The Christmas holiday had passed by in the blink of an eye. When John had found that Eggman was developing something called 'Protocol Downfall', the Sonic Team had to relocate themselves to Glacier Peaks, where Eirik had hailed from. The Sonic Team in its entirety, including Eirik, left by the end of the year.
Isaac and Sally were still in the beginnings of parenthood, some nights being peaceful, and some being filled with the crying of their infant daughter. One night, still in the beginning of January, Isaac was the first to get out of bed, walking to his daughter's crib. He reached his hand to Camilla, giving her his presence.
"Shhhh… it's okay. Papa's here." Isaac whispered, before he heard the sound of the bed creaking.
He turned his head to the sound, seeing Sally sitting up on the edge of her bed, stretching out her arms.
"I've got it, Sal. You can go back to bed." Isaac quietly said. Sally sighed, before leaving the bed and walking towards him.
"I couldn't go back to sleep if I wanted to. I've gotten used to waking up this early." Sally responded. Isaac nodded.
"I can scarcely remember when the last time I slept through the night was. But I have a feeling we'll miss this when Camilla is older." Isaac said. Sally laughed a bit, before reaching into Camilla's crib, picking her up and cradling her.
"We're gonna miss being sleep-deprived and woken up by crying? I think you're the one that needs more sleep." Sally returned.
Isaac chuckled a bit, before walking to the wardrobe. He opened it, putting on a heavy shirt and pants, before putting on socks and lacing up his boots.
"You're going out again? This late?" Sally asked. Isaac nodded.
"I'll need to get there before the sun comes up. I need to use as much time as possible in cleaning up the area and removing the structures." Isaac said.
"We can always just stay here. I know you don't always like living here in a castle, but everyone is close-by, and we never have to want anything." Sally said.
"It's not a matter of my comfort. Really, it's more for me to do something during the day. I actually like working outside. And it makes the end of the day seem more satisfying after a long day of working." Isaac said. Sally nodded, knowing Isaac didn't like doing nothing.
"Alright, but tomorrow, you're going to watch Camilla. Horace, Vylania, and Xorelaz are sailing in with Nick tomorrow, and I want to make sure they settle in nicely while they stay with us to get away from the city for a while." Sally explained. Isaac nodded, before donning his cloak.
"I got to go to work. First, I love you…" Isaac said, giving Sally a kiss. He then turned his attention to Camilla.
"...And I love you." Isaac whispered, giving Camilla a kiss on her forehead.
Suddenly, Isaac ran towards the balcony window, quickly pushing it open and launching himself off the ledge! His wings materialized, taking flight towards the Great Forest. As Isaac flew towards his parents' homestead, Isaac looked out towards the Mobian Sea, seeing fishermen already out on the water. While it wasn't quite the fishing season, a large number of halibut were evident in the sea, making this an opportunity they didn't want to miss.
Isaac changed his course of flying, flying close to the surface of the sea! Isaac flew low enough to dip his hand in the freezing water, before snatching a large halibut from the water, quickly killing it by sticking his knife into its head! Isaac changed his course once more, flying back towards the Great Forest. As he reached the center of the Great Forest, Isaac went down to make a landing, deftly landing near a cabin. His wings receded back into his body, Isaac walking towards the door, walking up the wheelchair ramp.
"Now, where did I leave that key?" Isaac asked himself, before setting the halibut down near the door.
He walked over to a large boulder, easily lifting it, revealing an old key. He grabbed the key, before letting the boulder fall back down, shaking the ground a bit. He walked back over to the door, picking up the fish and unlocking it. He calmly walked in, closing, and locking the door behind him. The cabin was the same one that Isaac had spent two months in a comatose state. Isaac came here every time he would travel to the land of his parents' homestead, bringing with him food.
Isaac snapped his fingers, a spark emitting from his fingers. A small, hovering flame appeared next to his head, giving him a small light to work in the dark kitchen. Isaac put the fish down on the countertop, using his knife to begin scaling and fileting the fish for Scott and Roseanne, formerly Scourge and Rosy. After a few minutes, after Isaac had begun work on the fish, footsteps could be heard coming from one of the bedrooms.
The footsteps soon stopped, Isaac unmoving in his actions. The source of the footsteps sighed, seeing that Isaac had let himself into the cabin again.
"Why is it when I want to get a glass of water in the middle of the night, you're always here to greet me?" A voice said. Isaac chuckled, turning his head, seeing it was Roseanne.
"If I would've waited for the daylight, the fish would've started to smell." Isaac responded, before finishing fileting the fish.
Roseanne struck a match against the wall, lighting a lantern on the wall. The light soon illuminated the kitchen, Isaac's flame dissipating.
"How much work do you still need to do at the homestead?" Roseanne asked.
"I still have another wall to tear down and clear, and after that, I'll need to find my father's wine cellar and see what I can scavenge. And once that's done, I'll need to locate my mother's garden and clear it out. If I can get everything done, I can begin working on rebuilding everything by the last frost." Isaac answered.
