Chapter 46
They continued to wait for a reaction from Sonic, but there was still no response. Shadow was starting to lose hope taking a deep breath as she tried not to cry, "Please hear me…" She said as she places her hand on Sonic's cheek and wipes away the tears, Sonic's eye lids just barely move as Shadow can feel her head lightly lean into her hand as if by muscle memory.
"Did you see that? She moved!" Tails said. Shadow quickly grabs Sonic by the waist and lifts her to her feet. Her body still reacting like a doll as she is able to move her easily, her arms hanging to her sides.
"I know you can't hear me or see me…" She said wrapping her arm around Sonic's waist and pulling her body close to hers. "But a part of you knows I'm here." She said brushing her fingers against her cheek as her eyelids slightly move again. "Wake up." She grasps the back of Sonics neck and pulls her into a kiss as Sonic's eyes slowly close. Her body knew this embrace as if it was where she was meant to be.
"I think it's working." Cream said hopefully as Sonics hands lightly twitch as the others see her form begins to revert back fading away into smoke. Her outfit changes to one similar to Shadows but with a blue vest and white bottoms. Her arms slowly move and wrap around Shadows shoulders.
"She did it!" Amy and Tails cheered; Shadow doesn't let go of Sonic as she starts to come to. She tries to pull away from Shadow's kiss wondering what was going on, but she only tightens her grip on Sonic further. Shadow finally lets go of the kiss as Sonic attempts to catch her breath.
"Least let me…" Sonic tried to talk, Shadow kisses her again causing her to melt in her arms as her legs go weak and face becomes flush letting out a pleasured moan. "Sh… Shadow…" She gasps for breath as Shadow gives her a teasing grin,
"Punishment for scaring me." She said still holding onto Sonic tightly,
"P… Punishment?" Sonic ears lower looking at her confused, "For wha…" She kisses her again as both Cream and Blaze chuckle.
"Alright Shadow, that's enough." Amy teased as she lets go of the kiss but continues to hold tightly to Sonic as she rests her forehead against hers catching her breath her thoughts in a heavy haze.
"Sorry…" Sonic managed to say between breaths as she reaches up and wipes the tears off her other cheek, "Was I crying?" She asked confused as Shadow lets her go gently. She looks over at Knuckles remembering they were separated and rushes over hugging him. "Are you okay?" She asked letting go of the hug.
"You were literally put under a magic spell and you're worried about me?" Knuckles said as she tilts her head,
"Magic spell? What are you talking about? Last I remember…" Sonic grabs her head. She starts to recall watching him get pushed off the tower over and over again as she staggers for a moment.
"Easy!" He said grabbing her shoulders and steading her.
"You… fell…" She holds her head as Shadow quickly steps next to her, "Over and over… I couldn't do anything…" she looked frustrated as she teared up.
"It was fake, he used it to trick you into thinking I was gone." Knuckles reassured her as she nods. Sonic looks and notices her clothes,
"Oh this is way easier to walk in." She smiles as he lets go of her shoulders. Tails walks up and hugs her,
"I'm glad you're okay." She smiles,
"Yesterday I was saving you from Egghead, today you're saving me from an angry genie. Just a normal week in the life of the Freedom Fighters." Sonic jokes as she notices Shahra, "Hey! I bet you're how they got here." She said as Shahra nods,
"It's very good to see you again Sonic." She said holding out her pinky with a smile,
"Glad to see you didn't forget." Sonic chuckles as she holds out her pinky,
"Alright, what's the plan now? Erazor's going to know we broke the spell at some point." Blaze said,
"And I do not want to be around when he does. Let's go home." Sonic said,
"How? Besides, he might just come after you again." Cream said,
"We could try to get him back in his lamp…" Amy said,
"And just wait for him to eventually get out again so he can try and take Sonic? No, we need a more permanent solution." Shadow said,
"Either way we'll need his lamp." Sonic said,
"And we need the other World Rings. It will make it easier for me to send you all home properly in the same time span that you left." Shahra said,
"Wait you guys have some of the world rings?" Sonic asked confused as the four of them hold theirs out. Sonic tries to grab the one in Shadow's hand, but her hand goes through it. "Weird…" She said,
"We think they are resonating with our Chaos Emeralds." Blaze said as Sonic noticing their matching colors.
