Isaac had covered a few miles running, before he had to resort to walking. His energy was sapped from him, the necrotic swath of tissue growing! As Isaac walked through the Great Forest, he felt as if something was watching him. But every time he looked around; he couldn't see anything that would provoke his sense of danger.
As he walked, he began seeing things. Things that had no reason to be in the Great Forest! Pillars of marble, fashioned as a pile of screaming people! Ragdolls hung from their necks in nooses! Isaac had thrown a stick at a few of them, but it only phased through them.
"What the hell?" Isaac said, seeing a cloth doll with a red, glowing gem above it. It bore a resemblance to Tails, and there was nothing holding it in the air. Isaac shook his head, only seeing the 'Tails Doll' as another hallucination. As he walked, he began seeing people. People he knew. People he killed.
"So, the badass Ranger's finally getting what's coming to him!" One of the people exclaimed, being an Honorius soldier Isaac had killed when he was twelve.
"Shut up." Isaac muttered, continuing his trek.
"We threw everything we had at you, only for you to die like this? How disappointing!" Another soldier exclaimed, herself having been killed by Isaac when he was sixteen.
"Silence!" Isaac yelled, feeling his senses beginning to dwindle. Soon, he saw a trio of people wearing street clothes, soaked in blood! He soon recognized them as the dealers that he had killed when he was lost in his Demonic Form.
"So, we get to burn in Hell, while you get to walk free?! And you say you're sorry?!" Michael Strout exclaimed. Isaac shook his head, his head feeling like it was going to split apart!
"My boss was mourning my death that day, and you could've given him closure! But instead, you played him like a violin and cut the strings!" Sarah Horane criticized.
Isaac threw his fist into a tree in response to the pain in his skull, knocking it down and ripping out the roots from the ground!
"My daughter was turning ten the day after that night, asshole! You deprive me of that, so you could see your family grow older! FUCK YOU!" Desmond Portman exclaimed.
As he stumbled, beginning to lose the sensation in his feet, he saw two charred Mobian skeletons propped up against a tree, sporting nametags. The skeleton on the right said 'Father', while the skeleton on the left said 'Mother'. Isaac shook his head, the hallucinations becoming stronger!
"Why don't you… just FUCK off!" Isaac yelled, before losing his footing! He collapsed to the ground, seeing the necrosis had spread to his arms. He slowly got back up, feeling himself dizzy. He began stumbling through the forest again, walking past the hallucinations. But as he walked, the charred skeletons of his parents kept reappearing, taking on more lifelike poses as he continued onward.
Isaac was soon feeling as if his head were going to split apart, the necrotic tissue spreading towards his temple! Isaac's vision soon began to tint, becoming yellowed! As he walked, Isaac saw the charred skeletons again, this time, hung from the trees by a noose!
"You're… not real! You… are dead and buried!" Isaac raved, stumbling about on numbed legs. As he walked, the skeletons stopped appearing, instead being replaced with the corpse of Harold Yurani, who was speaking to him.
"They left me to die, Isaac. I died alone. I died protecting you and Princess Sally. Where's my recognition?" Yurani asked. Isaac shook his head, seeing his dead friend before him, impaled onto a tree with a bowie knife.
"I'm sorry, Harold! If I could lay down my life in exchange for yours, I would!" Isaac confessed, feeling himself responsible for his death!
"Empty words, Isaac! You're not better than the people who killed me!" Yurani accused. Isaac shook his head, tears streaming down his face!
"Please, Harold! I'm sorry! If I would've known they were going to kill you, I would've risked myself to come to your aid!" Isaac cried. Yurani only glared at him, a disapproving look on his face.
"Then prove it!" Harold said, pointing to a knife on the ground. It was a bowie knife, very similar to the one that impaled him to the tree. Isaac walked to it, picking it up. He looked to Yurani, who only looked at him. Yurani nodded, confirming Isaac's worst fears! Isaac tightened his grip, the tip of the blade pointing to his heart!
"DO IT!" Yurani cried out. Isaac was heavily reluctant, not seeing this as a way to bring him back! Isaac soon collapsed onto his knees, the blade still pointing to his chest! Isaac began crying, feeling the weight of guilt pressing down upon him! Gritting his teeth, Isaac began pulling the blade closer to him, very slowly on its delivery! Clenching his eyes shut, Isaac reeled the blade back, ready to drive it into his chest! But in that moment, a hand quickly wrestled the blade from his grip, ending the hallucination!
