Febuwhump Day 7: Forced To Watch

Febuwhump Day 7: Forced to watch

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warning: graphics depictions of violence

Hunter had been sitting in an empty room for a while now. The cold metal cuffed his wrist like tight bracelets. Short chains attached him to the wall. The mans knees ache and his legs felt numb and cold from sitting on them. He wished to move but he wore a matching set of anklets that kept his feet to the floor.

    The batch had been contacted by Rex to extract one of his clone contacts from the empire. Chex had been found out and he wasn't able to pick him up. The batch complied and left for Coruscant. They were able to grab him but Hunter had been separated from his family and cornered. He instructed them to leave and they reluctantly obeyed.

    "We gotta stop leaving people behind" Echo spoke. He had joined them for the mission and would now help with freeing his younger brother. "I'll contact Rex and let him know what happened."

    Omega uncomfortably shifted "Echo's right."

    Tech turned to the girl, "we couldn't have done anything Omega. We had to leave for our safety and for Chex's."

    "I'm sure Hunter's fine!" Wrecker chimed in. "He probably would have yelled at us had we gone to get him anyway!"

    That was true. Everyone at that point knew Hunter held the others life before his. That seemed to be a trait most clones had, most Jedi too.

    "I didn't mean to cause such a problem for y'all. Sorry." Chex held his hands behind his back, rubbing his fingers together nervously.

    "Na it's fine!" Wrecker slammed his hand on the regs back.

    "Your brother got captured! I can help you get him back if you need?"

    Tech sighed and turned around to face the others "We will be fine. It's not safe for you to go back to Coruscant and it would be a shame if we rescued you just for you to die." With that Tech turned back to piloting the ship.

    Chex opened his mouth to argue but decided he could convince them anyway.

    Crosshair walked into the room that held his former sargent.

    "Hello Crosshair."

    "You're working with the rebels I see" he began. "Such a shame."

    "Only this once" he stated. This wasn't true, they were working for Rex but no matter how hard Hunter might try the sniper wouldn't believe him.

    "I knew you couldn't stay out of trouble." Crosshair antagonized.

    "So why am I alive? Don't you kill traitors?"

    "I need information, I just have to wait a little longer."

    "Longer? What are you waiting for? You have your vibro-knife and I'm sure you can find other methods around here." Hunter pressed, hoping to take Cross off guard. It wasn't that he really minded not being tortured but the sooner it began the sooner it was over. He'd hoped Crosshair wouldn't do that to him but you don't always get what you hoped for, do you.

    "No amount of physical torment will get you to talk." This stuck fear into Hunter and the soldier saw it. No matter how hard his brother may try to hide it, his eyes betrayed him. "I just need the rest of your squad."

    "Crosshair what are you gonna do to them?" His voice wavered.

    "You'll just have to see." Hate, that's all Hunter heard in his brother's voice. He misses the slight caring sound that Crosshair's voice used to be laced with when he was with them. The door closed and Hunter was once more alone with his cruel mind.

    Crosshair was right, of course the batch came back for Hunter. They dropped Chex and Omega off with Rex. Rex didn't mind babysitting for he knew how dangerous infiltrating the empire was and didn't want the kid to get hurt. Omega attempted to argue but was shut down quickly by the harsh reality of the situation. The three 'adults' rushed back to Coruscant. They fell right into Crosshair's uncaring hands.

    Crosshair forced Tech into the cell Hunter occupied. He pushed the mercenary to he's knees in front of Hunter. Stepping on the others legs Crosshair placed two strong, half circle magnets over Tech's ankles and activated them.

    Attempting to free himself Tech tried to pull his leg up. He came to the conclusion that only Wrecker would be able to lift the magnets.

    "Tech" Hunter assessed his brother to find any injuries. He began to breathe again when he saw he was uninjured. "Where's-" Tech cut him off.

    "I'm not sure. I only know where Omega is and she's safe off world."

    Hunter sighed in relief. Now he just had to figure out how to get the others to safety.

    Crosshair pulled his vibro-knife out and stared into Hunter's eyes. "I'll give you one chance before I harm him."

    Hunter looked at Tech. Tech of course shook his head no. The leader looked back to Crosshair who sighed and stepped behind Tech. The clone prepared himself for the burning pain that came with knives. The knife easily slid over the victim's chest. He gasped and looked away from Hunter.

