Chapter 7—Rage, Explosions, and Ifrits

"Whew! It's hot in here!" Sonic exclaimed as they entered the iron fortress. It was made entirely out of steel, with iron djinns and fire djinns running around the place, the sole guardians that were left of the foundry. "I'd be pretty angry, too, if I was stuck in a place like this!" He laughed, referring to Aly's next soul piece.. "Alright, so we need to track down this next piece of her soul—" Sonic cut off when he heard an explosion up ahead and seeing a few djinns flying in different directions. A yell of rage could be heard with the sight of each djinn sent flying. "Ah, I'm pretty sure I know who the cause of that is! Shahra! Stay here with Aly, okay?" He took off towards the explosion, leaving the two girls at the entrance by the somewhat cooler air blowing in from outside the foundry.

Shahra looked sadly at her best friend's nearly lifeless body. "Oh, Aly…you've been through so much…where is your guardian angel?" She asked sadly, stroking the hedgehog girl's quills.

"I'm still by her side," a male voice said to her. She snapped her head up in the direction it came from. A well-muscled, good looking boy with short, strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes was just barely visible in front of her. "Thanks, by the way, for looking out for her. She really needs it," he said fondly. "I'm Will, by the way."

"H-hello, Will," she said nervously, wondering if she was just hallucinating because of the heat. It was very likely "I am Shahra, Genie of the Ring."

"Yeah, I know, I've been following you guys this whole time. I'm glad Aly found someone else who makes her happy, other than me. I just wish she'd realize it!" Will laughed, glancing in the direction that the blue hedgehog had taken off in. "She's so resistant to her emotions, nowadays. She really likes Sonic, but she can't let it show; she's so afraid of being losing someone special again. I guess I'm to blame for that…" He sighed and looked at her again. "But that's all in the past. What happened, happened. She just has to learn to love again, and learn that sometimes God's got other plans that what we want to happen. But, hey, the Big Guy knows what He's doing!" He smiled sadly, glancing at the motionless hedgehog lying on the hot ground.

"She may look like a hedgehog to you all, but when I look at her, I see her as a human and as a hedgehog. She was so beautiful…" he mumbled sadly. "But, I'm happy to watch over her. I can help her now in ways I could never have helped her before. I'm the reason she didn't completely die when she stopped breathing. I suppose you know she should have been dead," he added.

"I did, but Sonic was so determined that he was going to save her, I couldn't tell him that it really was impossible, because I believed she was already dead. But I am glad that she has someone watching over her. You still miss her, don't you?" She asked.

"Of course. I wish I could have lived. No, scratch that, I wish none of it ever happened! I wish that we could have grown up in a normal time and had a normal life together. But she's happy now, and I'm able to protect her better like this. And that Sonic, he really is something," Will added with a grin. "He's crazy over her. And I think he plans to admit it to her, once he gets this next spirit. That's the real reason he wanted to find this one first." He knelt down and tried to stroke her quills, but his hand simply faded through her body. "Dang. I miss holding her," he murmured. "But, she's happy here. That's all I want. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy" He stood back up and looked Shahra in the eyes. "Thank you, Shahra, for giving her a second chance in a different world. And hey, you're eye-candy yourself, I must add. Ahaha! Aly would kill me if she heard me say that. But what can I do about it?" He shrugged. "See a pretty girl, tell her she's pretty." He laughed as Shahra blushed, then got serious again. "Shahra, you're future's gonna be great. I know it. Just hang in there, okay?" He knelt down and kissed Aly on the cheek as best as he could, in his state. "Miss you, baby girl," he whispered to her.

"It was nice to finally meet you, Will," Shahra smiled to him. "Aly's in good hands."

"Hahaha, Aly's been in good hands ever since Sonic entered this world!" He laughed. "And it was nice to finally get to talk to my girl's best friend. I can see why she likes you so much. Protect them both, okay?" He began to fade away.

Shahra nodded. "I will. With my life," she added softly.


"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, Aly!" Sonic jumped back to avoid the golden hedgehog's fists. "Whoa, watch the face, please! I'm pretty sure you don't wanna ruin these looks!" He pointed to himself, laughing.

"Back off, hedgehog! It's your fault for making me run off and get caught in the first place!" She yelled angrily at him, her fists blazing with a magic fire.

"Hey, come on, let's race already so you can return to me!" Sonic had a feeling she'd accept, because that was all the other spirit wanted; was to be back with him.

Sure enough, it proved him right. Well, sorta. "FINE!" She yelled angrily. "Just so I can kick your sorry butt in payback for all this!" She took off towards the end of the long corridor. "From here to the entrance! Beat me and I'll come back to you! But you can't beat me!" She sneered.

Sonic kept his cool, despite the fact that he wanted to kill that spirit at that moment. He hated it when people insulted his speed. "I'll show you I can! You know, love makes people do crazy things!" He laughed, and then took off down the hall.