Isaac opened his eyes, seeing a pink hedgehog wearing hunting clothes, a broken stick with a pointed edge in her hand. Isaac quickly collapsed onto the ground, beginning to succumb to the necrotic poison in his bloodstream. His breathing began to slow down, a bright light enshrouding him. He began feeling himself move, as if he were being raised from the ground.
"Isaac, please, you don't need to keep fighting." A voice said, Isaac already recognizing it.
"Mother?" Isaac asked, feeling himself weaker than ever before. Two figures appeared from the light, showing the silhouettes of two hedgehogs.
"We miss you, your father and me. Please, come home to us, Isaac. Isaac? Isaac…" Gloria began to say, before it was replaced with another voice.
"Isaac, can you hear me?" The voice said. Isaac groaned in response, unable to open his eyes, and unable to recognize the voice in his poisoned state. He felt himself on something soft, a nice contrast to the hard ground he had found himself on before.
"Is he going to make it?" Another voice asked.
"I don't know. But by the looks of it, something's keeping him alive! We just need to keep him fed and hydrated until he can pull through… hopefully." The other voice answered.
Isaac felt an eternity pass before him, unable to open his eyes or even recognize auditory stimulation. At certain times, Isaac could feel a spoon forcing its way into his mouth, even the sensation of taste lost to him! And at other times, Isaac could feel the sensation of a straw being put into his mouth, water being the only stimulation he had to look forward to.
After what seemed countless years of being given water and fed tasteless soups, Isaac finally regained a semblance of strength, forcing himself to open his eyes! His room was kept dark, let alone a lit candle in the corner of the room near the door. Isaac could swear he had seen this room before, but it was almost Greek to him! His vision was severely impaired, as if his retinas couldn't process anything he was seeing!
Isaac attempted to move his arms and legs, but they felt as if they weighed countless tons, unable to lift them more than a few centimeters! He soon gave up trying to move them, feeling himself exhausted. After waiting in the room for a few minutes, the door opened, light flooding into it, forcing Isaac to close his eyes. He could hear footsteps, being the only sensation that couldn't fail him at this moment. He heard a chair shift on the floor up to his bedside, someone sitting down.
"I have lunch for you, Isaac. It's tomato soup. I made it fresh today." The voice said, Isaac beginning to recognize it. Isaac breathed in, and then out, unknowing if he was hallucinating or not. Soon, he felt the spoon slowly force its way into his mouth, the warm soup spilling onto his tongue. This time, Isaac could taste it, being a favorable change of experience!
Isaac smacked his lips a bit, stirring a reaction from the person feeding him!
"You've never done that before! Isaac, can you hear me?!" The voice exclaimed. Isaac slowly opened his eyes, a pink blur sitting next to him.
"Who are you? I can barely see." Isaac asked.
"Isaac, it's me! Rosy!" The figure answered, revealing herself to Isaac. Isaac blinked a few times, his vision failing to correct itself.
"Rosy? What are you doing here? I thought you were taken away." Isaac asked, remembering what Sally had told her.
"No. We've been here the entire time. After the first few weeks, we thought you guys forgot about us." Rosy answered.
"Wait, did you say 'us'?" Isaac asked, parts of his brain still waking up. Rosy smiled a bit, knowing Isaac would be happy to see what had happened with Scourge.
"Just wait here a moment." Rosy said, before getting up from her seat.
"Don't really have an option." Isaac said, still unable to move his legs and arms. Rosy left the room, Isaac left alone in the room, his vision still not clearing up. As he tried to ascertain where he was, the door opened again, blinding him. Soon, the door closed, Isaac seeing Rosy's blurred body, as well as a green blur. The green blur approached Isaac; Isaac able to notice a slight limp in its walk.
"Glad to see you're finally awake!" The green blur said, Isaac recognizing who it was.
"Scourge? I thought they had taken you away." Isaac said, not knowing why he was told they both were taken by the Zone Cops. Scourge began nodding, believing he knew why Isaac was told this.
"I guess that sister of yours really does know what's best for someone, huh?" Scourge asked, implying Lily had lied. Isaac sighed, believing that was the reason they didn't get sent away.
"How long have I been here?" Isaac asked, his sense of time unreliable to himself.
"Almost two months. We've been taking care of you for a while. Three times a day, we would make sure you eat, and several times a day, we would make sure you had enough to drink." Scourge answered.
Isaac didn't know how to respond, himself still caught up on that he had been incapacitated for two months! Isaac attempted to sit up, but he found himself too weak to do by himself! Rosy say what he was trying to do, and helped sit him up, propping a pillow behind his lower back to give him some leverage.
