Isaac was transported to the castle infirmary as fast as possible, while the prisoners were taken to the dungeon to await trial. Sally and Lily were the first to see Isaac after four hours. They walked into the infirmary, which was more like a modern hospital than expected. The floors were white tile, and the walls were painted a white color as well. The beds were standard metal frames with mattresses on them. Isaac was the only one in the infirmary, his bed adjusted so as to be almost sitting up. His eyes were closed, but his breathing was constant. He was wearing a patient's gown, himself hooked up to an I.V. bag with morphine. Sally and Lily walked to Isaac's bed, sitting down beside it.
"Isaac, are you awake?" Lily asked, nudging her brother.
"Shhh, don't do that. Isaac needs as much rest as possible." Sally whispered.
Isaac's eyes fluttered, himself coming to consciousness. He looked to his side, seeing Lily and Sally. He smiled, happy to see some friendly faces.
"Nice to see you two. How are the others?" Isaac asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Sally wiped away a few stray tears, smiling.
"They're fine. We came in to see how you were feeling." Sally said.
Lily moved herself onto Isaac's bed, nestling up against Isaac's side. Isaac reached his hand over to Lily, comforting her.
"The doctor said I will be fine. I just need to take it easy for a few weeks. But hey… I took them in alive, just like I promised." Isaac informed, smiling wider.
Sally nodded, smiling as well.
"I was scared, brother. Please don't do that ever again." Lily requested.
"Lily, your speech. Remember what I taught you, okay?" Isaac said.
"Yes, brother. 'Always speak formal when speaking to others. Never assume, always walk the path of caution.'" Lily said.
"That is good." Isaac said, stroking her hair.
"Wait, is that why you speak formally all the time?" Sally asked.
"It is no secret English is our second language. But I was taught to speak formally, without contractions, so as to show respect." Isaac explained.
"But you don't have to do it all the time. It's okay to speak informal when talking to friends or family." Sally informed.
Isaac thought on this, not quite knowing how to respond.
"You will not take offense to it?" Isaac asked.
Sally shook her head.
"You promise?" Isaac asked.
Sally nodded.
Isaac breathed in, and then out, wincing at his pain.
"I'm sorry for making you worry today. I promise I won't take action without your approval." Isaac promised.
Sally shook her head, beginning to cry again.
"You made it your word to never kill again. And you saved an innocent person and brought four people to justice! If you needed my approval, I wouldn't have allowed you risk your life so hazardously." Sally explained.
"The only approval I give you is to continue doing the right thing, no matter what. Now, promise me you will do that, for me." Sally said.
Isaac nodded, bringing his hand away from Lily and to Sally. Sally took it, feeling Isaac's grip.
"I promise." Isaac said, giving his word.
After an hour of visiting, the infirmary doctor entered the recovery room, carrying a bottle of pills.
"Mr. Abaddon, I have your medication. Now, the instruction are on the bottle, but I will give you verbal instructions as well. Take one in the morning and one in the evening, preferably with meals. These are to help with the pain. Now, I recommend sleeping in an upright position for the first few nights, so as to keep pressure off your ribcage. Take it easy and don't strain yourself. See me again in two weeks to see how things are healing." She instructed, handing Isaac the pills.
The doctor then proceeded to carefully remove Isaac's I.V., bandaging where it was injected. Bringing a wheelchair to the bed, Isaac carefully moved himself, along with help from Sally and the doctor, into it. His ribs still aching, but more manageable than when the fight had just ended, Isaac proceeded to wheel himself around the room to get the hang of the wheelchair.
"You'll be able to walk, Mr. Abaddon. But the wheelchair is more of a formality. Just so you'll be less likely of falling and hurting yourself. Now, I'll go get your clothes to change into and I'll see you off." She said, walking into her office.
"Thank you, doctor. I owe much to you." Isaac said, bowing his head.
After changing into his clothes, moderately painful as it was, Isaac was wheeled out of the infirmary by Sally, Lily sitting in his lap. As she wheeled him out, Isaac saw out a window, seeing it was just past sunset. As soon as Isaac was wheeled out of the infirmary, he managed to push himself out of the wheelchair, which was uncomfortable, to say the least. He, Lily, and Sally walked to the Common Room, where the others were. The defector was with them as well, but he had changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. Isaac cleared his throat, letting them know he was in the room. Everyone quickly got up, wanting to know how he was. After assuring them all that he was fine, he slowly sat down, easing himself in fear of awakening the pain in his ribs.
"Before we talk about anything, I want to know just who you are." Isaac said to the defector.
"And you are plenty entitled to it. Ask anything, and I will answer it." He said.
"What is your name?" Isaac asked.
"It's Dante. Dante Alighieri." He replied.
