It seemed like another day at the library. Oh, how I loved books. I loved anything that dealt with words. Stories, writing…well, writing, mainly. Writing was my dream. I wanted to become one of the best writers there ever was, and so, I started with writing simple things. Fanfictions. Soon, writing fanfictions became my passion. I wrote many stories—some of my favorites are Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Mix-up, and First Taste of Freedom. But either way, people have come to enjoy my writing—which makes me happy. It gives an author great satisfaction to know that your fans enjoy reading your works. And likewise, I enjoy reading my favorite author's works. It's just that today…

…I already have read all of my favorite author's books.

So, there I was, stuck at the library, bored. I was usually never bored, but today, I was. There were no books to read, which meant no inspiration for any of my fanfictions. Brilliant. Now I have to wait to update my stories…

Or so I thought.

I sat at a table in the library for what seemed like ages. Finally, I decided to search for a random book that caught my eye. Why not? I had thought. I've got an hour until my mother comes to pick me up; might as well find something to read.

And so, I searched. Book after book after book. Nothing seemed to interest me. I was beginning to get very bored. Maybe I should go look at the manga…I was beginning to think. But just as I thought that, two books' spines caught my eye.

At first, I thought, How ironic…just when I'm about to leave, I finally find something. But then, when I noticed what the titles of the books were, my heart skipped a beat.

Both of them were entitled: Arabian Nights.

Without thinking, I grabbed them both with one hand, eager to find inspiration for a story. Little did I know I would embark on my own story very soon…

I dumped them on the table, sitting down. I had to stop myself before I got too jittery; it happened each time I thought I'd find motivation. So, I took a deep breath, and then took a gaze at the books I had found.

My heart literally stopped.

One of the books looked like the original. The other, however, had a picture of a familiar ring genie and a blue hedgehog on it…

I gasped and sat there, frozen. Nothing happened for the longest time as I just stared at the book. Suddenly, reality kicked into me, and I glanced at the clock to see how much time I had. 45 minutes. It didn't matter, anyway. I knew what book I was going to get, but I wanted to see how far I could get into the book without my mother coming first.

Curiosity consumed my entire being as I opened the book. Then, my heart fell. It was in Arabic! How was I supposed to read this? Disappointed, I grabbed the pages, turning them rapidly to see if all of it was in Arabic. To my surprise, some of the pages were blank. In fact, one third of the book was blank!

This confused me, but also frightened me. In the back of my head, I heard a little voice whisper, It's happening…

Without thinking, I slammed the book shut, closing my eyes. No…it couldn't possibly, really, actually be happening…could it? You're jumping to conclusions, Crystal, I told myself. But still, I didn't want to open the book again. My hand was laid upon it, but it was more in the way of hiding the cover from my view. Maybe I was imagining things…?

Slowly and timidly, I removed my hand. To my greatest astonishment, the cover had changed. This time, it showed a familiar evil genie; his chest bare, with red eyes, black pants, and an evil razor-sharp sword in his hands…

Razor…my mind echoed. Without thinking, I scooted my chair back slightly. Whatever was making this book act strangely, it was not of this world. And that scared me. It was something I couldn't control—something I didn't know. And the fear of the unknown can be one of the most soul-binding fears ever.

I have learned so.

At that moment, however, I decided I wanted nothing to do with that book. I picked it up to put it back on the shelf, when suddenly, against my will, I reopened it instead. It was like my mind was forcing me to see something. And that 'something' made oxygen become stuck in my throat.

The words…all in Arabic…were fading, one by one. Before my very hazel eyes, they disappeared into the pages. That's when I knew I didn't want anything to do with that book.

I was about to close it abruptly, when that little voice in the back of my head whispered, Adventure…

I stopped as my soul was split. My eyes turned back to the pages, watching as each character of Arabic faded into nothing. Words from a favorite game of mine ran through my head. …If our world ceases to exist, then not only those stories will be silenced forever, but the Erazor Djinn will then be unleashed into your world…

"Shahra…" I whispered. I bit my lip. This was beyond my control—there was nothing I could do…and yet, I was the only one who could do something. I looked around. No one was noticing what was happening. No one was realizing that their own lives were in danger…

Crystal, you're making this sound like an epic story! Just put the book away! It's probably just some book that the author wants its readers to be fascinated by…I thought, heading back to the shelf. But deep down, I knew that couldn't be. The book was in my hands. The fate of the Arabian Nights was in my hands.

Finally, I forced myself to stop and reopen the book. Another page had become blank. If I continue to stall, then the world of the Arabian Nights will vanish…That's when another idea struck me. Quickly, I walked back to the table, where the original Arabian Nights book was. I opened it, and began flipping through the pages. My theory was correct. The real Arabian Nights was vanishing as well.

"It's real…" I whispered. Again, that fear of the unknown began to take over me. Something not of this world was behind this, and something of this world was destined to stop it. I did not want to believe that I, Crystal, fanfiction author who usually created stories for characters to go on, was about to go on a story of my own.

Wait…who said I was going? My mind thought. I have free will, right? I can say if I'm not going to go, and I'm not going to go! I closed both books, ready to put them back on the shelf, when another line from the game ran through my head. "I want you to stop him…you must stop the Erazor Djinn. Only you, the blue hedgehog, can do it…"

My mind echoed, Only you, the young author, can do it… But why me? I was an author, not a hero! I WROTE adventures! I didn't GO ON adventures! To re-write the book…my mind whispered. I looked at the Arabian Night book in my hand. The picture changed once again to a scroll with a feather pen on it. The scroll had a few lines in Arabic on it, but other than that, it was blank.

I held the book in both of my hands, looking at it. I'm an author…I thought. I write stories…am I supposed to re-write the Arabian Nights? Somehow, I felt that was right. I was supposed to re-write the Arabian Nights. But how? I didn't know Arabic!

Sonic and the Secret Rings…my mind whispered. The connection clicked. What happened in the game, was happening now. The only thing is…I'm supposed to be there.

But how was I supposed to get in the book? And who said I was ever going? Destiny did…my mind said, And I know destiny always wins.

I closed my eyes to try and recall how Sonic had gotten into the book of the Arabian Nights. It was by Shahra…but how am I supposed to get there? I don't have a ring genie!

The book! My mind called. Suddenly, it dawned on me that this book was my way to get into the book of the Arabian Nights. I was to help Sonic get the seven world rings and defeat Erazor Djinn…

It was hard to believe that me, Crystal, was about to embark on an adventure. The more I thought about the game, the less the world around me seemed to be real. The shelves, the tables, the computers, the people—everything was dissolving from view. But I didn't notice. Not until I found myself in a different library, where a fireplace was right across from me and a couch was to my left, with a small, teenage, blue hedgehog sleeping on it, a book covering his eyes.

And so, my adventure began…