Seven Flags was indeed huge; much larger than the Sonic Crew thought it would be. This place was packed with any ride or game that you could think of. Not only that but the crowd was also huge as well.

“I better hurry before all the fast and exciting rides are taken,” said Sonic.

He was about to leave his friends behind when Amy took a hold of his arm.

“Wait, Sonic,” said Amy. “Wouldn’t you like to go on the Merry Go-Round with me first?”

“I said fast and exciting rides, not slow and boring rides.”

“Well, you’re not getting away from me this time.”

“Hey look! There’s a stand of Sonic dolls over there!”

“Really? Where?” As Amy was looking around, Sonic took this opportunity to leave and find the Hurl-O-Whirl. “Hey, I don’t see any Sonic doll stand anywh…” Amy looked back and realized that Sonic was gone. “Ooh, that Sonic!” Amy left the rest of the crew as she ran after Sonic.

“Why am I not surprised by that,” said Tails, shaking his head.

“Well, we’ll see you guys later,” said Rouge as she and Knuckles left.

“It looks like it’s just you and me, Shadow,” said Tails.

“Forget it, kid,” said Shadow. “This hedgehog goes solo from here.”

Then he left Tails by himself.

“Oh well. That won’t stop me from having fun.” Then Tails pulled out an orange box with his name on it. “Good thing I remembered to bring my box full of quarters with me.” Tails looked around while scratching his head. “Now where would their arcade games be?”

-----------------------------

“You sure can get yourself lost in a place like this,” said Rouge.

“Yeah, but that shouldn’t be a problem for any of us,” said Knuckles.

“Psst. Hey you,” said a voice.

“Who said that?” asked Knuckles, looking around.

“Over here.”

Knuckles saw a guy standing behind the counter of a ball-throwing stand, waving at him. Knuckles pointed to himself and the guy nodded. Knuckles called out to Rouge and motioned her to walk over to the stand.

“You look like an intelligent looking person,” said the guy.

“Why thank you,” said Rouge, flattered. “I do have brains as well as beauty.”

“Not you. I’m talking about him.”

“You mean Knuckles?” The guy nodded and Rouge started laughing. “Knuckles having intelligence? That’s a good one.”

“Hey, I do have intelligence,” said Knuckles.

“Not the way I’ve seen it.”

“I maybe stubborn at times, but I’m not that stupid.”

“I wonder about that sometimes.”

“I’ll show you, bat girl.” Then Knuckles turned his attention back on the guy. “What do I need to do?”

“All you have to do is throw a baseball at those milk bottles,” the guy explained. “When you knock all three of them down, you win a prize.”

“Hmmm, sounds simple enough. How much is it?”

“You get three baseballs for a dollar.”

Knuckles slammed a dollar on the counter. “Ok, I’ll give it a shot.” Then he looked at Rouge. “Do you see anything that would interest you, bat girl?”

Rouge looked at all of the prizes. “I don’t see anything that would suit my taste, except for that big diamond over there.”

“Listen, pal, is it possible to win that?”

“If you’re an echidna it is,” replied the guy.

Knuckles had a grin on his face. “That’s all I need to know.”

Knuckles took one of the baseballs and threw it at the three milk bottles. It made a direct hit on the top one, but it didn’t budge.

“Wow, that was really impressive, Knuckles,” said Rouge, slowly clapping her hands.

“Oh, shut up!” Knuckles threw another baseball at them, but nothing happened. “Are you sure this isn’t rigged?”

“I’m sure. Watch.” The guy walked over to another set of milk bottles and knocked them over. “See?”

Knuckles took the last baseball and threw it with all his might, but it didn’t phase the milk bottles. Just when things were looking bad for Knuckles, Omochao came flying by.

“Hi! I’m Omochao! I’m here to help you!”

“Oh great,” said Knuckles. “I didn’t think it was possible for my luck to get any worse.”

“To win the prize for Rouge, simply knock down the three milk bottles with a baseball.”

“Gee, I never thought of that,” Knuckles said sarcastically.

“And you thought of that all by yourself; that’s amazing,” Rouge added.

Then Knuckles came up with an idea. “Actually, you can help me.” Then he grabbed a hold of Omochao.

“Hey! Stop it!” shouted Omochao.

Knuckles threw Omochao at the milk bottles. Omochao exploded on impact and shattered the three milk bottles. Omochao stood up as he recovered.

“Why are you being such a bully? I didn’t do anything to you. I’m leaving.”

“Good,” said Knuckles. “Who needs you.” Then he looked back at the guy. “Well, where’s my prize?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call shattering them knocking them down, but…” The guy took the diamond off the shelf. “You did get rid of that annoying thing, so it’s yours.”

The guy handed the diamond to Knuckles, who handed it to Rouge. As she was looking at it, Rouge noticed something about it.

“Hey! This diamond’s a fake!” Rouge shouted.

“Fake? Are you sure?” asked Knuckles.

