Arabian Nights into Days: Pt 1
And so as the young prince and princess leapt into the boat to escape the anger of the powerful djinn, the two sailed away from the mysterious tropical island and back to the palace of the sultan. There they lived out the rest of their days in happiness and splendor.
"Oh wow. That was so boring, it almost put me to sleep." Sonic thought aloud, stifling a yawn. "Amy might like this kind of mushy stuff, but it sure isn't for me." The hedgehog lay on the floor of his cabin in Knothole. The book titled the Arabian Nights opened at his feet. The blue blur had injured his shoulder in a recent battle with the Black Arms and the doctor had ordered him to avoid missions for the next few weeks.
"Dr. Quack won't let me go out and juice, today." He sighed. "But at least I have these very exciting books to keep me company." The hedgehog flipped through the pages of the novel without thinking. Clearly bored at what he was doing, but it was when he turned to a page with the image of a ring that he stopped. Staring as the circular ornament on the page began to glow.
"Welcome, O noble reader of the Arabian Nights." A female voice called out. Sonic looked around trying to find where the voice came from.
"Huh? Who's there?"
"Do not be afraid, O noble hedgehog of the book. I am Shahra, genie of the ring. And I most desperately need your aid." Suddenly, the ring leapt out of the pages of the book and landed on the surprised hedgehog's finger.
"Hey, what gives?" Sonic asked gazing at the glowing gold jewelry on his hand. "What do you want with me?" A cloud of smoke uncoiled from the ring revealing a beautiful human-looking woman dressed in Middle Eastern clothing with pointy ears and a long ponytail.
"I come from the distant land of Shamar where the people have fallen under the rule of the evil Erazor Djinn. You must come and help us to defeat this great evil."
"Let me guess, you want me to come and jump into a book, right?" Sonic asked shaking his head. "What do you think this is, some kind of weird video game?"
"No… I only use the book to reach out to someone who could help us." Shahra replied. "My land is a real place that is in real danger. Will you help us or will you not?"
"Well, I can't just turn down a plea for aid." Sonic replied. "So, I guess I can lend you a hand." After Shahra heard this, she snapped her fingers and the blue blur was healed, his cast falling away. "Whoa, I didn't know you meant literally." As the genie snapped her fingers again, a carpet appeared beneath him. "So, what other tricks you got? You going to pull a rabbit out of your hat?"
"No, I shall take us to the place where we are needed." She answered. "Sqadalah, we're off." Then, the carpet flew away from Knothole.
"Wait, NOOOO!" Sonic called out as the carpet disappeared back into the pages of the book. The doorway to the distant land on the other side of the world.
In the distant land of Shamar, the trio emerged from a copy of the same book landing on the streets of a nearly abandoned town on the other side of Mobius.
"Wow, that's the first time. I've ever traveled by book." Sonic declared, covering his mouth. "Ugh. I think I'm going to be sick from that trip."
"Huh?" Shahra asked. "This is strange." She looked around. "I've never seen the marketplace so empty. "I wonder where everyone has gone."
"Um… it's night time."
"Oh yeah… time difference." The genie shook her head in disbelief. "I guess I should have picked you up in the middle of the night instead." It was then, the two heard the muffled scraping of several masked guards wielding scimitars.
"You, hedgehog." A guard said. "What are you doing out after curfew?"
"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog and I do whatever I want, whenever I want." The blue blur replied defiantly. "If you think, you can order me around. You got another thing coming."
"Why you little commoner, how dare you." The angry guard pulled out his blade. "I shall have my guards teach you a thing or two about respect." Armed with spears, the guards charged at Sonic only to have his light speed dash attack knock them down like bowling pins.
"Uh, looks like you guys aren't fit to shovel dung at the bazaar." Sonic made a face, zipping out the door.
"Don't just stand there, you idiots." The captain of the guard yelled. "After him!"
"Great. They're coming after me." Sonic yelled back to the genie. "What am I to do?"
"Do what the hero of any story does, noble hedgehog." She replied simply.
"And that is?" Sonic asked, running for cover.
"Stay ahead of them and outsmart the palace guards."
"You mean I gotta keep on jump ahead of trouble?" Sonic replied, spinning around a pole and kicking one of the guards. "Gotta keep swing ahead of the sword?"
"As long as you don't steal what you can't afford." The genie replied.
Kicking one of the guards down, Sonic pulled his scimitar out of the thug's belt and began swinging it around.
"LOOK OUT!" one of the guards shouted. "HE'S GOT A SWORD!"
"MORON! WE ALL HAVE SWORDS!" The captain stated. They charged ahead swinging their blades wildly at the hedgehog. Blocking each blow as he was forced back, Sonic curled up into a ball and buzz-sawed his way through all of the soldiers.
"Have a nice trip guys." The hedgehog exclaimed. "See you next fall." Zipping out the door as a pinwheel of death, the blue blur raced down the deserted street past an old drunk in an alleyway with the sultan's whole army in hot pursuit.
"Wait, did I just see a blue hedgehog holding a scimitar being chased by a bunch of palace guards?" The drunk held his small bottle of liquor out and turned it upside down. "That's it. I'm through."
