Isaac walked as fast as he could to the nearest balcony, hyperventilating. He leaned on the ledge, looking out at the Kingdom. Snow was gently falling, a white Christmas in their forecast.
"What the hell's going on with me?" Isaac asked himself, tapping his fingers on the ledge. He didn't know why he was acting like this. As he thought about why, Sally passed the balcony door, before she turned round, opening the door and joining Isaac on the balcony.
"There you are! Isaac, is everything okay? You just ran out so suddenly!" Sally said. Isaac sighed, not knowing if he was or not.
"I don't know, Sally. I thought coming back home would fix everything, but it seems like everything is harder to deal with than before. I mean, I'm happy I'm a father. I'm happy I'm married to the perfect woman. But… some part says I'm not happy. And I don't know why." Isaac explained.
"Isaac, does it… does it have to do with what happened in Spagonia?" Sally asked. Isaac began gently nodding, turning towards her.
"Maybe. Maybe some part of me never truly left the Great Forest. Hell, who knows? Maybe some part of me died the first time I was caught by Honorius soldiers. Cut out of me, like a cancer. Maybe I never came back from Spagonia. Maybe… maybe I died after the fight with Zeus, and I'm still experiencing the last few moments of consciousness before I finally die. I… I just don't know anymore." Isaac confessed.
After a few moments, Sally approached Isaac, hugging him. They stayed in that moment for a few minutes, the snow able to be heard falling around them. They soon looked at each other, Isaac beginning to smile.
"How do you do it?" Isaac asked.
"Do what?" Sally returned.
"Make me smile, even when I feel like everything's just crashing around me?" Isaac clarified. Sally shrugged her shoulders, beginning to smile herself.
"If I knew, I'd do it more often." Sally responded.
Feeling a bit better, Isaac turned his gaze back out to the Kingdom, seeing the borders of the Great Forest. He looked back at Sally, sporting a mischievous look.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Sally asked. Isaac chuckled a bit before stretching out his back.
"Who has Camilla right now?" Isaac asked.
"Mom does. She said she'll watch her for a bit while we talk." Sally answered.
Isaac brushed off the snow from the ledge, before hopping up, balancing on it.
"Isaac, what are you doing?!" Sally exclaimed. Isaac stretched out a hand, offering it to her.
"I don't think I've ever taken you flying before, have I?" Isaac asked. Sally, while reluctant, gave him her hand.
"Now, don't scream." Isaac said, before suddenly flinging Sally away from him!
"AAAAHHHH! ISAAC!" Sally screamed, falling towards the ground. Isaac launched himself from the ledge, hurtling towards Sally! He deftly grabbed her and held her close, before they suddenly began climbing, Isaac's wings having materialized!
"YOU BASTARD!" Sally yelled, punching him a few times into his shoulder. Isaac was laughing, seeing the Kingdom below them.
"Sally, take a look." Isaac laughed, before Sally did so. She was speechless, seeing the entirety of the Kingdom before her.
"Wow… it's beautiful. I've never seen it like this, not even when we would fly with Tails." Sally said. Isaac was grinning, changing the position of his wings. They began flying towards the Great Forest, flying above the train tracks.
As they flew, Isaac changed how he was holding her, hanging from his arms parallel to him. She slowly stretched out her arms, feeling like she was flying!
"This is actually fun!" Sally exclaimed, laughing.
"Tell me where you want to go!" Isaac yelled out, laughing.
"Left!" Sally said, Isaac shifting his wings to turn left.
They began flying through the trees, Isaac weaving through the trees. As they flew, they passed over the lake they skated on last year, seeing their reflections in the ice.
"Right!" Sally said, Isaac shifting his wings to turn right. Soon, they were flying along the shore of the island, the currents of the Mobian Sea gently lapping at the slush covered sand.
As they continued, Sally saw the burnt-out remains of Isaac's parent's homestead. She saw the cairns Isaac had built to mark their burials, and the faintest indicator of a rusted knife, wedged between the stones.
"Isaac, land!" Sally yelled, the sudden shifting of flight taking them onto the beach. Isaac let go of her, suddenly noticing where they were.
"Sally, we… no, no, I see what you did! I can't handle this right now!" Isaac exclaimed, showing the onset of a panic attack! Sally took his hands and led him towards the remains of the homestead, calmly speaking to him.
"It's okay. You're okay. We're not doing anything dangerous; we're just visiting two very important people in your life. And I think there are some things you need to say to them." Sally said, before stopping near their cairns.
Isaac was struggling, finding it difficult to swallow. He was looking at the cairns, not knowing what to say. He looked to Sally, who was holding his hand.
"What do I say?" Isaac asked.
