See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer
Chapter 7: Shadow's Guilt and Infinite's Regret
Previously on Light of Hope 2...
Infinite was taken aback by the thief's voice, it sounded like a voice he had heard before. He stepped towards them and threw their hood back to reveal them to be a young male jackal wearing a green beret who had bloodshot eyes and dark bags beneath them, and a small trickle of blood dripping down the side of his lip. Infinite gasped in shock as gazed upon the terrified face of the jackal before him, he felt his breath hitch and his heart rate quicken.
"L-L-Levi?! I...is that you?"
And now...
The young jackal looked back at Infinite with fearful confusion, "W-w-who are you? And...h-h-how do you know my n-n-name?", he asked. Infinite cautiously took a step forward and crouched in front of him, "Levi, its me. Its Zero", he said. Levi took a moment to really look at the jackal that squatted in front of him, he wasn't sure whether he was telling the truth or not but then he looked at his eyes...those same heterochromic eyes with a white scar across the right eye.
"z-z-Zero...? Boss...?...Oh my Chaos! It is you! I can't believe it, you're alive!", he shouted as he burst into tears and thrusted himself into Infinite's arms. Infinite smiled as he hugged the youngest member of his former squad, he himself was also overjoyed to find out he was still alive. But the wonderful moment was ruined when Levi started coughing violently again, Infinite pulled away to see that as he coughed into his hand, blood was seeping through his fingers.
Infinite was horrified, "Levi, what's wrong with you?!", he shouted. "I-I-I have a few internal injuries, a couple of my ribs are broken and I think one of them has punctured my lung—"
Levi was cut off when he spotted Shadow standing behind Infinite, he let out a loud scream before it devolved into more bloody coughs. "Its him! Its the Hedgehog! Stay away from me, you bastard! You've taken enough from me already, you're not taking her too!", he shouted. Before Shadow could explain himself, Infinite stepped forward and gently grabbed Levi by the shoulders. "Levi, what are you taking about? Who's her? Are you talking about Tempest? Is she alive too?", he asked.
Levi looked down as he started crying again, "Follow me i-i-inside, Zero", he said as he led him, Shadow and Omega inside the base. When Levi flipped a large switch on the wall to turn on the lights, Infinite was horrified by what he saw: lying on a old tattered mattress was Tempest, she had a oxygen mask on her nose and mouth connected to a tube which was connected to the tank Levi had stolen; she had an I.V. drip attached to her left arm and, scariest of all, the lower half of her right leg was amputated and the remaining stump was wrapped in thick bandages.
Infinite slowly approached the only female member of his former squad and bent down near her head, gently running his hand through her hair, "W-w-what happened to her?", he asked. Levi dropped to his knees next to him, "After that Hedgehog kicked me in the chest, I blacked out. When I woke up, I found Tempest on the ground barely breathing; she passed out in my arms, I thought she was dead but I felt that she still had a pulse. She's in a coma now, has been for the last two and a half years.
"I've been stealing oxygen tanks to keep her breathing and I.V.s to keep her fed, as for the morphine and other painkillers, I stole them for me. My injuries hurt so much that I've been taking the painkillers to make them hurt less, but it's hard to breathe from time to time. As for her leg, it was broken so bad that I...I cut it off and I bandaged it the best I could", he said.
Infinite was taken aback by what he was just told, Tempest was in a coma and Levi was injured internally, and the latter was struggling to keep the both of them alive all this time by himself. "Wait, where are the others? Where's Crimson, Steel and Bruiser?", asked Infinite. Levi continued to cry as he pointed in the direction of three cryogenic tubes suspended on the wall; Infinite walked over to the tubes and wiped away the condensation to reveal the other three male members of his former squad, all of them frozen solid but they each had peaceful expressions on their faces as if they were merely asleep.
"Are...are they...alive...?", Infinite struggled to get out as he gazed upon his comrades frozen bodies. "No boss, they're all dead. After I got Tempest situated here at this old unused base, I went back for them but when I checked them out, I found out that none of them had a pulse. I dragged their bodies back here and tried to see if this place still had power, turns out it did. Despite the fact that I was weak and tired, I managed to build those cryo chambers out of the parts I found in here and I put them inside. I couldn't bury them right away but I didn't want them to start rotting and attracting bugs, so I froze them to keep them "fresh" so to speak", Levi sobbed.
Suddenly he began coughing again only this time, the blood came out in chunks; Infinite rushed to his side as Levi's eyes began to glaze over, "No! No! No! I'm not losing you as well! Shadow, we have to get him to the hospital now!", he shouted. Shadow nodded as he helped Infinite lift Levi's limp body off the ground and into his arms, that's when he took a look at Tempest. "What about her? We can't just leave her alone", he said.