“I’m a jewel expert, knucklehead. I can tell if a jewel is fake or not, and this one is definitely a fake.”

Knuckles turned back around and noticed that the guy was gone. “Hey, where did he go?”

Rouge shook her head. “Your stubbornness has struck once again, Knuckles.”

---------------------------

Meanwhile. Over at the arcades. Tails was playing a first person shooter arcade game called Area 51.

“Just a few more points and I’ll make it to the top of the High Score list,” said Tails. Suddenly the screen went black. “What!?” Tails stood there stunned. He rubbed his eyes just to make sure that he wasn’t seeing things. “No! I was so close! I wonder what happened.” Tails looked around the arcade game and saw that it was unplugged. Standing next to it was Omochao.

“Did you know that playing arcade games can ruin your mind?” asked Omochao, tapping his head.

“Y-You did this?” Omochao nodded. Tails grabbed him and shook him. “You stupid, little, annoying pest! Did you know how close I was to reaching the top of that High Score list!? I’ve used all my quarters to get to that spot and you ruined it for me!”

“Ow! Hey! Let me go!”

“Oh, I’ll let you go alright.”

Tails kicked Omochao across the arcade room. Omochao landed right next to a little girl.

“Look, mommy, a doll came flying to me,” said the little girl.

“That thing looks horrible,” said the girl’s mother. “Things like this need to be thrown in the trash.”

The mother took Omochao and threw it in the trash.

“People just don’t appreciate helpful advice anymore,” said Omochao.

-----------------------

Sonic arrived at the Hurl-O-Whirl.

“Aw man, just look at that long line. There’s no way I’m waiting this long.”

“There you are, Sonic,” said a voice.

‘Oh no, it’s Amy!’ Sonic thought to himself. ‘I’ve gotta hide long enough for this line to die down; but where?’ Sonic looked around and saw the House of Mirrors. “Perfect.”

Sonic ran inside as Amy approached the entrance to the House of Mirrors.

“I’ll show him to ditch me like that in front of everyone,” said Amy, pulling out her Piko Piko Hammer.

“Phew. I should be safe in here.”

“Oh, Sonikku, where are you? I promise I won’t hurt you…too bad.” Then Amy saw Sonic’s reflection, thinking it was him. “I’ve got you now.” She swung her hammer, and the mirror shattered to pieces. “Shoot. Wrong one.”

“I feel sorry for that mirror.”

Amy kept swinging at Sonic, but she kept hitting the mirrors instead.

‘It won’t be too long until Amy finally hits me,’ Sonic thought. ‘I better leave while I got the chance.’

Sonic left the House of Mirrors and went back to the Hurl-O-Whirl. Not only was the long line gone, but Tails was also standing there.

“Glad you could make it, little buddy,” said Sonic.

“Of course. I wouldn’t wanna miss this,” said Tails.

As they got in the ride, the person operating it gave paper bags to both of them.

“What are these for?” Sonic asked, looking at it.

“I think these are motion sickness bags. Why do you think it’s called “Hurl-O-Whirl”?”

As the ride started, it was going really fast. Tails was enjoying the ride while Sonic was sitting there with a bored look on his face.

“Geez, what a slow ride,” said Sonic, a little disappointed. “But I’ll fix that.” Sonic leaned over the seat.

“Sonic? What are you doing?”

“Trying to make this ride exciting. Hey you! The dude that’s operating this thing!”

The person looked up at Sonic. “Is there a problem!?”

“I’ll say there’s a problem! You call this fast! I can walk faster than this! Crank this thing with all the juice it’s got!”

“Ok, it’s your funeral.”

The person cranked the ride to its maximum velocity.

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Sonic shouted. Sonic looked at Tails who was clutching his stomach. “Tails? Are you ok, buddy?”

“I knew I shouldn’t had that cotton candy before I got here.” Then his face started to turned green.

“Don’t puke here. Use those bags. You can even use mine.”

Tails quickly took Sonic’s paper bag, stuffed it into his paper bag and threw up in it. As the ride was over, Tails walked over to the trashcan.

“I’m gonna miss you, cotton candy,” said Tails, tossing it into the trashcan.

“You can always get more,” said Sonic.

“I used up all my money on that arcade game. I would’ve made it to the top on the High Score list, but Omochao messed it up.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy some for you.”

“Thanks, Sonic.”

----------------------------

Over at another section of Seven Flags, Shadow was walking away from the bumper cars, which most of the bumper cars ended up being destroyed by Shadow’s Chaos Spear.

“Ahhhh. There’s nothing like destroying things to enjoy my time here,” said Shadow.

“I can’t believe it!” shouted a voice. Shadow looked around and saw a boy standing in front of him. “You’re Shadow the Hedgehog!”

Shadow crossed his arms. “What do you want, kid?”

“I’m your ultimate fan. Can I have your autograph?”

“Listen, kid, I don’t have time to waste just to sign an autograph.”