"Okay, so. We manage to ditch those kooky guards." Sonic said. "Where do we go now?"
"We must seek out the cave of amazement to enlist the aid of Ali Baba and his forty thieves." Shahra replied. "It will be a long and dangerous trek through the desert filled with adventure and peril."
"Oh, that's not a problem. We can just do the whole trip as a montage sequence." Sonic replied. "Do you know where a chili dog stand is?"
"I can't believe you are asking that." The genie replied with a face palm. "This is the great hero who will save our kingdom? I was expecting a knight in shining armor or a great warrior with a powerful blade."
"Well, when I think of a genie. I expect either Robin Williams or Barbara Eden." Sonic replied, sarcastically.
"Why don't we just concentrate on getting where we need to go?" Sonic rubbed his stomach. "After we get some grub."
"You wish to have food, O noble hedgehog?" The genie bowed. "What is the dish that you desire?"
"Oh cool. Could you make me a chili dog?" Sonic asked eagerly. "I wish for you to make me a chili dog."
"As you wish, master." She replied, snapping her fingers. Sonic felt a little funny at first. Then, noticed he was standing slightly taller than before.
"Hey, what gives?" The hedgehog asked. "Where's the chili dog I ask for?" Just then, Sonic noticed several villagers gathered into the alleyway all staring at him and licking their lips greedily.
"You asked me to make you a chili dog." The genie replied. "And so, you are a chili dog."
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Sonic stared for a moment before screaming and running away on his still blue hedgehog legs with the entire village in hot pursuit of the strange giant coney with legs.
"Looks like this is going to be the start of a wonderful adventure." She giggled. "I just hope he is able to survive it."
Over deserts and through jungles, they travels facing scorching heat by day and chilling cold by night. Sonic cut and hacked his way through the undergrowth facing the harsh inhabitants of this dangerous land. The pair came within danger several times, but always managed to find their way out of peril.
"Wow, can you believe how hard it was to get away from those mummies in the Pyramid?" Sonic asked as they came up over one of the dunes. "I don't believe we've ever faced such a dangerous foe."
"Oh yeah? Well, I think the sand worms of Crawler Canyon were a much worse threat than those nasty little monsters were." The genie replied with a sigh. "What an incredible time we've had it would have been truly tragic to have missed a single moment of our wonderful adventure."
It wasn't long before they came to a small mound of sand in the middle of the waste. Looking out over the vast expanse, the blue blur turned to look at Shahra.
"Well, we've reached the spot you told me about." Sonic noted, looking around. "It's time for you to open the way, so we can meet Abi Baba."
"As you wish master." She replied, putting her hands together and unleashing a small glowing ball of magic. "Mecha-leka-hi. Mecha-hiney-ho." The ball of light split in two and zipped into the small mound. The two broken parts became eyes as the massive head of a giant wolf came up out of the sand.
"Hey, that looks just like Antione." Sonic stated. "How'd he end up out here in the middle of the desert?"
"Who disturbs my beauty sleep?" the large head asked. "I was just dreaming about a giant princess head when you awoke me."
"Oh great and wise, guardian of the Cave of Amazement. We seek to enter the lair of Ali Baba."
"Foolish ones, not just any may enter the realm of the Great Ali Baba. How dare you assumed that you are worthy to stand in his presence?" Looking away from the giant scary talking stone head, Sonic noticed the sound of the booming voice was coming from a small tent nearby. Going over and pulling back the tent flap, Sonic saw a familiar two-tailed fox in a turban and vest working the controls in front of him. "Pay no attention to the little fox behind the curtain."
"You got to be kidding me?" Sonic groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Eh-he. Hey, Aladdin, what are you doing here?" the fox said.
"Tails, give it a rest." Sonic sighed. "I've been on a crazy adventure through the desert with this goody-two-shoes genie here."
"Hey, I resemble that remark." Shahra replied.
"Tails? Whom do you speak of?" The fox asked, confused. "I am Ali Baba. Master of the forty thieves."
"Well then, if you're Ali Baba? Then, where are the rest of your thieves?" Sonic asked raising an eyebrow.
"They… decided to seek employment elsewhere." The fox replied sadly. "They decided they had enough of being thieves and decided to go into the blood thirsty world of telemarketing."
"Wow. That truly is evil." Sonic answered.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"Why I'm going to help you save the princess, of course." Ali Baba replied. "The princess needs your help right away."
"Whoa, now. There's a princess involved?" Sonic answered. "Wait, you're telling me there's a princess here." Sonic looked up at the genie in anger. "Seems like something you could have mentioned earlier."
"I'm very sorry about that, master." Shahra bowed to him again. "But you kind of didn't ask."
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway." The two-tailed fox replied. "We must go to the ocean shore and recruit the mighty Sinbad." Ali Baba declared holding his fist up high. "No matter what foul up occurs, we shall fulfill our destinies."
"Great." Sonic thought. "Another crazy adventure I've been roped into." He rolled his eyes. "Oh well, maybe I'll get to try some exotic new form of chili dog. Whatever the case, it's time to go on another wacky adventure."
