Arabian Nights into Days: Pt 2

"Are you guys sure this is the place?" Sonic asked, noting the foul stink of alcohol and hookahs. "It seems like too nasty place to find a hero like Sinbad."

The entire group looked nervous as every eye in the place glared menacingly at them. Several of the turban thugs started to reach under their coats for knives and daggers they were carrying. Shahra gave them a nasty look as Sonic and company passed before continuing on towards the bar.

"Of course, we'll find the brave sailor here. I heard he was back from his latest adventure at sea, and I think that he could really be of help to us." Abi Baba said. "Don't worry, Aladdin. I'm sure Sinbad will be happy to help us." He looked around nervously. "Just please, don't bring up how you beat him at cards last time."

Sonic had little time to wonder about what the fox was talking about as the three approached a large table in the center of the tavern.

"Come on, you weaklings. Is this the best you got?" The tall echidna with a Shepard's turban on his head declared, hitting his elbow on the table again. "Can none of you defeat me in an arm wrestling contest? Am I fated to be the strongest mobian in all of Shamar?"

"Sinbad, old buddy." Ali Baba greeted him, running up to the table. "We thought we might find you here. Care to join us on another dangerous life-threatening adventure?"

"Sure, I'll be happy to join you, old friend." The echidna's face turned angry. "Just as soon as this infidel here, apologizes to me for cheating at cards last time."

"WHAT!? No way am I apologizing for what a look-a-like did." Sonic answered angrily. "If I did that, I would be saying sorry to Shadow's victims every five minutes." The two proud mobians glared at each other for several minutes until Ali Baba spoke up and broke the silence.

"Hey guys, shouldn't we be going and not looking each others' eyes?" The little fox asked. Then, Sonic and Sinbad gave him a weird expression towards him. After several minutes of silence, Sinbad finally spoke.

"I'll tell you what, lampboy. If you can beat me in an arm wrestling contest, I'll go along on your little journey. No apology needed. So, what will it be? Care to test your muscles against mine?"

"You're on, Knucklehead." Sonic agreed, putting his elbow down on the table. "If kicking your butt is what it takes to save this kingdom, then gladly embarrass you for the thousandth time."

"Alright, I will face you." Sinbad replied, clasping the hedgehog's hand. "But this time, we're going to make sure you don't cheat in the typical Aladdin manner. No using your genie by wishing that you win the game."

"Wait, that's a legitimate wish?" Sonic asked in disbelief.

"Of course it is, you used it the last time." Sinbad replied, thinking Aladdin was mocking him. "No cheating, this time around." Sonic nodded and on the count of three, the two pushed into a fierce battle of arm wrestling.

Several other patrons of the tavern began to gather around and place bets as the two famous heroes of Shamar struggled against each other. As the contest drew on, Sonic's arm began to tire and the echidna slowly turned the battle to his favor.

"Haha, looks like I'm going to win this one, Aladdin." Sinbad boasted as Sonic's arm neared the table. "There's no way a hedgehog will ever beat an echidna when it comes to strength." Sonic actually looked worried for a few moments before glancing over at his genie companion. A small smile spread across his face; he looked back towards his opponent.

"Oh yeah? Well, an echidna will never beat a hedgehog when it comes to the brains department." Sonic looked over at the ring on his finger. "Hey Shahra, I wish that Sinbad the Sailor would lose this competition."

"Your cheating technically is granted." Shahra groaned, snapping her fingers. Sonic instantly overpowered Sinbad slamming his opponent down on the table.

"Haha, I win." Sonic gloated. "Looks like you'll be joining us, Sinbad."

"Hey, no fair. You cheated." He roared in anger, slamming his fist on the wooden table shattering it. "The rules stated 'you couldn't wish to win'. I am victorious by disqualification."

"Ah, but I didn't actually wish to win. I only wished for you to lose." Sonic smiled. "You didn't say I couldn't make that wish."

