Omega felt as if her world was on fire. She didn't think her body would have caved in so fast. One minute she was okay and the next she felt herself make contact with the forest floor. Omega wanted to say something; to pick herself up like she had seen her brothers do many times before, but she couldn't even move her lips to communicate. Her mind was wild. She had no idea what was happening, only that she should have said something earlier before everything got out of hand. The only thing comforting her in the moment was knowing that Hunter had her. She could feel that they were moving, which at the speed he was going at, made her nauseous.
Hunter moved as fast as he could through the brush. He held Omega close, like it was the last time he would ever hold her. Out of everyone, it had to be her to endure the poisonous plant. Hunter hated that he didn't notice before it was already too late. He had heightened senses, out of everyone, he should have known first. He was also partially annoyed that Tech didn't say anything when he obviously thought Omega was hiding something...but he was the leader. Everyone's safety was his job. Hunter looked down at the barely conscious Omega; the guilt eating away at him.
"I'm sorry, Omega," he whispered, holding her tighter. From the distance, Hunter was relieved that the Marauder was in sight. "We're almost there, kid. I promise everything will be just-"
A loud roar echoed through the forest. Hunter stopped abruptly. Whatever creature made that sound was close by. Hunter could feel the animal's presence. It was watching them from a hidden spot.
"'unter?" Omega rasped. "What's...going on?"
Hunter caught a glimpse of a hollowed out tree a few feet away. It would have to do. He quickly made his way over, carefully setting Omega down.
"Omega, I need you to stay here, okay? I'll just be a minute, I swear."
"Hunter, I'm scared." Omega cracked open her eyes. On top of feeling worse than the aftermath of some experiments she went through on Kamino, Hunter was acting nervous and from what she knew, that meant something bad was happening.
Hunter reached out, taking Omega's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I've got everything under control. I'll be right back."
Before Omega could respond, the loud roar returned. This time it was right on top of them. Hunter rolled out of the way, just in time to dodge a dangerously large claw that would have taken off his head if he waited a second later.
A large furry creature with glistening fangs and claws that looked sharper than metal, stood on its hind legs.
"What the heck are you?" Hunter questioned, gazing in awe at the beast-like creature. He had never seen anything like it.
The animal growled as Hunter slowly reached for his blaster. The Sergeant kept a steady eye contact with it, not wanting to make any sudden moves that might aggravate it more than it already was. The creature watched Hunter like a hawk as if it knew what he was reaching for. The second Hunter's hand made contact with his blaster, the animal jumped at the clone without any hesitation.
Hunter didn't have time to prepare. He could feel one of the claws penetrate his armor, digging into his shoulder. Both him and the beast screamed in pain as they laid on the ground. Hunter closed his eyes, pushing past the pain as he forced himself to get up. He clutched his bloody shoulder as he trudged past the thing that attacked him that now had a smoking blaster hole in its neck.
"O-Omega?"
Hunter's heart raced when there was no response. He knelt down, finding that Omega had passed out, her head laid on one shoulder.
"No no no. Come on, kid. Stay with me." The Sergeant carefully, ignoring the fire that his wound was sending, picked up the sleeping girl. Her skin was warm. Way too warm if he could feel it through his gloves. He also noticed that she had paled a lot more than she already was before. He had to get her to the Marauder. If she died because of him...he didn't even want to think about it. Hunter winced in pain as he struggled to carry Omega. The blood loss from his injury was weakening him. Black dots danced in his vision, tempting him to stop. After what felt like ages, his body finally gave out on him.
"No..." he croaked. It couldn't end there. Hunter tried to stand back up, but he couldn't move. Omega laid on his chest. He could hear her heartbeat slowing. Hunter closed his eyes hard, letting the tears escape. He had failed. The final thing he would ever hear would be Omega's heart ceasing to work.
"Hunter! Omega!" Wrecker's voice shouted in the distance.
Hunter didn't respond.
