As the carpet continued its dive, Shahra began to find herself more and more intrigued by her new master. Why is he such a lighthearted, joking person? Why is he called 'Sonic the Hedgehog'? More questions continued to flood her mind on the trip down. Finally, after five minutes of flying, Sonic broke the ice.

"Something on your mind, Shahra?"

"Yes, actually. Just why exactly are you called 'Sonic'? That's an unusual name."

Sonic chuckled. "Your name has a meaning, right?"

"Yes. 'Shahra' is the Arabic word for 'Desert'."

"'Sonic' is the rough English translation for my last name," the teenager replied. "My real name is 'Ventus Onsoku'. Written in traditional Japanese, my full name would mean 'Sonic Wind' as 'Ventus' is Latin for 'Wind' and 'Onsoku' in Japanese literally means 'Speed of Sound'. In my world, the speed of sound is classified as Mach One or Sonic Speed, which is roughly 760 miles per hour. So, I guess from then on I just went by 'Sonic' since it's easier to remember."

Well, that explains the first part. Shahra paused. "So, how did you come to be called 'Hedgehog'?"

Another smile came on the speedster's face. "I am capable of running faster than the speed of sound or supersonic speed, which is also how I came to be known as 'Sonic'. I'm not exactly sure how much faster I can go, though, being as I haven't pushed myself to my limits yet. However, moving that fast causes my hair to form spikes and permanently point backwards." The teenager stroked one of his cone-like spines of hair. "Miles Prower, an old buddy of mine stated that my hair looked like the quills of a hedgehog, so, he jokingly gave me the full title or 'code name' of 'Sonic the Hedgehog'. The name kind of stuck, however, and no one has stopped calling me that since."

Sonic laughed. "In his mind Sonic was my 'superhero' identity and Ventus was the 'secret' one. He even designed a full-body, skin-tight, red and blue suit and mask for me so I could keep my real name hidden. And, to be honest, the suit was more functional than I thought. It decreased wind resistance around me and it seemingly allows me to run at my full potential. And since then, I have never stopped wearing it. But, now that I had a nickname, my friends decided to give themselves code names as well. Miles became known simply as 'Tails', and a friend named Thomas was dubbed 'Knuckles the Echidna'."

"I see. So that explains everything," Shahra replied.

"Yep. I would normally ask you about your past, but genies are immortal and it would be a pain for you to remember all of your past. Not to mention that it'd take up too much time."

Shahra laughed for the first time. "Yes, I believe it would take quite a spell, now wouldn't it?"

After another five minutes of air time, the duo reached their destination. The magic carpet hovered three feet off a pathway and dissipated, leaving the speedster to land on his own two feet. Right off the bat, the trail seemed odd. Giant pages of papyrus vertically circled the pathway. The very ground that Sonic stood on was made of pages itself, each seemingly about 200 feet wide and about 260 feet long. The trail and the pages encircling it seemed to stretch on forever and floated amidst a cream-colored sky.

Sonic glanced over the edge of the trail. "Hey, where's the ground?"

"That is the ground," Shahra explained.

"So, if I fall, I'll just keep falling forever?"

"No, not necessarily. Here, if you fall off the edge of this path, you will land back on it again."

A bewildered yet astonished Sonic scratched his head. "So, if I jump, it's like the trail vanishes and somehow appears right under me?"

"Correct. This world's boundaries and limits are different than those in both your realm and mine. It connects the world of the book with your own world."

"So, what is this, like, some kind of… Lost Prologue…?"

A look of surprise came over Shahra's face. "More or less, yes. How'd you know this area's name?"

Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. I just took a guess. It just came to me. Anyway, why are we here? To get adjusted to the world of the book or something?"

This earned another surprised look from Shahra. "Correct again. This is meant to be a kind of training ground for you as you prepare for the real deal. You're a lot smarter than you let on before."

Sonic laughed. "I know. I do that quite a bit. I know I'm an intelligent person, but I don't use it or let on that I am until the right time. So, that's why I'm a wisecracker: to throw people off so I can get the upper hand in the end. So, to start off on a different note, how do we begin training?"

Shahra explained that they needed to measure the limits of his speed in this world just so they could get an estimation of how much time they had left. She snapped her fingers. "Do you see that purple marker?

Sonic looked down the stretch of pages. In the distance around a bend, he could see a faint glow. He nodded in response.

"That's about a thousand feet away," she told the teenager. "I need you to run quickly there and—"

—WHOOSH!—

Shahra didn't even have time to blink. Where did he go? He was right in front of me! She looked to her left.

A bright blue aura enveloped the speedster as he rocketed down the curved pathway, the energy trailing behind him like a comet. In a few short seconds, Sonic reached the marker, and, despite his increasing momentum, was able to stop on a dime at the designated area.

"How was that?" Sonic shouted from the distance.

Floating, Shahra reached him within the same amount of time. She was a genie after all. Her jaw dropped. "How… How did you—"

Sonic laughed. "I told you I could move faster than sound. Every time I want to run at a speed faster than sound, I clench my fists and for whatever reason, this blue aura surrounds me, allowing me to break the sound barrier. I like to call it a 'Sonic Boost' if you will. The aura also provides protection and allows me to smash through certain things without sustaining injury. It's like a kind of aerokinetic ability."

Now it was Shahra's turn to be confused. "Aero…"

"Aerokinetic. Aerokinesis in my world is the ability to control the air or wind. It can be used for many different things and can be stronger with certain actions or abilities: in my case, it allows me to run at an accelerated rate by parting the air in front of me which decreases resistance and also pushes me forward. So, my boost is kind of a push-and-pull thing. That same ability is also what allows me to stop immediately regardless of how fast I'm going."