"That means we're missing Joy, Hope and… Pleasure." Sonic said, she remembered back to how potent the aqua ring was the last time she encountered it.
"Are they drawn to one another like the Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked,
"I don't remember them being drawn to each other. But the more of them I carried the harder It was to concentrate. Us carrying them individually is probably better." Saya said,
"We should make some distance between us and this room." Knuckles said as they all nod and quickly leave the room. Shadow grabs Sonics hand and pulls her close.
"Don't leave my side." She said as Sonic smiles,
"Never," Sonic said walking next to her and kissing her cheek. "So where did you guys find the other rings?" She asked,
"Mine was on the docks when we went looking for Sinbad." Shadow said,
"The one I found was here in another room while we were looking for you." Knuckles said,
"And ours were on your wrists." Blaze said,
"On mine? How?" Sonic asked as she began to think… "He used the rings to heighten my emotions… but how is he able to touch them?"
"Do you think he has the other rings?" Tails asked,
"Only one way to find out. But I have no idea how to find anything here." Sonic said while they continue walking.
"We just keep looking, they seem to just appear so maybe they are drawn to us?" Shadow said as Sonic nods.
"Next question, how do we make sure he doesn't get the jump on us? It took him seconds to take me off guard and move me away from Sonic without waking her up." Knuckles said.
"That's not saying much, I'm pretty sure Sonic can sleep through anything." Amy joked,
"I can't even argue with that." She chuckles,
"Knuckles has a point. Erazor could try to separate us…" Cream said, as Erazor's minions appear surrounding them,
"Crap," Shadow said pulling Sonic behind her,
"Looks like he figured out I'm gone…" Sonic said as Erazor Djinn appears in front of them with a scowl on his face.
"How did you break free?" he said,
"Not telling!" Sonic said sticking out her tongue. He turns his gaze towards Shadow.
"Of course… you are Shahra's master now, so you took the empty place of Aladdin." He said noticing they were still holding hands. "So you're her real love."
"Shadow, you take Sonic and run…" Knuckles said as they others get ready to fight,
"We stay together," Shadow said,
"I won't let you leave that easily, you're in my domain." He said looking at Shadow as he snaps his fingers, but nothing happens. "What?"
"Was something supposed to happen?" Amy said quietly,
"You have one of the World Rings, don't you?" He asked,
"His magic can't effect you while you carry a ring." Shahra said,
"Why didn't you tell me that the first time?" Sonic said, "Wait, is that why he wanted me to collect them all? Because his magic couldn't do it for him?"
"Give me the Rings." He said holding out his hand,
"Not going to happen," Amy said,
"The Rings only protect the collector." He said threateningly. "And I know I still have three of them."
"Okay… maybe now we run…" Sonic said quietly as her ears lower and they all take a step back. Shadow tightening her grip on Sonic's hand,
"Let's see how many of you are unable to resist my magic." He said waving his hand as a shimmer falls over them like rain. Tails, Amy, and Sonic's heads slightly bob as they start getting drowsy. "There you are," he snaps his fingers as all three of them disappear into mist.
"Hey!" Knuckles yelled,
"Give them back!" Blaze yelled,
"Bring me the World Rings and you may get your friends back." He said disappearing.
"Nope, I'm killing him." Shadow said,
"I… actually have another idea." Cream said,
"What is it?" Blaze asked,
"Like Sonic said, we need his lamp. What if we wish for him to lose his powers?" She said,
"That… might actually work." Shahra said. "If he loses his magic he will be mortal."