    Both understood what was happening, the batch had been trained to withstand large amounts of pain. Out of the two, Hunter had the bigger heart and would break before Tech would.

    "Hunter." Tech looked back up at him. Hunter met his eyes. "Don't tell him anything."

    Hunter nodded. From their it only got worse. Crosshair knew how to inflict unbearable pain. It used to work in their favor. None of them ever thought their brother could hurt them the way he hurt strangers. Now they seemed to be strangers with memories.

    The knife wasn't the only method of torment Crosshair had brought. Electricity would course though the mans body. Hunter could do nothing other than watch as his brother tore apart his other brother. As he continued Hunter started to fight against the chains. Despite to get help Tech he pulled and pulled, tiring himself. Warm blood ran over his hands from his wrist. Hunter didn't even know.

    Tech's screams shattered Hunter's heart. He would open his mouth to speak but Tech would stop him with a look or verbally if he could. He knew what was coming for him if this continued but he also knew the empire could never know that Rex was alive.

   Hunter once more opened his mouth. "No" Tech breathed. "It won't matter anyway." He struggled to speak but he knew he had to tell Hunter. "I'll... die anyway." Tech's voice was always sort of monotone. Hearing so much emotion and pain slip though his mouth scared them both. 

    Crosshair spoke over Tech's sobs and Hunter's soft crying, "you like taking Tech, you always have." He moved from his position next to Tech to behind him. Hunter fought the chains harder, not that he hasn't been fighting as hard as he could.

    Crosshair took the knife to a little bit under Tech's right tear duct and angled it at around seven o'clock. He slowly dragged the knife down until it retched the bottom of his face. The wound ran over his lips making it difficult but not impossible to speak.

    Tech's head was spinning, it had been for a while. The wounds he has received could not hurt him as much as the hopeless feeling that came with them. He hated that Hunter must be feeling the same way. Forced to watch as he slowly died, unable to help him. Somewhere in Hunter's brain he needed to protect them.

    "Tech!" Hunter had been calling for his brother for almost a minute now. Crosshair rose the knife again. "Wait" Hunter yelled. He looked at Tech who looked out of it. His breathing had become labored and blood ran down his face and body. "I'll tell you just please stop, you're gonna kill him!"

    The leaders broken screams pleased Crosshair. He'd won. "Go on."

    "Omega's" Tech coughed "with" his voice drifted. The clone used his last bit of energy trying to keep his little sister safe. He collapsed.

    "Tech!" Hunter stared at his brother helplessly.

    Crosshair kicked Tech to the side and kneeled down in front of Hunter. He grabbed his face and forced him to look him to the eyes, "look what you've done." He hissed.

    "No." Hunter whispered. "Is he?"

    "He is and it's your fault."

    The soft cry became a full sob. He was forced to watch his brother die. He couldn't save him. That helpless feeling made him sick.

    Crosshair stood and walked out the door, leaving Hunter to deal with his mind once more.

    Rex, Omega, and Chex knew something wasn't right. When Phee and Cid agreed they decided to contact Trevor, another informant of Rex's. Soon after the five would depart from Ord Mentell.

    Arriving the group located the brothers and snuck to break them out. Finding the cell block they stopped Infront of Wreckers cell. Omega went to open the door but Rex reached out his arm out, stopping her. "Be careful, I'm not sure what we're gonna find." Cautiously Omega opened the door.

    Wrecker looked up at his found family and smiled, "good to see ya!"

    "Not so loud!" Cid whisper yelled.   

    "Wrecker!" Omega ran to the large man and hugged him.

    "Hey kid" he spoke softly. "Let's go get the others."

    Walking down the hall the band kept the same cautiousness as before when opening the door. When Echo greeted them with a thankful smile, Rex let himself relax a little. Yes he cared for all of them but none of them fought beside him as long as Echo had. The two were close and Rex wasn't sure what he'd do if he lost Echo again.

    Now seven the group quickly moved to the cell Tech was supposed to occupy. Opening the door to not find him scared them.

    "Where's Tech? He's supposed to be here." Omega turned back to Rex. Rex looked at the adults, all assuming the worst.

    Echo kneeled down to Omega, resting a hand on her little shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find him." The group walked to Hunter's cell and paused. Phee pushed the combination into the panel and the door slid open.