Infinite thought about it for a minute before he got an idea, "Omega, I need you to gently pick up Tempest and carry her with us to the hospital. Do not, under any circumstances, disconnect her from that oxygen tank! As far as we know, that's the only thing keeping her alive", he said. "Affirmative, direction acknowledged", responded Omega as he carefully lifted Tempest with one hand and lifted the oxygen tank connected to her in the other. "Alright, now both of you grab onto to me", said Shadow as he pulled out his green Chaos Emerald, "Chaos Control!"
Mere seconds later, they reappeared inside the hospital lobby, once again scaring the ever-loving crap out of the staff and patients. "Ugh, you people really need to stop doing that! I know this is a hospital but that doesn't give you license to give everyone heart attacks", said Dr. Reiner. "Doctor please help me! My friend here, he's dying!", Infinite shouted as held Levi out for the doctor to see. Dr. Reiner was horrified when Levi coughed up more blood and even started speaking funny due to the delirium he was suffering from because of the blood loss.
"Oh my Chaos, what happened to him?!", asked Dr. Reiner. Shadow remained quiet and stood away with a guilty expression on his face, but Infinite stepped forward on his behalf. "I'm not sure how this happened but he told me he had some broken ribs and one might've punctured his lung. Just hurry up and help him!", shouted Infinite. Dr. Reiner nodded and turned to the nurses, "Go and prep the operating room immediately, and tell my best surgeons to get themselves scrubbed down and ready to operate", he said.
"Count me in too, you're gonna need my help!"
The group turned to see Nyx walk into the hospital while being escorted by Metal Sonic, "Nyx what on Mobius are you doing here? You should be at home resting...and...uh...", Infinite trailed off as he suddenly felt awkward due to a certain elephant in the room. "Its okay Infinite, I'm not gonna act that way. Orbot and Cubot gave some herbal tea and Metal Sonic forced me to take a muscle relaxant, I'm completely calm and collected now.
"Also you weren't at home when I woke up and you weren't answering your cell phone, so I had Metal track the cell phone signal and it led us here. I overheard everything and we'll discuss it later, right now, this poor boy needs our help", said Nyx as Metal Sonic helped her put on some scrubs. "But Dr. Snowfall, you're currently on maternity leave! You shouldn't be here, it could be hazardous to you and your unborn child!", said Dr. Reiner.
"Alex, that kid is family and as long as his life's in danger, I'll always help him. Plus, I know to take the necessary precautions; just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm ignorant and besides, when it comes to emergency surgeries, I'm the best damn doctor in this hospital for the job. Now get that kid to the OR and tell the anesthesiologist to have the sedatives ready, in the meantime the rest of you nurses get that poor girl to another room and put her on an adequate life support machine", Nyx commanded as she quickly took charge of the situation.
Nobody argued with her as they proceeded with their designated tasks, with Nyx and the other surgeons wheeling Levi to the operating room and a group of nurses taking Tempest to another room to be hooked up to life support. Later on, Shadow and Infinite were sitting in the waiting room; both were very tense about the entire situation. Suddenly Omega approached the two of them, "You have been sitting here for approximately three hours, so the female wolf designated as 'Dr. Snowfall' insisted I bring you food items from hospital's eating facilities", he said.
He held his large metal hands to reveal that in one he held two wrapped up sesame seed bagels and in the other he held two cups of coffee; Shadow and Infinite quietly accepted their food and drinks as they continued to sit in total silence.
"Infinite, I'm sorry".
Infinite was taken aback when he heard Shadow apologize and when he turned to see the sorrowful and guilty expression on his face. "I'm sorry for what I did to your squad, if it wasn't for me Levi wouldn't be fighting for his life, Tempest wouldn't be in a coma and the other three wouldn't be a bunch of corpsilces right now. I know I was on a mission to stop infiltrate Eggman's base at Mystic Jungle and that I needed to be prepared to take out anyone who stood in my way, but I didn't have to attack them this severely", said Shadow.
Infinite placed his hand upon his shoulder and gave him a sad smile, "Shadow, its not your fault. Its mine; my squad and I had actually gone after Eggman as capturing him would've fetched us a high bounty but then he used the Phantom Ruby on me and somehow I was convinced to have us work for him. He had my squad guard his base in Mystic Jungle, I remembered my squad trying to convince me to drop it but I wouldn't listen.
"I'm just now remembering that Levi was the most adamant out of all five of them, he was so scared and worried about me but I refused to listen to him. And now I deeply regret doing so, he's just a kid, I shouldn't have let this happen to him; he's too young to go through this kind of pain, he's been through enough", said Infinite. Shadow was now curious, "Wait...Infinite, how old was Levi when he first joined your squad?", he asked. Infinite inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, "He was fifteen years old", he said.
"F-f-fifteen years old?!", said Shadow. Infinite looked down at the ground sadly, "Yes, fifteen. Even now that two and a half years have passed, he's still just a kid; when I first met him, he was getting hassled by three tigers who claimed be owed them money. It wasn't until at least two weeks after he joined me that I found out what kind of life he had before we met", said Infinite.