"And if he doesn't have magic he can't come after us." Knuckles said,
"Shahra, can you lead us to where you think Erazor might have taken them?" Shadow asked,
"He may have taken them to the throne room," She said as she leads them down the hallway,
Sonic, Tails, and Amy rematerialize in a massive room, the floor beneath them was made of wood as things within the room looked larger than normal. "Where are we?" Tails asked,
"I think I've been in this room before." Sonic said trying to think back, "This was where I fought Erazor Djinn the first time… but why does everything look so big?" She asked walking forward as she runs into a glass wall.
"You okay?" Amy asked walking over to her as Tails walks the opposite way with her hands out,
"Ow…" Sonic said rubbing her forehead while Tails' hands touch another glass wall as she looks up.
"Guys… we have a problem…" She said pointing up.
"Other than being separated from the others?" Amy asked as they both look up and notice the cork above them. They all realize that everything in the room was not unusually large, but that they had become small.
"We're trapped in a bottle…" Tails said as Sonic spin dashes at the glass but just bounces off,
"I'm getting really sick of being trapped!" She yelled as Amy and Tails could tell her breathing became heavy starting to panic.
"Sonic," Tails walks over and takes her hand, "We'll get out, don't worry you're not alone." She said as Sonic takes a deep breath.
"Thanks little buddy," Sonic smiles as Amy takes out his hammer and strikes the glass but it just bounces off.
"That's not going to work…" He said as Sonic attempts to spin dash again and bounces off,
"At least I can spin dash again." Sonic said,
"Maybe I can fly you up to the cork and you can hit it out." Tails said as Amy nods and holds out his hand. Tails takes it and flies him up to the cork. He swings the hammer and strikes the cork upwards as Sonic notices it move slightly,
"It looks like it moved a bit." Sonic said as Amy strike it again and again. The cork continues to move a small amount at a time as Sonic notices Erazor Djinn appear next to the table, "Guys!" She yells up to them as they see him. He grabs the bottle quickly causing Tails to hit the side of the bottle and they fall back to the bottom as Sonic tries not to fall over.
"Now what shall I do with you three?" He said with a grin,
"How about you let us go so we can beat the crap out of you?" Sonic said as he tilts the bottle slightly causing them all to slide towards the glass. Sonic quickly moves over to Amy and Tails and prevents them from slamming into the glass.
"Thanks Sonic," Amy said as they all try to keep themselves balanced as he quickly tilts the bottle the other way. Tails quickly grabs both of them slowing them down enough before they hit the other side of the bottle.
"Cut that out!" Sonic yelled. Erazor laughs as he straightens the bottle.
"That last spell worked, you just found a loophole. I just need to think of another way to trap you." He said to himself,
"You already have us inside a bottle, what more do you want!" Tails said,
"Don't say that… he'll definitely think of something worse…" Sonic said,
"That gives me an idea." He said,
"Crap…" Amy said as Erazor Djinn snaps his fingers as a small azure stained-glass bottle encrusted with gems appears in his other hand.
"I should have done this in the first place. Trap you the same way you trapped me." He said placing their bottle back down on the table.
"Oh great…" Sonic said with a sigh as he snaps his fingers again and Sonic disappears into mist.
"Sonic!" Tails yells as Sonic reappears next to Erazor Djinn back to normal size. She tries to quickly move reaching for the bottle Tails and Amy are in as her body locks in place just as she was about to grab it.
"You might have been able to escape if you ran. But you reach for your friends first and that will be your downfall." He said,
"My friends are the reason I don't fear you." She gives a taunting grin as she tried to fight the paralysis. He glares for a moment then places the bottle down before grabbing her wrists pulling them above her head and holding them together with one hand.
"This time, you won't want to be saved." He grins as one of the World Rings that was an aqua blue floats above his free hand. "With this ring I will turn you into a genie of the bottle. The weakest of genies, even more so than a genie of the ring. Once you've fully entered the bottle, it'll be your… pleasure to serve me." He uses the Aqua ring to restrain her wrists as she feels the surge of emotions course through her. The ring levitates her leaving a few inches between her feet and the ground.
