Chapter 84: Dream
After Sonny had defeated Erazor Djinn, he dissipated into a puff of smoke that flew away. So Sonny pursued the smoke cloud through several doors until he came to one pair which he could not open. The doors themselves were highly decorated with no obvious handles or locks but there were seven ring-shaped holes in different colors arranged in an arc-shaped formation.
"'When the seven rings that control the worlds are gathered, the portal between the worlds shall open,'" Sonny recited as Shahra reemerged from her ring. "Well, we have all seven World Rings and there are seven ring-shaped holes."
"So this must be the door we have to open with the rings," Shahra said.
"Only one way to find out," Sonny said as he reached into his pockets to pull out the seven World Rings.
To Shahra and Sonny's amazement, the World Rings floated into the holes that matched their color and the door opened. Inside, Sonny and Shahra found themselves in a circular room lit by several lanterns illuminating the various objects surrounding a distinct throne with a red carpet and a small set of steps leading up to it. At the foot of the throne's steps stood Erazor Djinn's sword, which had a trail of smoke that suddenly grew thicker and formed into Erazor Djinn himself.
"You've gathered the seven World Rings," Erazor Djinn remarked proudly. "Well done, Shahra!"
Sonny looked at Shahra who flinched in response to Erazor Djinn.
"You were able to use the boy to find the rings and bring them to me," Erazor Djinn said as he reached his hand out to Shahra. "Now hand them over and we shall rule the worlds together!"
Shahra lifted her arms slightly and the seven World Rings appeared around her.
"Shahra, wait!" Sonny cried as Shahra floated towards Erazor Djinn. "As your master, I command you to stop!"
As Sonny rubbed the ring, Shahra halted and collapsed onto the floor.
"Prayers, sadness, rage, hatred, joy, pleasure, wishes," Erazor Djinn said as the rings appeared around him and Sonny ran towards Shahra. "These are the seven hearts that make up the stories; the seven World Rings that bind these pages together! 'But the life of the collector of the rings shall be offered up in sacrifice as the key for that control'. It is your life that will be sacrificed, rat boy, though I would've preferred to sacrifice the blue hedgehog!"
Erazor Djinn then picked up his sword and charged at Sonny before he had the time to dodge. Sonny flinched when he heard a cry of pain. He opened his eyes and saw Shahra shielding him with a large bloody cut along her back.
"No," Sonny muttered as Shahra fell into his arms.
"I'm sorry," Shahra said weakly looking up at Sonny. "I got you involved in a trap that was meant to ensnare Sonic, whom Erazor Djinn wanted to kill for destroying him back on our original world."
"It's not your fault," Sonny said. "If I had told you sooner that I was the host for Sonic's spirit, he could've taken my place."
"But I would've felt just as guilty either way."
As Shahra's eyelids started to close, Sonny shook her awake. "Shahra, don't die on me. I wish for you to go back to the way you were before."
Shahra shook her head. "I don't have the power to grant that, Sonny."
The moment Shahra became limp, the ring around Sonny's finger broke.
"That foolish girl," Erazor Djinn said and raised his sword again. "I shall make your death more painful than hers, rat boy!"
But before Erazor Djinn had the chance to strike, the seven World Rings merged with his body which suddenly glowed. Afterwards, Erazor Djinn roared in pain as his body warped and changed. Sonny watched with gritted teeth as he lowered Shahra's body to the floor. Once the transformation was complete, Erazor Djinn resembled a more horrific version of himself with three empty sockets for eyes, a giant mouth with uneven teeth, and an enormous torso with three sets of arms, small legs, and large feet.
"Erazor Djinn?" Sonny said standing in front of Shahra's body.
"I…am Alf Layla wa-Layla," the creature that was once Erazor Djinn said. "Though your world is cut off from me now, I shall remake this world in my own image and control the dreams of millions!"
"What are you talking about? You're just some incomplete monster!" Sonny remarked.