Isaac raised an eyebrow, confused that he had the same name as the Florentine poet.
"Like the poet?" Isaac asked.
Dante nodded.
"Many of us are named after famous demonologists. I was named after Dante Alighieri, who traversed the Circles of Hell." He explained.
"But he wasn't a demonologist. He was a poet." Isaac corrected.
Dante only shook his head.
"There's a lot about us you don't know. Especially the knowledge we carry." Dante said.
"Fine, moving on. Who are your people?" Isaac asked.
"Not my people anymore. But when they were, we were the Order of Honorius. Named after Pope Honorius IV, who started the Fifth Crusade. We're demon hunters, dedicated to wiping out Lucifer's corruption, or at least once, we were. Now, much of our mission has been corrupted by politics." Dante explained.
"Why did you defect?" Isaac asked.
"I found out the horrible truth about the hunts. Many of them were politically motivated, declared an importance for killing demons. Lot of them, we had no intel. No proof of demons. The ones we did have intel one were sketchy at best. And I have reason the one orchestrated on your family was no different." Dante informed.
Isaac could feel his blood begin to boil. The fireplace was getting hotter, the flame becoming blue. Dante saw it and began to become terrified. Isaac noticed, and began calming himself, the fire becoming red and orange again.
"I'm sorry. My pyrokinetic powers are still new to me. I assure you; I am not a demon. Neither was my mother and father." Isaac said.
"No need to tell me that. Powers like pyrokinesis and such is no stranger to the Order. Many of their soldiers have powers just like that. But once they have their mind set to someone, they never give up. Even after losing a significant number of their force." Dante said.
"Why my father? Why my mother? Why my sister and me? We lived in peace." Isaac asked, a tear streaming down his face.
"Where your family lived was a tactical spot for the Order. They wanted to build a dock so as to allow their forces to go unnoticed. They tried to buy the land from your father, but he didn't wish to leave. Next, they threatened him with violence, saying that they would burn the home to the ground. Your mother was the one to chase them off the property. Unfortunately... the Order of Honorius make good on their threats." Dante finished.
Isaac wiped a tear from his cheek, nodding.
"But once they realized the Kingdom of Acorn had large control of the waters surrounding the island, they retreated back to Europe." Dante said.
"And the others?" Isaac asked.
"They have no idea of the political motivation. Only the leaders of the Order know. That is also the reason why I defected. I found out too much, and I ran for my life." Dante said, bringing them up to speed.
"Why continue hunting me if they got what they wanted?" Isaac asked.
"No loose ends. They think by killing you, they'll keep their doings secret. Unfortunately for them, if King Nigel Acorn knows about this, I doubt other nations are still unaware." Dante said.
Isaac nodded, slowly getting up. He put a hand to his ribs, an attempt to give support.
"Again, I owe you my life! They would've gut me and let me bleed out in the snow! If you need anything, and I mean anything, you let me know." Dante said, grateful of Isaac's intervention.
"There is one thing." Isaac said, grinning.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"Would you care to join my friends and I for dinner? I've heard it's going to be venison stew, which is a favorite of mine. After all, an enemy of my enemy is my friend." Isaac asked.
Dante nodded, clutching his stomach. Soon, everyone else left to go to the Dining Room for dinner, except for Sally and Isaac. Isaac was slow to get up, taking caution so as to not hurt himself. Sally stayed behind, so as Isaac wouldn't feel rushed, since his duties would still require him to stay by her side. But before Isaac could walk out of the door of the Common Room, he was stopped by Sally.
"Isaac… I still can't thank you enough for what you did today. Also, I have something of yours. I accidentally took it out of your pocket when I had to grab your ticket to get you on the train." She explained, reaching into her vest pocket.
To Isaac's surprise, it was the mistletoe he had failed to take out of his pocket the night prior. Sally gave it back to him, Isaac gently holding it. As Isaac held it, Sally leaned forward and kissed Isaac on the cheek once more. But this time, Isaac didn't blush or felt his throat dry up. Isaac could only faintly smile, at least until he felt his fractured ribs cry out in pain. Isaac and Sally made their way out of the Common Room and towards the Dining Room. After arriving, they saw that dinner was already served, with Dante himself having scarfed down at least four bowls of venison stew. It was evident that Dante hadn't had a good meal in a long time. Isaac sat himself down besides Lily, who was waiting for her brother. Bowing their head, Lily guided them in prayer.
