Author's note:
Well, look at all of that talking. Seems like Infinite and Saura have more in common than they think. But alas, it seems we see some negative things that happened. ALSO, I did a little tweaking on some of the previous chapters AND "Just Give In, Never Speak Again." I'll explain what I did for them:
1. "Just Give In, Never Speak Again"
I just added a few dialogues to help understand what is going as each time passes by. This will help explain a bit more on what Saura has been through and why she's really terrified of other mobians.
2. This story in chapters: 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, and 16
I added a little bit more of what is in Saura's mind, or in this case Nevil's "torture," throughout her time in the resistance. Yes, even at the resistance, Saura had still been, *cough*or still is*cough*, tortured by her uncle. I wanted to add up a bit of "Just Speak In, Never Speak Again" parts into it to show some connection. And, I also had to fix one of the interludes and other chapters due to grammar issues.
As for other parts of this story, I've been thinking about moving "Just Give In, Never Speak Again" into the Prologue of this chapter to make sure everyone understands more about what is going through Saura's mind and her story. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews! ^^;
Shout-outs:
Bajy - Are you sure she is done with that nightmare? And yes, what Nevil said kind of got Infinite a bit. We'll just see how much it will affect him once he gets all the clues together. Oh, and I think Saura knows what it is, but I don't think Infinite does. ;)
Thanks for Reading and please review!
Chapter 20: Admitting How You Feel
When Infinite finally arrived to the tower he wanted to get in to, he makes sure to be at the ground floor. That floor is where his other sleeping headquarters is at and it's extra special. It's where he first began. "Infinite, please let me go," the masked jackal hears Saura plead. When he arrives to his destination, Infinite quickly shuts the door and places the wolf down, but he does make her sit on a chair. When she tries to get up, the jackal makes a small dominant like growl to make her sit back down. When Saura sat back down with a little frightened expression and whimper, Infinite sighs a bit as he walks around to one of the empty tables. The wolf sat there waiting for the jackal but then hears something metal being dropped. She turned to look at him, but the sound of another tiny dominant growl stops her. So, she turns back around and waits. Saura then hears Infinite come back from behind. She then feels the jackal's clawed hand gently forcing her to release her wispon. The wolf unconsciously holds the weapon tighter but that didn't stop the jackal. Once the weapon is no longer in her hand, Saura is surprised to feel Infinite's hand tangled with hers. The wolf then flinched a bit from feeling the jackal's other clawed hand peeling the burnt bandage off of her neck. She blushes but then noticed something red in one of the tables. Saura looks at it carefully and noticed it looks like a sword!
Once the burnt bandage is off, Infinite then starts to treat the wound he made and a few burnt spots on her. Luckily for him, the jackal took off his mask and placed it on the table; so, he can see the wound better, but it fell off. Once the wounds have been treated, Infinite buries his muzzle on her neck while ignoring the chemical scent. As he breaths on her neck, Infinite noticed the wolf shivering a little. He lets out a small smirk as he nuzzles Saura's neck gently that caused her to shiver a bit more along with a gasp. The jackal then remembered the event that happened with the Phantom Ruby Prototype. He has so many questions about it. Who was that brown wolf and is he really related to Saura? What happened to her before the resistance? Is the story about her parents true? When he looks to Saura, Infinite notices her looking at something. He looks at her direction and sees his red sword. She might have a question for him about that sword. "That item represents a group important to me," he replies to the wolf.
Saura jumps a bit when she hears Infinite talk about the sword she was looking at. She looks to the jackal with a blush and confused look. "Wh-who does that item represent?" she asks softly.
Infinite continues to nuzzle Saura's neck as he hears her next question. "The sword is what I use to use with my squad," he starts to reply. The jackal stops nuzzling the wolf, so he can explain more. "Before I met the old man, my squad and I were the ultimate mercenaries. We would take out anyone that had items worth money. But then, I met the doctor. He offered me a chance to change the world for the price of being mercenaries for one of his facilities. My squad and I agreed to this task and we guarded the area. Suddenly, that black hedgehog came, Shadow," he continues his story and growls at the name. "He destroyed my squad and left me looking weak and pathetic and said it to my face! I wanted to destroy him and show him how much of an insect he is," he added with anger. Infinite quickly releases Saura, so he won't hurt her by accident like last time.