"I don't get it. You live in a castle with your wife's family. You don't have to grow, trade, or hunt for your food. Why would you want to give all of that up?" She asked.
"It's the only life I have ever known. It's the life my parents wanted for me. And I want it to be the life for my daughter. Can you say you don't like that kind of life?" Isaac asked.
"It's peaceful. I don't really have to worry about going hungry. The caravans come by regularly, and it's pretty easy to hunt around here. Yeah, I guess I can see where you're coming from." She responded.
Soon, the sun had risen from the horizon, sunlight filling each room of the cabin. It wasn't long until Scott had woken up, leaving his room to get breakfast. Soon enough, he saw Isaac in the kitchen, who was putting the fish on a metal rack, a small bed of coals on the stone counter.
"Isaac, we know we saved your life, but you don't have to keep coming here to drop us off food, man!" Scott exclaimed. Isaac placed the rack over the coals, letting the fish begin the drying process for long-term storage.
"It's the dead of winter, and you can't accept a few morsels of food from a friend? Don't let pride fill your stomach." Isaac responded. Scott crossed his arms.
"'Don't let pride fill your stomach?' What are you, a fortune cookie?" He questioned. Isaac laughed, before washing his hands.
"It's just practical advice. If someone's willing to give you free food, you shouldn't let pride prevent you from accepting." Isaac explained.
"Well, now that formalities are out of the way, how's the work on the homestead?" He asked.
"Still have a few more structures to clear out, but I think I'll be able to get to work on building it back up by Spring." Isaac answered.
"Good, that's good… Hey, I have a bit of a favor to ask you." He said.
"What's that?" Isaac asked. Scott looked around, making sure Roseanne was nowhere near. He pulled out a large ring from his back pocket, handing it to him.
"I found this Warp ring a few weeks ago in an old capsule. It's too dangerous for us to just have this lying around. If someone gets their hands on it, they could end up going anywhere in the world. Maybe even the multiverse! Can you get rid of this for us?" Scott asked. Isaac took no hesitance in taking it, quickly pocketing it.
"I'll make sure no one uses it. You have my word." Isaac promised, before putting his cloak back on from the coat hanger.
"Oh, and Isaac, please just show up when the sun's out. And knock." Scott said. Isaac smiled, giving him a thumbs up.
Isaac opened the door, seeing the sky was cloudy. Snow was beginning to come down, Isaac able to see that it would soon become treacherous. Isaac sighed, realizing he wouldn't get any work done today.
"Looks like I'll have to hold off on working on the homestead today." Isaac said, before taking to the skies once more.
As Isaac flew back to the Kingdom of Acorn, the snow beginning to pick up, Isaac took out the Warp ring from his pocket, looking at it closely. Besides its large size, he couldn't see how it was any more different than a normal ring. He put it back into his pocket, already flying over the walls of the Kingdom. Isaac soon landed on the balcony of his room, opening the door. A cold draft had entered along with him, Isaac quickly closing it.
"Sally, I'm back." Isaac said, before seeing Sally asleep again, Camilla nestled against her chest. Smiling, Isaac walked over to the bookshelf, picking out an old tome that hadn't been read in ages!
He took out his knife, beginning to cut out circles in the pages. After a while, Isaac had cut out a deep enough indent to place the ring into it. He closed it, and tucked it away back into the bookcase, making sure it wasn't out of place. After doing so, he cleaned up the scraps of paper and threw them away, before heading out of the room to get Sally breakfast.
30 Minutes Later:
The door to the chambers had opened, Isaac carefully carrying a tray of food. He silently walked over to the bed, where Sally was still asleep. Setting the tray down on the nightstand, Isaac gently picked up Camilla, and set her back into her crib. Isaac returned to the tray, picking it up and gently placing it on Sally's lap. Sally's eyes opened, seeing was Isaac was already back, and soon noticed the smell of breakfast.
"How late is it?" Sally asked, thinking she had been asleep longer than expected.
"It's still morning. I had to come back because of the weather. But you know, I can't complain too much. I get spend more time with you and Camilla." Isaac answered. Sally smiled, before she heard her own stomach rumble.
"Yikes, I'm hungry! Oh, that looks good." Sally said, grabbing the fork and getting a large bite of fried potatoes.
As she ate, Isaac went towards the door, ready to do something else to pass the day. As he opened the door, he looked back at the bookcase, able to see the tome he had carved out to hide the Warp ring. He felt it to be more secure, hidden in plain sight, but he knew the consequences if anyone were to find it.
"I'm going to go get Lily, Sally. Do you want anything else while I'm about in the castle?" Isaac asked. Sally swallowed the bite of potato she had, clearing her throat.
"A glass of juice would be nice." Sally responded. Isaac smiled, performing an exaggerated bow.
"It shall be done, m'lady." Isaac announced, causing Sally to giggle. Isaac soon left, securing the door behind himself.