Erazor grabs the blue bottle and opens it leaving the lid next to Amy and Tails as he places the bottle beneath Sonic's feet. He snaps his fingers causing her to flinch as the emotions swirling inside her make her feel like she was melting. Her toes just above the bottle slowly dissolve into blue smoke as it pours into the bottle.
"What is this… Feeling?" She tries to move but her body felt heavy, "Gotta… fight it…" She shakes her head as he laughs,
"You won't escape. However… This may take some time…" He frowns noticing the slow pace her feet were turning to smoke, "I should make sure that your friends are delayed." He said touching her chin, her entire body jolts at his touch like an electrical current went through her.
"D…Don't…" She breathes heavily with a quiver in her voice as her face becomes slightly flushed. He notices that more of her turned to smoke after he touched her,
"So just a touch will speed up the process…" He said with a grin,
"Leave her alone!" Amy yells as he swings his hammer at the glass again,
"After I make sure your friends are lost, I'll help speed up the process." He said,
"Creep…" Sonic said. He roughly tugs her ear as she lets out a small squeak at his touch and she pants heavily, her feet now completely gone in smoke. He laughs at her losing struggle against the ring of Pleasure as he disappears,
The others were running down a hallway as Blaze kicks down a door causing them all to stop and turn at her,
"What are you doing?" Knuckles said as Blaze throws a ball of fire into the room as the decor starts to catch on fire.
"Giving us a distraction, I bet he won't like his castle being on fire." She said kicking open another door as she sets it on fire as well, they all nod and continue running.
"Good idea," Shadow said as they are stopped by more of Erazor's minions trying to block their path, "We don't stop, strike any down in your way but keep moving." They all nod and rush through them.
"Shadow, be careful there's a distortion ahead." Shahra said,
"A what?" Shadow asked as they all notice their surroundings suddenly change as they were now standing on a glass pathway.
"What is this?" Cream asked,
"It's a distortion in time and space, Sonic and I ran into many of these the last time we were here. We figured it was his way to stop our progress." She explained,
"He's trying to stall us…" Knuckle said,
"How do we get out of here?" Blaze asked,
"We need to get to the end of the path." Shahra pointed as they continue forward,
"I really don't like that the floor is made of glass…" Cream said,
"Just keep moving and don't think about it. If we're lucky that distraction Blaze made will keep him occupied when we get out of here." Shadow said as they dodge a spear that seems to come out of nowhere and shatter a piece of the path in front of them."
"Shahra, what happens if we fall?" Knuckles asked,
"You cease to exist…"
"Try to keep your feet on the ground this time huh?" Shadow teased as they all get across the gap and continue forward.
"You've been spending too much time with Sonic; she's starting to rub off on you." Knuckles teased back.
"You're probably right," She lightly smiles trying to keep a light hearted attitude to distract how worried she was about Sonic. They get to the end of the path and appear back in the main hall,
"This is good! I know how to get us to the throne room from here more quickly!" She said as they nod and follow Shahra's lead.
"I hope that they are all alright…" Cream said as they continue forward,
Almost an hour had gone by Sonic was struggling to keep herself focused, the smoke had just gotten above her knees and the intensity of emotions going through her body was becoming maddening. Tails and Amy were attempting to get the cork off the bottle but by the rate of their progress they won't get out before Sonic completely turns into smoke,
"Tails, this isn't working…" Amy said catching his breath, as Erazor Djinn reappears next to Sonic. "Crap!" He said as he notices them and walks over to the table.
"Trying to escape? We can't have that" Erazor chuckles as he grabs the bottle pushing the cork back in place then slamming the bottle back onto the table. They both hit the bottom of the bottle hard.
"Leave them… alone…" Sonic protested, she felt so weak at this point she could barely move. He walks back over to her and grabs her waist causing her to yelp.
"You won't have to worry about them for much longer." He said stroking her cheek, every touch was like a scream of electricity as it felt like her body betrayed her. The smoke climbed up all the way to her waist, half of her body gone. "Soon the only thing you'll want is to serve me."
