Weeks had gone by since Sally and Isaac vowed to bring those who killed his parents to justice. While Isaac kept his blades and his skills sharp, Sally worked on how to travel to these different countries without arousing suspicion from bother her father and the organization that they were after.
"Father, you must realize that travel to these countries will help in establishing positive relations. You can't do it in your current state, so I would be the only one to do it." Sally said, speaking to King Nigel.
"I'm sorry, Sally. But my answer is no. We have no need to improve relations with these countries. Also, word of your presence will travel far. I have no intention of ringing an alarm for Eggman to come capture you. I shall remain steadfast in my decision." King Nigel said.
Sally had been unsuccessfully negotiating a way for her to travel to Spain, England, and France. While diplomatic reasons would've convinced her father in years past, his current condition complicated things.
"Father, Isaac will be travelling with me. I doubt Eggman will be able to get to me with him guarding me." Sally argued.
"As much as I do not doubt Ranger Abaddon's skill in combat, I cannot throw caution to the wind because you have a desire to travel. I am sorry, but my decision is final! You shall be confined to travel within the limits of our Kingdom and that is that!" King Nigel said, ending the negotiations.
With a dejected sigh, Sally left the throne room, walking through the main entrances of the castle into the courtyard. Winter had come early; a large flurry of snow had already descended upon the Kingdom of Acorn. Isaac was waiting by the door, slightly shivering. While he had braved countless winter days, he was more for relaxing near a fire.
"Thank Elohim! I am freezing my pantukaỊ off! What did King Nigel say?" Isaac asked.
"It's a no-go. He said I would become a target. As long as he is physically inept, he won't let me go." Sally explained.
Isaac stomped his foot into the snow, softly cursing in Tamil under his breath. Suddenly, a snowball hit Isaac on the right side of his face. Wiping the snow from his face, he saw Lily standing there, a mischievous look on her face.
"Tag! You are it!" She exclaimed, running around the courtyard.
Isaac, smirking, rolled a snowball and ran after Lily, forgetting about the current situation to indulge in a bit of innocent merriment. Sally could only smile as they chased each other around the courtyard, throwing snowballs at each other. Sally, while keeping her hand concealed, walked closer and closer towards Isaac. As soon as Isaac's attention was turned away from her, Sally threw her arm like a cannon, pelting Isaac with a snowball square on the back of his head. Suddenly, Isaac and Lily stopped chasing each other, turning their attention to Sally.
"Uh, why are you guys looking at me like that?" Sally asked, still smiling.
Isaac and Lily looked at each other, nodding. They quickly rolled a snowball in each hand, sporting mischievous looks.
"Uh oh!" Sally exclaimed, running from them.
"Hunting party!" They shouted, running after her.
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Sally repeated, running as fast as she could.
Snowballs whizzed past her, narrowly avoiding them. She vaulted over the courtyard wall, running into the town. While she knew that they were only doing this out of fun, she began to feel like they were hunting her. She ran through the snow-covered streets, making sure she didn't look like she was running from a psychopath. Eventually, she stopped near a shop, which had a toy train chugging along near the ceiling. Quietly, she walked in. The warmth of the fire from the stove in the corner was a nice contrast to the frigid cold outside. The shop was full of toys, both old-fashioned toys and new, high-tech toys. She looked back through the window, seeing Isaac and Lily looking around for her. Sally dove behind a shelf, keeping an eye out. Eventually, Isaac and Lily ran past the window. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sally walked out. Looking around, she slowly made her way to the marketplace. She stopped by the Inn, resting near the door.
"Alright, I think I lost them! Now, if I can just stay out of the open, they won't be able to get the drop on me." Sally said to herself.
"Yoo-hoo!" She heard someone say.
Hesitantly, she looked up, seeing Lily and Isaac with snow shovels.
"NO!" She shrieked.
"AVALANCHE!" They shouted, dropping snow by the shovelful on her head.
Sally was soon covered head-to-toe with snow, her eyes and nose the only things not covered by snow. She was practically giving death glares to the both of them. Isaac and Lily were still laughing, entertained by their surprise attack.
"Note-to-self: Never take on 2:1 odds." Sally said out loud, her voice muffled by the snow.
Isaac walked up to the still-covered Sally, chuckling. He rested his elbow on her shoulder, smirking.
"By the way… you are it!" He said, running off with Lily.
Isaac and Lily hid under the snow, his cloak acting as a protective barrier between them and the snow.
"Do you see her?" Lily asked.
"No. Remember, what is the first rule of hunting?" Isaac asked.
"Be quiet." Lily responded.
They hid in the snow, waiting. Eventually, they saw Sally make an appearance. But this time, she had come prepared. She had brought a few friends of her own. Isaac instantly recognized two of them.
"Hey, it's Sonic and Tails! I have not seen them since we came here!" Isaac exclaimed.
"Shhh! They will hear us! What is the first rule of hunting?" Lily asked.
"Do not be smart! I do not know the red one and the pink one. We may need to relocate at first chance." Isaac observed.
Isaac was motioning towards an echidna and another hedgehog, the echidna being red and the other hedgehog being pink. Eventually, they left the area, allowing them to move. Isaac and Lily made their way back to the courtyard, working on rolling snowballs in large amounts. They covered the piles of snowballs with fresh snow, concealing them. Patiently, they waited for the group to arrive. They saw Sally and the others walking up the stairs to the courtyard. They were talking about something, but Isaac and Lily weren't focused on what they were saying.
"NOW!" Isaac shouted, springing up from behind the pile of concealed snowballs.