"Why can't I move by myself? I had never felt this weak before!" Isaac asked.
"When I found you, your skin was grey, and your veins were purple! I saw it was spreading, so I thought it had to do with a poisonous plant! Also, with how long you've been asleep, your muscles atrophied over time." Rosy explained.
Isaac tried to remember what had happened to him, but the only thing he could remember were the hallucinations.
"I… I can't remember what happened to me. I… Sally! She probably thinks I'm dead! Listen, I need to leave!" Isaac said, trying to move his arms! After lifting them a few inches, Isaac dropped them, breathing heavily!
"I'm… out of shape!" Isaac observed, feeling his brow soaked with sweat.
"Listen, we tried to send them a letter, telling them you were here, but so far, no one showed up." Rosy explained.
"You sent a letter? How?" Isaac asked.
"The trading caravans started coming by. They said they would deliver our letter." Rosy answered.
"Trading caravans? They're actually back?" Isaac asked.
"They've been coming around for at least three months." Scourge answered.
"When does the next one come?" Isaac asked.
"A few days. Why?" Rosy asked.
"I can go with them to the Kingdom. I just need a pair of crutches!" Isaac said, leaning towards the edge of the bed. Rosy quickly stopped him, forcing him to lay down.
"You can't even sit up! Listen, we have a wheelchair! We'll get you in it as soon as possible, but right now, you need to rest!" Rosy advised.
"I do not need rest! I need to leave!" Isaac yelled, his heart beginning to pound in his chest! His body temperature spiked, his muscles beginning to pulse! Isaac grunted and groaned as he forced himself to sit up, feeling every muscle fiber in his body screaming out in pain!
Isaac quickly threw the covers off of him, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed! Isaac hopped down from the bed, his knees suddenly buckling under the weight of his body! Isaac was gasping for air, his powers only able to carry him so far!
"I'm… going… home!" Isaac proclaimed, crawling his way towards the door. Scourge quickly stepped in front of him, blocking the door. Isaac looked up, his vision finally beginning to clear up. Scourge was wearing a pair of jeans and a white, button shirt. He wasn't wearing his jacket or sunglasses.
"Get out of my way, or I'm breaking your other leg!" Isaac threatened, his veins beginning to glow! Isaac began getting back onto his own two feet, his muscles continuing to enlarge! Letting out sharp exhales, Isaac began stumbling towards the door, Scourge refusing to let him go. Sighing, Scourge stepped to the side, allowing Isaac a chance to leave. Taking another step, Isaac collapsed, his veins beginning to lose their glow.
"I… need to go… home." Isaac gasped. Scourge crouched down to Isaac, a look of sincerity on his face.
"And you will go home. But right now, we need to get you back to bed." Scourge said, grabbing under his arms. Scourge lifted him effortlessly off of the floor, laying him back down onto the bed. Isaac groaned, his muscles sore from his attempt to leave.
"Scourge, stay with him. I'll be right back with the wheelchair." Rosy said, before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, leaving the room.
Scourge smiled a bit, turning his attention back to Isaac. Isaac was smirking, not quite believing his own eyes.
"I guess you two aren't at each other's throats anymore." Isaac observed. Scourge shook his head, looking back at the door.
"Do you love her, Scourge?" Isaac asked. Scourge didn't immediately answer, only shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't know. I mean, I haven't killed her. I guess that's something." Scourge responded.
"Was she the reason you're able to walk now?" Isaac asked. Scourge thought back on when he was recovering, the pain he had to endure when Rosy had to force him to go through stretches and strength training to rebuild the strength in his shoulder and leg.
"Yeah. She was." Scourge answered.
As they talked, the door to Isaac's room opened, Rosy wheeling in the old wheelchair. It was an older design, having the ability to recline. Scourge got up from his chair, working his arms under Isaac, picking him up. He walked him over to the chair, Rosy helping him with positioning Isaac into it. After having Isaac's arms on the armrests, Rosy set the incline to having him sitting up, hopefully to help Isaac rebuild the muscles in his lower back.
"Comfy?" Rosy asked. Isaac nodded, trying to move his arms to grab the wheels. While his muscles were still significantly atrophied, his powers had rebuilt some of his muscle memory, Isaac able to lift his arms, although it still took quite some effort to do so.
Isaac let his arms drop to the wheels, grabbing the edges of them, struggling to wheel himself towards the door. Suddenly, the chair shifted forward, Rosy pushing it out of the room. Isaac was soon illuminated by the roaring fire in the Living Room, much warmer than his bedroom. Soon, Rosy wheeled him outside onto the porch, faint slivers of sunlight still present, evening soon approaching. The air was pleasantly warm, it being the last days of May. Isaac breathed deeply, feeling the warm air enter his lungs.
