"The most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said and never explained." - Author Unknown

~~~~

After the crushing fact that there was no force on or off Mobius that would revive the Squad, Infinite became extremely reclusive. He absolutely refused to allow anyone to enter his room and turned violent when he was either ordered to leave his room or dragged by his tail. When the latter happened, the whole building was susceptible to hearing his violent screaming.

Late at night, as an invisible moon stood high in the sky, Infinite sat huddled in a dark corner of his bed. The broken canine raised his head once for a commanding bark and a small, cookie-cutter robot entered with some food.

Since the canine commander had begun destroying anything that suddenly entered his room, robots with things for Infinite waited until his bark. This robot had an assortment of fruits and some small, entree-styled foods.

Infinite grabbed a full bunch of grapes from one of the robot's dishes, then pulled all of the purple ovals off the branches at once with his teeth. He placed the now-empty branches back onto its original dish and stared at the wall while he ate. "Commander of mindless beings... that's where I've ended up without them... not even that! Commander of piles of metal whose only ambition is another's. That's where I've gotten without them..."

At about this moment, the robot held out one of the dishes to the jackal, almost as if it had been programmed to do so when it sensed distress.

Infinite took a number of various foods from the robot and shoved them in his face. "Who am I kidding?" He began with mouth full. "I'm nothing on my own... I'm nothing without her." With his physical desire for nourishment fulfilled for the moment, he shooed the small little robot away, leaving him completely alone in his room.

As the invisible moon flew higher and the night dragged on, Infinite had pressed himself up against the window's edge. The minute amount of light given from the stars was absorbed by the black hole of his eyes, not a trace of a twinkle found in them during this lonely hour.

But as the stars' minimal light crept in, something did find it within itself to sparkle.

Infinite turned his head slightly as the unanticipated light caught the corner of his eye. The light was coming from the box of Infinite's belongings that the jackal had shoved under the table.

For some reason, the shimmer called out to Infinite and he crawled on his four paws over to the box, peeking in.

His breath caught in his throat as he found and lifted the item which was responsible for the sparkling, an almost-patchwork-style shawl that was completely handmade, with the front of the shawl being a violet-black material that shimmered the violet when in contact with light. Infinite remembered where the shawl had come from: he had designed it himself many years before; after an event that he'd thought he'd forgotten.

"Hey, Amara? It's Infinite, may I come in?" A twenty-five-year-old jackal called softly into a locked room. He had a paw pressed against the door and waited as footsteps sounded and the door unwillingly unlocked. Infinite opened the door to find his girlfriend return to a curled position against the wall. "You know it's not healthy to lock yourself up..."

"Just- What do you want?" Amara tucked her head away from him, voice almost cracking.

"Well, it's almost your birthday and... the guys and I were wondering... is there something you'd like?" As soon as he finished, she began to shudder.

"I want my baby back!" She replied with a wailing yell, breaking down into tears while she gripped her stomach. A few months before, Amara was expecting their first child, a baby girl. However, one morning a few weeks after finding out about their little one, Amara dropped to the ground in pain. Their medic, Cor, was quickly brought in and after an examination, told them that their daughter was gone.

Both were wracked beyond words, but Amara just couldn't seem to bear the fact that the little one that she'd been so careful to protect had died. Her body had a difficult time returning to normal afterward and her instincts just didn't seem to work the way they were supposed to. Even after Cor had gotten the child out of her, her mind was certain that she had delivered a healthy pup and she tried to nurse.

That was probably the worst memory that Infinite possessed, him helpless as he watched his devastated other trying to feed a hardly developed pup that obviously wasn't breathing. Just the fact that there was absolutely nothing that he could do to revive their baby was the worst feeling that he'd ever felt. Even if he was able to get the pup's heart beating again, it would instantly die again since it was no longer connected to Amara.

It took the entire Squad plus Cor and Lusk, who had come as soon as he heard, to take the deceased child from its mother. Once the pup was back with Cor, the last thing that he did with it was take a tiny sample of blood to determine the pup's gender at Amara's plea. A female pup had been lost.

Infinite slightly twiddled his claws together as he thought of how to respond to her cry. "You have no idea how much I wish I could bring her back, Mara. If I could, I would have saved you both that day so neither of you would have had to feel pain." He stepped closer to Amara, then bent down to her eye level. "But our daughter, our Genesis, is gone." Infinite sniffled and gripped her paw. "There's nothing you nor I can do and you know that. The only thing I can do is be here with you. Why don't you come out for a little? It's been quite a while since the guys have seen you and you look like you haven't eaten in a while."

Amara nodded, letting Infinite wipe tears from her eyes. "Okay..." She stood up and pressed against his side, gripping his paw tighter than he was gripping her back.

The rest of the Squad, including Cor and her dad, were very happy to see her out after she had forced herself into isolation, even if she still wasn't herself.

Infinite himself had crafted the shawl by hand, he had learned how so that he could surprise Amara when Genesis was born. After spending time with her that day, Infinite dug out the unfinished garment and completed it as a patchwork to still give her something special.

"Happy birthday, Amara!" Infinite declared as he kissed her cheek. She had just turned twenty-four and had perked up a little in recent weeks after being with the Squad.

Lusk gave her a light hug. "We love you, darling."

"I love you too, Dad, and Infinite." She smiled a little.

"I have something for you. Turn around."

Amara was confused, but she turned without question. A few moments after she finished turning, she felt Infinite place something over her shoulders. "Infinite... what is this?"

"It's a little comfort thing. I made it. Originally it was going to be a surprise for when Genesis came but..." Infinite smiled awkwardly.

"I love it." She clutched the black and violent edges together. "Thank you."

"You're welcome... sit here, will you?" He sat down on the couch and waved a little, Amara sitting down next to him and curling up. He began to point out the different colored portions of the shawl. "I made this like it is to show you how far you've come. This part is for how you were abused, this part is for your addiction." He continued pointing out parts until he came to the front. "And this one is for our baby. She might not be here anymore, but she'll always be with us. We may not be getting to meet her here on Mobius, but Genesis will always be in our hearts. We did have a daughter, that never changed, she just arrived as an angel." Infinite gripped her shoulders. "Amara, I promise, when you just feel shattered, I'll hold the broken pieces together with my paws." He kissed her forehead. "You can count on me."

Infinite placed the shawl around his neck and clutched it the same was that Amara did when he gave it to her. Her scent was still present, which made the hollow void in his heart pulse. It had meant so much to her for the three years that she had it. Whenever she was wounded, ill or sad, he could find her wrapped up into it. When they decided that they wanted to try having kids again, Infinite would place it on her right after mating in hopes that they would receive a second chance from Heaven and that Amara would conceive.

Still breathing in Amara's scent and thinking about his fiancée and daughter, Infinite returned to the window. Once again sitting beneath it, he looked out. "Genesis?" He spoke into the night. "It's Daddy..." He brushed his paw against the black-violet fabric caressing his shoulders. "I've made a lot of mistakes recently, I assume that you've already heard, being in Heaven and all... your mom's in Heaven now, I wonder if you two have met. She loved you so much... she loved you until the day she died, and she still loves you now... I know she does." Infinite's breath caught in his throat. "I couldn't save her... I couldn't save you. They say love is always stronger than death, but mine couldn't keep either of you alive. I couldn't welcome you into the world; I couldn't keep her from the knife." He gripped the shawl a little harder as he began to tremble.

"Neither of you said that you were leaving... neither of you said goodbye... you were just gone... gone before I knew it..." He had to pause his conversation with his daughter to sob for a while, continuing once he was able to find the words again. "Genesis? Could you do me a favor? If you see her, if you see your mother... tell her... I need her..."

