Whumpril Day 7: Words That Can't Be Taken Back. (Alt Prompt 12)

Whumpril Day 7: Words That Can't be Taken Back. (Alt prompt 12)

Fandom: Star Wars The Clone Wars/Prequels

Summary: Anakin and Obi-wan get into an argument and Anakin says something he'll regret.

    "Sometimes I wish you were killed by Maul instead of Qui-gon! Maybe then I could have had a good teacher!" Anakin angrily yelled at his brother.

    Obi-wan just stood there, unsure of what to say. Words mustered after a moment, "me too." With that the man started walking away.

    "Obi-wan, wait! I didn't" Anakin started to follow after his brother, "I didn't mean."

    Rex walked into the room the two had been arguing in, "what's going on, general?"

    Anakin sighed and turned to face Rex, "I said something I should have. I didn't even mean it I'm just angry." He walked over to the commander, "should I follow him?"

    "Sir, I don't know General Kenobi well enough to know what he's gonna need. What did you say?"

    Anakin explained their argument and waited for Rex to reply. The clone had heard stories like this before. He knew good ways to handle angry words. "Does he have a place that he goes when he's upset?"

    "Yeah, the tree in the temple garden."

    "Then go there. Anakin, you really fucked up this time."

    "Yeah, I know that Rex" annoyance slipped through his voice and he turned to leave, "wish me luck."

    Rex didn't say anything. Obi-wan had every right to be upset. What Anakin said was unforgivable, no matter how angry he was.

    Anakin was right. Obi-wan sat at the stump of the old tree. Most of the time he would be meditating but this time he sat with his legs laid out and his back against the tree. The man was quietly talking to himself.

    "Obi-wan" Anakin started, "I'm sorry."

    "Thank you."

    "I'm glad you're here." The boy moved next to his master and sat down with him. "You've been a great master, a great brother. I know you're doing your best and that I can't always be an easy person to deal with. Thank you Obi-wan. I know that doesn't make what I said any better but I just needed you to know I didn't mean it."

   Obi-wan just stared at him. He'd never heard something like that from Anakin before. He sounded genuine and he understood that the knight didn't mean anything he'd said but words like that dig into a person's heart and stay like parasites, they cause deep wounds that can never be seen on the outside and scar all the same. Time was needed to heal any wound.

    "Thank you Anakin. Please be careful with your words, they can hurt. Make sure to never let anger drive you."

    "Got it. Now, what did you mean by 'me to'?"

    Now Obi-wan was left with his own words to deal with. "It's" he paused, "hard to be the one who survives sometimes."

    "I understand." The two talked for a little while before agreeing they would be okay.

    "Words can be weapons. They stab into hearts the same way knives can, they burn into people's skin and stay there. Reminders of the things that have been said can hurt just as much as physical injuries; sometimes worse. You must be careful with what you say." That's what Qui-gon used to say. Getting up to leave Obi-wan looked back at the tree. It looks like he still has parts of his teaching to instill in his padawan.

Whumpril Day 10: "I'm Scared."

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Warning: Major character death

Summary: Tech and Omega are sent off to find their target for the mission. Things don't go well.

  When the batch took this mission, they knew it was dangerous. Echo had hated to ask them but the rebels needed this mission to succeed and his brothers and sister would be perfect for it. It didn't take much convincing before they agreed. After being informed they were rescuing a youngling they knew they had to.

    The mission started off smoothly. Of course it couldn't stay that way. Quickly the batch found themselves running and trying to hide. They had to survive to find the youngling after all.

    "Tech, Omega, go find the kid. Wrecker, Echo, and I will cause a diversion. Let us know when you have the youngling and we'll meet back up on the Marauder." With that they split.

    Tech knew where everything in the facility should be. He had studied the interior before they got there. The halls all looked the same but they made their way to the cell block the child was held in.

    Just as the two entered the block some stormtroopers turned the corner. Both turned around to fire. Tech focused on the troopers. Then he heard a yelp and a body hit the floor. He looked over to where his sister had been standing and realized it was her.

    Without thought, Tech quickly moved her off to the side and finished off the bucket heads. Rushing back over to her he kneeled by her side to assess her injuries. "Omega?"

    "Tech? Tech, I'm scared."

