-Chapter 210-

Hop a Carpet and Fly

Green Hill

Two weeks after the incident with Void, Sonic and co. had found their way to a flea market in Green Hill, looking amongst the stalls.

"Nothing I love more than flea market day," Sonic declared. "Wonder if I'll find any more rare games."

His nose twitched, and he took a deep breath before sneezing.

"You should really take something for that," Sally said.

"It's just seasonal allergies, Sal."

"Right... and that's why you're walking instead of flitting around the stalls like a fruit fly."

Sonic shrugged. "It's just a stuffy nose. It's not gonna kill me." Sally gave him a deadpan stare. Sonic caved and gave her a pleading look. "C'mon, I'm not missing the flea market."

With a sigh, Sally relented. "Alright, but in exchange, you have to promise to take a nap when we get home, and drink some cold medicine to boot. Deal?"

"Yes, Mom," Sonic mocked before walking off.

"You forget, your real mom is just a Warp Ring away!"

The group dispersed, looking around. Sonic eventually found his way to a stall stocked with old books and the like, run by an older woman in Shamarian garb.

"Huh, you're new," Sonic noted, approaching. "First time in the market?"

"Yes, actually," the woman replied. "I was looking for a good place to sell my books."

"Well, you came to the right place. Green Hill's flea market is the place to be. And I apparently owe my girlfriend a nap, so a book would do me some good. Got any good ones?"

"I believe I have something that may interest you." The woman held up a book in seeming mint condition, elaborate designs in gold trim on the cover. "Have you ever read the Arabian Nights?"

"Not since I was little. My mom used to read them to me to get me to sleep."

"Well then, seeing as you, as you put it, 'owe your girlfriend a nap', this is the book just for you. It even includes tales you may not have heard before."

"Well, I've been meaning to stock up the bookshelf at Knothole anyway. How much?"

"Twenty Mobiums."

"Oh, sweet. Lot cheaper than I thought." Sonic fished out the money, sliding it across the counter before claiming the book for himself. "Hope you sell a lot of books. Have a nice day!"

As he headed off with the book, the woman gave a small smile before heading into a room at the back of her stall. She began coughing wetly, staggering. She stumbled, and a figure shimmered into existence, catching her.

"Leila... oh no…" the figure let out. "You pushed yourself too hard. You need to rest. Save your strength."

The woman, Leila, simply chuckled. "Shahra... I'm done. That's all I had left in me."

"No…" Shahra shook her head. "No, no, no. It- you're wrong…" She laid Leila down. "You can't be…"

"Shahra... we both knew this was coming," Leila said, resignation in her tone. "It was inevitable."

"This isn't fair… You don't deserve this! Why do you have to die just so I can be free of that stupid mountain?! You should be out playing, having fun! Enjoying your youth!"

"I was happy to be chosen, and I don't regret a single moment. And now, you're free."

"I'm sorry…" Shahra teared up. "I just wish there was something I could do."

"There is." Leila removed a golden ring from her left ring finger, holding it up to Shahra. "That book will serve as a portal to Shanazar. Go to the Legendary Hedgehog, and save our world. Don't let Erazor have his way."

With a shaking hand, Shahra took the ring.

"I-I promise," she swore. "Shanazar will be saved, and everyone will know the role you played, Leila. It was an honor to have you as my master... and my friend."

Leila smiled, then her eyes fluttered shut. Her body then burst into flames, dissolving into ash. Shahra let out a choked sob, wiping her eyes before clenching her fist around the ring.

"It's time…"

Knothole

That night, in Freedom HQ, Sonic had fallen asleep on the couch, the Arabian Nights book over his eyes. On the side table by the couch, a golden ring blinked into existence, Shahra's voice echoing from it.

"Hey… hey, wake up!"

Sonic snapped awake, removing the book from his eyes before yawning.

"Boy, is it that late already? What time is it?"

He reached for the table, trying to grab a clock, only to grab the ring instead. Immediately, it began glowing, mist flowing out of it. He yelped, falling off the couch as he dropped the ring. As he picked himself back up, the mist solidified into a female figure.

"What the flying-?!"

