"This is the town…?" Sonic said, slightly disappointed by the current appearance. It looked bleak, deserted, and poverty stricken-similar to how the poor part of Gordana looked, only it was desert themed. The sun setting background however was nice enough to make up for the bland town since the sun could clearly be seen in the far distance heading to its slumber behind the mountains of sand.
Sonic crossed his arms as they reached the middle of the small merchant town, "Pretty small, have any idea where she might be?"
Shahra shook her head, "She never told me where in town she was staying, she only told me that she'd be here…"
"Well, that's not good…"
"Truly it isn't; we're being followed as it is, any time we waste will lead to a fight that we could've avoided." Shahra said hurriedly, searching for her sister.
It was almost night, and if they couldn't find her while the sun was up, they'd have to settle for spending the night in the town. Going out into the desert at night, although the weather would be cooler, the stronger monsters that lurk would appear-in numbers; the duo would already be at a disadvantage with lack of vision since it's so dark out, but then there'd be the number disadvantage. They decided to stay at a local inn for the night while they prepared to leave in the morning, both deciding that more than likely Shahra's sister wasn't in the town.
"I'm impressed you were able to get us a room with two beds; these rooms are very small…" Sonic said, plopping on one of the beds.
"It wouldn't be a bother to me, but I'm sure someone your age would prefer their own space to rest than sharing with someone of the opposite sex, right?"
Sonic shook his head, "I'd prefer we don't talk about that stuff…"
Shahra nodded, "Of course."
Shahra sat down on her bed, "It's strange for Dunya to be wrong like this…"
Sonic lied down, looking up at the old ceiling- "Maybe they might've found her so she had to escape?"
"That's a possibility…"-Shahra lied down, shifting her body to Sonic- "But even so, she still wouldn't leave without leaving any clues…"
"Why don't we ask around tomorrow?"
During the entire conversation, outside of their room, the Bedouin crouched down with their head to the door, listening to the entire conversation. They made sure to look around each time to be sure no one noticed them eavesdropping, but it wasn't too much worry since the place barely got any customers. The Bedouin snickered, knowing they could ambush the duo at this very moment, but they chose not to, since after hearing their conversation-they found something useful.
It appears a comrade of theirs is missing…if I can find any clues on her, I could use it as a bargaining chip. they thought, walking along to her room.
The next morning, Sonic and Shahra spent the early sunrise asking anyone who was up about Dunya, Shahra's sister; all of it was at a dead end though, so the two decided that it'd be best if they left, trying to avoid any trouble occurring. Unfortunately, the bandits from the other day had arrived very late into the night and were waiting for Sonic and Shahra to leave, blocking both entrances into the town. Sonic and Shahra found themselves surrounded by bandits carrying scimitar-about 50 of them. Both didn't know what to do since the last thing they'd want is to damage the town, but at the same time they didn't want to get captured; they get into a fighting stance, ready for the brawl.
But suddenly, an arrow came from out of nowhere-piercing one of the bandits in the neck, killing him; the other bandits and Sonic and Shahra were alarmed by the stray arrow. Another arrow flew in, striking yet another member, and soon the bandits realized that this wasn't a coincidence-someone was attacking them. A black figure appeared from the top of the inn that was about 500 feet away, and although far away, their green eyes pierced the souls of the bandits she targeted with her bow. They took aim, closing their left eye, using their piercing right eye for vision as they locked in on the target: Shahra; the arrow fired at such an incredible pace that dust flew around the bow after the arrow was released. Shahra didn't notice the arrow was heading in her direction, but Sonic felt the deadly arrow's presence, immediately acting, getting in a running and jumping position. His feet dug into the sand and then lifted as he hopped, leaving behind a disturbingly fast break of wind and a blue streak as he rushed to catch the arrow with his hand and stop it from reaching Shahra in midair: Sonic broke the sound barrier!
The Bedouin was intrigued by what they just witnessed, seeing something move so fast that the naked eye couldn't even process it. He's the one! Ali Baba mentioned he was fast…but even I had my doubts! The Bedouin thought as they watched Sonic perform something even more impressive; as if in slow motion, Sonic took the same arrow that he caught and did a corkscrew spin in midair-throwing that same arrow in mid-spin, landing it on the guy that appeared to be the leader of the bandits, hitting him in the foot. It looked painful from the reaction of the bandit, who cried in pain, feeling the intense burn of the arrow drill his foot in the sand. Sonic stood before him, crossing his arms with a terrifying death stare; the bandit begged for mercy.