"N…Not… gonna…." A light moan slips through her lips taking her off guard.
"Now I could get used to you making that noise." Erazor taunted, Sonic whimpered starting to struggle to think as he continued to trailing his fingers around the curve of her hip,
"Stop it!" Tails yelled. Both of them began to panic seeing the smoke continue to climb as now half of her torso was gone.
"Enjoy your final moments of freedom my dear," Erazor said as tears fall down her face frightened at what was happening to her, he stops suddenly looking away.
"I'll kill you!" Amy yelled angerly,
"Are they trying to burn everything in their path?" Erazor said to himself as he disappears.
"We need to hurry! Maybe we can knock the bottle over. If we break the bottle we may go back to our normal size." Tails said as he nods.
"Alright, throw me as hard as you can against the side, and I'll strike it with all of my strength." He said as Tails flies down a bit before she spins and throws him. He strikes the glass with all of his might as the bottle starts to tilt but clinks back in place on the table. The noise was enough to get Sonic's attention as she looks over at them.
"Don't… I'll … out of..." She said breathing heavily as she focuses on the bottle, "Chaos… Shield…" The force field appears around the bottle as she takes a moment. Even trying to focus on the Chaos Shield was a struggle as she attempts to move the bottle towards the ledge. The more she focused the more the smoke continued to climb.
"Sonic stop!" Tails yelled causing Sonic to break her concentration as the bottle lands back on the table just against the edge. The smoke slows just at her collar bone as she gasps for breath,
"Why?... almost…" She tried to say but even talking caused the wave of emotions to overwhelm her. The smoke reaching up to her chin.
"You're speeding the spell, we'll get out. You just keep fighting." Tails said. Sonic doesn't respond, she just closes her eyes and tries to focus.
"She may have gotten us close enough to get out, you ready?" Amy asked as Tails takes his hand and they attempt again. This time Tails spin dashes and hits the wall just moments after Amy strikes it and makes it tilt towards the ledge as they both lean with it to keep up the momentum. The bottle starts to tilt and fall. Amy quickly grabs Tails and shields her as the bottle shatters on the marble floor and they both revert back to their original size.
"You okay?" Amy asked letting Tails out of his arms,
"Yeah, that felt weird though." She said dizzily as she stands up and helps Amy to his feet. "You're bleeding." He brushes the broken glass off of his arm.
"We can worry about that later, Sonic's more important." He said as they walk over to what remains of her, her eyes slowly open showing their change in color identical to the azure bottle as they began to look lifeless like they did before with the previous spell. "We're running out of time Tails. Any other ideas?" He asked not entirely sure how to stop her body from turning into smoke.
"Just one." Tails grabs the blue bottle and smashes it against the ground as the smoke escapes and returns to Sonic, her form reverting back to normal.
"Thanks…" She said with a weak smile as her eyes slowly go back to normal.
"Let's get that ring off of you." Amy said wrapping one arm around her waist, so she doesn't collapse as she squeaks to his touch, "Sorry!" He pulls away afraid he hurt her.
"Just… Get it… off… Please…" Sonic begged as he nods wrapping his arm around her again. He grabs the ring as Sonic's hands slip through it slightly going limp in his arm. The emotions from the ring overtake him as he pulls her in before she has a second to react and kisses her.
"H…Hey!" Tails yelled flustered and confused. The doors of the room burst open as the others arrive. The first thing Shadow sees is Amy tightly embracing Sonic with a kiss while she was desperately trying to push him off.
Rage blinds Shadow as she warps next to them pulling Sonic out of his grip by the collar of her vest with one hand and punching Amy in the jaw with the other as he falls to the ground. "Shadow!" Cream yelled in protest as she and Blaze run over and check on Amy as he snaps out of it now realizing what he had done,
"Don't touch her!" Shadow snarled,
"Sonic… I'm so sorry! I… I didn't realize! It took over before I could…" He said flustered stumbling to his feet, rubbing his quickly swelling cheek.