"I see."

Sonic began to tie a white Hachimaki or Japanese headband around his forehead to keep sweat out of his eyes. In the center of the band was the symbol on his red and blue suit: a silhouette of his head. On either side of that was one of the two Kanji for his last name.

Finished, the blue streak finally spoke. "So, what else you got?"

Shahra summoned up a pair of twenty foot high, purple walls, forming a barrier around them both. "Now we examine your agility. Try and escape these walls."

Sonic crouched and leaped into the air, scaling the confinement with ease, and landing in an arachnid-like position. Wow. I remember more of the ol' Baguazhang and Feng Shui than I thought I did.

Shahra dissipated the barrier around herself. Her master continued to amaze her with each passing moment. At first she had her doubts and felt like they needed to prepare more, but as she began to see what he was truly capable of, the worries faded and a wave of confidence swept over her. After briefly giving Sonic a few more reflex and skill tests, they set off down the trail heading toward the world of the book.

Just how long is this pathway? It seemed to stretch on forever. Sonic, being somewhat of an impatient person and having a bit of a short temper, felt like he'd been running forever, while in reality he had only ran for five minutes. I might as well try and pass the time…

Sonic glanced at Shahra who was floating at his running speed alongside him. "Okay, so who's this guy who's trying to make the world disappear again?"

Shahra returned the glance. "You mean, the Erazor Djinn?" She looked ahead. In the distance an Arabic-themed disk of violet light slowly started forming in front of them. A worrisome look appeared on her face.

"Yeah, that's right," Sonic replied. "Can you take me to him?"

Shahra's nervous expression reached her voice. "There is no need…"

"Whaddya mean?"

"He's here!"

In a flash of light from the disk, a tall, muscular, purple-skinned man with red hair and body markings materialized in front of them. A brown cape covered his backside and a giant, old-fashioned shaving razor, about the length of a medieval sword, was in his hand. Opening his weapon, he lunged for Sonic.

Oh, boy. THIS ought to be fun… Using his superior reflexes, Sonic threw on the brakes and instantly leaped backward as the man reached his position. The blade of his razor almost grazed Sonic's chest. Curling into a ball, the speedster somersaulted and landed on his feet with a hand on the ground. "What's that all about?! Talk about close shaves… Maybe you know where I can get my quills sharpened, too?"

"Sonic, that's him!" Shahra pointed. "He's the evil spirit who is striking the words of our world from the pages!"

The man finally spoke, his voice deep and mocking. He looked at the blue-clad teenager. "You… You must be that blue 'rat' that just got added to the story!"

"Don't you know anything?" Sonic fired back, indignant. "I'm not a rat! I'm named after a hedgehog!"

Shahra tried to explain. "Sonic, I think he meant 'street rat' due to the fact that you are a master of improvisation and—"

"Street rat, lab rat, I don't care! I'm a hedgehog, not a rat! Period!"

The man laughed mockingly and spoke again. "I am Erazor Djinn. I am the one who shall carve up this world as I see fit."

"Yeah, well, if you're going to do that, can you at least wait until I'm done reading it first?" Sonic joked. This wasn't his first encounter with an evil megalomaniac and wasn't the first time he busted one either. As a result, he never missed a chance to throw a quip or two in or mock his enemies in every encounter. His feet weren't the only things that were fast on him. His wits were equally fast and razor-sharp.

"Soniiic…" Shahra scolded. Now was not the time for wisecracks.

Erazor continued to rant on. "One hundred of the One Thousand and One Nights have already been wiped clean! And soon the rest shall join them, night by night! And then, with the seven World Rings…"

Sonic's cocky smirk faded into a look of concentration. "Seven World Rings?" he asked. Those can't be anything like the seven Chaos Emeralds back home, can they…? Because if these World Rings possess near the amount of power the Emeralds do, and if that brute gets his hands on them…

Sonic was too lost in thought to hear the banter between Erazor and Shahra.

"You have gathered the seven World Rings for me, have you not, Shahra, my dear?"

Shahra finally reached exasperation. "Are you still going on about that? I told you, those things don't even exist! And even if they did, I'd never give them to you!" Letting out a breath of frustration she turned her back on the evil djinn.

"Oh, wouldn't you, though…? I suppose a suitable punishment is in order, then!" That said, Erazor raised his arm and a small fireball formed on the tip of his index finger.

Sonic snapped out of his train of thought only to see Erazor shoot a small ball of fire at Shahra's back.

Oh, no!

The blue streak bolted for his companion and guide. "Look out!"

Shahra turned around just in time to see a flaming dart head straight for her chest. She froze.

Sonic leaped in front of her at the last second, blocking her from the attack. The fireball hit him square in the left side of his chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Sonic!" Shahra screamed.

Erazor laughed wickedly. "So this is how judgment is dealt is it? This should be interesting…" He looked at the teenager who was now on one knee, starting to get up. The flame in his chest was still there, but it didn't grow or singe him or any of his clothes.

Erazor summoned his violet portal as he began preparing for departure, still staring down his blue foe. "You listening? Bring me the seven World Rings before the Arrow of Flame extinguishes. If you do not… Your life is forfeit! Next I think I shall go collect the life of King Shahryar!" In a flash of light he vanished from sight.

Shahra bore a worried look on her face as Sonic got to his feet. "The King is the creator of the Arabian Nights and the main character of the story," she explained.

Sonic fired up his blue aura and started bolting down the paper trail with Shahra on his heels. "With my speed, we'll just have to make sure we get to him first!"