    I'm scared. The words rang through Tech's head. He knew Omega had been scared before but she never told them. The kid had walked through hell without showing her fear. She was brave and it showed. Hearing her admit to being afraid made his heart sink. "You will be fine."

    "I'm scared" she whispered. Faint crying was all that could be heard in the hall. Everything else was dead silent. It was as if time had stopped. Perhaps it had.

    "I know. I am.. also afraid" Tech admitted. "It is okay to be scared. I promise we will be okay. I'll take care of you."

    Looking at the injury, Tech knew he didn't have much time. He was surprised the shot hadn't killed her on impact.

    "Tech, I don't wanna go." Omega shook.

    "You will be alright Omega." Tech reached into one of his pouches and pulled a bacta patch out as well as some bandages. The hallway wasn't the best place to tend to the wound; it was dirty and troopers could be there any minute but there was nowhere else to move.

    He turned back to face the little girl in front of him. "Omega?" Tech spoke softly. Placing the medical supplies next to him, he reached his hand out and placed it against her neck. It felt like his own heart stopped beating. Know he knew time had stopped. He would never be the same after this moment.

    "Omega?" Tech's voice cracked. He started CPR on her. Only a few seconds later stormtroopers would enter the hall again. Tech shot them down and grabbed Omega's body. He ran to the cell the youngling was held and opened it. "Hello. I'm here to help you." Then Tech looked at the youngling. The report was wrong, the child was a padawan; a padawan he knew well.

   "Tech?" Caleb asked.

    "Hello. Now come on, we need to leave."

    Caleb looked at him for a minute before stepping closer to him. "Can I trust you?"

    "Yes, you can."

    "Who is the girl?"

    "Omega, my sister."

    "You have a sister?"

    "Yes. That is not important right now."

    Caleb walked outside of the cell. Tech grabbed him and handed him his lightsaber. "Is she okay?" Caleb asked.

    "No."

    After informing Hunter that he had found the padawan, the two ran to the Marauder. On the way they ran into more stormtroopers. Cornered Tech looked over at Caleb. He was shaking. "Are you alright?"

    "I'm scared." The boy's voice mixed with the dead girl's. Tech's head was playing tricks on him.

    "You will be fine." He may not have been able to save Omega but he wouldn't fail Caleb, not this time. Placing Omega's body beside him he looked around the corner and put together a plan to take them out. Crosshair would have been proud of the shots he made to end their lives.

    Caleb looked down at Omega's body. He realized that the girl was his age. Then he realized that she was dead. Startled he jumped back and looked over at Tech. He had finished off the soldiers and turned to pick her back up. "I'm sorry about Omega."

    Tech said nothing. The two made it back to the Marauder without any other problems. The other three were already there.

    On the ship Tech walked right past his brothers and laid Omega down on her bed. He rested the blanket over her growing cold body. Grabbing Lula the clone walked to face his brothers.

    When he walked out with Lula they knew she was gone. Tech handed the tooka doll to his brother and walked to the cockpit to pilot the ship. Caleb tried to help the family with their loss.

    Nothing would ever be the same. Tech felt trapped in that moment. For him time stopped and just couldn't start again. When someone was scared he became extremely protective over them, swearing no one would die scared under his watch. He would join Echo in the fight against the empire for that very reason. It would be a long fight and a hard one but so would healing.

@whumpril

Whumpril Day 1: Destress Signal/Panic Attack

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Note: this story may not make much sense if you haven't seen episode 14 of season 2.

Summary: What would have happened if Tech checked their old comm lines earlier?

  Tech checked the batch's old comm line sometimes. There was never anything on it. He looked because just maybe Crosshair would reach out to them, not caring what he said. This time when he turned the comm on and checked there was something. Almost immediately Tech played the message.

    "Plan 88, you have to hide. They're after Om-"

    "Plan 88?" Tech whispered. As he was about to play the message again he realized it was still playing. The sound of a door closing and then a hissing noise could be heard. That was it.

    Tech listened to the message over and over. Anxiety crept in and he started to lose control of his breathing. Crosshair didn't try to get them to help him nor did he bother to give them his location. The man sounded week. Not only that catching the last part of the message meant that they wanted one of them. The O made him believe it was Omega.

