Sonic is still in Shanazar when a citizen runs into him. The two bicker about who bumped into who, but they are interrupted when the Imperial Guards arrive to arrest him. They reveal the man to be "Kassim" and Sonic saves them both from being arrested by whipping up some wind as a smokescreen. On top of a building, Kassim points to a tower, the home of Sapphire, Kassim's fiancée until her family locked her there. Sonic decides to help, running up the marble column with a rope. Kassim follows, but is reluctant to let Sonic into Sapphire's room. Only wanting to say 'hello', Sonic bursts in and learns that "Sapphire" is really just a collection of gems. Kassim reveals that they belong to Princess Kupacious and he will halve the number of sapphires with the hedgehog.