"Greetings, Sonic the Hedgehog," the figure greeted. "I am Shahra, Genie of the Ring."

Sonic looked up to see a beautiful woman who almost looked human, save for a pair of pointed ears. Her hair was a magenta color, rising up in the air seemingly on its own, and her eyes were gray. She wore a lavender tube top and white parachute pants with a pink sash. Golden jewelry dotted her arms, wrists, neck, and even her forehead and ears. She bowed before Sonic, and though she was smiling, there was a sadness in her eye.

"Genie of the Ring?" Sonic repeated.

"You know, like Aladdin and the Magic Lamp?" Shahra offered.

"I... haven't gotten that far into the book yet."

"What?" Shahra blinked. "You've got to be kidding me! It's the best story of all the Arabian Nights? Or at least the second best…"

"Well, I suppose. I just haven't been feeling-" Sonic shook his head. "Wait a second, what am I doing? What the hell's going on here?!"

At that moment, the others' doors opened, everyone awakened by the commotion.

"Will you shut up?!" Sticks snapped. "People are tryin' to sleep!" Her eyes flew open when she saw Shahra. "AAAAHH! TRESPASSER!"

She pounced, but Shahra waved her hand. Suddenly, Sticks fell to the ground, snoring. The other Freedom Fighters were soon drawn out, seeing Shahra there and Sticks out cold.

"Sonic…" Tails began, "what's going on here?"

"Search me," Sonic replied. "I just woke up, and this chick showed up."

Shahra sighed. "I think you'd better sit down."

All of them did so.

"Alright, start at the beginning," Sally instructed.

Shahra nodded, taking a deep breath.

"My name is Shahra. I hail from the world of Shanazar... as did Leila, the woman who sold you the book at the flea market."

"Wait, you're an alien?" Sonic asked.

"Indeed, she is," Cosmo confirmed. "I've heard of Shanazar occasionally. It's a beautiful place, like something out of a fairy tale. The stories I've found on Mobius, like the Arabian Nights and Camelot, all match up with what I've heard of Shanazar's Zones."

"You're not too far off," Shahra confirmed. "The creators of those fairy tales have all had subconscious links to Shanazar's regions. What they thought was merely imagination were psychic memories of the real exploits of the likes of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and King Arthur. But that's beside the point. Please, look at this."

She picked up the Arabian Nights book, opening it. Much to their surprise, several pages were blank, and others had their text literally vanishing before their eyes.

"What in the name of…" Porker let out in shock.

"That shouldn't be happening," Rotor insisted.

"Someone's erasing the 1001 Arabian Nights," Sonic realized. "But who?"

"An incredibly evil spirit. The Erazor Djinn," Shahra explained. "He could not bear to simply remain on Shanazar any longer. And so he has begun to set the inscriptions free, absorbing the power of the Arabian Nights stories themselves, and erasing our world. My master, Leila, and myself were able to come here to Mobius to find aid... and we found it when you came to the market."

"And... what will happen if this keeps going?" Porker asked.

"If the Erazor Djinn has his way and Shanazar ceases to exist, then not only will those stories be silenced forever, but he will be able to cross over into this world as well."

"And I get the feeling that's something we really don't want," Sally remarked.

Shahra shook her head. "Not at all."

"Wait," Tails perked. "If the lady who sold Sonic the book was your master, where is she now?"

Shahra looked away at that. "Leila was on her last legs due to her usage of magic. Her last act was to sell Sonic the book, and entrust me with our world's salvation."

A dead silence followed.

"She…" Sonic began, "she's dead?"

Shahra sniffled, wiping her eye. "Yes... and her last wish was to save her home. Our home."

"And where do we come into this?" Amy questioned.

"Not you," Shahra looked in Sonic's direction. "Him."

Sonic blinked, looking around before pointing at himself and mouthing "Me?"

"Ancient texts on Shanazar describe a blue hedgehog, one who will stand up to and defeat the Erazor Djinn in a time of great peril," Shahra explained. "That is what led Leila and myself here."

"Seriously?" Sonic asked. "Ancient texts talking about me out in space?"