The monster suddenly cried out as three of the World Rings detached from his back and flew towards Sonny. They were immediately absorbed into Sonny's body as he felt a sudden surge of power that overwhelmed him completely. After a brief flash of purple light, Sonny's hair had grown longer with a dark purple shade to it and white highlights along his roots. His irises had vanished and four golden rings bound his wrists and ankles.
"You'll pay for what you've done!" Sonny said though his voice didn't sound like his own.
"Foolish mortal!" Alf Layla wa-Layla laughed as the throne-room was replaced by a black smoky void. "You dare to challenge me? I am a God!"
With that said, Alf Layla wa-Layla threw several fiery projectiles at Sonny who managed to dodge them all. Then after tossing back a projectile shaped like a purple orb, Sonny flew towards Alf Layla wa-Layla at alarming speeds and kicked him several times in the chest area where a round ball-shaped object appeared. Once the object pierced right through his body, Alf Layla wa-Layla retreated and continued firing projectiles at Sonny.
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After two more rounds, Alf Layla wa-Layla was destroyed in a fiery light with glowing letters flowing from him. In his place lay Erazor Djinn along with his sword. Sonny then lowered himself to the invisible floor and waved his hand in front of him. In an instant, the black void was replaced by the throne-room and Sonny returned back to his normal form with the flame on his chest extinguished.
"You…cannot defeat me," Erazor Djinn said as he got to his feet. "I am immortal."
"True, but you still have a weakness," Sonny said as he took out the golden ball Shahra gave him.
Upon seeing the golden ball, Erazor Djinn's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"
"From a friend you thought was merely your pawn," Sonny replied as he cracked the golden ball open to reveal a gold-colored lamp inside. "Now according to myth it's said that you grant only three wishes, right?"
"I will never grant any wishes for you!" Erazor Djinn snapped.
"Oh, really?" Sonny rubbed the lamp fiercely. "For my first wish, I want Shahra back!"
A fiery beam of light shot from the lamp and went right through Erazor Djinn, causing him to flinch from pain as a trail of pink light flew from his chest and onto Sonny's index finger where Shahra's ring remade itself. As a result, Shahra's body was bathed in pink sparks and levitated into the air. Then in a matter of seconds, the sparks dispersed to reveal an unwounded Shahra who was awake and smiling.
Once Sonny was satisfied, he rubbed the lamp again and said, "For my second wish, I want all the Arabian Nights stories returned to the way they were!"
Erazor Djinn flinched as a second beam from the lamp hit him in the chest which caused a purple whirlwind filled with Arabic letters to disperse from his body and fly out of every open window in the Night Palace.
"Then for my third wish, I want you, Erazor Djinn, to be trapped inside your lamp for all eternity!" Sonny shouted as a third beam shot from the lamp and hit Erazor Djinn.
"No!" Erazor Djinn cried out as his body disintegrated into a cloud of dust. "Where did my plan for revenge go so wrong?"
"You messed with the wrong guy, punk," Sonny said as he opened the lid of the lamp to allow what remained of Erazor Djinn to be sucked in. "Sure I'm not as fast or powerful as Sonic, but I have a strong will and won't let anything stop me from doing what's right!"
After Sonny closed the lid of the lamp he blew out the flame that appeared on the dipping end. Outside the throne-room the sky turned from night to day and a gentle breeze blew in. Sonny then drew his attention to Shahra who was softly crying.
"Shahra, I would like to make one final wish," Sonny said.
For a brief second, Shahra stopped crying and looked up at Sonny.
"I want you and your host to be free and be able to make your own decisions."
In response, Shahra nodded and wiped her eyes dry.
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"Sonny!" Miles said. "Sonny, wake up!"
Sonny's eyelids fluttered and he found himself lying on the couch in the living area of his apartment with the A Thousand and One Arabian Nights book in his hand. Once he noticed Miles, Sonny said, "Ali-Baba?"
"Ali-Baba?" Miles asked. "Did you stay up late reading Arabian Nights?"
Sonny shook his head and he then described everything that happened from Shahra appearing out of the ring to traveling through the Arabian Nights stories and to defeating Erazor Djinn. Miles listened closely the whole time and said nothing in response. Then once Sonny was finished telling his story Miles said, "I don't what to tell you, Sonny, but to me it sounds like you had one crazy dream last night."
