Sonic burst through the city in two minutes flat and skidded to a stop on the other side, sand kicking up under his feet. The soft murmur of lapping waves met his ears. He looked out over the green-blue waves, and an unfamiliar disgust filled him, forcing his gaze away.

Looking back the way he came, Sonic estimated he'd run... thirty-five miles? He must have been moving close to the speed of sound, which wasn't unusual, except normally he had to work up to it. His acceleration must have increased drastically.

Chalking this up to… whatever Eggman's machine had done to him, he turned to the creature. Thankfully, his ploy had worked; she'd followed him and nobody was hurt. He smiled at her. "So, what's your name?"

"I don't know. Are we not going to talk about the insane fox?" Her eyes were cat-like slits. It reminded him of a friend (or maybe that was just because of the ocean waves), and he laughed.

"Tails isn't insane. But he was acting pretty weird…" Sonic rubbed a finger under his nose thoughtfully, a gesture that earned him an odd look from the creature. "You sure you don't have a name?"

"Pretty sure." She answered dryly. Her ears twisted back and she folded her wings, dropping to the sand with a soft thud. Sonic followed her wary gaze to a group of children, chattering and pointing at them. Nearby, a pair of adults were murmuring to each other, casting wary looks at the hedgehog and his companion.

Sonic smiled and waved at them. "Guess we should keep moving if we don't want a crowd," He lowered his voice, keeping his friendly expression as he started walking back into town.

"What got their attention? The flying snake or the supersonic hedgehog?" The creature mused dryly, slinking after him.

"So you're a flying snake?" Sonic flipped around, walking backwards so he could study her. Her body was long and slender, with a scaly brown underbelly and wide green eyes. But she also had dark brown fur and pointed ears, not typical of a snake. "A flying cat? Flying cat-snake hybrid? Flying ferret?"

She didn't answer, creeping into the lingering morning shade and almost melting from view. Sonic let the conversation go and instead focused on his surroundings. There were more people out than there had been last evening, but something still seemed… off about them. A few of them were shooting him weird looks, but the others… the others weren't quite right. He couldn't put his finger on it.

"You don't blend in very well." He jumped as the creature rematerialized at his feet.

"Yeah, I—" A smell caught Sonic's attention, and his eyes jumped to its source: a row of food vendors. "Hey, are you hungry?"

"Yes."

"What do you want to eat?" Sonic moved towards the vendors, forcing her to follow him out into the open. She kept within his shadow while still a safe distance from his actual self, scurrying like a lizard. "Ice cream?" He suggested, gesturing at a cheerful mustached man with a pink-and-white striped apron, his hands on some sort of sundae as he stared blissfully into space.

"No." She sniffed at the air, cautiously moving towards the vendors, and finally pointed at one. "What's there?"

"Pretzels, hot dogs, souvlaki, bagels," a bored nutria told them, the only one to notice her so far. He gave a long sigh. "And other ridiculously unhealthy street foods."

Sonic walked over to the cart, inspecting the menu. "Can you afford any of this?" The creature questioned, squinting suspiciously at him. Now that he thought about it, Sonic had fallen from space, so whatever money he had was probably shredded.

"We do give out free sample pretzels." The nutria plonked something black and vaguely pretzel-shaped on the counter before returning his attention to a comic book.

Sonic gingerly handed the… object to the creature, who sniffed at it suspiciously. "Thanks!" He tried and failed to make eye contact with the nutria.

"We hope you come again… with money…" The nutria muttered, jotting something down with his eyes glued to the comic book. Sonic shrugged and walked off, creature trailing after him.

"How's it taste?" Sonic asked, having lost all interest in eating the pretzel himself.

The creature took a cautious bite and cocked her head, chewing slowly. "Bad. I like it."

Sonic watched as she devoured the pretzel. "I'm gonna need a nickname for you. How about Pretzel?"

"That's an awful name. What do they call you, Hot Dog?" The newly-christened Pretzel flicked her tail disdainfully, its sharp tip scraping on the pavement.

"Sonic, actually."

"Creative."

"If you would rather I call you Flappy—"

"Pretzel's fine."

Sonic chuckled. "You really don't know your own name?"

"I don't remember anything."

He stopped, blinking at her. "Nothing?"

"Nothing clear, just… impressions." She paused to pick at her teeth with a sharp, blue claw before scuttling forward again.

He cocked his head at her as he resumed walking. "What about the place Tails was talkin' about?"

She shook her head. "All I know is it's dangerous."

"'Danger' is my middle name," he laughed.

She looked at him disdainfully for a moment before stalking off, disappearing into a shadowy doorway. Sonic was tempted to ask exactly how she managed to do this on such a bright morning, but guessed the answer would be no more helpful than her previous ones.

Sonic noticed a friendly-looking cyan wolf and darted over, nearly flattening him; his acceleration was definitely faster. Oddly, the wolf didn't seem to notice he'd almost been pancaked by a hedgehog. "Hello!" He beamed at Sonic. "What's your name?"

"I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic declared proudly. "I'm kind of lost. Could you tell me a bit about this place?" He waved his hand in a broad gesture at the white town.

"You're in Apotos! The finest city this side of Greece!" The wolf gazed cheerfully into the distance. "We have beautiful architecture, a refreshing ocean—"

"That's great," Sonic interrupted. "Has there been anything… odd going on lately?"

The wolf smiled blankly at him. "Everything is fine!"

"Somehow I doubt that." Pretzel muttered, moving out of the shadows to study the wolf. He stiffened, nostrils flaring as he stared down at her. His smile suddenly became something much more menacing.

"Hey, buddy?" Sonic asked, touching his shoulder. "You al—"

The wolf snarled and lunged just as Pretzel dove to the side. He whirled with lightning speed, teeth sinking into her tail, and she hissed, writhing. Before the wolf could bite off her tail, Sonic slammed him into the wall.

"Let go!" Sonic kept pushing the wolf into the wall, sneakers squeaking on the pavement. The wolf growled and sank his teeth in further.

Pretzel unfurled her wings and curled up her own length like a snake held by its tail. She slashed at the wolf with her claws, bloody scratches underlining his eyes, and still he wouldn't yield. Sonic reached up and squeezed the corners of the wolf's muzzle, forcing it open, and Pretzel surged away.

Sonic sprinted after her, glancing back to see the wolf moving after them. A smaller, redder wolf sprinted out of the door and wrapped its arms around their pursuer. He stopped, blinking in confusion, and Sonic followed Pretzel out of sight.

Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and followed! I appreciate any feedback on what I'm doing right and what I can improve. :) Hope you enjoy!