Sonic and the Secret Rings

III. Evil Foundry

In the distance, a jungle was starting to make the way harder and harder to see. Coming closer and closer, I didn't expect what I saw. "Well..." I whistled, "this wasn't one of the thousand somethings I was expecting to see in the Arabian Nights..."

It looked like we were in an entirely new land, stepping from a time machine. I looked behind me, and instead of the sandy desert we had just been in, a vast land of trees, weird plants, and dinosaurs covered the land. Yes, dinosaurs. "I'm not sure this is supposed to be in the Arabian Nights..." Shahra told me. "Perhaps this is a side effect that happened once the Erazor Djinn started wiping the pages away."

"I mean, don't get me wrong," I replied, "this is neat. But it is... weird."

As we started walking again, we realized just how many dinosaurs there were. There were all sorts of varieties; some had long necks, some had a stronger build, a few looked like the pterodactyl the Erazor Djinn had summoned, and a few looked like a mix of all of them. I looked carefully for anything that looked dangerous, but everything kept to itself.

The kinds of plants were astounding, too. The trees created shady canopies for the dinosaurs to eat. There were bushes that looked like mini palm trees, and trees that held all sorts of different fruit for the animals to eat. Vines seemed strewn across the ground everywhere, growing along with the various types of moss. I had never seen such huge, vivid flowers. Some of them were even taller than me!

I wasn't paying attention while we were walking, more looking at the various dinosaurs and plants, and nearly fell off a cliff. I was able to come to a stop before that happened, though, Shahra appearing next to me. She looked over the edge, then back at me. "There is quite a bit of water down there..."

"So, if the fall hadn't killed me, I would have drowned?" I asked.

"Probably."

More water appeared here and there, as I ran along the edge of the cliff, making me much more wary of my surroundings. The dinosaurs were still minding themselves, so there wasn't much to worry about them. The leaves from the mountainous trees made the sun bearable, making the sun sometimes disappear for long periods of time. The sky was cloudless, though, so there was no hiding under the shade of a fluffy, shaped cloud.

Most of the way wasn't as scary or treacherous as it looked. The major problem was that we had no idea where we were going, so we continued blindly into the trees, which only seemed to be getting thicker. At one point, it would all have to end, but it seemed like it was going on forever.

At one point, I came to a stop to rest. "You can come out now, Shahra," I told her.

"Wait..." she replied, not coming out to join me and sit.

A roar suddenly erupted through the jungle, making the trees bend along with it. It was as if Shahra had known it was coming. I sensed something behind me, my ears flattening and eyes widening. Its skin was tan, a huge horn on its snout. It was one of the only dinosaurs that stood on two legs. It sniffed a few times, and for a moment, I thought it would just go away if I stood still. After all, all the other dinosaurs didn't want to eat me.

"Sonic?" Shahra's voice sounded like it was shaking.

"Um, yes?" I replied, slowly walking away.

"Run!" she yelled, and within less of a second, I followed her orders, the dinosaur on my trail. I looked back constantly in order to gauge how fast I had to go. I was still tired from running through the jungle, so this dinosaur was a challenge.

"I thought they would all be friendly!" I told her.

"Don't pet this one!" she shouted, retreating to the ring.