"I mean, they're grandparents now. They might want to know that." Sally suggested. Isaac swallowed, taking a deep breath.
"Mother, father, I… it's been a long time since I visited. I'm… I'm sorry. Since last I was here, I got married. I have a daughter now. You… you both have a granddaughter, now. Her name's Camilla." Isaac began.
He looked over to Sally, who was motioning for him to keep going. Isaac cleared his throat before continuing.
"Yeah, when I found out… I was very nervous. But oftentimes, I… I remembered how you raised me, and… and I felt better. And… uh, Sally, can you say a few things?" Isaac asked. Sally, smiling, nodded.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Abaddon, it's nice to see you again! I just want to say, I love your son, he's… he's my rock. I never thought that I would have a daughter, and now, I get to wake up every morning, see her sweet, smiling face, sleeping in her crib, and… and a husband who does everything he can to protect us." Sally said, her voice breaking.
Isaac held her close, his wings receding back into his back. As they stood there, the wind began to pick up, beginning to snow harder. Isaac looked up into the sky, seeing the snow was still light enough to navigate.
"We need to go home. Here, hold onto me." Isaac instructed, extending his arm to Sally. Sally took it, Isaac's wing rematerializing. He launched himself back into the sky, beginning to navigate towards the Kingdom of Acorn.
They flew for a few minutes, the snow beginning to come down hard once more.
"Do you feel better?" Sally asked.
"A little bit. I… thank you for leading me out here. I guess I needed something to remind me how far I came. And… I guess it reminds me that the worst is over. The Order of Honorius is dead. Zeus is imprisoned. I could… could actually let my guard down. You know?" Isaac answered.
"I've spent a few years as a Freedom Fighter, myself. I understand being on-guard 24/7. And trying to switch over from being on-guard to relaxing is tough. But if I know anyone who could do it, it would be you." Sally reassured.
As they talked, Isaac's ears caught a sound, suddenly barrel-rolling in the sky, narrowly avoiding a projectile! The projectile soared ahead, before changing its trajectory! It was hurtling towards them, Isaac quickly changing his course of flight!
"What is that?!" Sally exclaimed, unable to recognize the projectile.
"I don't know! Hold on!" Isaac announced, before picking up speed, holding Sally closer to him!
They were flying through the treetops, the mysterious projectile getting closer, each pass getting closer to hitting them! Isaac's wings were flapping as fast as they cold in the frigid air, the snow offering unwanted resistance! The projectile was hurtling towards them again, Isaac seeing no way of avoiding it! It was hurtling towards Sally, Isaac quickly rolling, putting himself in the way!
The projectile slammed into his wings, sending Isaac and Sally hurtling towards the tree line! Isaac turned himself towards the ground, his wings taking most of the impact upon slamming into the branches! They finally hit the ground, Isaac cushioning Sally as they slid into the ground! They both carefully got up, Isaac feeling his wings burning! He looked over his shoulder, seeing his left wing was crippled, seeing the ulna and radius bones were snapped cleanly, hanging awkwardly.
"Well, that's a new injury." Isaac grunted, before hearing the projectile slam into a few branches, landing about ten feet away from them!
"Isaac, run!" Sally screamed, the both of them picking themselves up and running from the projectile!
They ran as fast as they could, their footsteps impacting into the fresh snow, powder being kicked up! After a few hundred yards, they saw a small cave, quickly running in and taking cover! They were breathing heavily, the sounds of their breathing and the snow falling the only things that could be heard.
"Did we lose it?" Isaac asked.
"I'm not sure! Just… we should stay quiet, at least until we know for sure!" Sally answered.
"Good plan." Isaac agreed, staying quiet.
It felt like hours before they talked again, feeling the worst was over. Isaac attempted to stretch out his wings, feeling the broken left wing more prominently.
"Why aren't you healing?" Sally questioned, remembering Isaac's advanced healing factor.
"I… I think I need to set the wing." Isaac reasoned. Isaac reached for his wing, unable to reach the portion of the wing that was hanging by muscle and sinew.
"Here, I'll set it." Sally said, hesitantly approaching the broken wing. She gently grabbed the broken wing, causing Isaac to flinch.
Sally slowly positioned the broken wing, lining up the broken bones. Suddenly, the bones became rigid, a burning light radiating from where the wing had snapped. After a few minutes, Isaac moved his wing. While sore, it was healed. His wings soon receded back into his back, Isaac straightening his back.
"Oh, that feels better." Isaac sighed, sitting down, and resting his back against the cave wall. Sally, after letting out a loud sigh, sat down next to him.
"Is this what it's like for you all the time? Getting attacked, hiding, and recovering?" Sally asked.
