Febuwhump Day 19: "You Deserve This."

Febuwhump Day 19: "You Deserve This."

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

    Caleb ran through the crowd of people. Behind him chased Crosshair. Watch its and move it kids were thrown at him constantly as he tried to make his way to the woods. In the woods he could hide, he could be safe. If need be he could draw his lightsaber in the woods. He couldn't hear, not anymore.

    Crosshair finally had the chance to right his brother's wrong. The Jedi that ran in front of him would be dead by the end of the day.

    Once at the woods the child jumped into the trees. It would be harder to find him this way. Hopefully he could lose Crosshair and make it back to the town on the other side of the woods.

    The soldier didn't take his eyes of Caleb. He wanted him jump from tree to pink tree. The forest was beautiful; unfortunately neither had the time to really enjoy the rare beauty of nature.

    When Caleb's foot slipped on the branch everything felt over. He hit the ground hard and laid still for a moment. Crosshair ran over, ready to kill the little boy if he wasn't already gone. Scrambling the Jedi went for his lightsaber.

    Crosshair didn't shoot.  Something felt off so he waited. After all he had the time.

    The boy whimpered as he pulled himself against a tree. Tears allowed him to express the pain and terror that gathered in his heart and head. Was this it? With the arm in the least amount of pain Caleb lifted his lightsaber and ignited it in front of himself. "Why are you doing this?" he cried.

    "You deserve this" Crosshair hissed.

    "Deserve this?" Pain and betrayal laced Caleb's voice, "what did I do to deserve this?!"

    "Your acts of treason" The clone answered.

    "Treason? I didn't commit an act of treason!"

    "There is no need to lie. The Jedi betrayed the republic."

    "What? Well what did they do?" Now curiosity took over. If he was gonna die he should at least know why.

    Crosshair was quiet. What did they do? "It doesn't matter! You're a traitor and traitors need to be dealt with."

    "I'm not going to die for something I didn't do!" Caleb started attempting to stand, "I won't let my life be cut short! My mom saved me I won't let it be for nothing! There are still people who I need to help, places I need to go! I want to live to see peace! Take your shoot Crosshair! Take it!" The boy stood as steady as he could. The tree provided enough support for him to use both arms for his lightsaber.

    The pain the child was in was evident. Crosshair could see it written all over his face. Did he deserve this? 'Yes he's a traitor. No he's just a kid, he couldn't have known.' the sniper argued with himself. It made his head hurt. Throwing his rifle Crosshair walked over to Caleb. "Put that down for a minute."

    It took a moment but Caleb complied. Grabbing the little medical equipment he had the clone rapped what he could. Both were confused by the others actions. When Crosshair walked back over to his rifle the humming of a lightsaber greeted him. "Relax. Cut it up; make it a crutch." Crosshair loved that rifle but with everything he had done to this boy letting him use it was a small way to help.

    Caleb grabbed it and cut it to fit his body. Walking was still difficult but slightly less painful. "Thank you."

    Crosshair just stared at him before walking away. This kid didn't deserve to have to grow up in such a dangerous galaxy, he didn't deserve to lose everything he had. Now Crosshair was thinking. The empire hated people who think for themselves. Things started to fall in place and the man finally realized he was the bad guy. The empire was the separatist but worse. Worse in the way that they made people believe they were good.

    Crosshair wasn't sure what to do next. All he really knew is whatever awful things he may face, he deserved it.

A Month of Whump Day 6: Team Dynamic

Fandom: Star Wars The Clone Wars

Summary: Obi-wan and Anakin are captured by the Separatist.

    Anakin and Obi-wan spent most of their time together. After the boy left Tatooien he was Obi-wan's responsibility. Though it was a little much sometimes, practice raising a child, he wouldn't trade it for anything. Anakin gave him a reason to get up when life tried to force him down.

    Now he sat in a Separatist cell with him. Both men were heavily injured from torture. The two did their best to help each other. Nothing seemed to help their situation. It felt like they were just barely holding on.

    Dooku's footsteps could be heard and not soon after he stood in front of their cell. "Hello" he spoke menaceingly.  Neither Jedi spoke. "I'm going to cut to the chase, one of you is dieing today. You won't betray the Republic so I need you as an example."

    Fear struck into the men's hearts. They looked at each other with consurn. When the count walked in he started to walk towards Obi-wan. Then he stopped. The man turned slightly and ended right in front of Anakin.

    Anakin turned to face him. Fear was evident on the jedi's face. "Scared?" The sith antagonized. Anakin turned back to look at his brother. Then he was unchained and pulled from the floor.

