the tent, trying to find any loose pieces of fabric to repair the hole. In his haste, he kicked sand into the firepit, extinguishing it completely. The tent was now shrouded in complete darkness.

Despite his dehydration, Sonic could feel the cold sweat forming on his forehead. "Sorry… again… and, uh… for the record, I do think you're really pretty, wasn't lyin' about that, heh heh," he chuckled nervously.

Amy let out an audible sigh, and holstered her hammer. "It's for the best that the fire is out, we won't attract any beasts this way. Don't worry about my tent, now that you've finally showed up I can go home. So I'll have to pack it up anyway."

Sonic instantly felt bad. He wanted go go over to her and pat her back or something, but couldn't see exactly where she was in the darkness. "Hey, in the morning, I'll help you pack all this stuff and get you home, okay? Don't worry about that. As long as you know how to get out of this desert."

"Of course I do…" Sonic heard her footsteps across the blankets sprawled across the ground, and followed her as she opened the tent flap to head outside. He remained silently at her side as she looked at the bare sky. He had to admit, the wide view of the stars, thanks to the mostly flat horizon, was a gorgeous view.

"I can follow the stars and make it back to my people."

Sonic felt a softness against his glove, and realized Amy's hand had brushed his. He quickly took it, letting their fingers intertwine, and causing a shock of pleasant warmth through his heart.

"Where are your people?" Amy asked, and Sonic turned to look at her, shaking his head.

"Just me."

She squeezed his hand. "I see. I guess the life of a traveling hero like you can be a lonely one."

"I don't mind it."

The two continued stargazing for a few more minutes, holding hands and enjoying the evening.

Amy spoke. "You know I just realized I don't even know your name. I always just thought of you as 'the hero'."

"Heh, it's alright if you wanna call me that, but uh, name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. You've had to have heard of me?"

"Never by name. But Sonic, that's a nice name…" she started blushing again, and then leaned in closer, wrapping the rest of her arm with his and not just her hand. Her head rested on his shoulder.

"Huh. You'd be the first to not know me, but guess I can forgive it, considerin' you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

Amy didn't try to untangle their arms, but she glared at him.

"I'm glad you were, though. You did save my life, I'd be in a tough spot without you. So thanks. The more I think about it, you waiting out here just for me, the less I think what you did is lame, and more… "

"...romantic?" Amy finished for him, and pulled herself even closer, so their lips were almost touching.

The hero flushed scarlet. "I-I was gonna go with 'noble', but r-romantic works too…"

The girl stood on her tiptoes to steal a quick kiss from his lips. She went back to sand level, grinning and nuzzling into his shoulder. Not to be outdone, Sonic gently grabbed her chin to pull her in for another gentle peck - but the two of them turned it into a longer kiss, their lips dancing together in the starlight.