    Inside Hunter leaned against the wall softly crying. Tech rested on the cold floor. The noise startled the leader and he looked up.

    Rushing into the room Omega ran to Hunter to release him of the heavy chains. The others spread across the room as Echo dropped to check on Tech. As eyes landed to Tech feelings rose. Anger, sadness, fear, everything.

    As soon as Hunter was free he attended to stand. His numb legs failed him and he collapsed. Phee caught him and gently placed him back on the ground. "Careful dark and broody, take your time. You're safe." Her soft voice took Hunter off guard and he leaned into her.

    "He wasn't. I failed him Phee. I could have saved him and now-" He couldn't say it.

    Phee ran her hands over his head and looked to the others. Was brown eyes dead?

    Echo checked Tech for a pulse. "He's got a pulse! It's weak but it's there!"

    Hunter quickly sat up and looked over to the others "Crosshair told me" he smiled softly"he's okay?"

    "Far from okay but yeah he's definitely alive." Cid shook her head.

    "It'll take more than that to kill Tech! He's too stubborn to die!" Wrecker walked over to Tech and picked him up, "now let's get out of here!"

    Hunter tried to stand again, some feeling in his legs had returned but he still wobbled. "Here" Phee grabbed the sergeant, "I gotta."

    The team made their way out of the cell block. Once outside the building Phhe set Hunter down. "Thanks." The clone felt somewhat embarrassed by Phee carrying him the whole way out but being close to someone was nice. He tried to get her to set him down a few times but she wouldn't budge.

    The group ran to the Marauder and headed back to Ord Mantell. Tech would be fine. When he'd wake up Hunter apologized profusely. Of course Tech wasn't even upset. He would have to get used to the mark across his face but that was miner. It would always remind Hunter of his failure to protect his brother. For Tech it was a reminder of the monster Crosshair had become.

    Hunter always hated that helpless feeling when he could help anyone, he always would. Being forced to watch what he thought was his brother's demise stayed with him, hunting his dreams forever.

Febuwhump Day 10: Difficulty Breathing

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warnings: Attempted murder and drowning

The sea of Kamino could be  beautiful. When it wasn't storming the sky's blue could compliment the sea very well. The storms however were common, making seeing the wonder of Kamino rare.

    It was a rather windy day. The sky was mostly clear with a possibility of rain in the later part of the day. Currently it was late morning; around 9:00. Tech liked watching the water. Today the waters were rough and choppy.

    Tech paid no attention to the regs that whispered behind him; he had no reason to. He walked closer and closer to the edge of the platform. The regs followed.

    Crosshair had a bad feeling. The rest of his brothers sat inside their barracks with him. Hunter was listening to the regs. He didn't think anything of it. The regs were mostly all talk. The man simply continued laying on the floor. Wrecker and Echo told each other stories and Crosshair cleaned his rifle.

    The regs inched closer to Tech. "Do you need something?" Tech turned around to face them. The clone closest to Tech smirked. "Can I help you?" Tech asked again.

    "Na I'm good." The clone answered. Tech recognized the trooper as Kitty.

    "Then why are you here?"

    "For this." With that Kitty pushed Tech over the edge. It didn't take long for him to hit the water. Had this been the normal platforms the soldier would have died on impact. This one was closer to the sea. He chose this platform because it made it easier to see the water.

    Hunter heard his brother's scream and sat up. He had left the barracks not to long ago simply to take a walk. The clone broke out into a sprint, raising his arm to contact Crosshair. "Cross get your rifle and meet me outside, one of the regs pushed Tech into the sea."

    "Understood." Crosshair answered immediately.

    The water was cold. Really cold. Tech's mind was both full and empty as he struggled to fight against the waves. His body was submerged in the water. He'd pull his head above the liquid only for the it to grab him again.

    Water entered his lungs making it difficult to breathe. Fighting in the fight of water vs man, water was winning and quickly.

    He felt like his life was flashing before his eyes. Tech felt helpless. With the lack of oxygen and the physical properties of trying to survive, Tech started to feel tired. He had to survive this; for his family, for himself, for the knowledge he hadn't learned yet, and for the people he was yet to help.

    Hunter ran out to the platform. He found the regs laughing, watching his younger brother drown. "Crosshair where are you?" Hunter's voice was laced with panic.

    "I'm almost there." Not even 30 seconds later Crosshair ran to meet Hunter.

