Alarms began to blare through the facility, rousing Sonic from his depression-induced stupor. The shackles on his wrists disappeared, phasing in a small burst of energy. Rubbing his right wrist, Sonic smirked as Zavok approached, spouting a classic one-liner. In the back of his mind, one thought crossed: Thank Chaos I'm finally out of this hellhole.
Unfortunately, Sonic wasn't quite out of the proverbial woods yet. He still had to get past Zavok and his bee bot, proving to be less of a challenge than pulling on his sneakers. Who knew, Sonic thought as he zipped past cages of other prisoners being freed, that space would be so sweltering?
As he finally made it outside of the prison, the excited voices of his comrades filled his ears. Amy Rose, his self-proclaimed girlfriend. Knuckles, the leader of the Resistance. The Chaotix. Everyone he knew and loved. He was free to run as he always did, free to breathe fresh air on the land below, free to be what he wanted to be: happy.
When enduring six months of torture, no one would expect Sonic to be happy. When the fate of the world was at stake, everyone expected Sonic to take the lead. And he was certainly happy to do so.
"How do I know if I'm truly happy?"