Isaac, Lily, and Sonic kept moving, the wind blowing as they walked. Fresh snow was kicked up by the wind, Isaac readjusting his pack to move his cloak to better shield his face.
"Alright Lily, where's the closest cave system?" Isaac asked.
Looking around, Lily walked over to one of the trees, uncovering some of the snow that was stuck to it. There was a carving into the bark, showing a 'C', followed by three notches and an 'N'.
"Three miles north! We just need to keep moving forward." Lily guided, pointing to where they were headed.
"Lily, I'm not sure if I told you this today, but I'm very proud of you!" Isaac said, impressed by her ingenuity.
They continued walking forward, keeping an eye out for Scourge. After about an hour of walking, they found the first cave system. Isaac inspected the area around it, finding it barren of snow near the entrance. Taking out his knife, Isaac walked to the entrance, spotting a shoeprint in the dirt. Isaac gently put the tip of the knife into the print, measuring how deep it was.
"This print is relatively fresh. Whoever was here, they couldn't have been gone longer than about… six hours." Isaac estimated.
"So, Scourge left here around seven in the morning." Sonic observed.
"Yes. And by the looks of it… he'll be back here very soon." Isaac returned, seeing a backpack tucked away under a rock.
Isaac grabbed it, opening it up.
"Let's see… candy bars, sodas, extra socks…" Isaac began to list off, going through it.
As Isaac kept rooting through it, he quickly closed it, blushing furiously!
"What's wrong?" Sonic asked.
"There's… something I shouldn't have seen." Isaac answered, handing the bag to Sonic.
Sonic opened it, going through it. Sonic found a new magazine, taking it out of the backpack just enough to get a glimpse of the title.
"Yep, this belongs to Scourge. 'Gomorrah's Paradise'." Sonic analyzed, reading the title of a pornographic magazine.
Sonic tossed the backpack back to Isaac, who quickly put it back under the rock, making sure he hid all presence of them being there.
"Quick, we need to hide! He may be coming back very soon!" Isaac warned, backing away from the cave, brushing the snow to hide their footprints.
Lily quickly dug into the snow, revealing a hole in the ground. Scooping out the snow, Lily and Sonic jumped in, their head barely poking out. Isaac joined them, taking off his cloak and draping it over the hole. Taking some snow, Isaac coated the cloak with it, camouflaging their location.
"Alright, we'll just need to stay in here until Scourge comes back. And when he does, we'll ambush him!" Isaac informed.
2 Hours later:
"Isaac, how much longer is this going to take?! My legs are falling asleep!" Sonic asked, impatient.
"A hunt is about patience. Waiting for the opportune moment to strike is essential." Isaac informed, keeping an eye on the cave opening.
"But this is taking too long!" Sonic exclaimed, trying to get out.
Isaac quickly grabbed his shoulder, pushing him back down.
"Shh! I hear something!" Isaac whispered, keeping an eye out.
A green blur made its way to the cave opening, stopping, sending snow to fly. A green hedgehog wearing a leather jacket and red sunglasses was standing there, stretching out his back.
"Just a few more hours, and I'll be chilling on my throne!" Scourge said out loud, walking into the cave system, overturning the rock that was hiding his backpack.
Isaac slowly got out of the hiding spot, quietly walking towards the hedgehog. Isaac stopped, deciding to act on his instincts.
"Greetings, stranger!" Isaac enthusiastically greeted, startling Scourge. Scourge looked back, seeing Isaac behind him!
"What is he doing?! He's going to get himself killed!" Sonic reacted, trying to get out. Lily quickly grabbed his ankle, pulling him back down.
"Wait! He wouldn't be doing this if he didn't feel sure about it! Just wait a bit!" Lily exclaimed.
"Haven't seen you around here before. How you doing?" Isaac asked, acting friendly.
"Uh… good?" Scourge answered, confused. Isaac smiled, giving off the illusion of not knowing who he was.
"That's good! Say, you look kinda thin. Can I offer you something to eat? I've got plenty of food in my pack if you want something." Isaac offered. Scourge's stomach rumbled, hungering for something other than candy bars!
"Actually… that would be great!" Scourge answered. Isaac nodded, taking off his pack. As he was rooting through it, he could hear Scourge walking closer.
"So, how long you've been here?" Isaac asked, going through his pack.
"Only a few days. Just trying to get to the Kingdom of Acorn." Scourge revealed.
