"Rouge, delete it!" Sally shouted, chasing Rouge throughout the castle.
"Aw, why? The little princess doesn't like pictures?" Rouge mockingly asked, flying away from her.
About two hours ago, Sally woke up in the Common Room. Isaac wasn't there since he had actually woken up about half an hour before she did. But what Isaac found out, and later informed Sally of, was that Rouge took a picture of them asleep on the couch together. While Sally knew that everyone likely saw them asleep, she also knew that if Rouge took the picture with her phone, that wouldn't stop her from sending it someone else.
"Now, who should I send it to first? You know, this would look good on the G.U.N. Christmas card." Rouge commented, flying out of Sally's reach.
Sally's face only deepened red with anger, jumping up to attempt to get the phone out of her grip. Rouge kept herself just barely out of reach, purposefully to irritate Sally.
"Dante, a little help?" Sally asked.
Dante quickly sprung up, running towards Rouge to jump up to grab the phone.
"Yes, Princess Sally!" He exclaimed, getting closer to Rouge.
"Dante, don't do that!" Rouge ordered.
Dante stopped dead in his tracks.
"Yes, Rouge!" He said, going back to his chair.
"Oh, come on! Well, I didn't want to do this, Rouge, but you forced my hand! Isaac, grab the phone out of her hand!" Sally ordered.
Isaac took his time to get to where Sally was, his medication from the doctor not working very well in masking his pain.
"Rouge, I'm giving you a chance to honor Sally's request. Please, get rid of whatever picture you have taken." Isaac said calmly.
Rouge hovered in the air, as if contemplating the offer.
"Yeah… I'm not going to do that." Rouge replied.
"Well, I warned you." Isaac responded, closing his eyes.
Suddenly, the phone began to spark. It sparked a few more times, before bursting into flames! Rouge quickly dropped it, breaking apart on impact with the floor, the insides of it charred.
"Hey, I just got that phone a few months ago! You owe me a new phone!" Rouge shouted, dismayed by the fact she was now phoneless.
"Next time, please heed my warnings." Isaac warned.
Sally walked over to Isaac, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Isaac." She said, before giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
Isaac's face turned a light shade of red, not expecting a kiss without mistletoe involved. As she walked away from him, Isaac could feel that someone else was nearby.
"I think she likes you, Abaddon." Dante commented.
"You're not the first to say that Dante. And I doubt you'll be the last." Isaac replied, walking forward.
About half an hour later, the Sonic Team had breakfast. But as they were eating, a guard with a satchel of letters entered the Dining Room.
"Mail call! I've got letters for just about everyone, here! When I call your name, please identify yourself!" He announced, reaching into the satchel.
After pulling out a white envelope with blue writing, he read who it was addressed to.
"Miles Prowler!" He shouted.
Tails quickly got out of his chair, grabbing the letter.
"Thanks!" He exclaimed, flying back to his chair.
"Amy Rose!" The guard said.
"I'll get it!" Sonic said, running to the guard and back beside Amy in a split-second, handing the envelope to her.
"Alright… ooh, this is a heavy one. Is there a Vector here?" He asked.
"Yep!" Vector responded, grabbing the large envelope from the guard.
Eventually, all those who were called up got their assorted letters and packages. One more was left, and it was for Sally.
"Princess Sally! Here ya go!" He said, handing her the envelope.
"Thank you, Simon." Sally replied, beginning to open it.
"Well, I'm off! Merry Christmas!" He said, leaving the Dining Room.
Sally removed the letter from the envelope, instantly recognizing the handwriting.
"It's from Shadow! I can't believe he actually wrote back this time!" Sally exclaimed, surprised.
"What does it say, if you don't mind me asking?" Isaac asked.
Sally stood up, still reading the letter. She cleared her throat, wanting everyone to hear.
"The letter reads: 'Dear Princess Sally, I hope this letter gets to you in time. I wouldn't want you to be surprised by my decision on whether to attend the Christmas party or not. After much deliberation, I have decided to regretfully inform you of my decision to NOT attend the party. As before, I would prefer to spend the holidays ALONE. Please refrain from sending anymore invites to me in the near and distant future. To you, I wish you a Merry Christmas. But to the faker, lock him in a closet with Amy and some mistletoe. Sincerely, Shadow the Hedgehog. P.S. If you see The Doctor, the greatest gift you could bestow upon me would be breaking his jaw and having him eat his Christmas dinner through a straw. Just a suggestion.' Aw man, I really thought he was going to come this year!" Sally said, upset.