Saura turns to Infinite with a frown as she sees him walk to the table with the sword. She took in the jackal's story as her frown deepens a bit. His story really is somewhat similar to hers. Both of them lost people that are close to them. They were also called weak by someone who had tormented them. Saura gets up from the chair to walk to Infinite. The wolf then hugs the jackal from behind despite him flinch at her touch. "I-I'm so sorry," she says to Infinite as she continues to hug him.
Infinite turns to Saura the moment he hears her. Only then, he notices the wolf hugging her. This caused him to blush a bit but hides it. He looks down to Saura's hands and holds them with his own clawed hands. Rubbing the palm of the wolf's hands, he decides to continue. "That day, I decided to give up my unsighting face and let go of the old me. That way, I can become stronger," he explains. The jackal looks to the Phantom Ruby on his chest. "And then, I obtained the power to make everyone yield to my will," he says while looking down to the gem as it starts glowing a bit. Noticing the ruby glowing, Infinite stops it by using his hand along with Saura's since he didn't want to let go of her. "Thanks to this new power, I was reborn. I was able to prove Shadow and his dear robot friend how weak they are against me. Not even Sonic stood against me on our first encounter," he added with a smirk. "When Sonic was defeated, I brought fear to everyone in this world and showed everyone they were nothing but insects," he says more with a dark chuckle. He stops chuckling when he feels Saura lessen her hug a bit as she shivers a bit. Not wanting the wolf to let go, the jackal tightens his hold on one of her hands. He then remembers the necklace he pulled off of Saura on their encounter in the Mystic Jungle, so he releases one of Saura's hands to get it out and stares at it.
Saura just stares at Infinite since one of her hands is still being held by him. When she heard something being placed on the table, the wolf tries to see what it is, but the jackal soon turns around to her and quickly traps her between him and the wall thanks to the Phantom Ruby. She looks at Infinite in confusion while blushing a bit. "Wh-what-" Saura was then silenced by Infinite's finger since he placed it on her mouth gently. She blinks a bit in confusion as she looks at the jackal.
Infinite watches Saura as he stops her from asking more questions. "Now then, I've answered some of your questions. It's time for you to answer some of mine," he says to the wolf. The jackal watches her show a nervous look. He moves his finger from Saura's mouth, so he can move his hand to her cheek. "Do not worry. I'm only going to ask you a few questions. I told you some things about me. Now, it's your turn to do the same," he added. The jackal thinks about his questions on which one to ask first, and one had come to his head. "Tell me, who was that wolf," he asks. Infinite watches Saura look down as she shivers a bit. The wolf then tries to look away, but the jackal wasn't having it. He gently has Saura look back up to him. "Come now Saura, I must know who he is," he gently commands.
Saura gulps a bit as she has her eyes look down. "Th-that was Nevil… H-he is- er, was… my uncle," she admits. The wolf then starts to remember the stuff her uncle said and starts shivering with tears in her eyes. Out of instinct, Saura quickly jumps to Infinite into a tight embrace. She couldn't see the jackal had a surprised look on his face since the wolf hugs him out of nowhere. She feels Infinite's arms around her which helps her calm down a bit. "He's the r-reason why I don't talk much. I-I wanted help to defend m-myself, so I went to m-my uncle when my parents were stressed from th-their work. But then, he… he tried to hurt me the same way he did t-to others and told me my voice was th-the cause of everyone hating me… S-somehow, my parents and the police had found him a-and put him to death for his c-crimes," she explains. "But even after his d-death, my uncle still continues to t-torment me and showed me how cruel t-the world is…" she continues as the tears finally try to leave her eyes as new ones replace them. "H-he almost got me… After my p-parents passed, I felt so lonely and weak th-that I wanted it to end…" the wolf admitted. She felt the jackal's arms tighten around her a bit but doesn't pay attention too much to it. "I guess I have m-my parents' spirits to thank for s-stopping me… So, I decided to g-give the world another chance, but I v-vowed to only speak when I-" Saura was suddenly interrupted by Infinite, who slams her a bit back to the wall as his hands are on both of her shoulders.
