Chapter 9—"Worldly Wisdom"

"It seems that if you're able to turn those four mirrors this way, you'll be able to break the lock," Sinbad told Sonic, pointing towards four different towers surrounding the main tower that each had a gigantic mirror on top. "And that bit of wisdom is free of charge!" He added with a chuckle.

Sonic just rolled his eyes and took off, leaving Shahra to stay by Aly and Sinbad. He took the first zip line he reached, which carried him to the southern tower. "Alright, so I just head on over here, fight a few evil spirits, and turn the mirror. No problem!" He shouted into the wind. He was so happy, he could burst. He was getting farther along in their mission and he was getting Aly back. There was no way he was going to fail either of his missions!

He dismounted the zip line and did a homing attack on three nearby genies as he reached one of the other Rukh who had the first tower on it. "Hehehe, not today, buddies!" He shouted as he dashed through each genie. "You're not gonna slow me down!"

He came to a skidding stop. "Well…maybe you will…" he said, astonished as the Gargoyle before him came alive. The stone creature beat its wings (which really shouldn't have been enough to keep him afloat, since he was entirely stone, but hey, this was a story book, the laws of physics didn't apply here!)

"Sonic! Avoid looking into its eyes! It'll turn you to stone!" Shahra warned him through her connection with the ring, even though she was still on the other tower.

"Ya know, I believe I read about that somewhere!" He replied, unsure as to whether or not Shahra could hear him, as he began kicking and punching at the Gargoyle. He kept his eyes diverted from the bright green eyes of his opponent as he attacked. "Heh, take that, you piece of rock!" He exclaimed as it fell to the ground, shattering in defeat. "Now, onto the top of this tower!" He continued on his way, grinning to himself. Yes, yes, yes! I'm getting her back! Nothing's gonna stop me! He couldn't help but think. Man, I really am head over heels for her. But I don't care!

This tower, much like the other one, had spikes and other such things to avoid, which Sonic did not even slow down for. He was doing what he liked best, and he was dead set on his goal. Not even Chaos could stop him.

Eh, scratch that, he corrected himself. But, other than Chaos, nothing could stop me! He laughed out loud suddenly as he reached the top of the tower.

"Yes! One down, three to go!" He said, flicking a nearby switch, causing the giant mirror in front of him to move. It aimed the sunlight at Sinbad's cage, and suddenly Sonic was back in front of the cage, one of the four latches on the lock now gone. "Whoa, hey, why am I back here?" He asked Shahra. She simply shrugged.

"I guessed that it would be easier for you to reach all four switches, since their towers surround this one, so I took the liberty of transporting you back here," she explained.

"Eh, whatever works!" He said, taking off again, this time passing the first zip line and instead hitching a ride on the second, taking him off to the west. Just like the last one, this zip line took him to a Rukh with djinns and gargoyles littered here and there along the large fossil's back.

At the sight the second gargoyle, Sonic averted his gaze and began dashing round and round it. "Another one? Wow, you guys sure are eager for a fight!" Sonic taunted the spirit while using a homing attack on it. Two more hits, and the creature fell to the ground in defeat. "Too easy!" Sonic exclaimed as he entered into the tower. Front-flipping up to the next level of the tower, Sonic stopped and noticed a long gap in between his level and the next, with only a few feeble ropes in front of him.

He surveyed them closely. Well, I'm no Aly, but maybe they can support my weight, he guessed, backing up to get a running start. Leaping, he caught the first rope just barely with one hand, and quickly gripped it with his other as he began to slide down. Once he got a better hold of the rope, he began to swing back and forth, trying to get closer to the ropes ahead of him. Suddenly, he had an idea. Of course! He thought to himself. I'll just use a homing attack to get from one rope to another! Carrying out his plan he soon reached the higher level and took off as soon as he hit the ground, avoiding more spikeballs and ground spikes as he progressed levels.

He finally reached the top of the tower and flicked the second switch, moving the second mirror towards Sinbad's cage and shattering the second lock. He was teleported back and greeted Shahra, Aly, and Sinbad with a wave.