"Egads, outsmarted by a lamp rubbing hedgehog and a loophole." Sinbad smacked his hand against his forehead. "Very well, Aladdin. I shall join you on your heroic quest." The sailor threw a gold mobium onto the bar to pay for the smashed table and drinks as the four companions got up to leave.

As they walked out of the exit, the echidna suddenly realized something and turned to ask Sonic a very important question.

"Say Aladdin," the confused Sinbad asked. "What exactly is the heroic quest we're risking our lives for?"


"You mean to tell me that we are going to try and topple the tyrannical sultan from power? Do you realize how dangerous and terrifying that can be? There is very little chance we will even survive this task." A wild grin spread across Sinbad's face. "Sounds like a lot of fun. Dude, sign me up."

"Glad to have you on board, knucklehead." Sonic chuckled.

"Will you stop calling me, Knucklehead?" Sinbad asked in return, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Was better when you used to call me, Stupibad or Sillibad."

"Would you two please stop bickering? We've arrived at the palace." Ali Baba interrupted. "Now, all we have to do is find a way inside." The three of them were circling around the palace overhead on a magic carpet Shahra provided. The genie had been so exhausted by the spell that she had returned to her ring to slumber. Looking around at the ground below, the three companions scanned the terrain for a way inside. It was then that Sonic noticed a strange metal pipe sticking up out of the ground just behind the palace.

"Hey guys, it looks like we could get in from there." The hedgehog noted, steering the carpet towards the pipe. "It looks large enough for us all to pass through."

"Aladdin, no." Ali Baba protested. "Don't you know that a bath ventilation system pipe is? You'll go straight into the…" Suddenly, the carpet dove into the shaft; flying down a series of steaming hot tunnels until it splashed down into the water.

The three companions found themselves in boiling hot water until the carpet burst up into a Turkish bath deep in the castle's private apartments.

"See… I got us inside. No problem." Sonic boasted. "And you guys thought something bad was going to… OW!" A shampoo bottle smacked up against the blue blur's head.

"AAAIIEEEEE! MEN INSIDE THE BATH!" A woman's voice cried out. They turned to face a whole group of angry female mobians who were quickly wrapping towels around their bodies. Sonic thought he recognized faces of Princess Sally, Blaze, Marine, and several others; but he knew it was only a strong resemblance. The three males' faces turned beet red before a large amount of blood came gushing out of each of their noses.

"Come on girls. Let's drive these perverts out of here." A girl who looked like Sonia stated. All of the harem girls immediately started throwing soap bars, towels, beach chairs, and anything that wasn't nailed down at the three guys.

"Everybody, run for your life." Ali Baba cried out. "It's every man for himself."

"Nice going, Aladdin." Sinbad snapped at the blue blur. "It would have been safer if you had brought us up in the middle of the whirling blades of death."

"Shut up, Sillibad." Sonic answered. "I didn't know we pop up right in the middle of the ladies bathroom." The hedgehog shook his head. "Sorry, you had to see stuff a fox your age never such have seen, Ali."

"Duh, duh, duh, duh." Ali Baba simply backed towards the bathhouse drooling all over the floor. He almost began walking back towards the women. When Sonic and Sinbad stopped him, yanking his tails. "Ow."

"Sorry kid." Sinbad laughed. "You can enjoy that kind of fun when you're older."

The three continued onward towards the sultan's chambers when they heard the whirring gears inside the walls. Suddenly, a large pit opened in the center of the room and several large pendulums began to swing back and forth all throughout the vast hallway.

"Well, Sinbad. Like you asked for, you got your wish." Ali Baba stated, shaking his head.

"This is not what I wished for." He replied, angrily. "I wanted the whirling blades of death, not the swinging blades of death."

"We better get this over with." Sonic noted. "Last one on the other side is going to be shorter than we he started."

"Very funny, Aladdin." Sinbad replied, sarcastically. "Just make sure you don't lose your head or go all to pieces." The three companions jumped right into the fray, jumping over the gaps and dodging the blades.

