The first feeling in the new Sonic's head as he woke up was confusion. He was now sitting at the entrance to the cave, where he supposedly was the last time he was awake. Suddenly he remembered everything that happened inside. He didn't know what to feel. He was both happy for his new skills, but the loss of his grandfather still haunted him. To clear his head for the moment, Sonic tried to do what felt natural again, which, much to his own bafflement, turned out to be running again. He glanced at the compass, and after tilting the thing around and staring at the strange device for a while he figured out that the big N stood for north, and that's where he was headed. And all he left behind was a big cloud of dust.

He was off, but the sudden acceleration surprised him and in self-defense he started to brake. And he stopped in his tracks as fast as he had sped up.

"Did I… Did I just run this distance in a couple of seconds?" Sonic thought as he turned around and saw the huge rock he just sat by as a small speck in the distance.

"…Thanks, grandpa. I won't waste your last gift for me." He ran off again, leaving a few little wet spots in the sand as he left.

He was closing in on the village, and soon enough he was there. The sound screeching from Sonic's braking shoes rang through the village, although it gathered no attention. It was still Sunday, so the area seemed just as lifeless as it did before. Sonic walked home.

As he entered the house and slammed the door shut, a voice said:

"I heard you come, Sonic. Where have you been? You made us all so worried. With your speed, you've always home in no time-"

As Sonic's mother appeared right before him, she stopped talking and stood there quiet for a while.

"…Drevon? Where's your grandfather? I'm sure I heard him come, but… Wait… Aren't those his shoes?"

"Mom… I need to explain a lot of things. Let's go sit down."

Sonic told his mother everything that happened. Even though she was clearly sad, she didn't seem so surprised.

"…So it's finally happened…" Sonic's mother spoke to herself.

"What happened?"

"N-no, it's nothing. What's important now is your situation, erm, Sonic. As long as you have that compass with you, I guess it'd be safe for you to see the world for yourself. But I still don't think you should set off alone."

"But no one wants to go with me. Everyone's busy boring to death and rotting in here."

"I certainly can't help you with that, but I stand by what I said. You can't go alone."

"Hmph, fine."

Sonic jumped out of the soft armchair and went upstairs to his room.

"I-I can explain everything to the others, since this has probably been very hard for you. Is it okay, dear?"

The slam of a door was heard as a reply.

"What am I going to do with that child? I can't keep him tied to this village forever… I suppose he inherited his grandfather's spirit of freedom as well…" Sonic's mother sighed as she was left alone.

Sonic was feeing grumpy when he sat down on the floor. It was excruciating how he thought that his life would turn for the better for a moment, but now he's back to square one.

"What use are the powers, when I 'can't even take care of myself'? This isn't what grandpa wanted. And what happened to him, anyway? He would've gladly left this place with me. I wish I had a friend to see the world with…" Sonic thought. But he knew that wasn't going to happen. His seemingly only option was to wait until he was old enough to leave alone… But according to his mother's rulings, that would be too many years for Sonic to stand. If he hadn't got this power, he could've waited forever, but now that he has something to wait for, he's dying to run far away from this torture.

"But wait… Isn't it my duty to take care of the village's safety now?" Sonic thought and got up on his feet. He was staring at the scenery outside of his dirty window again.

"At last, there's something to do in this dead town… But nothing's gonna happen today… It's still Sunday after all."

The sun was setting, and Sonic had a lot on his mind. His eyelids were droopy, and he decided to go to sleep. But it didn't turn out to be so easy. His head was too full of thoughts for him to calm down. And when he finally fell asleep, he had nightmares, where dark figures took a crying person away from him. He awoke in shock, rubbed his eyes and tried to catch some sleep again.

"No worries, tomorrow's going to be better… I hope."