“Please.”

“Forget it.”

“Please.”

‘You’re beginning to sound like Amy,’ Shadow thought. ‘Now I know how Sonic feels.’

Shadow looked back at the boy and saw that tears were filling up his eyes.

“Alright, alright. I’ll do it.” The boy jumped for joy as Shadow took the picture of himself, signed it and gave it back to him. “Now, get lost.”

“This is great! Thank you, Shadow; you’re the best.”

The boy left as Shadow shook his head. “Things you gotta do for your fans.”

---------------------------

“What are we doing here at the Chao Plex?” asked Rouge.

“I was hoping they would have this movie that I wanted to see,” Knuckles replied, looking through the movie displays. “Here it is. “The Chao that ate Station Square”. It’s about this abandoned chao getting into this barrel of toxic waste, which makes it grow, and it takes its rampage all over the city. Sonic said that it was good.” Then Knuckles noticed the long line. “I hope the tickets for it don’t get sold out.”

“They’re probably going for this one, “Chao in Space 3”.”

“Oh, come on. Everyone knows that in the ending, the Hero Chao finds out that the Dark Chao is actually his brother.”

A deep sigh came from the long line of people.

“Thanks for ruining the movie for us, dude,” said a guy.

The long line of people quickly vanished.

“Um, you’re welcome,” said Knuckles. Knuckles and Rouge walked over to the ticket booth. “Two tickets for “The Chao that ate Station Square” please.”

“Sorry, sir, we’re sold out.”

“Rats! We should’ve gotten here sooner.”

---------------------------

“Where can Sonic be?” asked Amy. Then she spotted Shadow looking at the map. “Hey Shadow, have you seen Sonic?”

“I haven’t seen the faker lately,” Shadow replied.

“Well, if you do, let me know.”

As soon as Amy left, Shadow heard something in the bushes.

“Psst. Shadow, is Amy gone?” said a voice.

“Hiding from Amy again, are you Sonic?”

Sonic and Tails emerged from the bushes. “You would hide from her too if you were me.”

“Good thing I’m not.” Then Shadow looked back at Amy. “Hey Amy!”

“Wait a minute Shadow! What are you doing!?”

“I’m letting her know you’re here.”

“Thanks a lot, Shad.”

“Look, I don’t think it’s gonna hurt to actually spend some time with her. Who knows, maybe you’ll begin to like her.”

“Like her? Yeah right.”

“Then let’s make a bet on it.”

“Ok. How much?”

“I got fifty bucks here that says that you won’t make it through the rest of the time here with Amy and run away from her.”

“Alright, it’s a deal.”

“What’s a deal?” asked Knuckles.

“I just bet fifty bucks that I can last with Amy through the rest of the time here,” said Sonic.

“I’ll take some of that. Here’s my fifty, Shadow.”

“By the way, faker, me, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge are gonna watch you to see if you keep up with your end of the bargain,” said Shadow.

“Don’t worry, Shad, I’ll win this bet,” said Sonic.

“What are you guys talking about?” asked Amy.

“Amy, how about we spend some time together? We can go to that Tunnel of Love if you want to.”

“Really? You mean it?” Sonic nodded and Amy hugged him tightly. “Oh, Sonic, you’re so sweet.”

‘This better be worth it,’ Sonic thought.

----------------------

The rest of the time wasn’t so bad for Sonic. Sonic actually enjoyed his time with Amy; he even had certain feelings for her, but he quickly shook those away. Seven Flags was closing and the crew went out to the entrance.

“Sonic, did you really want to spend time with me?” asked Amy.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” asked Sonic.

“Well, it’s just that you hardly do this sorta thing with me.”

“Well, now that I think about it, I’m glad I did spend some time with you. You know, you’re not so bad.”

“Do you think we can do this sorta thing more often?”

“Who knows, maybe.” Then Sonic gave her a kiss on the cheek and Amy caught herself from fainting.

“Well, see you around, Sonikku.”

As Amy left, Knuckles gave Sonic a pat on the back. “You really surprised us, Sonic. I didn’t think you could do it.”

“Well, that’s what you get for betting against me.”

“Well, here’s your fifty bucks.”

Sonic was about to take the money but shook his head.

“Nah. On second thought, you keep it. I don’t need it.”

The crew bid farewell to each other and went their separate ways.

----------------------

While that going on, Dr. Eggman was watching the whole thing on his computer screen.

“Bah! Things like that sicken me.” Then he turned on the intercom. “Metal, status report.”

“I looked everywhere, but I still haven’t found the three Chaos Emeralds,” said Metal.

“This won’t do! Sonic and Tails are heading back.” Then he looked back at Amy. “Metal, go to Plan B and meet me at the constructed bridge.”

“At once, master.” Metal left a note on Tails’ desk and took off.

“It seems that you’re still in my plans, Miss Rose, and soon I’ll have all seven Chaos Emeralds.”

To be continued…