"Pretty much." Isaac said, looking out. The area was being blanketed with the snowstorm, only a few feet from the entrance able to be seen.
"Looks like we're staying here for the night." Sally said. Isaac nodded, before taking a look further into the cave. Isaac walked towards a large, flat rock, sliding it. Underneath the rock were two large bedrolls, Isaac taking them out.
"I knew this cave looked familiar. I set up an emergency camp kit in case Lily and I would need to hide in here." Isaac said, rolling a bedroll to Sally.
"How many emergency camps do you have scattered out here?" Sally asked.
"Um… I'd say about seven. Well, except for that one out near the lake. It was more like an ice fishing shack, but it actually fell through the ice." Isaac answered.
The day kept moving, Isaac going out a few times to find food and firewood near the cave opening. A fire was roaring, Isaac roasting a few tubers in the coals, and a large pheasant over the fire. Isaac was rotating it every so often, roasting it towards perfection.
"You know, this is actually kinda nice. Well, in an "almost-gotten-killed" sort of way." Sally said. Isaac laughed a bit at this, rotating the tubers in the coals.
"That's usually how it goes for us these days, doesn't it?" Isaac asked. Sally laughed a bit, shaking her head.
"Well, we have a daughter now. Let's hope our new normal is a little less dangerous." Sally responded.
"I'm hoping for the same thing. I just hope Queen Alicia won't mind watching Camilla for a few more hours." Isaac said.
"I don't think mom would mind. She told me to not be surprised if she takes her for a while. We better be careful. We both know she's going to spoil her senselessly." Sally responded.
Soon, dinner was ready, Isaac using his knife to halve the pheasant, skewering it on a sharpened stick for Sally. He gave one half to her, before taking the other half for himself. Skewering the roasted tubers, he gave a few of them to her, reserving the rest for himself. They began eating, the hot food welcome to their environment.
As time had passed, it was soon time to sleep. Isaac moved their sleeping bags further into the cave, making sure they were comfortable. As they had gotten ready for sleep, Sally spoke.
"You know… we haven't been intimate since Camilla was born." Sally suggested, smiling slyly. Isaac grinned, before relaxing into his bedroll.
"I don't think we're ready to have another kid just yet." Isaac said. Sally shook her head.
"Don't worry, I talked to Jess last week. I've been taking a patch every day." Sally said, rolling up the sleeve on her jacket, showing an adhesive patch on her arm.
"Really? Do they work?" Isaac asked. Sally only smiled.
"Why don't we find out?" Sally asked, winking. Isaac felt his body heat flare up, beginning to warm up the interior of the small cave.
The Following Morning:
Isaac and Sally were silently snoring, the snow having stopped sometime in the middle of the night. They were in a lover's embrace, sharing a bedroll. A single drop of water from a small icicle landed on Sally's forehead, causing her eyes to flutter. She looked around, remembering the night before. She smiled, before softly kissing Isaac's forehead.
Isaac's eyes soon opened, seeing Sally's face. He smiled, before stretching out his arms. After changing into his clothes, he rolled up the bedrolls, stowing them back into their hiding place. He and Sally soon walked out of the cave, seeing the beautiful winter morning.
"Wow! Is this what it used to be like for you guys?" Sally asked.
"All the time. But I'll admit, sleeping in a large bed with a beautiful woman every night is certainly a benefit." Isaac flirted. Sally blushed, hugging his arm.
"Here, I'll get us back home quickly." Isaac said, his wings materializing. He held Sally close, before launching into the air.
A Few Minutes Later:
They landed on one of the many balconies of the castle, Isaac's wings receding. They soon walked inside the castle, the warmth from the furnace more welcome to that of a campfire. They made their way to the Dining Room, seeing the Sonic Team in its entirety eating breakfast. When the door closed, they turned their heads, seeing Isaac and Sally.
"There you guys are! Where've you been?" Vector questioned.
"Sorry for worrying you guys. Had to… had to pay my parents a visit." Isaac answered, inadvertently creating an awkward silence. As they sat down, King Nigel and Queen Alicia entered the Dining Room, spotting Isaac and Sally.
"There they are! Sally, can you take Camilla? As much as I adore her, I believe she needs the love of a mother. Especially how long you two have been gone." Queen Alicia said. Sally quickly got up, taking Camilla back into her arms. Sally was gently rocking her, walking back to Isaac.
"Well, it's only three more days until Christmas! I hope you all are as excited as I am! Now, after the craziness we've had this past year, we won't be having our usual Christmas Party. Instead, we'll be spending the holidays together, singing songs, you know, an old-fashioned Christmas." King Nigel announced.