"Man, we fulfilled that request before we even got the letter? Go figure." Knuckles said, drinking from his cup.
"I'm not complaining." Sonic said, before receiving a quick kiss from Amy.
"Yeah… must be one of those Christmas miracles." Espio sarcastically said.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but who is Shadow?" Isaac asked.
"Oh, boy. This is going to be a long one." Silver commented.
"Well, to simply put it, Shadow's a friend of ours. Okay, 'friend' might be cutting it close. He doesn't like associating himself with us, but we tolerate him… a lot! Anyway, I guess the best way to describe him would be 'Angst-ridden alien hybrid'. But I mean that in the most respectful way!" Charmy began to explain.
"That doesn't really tell me who he is, though." Isaac responded.
"He's a hedgehog. Black quills with red highlights. Listen, he's a nice guy, once you get to know him. And I truly think he'll be happier if we can manage to convince him to come here." Amy explained.
"Happier? I didn't realize he was happy to begin with." Knuckles commented, sarcastically.
"Hmm… I may be able to help with that." Isaac said, getting out of his chair.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Sally asked.
"First, I'm going to figure out where he is. Then, I'm going to attempt to give him a reason to come here." Isaac explained.
"Find him? By the time you get to him, Christmas will be half over! You're gonna have to use Chaos Control to get to him." Knuckles said, revealing a Chaos Emerald.
"I'd rather you keep that away from me." Isaac said, remembering what happened last time.
"Isaac, are you sure? Shadow's not one to be convinced very easily. Especially, around the holidays." Sally asked.
"No one should be alone, especially on the holidays. And I think I have the means to convince him." Isaac said, walking into a room.
Isaac walked out with a pack, which contained a few essential supplies.
"But you're still injured. And if Shadow decides to be violent, I don't think you'll be ready for a fight." Blaze warned.
"I trust in Elohim that he won't resort to violence. As long as I do not present a threat, he won't attack me." Isaac said, carefully putting the pack on.
"Remember what I said about being naïve?" Sally asked.
"Remember what I said about seeing the good in people?" Isaac returned.
Knuckles tossed the Chaos Emerald to Sonic, who promptly caught it. Sonic walked over to Isaac, grabbing his shoulder.
"Hold onto something!" Sonic exclaimed, holding the Chaos Emerald tightly.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" Sonic shouted, he and Isaac disappearing in a flash of light.
In a forest, located somewhere within the European continent:
Suddenly, Isaac and Sonic reappeared somewhere else. Isaac felt disoriented, but once he regained his composure, he found they were in a forest. It wasn't a forest that Isaac had been to before. Only a few feet from them was a door to a cabin, one of which looked as if no one had been there for a long time.
"Wish I lived here. Looks nice… and isolated." Isaac commented.
"Pretty much the reason he lives out here. Only way to get here is either by boat, plane, or chaos control." Sonic explained.
Isaac and Sonic walked up to the door, seeing a faint light through the blinded window.
"If I knock on this door, I'm not going to be killed as soon as the door opens, will I?" Isaac asked.
"You shouldn't." Sonic responded.
"That doesn't bring me much comfort." Isaac said, knocking on the door.
Movement could be heard from the inside of the cabin. What sounded like a chair sliding was heard, followed by footsteps to the door. The footsteps ceased, only silence was evident.
"I don't hear anything." Isaac whispered.
"Go. Away." A voice said from the other side of the door.
"Is that you, Shadow?" Isaac asked.
"I said, go away." Shadow repeated.
"Shadow, open up! It's us." Sonic said.
After a few moments, a series of locks clicked, unlocking. The door opened, revealing a black hedgehog, black quills with red highlights. He looked up, a foot and five inches shorter than Isaac.
"So, you're Isaac Abaddon." Shadow observed.
"You know me?" Isaac asked.
"You were mentioned a few times by Sally in her letters. But by how highly she spoke of you… I imagined you to be taller." Shadow said.
Isaac chuckled, noticing the joke.
"Funny. But we are not here to trade jokes. I have come here, with assistance from Sonic, to convince you to come back with us to celebrate the birth of Emmanuel." Isaac explained.
Shadow raised an eyebrow.
"If you're talking about Christmas, I believe I've already given my answer on the topic. I'm not going, and that is that." Shadow said, closing the door.