"I don't want to go back to sleep." Isaac said, knowing the coming of evening meant he would be expected to do so. Rosy nodded, knowing Isaac had been asleep for a long time.
"You don't need to if you don't want to. But you're still going to need to rest. The caravan will be here in a few days, so you need as much rest as possible before leaving." Rosy responded.
Isaac nodded, readjusting himself in his chair. Soon, time had passed, the sun dipping below the horizon. Isaac was still sitting outside, enjoying the feel of the cool, late-Spring air in his lungs. As he sat there, he saw something in the distance of the woods. Isaac squinted, trying to focus his vision. Soon, he saw a stagecoach, being pulled by a team of horses. It was a regal purple, adorned with the Coat-of-Arms of the Kingdom of Acorn!
"Holy- Sally! I'm over here!" Isaac yelled out, leaping out of his chair! Surprisingly, Isaac didn't collapse, his muscles seemingly have miraculously recovered! Isaac ran to the stagecoach, before stopping. It was guarded by guards, armed with swords.
"Hey! Over here! I'm Isaac Abaddon!" Isaac announced, jogging to the stagecoach. They didn't stop, continuing their sojourn through the Great Forest. Isaac went to grab one of the guards' shoulders, his hand phasing through them. Isaac blinked a few times, realizing that they weren't actually there.
Soon, one of the Senior Guards raised a clenched fist, stopping the stagecoach. The door to the stagecoach opened, King Nigel Acorn stepping out. He looked slightly younger, wearing a different set of royal attire.
"Is something wrong, Alexander?" King Nigel asked, approaching a Mobian Siberian Tiger. Alexander was wearing a heavy Kevlar vest over his uniform, an eye patch over his left eye, a deep scar running across under it. Alexander nodded, pointing towards a large tree, which had a hollow in it.
"I saw something in the hollow. I will check it out." Alexander explained, his voice laden with a thick, Russian accent. King Nigel nodded, hanging back near the stagecoach.
Alexander stealthily stalked his way towards the hollow of the tree, taking out his claws. As soon as he approached the tree, Alexander quickly pounced down to the hollow, staring right inside of the hollow of the tree! To his surprise, he only saw a young, maroon hedgehog, holding his infant sister tightly. The young maroon hedgehog was trembling, scared out of his mind!
"I apologize for scaring you. Are you okay?" Alexander asked, not wanting to pose himself as threatening. The young hedgehog sniffled, shaking his head. Blinking a few times, the Siberian Tiger offered a hand towards the young hedgehog, wanting to help him. Reluctantly, he took it, Alexander helping him out of the hollow of the tree. Isaac dragged a pack with him, moderately heavy with supplies and gear. Alexander was surprised by the gear the hedgehog had with him, not expecting someone so young to be as prepared as he was.
"Where are your mother and father?" Alexander asked, looking around. The hedgehog didn't say anything. He only looked down at the ground, tears streaming from his eyes. Alexander raised the hedgehog's face towards his, seeing the pain in his eyes. Alexander already understood what had happened, knowing the exact pain this one had felt.
"You are safe, now. I will not let anyone else hurt you." Alexander comforted, picking up the young hedgehog and his sister. He walked over to King Nigel, who wasn't expecting to find a child out here.
"He can't be any older than Sally! Are their parents around?" Nigel asked. Alexander shook his head, holding onto the orphaned hedgehogs tightly.
"Nyet, I… I do not believe they are." Alexander said, before his ears had picked up a sound coming from the North. He turned around, seeing two soldiers approach the area, with the crest of the Order of Honorius on their shoulders. They soon stopped, seeing the young hedgehogs in Alexander's arms.
"You, there! Those children belong to us! Hand them over!" One of them demanded. Alexander looked down at the oldest hedgehog, who could feel his heart racing at their appearance! Alexander walked over to King Nigel, setting them near his feet. After doing so, he began walking to the soldiers, his hand reaching for the gun on his belt.
"I will not let you hurt them anymore." Alexander said, his hand firmly on the grip of his Glock.
"You stand to defy the Order! Move aside and allow us to take them away!" They demanded, quickly equipping their swords. Smirking, Alexander quickly pulled out his Glock, a bullet quickly carving through one of their skull's, right between the eyes! As soon as the other one hit the ground, Alexander fired off another shot, hitting the left kneecap of the remaining soldier!