"Come on, guys. It isn't that hard." Ali Baba laughed flying above the blades and holes. "I can get through this trap without any problem at all." SHINK! A spinning buzzsaw swept across the top of the room near the ceiling, chopping the fox's turban in half. The surprised kitsune immediately fell into a tail spin. Spiraling out of control, and crashing on the other side of the hallway.

"Better watch out there, Ali, or they're going to call you 'Tail' instead of Tails." Sonic answered.

"Huh?" Ali responded in confusion, rubbing his head from the near fatal cut. "Who in the world is Tails?"

"Probably, his imaginary friend, Ali." Sinbad sneered. "Now, watch a true adventurer get through these traps." Sinbad merely walked forward, smashing each pendulum with his fist. "This is how a man of the sea handles trouble such as this." The echidna continued to lumber forward, hopping over each pit he came to as he attempted to make it to the over side. When the sailor reached the very center of the room, he jumped for the ledge but simply couldn't reach.

"Oh no, Sillibad. Watch where you're going." Sonic rushed forward avoiding the swinging blades and leaping over the pit just in time to catch the falling echidna. "Try and be a bit more careful." Sonic answered.

"Aww, why did you have to catch me?" Sinbad muttered. "I was just about to form my heroic jump from death." The hedgehog only rolled his eyes as the three marched on into the sultan's throne room.


"Wow, this place is really big." Sonic noted, looking at the high walls and vaulted ceiling as they entered the throne room. "I'd hate to be one of the maids who had to clean this room."

"The sultan is a spoiled fat man of great wealth." Sinbad explained in disgust. "He gluttons himself on food and harem girls, while his people starve and strain under high taxes."

"It was hoped that Princess Sharazade would take the throne after the sultan died of a heart attack from bad cholesterol." Ali Baba stated. "But the sultan is trying to use the magic of his new partner to prolong his life indefinitely."

"Wait, who's the sultan's new partner?" Sonic asked.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho." They heard a chilling giggle all throughout the throne room. Suddenly, every pair of metal gates slammed shut over every entrance and exit. Then, a fat round man in a turban, baggy trousers, and a small vest and sash around his waist. "Well, it looks like Aladdin's friends have fallen into my trap."

"Whoa, who are you?" Sonic asked, looking him up and down. "A Shriner who got lost in this castle after a party?"

"Silence, I am the Grrrrrreat King Abdula Farouk. The most immense sultan you shall ever lay eyes upon." He boasted. "My immense reach is vast." He grabbed some grapes wolfing them down. "My royal splendor spreads across the two vast moons and across the world." Sonic just stood there in silence.

"You know what? I don't have to insult you, lardbutt. You did a pretty good job, yourself." Sonic answered.

"Silence, I will not be insulted by… Aladdin? But I thought…" The sultan turned around. "ERAZOR DJINN, GET OUT HERE!"

"As you wish, master." The genie said coming out. "How may I be of service?"

"Who is the tall pale guy next to the sultan?" Sonic whispered to Shahra. "And why does he have those pointy ears?"

"That is the Erazor Djinn, the genie of the lamp and the sultan's right hand lackey." She replied.

"I don't know what to tell you, master." The genie replied, at a loss of words. "As far as I know, the street rat is still a stone statue in the middle of the palace fountain."

"Then, what is that?" The sultan asked in a rage. "You told me the hedgehog was out of the picture."

"Wait, what!?" Erazor Djinn stated looking at the trio. "How did you escape you stone prison?"

"It was my stunt double," Sonic replied after some quick thinking. "You can't ever stand up to the power of extras."

"Well, no matter." Erazor Djinn snapped his fingers, bringing a metal cage up through a hole in the ground with the Princess Sharazade inside of it. "If you know what's best, you'll surrender before your precious princess suffers a fate worse than death."

"Don't do it, Aladdin." The pink hedgehog princess pleaded. "They just want to enslave the kingdom. My life isn't worth it."

"Whoa, she looks just like another pink hedgehog I know." The amused Sonic thought. "Except a lot less clothing and most of it see through to boot."

"Aladdin, this is our princess you're talking about!" Sinbad snapped, slapping the hedgehog along the back of the head. "Show some respect!"