"Well, looks like we're celebrating without Shadow. Not a bad thing. So, if you will, we'll get a move on." Sonic said, holding onto the Chaos Emerald.
"I'm not giving up. Just need to talk to him a bit more." Isaac said, knocking on the door again.
"Dude, Shadow isn't going to change his mind! Let's just go!" Sonic said.
The door flew open, Shadow not looking entertained.
"Obviously, you can't understand the words that come out of my mouth. Leave." He sternly said, before attempting to close the door.
Isaac quickly put his foot in between the door and the frame, preventing it from closing it.
"It would mean a lot to Princess Sally if you were to come to the celebration. And no one should have to be alone during this time." Isaac explained.
Shadow shook his head, obviously annoyed.
"My solitude is my decision. Now, leave me be, or face the consequences." Shadow warned.
"I give you no reason to resort to violence. Please, honor the request." Isaac requested.
After a few tense moments of breathing, Shadow gave his answer.
"No." Shadow said, before finally closing the door.
Discouraged, Isaac walked from the door. He looked around, finally observing the forest more thoroughly. The large presence of pine trees sheltered the area, only a thin layer of snow near the cabin. A creek was gently moving near the cabin, a large log acting as a bridge across it.
"He lives simply. I respect that. But I do not know why he lives alone." Isaac commented.
"That's just how he is. Anyway, let's get out of here." Sonic said, equipping his Chaos Emerald.
"Wait. I just need to do something, real quick." Isaac said, walking to a fallen tree.
Isaac snapped off the branches on the fallen tree, bringing them to the clearing in front of the cabin's porch. Isaac arranged them to form words, which simply read 'Merry Christmas', a trail of thick, green pine needles trailing underneath it. After finishing, he walked back over to Sonic, giving him a thumbs up. Sonic gripped the Chaos Emerald, focusing.
"CHAOS CONTROL!" Sonic shouted, he and Isaac vanishing.
But as soon as they did so, Shadow slowly opened the door, making sure they actually left. As he looked around, he saw the lettering made out of branches. He didn't know why, but the simple phrase made with great effort brought him some semblance of a memory. A memory he couldn't quite remember.
"Hmm… damn it all. Sally better not make me regret this." Shadow grunted to himself, producing his own Chaos Emerald.
Back at Castle Acorn:
Sonic and Isaac reappeared; Shadow not seen with them. Sonic put away the emerald, walking away. Sally stood there, understanding what happened.
"He was a no-go, huh? Well, don't worry. He's never been one for celebrating… well, anything, really." Sally said.
Isaac shook his head, sitting down.
"I can understand the want for solitude, but I cannot understand why he would wish to be alone during this time of year. Does he truly not care for anyone?" Isaac asked.
"Well… that's a bit of a tender subject with Shadow. The only person he really cared for was a girl named Maria… and she's been gone for a very long time." Sally explained.
Isaac nodded, understanding Shadow's pain. Isaac himself already knows the pain of loss, but he doesn't believe that should warrant someone to allow themselves to be barred from being with others that care about him.
"Sally, mark my words. I will find a way to convince him to come here. I promise it." Isaac said, before being interrupted.
"Too late. Somehow, you managed it." Shadow said, revealing himself from another room.
"Shadow!" Sally exclaimed, excited to see the black-and-red hedgehog.
"Don't get too excited. The moment it becomes December 26th, and I mean at the very strike of midnight, I'm leaving. Don't expect me for New Year's." Shadow said.
"Better than nothing! Here, I'll get you something to eat." Sally said, walking towards the kitchen.
"Don't bother. I'm not hungry. But… thank you for sending someone who wasn't half-brained. Granted, Sonic went with him, but I assume it's because Isaac can't use chaos control." Shadow commented.
"Hey!" Sonic exclaimed, taking offense to that.
"Sorry to break it to you, but I didn't send Isaac. Isaac went because he didn't want someone close to us to be alone for Christmas." Sally explained.
Shadow looked to Isaac, raising an eyebrow. Shadow himself couldn't remember the last time a total stranger had any selfless motives to help him, let alone someone that the Sonic Team had just met. Granted, Cream was an exception to this, but she was a child. Not someone who was just as old as Sonic. Shadow walked to Isaac, stretching out a hand.
"I guess proper introductions are in order. I am Shadow, Shadow the hedgehog." Shadow said, introducing himself. Isaac took his hand, shaking it.
"Isaac. Isaac Abaddon." Isaac said, introducing himself.