Do or Die (Jackal Squad Oneshots)

Tough, But Not Stone-Hearted

About 19 months before Sonic Forces, 8 months before the "Incident" at Aqua Road

Infinite- Age 27

Amara- Age 26

Infinite heard a grunt, then heard something hit the ground hard.

The sound came from behind him, he turned cautiously, seeing forest all around him.

"What is it, Boss?" Remy asked, Infinite quickly held up a finger to signal silence.

He walked closer, a figure appeared on the ground.

Remy, Hunter, and Quickstrike followed him, wondering what the figure could be.

Infinite gasped when he saw the identity of the figure on the ground: his fiancee, Amara.

She had strained breathing, with teeth clenched, blood spilling from a dagger wound in her stomach.

Infinite bent down, Quickstrike gasped.

Hunter, who was often competing with Amara for second-in-command, looked surprised.

"Who did this to you?" Infinite held Amara's paw.

"One of the targets got a jump on me, Boss." She tried to get up, Infinite stopped her.

"You're injured, Mara. No."

Amara looked slightly offended. "What do you mean 'No'?! I'm a sitting duck out here!"

"I'm not going to let you walk until we get that wound looked at."

"It's just a flesh wound, Boss."

"That's exactly what Marauder said before he died!"

Amara gripped his paw. "Boss."

Infinite sighed and gently lifted her, being extremely careful with her wound, before the other jackals escorted them back home. When they arrived back at their stronghold, Infinite laid Amara in his bed. "Medic!" He ordered, the Jackal Squad's personal medic quickly appeared.

He bowed to Infinite. "What do you need?"

Infinite motioned to Amara, worry echoing throughout his body. "She was stabbed during a raid."

The medic approached Amara, and immediately saw her wound. He bent down and examined it, gently touching the site.

Amara tried her hardest not to wince,  but she could not control herself in the face of her pain.

"She'll be fine, the wound's just a flesh wound, no organs were injured. It actually isn't even that deep, just bleeding a lot." 

Infinite seemed to relax slightly, cupping her hands into his.

"I told you that it wasn't bad, Boss."

Infinite nodded. "I know that now..." He hugged Amara gently.

"Mind if I get that wound patched up for you, First Lieutenant Amara?" The medic asked, she painfully remembered her wound, still untreated, and nodded. He didn't take long to bandage her injury, Amara's pain decreased once he was finished. "There you go, Lieutenant. I'd advise staying down for a day or two though."

Amara gently touched the bandages. "Thank you."

The medic nodded and left.

As soon as the sound of footsteps ceased, Infinite climbed up on the bed, pulling Amara closer to him.

"Aww, are you worried about me?"

Infinite laid his paw on the wound.

Amara had been a bit sarcastic when she had made that statement, but she saw that he was having a bit of a panic attack over her. She felt herself getting pulled closer to Infinite, who was holding her tight.

He held her like that until night fell, when she needed to get back to her own den.

She squirmed a little bit to get Infinite to pay attention to her, not her wound. "Infy. It's getting late, I gotta go back to my den now."

Infinite finally stopped holding onto her and got off the bed, lifting Amara up into his arms. He took her to her den and set her down on two feet gently. "I'm gonna change your clothes for you, Mara, ok?"

The words shocked her as soon as he said them, but she nodded, knowing he was just trying to take care of her.

Infinite gently lifted Amara's shirt off her body and gently put a softer, looser shirt on before kissing her cheek.

Amara gave him a slight smile, she kissed him back.

He led her to her bed and set her down gently.

Amara leaned back as Infinite's grip on her loosened, she hugged his hand.

"Do you need me to stay here, Mara?"

Normally, she could've made herself say 'no,' but she found herself nodding and clutching tighter on his arm.

"Alright, Mara, I'll be right here if you need me..." He pulled away from her arm and laid down on the floor, looking at her before closing his eyes.

Amara looked at him, although he could be extremely overprotective of her, she was glad that he was there, she felt safe in his presence, knowing that he would protect her with his life.