    "Stay back" Hunter hissed at the regs. He'd watch them as Crosshair scanned the sea for Tech.

    He couldn't fight much longer. His body was exhausted and his lungs overworked. He seemed to both accept the fate that he thought was laid in front of him and not. He was both angry and eerily calm.

    Crosshair found Tech. He aimed and took his shot. The grappling hook grabbed him harshly and started to pull him up. Tech wasn't sure what was really going on until he saw Crosshair. Then he knew he was safe.

    The struggle was not over yet as Tech fought to breathe. His lungs had been working as hard as they could. He coughed, water coming up and out of his mouth. Even when the water was gone Tech breathed heavily.

   Air rapidly moved in and out of his lungs. The clone felt as if he couldn't breathe. It frustrated and scared him. Tech could barely hear Hunter calmly telling him to breathe.

    Hunter looked over Tech. The regs had abandoned the platform quickly after Hunter and Crosshair had arrived.

    Eventually Tech could breathe normally again. He hadn't moved from his place against the metal. Finally he noted how cold he felt. The wind only and this feeling worse. Standing Tech looked over to his brothers and thanked them.

    "I love you two. I may not stay that often or do much to reinforce this statement but I do." Tech stumbled closer to them.

    "I love you too Tech." Hunter put his arm under the others and helped him walk.

    "Love you" Crosshair grumbled.

    When the other members of the batch met up with the three Tech would repeat the same sentiment to them.

    "Awww love you too buddy!" Wrecker yelled. He went in for a hug but decided it would wait until Tech felt better.

    "Love you too Tech." Echo smiled and laid his hand on Tech's shoulder.

    For the first time Tech really thought about how lucky he was to end up with the four of them. Though it was sometimes hard to remember he tried to keep the thought of how lucky he was to be living and breathing with him.

Febuwhump Day 8: Panic

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch/Clone Wars

The batch looked around, it was only their second mission but it was important. They had their orders to assist the 212th on one of the middle rim planets. Still consided shinys Cody watched them closely to make sure they made it out of this hell hole alive. Of course he watched all his troops closely but he always watched shinys closer.

    Hunter had a lot on his mind. Of course there was the mission, but also the safety of his brother. As squad leader he had to keep them safe, it was his job. The planet was bright, it was bright and it was load. Sure Hunter had been born with his super senses but he'd never experienced something quite so much.

    The clone kept his calm for most of the mission. He couldn't do anything about the sensory problems now and even if he could it wasn't safe. Hunter knew he was pushing down the enviable, but right now he couldn't afford to do anything but suffer through it.

    Cody saw something was wrong with the squad leader but wasn't sure what. Maybe he just had a constantly worried face? Cody wasn't sure what was wrong but something definitely was.

    The battle was nearing its end. Cody hated it when shinys ended up on front lines. They had the training but nothing can properly prepare you for the real thing.

    The crash of a droid next to Hunter started him. "Hey! Get your head in this or your gonna die!" Cody yelled. The sargent snapped. His breathing speed up. A nearby explosion made him yelp as he sank to the muddy ground. "Hunter, gets up." Cody's voice was laced with concern. He moved beside the shiny and provided cover.

    "It's so much" Hunter spoke between gasps. "I.. I can't."

    Cody had seen this before. He knew he couldn't do much but keep the soldier from dying. "What is it?" He spoke loudly yet kindly.

    Hunter winced at the noise. The battle field was as quiet as it could be so the movement confused the commander. "What startled you?" Again he yelled.

    "Please stop yelling." Hunter spoke at a normal tone.

    "What?"

    The man drew more into himself, covering his ears. His eyes had already been glued to the ground. He moved his arms to move the blacks from around his neck in a tearing motion; the texture being too much.

    This concerned the commander more. Responding to the harsh movement Cody dropped to the ground, grabbing for Hunter's hands. "Hunter you've gotta calm down!"

    "Stop yelling... Please" he begged.

    It hit Cody. The heightened senses, that's what was causing the panic. He didn't think that would be a problem, then again he never thought of the negative effects of their mutations. "Okay, sorry." This time he whispered

    Cody pushed Hunter's hands over his ears, "keep them their."

    Hunter frantically moved his arms to one of his vibro-knifes and flung it past Cody, straight into a droid. Cody looked back at where the droid had stood for a brief second before going back to helping Hunter.