    Dooku dragged Anakin out of the room. The man couldn't fight anymore. The injuries he had sustained were too much. He wanted to. Everything he loved flooded his mind and yet he still couldn't move enough.

    The chains that hugged Obi-wan's wrist were strained as he tried to reach him. Panic set in. Tears began to well in his eyes as he tried to figure out what to do. "Wait!" He screamed.

    Dooku stopped. Anakin looked at him looked confused and tired. "What?" The sith asked.

    "Take me! Take me, not him." Obi-wan begged. His voice broke as he spoke. "Please." The last word came out as a desperate whisper.

    "My my, and here I thought you were a rule abiding jedi." Dooku's words stung but he didn't care. Right now the only thing that mattered to Obi-wan was Anakin's safety. "Fine." Anakin was thrown back into the room. He fell to the floor and didn't move.

    "Anakin?" Obi-wan's voice faultered. Darth Tyranus walked over and chained the young adult to the wall then unchained Obi-wan. Before he could do anything Kenobi was handcuffed and dragged out of the cell.

    The Jedi tried to fight back but like Anakin he was out of fight. His last stand has been saving Anakin for now.

    When taken to the room in which was set up for the message Obi-wan realized he was going to die.

    This was it. Everything he had ever done lead to this moment. He realized he would never meet Anakin's children, would never fight beside the 212th again, would never sigh or smile in the council room when they got off topic. He would never feel Cody's warm touch again. Anakin would grow up without his brother to help guide him. What if the 212th ended up with someone like Krell? Some many things flooded through Obi-wan's head all at once.

    Anakin searched for Obi-wan in the force. He regretted not arguing, not fighting. All he could sense was fear.

    Obi-wan was thrown into the center of the room. He slid and didn't bother to get up. After a moment Dooku pulled him onto his knees.

    Dooku's lightsaber never ignited. Looking at the man in front of him he couldn't kill him, he just couldn't. Obi-wan was all that was left of his son. He could see it in the way he fought and the way he cared for people.

    After a moment of silence Kenobi finally got up, deciding he couldn't just accept his fate. Pulling the red saber to him he stood. Igniting it he pushed it close to Dooku's throat.

   Slowly he walked him into a corner. "Let us out" Obi-wan hissed. Dooku tried to move and Obi-wan sharply leaned forwards.

    Blaster fire could be heard in the hall now. Someone had come for them. A purple lightsaber slid through the door. That's when Dooku decided it was time to go. He force pushed Obi-wan to the ground and grabbed his lightsaber. Destroying the window he jumped.

    When Windu entered the room he ran over to Kenobi. "Where's Anakin?" Obi-wan whispered.

    "Already being taken care of. Let's get you out of here." The medic came over and got the man on a stretcher and out of Separatist territory.

    When Anakin and Obi-wan saw each other again the first thing they did was hug. "Please don't do that again!" Anakin yelled.

    "Well what was I supposed to do? Let you die? You have a wife and a child on the way." Obi-wan smiled.

    Anakin just stared at him for a second in shock, "you knew?!"

    "Of course I did."

    The younger of the two sighed, "I love you."

    "I love you too Anakin."

Febuwhump Day 18: Can't stay awake

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warning: This story deals heavily with graphic depictions of suicide and self harm. Please proceed with caution.

This is what he wanted right? The blood that spiled from his wrist started to make him dizzy. Tech was tired of feeling ostracized by the regs, by his brother's. No one seemed to understand him. Sure he expressed things differently and sure he didn't

always know when or what to say but the man did his best.

    Not only was he done with people he was done with the war. The sights he'd seen through his googles frightened him. The blood, tears, the evil, and the lack of empathy was something no amount of training could properly prepare you for.

    Was this what he wanted? It's what the regs wanted. They never failed to let Tech know he was less than them, that he'd be better off dead. His eyes fluttered. At first he didn't agree but as time went on the regs words started to sting. When they no longer stung they burned into his mind and heart. Physical fights became waiting out the storm and taking care of himself later.

    Tech knew the signs and saw them in himself. He thought of telling his brother but in the end decided he'd deal with it on his own. When the man started to think more seriously of killing himself and of harming himself he knew it was time to tell them. Every time he tried his throat closed and tears welled. At the end he walked away to try again another day.

    The first time he gave into the thoughts saying he deserved to bleed, deserved the horrors of what the regs and what the war did to him; the blade calmed his mind in a way unexpected. From then on though he knew it was unhealthy and a problem, he didn't really care.

    Tech started caring less about his safety. This stressed Hunter out as he started seeing the signs as well. The sergeant wasn't sure what to do so he just watched him carefully.