Alexander calmly walked to the remaining soldier; his gun trained on them. The soldier looked up, the Mobian towering over him.
"You protect a demon-spawn! Do you realize what evil you allow to live?!" The soldier exclaimed. Alexander responded by pulling the trigger, the other soldier collapsing to the ground, dead. Sighing, Alexander holstered his weapon, walking back to King Nigel. The young hedgehog was shocked by what had happened, never before seeing such a brutal attack!
"You… you killed them." The hedgehog said, still in shock. Alexander crouched down, looking into his eyes.
"They would have taken you both away, young one. I was not going to allow it." Alexander replied. The young hedgehog's heart began to calm, no longer racing.
"What is your name?" Alexander asked.
"I-Isaac. Isaac Abaddon." He answered. Isaac held up his sister, showing her to him.
"This is my sister, Lilith." Isaac introduced.
Alexander nodded, before looking up to King Nigel. Alexander stood up, stretching out his back.
"Is it alright if the child travels with you in the stagecoach?" Alexander asked.
"Of course! We'll get them into a foster home as soon as possible!" King Nigel answered. Alexander shook his head at this, looking back down at the young Isaac.
"I will take care of them, me and my wife. I know too well the pain of losing family." Alexander said, before opening the door to the stagecoach. Isaac, hoisting his pack on his back, climbed the stairs, sitting down in one of the available seats. He looked up from his seat, seeing a Mobian his age sitting across from him, a squirrel-chipmunk hybrid.
"Hi!" She said, greeting them. Isaac didn't say anything, only briefly waving at her, before looking back down at his sister in his arms.
"I'm Sally! What's your name?" She asked.
"Isaac." Isaac quickly answered.
Suddenly, Isaac shot awake from his chair, actually sitting up! His heart was racing, finding that he was still on the porch, never actually having moved from it! Isaac looked around, seeing that it was now well into evening, the sun having been gone for at least two hours. As he was trying to think on what exactly happened, he saw the large tree that was in his vision, a hollow having a large ring of moss around it. Isaac grabbed the wheels of his chair, actually able to wheel himself down the ramp on the porch.
While he was still weak, this time, he could actually wheel himself on the ground, slowly approaching the hollow. Isaac stopped in front of it, seeing something peeking out from it. It was something wrapped in a cloth, a faint, white polish peeking out from it. Isaac leaned his foot from the chair towards it, hooking it and pulling it out. Isaac struggled to lean from his chair, managing to actually grab it! He brought it up to himself, untying the twine that kept it wrapped. He opened the cloth, showing it to be a small, white stone, it's surface smooth and polished! It felt light to Isaac, despite it being large enough to barely fit in his hand. As he held it, he felt it begin to warm up before it began to glow, a ray of light emitting from it and hitting Isaac in his chest! The warm sensation filled Isaac, almost as if the light were phasing through him!
Soon, the light ceased, Isaac feeling his chest. Isaac felt stronger, stronger than he had been since he had woken up! Hesitantly, Isaac slowly stood up from his chair, seeing that he could actually stand unaided! While he could stand, Isaac could still feel his muscles were weak, his muscle fibers burning as if he were trying to walk with something heavy affixed to himself. Isaac slowly walked behind the wheelchair, wheeling it towards the cabin. As he did this, he saw the front door open, Rosy walking outside. She was not prepared to see Isaac walking the wheelchair towards the porch, let alone him being able to walk at all!
"Holy- Isaac, you can walk!" Rosy exclaimed, not expecting this to happen so soon! Isaac was smiling, but he knew this was only a small step to actually getting back to full recovery. He pushed the wheelchair back up the ramp, grunting as he did so. He stopped on the porch, feeling himself winded.
"Not for too long. It's like I'm made of lead! I found this stone in that tree over there. After I touched it, it gave me back some of my strength… but not a lot of it." Isaac explained, showing the stone to Rosy.
Rosy took the stone from his hand, but it remained inert. It didn't glow or shine any light. Rosy tossed it a bit in her hand, expecting something to happen. But nothing came from her holding it.
"I guess you used all of its energy." Rosy observed, handing it back to Isaac. Isaac promptly put it into the cloth it was found in, tying it with the twine. He put into his pocket, which seemed to be roomier than it would've been a few months ago.
"Listen, I have dinner ready. You haven't had meat in a while, since I thought that soup would be best for you." Rosy explained. Isaac's stomach rumbled at the mention of meat, looking forward to something that he could actually chew!
"Venison?" Isaac asked. Rosy nodded, Isaac's stomach rumbling louder. Isaac nodded, Rosy leading the way inside.