    Hunter's breathing hadn't really slowed, his legs were still tightly pulled up against his chest, and he had once again gone to tear his shirt's collar. This time blood would be drawn before Cody could do anything to stop it.

    Once more Cody moved Hunter's hands over his ears. It didn't really help with the noise but it was a start. It also kept the clone from trying to tear himself apart so Cody would take it.

    Hunter's comm buzzed, "Hunter we are at the rendezvous, where are you?" Tech asked. Silence.

    "Hey Hunter you good." Wrecker would follow. Again the brothers were met with silence.

    "Hello boys, this is Commander Cody. Hunter's alright just overwhelmed. I got him. Go ahead and meet with the others." Cody used Hunter's comm as he spoke to the men.

    "Alright." Crosshair followed.

    Cody stayed with Hunter until he was able to claim down. Once Hunter's breathing was under control the two moved from their position to a much safer one. There the commander was able to claim down the sergeant. After all was well, as well as things can be in a war zone, Cody and Hunter would return to the fight.

    The battle would be won and the batch was safe. "Hey, before you go" Cody started, following Hunter to the Marauder. "Comm me if you ever need anything okay?"

    Hunter looked into Cody's eyes and smiled, "thank you for your help today. I never expected for a battlefield to be so... much."

    "You never do."

    "Anyway thank you. We will. Comm us if you ever need somebody for a suicide mission." Hunter joked.

    "Will do." The two shook hands and off they went, returning to their prospected families. A beautiful friendship bloomed from the mud and tears on the battlefield. One that would last for quite some time.

Febuwhump Day 15: self-sacrifice

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warnings: Character death and mention of suicide.

The first was always Hunter. He was the squad leader so it made perfect sense. The man needed to lead and that's easier at the front. Next would be a mix of Echo, Omega, and Tech. They were smaller then the others and easier to kidnap. The three being in the middle insured their safety. Wrecker being the largest and strongest was at the end. Being very difficult to kidnap was part of the reason, but if someone started to fall behind he could just grab them and continue.

    This mission the batch took for Cid was supposed to be easy; get the information and get out. The data card consisted of bounty hunter information. How to hire and where to find them mostly. Why Cid wanted it no one knew and no one asked.

    Now the batch was running. Running was a specialty of the family's. They ran from the empire, ran from Crosshair, and run from their problems. But everything catches up with you especially.

    The Marauder wasn't to far away. The old port it was stationed in was in sight. However imperial soldiers followed close behind. It wasn't looking good. Everyone was exhausted. Most had small to larger injuries from escaping the dense forest that guarded  the decrepit building they had extracted their target from.

    The imperials were catching up now. Blaster shots just barely missed the group. Return fire proved to be relatively difficult. Tech started spitting out statistics that they live and about how far the Marauder was. The stats weren't looking good.

    That's when Wrecker knew what to do. He knew this would likely be the end. The group didn't know when Wrecker stopped following them.  Wrecker had stayed back to fight the regs. It seemed to be working. The distance between the demolitionist's family and the soldiers grew.

    The soldiers started to overrun the large man. Echo turned around and stopped. "Wrecker what the hell are you doing?!?" He screamed. Something felt familiar about this. Like he'd seen his brother commit the same act of suicide over and over. One can call it self-sacrifice and that's what it is, a desperate act to save your loved ones, but you must acknowledge that an individual has chosen to die. But it was all for love.

    The four stopped for a brief moment, unsure of what they do now. Do they help their brother? Do they run? "Wrecker!" Shrieked Omega. The girl started to run back towards him before Hunter grabbed her. "No!"

    "Thank you for everything! I love you, now go!" The back of Wrecker knee was shot and he yelped. The man continued his attack as the others left.

     Tech, now on the end, stopped again. Could he really leave Wrecker there? The family had already left Crosshair, could they lose another brother? The youngest watched as the oldest was gunned down. "No" he whispered.

    Now he understood Echo more. The heart wrenching feeling that comes with losing a brother, the fact he'll never hear him laugh again, never be hugged again, never breathe again. It cut deep into his heart and frightened him.

    Hunter had heard the whisper and slowed to a stop. "Tech, come on!" He yelled. His eyes landed on Wrecker body. Mortality crept up on him. That was something he'd deal with later.