    Now four neatly folded notes laid at the end of his bunk. The others had gone to the mess hall for dinner.

    Was this what he truly wanted? What about the brothers he had written to? Would they be okay? None of them really knew what was going on in his head, hell Echo hadn't seen him any other way than he was now, but all had done their best to help him. He pushed them away.

    No this wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to feel better. If he died he wouldn't feel better, he wouldn't feel anything. Now he tried to fight against the looming tiredness that hung over him. Tech just had to last until his brothers returned. What would they think? That doesn't matter.

    "I think I'm gonna go back to our barracks, I'm not really hungry" Echo excused himself.

    In the barracks Tech's breathing slowed. He couldn't stay awake. If he succumbed to the exhaustion it was all over. His eyelids felt heavy as they tried to shut out the world for good. The clone was already curled up. He inched one of his hands down to the worse of the two wrists. It would only help a little for he could put much pressure on it.

    Tech's comm sat on the table closest to the bed. He wanted to reach for it but couldn't muster the energy to. Next it the comm sat the piece of shrapnel that he used to make the lacerations. Finding blades with no heat element to them was difficult so Tech got... Creative. Next to the comm and sharapnal rested his blaster and broken googles.

    The clones breaking point was when Kitty broke them. Kitty hatted the batch and for no good reason. He was an angry man and the batch seemed to be his favorite target. The four never provoked him. Echo got rapped into his torment when he joined the family. Breaking the googles felt simbolic. The shatter of the glass to the shatter of his hope, the breaking of his heart and brain.

    Echo walked though the halls. Something felt wrong. Without realizing it his pace quickened. Arriving at the room he opened the door and greeted Tech. Brown eyes landed to the notes at the end of the bed. From the bed they drifted to his brother, then to the table. Broken googles and bloody shrapnel confirmed Echo's suspicions. He ran to the others side and pushed him to his back.

    Something was going on. Tech saw a face. Slowly he relieved who it was. "Stay with me Tech alright." He spoke softly. Echo had seen this before. Suicide wasn't exactly uncommon for soldiers. Now he just had to keep him alive. Rather Tech liked it or not.

    Tech tried to nod. He wanted to answer Echo. He wanted to get to know Echo. With the little coherent thoughts he could have he regretted his decision to let it get this far.

    "I know it's hard but try to stay awake Tech. You're gonna be okay." Echo grabbed his own blanket quickly and pressed it against the cuts.

    The world was fading. Echo's comforting voice was starting to be drowned out by silence and his eyelids finally won and closed.

    Echo kept an eye on the others pulse. It was weak but it was there. Medics would arrive and take the injured to the medic bay.

    Now to inform his brothers. They were still in the mess hall. He sat down. Hunter immediately noted the blood on Echo's hand. "What happened?" Concern laced the man's voice.

    He looked at the three. He had all of their attention. Worry grew on their faces. "Tech tried to kill himself. He's in the medical bay. It's not looking good."

    Tears formed in Wrecker's eyes. "What?" He muttered.

    "What's wrong sad batch?" Kitty antagonized.

    Crosshair stood. He walked over to the bully, "If he dies you're next!" Wrecker snatched Crosshair and the four walked to the medical bay.

    When Tech would wake he found his family surrounding him, faces panted with worry. What does he tell them? How does he explain everything?

    "Hey Tech." Hunter softly smiled. Tech returned the sentiment. The four had been informed of the numerous other scars that littered his body. They mixed with war injuries. Well both were war injuries, one a war against the separatists and one a war against himself.

    "Why didn't you tell us?" Hearing Crosshair sound so soft calmed and spooked Tech.

    "I.. I didn't know how." His voice came out shaky and quiet.

    The family talked for a while before letting Tech get some rest. They would help him through the battle with his mind and when rummers flew about what happened they defended him. All of them would make it through this. Together.

Febuwhump Day 26: Forced to Choose

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

    The Bad Batch had finally been caught. All that needed to happen was for them to be executed for their crimes. Crosshair walked from the command deck where the orders were given. The empire would give the clones a little less than a day to reveal any secrets that could potentially save their lives.

    As the family's time ran out, Crosshair debated going to see them. It would be the last time he could after all. If not for anything he decided to go for closer. Why the man wanted closer he wasn't really sure but he needed it.

    Only a few minutes were left for the batch to spill some secrets when Crosshair arrived at the cell. The electric shield prevented the family from escaping. Hunter sat on the floor holding a crying Omega. Tech sat on the hanging bench bouncing his leg. His elbow rested on the other knee as he tried to think of a way out. Wrecker sat near Hunter and Omega making sure both were okay and Echo sat over with Tech trying to help him with a plan. All but Omega looked up at Crosshair as he cleared his throat. "Hello."