"Enough," Infinite mumbled in a shaky voice. While he listened to Saura on the part where she almost committed suicide, the pain he felt before in the cell had returned. He had no idea that Saura had to suffer through all that damage during and before the war. Perhaps if he met her earlier, he could've protected her and prevented all of that. The jackal takes in deep breaths as he hugs Saura again. He needs to calm down before he feels- No, he's not weak! He will not accept it! Infinite needs to think of something else to not feel weak! He then remembers another question he has for Saura. "Your parents… you said they've passed… how did they die?" he asks while shivering a bit. He can't explain it, but now Infinite is really nervous about the answer to that question. No, he fears it! If what happened to her parents is the same answer he thinks, he can't forgive himself.
Saura feels Infinite shaking. Why is he afraid? Is it what she said? She doesn't know if she should answer him now… To be honest, the wolf has no idea on how her parents died. All what she was told is that Eggman and his army came to the city her parents were at and she was brought back a notice on her loss. "I… I don't know…" she replies with a small sigh. "All I was t-told was what happened and they're d-dead due to an E-Eggman attack. So, I just took the blame to Eggman, b-but I felt so weak and helpless to do something a-about it," she added. Saura feels Infinite continue to shiver a bit and flinches a little. "B-but, don't worry about it. I-if it really was you… I… I won't take revenge out on you… It won't really solve a-anything. I only have a grudge o-on Eggman for his d-decisions," she says once more.
Infinite listens to Saura as he continues to hug her. So, the attack could be his fault. "I'm sorry," he apologized. The jackal looks down to the wolf even though he is currently hiding her face from him. He doesn't want to see it; he can't see that look of anger and disappointment on her face.
Saura tries to look at Infinite, but the back of his clawed hand is preventing her from looking at his face. She frowns as she wipes the tears out of her eyes. Hearing his apology had made her feel a little better. And, he also thought about her. That is what matters to her. The wolf hugs the jackal gently as he jumps in response. "Th-Thank you Infinite," she says with a smile. "And thank you again f-for what you and Sonic did b-back when those illusions happened… If it w-weren't for you both, I'd probably be d-dead or never speak a-again," she mentioned the time back at the other tower. "So, thank you for saving me," she added while blushing red as a nervous look appeared on her face. Finally gaining courage, Saura looks up to Infinite and places a gentle kiss on his cheek.
Infinite flinches a bit when he sees Saura look at him. But to his surprise, the wolf wasn't showing any anger nor disappointment on her face. Shock rose to the jackal as he suddenly feels the wolf's lips on his cheek. A blush formed on Infinite's face as he continues to stare at Saura. This is bringing him back to the time when the wolf had placed her lips on his at the other tower. The jackal's heart starts pounding at the memory of it and what Saura did just now. Infinite lets out a growl, but it wasn't in anger. He places his forehead on the wolf's forehead as he has his eyes closed. Keeping his hold on the wolf's head and waist, the jackal deep breaths a tiny bit. "Saura, can you kiss me again?" he lightly requested.
Saura blushes at Infinite's request. Why is he asking her to do that? The wolf feels the jackal tighten his hold a bit. She looks up and noticed he still has his eyes closed. Gulping a bit, Saura leans close to Infinite despite him growling a bit. She stops when she realizes how close the two of them are, but she can't get out of his grasp. "Kiss me Saura," the jackal lightly commanded in a whisper. Saura shivers a bit as she continues to watch Infinite. Finally, the wolf gently places her lips on the jackal's.
Infinite blushes more the moment he feels Saura's lips on his. He returns the kiss with more passion as he tightens his hold on her. Feeling the wolf losing air, he pulls away to let her breath. While Saura tries to collect air, Infinite starts to give her neck kisses and nibbles. The jackal hears the wolf moan even though she is trying to stop herself from doing it. As he leaves out a smirk, he continues his kisses as he travels around her neck. But the moment he sees the scar, Infinite stops as he gently traces it with his finger. "Your uncle," he starts to mumble a bit quietly to himself. "He did this to you," he added with a frown. The jackal looks back to Saura, who is looking at him with a confused expression. Seeing the wolf's face, he smiles as he wraps one arm from her head to her shoulders and then his other arm from her waist to her legs, so he can lift her up.