A blur of images flashed by. She didn't remember much, but she did hear the horrifying shouts of pain along with the terrifying screech from the thing that caused it. Hunter was dying and she couldn't do anything about it. Omega wanted to cry, but she couldn't move. She couldn't see. She was stuck listening to the sounds of him trying to live. He couldn't leave her. It was too soon, but yet here they were. She was useless while he had done everything to save her. The last image of him was left to her imagination. Cold and bloody.
"HUNTER!"
Omega shot up, panting as she looked around desperately.
"Whoa, easy there, Omega." Echo gently took hold of her shoulders. "It's okay now. You're safe."
Omega shook her head, the tears starting to flow. "H-Hunter? Is he...?"
"Hunter's a little banged up. Tech's with him right now." Echo's heart hurt for her. He wondered how much she was awake for the whole ordeal. When they found the pair, Hunter was completely out while Omega seemed to be going dangerously in and out of consciousness.
"Can I see him?" Omega asked in a small voice. Tech had wanted her to rest, but Echo knew that she wouldn't until she saw Hunter. It went both ways for the two. Each had to know where the other was despite their own condition.
"Sure, 'Mega." Echo helped her off the little cot, letting her hold onto him since her legs were still a bit wobbly from the effects of the poison.
"I'm fine, Tech. Really." Hunter's voice carried from the cockpit. "I've had much worse and you know that."
Echo knocked on the door, clearing his throat. "Hey, Tech. I got someone who wants to see your patient."
"You can send her in."
Omega burst through the doors. "Hunter!" She crashed into the Sergeant, face buried into his chest.
"Omega-"
"It's okay, Tech, " Hunter said quietly as he winced at the slightest bit of sudden movement. He smiled down at the girl in his arms. For a brief second, he almost didn't think that it was possible. She shouldn't have been so forgiving of him when he came so close to letting her die.
Omega pulled away. Her eyes still red from crying and tiredness. "I thought you were gonna—I heard everything and couldn't." Her words choked up in her throat.
"You couldn't have done anything different, kid. It was my fault completely." She was dying for crying out loud. How was he the one she was thinking about during a time like that?
"Lucky for us, the others weren't far behind." He sent a grateful nod to Echo, Tech and Wrecker.
"You really had us there for a sec, Sarge," Wrecker said, rubbing the back of his neck. The blood upon arriving at the scene was very misleading. For a minute, he thought the worst had happened.
"Sorry about that, Wrecker." It was the second time he had caused the batch to lose faith in him. First Bane and now this.
"Well the mission wasn't a total failure. Echo found the plant that we came here for."
Omega perked up. That news made her feel a little better. She was already guilty about causing the mission to go off the rails, but that doubled when Hunter got hurt trying to get her back to the Marauder. She was glad that they had at least got what they came for.
"That's good. This job paid well. Maybe we could take a week off to regroup." Hunter looked at Omega. She had been through a lot. She needed a break from all the action.
"Good idea, Hunter. Omega and you need to rest." Tech gave him a look, knowing exactly what he meant. He turned to Omega. "Speaking of rest, you need to be getting to bed. It's best if you sleep the medicine off."
Omega would argue with him, but she was too tired to. "Night, Hunter." She wrapped her arms around Hunter one last time.
Hunter carefully knelt down, patting the young clone on the back. " G'night, Omega. Get some rest." He gently pressed his lips to her forehead before sending her off to Wrecker.
"That's the first time I've seen you do that," Echo commented. "I think you should show that side of you more often to her." He didn't miss the slight shock on Omega's face after.
Close calls made him more emotional, but he guessed it wouldn't hurt to be more open. Omega had told him before about some parts of her childhood on Kamino. She wasn't shown any affection from Nala Se or anyone for that matter. Hunter was never one for being affectionate like Wrecker was, but he found himself easing up on it the longer it was since leaving Kamino with Omega.
"I will."
Sorry this felt a bit rushed. I've had a long day haha. Happy Friday!!