~Flashback: Two and half years ago...~
Infinite and Levi were camped out by an oasis in the desert, munching on figs and a few frogs they caught in the water; after having dinner, Levi went to sleep while Infinite laid on his sleeping bag and stared up at the stars.
"Mmph!"
Infinite was pulled out of his stargazing when he heard Levi muttering in his sleep, he turned and saw him twitching and grumbling, his face contorted in fear and pain. "Levi, what's wrong?", said Infinite as he gently placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. Levi suddenly screamed out as he began clawing at his sleeping bag, "NO! Dad, please stop! I'll be good, I promise! Please stop! I-I-it hurts!", he shouted.
Acting quickly, Infinite picked up one of his canteens and splashed some cool water onto Levi's face; the young jackal suddenly woke up with a startled gasp, "Z-Zero? Why did you throw water at me?", he asked. Infinite gave him a stern yet concerned look, "You were having a nightmare but I feel it was more like you were reliving a bad memory, and I want to know what it is. I promise I won't judge you, I only want to help you", he said.
Levi began crying as he threw himself into Infinite's arms, "Zero, it's just awful! When I was little, my mom died; my used to be a really nice guy when she was still alive but after she died...he changed. He started drinking and...he became more aggressive, especially around me. He would go out and gamble, and whenever he lost, he'd that his anger out on me and beat me senselessly. Then...one day...he...he...oh Chaos...", Levi found it difficult to continue as his body shook from the sobbing and he began whining like an injured dog.
Infinite held him close and stroked his head gently with his hand, "Its okay, Levi. Take your time, don't push yourself if you can't handle it", he said in caring voice. Levi took a deep breath before he continued to speak, "Okay. One night, Dad came home from another one of his poker games a lot drunker than usual; I had been borrowing money from Tony and his gang to pay off his debts. He came into my room smelling of whiskey and sweat, he was babbling on and on about the money he won and then he started apologizing to me for beating me up.
"He kept saying over and over that he was sorry, that I'm a good son and that he was just mad about losing his money, but he won and now things would be better; he then kept telling me he loved me and then...he got too close to me, his face was close to mine and I could smell his breath, it smelled awful. The Dad...he...he put his lips on mine! He started making out with me, I tried to get him to stop but he was bigger than me and stronger and he wouldn't stop! Then he grabbed my pants and—"
"Levi, its okay, you can stop. I don't need to hear more and quite frankly, I don't want to hear any more. But I want you to know that I'm here for you and I promise I'll always protect you, and if that bastard you call a father ever comes around you, I will personally introduce him to the sharp end of my sword", said Infinite. Levi smiled as he continued to hug his comrade, "Thank you...big brother", his said.
~End of Flashback~
Shadow was shocked by Infinite had just told him, "Are you saying he was...?", he trailed off as he didn't know how to respond to that. "Yes, Shadow. Levi was...molested by his father, and on that same night he ran away from home and decided to live on his own. He had trust issues before he met me and it wasn't until he joined me that he began to open up more, the others loved being around him and he loved to just talk and talk for hours about tech, he's kinda like Tails. I promised I'd keep him safe but I failed", he said.
Infinite had look of regret and sorrow on his face but Shadow placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile, "I guess we're both at fault but at least you can say that both of our reasons were somewhat justified, after all we both know that Eggman was the real one at fault. If it wasn't for him, your squad wouldn't have been forced to guard his base and I wouldn't have had to defend myself when they attacked me", he said. Infinite smiled back as he fist bumped Shadow.
Just then, a male rabbit nurse walked up to the duo. "Excuse me, Mr. Jackal, but I'm pleased to inform you that Levi's surgery went well and he's resting in the recovery room; it'll be a few hours before he'll wake and right now its best not to disturb him. In the meantime, I'd like to also inform you that the female jackal you also brought in has awakened from her coma", he said.
Infinite was shocked by what he heard as he got up and ran to the room where Tempest was recovering; she was currently being looked over by a nurse when Infinite burst into the room. She was shocked when she saw him, "Z-Z-Zero? Is that you...?", she said softly. Infinite had a wide smile on his face when he saw her awake, albeit a little weak and frail looking. "Tempest, you're awake! Look at you, you still look so beautiful! How are you now?", he said.
Tempest's lip quivered as tears began running down her face, "I m-m-miss you...so m-much...", she sobbed. Infinite slowly approached her and held her in a loving embrace, "Don't cry, Tempest. I'm here now, and this time, I promise to keep you safe", he said as he stroked her rather smelly and dry hair. He let her cry on his shoulder, it didn't matter what happened now, Infinite hadn't really lost his squad; granted, three of them were now dead and would soon need a proper burial but he still had Levi and Tempest, and for Infinite that was still alright.
He still had his brother and sister with him.
Author's Note: Well that ends Chapter 7, and more about Infinite's relationship with his squad members has been revealed. What will happen to Levi and Tempest now that they are not only alive but now have significant health problems? Find out next time in Chapter 8; until then, this is SuperKirbyLand234 signing out!