End-Game

"Erazor! Give me that!" Sonic shouted at the genie. Once he and Shahra had gotten their composure back, they confronted the villain. "Hah! Give this to YOU? Not a chance! Shahra, have you brought me the world rings?" Shahra had always feared Erazor, but now, now that Sonic stood up to him, she denied him. "Sonic has them, and you're not going to touch them!"

"YOU DARE DEFY ME? THE SUPREME RULER OF ALL WITHIN THESE PAGES?" Shahra stood her ground, and Sonic stepped forward. "Hey, buddy! Think you can top me off? We're such good friends, after all!" "You filthy ape! I'll cut you to pieces!" Erazor waved his hand, and they were outside the palace, on a balcony overlooking the Dinosaur Jungle and Sand Oasis. Shahra vanished into Sonic's ring as the hero took a fighting stance.

"Let's see you try!" Sonic and Erazor charged at each other. Erazor swung his sword, but Sonic jumped over it. "Curse you! I will win, and rule the world!" "Not so fast, pinhead!" Sonic leaped into the air, and struck Erazor square in the face. "OOOF!" "It's working! All I got to do is keep it up!" This went on for some time. Erazor swung his sword, Sonic jumped over it and kicked him in the face, and Erazor would howl and disappear again, reappearing every so often to try and hit him.

Then, Erazor stopped. "Come, Sonic! And face me!" He stopped at the end of the hall, and then launched himself at Sonic. "You want it, you've got it!" Sonic stopped at just the right time, allowing him dodge Erazor's sword swipe and smack him in the head.

Erazor yelled in pain. "What's wrong, Erazor? Got nothing left?" "Shut up!" Erazor charged up his sword and fired his most powerful bolt of dark magic at the boy. "TIME BREAK!" The world once again was absorbed into a swirling mass of black and white, and everything was slower and more predictable than before.

"NNNOOOOOOOO!!!!" Erazor screamed in slow motion. Sonic jumped up and kicked him in the face like always, but this time it was different. When he attacked, the final ring was ripped from Erazor's head, and landed on the ground. Sonic canceled the ability, and time resumed its normal pace. Erazor ran into his throne room, and blocked it with a lock.

But not just any lock, it had seven holes…

Sonic and Shahra inserted the world rings into the slots, and the door swung open. A dark portal opened, and sucked them inside! They landed on a black rock. Surrounded by nothing! All they could hear was Erazor's voice. "So, you decided to try and finish me off, eh? WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM!"

"The only one around here who's doomed is you!" Sonic shouted. "Shahra. Give me the world rings, as promised." As if in a trance, Shahra took the rings from the storage pack and presented them to Erazor. "Shahra! What are you doing? Stop!" "STUPID BOY! She was working for me the whole time!" Erazor cackled as Sonic stared at the ring genie in shock.

"B-But why?" She looked back at him with tear-filled eyes. "I have no choice. I-I just want to be back with him…" She started to cry. "With these rings, I am INVINCIBLE!" as Erazor was going to grab the rings, Sonic shouted. "SHAHRA! DO WHAT YOU TRULY THINK IS RIGHT!" Suddenly, Shahra let out a scream, and fell to the floor. "SHAHRA!" "Prayers. Sadness. Rage. Hatred. Joy. Pleasure. Wishes. The seven rings that make up the stories. But the collector of the rings shall be offered up in sacrifice as the key for that control."

"What?" "I offer up YOUR life, boy!" Erazor raised his weapon, and lunged at Sonic! CLANG! "Huh?" Sonic opened his eyes, and saw Shahra holding him. "Shahra!" "Sonic… I'm… sorry. I knew… all along… I knew what would happen. And I still got you involved." Sonic rested her against the palace wall. "It's okay. It's not your fault." "Here, take this. She handed Sonic a bundle of metal. He put it in his pack, and then turned to face Erazor.

"YOU! YOU KILLED HER! YOU'LL PAY!" Erazor scoffed, and began floating in midair. "NO! EVEYTHING WILL BE MINE! ALL MINE!" he absorbed the seven rings, and began morphing and twisting. Loud gurgling sounds were heard, and Erazor was no more! "What are you? Some kind of incomplete monster?" Sonic stared at the shifting, swirling mass. "NOW!! DIE!!!!!" a tendril of dark energy flew out of the lump and smacked Sonic against the wall.

"I AM ALF-LAYLA-WA-LAYLA! I AM THE 1000 AND 1 ARABIAN NIGHTS! I WILL REMAKE THIS WORLD AND THIS REALITY IN MY OWN IMAGE!" the blob began to form into a monster, with four arms, two legs, a stinger tail, and three eyes. SHWING SHWING! The rings of Sorrow, Rage, and Hatred fell from the blob, and flew towards Sonic. "AHHHHHHHHHH!!" The energy from the rings swarmed around him. Glowing emotions were absorbed by his body, and he changed!