"Half way done! Whew, this isn't taking any time at all!" Sonic grinned at his progress.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Hedgehog. There's always some kind of trick that comes up as means to slow you down, it's just how things go around here," Sinbad warned. "I wouldn't get too cocky."

"Me? Cocky?" Sonic innocently pointed to himself, then laughed. "Of course not!" Taking off again, this time off to the eastern tower, he stopped where the third zip line should have been, but wasn't. While he was debating what he should do, a gargoyle shot out ahead of him, leaving behind a path that was purple. Sonic took the chance and jumped onto the path, relieved to find out that it was solid.

What would you have done had you fallen through? He could just hear Aly's voice echo throughout his head, and he began laughing. Oh, Aly, you would have been so mad if you had just seen me…oh wait, you did! He grinned to himself as he imagined what she was thinking as he ran right behind the gargoyle, who seemed to be headed towards the third tower, conveniently. The gargoyle began to pick up speed, and Sonic decided it was time to test out his new ability, even though Shahra wasn't that close by. He rubbed the ring and called out to her.

"Shahra, if you can hear me, I could use your help! Speed break!" He grinned as he felt himself move faster than he could ever have run normally. He almost immediately broke the sound barrier, thanks to one of the new abilities Shahra's magic gave him, and he tried to control himself from running into the gargoyle. After all, what would he do if he lost his path because he killed the one making it?

The creature took a sudden left, now flying alongside a Rukh. As he finally slowed back down, Sonic noticed the third tower so close by, and knew he'd have to jump in order to reach it.

"Thanks for the lift, but I gotta run now!" He called out to the spirit, then jumped off to the tower, just barely landing on the edge of the highest level. Whoa, close one! He thought as he regained his balance. He trotted over to the third switch and turned it, and the result was the same as the other two.

Back in front of Sinbad's cage for the final time, he could see Aly giving him a glare.

"What'd I do?" He asked the blonde hedgehog. Her stare just seemed to say, You know what you did, you idiot! He grinned cockily at her. "Yeah, yeah, I know, 'what would I have done had I fallen through?' Ya know, I seem to sense a bit of Déjà vu here!" He watched as her expression slowly changed from mad to happy again, her eyes lighting up to resemble laughter.

"Um, hello? Greatest adventurer ever trapped in a cage here! Have you forgotten?" Sinbad interrupted their short trip down memory lane.

"Hey, hey, have some patience!" The blue speedster replied. "I'm gettin' on it!" He took off, this time coming upon a zip line with spiked balls around it, all the way down. "Oh…this must be what Sinbad meant…" he mumbled to himself. I can't let myself be hit by those spiked balls! I just hope I can swing clear of them, he thought as he jumped onto the zip line. Sure enough, this required him to swing side to side, in an effort to avoid being hit. Although he would never admit it, this was one of the few times that Sonic the Hedgehog was actually a bit nervous. He was relieved to land on the final Rukh and have his feet on (somewhat) stable ground.

He took a split second to recover, and then took off towards the final tower, happy to finally be almost done with his tedious task. Like I said to Shahra, we should just leave him there! I mean, how great can his "wisdom" be, anyways? He is Knuckles, after all, Sonic laughed to himself. Or at least, his counterpart in this story.

Scaling the final tower proved to be no more of a challenge than the other three towers, mind the sand falls that tried to knock him off of narrow ledges. In nearly no time at all Sonic was finally at the top of the last tower. Breathing a sigh of relief that all was over, he flipped the final switch, and the mirror creaked in response to its sudden movement, and Sonic was back in front of the now unlocked cage.

"Whew!" Sinbad exclaimed in relief, happy to be free of his bondage. "Okay, so about the fire genie, then…why not just try splashing some water on him?"

I KNEW IT! Sonic burst out laughing and replied sarcastically, "WOW! The wisdom of Sinbad of the Seven Seas! Adventurer of Adventurers! You hearin' this, Aly?" He asked, turning to face her. She blinked once, her eyes glowing as though she were laughing on the inside.