    Tears welled in Tech's eyes as he turned to leave. Now he ran, ran as they always did. But death is not something you can simply run from.

    Back on the Marauder the four dealt with Wrecker death. The grief crawled into their hearts and made itself at home. This feeling was as familiar to Echo as the back of his only hand, For Omega, Hunter, and Tech this overwhelming feeling was new.

    Hunter worried on how Crosshair would take it. Wrecker and him were relatively close, well at least when Crosshair was still with them. Would he even care? Somehow it felt worse to think he still did care then didn't. He'd be dealing with grief alone.

    The family would learn to cope at their own pace. But for now all they could do was support each other. After all that's all they had. Each other.

I know it's March now but I'll be trying to finish these up until the first week of March is over.

Febuwhump day 2! Flinching

Fandom: Star Wars

Time: The Bad Batch after the episode 'Battle Scars'

Walking off of the Marauder the batch made their way to the forest in front of them. The trees consist of pretty pinks and purples, the sky a beautiful shade of blue, and the grass a bright green. The planet had a calming aura to it. This worked well with the tension being high in the batch lately. Though everyone understood Wrecker did not wish to hurt them this would not change the events that happened on the shipyard planet Braca.

    Walking though the woods was simple. Hunter stooped and looked back at his squad "Everyone gets to your positions" Hunter whispered. The batch looked at him confused. He understood what that meant at this point having seen this look maybe times. They simply didn't hear him. "Sorry."

    "No worries, we understand your volume control is wacky." Wrecker reassured him.

    Hunter smiled and repeated himself loud enough for them to hear him.

    Everyone headed their respective ways, Wrecker and Tech heading left, Omega and Echo heading right, and Hunter waking the way they had previously been going.

    Tech and Wrecker got to their position first and simply waited. "So Tech" Wrecker turned around quickly, moving his arm swiftly to rest on Tech's shoulder. Tech flinched. Tech... flinched?

    "Tech?"

    Tech took a step back. "I" he continued to step back. Everything in his heart hated the way he felt. Tech loveed Wrecker but that couldn't change what had happened, what the order made him do. Tech hit a tree.

    Not understanding just how threatening his presence was to his brother, Wrecker walked towards him. Feeling trapped Tech looked for a way out. All rationalities left his mind as he forgot that Wrecker had not ment to hurt him.

    Tech looked around him and stepped to the side of the tree before taking off running. Wrecker yelled for him before starting to follow. Tech make a sharp turn and Wrecker lost him.

    Hunter, who had been just about to his position heard the yelling. "What's going on?" He commed Wrecker.

    "I lost Tech. I startled him and he took off. I'm not sure where he went." Concern filled Wrecker's voice.

    "I'll find him. You meet with the others and take care of the mission."

    Wrecker thought before answering. He wanted to disagree for he wanted to make things right but understood he couldn't at this time. Later Tech and him would have to have a long conversation. Maybe he should invite the other to talk as well. "Yeah alright."

    Turning off the comm Hunter started to look for Tech.

    Tech finally stopped running. Out of breath he sank to the ground. He pulled himself towards the stump of a tree near him. He couldn't slow his breathing, not only was he out of breath from running for so long he was in the mits of a panic attack. Tech tried and tried to reason with himself but every attempt failed. He hastily removed his helmet, then goggles as they had begun to fill with tears.

     Tech's breathing had not slowed. He started to feel lightheaded from breathing too hard. Tech had always thought it was somewhat silly that breathing too much could harm you.

    Most of his thoughts were about the events on Braca. Struggling to find a way to calm down Tech looked for good memories of Wrecker. He thought that he could reassure with his head by  using his heart to fight it. 

    His breathing began to slow as wonderful memories of his beloved brother would calm him. For once his heart would win the battle of head vs heart. Pushing his hands against the blue bark Tech slowly stood up. He needed to find the rest of the batch and see if they still needed his help with the mission. the mission, he forgot about the mission.

    Tech retched for his comm and debated which of his brothers to contact. Choosing Hunter he tapped his comm "Hunter" he began

    "Tech! Where are you? Are you alright?" Hunter's voice was laced with concern.

    "I'm... alright. I'm not sure where I am."

    "Start yelling."

    Not long after Hunter would hunt down Tech and the two would meet the rest of the batch at the Marauder. The mission was a success.