    "What do you want Crosshair?" Tech asked.

    Crosshair took in the sight. It saddened his to see them this way but is what traitors deserve, right? "Just came to see if you had any information" he hissed.

    "No we don't. We aren't working for any rebel groups Crosshair. We don't have anything." Hunter held Omega tighter.

    The sniper looked down at the little girl. She was terrified. Looking at the others he could see just how scared they were. Most couldn't tell but he could, he knew the looks on their faces. Though he had only seen it a few times during the war it struck some form of fear into his heart.

    "Even if we had information they'd kill us anyway so there's no point." Tech informed the soldier. That was true; no matter what they were screwed.

    "If that's all I'll be leaving." Crosshair started walking away. Behind him he heard Hunter trying to comfort Omega. As the man approached the end of the hall he stopped. Soldiers entered the other side of the hall to execute his batch mates.

    Now he had to make a choice. Does he go back, destroy everything he worked for in the Empire. After all Crosshair thought he agreed with the ideals of the system. He'd already killed so many people for them. Sure the Republic had him snipe a few people but not nearly as many as the Empire.  But could he let his family die? He grew up with three of them and had become rather fond of the other two. The five soldiers had protected each other no matter the cost to themselves. They had fought side by side for so long. Omega had barely gotten to live yet. He would have drowned if it wasn't for her. He would be dead if it wasn't for any of them. Forced to choose between his head or heart; between stability or love, he chose love.

    "Alright it's time" one of the stormtroopers spoke. Hunter grabbed Omega as tight as he could to protect her or at least to comfort her. The others stood ready to at least try to escape their fates. Tech stood on his own while Wrecker and Echo stood close together. Both were fans of physical touch so being so close was comforting. None of them really expected to survive but they couldn't just sit there and wait.

    Crosshair sighed and turned around. Running down the hall he grabbed his blaster and shot. The stormtroopers fell to the ground. The batch looked at each other surprised. The killer skidded to a stop in front of the cell. Echo had gone over to inform Hunter and Omega they were safe. The girl had been buried in Hunter's chest and he only had his eyes on her. The gun shots had scared the two thinking time had run out for them.

    Omega and Hunter stood slowly. The man looked around then looked at Crosshair. "Alright. We need to find our weapons. I assume you know where they are?" He smiled softly.

    Crosshair nodded and the family, now whole again, ran to find the weaponry. From the weaponry they went for a ship. The Marauder had been left on the planet they had come from. Once off world Crosshair looked around at his family fondly. Seeing them all back on the same side made him smile. Still the deserter wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice.

    Back on the Marauder the group greeted Gonky and Wrecker gave Lula a big hug. Finally everyone was able to relax a little. Sitting down, Crosshair watched them interact with each other. Now he knew he'd made the right choice. No one really knew what was next but whatever it was, Crosshair was just happy to be home.

Febuwhump Day 17: Silent Tears

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Clone Wars

Warning: Character death

   Obi-wan had done all he could. When General Grievous showed his face he knew his day was about to get worse; everyone's day was about to get worse.

    Grievous showed no mercy. He grabbed a nearby clone and turned around. As the Jedi pulled his lightsaber from the ground the clone whispered a quiet help. Kenobi met the separatists eyes and in a split of a second the clones skull was crushed in. Blood splatter against the Jedi. Anger festered in Obi-wan's heart. Blinding guilt led his next movements as the clone fell to the ground. He would later learn that the soldier's name was Robin and that in Cody's words a shiny. His first battle became his last.

    The blood stained. Once back on The Negotiator the Jedi scrubbed at his face and hands. It wouldn't come off. When the battle had ended Obi-wan had taken Robin's body to the burial ground for the battle. Staring at his hands, now colored slightly lighter then the crimson blood that had covered them, he rubbed the rag harder and harder until his hand hurt. He found it ironic as in his eyes Robin's blood was on his hands. It was his fault.

    Obi-wan gave up on his hands and desperately tried to clean his face. The splatter pattern made him shake. His skin became irritated as the rag dug into it. At the realization the evidence of his failure would have to fade the man through the cloth to the ground.

    Memories like this never came at convenient times. It simply didn't matter to your brain where you were. Silent tears ran down Kenobi's cheeks as the council meeting went on. No one noticed until they looked to him for his input.

    The man's eyes were rested on the ground; his legs were folded in the chair with him. The only movement other than the tears was his hands harshly yet barely being rubbed together.