"Hey, I don't see you coming up with any better ideas!" Sinbad challenged the blue hedgehog, growling. Both striking fighting poses, they began to head butt each other, as was common between two testosterone-filled big-shots, no matter what species.

"Stop it!" Ali Baba appeared (from where, who knows?), trying to push his way between the two older males in order to prevent them from fighting. Hmm, I believe this has happened before, back in my world! Sonic thought humorously of the times that the real Knuckles and he always got into fights (normally started by Sonic himself), and how Tails was always stuck being the one to break them up. "The problem is, how are we going to get ENOUGH water to put out a fire genie, right?"

"Hmph. I was getting to that…" Knuckles replied indignantly, crossing his arms and sticking his nose into the air.

Sonic let out an annoyed grunt in response, turning back to face Aly, whose eyes were still bright, as though this entire thing was like a big comedy act. "Yeah, I'll bet that from your point of things, this is pretty dang funny," he whispered to her good-naturedly. She blinked once in reply. He shot her a look of mock irritation, and then couldn't help but grin as she closed her eyes to show smugness.

"You see, the pirates who locked me up here took the Water Blue Ring I use to control storms."

"A water blue…"

"Ring," Shahra completed Ali Baba's thought.

"First a fire genie and now pirates, huh? The Arabian Nights really are worlds of endless adventures, aren't they?" Sonic noted. "So, oh great and wise Sinbad—" he stopped to snicker "—where are these infamous pirates?"

"Why should I tell you, when all you do is mock me?" Sinbad replied heatedly. Sonic simply shrugged in return, further angering the red Echidna.

"Please, Sinbad, we really are in a bit of a hurry," Shahra pleaded.

"Alright, I'll tell you. But only for the lovely lady," he added, bringing Shahra to blush again. "They make their hideout in the sea to the south. It shouldn't be too hard to find, since the Water Blue Ring allows them to control storms, and no doubt they've got a horrible one brewing up. Be careful," he warned them. "Especially since you've got the golden hedgehog with you. They tend to like golden things. And females. And they don't tend to treat either one very nicely or with much respect," he said gravely.

Aly's eyes portrayed fear. Sonic shuddered visibly as he thought of her past. He knelt down beside her. "Hey, Aly, you don't really have to come with us. I'm certain that Sinbad would look after you for us, after kindly warning us about the pirates," he glanced up at Sinbad, expecting him to protest, but instead the Echidna nodded. "It might be safer for you."

She blinked twice, her eyes revealing courage, but Sonic could still see her fear. "Well…it's your choice. I won't make you do anything, Aly. But if you change your mind, it's okay," he added. He picked her up and looked over at Shahra. "Looks like she's all ready for adventures, which is just fine with me!" He smiled as Shahra made the magic carpet reappear.

"Do you two also need a ride back down?" Shahra asked Ali Baba and Sinbad. Both shook their heads.

"Thank you for the offer, Ms. Shahra, but the Rukh eventually land north of here, and we plan to get off then," Sinbad replied, bowing respectfully. Ali Baba followed suit.

Shahra bowed back. "Then away we go, Sonic! Off to the southern seas!" And with that, the two hedgehogs and the genie took off in the southern direction, ready for the next leg of their adventure.


Woohoo, alright! Finally got this next chapter up! I had a bit of writer's block there for a few days, but I finally decided that what this chapter really needed was some more detail and an ending! Okay so y'all know I follow the game script tightly, right? Well am I the only one who noticed that Ali Baba RANDOMLY APPEARED ON THE RUKH? Or did I miss something? Because last time I checked, he was still in the Desert Oasis. Oh well, I suppose that he flew up there, using his tails. Aww, he's so kawaii! *fangirls for a sec, then regains composure.* Alrighty, sorry about that! Anyways, the next chapter should be up sometime around next week. Happy New Year's! Oh yeah, and thank you to that anonymous person who left me the review! Although I am told I have a few spelling mistakes (as I knew I did). So, I think I'll start proofreading to see if I can't find any of them. Oh yes, and special thanks also goes out to ShadowAshura6!

*~SoulPieces signin' out!~*