As Lily watched this play out, she heard something from Scourge's mind! A murder plot! To kill Isaac and steal his supplies! Lily quickly poked her head out from under the cloak, taking in a deep breath!
"ISAAC! WATCH OUT!" Lily shouted, surprising Scourge. Isaac, finding what he was looking for, pulled it out and hit Scourge over the head with it, being a cast iron pan! Scourge fell to the ground, shaking his head. Throwing the pan to the side, Isaac tackled Scourge, getting him into a chokehold!
"Taking advantage of a helpful person?! That's low, even for you!" Isaac chastised, restraining him. Scourge bowed his head and reeled it back, the back of his head hitting Isaac's nose! Isaac momentarily weakened his hold, Scourge grabbing his shirt and throwing him, Isaac hitting the tree!
"Isaac!" Sonic exclaimed, leaping out of the hiding spot. Scourge saw him, taking on a twisted smile.
"So, my goody-little-two-shoes counterpart is behind this! Have to admit, didn't think you'd be getting some noob wrapped up in all of this." Scourge admitted, cracking his knuckles.
"Just surrender, Scourge! You know you're not going to win!" Sonic commanded.
"Wrong! I've been planning this for far too long to lose! You know how hard it is to find a Warp Ring? Not fucking easy!" Scourge cursed, launching himself towards Sonic. Sonic quickly dodged, Scourge punching the tree behind him, knocking it down!
Lily covertly left the hiding spot, rushing over to Isaac, who was slow in getting up. He was coughing, the wind knocked out of him.
"Isaac, you have to get up! Scourge is going to kill Sonic!" Lily encouraged, grabbing under his arm. She helped get Isaac onto his feet, Isaac leaning himself on the tree he collided with.
"How the hell did he do that?! I hit him over the head with a cast iron pan, and he throws me into a tree like I'm nothing?!" Isaac wondered, amazed by his strength.
"Brother, you're much stronger than him! You need to dig deep within yourself! I know you can fight him!" Lily praised, encouraging her brother. Taking in a few deep breathes, Isaac straightened himself out, charging back into the fray!
"SCOURGE!" Isaac shouted, his hand charging with fire! Isaac threw a punch, his arm arcing fire! The punch connected, sending Scourge flying into the snow, bouncing off of the ground a few times! Scourge quickly got up, more furious than hurt!
"So, you actually got bite! This is going to be fun!" Scourge announced, charging towards Isaac! Scourge began throwing kicks and punches as fast as he could, Isaac somehow managing to avoid them, but only so narrowly! Isaac tried to launch his knee into him, but Scourge was still faster, grabbing his leg and spinning him into another tree like an axe!
"Oof!" Isaac reacted, his chest hitting the tree at full impact! Scourge quickly threw him away, Isaac hitting the entrance of the cave system, causing it to collapse on him! Sonic tried to attack from behind, but Scourge was waiting for it, sending a kick into the side of his head, momentarily knocking him out!
"I've already told you! I came too prepared this time to lose to a bunch of scrubs like you!" Scourge gloated, flexing. Suddenly, Lily came running towards him, wielding her training sword. She caught him by surprise, the dulled blade of her sword striking him on his right leg, causing a deep bruise!
"Aaagh! YOU LITTLE BITCH!" Scourge reacted, swinging his leg! Lily was too quick, rolling away, swinging her sword at him again, striking him in the same spot! Scourge leaped back a bit, creating some distance! He quickly clutched at the strike spot; deeper damage having been inflicted than previously thought!
"Didn't realize this little bitch had some guts! Gonna be interesting when I pull them out of her!" Scourge threatened, walking towards her. As soon as Isaac heard this, his eyes flashed open, fire radiating from them! Fire began firing from the spaces in between the rocks, melting the snow around him!
"YOU…. WON'T…. HURT HER!" Isaac screamed, breaking free from the debris, engulfed in flames! He launched himself towards Scourge, faster than ever before! Before Scourge could avoid him, Isaac punched into his stomach, launching him into a boulder, splitting it apart! Isaac ran towards the boulder, picking up one of the larger pieces, slamming it down onto Scourge! Scourge rolled at the last second, managing to avoid it! He quickly launched himself away, a large grin on his face!
"Finally! A real fight!" Scourge exclaimed, enjoying it. The fire began radiating from Isaac much stronger, the ground cracking below him, steam rising from the soil! All remnants of clothing were scorched from his body, except his hide pants, which were beginning to crack and smolder from the heat!