    The room was silent. "Master Kenobi?" Depa Balaba spoke. No answer.

    "Master Kenobi are you alright?" A different Jedi master asked.

    This time Obi-wan heard them. He looked up. "Oh yes. Why?" His voice was shaky.

    "Crying you are."

    "I am?" He raised an arm and brushed a finger under his eye. "Oh it appears I am." The Jedi attempted to chuckle to ease the tension. He cleared the tears from his face and tried to calm himself.

    Plo Koon stood and walked over to Obi-wan. "What's going on?" He whispered.

    "I'm alright really. Thank you Plo." He sighed and nodded, signaling Plo to go back to his seat. "My apologies. What are we talking about?"

    The room was covered with concerned faces. Slowly Mace Windu gave Obi-wan a brief explanation of what the group had been talking about. After adding his opinion the general asked if he could step out for a moment. The grand master nodded and he excused himself.

    When he walked back in no one could tell anything happened. Most came to the conclusion that the problem had something to do with the blood stains that painted his face and hands.

    Silent and not silent tears became more and more common in the safety of the counsel room. As the weight of war crushed the masters they cracked more and more during meetings. Sometimes simple words triggered the memories and sometimes no one knew what happened. Most were friends and tried to help each other. Meetings were inconvenient for metal breakdowns but a safe place was a safe place. No one judged as they knew the horrors of war well. The Jedi were born to be peace keepers; born to be companionate. Now the lead soldiers into battle. Their hearts were breaking and their tears showed the irreversible damage that had been done.

Febuwhump Day 25: Assumed Dead

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Clone Wars

Dooku's crimson lightsaber plunged through Rex's lower back. Anakin turned around. Obi-wan had told them to leave, he would take care of Dooku. Apparently he lied. "Rex!" Anakin yelled. The clones body fell to the ground.

    Anger flooded Anakin's heart. From his heart the grief used his veins to spread to the rest of his body. It took control of him and suddenly he was running to fight the sith. Lightsabers clashed as the Jedi pushed Dooku away from Rex.

    Rex couldn't move. He knew what happened; he could tell that Anakin thought that the injury had killed him. The pain made his somewhat wish it had. All the commander could do was hope that someone would notice.

    "Anger is not the Jedi way Skywalker." Lightsabers clashed again.

    "Shut up."

    Obi-wan pulled himself from the floor. Dooku had slammed him against the wall with the force. He had lost consciousness for, to him, an unknown amount of time. He quickly walked to where the current fight was taking place. His eyes landed on Anakin and Dooku first then to the injured soldier.

    Anakin fought dangerously. Swift, anger-filled movements took Dooku slightly by surprise. However what Anakin didn't realize was he fought much better without the guidance of anger.

    Obi-wan moved to join his brother in the fight against his grandfather. Fighting Dokku could be difficult sometimes but in the end it had to be done.

    Rex still couldn't move. The men were unaware that his heart still beat and that his lungs still heaved air in and out. If they didn't come to the concussion soon they would be correct. Rex wasn't sure what hurt more the wound or his general's reaction. He wasn't aware Anakin cared so much for him. The feeling was both comforting and eerie .

    Before long the Jedi had to retreat. Anakin looked over to his master with a question in his eyes. Obi-wan nodded understanding the words reflected in his eyes. Leaving the fight, Anakin kneeled down beside Rex and picked him up. "I'm so sorry Rex. I'm sorry." He whispered.

    Obi-wan ran after Anakin and the three entered the nearby Republic star ship. On the ship Anakin carried Rex to the medical bay. There the droids would take him to the morgue.

    Obi-wan stayed with Anakin until Rex was rested on the cold medical table. There Obi-wan studied Rex's body to see if he had sustained any other injuries. Found memories of the man flooded his mind.

    "Obi-wan, go lay down." Anakin turned to face him.

    "Alright." He nodded and walked a little closer to the table. "Rest eas- Anakin he's not dead." As soon as Obi-wan pointed to the slow rise and fall of Rex's chest, Anakin called over a medical droid. None of the droids had come over to assist the three because Rex had been proclaimed dead and there were living soldiers who needed their help.

    The droids would start to work on Rex almost immediately. Anakin helped Obi-wan over to a bed. There after the older of the two were taken care of they would wait for updates on everyone's conditions. When they finally got the news Rex would be fine both somewhat relaxed. Of course the two cared for all of their men but both were rather close to Rex.

    When the soldier woke up he was greeted by his friends. Everything would be fine. Not many people could say they survived a sith encounter. At least Rex could.