"But it couldn't have been a dream, Miles," Sonny insisted.
"Then how can you prove it?"
Sonny paused, but in the end he said nothing.
"I thought so," Miles said as he got up. "If you feel well enough, we should start heading to school."
"Yeah, I think so," Sonny replied and got up from the couch. He got changed and ate a quick chili-dog breakfast as super-fast speed before joining Miles by the stairs near their apartment door.
Together, the two boys took off down the street, past several stop-signs, until they reached school. There, Amelia was waiting by the school steps like she always did. She greeted Miles and was about to hug Sonny when he suddenly gave her a peck on the cheek.
Surprised, Amelia said, "What was that for?"
"I just feel really good to be alive right now," Sonny replied and went inside.
Inside the class where Ancient Literature was being held, Sonny found Shahra furiously searching her desk and approached her from the other side. She looked exactly like the Genie Shahra except without the pointy ears and with less jewelry. Her clothes consisted of a pink sweater, a magenta undershirt, and white slacks.
"Um, excuse me," Sonny said holding out his hand with Shahra's ring on it. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"My ring!" Shahra exclaimed, and picked it up from Sonny's outstretched hand. "Where did you find it?"
"At your desk," Sonny answered as he took his seat right next to Shahra's. "I meant to give it back to you Monday but I caught a cold and so I had to wait till I got better."
"I see," Shahra remarked. "Well, the truth is…I left it behind on purpose."
"Why?" Sonny asked.
"I'll explain after class," Shahra responded as more students started to appear in the classroom.
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"Where's that tall brute who was with you before?" Sonny asked as he met Shahra by her locker near the classroom.
"You mean Raza?" Shahra said as her cheeks flushed red. "He…wasn't feeling well today, after you freed his mind from Erazor Djinn's influence."
Upon hearing this remark, Sonny's eyes widened. "So it wasn't a dream?"
"Not exactly," Shahra answered. "Last night, my spirit companion took you to the world of dreams after it had been corrupted by Erazor Djinn's magic and transformed into an exact replica of the Arabian Nights world he and Shahra originally came from. With the seven World Rings, Erazor Djinn had hoped to use them to create a bridge between the waking and dream world and flood the former with monsters he created. However, because his memories were faulty, Erazor Djinn didn't know where the exact locations of the rings were. So he commanded Raza to make me leave behind my ring with the Genie Shahra trapped inside in order for you to pick it up. He had hoped that the Genie Shahra would persuade Sonic to go on the same quest as he did before, but she didn't want him to suffer the same fate and chose you to take Sonic's place and for that she and I are sorry."
As Shahra bowed her head, Sonny forced her to look up at him. "She doesn't have to apologize anymore, and neither do you. Now, tell me something: why did the characters Shahra and I encounter in the dream world replica of Arabian Nights look like my friends or enemies in the case of Eggman?"
"Because they were the dream world counterparts to your friends and enemies in the waking world," replied Shahra as she stood straight again.
"Then it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that they experienced the same dream I did."
"Hey, Sonny," Miles said suddenly showing up. Once he noticed Shahra, his eyes drifted up and down the hallway. "How are you talking to Shahra when Raza usually stands nearby?"
"Had to take a sick day according to Shahra," Sonny said.
"Was it a cold?" Miles asked.
"No, just a bad headache," Shahra answered.
"I see." Miles briefly scratched his head and then he said, "You know, Sonny, that dream you told me about this morning suddenly reminded me of a strange dream I had last night."
Sonny and Shahra exchanged glances before Sonny said, "Really? Why don't we hear all about it over lunch with Amelia?"
"Oh, sure," Miles responded.
"I think I'll pass, Sonny," Shahra said. "I was going to call Raza to see how he was doing."
"Can it wait?" Sonny asked.
Shahra thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, it can."
"Great, then let's go," Sonny said and led Miles and Shahra to the lunch-room.
To be continued…