~~~~

A few days later as Infinite awoke from another dream, one about his late family, a little robot appeared. "Message for the commander." The robot laid the letter on the table then scooted out before the jackal could get to him.

"What now?" Infinite groaned, but went over and picked up the letter. No address or anything, huh... After staring at it for a while, Infinite opened the letter, only to be shocked as soon as he read the first four words.

Dear my unofficial son-in-law,

What the- Lusk?! Infinite's thoughts screamed. How'd he find me?!

You're probably wondering how I found you, huh? Well, a strange feeling came over me in the middle of the night, almost as if someone we both knew was trying to tell me something... I just had this chilling feeling that you felt alone and lost. I wasted no time in this letter (although let's be honest, Amara made it look so easy and I have no idea to check this for errors) to remind you that you're not alone. Amara and the Squad may be gone and her child cold, but you still have someone here. I remember that day so clearly, when you came home bruised and shaking, that those emotions reactivate as I write this. Amara is still watching over you at this very moment that you're reading, I know she is. Both her and Genesis will be with you forever and wherever.

I am still here on Mobius, thinking about you. If/When you ever decide to come back, I'm holding down the territory as if it were my own flesh. Never forget that someone is always looking out for you and that someone is also grieving with you.

Wish you the best as you cope,

Lusk

As soon as he finished reading the letter, Infinite darted over to the window and looked up into the dawn sky. "Thank you, Genesis... if this was you... thank you..."