"It's more common than you think," Cosmo piped up. "I too heard legends of the Blue Hedgehog that was master to none but the wind at his back from my mother." Everyone turned to her. "It's why she sent me to Mobius when the Black Arms attacked our colony."

"Huh… Alright then." Sonic stood up, clapping his hands together. "So this guy needs someone to put him in his place, does he? I suppose I can help out with that. It might even be fun. What do I need to do?"

Shahra smiled in response, picking up the ring Sonic had dropped earlier. "This ring belonged to Leila, and signifies my contract. Having summoned me through it, Sonic... you are now my new master."

"Then... you can grant me three wishes?"

"Not exactly. As a Genie of the Ring, I have no limit to the wishes I can grant... but only simple ones. Taking you to Shanazar is within my power."

Sonic smiled, opening his mouth to say something. However, he stopped a second later, then turned away to sneeze.

"How about a hankie?" he questioned, sniffing slightly. "Actually, make that a few."

Shahra waved a hand... and Sonic found himself buried up to his neck in handkerchiefs. Everyone chuckled a bit, more than a few shaking their heads.

"You have to be specific with your wishes, Sonic," Porker warned. "That's genie magic 101. Whatever you ask for comes back to you in the most jacked up way imaginable. You ask for your dead son back? He shows up as a zombie. You wish for sunken pirate treasure? You get zapped to the bottom of the ocean."

"Frankly, I feel that's a bum rap," Shahra said. "Not all genies are like that."

"He just asked for a few hankies and he got buried," Porker pointed out.

"Yes, but they're clean. If I was as devious as you said, they would all be filthy and dripping with phlegm, no?"

"Yeah, that's a good point," Porker conceded. "Well made."

Sonic pulled himself out of the hankie pile.

"Well, at least now I know what I'm working with. Could you also get rid of this cold I've been dealing with for the past couple days? If I'm gonna be saving a planet, I'm gonna need to be at top strength."

"You'd be at top strength if you actually slept," Sally pointed out. "Or took care of yourself."

"I can remove the cold, but I need to give it to someone else," Shahra explained.

"You're... not a very good genie, are you?" Amy asked bluntly.

Shahra looked at her, offended. "That is the consequence of my being freed from Leila's contract, and binding myself to the ring."

"I think I get it," Shorty realized. "Like that one movie. After the genie was freed, his magic took a hit. The price of freedom."

"Well if that's the case…" Sally looked at Sticks, "she can take Sonic's cold. Maybe it'll knock her out for a bit."

After a minute, Sonic nodded, slipping on the ring. "I wish for my cold to go to Sticks."

"As you command, O Master."

Shahra snapped her fingers. Instantly, Sonic felt his nose and sinuses clear up, while Sticks sneezed in her sleep.

"Alright," Sonic declared, "now with that done, I do believe I have a planet to-"

"We have a planet to save." Sally took his hand. "You think I'm letting you vanish into a book so soon after that Void thing?"

"I can take two of you to Shanazar, but that is the limit," Shahra replied.

"Then the rest of us will stay and watch over the book," Tails decided. "Prepare a second front in the event Erazor gets out."

"A wise move," Shahra agreed.

"Well, I guess that's that," Sonic turned to Shahra. "I wish for you to take me and Sally to Shanazar."

Shahra waved a hand, a magic carpet appearing as the Arabian Knights book opened and began to glow. The two smiled, then jumped onto the carpet. Holding onto one another, as well as the carpet, they prepared themselves.

"Now this is first-class!" Sonic declared. "Here we go!"

They flew into the book, Shahra following them, the book closing behind them...

Author's Note:

Yep, that's right! Adaptation of Sonic and the Secret Rings.

Shanazar comes from Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, where it was the main setting for issues 149-165. Of course, there, it was a weird sub-atomic universe thing. As for what Shahra and Leila were talking about and the whole thing with being "free from the mountain," that will be revealed in due time.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Leila - Linda Leonard (The head Sohma Maid from Fruits Basket 2019, Joshu Kasei from Psycho-Pass, Cinder Fall's stepmother in RWBY)

* Shahra - Eden Riegel (Bianca Montgomery from All My Children, Hitomi from Dead or Alive, Kiara in The Lion Guard)

Please R and R. Until next time!