Saura yelps as she clings on to Infinite. "I-Infinite, what are you doing?" she asks as she starts to show a nervous look. The jackal didn't say anything as he starts walking up to a bed and places the wolf on it. Saura blushes red as she sits up quickly, but she was suddenly caught in a lip-lock by Infinite. She blushes and stares in shock until she finally gave in after a few seconds. The wolf starts to return the affection as she wraps her arms around the jackal's neck. She hears Infinite moan as he pushes the kiss deeper. Saura then feels his tongue licking her lips for entrance. Blushing and shivering a bit, the wolf grants the jackal access as she feels his tongue now in her mouth. Saura then feels her back land on the bed again as Infinite towers over her and continues his little affection. Finally, the jackal pulls away from the wolf to stare at her with a trail of saliva connected to their lips. She then feels Infinite place another peck on her lips as he makes his way to the other side of her neck and starts to shower it with more kisses and nibbles. Saura lets out a moan as she unconsciously snuggles to the jackal. The wolf feels something sharp on her neck. She gasps a bit as she tightens her hold in response. "I-Infinite?" she questions.
Infinite had placed a soft bite on Saura's neck. Hearing Saura call out to him, he places gentle kisses on the spot he bit her at as he looks at her. "Yes Saura?" he responded. The jackal watches the wolf deep breathing a bit while looking at him. He then gently traces Saura's cheek and neck with his finger. While doing that, he starts to move his other hand down further, but then a pair of hands had grabbed his wrist. Looking at the source, he sees it was Saura who is showing a really nervous look and a shade of red on her face. "What's the matter Saura?" he asks the wolf.
Saura knows what Infinite plans to do. But the problem is, she isn't ready… She wants to wait a bit longer. Plus, there is still a war going on and a mission she needs to complete, showing Infinite what a friend is. "I-I'm not ready," she says to the jackal while shivering. The wolf's face got redder when she feels the jackal rubbing her cheek a bit.
"Come now Saura. There is nothing the be afraid of," Infinite reassures Saura. The jackal then places his lips on the wolf's cheek as he nuzzles to her neck. "Just relax," he says to try and sooth Saura. Infinite starts to plant kisses on the wolf's neck to help distract her a bit. He hears Saura gasp as she tries to hold back her moans. Unfortunately, the wolf still refuses to release the jackal's wrist. Not only that, she even started to whimper and shiver a bit. Infinite flinches a bit with a tiny, quiet growl. He wants to take these feelings to the next level; but at the same time, he doesn't want to frighten Saura. Once he's calm, the jackal lets out a small sigh as he moves his clawed hand away from the wolf's hands, so he can wrap it around her shoulders. "Very well Saura," he finally says. Infinite soon sits up and pulls Saura into a gentle embrace. He feels the wolf snuggle up to him which caused him to smile. Wrapping his tail around her, the jackal places his chin on the wolf's head. It's been a while since he felt this relaxed.
But that moment ended when the alarms went off. This caused Infinite and Saura to jump a bit as they release each other to get up. Realizing who the intruders are, the jackal growls in anger. "So that hedgehog and his friends had found a way in," he growled. Infinite walks to where he left his mask at and places it back on his face. He looks to Saura and sees her where the wispon is at. This got him to growl more. "Drop it Saura," he commands.
Saura, the moment she heard the alarm, had a feeling her friends need her help. When Infinite went to get his mask, she took this time to go get her Lightning Wispon. When she hears the jackal tell her to drop her wispon, the wolf frowns as she shakes her head. She flinches when Infinite quickly got a few inches in front of her, but she keeps her ground and hides the wispon behind her. She remembers her objective and looks to the jackal. "Please Infinite, d-don't hurt Sonic and the others," she pleaded. "Y-you don't need the Phantom Ruby n-nor Eggman to help you get what you w-want. You also don't need to ch-change the world," she added as she takes a step back.
Infinite growls at Saura who took another step back. "You obviously had not been listening to me when I told you my story," he says to the wolf with disappointment. "Who else would be there with me if I were to stop my plans? No one! I will be all alone in this pathetic world," he added with a glare. "So, why should I be suffering if I can just make the world suffer?" he questions.
Saura's frown increased as she shivers a bit from Infinite's glare that she can barely see. "That's not true! I-I've heard your story Infinite, but th-that doesn't mean you should g-give up and rely on that gem," she says to the jackal. "You won't b-be alone in this world. I know that f-for sure there will be someone w-with you," she added. The wolf walks up and uses her free hand to reach out to Infinite gently, but to her surprise he slaps her hand away from him.