"What? What'd you say! Did you just say you loved me? HOW DARE YOU TELL ME THAT WHEN I'LL NEVER REMEMBER IT! STUPID HEDGEHOG!" She screamed out and blasted after him.

He laughed, it had worked! He couldn't run as fast as possible in this place, because it would take him too long to stop, and there was a metal door in the way up at the entrance. However, he ran as fast as he possibly could. He knew Mad Aly was slowly gaining on him, but the finish line was just before him, and Shahra was waiting for him. He put on a final burst of speed, and they both crossed at the same time. "Dang, guess we'll never know! Oh well, let's just say I won by the tiniest bit of a second, and you can come back with me! Sounds good to me!" He crossed his arms and flashed his trademark grin and thumbs up at her.

"Why'd you have to tell me you loved me when I won't remember?" She yelled angrily at him. "STUPID HEDGEHOG, you only won because your nose is so long!" She began turning into a ball of light.

"Hey, I got you back, didn't I?" He laughed.

"Yes you did! How do you know that I don't want to come back?" Her voice began fading.

"Because. You know you want to come back," he added with a soft smile. He could barely make out a "Stupid hedgehog," from the second spirit, and her image faded as the ball of light made its way over to her body. Aly shook slightly as it entered her, but otherwise did nothing.

He walked slowly over to her body and picked her up. "Aly, it's me, Sonic. You can hear me now. But you can't feel anything, so I'll describe what you should be feeling."

Shahra silently disappeared back into the ring while he was talking, deciding that they needed their time alone.

"I'm holding you right now, and I am so tired because I have to find all the pieces of your soul, but it's worth it, really, because I'll have you back soon. We're currently in a place called 'The Evil Foundry,' and I just had to race one of your soul pieces. They're scattered about this world, and they look like what you did on your last day as a human, only ghost-like. It was so funny, this last soul was so mad, but she really wanted back with me. But everything I did just made her even madder, because of the Erazor's magic. I obviously still got you back,though. Your soul pieces all have emotions. The first one I found was joy and all those kinds of emotions. It was nice to be able to see you smile again.

"But…you weren't really smiling. It's the magic of the Erazor Djinn that limits their emotions. Really, you were crying on the inside, but since you couldn't cry, you just giggled. It reminded me of how, even when you're upset, you still try to smile, try to hide your emotions."

Sonic stopped for a moment, then took a shaky breath. "And…I think you try to smile for me, because you know how much that means to me; how much you mean to me. I don't know how much I mean to you, but I'm just going to say this now: you are everything to me. The soul piece you just got back was so angry because I told her something, something you wouldn't remember once she became a part of you again. So, I'm going to just repeat what I had said. Love makes people do crazy things, and right now, I really am crazy. I'm looking for your soul pieces instead of the rings because, well, I want you back, and I'm not going to let some stupid flame separate me from you. Be mad at me over later, okay? As in, sometime after I save this world and have you back," he chuckled.

"And, that's about all that's going on. And now I'm going to hug you tight, because I like to be close to you. I'm going to look for your sense of feeling next. That way, you'll know when I hug you, and you'll be able to hug me back. I promise you, I will save you and this world. I promise on everything that has any value to me," he murmured.

He felt her breathing rate quicken as he held her close, finishing off his statement, and knew that she had heard everything. He smiled and called for Shahra. "You're going to have to carry her with your magic again, Shahra. We still have things to do here." She nodded and followed after Sonic as he took off deeper into the foundry, defeating any evil spirits along the way that remained after Spirit Aly's rampage.

The air grew hotter still as they neared the core. "Whew, it's really hot in here!" Shahra exclaimed as Sonic ducked past enormous fans and spiked walls that flung themselves out at him.

"You're not gonna melt, are you, Shahra?" Sonic teased as he jumped onto an iron rail, grinding his way down the hallways. He, too, was beginning to be affected by the heat. "Hey, you don't think Aly's feeling any of this, do you?"

"She hasn't regained her sense of touch yet, Sonic. She's fine," Shahra reassured him, practically panting from the effects of the heat.

Sonic simply nodded and kept running, hating the Erazor with such a passion. It was an odd thing for him, for very rarely did Sonic ever hate anything or anyone. He didn't even hate Eggman, and he and Robotnik had been going round and round for nearly 10 years!

He focused on the path ahead of him, picking up speed as the path became wider. Along the way he encountered fire djinns and larger, iron djinns. His enemies grew more numerous the farther he trekked, and soon they began to block his pathway in large packs. Since he really didn't have time to deal with so many enemies at once, he began searching his surroundings for something that might be useful to him. His eyes came to rest on a large barrel with a "Warning: Explosive" label on it. He grinned and shouted out, "That's perfect!"

He rubbed the ring on his finger. "Hey Shahra, I need some assistance here!"

"O master, what is thy wish?" She appeared in a cloud of smoke, sweat dotting her forehead.