"I… I know… it was the ring…" She said slightly hiding behind Shadow instinctually as Shadow glares protectively.
"Still… I'm sorry if I scared you." Amy said now realizing that the emotion of pleasure had been flooding her senses for over an hour. It only hit him for a moment, and it was enough to overtake him. His face darkens at the thought of how scared she must have been… must still be.
"Are you okay?" Shadow reached for Sonic's arm, but she moved away with her ears lowered.
"Please don't…N… Need a minuet…" She said wiping the tears away from her face. She didn't like how vulnerable she felt as she grips her arms trying to get her body to stop trembling. It still felt like her body was sensitive to the slightest touch even feeling the light movement of air in the room.
"O…Okay," Shadow said looking concerned,
"We need to find the lamp." Cream said as she starts to look around and Tails quickly goes over to help her.
"And the other rings," Knuckles said searching as well,
"We don't have long… I can feel the flames I created fading." Blaze said helping as well. Amy looks over at Sonic feeling terrible but not knowing how to console her, so he went and helped the others in their search.
"Do you want to sit down?" Shadow asked, she would usually embrace Sonic to help her calm down, but she flinched at any movement towards her like she was afraid of the physical touch.
"I just want to get home…" Sonic said looking down, Shadow looks at Tails and Amy for answers to why Sonic was acting like this. Amy gave Tails a look, fearing Shadow might punch him again if he approached and Tails stops helping the search to walk over and talk to Shadow,
"The ring Amy is holding holds the emotion of… pleasure…" Tails said uncomfortably, "He was using it to turn Sonic into a Genie of the bottle… Amy was freeing her when the same emotions she was trapped in overwhelmed him." She explained,
"Did Erazor touch her?" Shadow asked as they all stayed silent. Tails' ears lower as she looks away avoiding eye contact as Shadow notices Amy's expression darken while Sonic continues to cower.
Knuckles goes over to the throne and notices a hidden compartment behind it as he breaks it open, "Knuckles!" Cream said shocked at his reaction, but Cream slowly began to realize that most of her friends were radiating rage and hatred. Knuckles pulls out the lamp from underneath the throne as Shadow steps forward, holding out her hand. Without a word Knuckles tosses her the lamp as she rubs the lamp and Erazor Djinn appears.
"How? How did you get here so fast?" He said angerly as Tails and Cream quickly rush over to Sonic's side noticing her ears lower,
"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, And now you'll grant three final wishes." She said with a coldness to her tone,
"Ha! I am immortal! You cannot harm me." He said. Shadow doesn't even respond to him as she steps forward.
"My first wish, place the remaining two World rings that you have on the table." She said. Erazor snarls as he snaps his fingers. The rings appear on the table next to Sonic and Tails. "My second wish, erase any trace of your presence from Sonic, so that she may be free from that discomfort you placed on her." She said as He laughs.
"I can't remove feelings or sensations of fear or pleasure. She made some rather interesting noises." He taunts turning his gaze towards Sonic as she cowers taking a step back. Tails stands in between and blocks his sight of Sonic,
"Don't let him get under your skin, you're safe." Tails asked as Sonic nods.
"Fine, my second and final wish, I wish that you were stripped of your powers as a genie and forced to live a mortal life for the remainder of your days!" Shadow said. The moment she finished speaking the lamp in her hand starts to dissolve into smoke as Erazor's expression turns to shock and fear.
"No! You can't do this!" He yelled,
"You can't hurt anyone else, A fitting end that is worse than death" Knuckles said remembering his initial threat to Sonic before they entered the Arabian Nights as Erazor Djinn disappears with the mist of the lamp.