Infinite's growls increased when he listened to Saura. After he slaps her hand away, he continues to glare at her. "You say I won't be alone, but it seems you don't know what it's like to be alone," he shouts at the wolf! The jackal then smacks Saura hard that it sends her to the ground. The wolf lets out a yelp from the hit as she falls to the ground. She lifts herself up until she's on her hands and knees. The smack she received from Infinite didn't hurt, but the actions and words he said to her do. She stares at the ground with shock and rejection as her tears returned. She never thought she would face this pain again, but of course it had to happen…
"It always does…"
Saura recollected Infinite's words as the sadness continues to grow along with another emotion, anger. He thinks she didn't listen to her story, then it seems he didn't do the same for her. With her bangs covering her eyes, she slightly looks back to the jackal. Her anger increased when she sees him just staring at her. She then gets up to her feet and fully turns to look at Infinite in the eye and ignored his flinch. "I may not know what it is like physically, but I DO know what it is like mentally," she starts to say without the shaking tone. It's just like the time she tried to warn Tails about Nevil. "I had my parents, yes; however, that doesn't mean I was never alone! Before I joined the resistance, I never once had a friend! And when I do try, I was always mentally attacked by my uncle or physically rejected by someone! That's why I vowed to never speak until I meet someone I trust until now," she continues as her volume increased. The tears on her face start to fall as she looks away from the shocked masked jackal. "I guess my uncle is right about me: I really am worthless and weak. The weakest wolf that ever exists," she added quietly.
"Finally, you are admitting what I have been telling you for years.."
Infinite listened with shock and regret as he stops his growling. The moment he saw Saura's face filled with sadness and anger, he realized what he's done. The jackal also took in what the wolf said as the regret continues to build up. He should've known better than to talk about loneliness with Saura; she knows exactly what it's like. The wolf made that perfectly clear when Sonic asked how long she's been on her own, thirteen years. Thirteen years of pain. Thirteen years of being alone. Thirteen years of no help from the outside world. Infinite tries to walk up to Saura. Unfortunately, the wolf caught his actions and backs away from him. "Saura, I-"
"And don't start with saying I now have friends! Yes, Sonic and his friends are my friends. But my uncle is right about one thing: when this war is over after a few weeks, everything will go back to the way it was! Except this time, I WILL be alone. Sonic and his friends will move on to stop whatever evil scheme Eggman has next, but I guess you don't care as long as you have that ruby," she states while interrupting Infinite! Saura shivers as she tries hard to not let her emotions get the best of her but is failing. "I can't believe I fell in love with you," she shouts at Infinite! Realizing what she just said, the wolf looked shock as she covers her mouth with both hands while holding the Lighting Wispon.
"Oh? So, you're admitting that too? Too bad, it seems he doesn't feel the same. What will you do now?"
Saura tenses as she continues to stare in shock.
"I know you're listening. Why don't you answer my question."
Saura suddenly froze as she looks straight at Infinite; but instead, she sees someone else, someone very familiar! Saura shivers as she suddenly sees brown fur instead of black and white along with a pair of hazel eyes instead of just one yellow eye behind a mask. She... she needs to get out of here now!
Infinite froze when he hears Saura's confession. This wolf is… No, it can't be! Is that what those feelings were when he's near her? The more he thinks about it and hears Saura's confession, the jackal feels his heart beating fast. So, it's true; he's in love with Saura, and she feels the same way with him! Without realizing it, Infinite removes his mask off his face; that way, he can look at her straight in the eyes. But once the jackal tries to take his mask off, Saura uses her wispon to break the door open. Once the mask is off, Infinite sees Saura make a run-for-it! "Wait, Saura," he calls out to the wolf! He tries to block her by using the red cubes from the Phantom Ruby, but Saura dodged it and uses her grabbling hooks to escape. The jackal tries to reach out to the wolf but then realizes what he's done. Saura confessed her feelings and he had rejected her when she reached out to him. Infinite shivers as he has his hands to fist. He must catch her, and he needs to do it fast! There is no doubt Sonic and his friends will find her soon! Growling, he tosses his mask away and runs off to find Saura.