Lily did the same, throwing snowballs as fast as her arms could throw them. For the next 20 seconds, all that could be seen was a barrage of snow against Sally and her team. After Isaac and Lily exhausted their supply of snowballs, they admired their handywork. The whole team were nothing more but covered in packed snow. But the pile of snow where the echidna was standing was beginning to melt, steam radiating from the person within the pile of snow. Isaac could see that he was angry!
"Oh… no." Isaac muttered, beginning to back away.
"RRAAAHHHHH!" The echidna shouted, running towards Isaac with fists clenched.
Isaac ran around the courtyard, his cloak trailing behind him. He could hear his breath, as if it were nothing but a source of anger.
"COME HERE! I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU SO HARD, YOU'LL BE EATING FOOD THROUGH A STRAW!" He shouted, still trying to catch him.
Isaac jumped back, somersaulting over his chaser. Isaac brought his cloak over his head, blinding him. Isaac swept his legs from under him, knocking him to the ground. While he was still blinded by the cloak, Isaac wrapped his legs under his arms and behind his head, effectively restraining him. He still thrashed around, but eventually he calmed down.
"If you are calm, I will let you go. Just say so, and I will let you go." Isaac instructed.
After a few moments, the echidna choked out that he was calm. Isaac slowly released his grip, releasing him. The echidna quickly got up, rubbing the back of his neck. Isaac got up, brushing the snow off of his pants.
"How did you do that? I've never seen someone do that before!" The echidna asked.
"My father created the technique. It is used to restrain large predators in order to deal a killing blow to the neck without risking being thrown off. But it is also effective in restraining people who are trying to kill you." Isaac explained.
"Hey, uh, listen. Sorry about chasing you. But I wasn't expecting to be pelted with a barrage of snowballs." He apologized.
"Really? Lily and I assumed you were with Sally to retaliate." Isaac explained.
"What? No! Sally called us because she told us she needed our help with something." He said.
Suddenly, a snowball the size of a boulder collided with Isaac, putting him into a pile of snow. Isaac punched out of the pile of packed snow, seeing the pink hedgehog had dug herself out of the snow and retaliated.
"Consider us even." She said.
Isaac only gave a thumbs up, digging himself out of the snow. Eventually, after some introductions and a few apologies, Sally, Isaac, Sonic, Tails, and the others, who were identified as being Knuckles and Amy Rose, relocated themselves inside, where the warmth was a welcome contrast to the cold. While Isaac and Lily were hiding to retaliate against Sally, she took the opportunity to call a few friends of hers to aid in her and Isaac's vendetta against the people who killed Isaac's parents. They were in Sally's chambers, where they would not be interrupted by anyone that could prevent them from this undertaking.
"Alright, now, I was able to dig up some information since I was looking into this group! As Isaac had suspected, they have origins with the Knight's Templar, but instead of regaining control of land, they instead have diverted their objective. Isaac?" Sally explained.
Isaac stood up and walked to where Sally was, holding his bible.
"Their objective now is to prevent the events dictated in the Book of Revelations. They believe that by killing those they suspect to be demons or demon-descent, they can inhibit the spread of Lucifer's influence and prevent the Second Coming. For those who do not know, that means preventing great wars, famine, pestilence and death." Isaac explained, flipping through pages.
"I'm guessing they didn't do their job right if we're going after them." Sonic commented.
Isaac looked up from the bible, slightly taken aback by this.
"No… no, they did not." Isaac said, closing the book.
Amy punched Sonic in the arm, upset with him.
"Ow! What was that for?!" Sonic whispered.
"Sonic! Did you really forget why we are after these guys?! They killed his parents!" Amy whispered back, venom in her voice.
Sonic looked back at Isaac, seeing the pain in his eyes. He stood up, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry, man. I… I wasn't thinking. Guess I shouldn't run my mouth like that, huh?" Sonic said.
Isaac shook his head.
"No, do not be sorry. You did not know. But I need you to understand what they did." Isaac responded.
Isaac removed his cloak, revealing the belt of knives he wore around his waist. After removing them, he moved to remove his shirt.
"You see… they caught me once before. While not for long, they decided to…mark me for posterity." Isaac said, removing his shirt over his head.
On Isaac's chest was a scar, consistent with a deep knife wound. It was carved into his left pectoral muscle, the numbers '666'. Isaac turned around, revealing the scars on his back. While not symbols or lettering, it was instead a series of deep and shallow cuts, gashes, and tears. But the most significant of these wounds was a terrible burn scar, which reached from his right shoulder blade across his back to the left side of his lower back. Evidence of being burned by an iron bar. Isaac proceeded to put his shirt back on. All that was to greet him was the horrified faces of his new friends.
"I was only a child when they captured me. And I was only a child when I was forced to kill them. They showed no remorse or hesitance to their actions. And I do not plan on showing any as well. I am begging for your help to stop them! I know I am not the only to have lost loved ones because of them! And I know I will not be the last as long as they can commit these atrocities! Please, I am begging you! Please… help me." Isaac said, falling to his knees..
The whole Sonic Team stood up as quickly as they could. They quickly embraced Isaac, an attempt to bring him a shred of comfort for his experiences.
"Isaac… you're not going to face them alone! I promise you, as long as we're here, we'll do everything we can to stop them all!" Amy exclaimed.
"I couldn't agree more! I'll scout out the countries where they may be located and keep an eye out for their movements. The moment I see anything, I'll be sure to let you guys know!" Tails said.
"Yeah! Moment I see any of them, I'll make sure they regret coming here to look for you!" Knuckles said, cracking his knuckles.
Isaac opened his eyes, tears streaming. For the first time in his life, he saw friends that were willing to help him. And he could tell they weren't lying.
"We deal with Eggman almost every week. I guarantee these guys won't know how to fight us! You tell us when and where, and we'll be there!" Sonic promised.