"W… where'd he go?" Sonic asked,
"Somewhere he's forced to live as a human," Shadow said walking back over to Sonic and holding out her hand, "Let's get you home." Sonic pauses for a moment hesitating to take her hand as the ground rumbles,
"That didn't sound good…" Blaze said,
"Now that Erazor Djinn is no longer the genie of the lamp there is no magic holding up the castle…" Shahra said,
"That means the castle's going to fall!" Tails said as Sonic takes a breath,
"Tails, grab your ring." Sonic said as she grabs the blue ring from the table as she winces for a second giving the emotions some time to flow through her. "We use the seven rings to get the castle to the ground safely." Tails grabs the yellow ring as emotions of joy and happiness pour into her as she follows after Sonic and they all group together. She holds out her world ring as the others follow her lead and they begin to glow as the castle's quick decent down to the surface below begins to slow.
"It's working." Shahra said as eventually the palace lands safely on the ground. They all release the energy and catch their breath for a moment.
"Okay, let's get out of here." Blaze said as Cream tries to comfort Sonic, but she retreats from her touch.
"P… Please don't…" Sonic said avoiding eye contact, her ears lowering again.
"Oh sweetie," Cream said looking worried as Shadow looks at Shahra,
"Can you get us home?" She asked as Shahra nods.
"Please hold out the rings." Shahra said as they all do so. The rings begin to shrink in size as they wrap around one of their fingers as the flying carpet appears.
"You never needed the rings to get us home did you?" Amy asked, Shahra shakes her head,
"I did not, but this all happened because of the rings' powers. It would be safer for them to be removed from this world all together." She said,
"What will happen to the world?" Tails asked,
"We go back to just a regular story book. And your world will be safe from anyone like the Erazor Djinn." She said with a smile. "I know it was not for exceptionally long. But I am happy to have met you all."
"It was nice to meet you too," Blaze said.
"How close will you be able to get us to the time we left?" Shadow asked,
"I will get you as close as I can." She said as they all climb onto the carpet.
"Shahra…" Sonic starts to say as she stops her,
"Thank you for changing my life Sonic." She said holding out her pinky, "Now it's my turn to make sure you smile." Sonic holds out her pinky and gently smiles,
"Thank you." She said as the carpet begins to glow,
"Goodbye, Legendary Blue Hedgehog." Shahra said as they disappear returning back to their world.
They were unaware that a week of time had passed since they had entered the Arabian nights. They reappear in the Alter room where Hope quickly flies over to greet them. "Chao!"
"Hello Hope, do you know how long we've been gone?" Cream asked as they all transform back.
"Chao!"
"Well, a week's better than over a year." Kolt said,
"I will let Elias and Sally know you're back." Tikal said appearing then disappearing.
"We should get you to the infirmary." TK said looking at the cuts on Alan's arm form the glass bottle as he nods,
"Dr. Starline should check on you too." Sophia said as Saya shakes her head,
"I just want to see my parents…" She said as Sophia offers her, her hand but she turns away not taking it still trembling.
"Okay," Sophia leads her to the door, it bursts open as both Elias and Sally enter,
"Are any of you hurt?" Sally asked,
"Just a few cuts on my arm." Alan said,
"Head to the infirmary." Elias said as he nods, "And the rest of you?" He looks them all over noticing Saya look very uncomfortable, "What happened?"
"We can explain after we get Saya to her parents." Sophia said as Sally nods,
"C'mon, last I checked they were in their room." Sally said reaching out her hand to guide her but Saya steps back avoiding her.
"I'll take her." Sophia said almost shielding Saya as they walk by them and leave the Alter room,
"I want an explanation, now." Elias asked,
"She looked so frightened…" Sally said looking concerned,
"I'll start..." Kolt said as they begin to tell them what happened,
"Saya!" Her mom said as they enter the room. She and her father rush towards them but Sophia gives them a concerned look as she holds up her hand cautiously to stop their fast approach. "What happened?"
"We had a run in with a Genie with a vendetta." Sophia said as Saya's father steps out of the way motioning to a chair. "Do you want me to grab you anything?" Saya shakes her head, "I need to go find out what we missed this last week. But I'll be right back okay?" Saya says nothing as her mom drapes a blanket over Saya's shoulders,
"Oh Hun what happened?" Her mom asked but she still stays silent not entirely sure what to say,
"We'll keep an eye on her Sophia, don't worry." Her dad said as they both sit next to her as Sophia hesitantly leaves the room. She quickly meets back up with the others as TK just finished explaining what happened to Saya. Sophia could feel the anger coming from Elias, but his demeanor changes after she enters the room.