"Ellōhim, im'māṉuvēliṉ tantai. Inta uṇavai ācīrvatiyuṅkaḷ. Eṉ cakōtaraṉaip pātukāttamaikku naṉṟi. Eṅkaḷ putiya naṇparukku naṉṟi. Uṅkaḷ makaṉ palarai mīṭṭatāl eṅkaḷ naṇpar mīṭkappaṭuvār. Āmeṉ. (Elohim, father of Emmanuel. Please, bless this meal. Thank for protecting my brother. Thank you for our new friend. May he be rescued as your son rescued many others. Amen.)" Lily finished.
She quickly hugged her brother, Isaac holding back the exclamations of pain that would've burst from him. After returning the hug, they began eating their dinner, which was exceptional to Isaac. While he would've preferred it with more peppercorns and a tad less salt, it was welcoming to Isaac after the day he had. After about an hour, Isaac and Dante helping with gathering the dishes so as to lessen the work for the servants, everyone retired to the Common Room, so as to get Isaac and Lily to watch 'The Polar Express'. After setting up the projector and the speakers, Tails hit the power button, starting the movie. But as the previews for other movies that would come with the DVD were playing, Dante began explaining to Isaac just what to expect with the Order of Honorius.
"They don't send assassins or people that specialize in stealth. They prefer to make statements on their cause. A message. Of course, that didn't do that big idiot any favors. If he had even the slightest bit of a cutting edge on that claymore, I wouldn't even be talking to you." Dante whispered.
Isaac nodded, softly rubbing his ribs.
"What about you?" Isaac asked.
"Like I said before, I am forever indebted to you. You saved my life! I will do whatever you say and will do it whenever you say." He explained.
"So, to hypothetically ask, if I told you to eat a bowl of dirt, you'd do it?" Isaac asked.
"And I would ask for seconds! I'm telling you, anything you could make me do, it will be a small repayment in comparison to what you did for me! You freed me from their tyranny! I don't have to be oppressed by their dogma! And it's all thanks to you." Dante explained.
Isaac shook his head, grinning.
"Even if I would've been cut down in battle, Sonic and the others would've intervened, with better success. You owe no more of your life to me than you would to them." Isaac informed.
Dante slowly nodded, piecing things together.
"I see what you're saying. I get you." Dante said.
Isaac sighed, relieved that Dante understood he didn't need to do as he would say.
"Hey, who's getting popcorn?" Knuckles asked.
"I'll get it!" Dante exclaimed, jumping out of his seat, and running past Sally through the doorway.
Isaac facepalmed, realizing he just made it that Dante will do as what anyone from the Sonic Team will ask.
"What was that all about?" Sally asked, sitting down next to Isaac.
"I've created a monster. An obedient, subservient monster." Isaac replied.
"Well, at least he's polite. I was just downstairs in the dungeon, just to check up on those guys. They were… rude, to say the least." Sally said.
"Well, I broke one of their noses, I fractured one of their wings, and I took down the largest one with my bare hands. I wouldn't be in a good mood after being embarrassed like that." Isaac informed.
"Yeah. Hey, I'm going down after the movie to check up on them again. Mind coming with me? They might be a bit quieter with you in the room." Sally asked.
Isaac nodded, wanting to also know their combat styles to help in taking them down more efficiently. As soon as Dante returned with popcorn, Tails hit the play button for the title screen, beginning the movie. After about halfway through the movie, Tails paused it so as to allow for any bathroom breaks before resuming the movie. Isaac slowly got up, needing to walk a bit so as to stretch his legs. As he walked towards the doorway, he noticed a present under the tree. Isaac crouched down, his sore ribs crying out once again. He ignored it, wanting to see what it was under the tree. The red-and-gold present with a dark green bow was labelled as: To: Isaac. From: Amy & Vanilla. Isaac carefully picked it up, shaking it. It barely made any sound, except Isaac could tell it was something made of a soft material. A large sticker on it said, 'Do not open until Xmas!'
"Don't go opening your present too early, Mr. Isaac. Just a few more days." Vanilla said.
Isaac put it back down, just as it were under the tree. Isaac returned to his seat, stretching out his arms. But to his surprise, he felt a hand grab his wrist and put his arm around their shoulders. Isaac looked, seeing it was Sally. Isaac felt his heart begin to race. Sally looked up at him, smiling. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. Isaac hesitantly pulled her in closer. His heart began to slow back down. After everyone was accounted for, Tails resumed the movie. Eventually, after the movie ended, Tails went to hit the lights. But as soon as he did, he noticed both Sally and Isaac asleep, holding onto each other.
"Think we should wake them up?" Tails whispered.
"Nah, might as well let them sleep. They've been through a lot today." Vector whispered, walking out of the Common Room.
One by one, everyone left the room as quietly as possible. Rouge was the last one to leave, taking out her phone. She snapped a picture, saving it.
"Looks like I got something for the slideshow!" She said to herself, turning out the lights as she exited the room.