"RAGH!" Isaac bellowed, kicking, and punching with no regard to where they hit, as long as it connected with Scourge! Scourge attempted to block, but the force of the kicks and punches threw him back, the force of them stronger than he had anticipated! Isaac threw a punch into Scourge's left shoulder, feeling it crumble before his fist! Scourge hit the ground hard, struggling to get back up!
"That… all you got?" Scourge asked, still trying to remain confident. Isaac answered him by grabbing his injured leg with his right hand, proceeding to swing him around like a ragdoll, hitting boulders, trees, and then straight into the ground! Isaac let go of him upon slamming him into the ground, noticing an unnatural bend in his leg where Lily had hit him.
Isaac breathed in, and then out, the air around him going from scalding to frigid within a few seconds. Sonic soon regained consciousness, quickly leaping up off of the ground!
"Alright, where is he?! I'm ready for him this time!" Sonic asked, ready for round two!
"A little late for that, don't you think?" Isaac asked, gesturing towards the injured Scourge.
"What the… you already beat him down?!" Sonic asked, surprised.
"A little bit of advice, Sonic. Never threaten my family!" Isaac warned, walking over to the hiding spot, grabbing his cloak, and putting it on.
Lily cautiously approached Scourge, immediately noticing the bend in his leg.
"Isaac, his leg is broken!" Lily announced. Scourge groaned, trying to get up. His left arm was dangling by his side, supporting himself on his uninjured leg. Scourge spit out a gob of blood, scowling at them.
"I'm… I'm gonna kill you!" Scourge yelled, hobbling towards Isaac. Isaac merely backed up, Scourge continuing to curse and limp towards him.
"Come here and take your lumps like a man!" Scourge yelled, continuing to limp towards him. Sighing, Isaac walked over to him, pushing him down. Scourge's right leg hit the ground, causing him to immediately clutch it!
"You son of a bitch! My leg!" Scourge exclaimed, clutching it with his uninjured arm. Isaac crouched down to Scourge's level, ripping his hand off of his leg. The bend wasn't any worse than before, but Isaac could tell it was a closed fracture. Probably as a result of Lily hitting him there.
"Alright, I'm gonna need to set it." Isaac said, grabbing his leg with both hands, his hands on both sides of the fracture.
"Wait! Can't you just… leave it alone?" Scourge asked, shaking.
"I could… but the bone is going to fuse where it is, permanently crippling you, if I don't set it." Isaac explained. Scourge gulped, knowing this was going to be hurt!
"Okay, just do it!" Scourge cried out, clenching his eyes. Isaac obliged, quickly snapping his femur back into position, making sure the fracture was properly aligned.
"AAGH!" Scourge cried out, slamming his right fist into the ground, his left leg thrashing! Isaac gently rubbed his thumb against the fracture, ensuring everything was properly aligned, swelling beginning to take place.
"Lily, I'm going to need a few strong sticks and some gauze. I need a splint." Isaac explained. Lily quickly ran to Isaac's pack, rummaging through it. She quickly produced Isaac's first-aid kit, opening it, and grabbing a large roll of gauze. She ran it over to Isaac, handing it to him.
"Thank you. Now, just need some good, dry sticks, and I'll be able to make a splint." Isaac said. Scourge was groaning, becoming impatient.
"Will you hurry it up?! It's cold lying here in the snow!" Scourge complained. Isaac obliged by tapping the fracture, causing Scourge to cry out, punching the ground!
"Patience is a virtue, especially when someone is trying to help you." Isaac calmly warned. Lily came back with three sticks. A short one, to act as a cross member, a medium one, to act as placement for the inner thigh, and a long one, for placement of the outer thigh up to Scourge's abdomen.
"Good job, Lily! Now, I'm gonna need some twine from my pack to lash everything together!" Isaac explained, Lily running back to his pack. As she did this, Isaac used the gauze to wrap Scourge's leg, restraining the fracture site and giving the leg some insulation from the cold. After Lily gave Isaac the twine, Isaac began making the splint, ensuring each piece was secure, restraining the leg from movement.
"There! Now, we just need to make a sling for his arm, and then we can get him out of here!" Isaac announced, using whatever gauze he had leftover to create a sling for his broken shoulder. Scourge sat up, the splint keeping him at an angle.
"This doesn't change anything! I'm going to break you like you broke me!" Scourge threatened, trying to get up. Unfortunately for him, the splint prevented him from standing up, him only able to rock back and forth like an upside-down turtle.
