Skylar and Sonic were the last to wake up since they had stayed up a couple hours silently talking and laughing, trying not to wake the others. When they finally blinked their eyes open, Amy and Tails were already eating some of that weird fruit Skylar liked. She quickly reached for the purple one, taking a bite of its soft skin.

"What's the next zone?" she asked after swallowing.

"Spring Yard Zone," Sonic replied. Amy blinked at the sound of the name. It rang a bell in her head, but was still shrouded with doubt. She turned to Sonic, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I've heard of that place before... I just don't know where..."

"I've been there before," Sonic said. "It's kind of like a really big outdoor casino with more casinos and lights."

"Like Las Vegas?" Skylar asked.

"Sure," he mumbled, finishing the last of his fruit. He stood up, stretched his arms past his head. "Shall we depart?"

"We shall," Tails replied, following Sonic. The two girls quickly followed, walking down the dirt trail decorated with burned dead trees on each side. Skylar noticed how far the trail stretched out to and pouted in boredom.

"How long will it take to get there?" she asked. Tails shrugged.

"Maybe we'll get there tonight."

"But it's barely morning," she whined, then sighed. For the hours they walked, the trail stayed the same, only subtle changes here and there every half hour or so. The trees started getting less thick, until there was only one every ten feet. Skylar spotted the mechanical animals again, keeping her distance from them. Large, metal flies twenty times the size of a regular fly. Red metal crabs with big, yellow eyes. A metal ball rolled her way. She stared at it, let it hit against her ankle, and when it popped open and stared at her with white metal eyes, she shrieked and kicked it away.

"What is with this place and metal animals?!" Skylar asked, side-stepping and avoiding a mechanic antler.

"Don't worry," Sonic said, looking back at her. "It means we're getting closer," he grinned. Skylar frowned and kept walking. After a few minutes of walking, Skylar stopped when she saw a glint of gold in the corner of her eye. She turned, and covered in dust was a gold ring big enough to fit three fingers in. She stared at it in awe, picking it up. She half expected it to turn into some weird animal and dart away. Maybe a rat. She had yet to see a rat. But when it didn't do anything except glint in the sun's light, she rushed back to the group, clutching the gold ring against her palm.

"Hey guys!" Skylar exclaimed, beaming. "Look what I found!" She held out her hand, the ring shining again. She felt like she had found buried treasure, but the look on her friends' faces showed it was nothing special, as if they were staring at a grimy, old penny.

"A gold ring," Sonic said, grabbing it and spinning it in his finger. "You're going to see a ton more. Trust me."

"What do they do?"

"Nothing. They're kind of like the currency around here," Tails explained. Skylar nodded. Maybe the ring of gold was worth as much as a penny, even though it looked to be worth millions of dollars. She liked the look of the rings, though, and when she caught sight of one, she didn't hesitate to pick it up. She ran past the group, picking up ring after ring, stopped searching once she had twenty in her hands. She stood atop a hill, the rest of the group a few feet behind her. She looked back at them, huffed at them to speed up, then turned forward. Over the hill, about a mile ahead, was a sparkling city with tall buildings and dark alleyways. She smiled wide at the sight. They'd get there before sun down!

"Guys, it's just up ahead!" Skylar shouted excitedly. Sonic ran forward, next to her in less than a second, and peered ahead at the zone.

"Spring Yard Zone," he announced, smiling at Skylar's anxious face. "Don't look so nervous," he laughed. "The zone won't get up and run off."

"You never know around here," she replied just as Tails and Amy caught up. Amy stared forward at the gleaming buildings. Here and there, she saw a spot of dull metal. The metal animals, Eggman's sight of the zone stung her head, as if she'd seen the place before. She was positive she'd been there before, but couldn't seem to remember the exact details. Maybe it would all come back to her once she roamed around.

"Alright," Amy sang out, stepping forward and almost tripping on another ring. Just as suspected, Skylar hesitated, but picked the gold ring up anyways.

"Do you want me to carry those?" Tails asked, pointing to his brown-clothed bag. "I'm sure they'll fit with the emeralds."

"No, it's fine," Skylar mumbled, smiling gratefully. "I like carrying these rings."

. . .

Spring Yard Zone was just as Sonic described it; an outdoor casino filled with casinos and lights. Skylar had never been to Vegas, but she imagined Spring Yard Zone was a close replica. The buildings stretched on for what seemed like miles, as if they could climb to the top and touch the stars. Despite the city-like image of the zone, there were hardly any people there. Replacing the city-goers were run down Badniks. Skylar watched as the Badniks climbed up the buildings only to fall back down. She caught of something strange. A round, yellow platform with a spring under it.

"What is this?" Skylar asked, stepping towards it. Just as she was about to jump on it, Sonic gasped.

"No, Skylar, don't-"

Too late. She jumped on the platform. It dipped down and sprung up, sending her flying upward. Skylar screamed as the air rushed past her skin like soft kept sky-rocketing upward, her ears suppressed with the roaring wind. All of a sudden, she felt herself dipping downwards, falling. She screamed louder, couldn't hear her own screaming, her throat aching. All she saw was the lights of the building next to her running upward as she sped down. Any second, she'd hit the ground, a hedgehog pancake. She closed her eyes tight, clenching her jaw.

Sonic ran to the building, jumped against the wall, and caught Skylar in his arms. He landed with a skid, causing Skylar to shriek a little. He bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing, and looked at her worriedly.

"You okay?"

"HELL NO," Skylar shouted, shaking. "I just flew ten thousand feet in the air!"

"You didn't fly that far-"

"It felt like it though! Agh, my heart won't stop thumping," she breathed, shutting her eyes to stop the pounding of her heart and head.

"If you wouldn't have flailed around so much, you would have landed on the spring again... Of course, then you would have been sent up again, but you wouldn't have fallen either..."

"What is up with these springs, anyways?" Skylar asked once Sonic set her on the ground. Her legs felt weak and wobbly like jelly. She couldn't stand up right, still felt a little scared and woozy from the scary flight she took. She grabbed Sonic's arm, leaning against him and breathing in slowly.

"This used to be a really huge pin ball machine," Tails said. Skylar cocked an eyebrow confusedly.

"A giant pinball machine in the middle of an island?"

"That's what I said," Amy muttered. "Well, we learned a lesson: stay away from the springs!"

"Agreed," Skylar sighed, standing upright.

"You good?" Sonic asked.

"I'm fine," she breathed. "Thanks."

"Let's keep going," Tails announced, walking forward. They all started to advance forward. A few steps and Amy gasped loudly, causing everyone to turn towards her.

"What's wrong?!' Tails asked, eyes as wide as Amy's.

"I finally figured it out!" she shouted excitedly. With an anxious look on her face, she turned around and sped away from the group.

"Amy, wait!" Sonic shouted, rushing after her. Skylar and Tails looked at each other before bolting after them.