"Let her go, villians." Ali Baba declared. "Or else."

"Or else what?" The sultan laughed. "As far as I can see you three…" Then, the sultan stopped. "Are gone!? They must have fled. GUARDS, ERAZOR! AFTER THEM!" The guards took off in random directions and Erazor Djinn disappeared.

"The stupid genie, stupid guards." The sultan said, waddling over to his throne. "I can't believe they let those three escape. Heck, I can't believe Aladdin got out of the cave of No Return." Picking up a bucket of fried chicken, he had under his throne, the sultan began to devour endless drumsticks of greasy fatty meat. "That accursed Aladdin is always getting in my way. He's just as annoying as that blue hedgehog cousin, Ivo, is always telling me about. If I had to deal with both of them at the same time..." Suddenly, the sultan's eyes when wide. "Wait a minute, Aladdin never escaped from the stone prison. GUARDS, GET BACK HERE!"

Just then, a large figure with three sets of arms covered in a huge bed sheet with three sets of eye holes cut out came drifting into the throne room and pointed a ghostly limb at the sultan.

"Sultan Farouk, I have come for you." The angry spirit declared. "I am the ghost of gluttonous eating. I have come to clog your arteries once and for all."

"Don't try to fool me, hedgehog." The sultan roared running over and pulling the bed sheet off. "You three are going straight to my… AHHH!" Seeing no one under the sheet, the sultan stumbled back, started to hyperventilate and fell back into his throne slumping. The three companions became visible again and walked over to examine the slumped and silent form.

"Is he dead? Ali Baba asked.

"Nah, just passed out from excitement." Sinbad shook his head. "On our way out, I'll inform the proper authorities and the Shamar Overeater's Anonymous will take him into custody."

"Here you go, my little lady." Sonic went over and tore the locked door open. "Huh, they don't even make these things as strong from the outside as they are from the inside."

"Oh Aladdin, my hero." The princess jumped on him, knocking Sonic down and displaying her gratitude.

"Whoa, you guys shouldn't do that kind of thing in public." Sinbad chuckled.

"Eww, gross. Adult Stuff." Ali Baba said, sticking his tongue. "You're gonna get cooties."

"I'm sorry, what we're you guys saying again?" A smiling Sonic asked, lipstick all over his face in different places as he stumbled around.

"Don't you think we should go get the real Aladdin and stop the sultan's troops?" Ali Baba asked in shock.

"Wait, real Aladdin?" The princess asked. Sonic went flying across the room and hit one of the ivory pillars from one of the princess's blows. "HOW DARE YOU IMPERSONATE MY BELOVED ALADDIN!" She growled at him. "I don't care if you saved me, that was just plain rude."

"Wow… you hit just as hard as Amy too."

"Wait a minute, Amy? As in Amy Rose?" Sharazade said, the wheels in her head turning. "And if you're a blue hedgehog. Then, you must be Sonic."

"Yep, that's me. The Blue Blur extraordinaire."

"Oh my gosh, my sister has had a crush on you since like forever." The princess laughed. "She was always jealous of Aladdin and I. So when she saw you on the Telenet reports from West Side Island, she decided to go to the Never Lake and play the dumb teenager to get your attention. We haven't really heard from her since except an occasional letter to tell us she's alright."

"You mean, Amy is… She's really a…" He said, putting his hands up. "You know what, we don't have time to deal with this right now. Let's go save the real Aladdin and then we can compare notes about surprised family connections. Believe me, I got one about a queen and two sibling that will blow your minds."

"Okay, Sonic is it?" Ali Baba asked. "Let's go to the village of No Return and find the gem that will restore Aladdin."

"Wait a sec," Sonic asked looking around. "Did anyone see where Shahra went?"

"Eh, she's probably at the real estate office picking out a new bottle." Sinbad commented. "Come on, let's get out of here." As the four ran out the door, the echidna turned to ask.

"So let me get this straight, one more time." Sinbad asked "You're not the real Aladdin?"