"Well, he should be docile long enough for us to call Tails. You keep an eye on him until I can contact Tails to pick us up!" Sonic said to Isaac, pulling up his communicator. As Isaac gave him a thumbs up, Lily quickly snapped her head towards the forest, as if hearing something.
"Guys… I see something!" Lily exclaimed, equipping her bow, and notching an arrow. Sonic, Isaac and Scourge turned their attention to the possible threat, seeing a figure crouched near a snow-covered shrub.
"What is that?" Sonic asked, not being able to see who it was. Isaac squinted his eyes, his vision zooming in on the figure. Years of hunting trained his vision, allowing him to see large distances! But as soon as he saw who it was, he could feel the cold around him!
"Sonic… call Tails, now!" Isaac whispered, feeling himself break out in a cold sweat.
"Who is it?" Sonic asked, opening his communicator.
"It's Rosy!" Isaac answered, Scourge overhearing it.
"What?! Oh, no, no, no, no! Quick, get me out of here! Throw me in prison! Just get me out of here!" Scourge exclaimed, rocking back and forth to try to get up! Upon seeing Scourge struggle to get up, Rosy launched herself from her hiding spot, charging towards them! She equipped her hammer, fixed with two large spikes!
"Lily, get ready to fight!" Isaac announced, equipping his sword.
"Wait, fight her?!" Lily asked, sounding terrified.
"We have no choice!" Isaac answered. Rosy launched herself into the air, spinning with her hammer, slamming it down towards them! Lily leaped to the right, pulling the string in her bow, firing an arrow at Rosy! Rosy caught sight of it, using her hammer to hit it out of the air!
"Scourgey, time to… play!" She said, tightening the grip on her hammer. Isaac and Sonic placed themselves in front of Scourge, taking defensive stances.
"Back off, Rosy! Scourge is coming with us!" Sonic informed, clenching his fists. Rosy began looking around, her vision going over to all four hedgehogs, her twisted smile becoming wider!
"Yay! I get to smash four hedgies!" She exclaimed, beginning to laugh maniacally! Isaac took a step forward, taking off his cloak, preparing for a brutal fight. Rosy quickly took note of his scars, seeing that they ran deep. Her smile vanished, a different part of her personality taking over.
"Did… did someone hurt you?" She innocently asked. Isaac's eyes went wide, not expecting this shift in personality.
"Y-yes. Many years ago. But I… I killed them." Isaac answered. Suddenly, her smile returned, as if triggered by Isaac mentioning killing someone.
"It was fun, wasn't it? Feeling their bones broken before you?" Rosy asked, beginning to laugh. Isaac felt sick, disgusted by her enjoyment!
"No! They may have tried to kill me, but it wasn't my place to make that decision! And neither is it yours to make that decision!" Isaac lashed out. This made the smile vanish from her face, being replaced by a scowl.
"Oh boy. You shouldn't have said that." Sonic commented, knowing this was going to be a bad fight.
"You're first!" She screamed, charging at Isaac with her hammer! Isaac, using his sword, blocked her strike, feeling the vibrations through the hilt! He quickly stepped back, holding his sword near his shoulder, the tip of his sword pointing directly at her.
"Listen, I know you're not acting upon a clear mind! I can help you! But you need to stand down!" Isaac bargained, keeping his stance. Rosy shook her head, walking to her right. Isaac did so as well, the both of them circling.
"Scourgey is coming with me, red hedgie! But… the little hedgie reminds me of… myself! So… I'll be taking her with me!" Rosy revealed, her smile revealing more teeth. Suddenly, Isaac's eyes began to glow, the fire within him raging! Throwing his sword to the ground, Isaac launched himself towards her, losing himself! Rosy dodged him, still smiling. She recognized the look on his face! It was one of insanity! Of great anger!
"You are no different from me! And it suits you!" Rosy complimented. Isaac soon erupted into fire, the bark on the trees becoming scorched! Isaac blinded Rosy with the light of his fire, launching himself towards her, striking her with his right fist! Rosy flew from the impact, hitting and knocking down an oak tree! She quickly picked herself up, breathing heavy from the impact!
"YES! YES!" Rosy cheered, picking up her hammer and charging towards Isaac. Rosy slammed her hammer into him, launching him across the clearing! Isaac recovered mid-air, landing, and sliding through the snow, breathing out hot steam! Isaac's muscles began to enlarge, his scars and veins glowing with an orange intensity!
