Sonic slumbered, his head nodding back and forth as a snot bubble emerged from his nose; the peaceful ambiance and silence was exactly what added to his deep sleep, so bliss like nature itself with the cool A/C blowing on his head from the ceiling. Over on a bookshelf laid many of the souvenirs from Sonic's past adventures: Chip's necklace, His hover board, a couple of red rings, and his storybooks. His book of One Thousand and One Nights began to move, shaking very slowly as it inched its way from the spot it was nestled in; the book continues to wiggle until it teeters over fall to floor, making a huge thud as it hit the floor. Sonic woke up, startled by the sudden noise-he got out of bed immediately, looking around the room to see what caused that noise, spotting the book on the floor; He walks over to see which book fell.

The book began to shake furiously, causing Sonic to approach with caution; he crouches-the book stops shaking-he gets up, and the book shakes again. Huh!? Sonic thought, deciding to crouch the rest of the way since that stopped the book from shaking. The book shot open, startling Sonic, golden sand sprouted from the opened book; soon, a figure appeared from the book, taking form from the golden sand. Sonic was amazed, seeing sand turn into a person, but what was more impressive was that he felt somehow familiar with this scene, as if he'd been through it before. The sand took the form of a genie, one who Sonic knew all too well once he recognized her appearance.

"S-Shahra!?"

Shahra bowed, "My apologies for disturbing you at such a time…but, I need your help."

"What's wrong…?"

Shahra wouldn't say, but in her eyes, there was nothing but pain; Sonic decided to leave that where it is. Shahra cleared her throat, "the world of the Arabian Nights is in ruin…many disasters have taken place, and it's only getting worse by the day."

"How so? is Erazor Djinn back?"

Shahra shook her head, "It's a different calamity that's befallen."

Sonic thought for a moment, "I really shouldn't be doing anything strenuous now…"-he stares into Shahra's pleading eyes- "But I guess I can help out this time-for a friend."

Shahra's shocked, "You'll go!? Even if I don't give you the details?"

"Of course, Were friends after all…"-Sonic nodded with a smile- "Send me into the Arabian Nights!"

Shahra nodded, turning him into sand along with herself-returning to the world of the Arabian Nights. They travel through reality, arriving in the land of the Arabian Nights, specifically in the desert. Sonic's head is buried in sand and he can't get out, to which Shahra pulls him out clumsily. Sonic looks up at the open sky above him and at the peaceful desert that surrounds him. Shahra guides him to a nearby town, taking him to canteen to brief him on everything that's going on. Upon entering town, there were many townspeople walking around and about going on doing tasks in their everyday life; Sonic observed their interactions, happy to see people enjoying their lives normally. As they continued their walk through the town, Sonic noticed that something seemed different Shahra-specifically the way he entered this book with her.

Didn't she give me a ring when we entered this book…? I had to have a wish and then she granted it…she's the genie of the ring. But, I don't see a ring…and she's even walking normally instead of flying…what happened while I was gone? He thought staring at Shahra from behind; "We're almost there…" Shahra said, looking back.

They arrived at a white dome-looking building and in there it was packed with people from all over the Arabian Peninsula who were visiting to hear the wonderful live performances from the entertainers there, delicious food and beverage, and the overall experience of the town itself. Shahra got seats for them and looked at the menu; Sonic was confused by the lax approach of Shahra.

"You wanted to know what was wrong, right?" Shahra said, reading her menu; Sonic nodded, "If I know what's happening, then it'll make everything much better for me in understanding just how important this is."

"You remember King Shahryar…you called him a Dr. Eggman."

"Yeah, I don't like that guy…"-Sonic crossed his arms, leaning back into the booth-"What about him? Last time he wasn't someone evil."

Shahra looked defeated, "I'm married to him…"

"WHAT!?" Sonic yelled as he slammed his hands on the table, leaning forward; everyone in the canteen stopped and looked at him. Everything went back to normal once Sonic apologized for his outburst.

"Why…why do you have to be with that guy? Do you even like him? There must be some reason why you're stuck to him, you're not the kind of person to like scum like him!" Sonic ranted, fully against the idea.

Shahra smiled, "It's heartwarming to see you care so much for my well-being…"-she stared at the table- "But it's as you imagine, I have reason for marrying him…"

"I'm listening…"

"A while after you returned to your world, King Shahryar began to call for all unmarried women of the kingdom to be his brides. Once he married them, he'd kill them the next day after spending the night with them. He continued doing this for about a month before I decided to step up become his bride-against my father's wishes."

"Your father?"

"My father serves as King Shahryar's vizier, which means he's the one who executes said brides…so he was against my decision, but I couldn't let King Shahryar kill any more innocent women."

Sonic understood the situation a bit crossing his arms-staring at Shahra with focus, "Continue…"

Shahra nodded, "After we got married, and the ritual got carried out, he threw me in prison and condemned me to death. I was visited by my sister, who I was supposed to share my last words with along with the king himself. I enlightened him for one thousand and one nights, making sure to keep him from killing me by leaving the stories I'd tell him on a cliffhanger each night. After I had no more stories to tell him, I was hoping he'd have a change of heart and become a good person after learning the morale of the different stories…but, he became even worse. He demanded more stories, and when I couldn't find any more to tell, he sentenced me to death…"

"Then what happened…?"

"I escaped but…"-she began to tear up, holding her hand to her mouth as she looked at the table, feeling emotional pain- "My father…sacrificed his life to allow my sister and I to escape."