His clothes and pack were gone, save his shorts, which were purple. His body turned a purplish color, and he had two white stripes going all the way down his back and arms, legs, and chest. His pupils were frosty white, and his voice became deeper and fierce. He had Shahra's ring embedded on his right palm, and gold rings on his arms, and ankles.

"WE"VE… GOT… TO STOP HIM, SHAHRA! PLEASE! LEND ME YOUR POWER!!!!"

"RAHHAHAHAHA!!!! I AM THE CREATOR! THE STORIES OF THE WORLD ARE MINE!!!" "If this is your world, then it's a world that I don't want any part of!" "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Alf-Layla-Wa-Layla began hurtling energy blasts in his direction. Darkspine Sonic rolled and dodged, and then charged at him. "RAHHH!! TAKE THIS!!!" Alf-Layla-Wa-Layla charged up a large energy ball and flung it at Darkspine Sonic.

"HAAAAAAAAAAA! SPEED BREAK!!!!" Darkspine Sonic flew towards the energy sphere. HE collided with it, then, using a flurry of kicks, sent it skyrocketing back at Alf-Layla-Wa-Layla.

The counter-attack hit dead on, leaving the monster vulnerable.

"Sonic! Attack him, now!" "Shahra?" Darkspine Sonic called out. "Hurry!" Darkspine Sonic flew up and smashed at the monster's exposed body. Alf-Layla-Wa-Layla screamed in pain.

"It's working!" Darkspine Sonic charged, again and again, into the exposed core. "RRRRAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Steam poured out from the openings on the beast's chest, mouth, and legs.

The process repeated itself. Each phase getting more deadly. Darkspine Sonic used Time Break to halt the incoming energy bolts, and Speed Break to stop the energy ball in its tracks.

"GAHHH NOO! HOW COULD YOU HAVE THIS POWER!?" Alf-Layla-Wa-Layla screamed. "Sorry, Erazor! Next time, try writing a better story!" "NNNOOOOOO!!!!"

Erazor lost all of his power, and shrunk back to his normal size. "What? How?" Darkspine Sonic landed on the ground, and absorbed all of the negative energy into his hand, getting his clothes, pack, and rings back in their proper place. Sitting on Erazor's throne, the hero pulled the lamp from his pack. Erazor, not noticing, taunted him.

"You cannot defeat me! I am immortal! I'll just come back, again and again! Forever!!!! HAHAHAHA!!" "Really? You know what THIS is, right?" Sonic showed him the object. "What? Noooo! Not that!" "YES! The genie of the lamp is supposed to grant 3 wishes, am I right?" "Humph! I will NEVER grant wishes to the likes of YOU!" "For my FIRST wish, I want you to bring Shahra back to life!" A bolt of energy surged towards Erazor and hit him square in the chest.

"AHH!" A ring of light appeared, and Shahra was alive! The ring that was on Sonic's finger returned. "For my SECOND wish, return the world to the way it was, so that the world could have its stories again!" Another bolt of light hit Erazor, and the tattoo on his arm disappeared. "And my THIRD wish. ERAZOR DJINN! REMAIN TRAPPED IN YOUR LAMP, LIKE IN DAYS OF OLD!" A final surge struck Erazor, and he began floating. "WAAAHHHHH!!! NNNOOOO!!!! SHAHRA! PLEASE, STOP HIM! WE CAN RULE THE WORLD TOGETHER, I SWEAR! THE WORLD IS MINE! I CANNOT BE DENIED BY THAT FILTHY RAT!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!"

Erazor was sucked into his lamp, never to return! Sonic stood out on the balcony, watching the birds fly around the clouds. "David… I-I'm so sorry!!!" Shahra broke down, ashamed at her past actions. "Shahra. Don't cry. He's gone, you're okay now." Shahra dried her tears, and finally looked at her hero. "It wasn't him. It was never about him. It was about you. I knew what risks you would go through, and I still didn't warn you."

Looking at her in pity, Sonic made his last wish. "Shahra. I wish for a mountain of handkerchiefs, so you can dry your tears. I knew. I knew all along what would happen. But what's life without taking risks?"

David and Shahra went to the Evil Foundry to dispose of the lamp, throwing it down the mine shaft. "Goodbye, Shahra. I'll miss you!" "Goodbye David. I'll miss you too!" they hugged, and Shahra returned David to his world. David never forgot this moment, and to help him remember her, Shahra allowed him to keep the ring…

The next day, as David's class went to the museum to look at some Arabian books and manuscripts, the second book in the display case, after Aladdin and the Magic Lamp, had the cover DAVID AND THE SECRET OF THE RINGS…