"My blood is fire! My flesh is Damascus steel!" Isaac proclaimed, acting unlike himself. Rosy only smiled wider, twirling her hammer between her fingers! She began to giggle, as if enjoying every moment of this fight. Isaac could feel every last drop of his blood boiling within his own veins, his body trying to adapt to the changes within! Isaac soon collapsed onto his knees, his head feeling like it was going to split open! He could see his skin beginning to darken, almost becoming the color of charcoal! He could see his veins in his skin, becoming red!
"What… are you… doing to me?!" Isaac shouted, feeling every inch of his body crying out in pain! Rosy's smile soon vanished, her feelings of joy of the fight disappearing upon seeing her opponent in pain from something she didn't inflict. She approached Isaac, feeling… some semblance of concern. The moment she got close, Isaac launched himself at her, losing himself in the pain and wrath! Grabbing her, he began spinning as fast as he could, soon launching her across the forest, disappearing out of site.
Breathing heavily, Isaac collapsed onto his knees again, feeling his blood begin to cool. His skin returned to its normal pigmentation, his veins going from the glowing red to its normal, blue color. As he was kneeling there, he felt his cloak drape over him, shielding him from the cold. He looked over his shoulder, seeing Lily.
"We'll need to hide. She'll be back once she recovers!" Lily exclaimed. Nodding, Isaac got back up, feeling that fight had taken a lot out of him. He and Lily walked back over to Sonic and Scourge, where Sonic was taking off his communicator, tossing it into the collapsed remains of the cave entrance.
"What are you doing? We need to call Tails to get out here." Isaac said.
"That fight with Scourge busted the communicator. I'll be able to get Scourge to the Kingdom in less than a minute." Sonic explained, walking over to Scourge. The moment Scourge got near him, he attempted to swipe at him with his uninjured arm, causing Sonic to jump back.
"Go ahead and try it! There's nothing stopping me from killing you on the way there!" Scourge threatened.
"Couldn't you just go and run back to the Kingdom to get Tails to come here?" Isaac asked.
"That's a good idea, actually! Alright, just give me a moment and-" Sonic began to say before being interrupted by Lily.
"Wait! There's nothing stopping Rosy from attacking us while you're gone! Isaac's drained, Scourge is crippled, and I'm pretty sure I can't keep up with her!" Lily explained.
"Then what do you suggest?" Sonic asked.
"Well, we can secure him on a drag sled and walk him back to the Kingdom." Lily suggested. Sonic groaned, not enjoying walking over running.
"But that'll take us at least two days! And that's not including the time it'll take us to make camp and tear it down!" Sonic exclaimed. Scourge groaned, not wanting to listen to Sonic complain.
"Quit complaining! I'm the one who's crippled, for crying out loud!" Scourge exclaimed.
"Well, we have no real choice. We can't run because it'll attract attention. We can't have Sonic go, because Rosy will take advantage of it and attack Scourge, and we can't just leave him here!" Isaac explained.
"Isaac, I don't mean to be devil's advocate here, but you do know who Scourge is, right?" Sonic asked.
"I know who he is, and I know what he's done, but I'm not about to be responsible for his death because we left him out here!" Isaac answered. Scourge scoffed, not believing what he was hearing.
"I'm not helpless! I can get out of here all on my own!" Scourge argued, still trying to get up. Isaac grabbed Scourge by the collar of his jacket, lifting him off of the ground! While he was drained of a lot of his energy, he was still strong enough to lift him off of the ground.
"Get out of my grip and I'll believe you." Isaac said. Using his uninjured arm, Scourge grabbed Isaac's wrist, trying to escape his grip! But the fight had taken too much out of him, leaving him dangling. After a minute of struggling, Scourge gave up, not having any more fight in him.
"Alright, just get me on a damn sled and get me out of here!" Scourge said. After cutting down three large saplings, Isaac lashed them into a drag sled frame. Then, he took multiple sticks, lashing them together to create a platform on the drag sled.
"Sonic, help me secure Scourge." Isaac said, grabbing Scourge's shoulders. Sonic grabbed his legs, getting him onto the platform. After doing so, Isaac tied him to the platform, ensuring he would be unable to move his arms and legs.
"We better get moving. The sun's going to set in about three hours." Isaac said, grabbing one of the poles. Sonic grabbed the other, pulling the drag sled with Isaac.