Sonic expressed his condolences, "So what about your sister…? How is she? Is she with you?"

Shahra smiled-happy that Sonic cares so much about her sister, "She's fine. We went separate ways; I told her I'd seek your help while she hides in the neighboring town north of here. We can depart for there once it's nightfall; it's cooler at night, albeit more dangerous."

"Don't worry, you've got me." Sonic winked; their beverages arrived a moment later. Sonic had ordered a Malt while Shahra ordered a Strawberry champagne. But before they could take a sip, a gang of grey bandits entered the canteen holding a wanted poster in their hands; Shahra knew right away that meant trouble, and grabbed Sonic, leading him to the back door for their escape.

Sonic didn't ask questions since the situation was obvious, "They're looking for you…guess we'll be leaving early?"

"We've got no choice…"-she with resolve, summoning a fly carpet- "Get on. We can make it to neighboring town before sunrise if we hurry."

Sonic hopped on and they flew away just in time before the bandits could recognize them; Shahra glanced at Sonic, seeing him stare at the ground below, lost in thought. Shahra faces him, "You're admiring the ground pretty intently…"

"oh…!"-realizing he was too focused- "Sorry, I was just thinking of how different this return is…"-he lied back stretching his legs- "I noticed some differences form my first visit to this one."

"How so?"

"Well, for one. I directly got sent into the Sand Oasis instead of going through the Lost Prologue. Another is that instead of wishing to be sent here, you dissolved me into sand and we immediately came here…Shahra, aren't you a ring genie? I notice that you walk normally and can perform things outside your limitations."

Shahra nodded, "Indeed I am a ring genie. But, I've awakened to new power ever since our last encounter. Now, I'm able to grant wishes outside my limits, and I can even control sand…it's as if the gods of the Arabian nights bestowed this power unto me."

"Ooooh so that's why we turned into sand when we left my world."

"Mhm, I'm sure I can be able to assist you in battle more efficiently."

"I'll be needing it!" Sonic said happily.

They continued their travels in the hot sandy desert of Sand Oasis, leaving a huge trail of sand kicking in the air behind them. Sonic blazed through the thick sand, followed by a flying Shahra; another couple of hours until they reached their destination. Sonic noticed something strange about their surroundings, feeling the sand somehow rumble as though there might be something underground.

"Hey Shahra… doesn't anything feel weird to you?" Sonic said, lowering his speed; Shahra looked roundabout the desert, seeing nothing suspicious.

"I can't sense anything unordinary…what's wrong?"

"It feels like we're being hunted…"

Suddenly two giant pincers sprouted from the ground, along with a poison tipped tail that curved; a giant black scorpion appeared before them, an intimidating foe that was as big as a tower. Sonic and sunk his feet into the sand, prepared for a fight; Shahra looked unimpressed by the giant foe, having a bored expression on her face as the scorpion pinched the air with its massive pincers.

"Leave this one to me, Sonic." Shahra said, stretching while floating; Sonic was surprised by Shahra's sudden confidence, but smirked, knowing she must be tough now.

The scorpion moved around quickly from side to side as it closed in on Shahra, but Shahra kept her cool, instead holding up a hand-sucking up the surround sand into that hand; a swirling ball of sand formed in her hand. The ball hardened, Shahra closed her eyes-focusing her power, relying on her other senses to detect the giant scorpion. The scorpion closed in, readying on of its pincers to attack the still Shahra; Sonic wanted to intervene, but he trusted in Shahra's confidence and decided to only observe.

Shahra's eyes opened, an angry fire in them with her eyebrows slanted. She fires the hard ball of sand in a curving throw, dodging the scorpion's claw; she flew away, creating a whirlwind of sand to contain the scorpion as her attack curled its way into the scorpion's tail. With the scorpion trapped, the ball suddenly picked up speed, and then-FWOOSH! Cleanly the tail was removed from the scorpion's body. The scorpion bled quickly, and being trapped in the whirlwind only hindered its escape.

Shahra flew away, leaving the dangerous creature to die; Sonic was appalled by the sudden change in Shahra's personality, seeing her go from being so friendly to being ruthless. Shahra didn't look back until she was sure the scorpion was dead, knowing the creature's fate had arrived once the whirlwind died. She turned around, looking at Sonic with a face full of regret.

"I'm sorry you had to see that…" she apologized.

"No worries. I just didn't expect to see that side of you…"

Shahra's eyes sharpened, not of anger, but of pain instead- "That scorpion's death is nothing compared to what I witnessed on those one thousand and one nights. There are some things I wish I could just erase from my memories…forget it, let's leave it at that. That scorpion had the most painless death I could possibly give it."

Thanks to the slowdown from dealing with that scorpion, they'd be a few hours behind, but still early enough to arrive before sun down. For Shahra and Sonic, being out in the desert at night at the current moment wouldn't be safe when they're potentially being followed; the best thing to do would be to get Shahra's sister and move from there. But while Sonic and Shahra continued their way to the next town, a mysterious Bedouin dressed in all brown followed them from a far distance, the only thing to be seen as visible from him was his weapon, a golden dagger with a gem fused at the hilt that shined, while the rest of his attire blended in. He breathed heavily as he arrived at the dead scorpion, feeling the corpse for any remains that he could salvage.

"That woman shall pay!" the Bedouin said in a calm yet scary tone.