"How is she?" He asked as they all look at Sophia expectantly.
"She's not really talking but she's safe with her parents." She said sitting down,
"I'll ask Dr. Starline if he recommends a way we can help her. For now she'll be off duty until she is feeling better." He said,
"I assume I'm still on house arrest?" Kolt said as Elias shakes his head,
"You also went through a lot, and we need you all back in the field sooner rather than later. Things have been difficult now that Robotnik got the drones reactivated. We've had a lot of people get captured." He said,
"I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving Saya alone right now…" Sophia said,
"Which is why she'll be guarded by either me or Sally while you are gone." Elias said as they look at him surprised, "I'm not risking anything else happening to her, not under my roof." He said angerly.
"Alright," Sophia said feeling a little relieved hearing that,
"You all should get some rest; we have a lot of work to do in the morning." Sally said,
"Were you able to save that sample from the drug that Sophia was under?" TK asked changing the subject.
"Yes, hopefully you can still salvage it. I believe Dr. Starline was holding onto it for you." Elias said,
"I'm going to go work on that after I check on Alan." She said leaving as Sally follows after her,
"Is Saya going to be okay?" Caroline asked Sophia,
"I don't know, but I'll be there for her no matter what." She said,
"Then we won't keep you any longer. I'll brief you all in the morning." Elias said as Sophia nods before quickly leaving.
"Being trapped in sorrow and then physically…" Brandy couldn't even say it,
"I need to go let out some steam." Kolt said standing up,
"Mind if I join you?" Brandy asked as he nods as they all head to the training room to let out their frustrations.
TK and Sally walk into the infirmary hearing Alan complaining about pain as she walks over seeing Dr. Starline pull a piece of glass out of Alan's arm, "That's the last one, it wouldn't have taken as long if your bodies regeneration wasn't working against me." Dr. Starline said with a sigh,
"You're telling me, that was painful!" Alan said as he finished bandaging him up,
"How are you feeling?" TK asked,
"All better, how's everyone else?" he asked,
"Not great…" TK said,
"Everything alright Agent Sally?" Dr. Starline asked,
"Do you have anything that could help someone relax after a serious trauma?" Sally asked,
"Was the trauma physical or mental?" He asked,
"Both…" She said as he thinks,
"If it's rather recent I can prescribe something to help them rest. Can I see this person?"
"She's with her parents, I don't think seeing other people is good for her right now." Sally said,
"So she's unstable? Is it Saya?" He asked as she nods, "Alright give me a moment and I'll grab the medicine." He goes over to the cabinet. "And you're probably here for that sample." He said looking at TK,
"I am," She said as he goes over to a locked fridge and opens it.
"I hope you can still use it," He hands it to her,
"Thanks, I'll talk to you all later." TK said quickly leaving,
"Here," Dr. Starline hands Sally the medicine, "One pill a day should help her feel more relaxed. The first few days taking it she'll be really drowsy."
"Thanks, I'll go give this to her now." Sally said leaving the infirmary. She gets to the Hedge's room and knocks on the door. Saya's father answers the door,
"Is everything alright?" He asked,
"I asked Dr. Starline for some medicine to help Saya feel more comfortable while she recovers." Sally explained as she hands him the bottle. "Be sure she takes one a day, it will make her a little sleepy the first few days."
"Thank you." He said,
"She'll be on leave until she's ready," She smiles as he nods, as she leaves them.
"Here you go Saya, this will help you." He said handing Sophia the bottle as he goes and pours a glass of water. Sophia takes out one of the pills and holds it out to her as she hesitantly takes it. She swallows the pill and drinks the water as they all keep a close eye on her for the next few days.