A giant metal fortress was what appeared to stand in front of the blue aerokinetic. Opening the massive iron doors, the speedster stepped inside, finding himself in a large, long, alabaster stone hallway. Sonic instinctively took the left route. After a few seconds of running another spirit was spotted. This one had an unusual appearance: mechanical in nature, almost like a crude, giant, primitive robot. The minion was at least twice his height.

"Whoa! Who's the big guy?" Sonic asked.

"It's a Golem Djinn. I've never seen one get that big before," Shahra stated, equally surprised at the spirit's height.

The two managed to sneak their way past the robotic guard using iron barrels of oil as cover. Running deeper into the palace let them to another tunnel-like area with metal wire grid for the flooring. A river of molten lava was flowing directly underneath the speedster.

"This isn't just some old fortress," Sonic muttered. "The whole place is a giant furnace! Talk about an 'Evil Foundry'..."

Shahra agreed. "That would be an appropriate name for this place…"

"If there were water in this place, you wouldn't have to worry about getting a Turkish bath here."

Sonic started to run through the fiery corridor. Sweat was forming profusely on his forehead and arms.

Shahra was discomforted by the intense heat. This place made the oasis feel like a windy mountain peak. "The air is so hot in here," she moaned.

Her master teased her briefly. "You're not going to evaporate, are you, Shahra?"

"Ha-ha. Very funny."

The two laughed and proceeded down the hallway. Another minute or so of running and the duo wound up in the heart of the fortress, their only pathway being a strip of iron walkway leading to a massive, tube-shaped, enclosed metal room. The floor of the giant container was completely covered and filled almost to the circular, iron balcony with molten lava and magma. A deep, deadly lake of flames in the heart of the Evil Foundry.

Sonic felt the ground shake again as he moved toward the furnace. Sensing something wrong, he bolted for the room's entrance. Bursting in, he found his adversary hovering above the lake of fire casting spells.

"It's him!" he pointed. "What's he doing here?!"

Shahra was none the calmer. "He's calling more spirits!"

"Spirits?!"

Erazor Djinn began chanting, calling forth his latest force of destruction. "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 ground violently shook once more as an enormous, mechanical monster of iron and flame burst out of the fires of the Foundry, letting out a menacing growl.

Sonic jumped back. "What is that thing?!"

Shahra flew back in fear. "It's a djinn that controls fire! It's called an Ifrit!"

Erazor turned around to face them. "I have already carved up half of the pages that make up this world…"

Shahra glared at him angrily. "Then why would you need to call forth a creature like that?!"

Erazor simply laughed. "I've decided to let Ifrit Golem burn whatever pages remain in the book." The evil djinn cast his vision on the red-sneakered speedster. "You! Blue rat! Have you gathered the seven rings yet?"

Sonic's own anger with his enemy was fueled even further by the insult. "And enough of that rat stuff! Seriously! I'm a hedgehog! HEDGE-HOG!"

Erazor was none the more convinced. "All you filthy vermin are worthless, just the same. At any rate, you'd better hurry it up." He pointed at the aerokinetic's chest.

Sonic looked down. The flame embedded in his torso shrunk down to half of its original size. "Darn!"

The evil djinn summoned his violet portal again, disappearing as he spoke. "With only half of the flame left, only half of your life force remains…"

The blue streak extended an arm in the genie's direction. "Wait!"

He didn't have time to move.

The Ifrit was now in front of him, towering over the balcony as it let out another threatening growl.

"Hey, you! GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Sonic yelled, executing several homing attacks, bashing the monster all over its metal body.

The attacks didn't even phase it.

"What the—?! That didn't work?!"

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

"Oh, yeah? Just watch me!" the speedster replied as he started to backpedal.

Sonic bumped into the iron wall as the Ifrit cornered them both. He turned around.

The iron doors of the giant furnace started to close. Erazor intended the furnace to be their graves.

Shahra began to panic. "We're trapped like—"

Sonic cut her off, punctuating his words with annoyance. "Don't! Say it!" He'd had enough of being called a "rat" for one day.

The blue blur looked up as the Ifrit raised an enormous iron hand out of the lake of fire. "This does not look good!"

I would usually use Chaos Control, but I don't have a Chaos Emerald on hand, so this'll have to do! Sonic rubbed the ring on his finger as the metal monster reached for him in an attempt to grab him. "Shahra lend me your power!"

Out of time and out of options, Sonic shouted a command as the massive iron fingers closed in on him. "Time Break!"

In a pulse of light, colors turned greyscale as time itself slowed to a near stop. The Ifrit was frozen and was moving at a decelerated rate.

Seizing the chance, Sonic bolted for the exit, glancing at the robotic monster one last time. "Sorry, but we've got to run! Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get the chance to play again real soon!" he mocked.

As the time flow snapped back to normal, the blue streak burst out of the Evil Foundry and back across the Dinosaur Jungle's lake.

"Where are we going?" Shahra asked.

"We need some ideas on how to beat this guy," her master replied. "Remember that favor Ali Baba said he'd return?"

"Yes."

"I think it's time we took him up on his offer. So, in answer to your question, that's where we're headed: back to the Sand Oasis!"

Sonic and Shahra ran into Ali Baba sooner than they expected, hanging around the outskirts of the town. The blue streak explained the situation with the Ifrit and how dire the situation was; to the extent that he even had to slow time down to get away.

"…then we escaped back here," he finished.

Ali Baba thought over the predicament for a brief moment. "Let's see… My friend Sinbad might be able to share some of his worldly knowledge with you."

"So… where is he?"

"Well, according to rumor, he was fighting some pirates when he was taken away by the Rukh."

"The Rukh…?"

"It's a giant bird—well, not really a bird. It's more like a living fossil."

That can't be anything like the pterosaur I saw earlier today, can it? Ah, never mind! Sonic shrugged. "Okay, so where is this, er… bird-thing?"

Ali Baba pointed to the clouds. "I believe the Rukh flocks somewhere out in the skies to the west."

The speedster glanced in that direction. "The skies, huh? Okay." Rubbing the ring on his finger, he summoned his companion once more. "Hey, Shahra!"

Shahra floated next to him, bowing again. "Oh, Master, what is thy wish?"

"We need that magic carpet of yours. We've got ourselves a Rukh to track down!"

Hopping on the floating rug, Sonic and Shahra took to the skies as Ali Baba waved to them from the Oasis.

A skyward sprint, huh? Sonic pondered. This ought to be interesting!