Sonic the Hedgehog sped down Station Square like a blue meteor as he headed toward the train station. He had found the key at last. All he had to do was plug it into the slot at the mystic ruins, and he would have access to Windy Valley.

"Almost there." He said to himself as he rounded a corner.

Sonic skidded to an abrupt halt as a panzer tank plowed through a building ahead of him and rolled out onto the street. The vehicle turned on its caterpillar tracks and headed straight toward him as Sonic stared at it with startled bewilderment. His body tensed for action, the tips of his light-speed sneakers digging into the pavement as he crouched down. Was this another of Eggman's ploys? The tank rolled to a stop, and a hatch opened at the top.

A green skinned hedgehog with a bazooka strapped over one shoulder peeked down the barrel of the tank's seventy-five millimeter gun.

"Oh, sorry. Kinda hard to see in this thing."

Sonic pushed a hand through his quills. "Uh, no problem…Who are you?"

The green hedgehog rested an arm on the side of the cupola. "I'm Flak. Flak the Hedgehog. You?"

"Sonic. Sonic…the Hedgehog."

Flak nodded with a quick half-smile. "Cool. Nice to meet you."

Sonic jabbed his thumb in the direction of the station. "I'm, uh, heading down to the mystic ruins. You wanna come?"

Flak shook his head. "No way. I'm off to the beach to go blast things with E-102 Gamma." There was a brief silence.

Sonic blinked. "What? Who?" But his voice was lost as the vehicle's engine suddenly ceased idling.

"Well, see you around." Flak saluted. The hatch closed. Then it opened again. "Oh, and could you move? Thanks." The engine roared as the tank lurched forward, crushing cars and flattening streetlights as it rolled down the road.

"Listen, Flak. There's something we need to go over." Sonic sighed over a french fry.

He looked sidelong at Tails, who avoided his glance and continued to munch on a hamburger.

Amy looked on from across the table, concern evident on her face as she nibbled an apple slice.

"Look," Sonic continued. "All I'm saying is that this is serious business. Are you sure you want to join us? Are you even qualified?"

Flak looked up from his fingers. "Are you kidding? That's easy. I'm a blast-a-holic with an aim to match. I can turn invisible at will and only cost two Psi to support. And I'm a hedgehog, geez."

Sonic finished another fry. "And that's another thing. You do kinda look like Manic."

Flak leaned back in his chair. "Bah. We're nothing alike. I have a rocket launcher. He doesn't." He jerked a thumb behind him, where a Panzerkampfwagen V waited in the parking lot. "I also have a tank. He doesn-"

"Right, yeah." Sonic interrupted. "And I think you're triple-parked. Over some cars."

Flak shrugged, taking a sip from his soda. "I'm not. That would be illegal."

"Anyway," Sonic resumed. "Is any of that actually true? About turning invisible and…um…something about 'sigh'?"

Flak scratched an ear, considering. "Mostly no. But I do have a tank."

Tails swallowed a bite of hamburger. "Where did you get a tank from, anyway?" He asked, venturing a look out the window.

"I inherited it from my father." Flak replied.

"You have parents?" Amy interjected suddenly. Tails rolled his eyes, but Flak shook his head.

"Not anymore." They stared at him quizzically.

"It's like this." He explained. "My father made tanks, and my mother made machine guns. Violent group."

Amy's eyes were full of sympathy. "What happened?"

Flak looked away. "They were killed." He said quietly. "By each other."

Amy blinked, not sure how to react. "Oh." There was another silence.

"Yup." Flak popped another fry into his mouth. "It was an accident, I think. Oh, and another thing…I lied. I'm a porcupine."

Sonic pulled his face away from his hands. "Okay, Flak. Whatever. You're in."

Flak pumped an arm. "Yes!"

Author's Note:

This piece isn't supposed to make sense. Sensibility is the product of an inconsequential human explanation for the unlikelihood of the world around them. Plus, Panzers are just plain cool. Swords are cool, too, but they aren't in this story anymore.

Oh yeah, Flak now carries a Panzerfaust instead of a sword. A minor change. I thought it fit him better.