    Tech walked to Wrecker. "Hey, I"

    Wrecker cut him off "I'm so sorry."

    "I know you won't hurt me. It wouldn't make sense unless you are joking as you do. However the trauma is still there. I see you no differently. I just have to heal. Please be patient with me." Tech explained.

    "Of course." Wrecker was ready to take however much time Tech needed.

    Hunter smiled at the exchange. Everything would be okay.

(sorry it's a day late)

Febuwhump Day 4: Knife to the throat

Fandom: Star wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warning violence

Crosshair perched in the tree. He waited and waited for one of his brothers to arrive, maybe even for his little sister. Today he righted the wrong of letting the rogue clones live in the first place, today he picked them off one by one.

    Hunter walked carefully through the woods. He listened for his family and for any unfriendlies. The clone kept he's eyes peeled, every hair was on its end. Something wasn't right but no matter what he did, he simply couldn't put his finger on it. No matter what he could have done nothing prepared Hunter for what was next.

    Crosshair eyed his target. After fighting alongside Hunter his whole life he knew exactly how his brother would act. The soldier grabbed a puck and threw it to a nearby tree.

    Hunter spotted the shine of the puck. He swiftly moved from his spot out in the open, well as open as the woods could be to a spot behind a tree. Hunter was exactly where Crosshair wanted him. He pulled his gun and tried to find Cross. He wasn't sure how the sniper had managed to get past him. Unless... Crosshair had planned this.

    Crosshair shot the puck . He watched the surprise on the others face as the bullet hit his gun. Slightly angling his rifle differently he proceeded to almost immediately shoot his beloved brother in the left kneecap.

     Hunter cried out as the bullet hit his knee. He leaned against the tree then slid down to sit. Hunter reached for one of his vibro-knifes but quickly remembered they had been left of the ship. He had been cleaning them previously and simply forgot to put them back. Echo had even reminded him. Hunter knew Crosshair hadn't missed, he never misses so what did he want?

    Crosshair climbed down from his hide out and walked towards Hunter.

    Pulling his arm up, Hunter touched his comm.

    "I wouldn't" Crosshair spat.

    Hunter moved his arm to his knee "so, what do you want?"

    "Smart." As soon as Crosshair got close enough Hunter attempted to kick him with his uninjured leg. Crosshair took one step closer and kicked in Hunter's other knee. He screeched with pain, tears welling in his eyes. Hunter  wondering what in the hell Crosshair wanted from him. Could he?  No. Hunter hoped Crosshair wouldn't do that to him. If Crosshair was going to kill him he'd at least let it be quick right?

    Crosshair kneeled down to Hunter's level, pushing his vibro-knife to the others throat. Hunter flinched thinking Crosshair was going in for the kill. "Listen here Hunter" Crossing hissed "I'm here to fix my mistakes. He pushed the knife into Hunter's skin. "I'll start with you."

    "Crosshair please." Hunter's voice was shaky and faint. Crosshair looked his brother in the eyes. He hadn't seen Hunter so scared in quite some time.

    Hunter was shaking. The agony in his legs made him wish he were Echo. If the knife went any further he would die. He grabbed Crosshair's arm and pulled the knife away from his throat. Curling his hand into a fist he hit Crosshair.

    Crosshair pulled his arm out of the others grip and slowly stood. Hunter attempted to stand only to be met with stabbing pain. Unable to do much else to protect himself Hunter defensively set his arms in front of him.

    "Good soldiers follow orders." Snarled Crosshair.

    "Then I'm not a good soldier."

    Crosshair moved his arm back ready to throw the knife to take his brother's life. Hunter drew into himself, preparing himself to meet the Domino squad.

    Suddenly Crosshair fell to the ground. Hunter lifted his head to see Echo. "Are you okay?" Echo walked over to his brother.

    Hunter shook his head yes before once more making the decision to try to stand. He yelped as he put the slightest amount of pressure on his legs

    "Stop Hunter, sit down." Echo spoke calmly. "Let me look."

    Before Echo got the chance Hunter explained what had happened.

    "Let's get you back to the ship okay?"

    "Alright. What are we going to do about Crosshair?" Despite everything Hunter still cared for his brother. He grew up beside him, how could he not.

    "He'll be fine." Echo gently picked Hunter up. Together the two headed to the Marauder where the rest of the batch would meet soon.