"I need you to protect us all for just a little bit. Ya see, I plan to hit that barrel towards those guys over there—" he pointed towards the djinns "—and I don't wanna risk getting hit by my own idea and hurting myself, you, or Aly."

"Of course, Master, I can protect us from the recoil explosion." She waved her hand and a transparent, sparkling barrier formed around them. "Once you hit that barrel, jump back into the barrier and you'll be fine. But you'll have to be quick!"

Sonic laughed. "Shahra, don't you know by now that 'speed' is my middle name? Thanks!" With that, he preformed a spin dash on the barrel, sending it flying to the pack of fire djinns. In the same fluid motion, he somersaulted back inside the barrier Shahra had created, just in time for that barrel to explode upon impact with the dark creatures.

"Ha, no sweat!" Sonic said and took off again after the explosion had settled. Shahra followed easily close behind, creating barriers again and again when Sonic needed them. She began to grow weary after a while as they moved even deeper into the foundry, the heat taking its toll on her.

Sonic took note of her condition and turned to her. "You know, you can take a rest now, Shahra. I can take care of the rest of these djinns. You deserve a rest!"

Caught off guard by his kindness once again, Shahra merely nodded and disappeared inside the ring, taking Aly with her as she always had before.

Ahead of Sonic, the course changed. Now, in front of him was something you'd expect to see in a car junkyard meant to smash up cars into scrap metal. Below the narrow path was an enormous pool of lava, which was probably the source of all the heat throughout the foundry. He began to judge the timing of each gigantic hammer, then took off down the path. He dashed straight through the first two, but at the third he stopped, and it came crashing down not 3 feet from his nose. The impact almost pushed him back, but he forced himself to stay in one place, and once it began to rise again, he dashed underneath it.

Finally he reached the other side, and Sonic noticed that he was in the core of the foundry. He skidded to a halt outside a large, central room. The Erazor Djinn was standing with his back to the hedgehog, facing a large pool of lava.

"What's he doing here?" Sonic spat angrily, holding himself back from attacking the Erazor full out.

"He's calling more spirits!" Shahra whispered worriedly, reappearing from the ring.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Sonic mumbled.

"Ifalas zaras I e zaraq…Ifalas zaras I e zaraq…Come forth from the fiery depths of Jahannam, ye condemned by Iblis! Iz Afrit!" The Erazor chanted, casting a dark spell. A large fiery robot appeared from the lava.

"Whoa! What's that thing?" Sonic asked, taking a step back.

"It's a djinn that controls fire…it's called an Ifrit!" Shahra explained.

The Erazor turned to face Sonic and Shahra. He laughed evilly. "I have already carved up half of the pages that make up this world," He boasted.

"Then why do you need to call forth a creature like that?" Shahra demanded.

"I've decided to let the Ifrit burn whatever pages remain in the book. You, blue rat! Have you gathered the seven rings yet? Or are you too busy trying to piece your little mouse friend back together?"

"She isn't a mouse, and I'm not a rat! We're hedgehogs. HEDGE. HOGS." Sonic yelled in frustration.

"Hm. All you filthy vermin are worthless just the same…at any rate, you'd better hurry it up!" Erazor nodded towards Sonic's flame. Sonic watched in horror as it burned down to half its original size.

"Dang!"

"With only half the flame left, only half of your life force remains," the Erazor warned as he disappeared.

"Wait!" Sonic tried to run after him. "Bring Aly back to me!" He yelled. The Ifrit moved to block his path, roaring viciously. "Hey you, get out of the way!" He growled, trying to home attack the creature. "What the…that didn't work?"

"It's no use, Sonic!" Shahra exclaimed. "Your life is tied to the flame, you cannot fight fire with fire!"

"Oh yeah? Just watch me! Oh, this does not look good! Shahra, lend me your power! Time break!" Sonic yelled without thinking, calling upon a power he had no clue that he possessed in order to slow time. Everything around them turned grey, and he ran from the Ifrit as it tried to grab him in slowed-time, taunting it as he soared by. "Sorry, but we've got to run! Don't worry—I'm sure we'll get the chance to play again real soon!"


Woohoo Chapter 7! Since the game is based around the number "7" (cause of the World Rings), I figured that this chappie should be special! So, here's to Will, the totally awesome, caring, sweet, boy that every girl wants! So, some people are asking, do I know a boy like Will? I'm afraid I can't say that I do! (Well, I did base him off of a boy who I had a crush on once, but he's not sweet and caring like Will is.) I'd love to, though. What a sweetie :) Anyways, I figured that I'd been following around Sonic and Aly a bit too much, so I gave Shahra a bit of the spotlight, although she had to share it with Will. Okay, anyone else notice how the last paragraph just seems...off? I took the words straight from the original script but to me it just doesn't flow together well...*shrugs* might just be me. Anyways, read on, shall we?

*~Soul Pieces signin' out!~*