"You've got some nerve trying to ambush us…"-Sonic's death stare intensified- "the person who shot those arrows, show yourself!" he yelled, looking in the direction of where the arrows fired; the Bedouin hopped from the top of the building, doing a front flip-landing. they had their bow in their hand and had their face covered by wrappings, only their green eyes showing; Sonic felt familiarity once he locked eyes with the archer.
"I'm guessing you must be pretty good if I had to use my Sonic speed…" Sonic laughed, putting away his serious side for the moment, sensing that this archer wasn't someone to take lightly.
The commotion from the attempted ambush led to many people coming out to see what was going on; to keep themselves from drawing any more attention than what they already had, the Bedouin decided to have Sonic and Shahra follow them somewhere away from the scene. After they had enough distance away from most of the citizens, they rested behind a set of homes on an old discarded carpet next to some lamps. Sonic sat while Shahra floated, both eyeing the Bedouin the entire time-suspicious.
"No need to stare so hard, I don't mean you any harm…at least not anymore." The Bedouin said in a scratchy voice, but probably from the all the coverings on their head.
"The arrow you fired earlier was no joke; where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Sonic said, impressed by what he saw earlier; the Bedouin thanked him, but didn't revealed where they learned to shoot.
Shahra stared at the Bedouin, "Who are you? And why did you lead us here if you're not going to hurt us?"
"After seeing the blue one catch my arrow, I knew I stood no chance against him should I fight him…"-the Bedouin looked at Sonic in an admirable way- "you're beyond my comprehension. It's no wonder Ali Baba rates you so highly."
"Ali Baba!?" the duo said in unison.
"Do you know him?"
"Of course, he's a friend."
The Bedouin gazed at them for a moment, "I see…"-the Bedouin removes their head coverings, all of it; once Sonic and Shahra see the Bedouin's face, they both are stunned, especially Sonic- "I was wondering when I'd run into you people…" the Bedouin said in a firm feminine tone.
The Bedouin was the Arabian Nights doppelganger of Amy Rose, having the short hair that Amy used to have before she grew it out, the same face, and same kind of weapon: a bow and arrow. The Bedouin put her hands on her hips, analyzing Sonic and Shahra, "My name is Morgiana, I've been traveling all over Sand Oasis in search of allies that can assist me. I think you two are just the ones I've been searching for."
Shahra got upset, "You aimed an arrow at me and nearly killed me!"
Morgiana nodded, "It was supposed to be revenge for killing that scorpion earlier, but your friend there was something I didn't expect."-she turned her attention to Sonic- "Say, how did you do that? There was a point in time where I saw you actually disappear…just how fast are you?"
Sonic smiled wholeheartedly, "I'm as fast as I want to be!"
Morgiana smiled back, "I like you, your attitude is just my type of guy!"
"Well, what do you want with us?" Shahra said, growing more dislike for Morgiana.
Morgiana explained her story for why she was in search of help; it was around the time where King Shahryar was executing brides daily and allowed one bride to entertain him with a story for one thousand and one nights, after that bride escaped, Ali Baba had visited him hoping to calm the king of his madness before he executes more brides; the king didn't take too kindly to Ali Baba's visit, deciding to throw him in prison and execute him; the king decided he'll execute Ali Baba the moment he's captured the escaped bride, and execute them together. Morgiana explained that she wants to rescue Ali Baba, but can't do it alone, nor would Sinbad offer help, so she searched far and wide for any strong allies; unfortunately, many of the people underground refused to commit treason against the king.
"That is why I need your help…" she said with a pained look; Sonic and Shahra looked each other, feeling they should help.
"But why should we help you?" Shahra asked, still unsure about confirming to help.
Morgiana smirked, "Because, I also know you're the escaped the bride…and as for your sister's disappearance she probably got captured by King Shahryar and is being sent back to his palace. If you help me, we can rescue her and Ali Baba, and even fix the king of his madness. But, if you decide not to tell, I could always just rat you out and bargain your life for Ali Baba's…"
A sweat drop came down Shahra's face as she weighed the options, "talk about a negotiator…"-she looked at Sonic, who encouraged her to accept- "Fine. I'll help you, but only because I'm rescuing my sister."
Morgiana smirked, "Fine by me. I was kind of hoping you'd decline so your blue friend and myself could be alone."-she shrugged her shoulders- "But hey, I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too."
The three set off for their departure, leaving the town to make way for the King's palace-to do that, they'll have to cross the desert for a couple of days. They made their preparations, stocking up on supplies for their trip and then set off in the evening, knowing the temperature will be much cooler than in the day. They paced themselves, going at full speed at certain intervals of the hour, then lowering their speed to walking speed at every other. They had two days to plan how they'll face the king and stop his mass killings; The trio were finally about to begin their grand plan: stopping King Shahryar.