    The clone moved from the chair he sat in the floor and against the wall, holding the comm in front of him. Tech's breathing got worse. Air moved swiftly through his lungs as he listened again. Tears began welling in his eyes and he pulled his knees up to his chest.

He felt sick, his heart ponded, and he started to feel dizzy.

    Tech threw the comm across the room. When he heard it hit the ground his mind attacked his body harder. What if he broke it? They needed to find Crosshair. Despite the man's current condition he attempted to stand. Failing he fell back to the ground.

    With tears filling his googles he hastily pulled them off and stopped himself from throwing them as well. Placing them beside himself he lifted his hands up to his face. Tech knew how to deal with panic attacks, he had helped his brothers many times and had calmed himself down before. This time was different, this time he just couldn't.

    Alone in that dark room Tech fought to think clearly. How could he help Crosshair if he was stuck in this room? The walls felt like they were closing in and his hands felt tingly.

    Phee had been instructed to check on Tech. What she didn't expect was to hear sobbing when she got close to the room he occupied. Rushing in she kneeled in front of him. "Brown eyes?" He looked up. "I'm going to need you to breathe, okay?"

    "I" he stifled, "I can't."

    "I know it's hard but you have too. Breathe with me."

    When nothing changed in his behavior Phee called for Hunter. "Honey please you have to breathe. We can work through this."

    When Hunter got the call he dropped everything and ran to the Marauder. When he would arrive Tech was breathing a little earlier. It had been a while since he had seen his brother like this. He didn't miss it. The scene in front of him always broke his heart. "I'm here. What's going on Tech?"

    "He just keeps trying to say something about some Crosshair, Omega, and a plan."

    Hunter nodded then switched places with Phee. She wanted, more than anything, to be able to help Tech but right now he needed his brother. "I got you. Breathe okay. Tell me what's going on once you're able to."

    The two would sit there for another few minutes before Tech could really think clearly again. Tears still fell from his eyes but his breathing was under control now and he felt less ill.

    Finally Tech could explain. "We need to find Crosshair. I checked our old comm channel and found a distress signal from not too long ago." Getting up he went to check on the comm. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as he realized it was still in one piece. After that he played the message for the other two.

    The three talked then went to find the rest of the batch. Echo would arrive soon after and once handed the information to decode the puzzle was completed. Crosshair was on Mount Tantus. Now they just had to go get him.

@whumpril

Whumpril Day 20: Waiting Room (Alt Prompt 4? 5?)

Fandom: Star Wars The Clone Wars

Summary: Cody gets hurt and Obi-wan just wants him to be okay.

  The waiting room was silent. Obi-wan waited for a nurse or doctor to come and tell him how his commander was. The Jedi was told that Cody had stopped a kidnapping but gotten beaten up and shot in the process. It was just like the clone to protect people. Obi-wan was proud.

    The child was fine. The doctor, with parents permission, had told him that a few hours ago. Cody needed surgery for his injuries.

    It was quiet, far too quiet. The off white walls felt suffocating. The chairs were hard and uncomfortable. Time felt like it stopped. The clock on the wall taunted Obi-wan. Minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days. Nothing else seemed to matter.

    No one else was in the room. Obi-wan couldn't help but think about the people who had been in the room before him. They would've waited the same as him. The pain or relief they felt as the doctor walked in and informed them of how their loved ones were.

    Waiting here in this room was painful. Kenobi was helpless, only able to sit and see if the walls would see another person's life fall apart. The four off white walls had watched hundreds of hearts crumble. As long as lives were lost and those walls stood, they would watch time stop and start for people they never knew the story off. They were unable to provide any comfort to the scared loved ones.

    The general shifted uncomfortably. He leaned back and took a few deep breaths. Everything had to be okay. For now he would sit here; in this waiting room; using it for its intended purpose. Waiting. 

Whumpril Day 5: Defiance/Dragged/Stifled Scream

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Note: Later parts of season 2 explain the context.

Summary: Crosshair's down with the empire and their experiments.

  Crosshair hated his cell, he hated the doctors, and he hated himself. After all it was his fault he was here. They should have killed him for what he did to that baster of a lieutenant. But no, now he lived in misery.

    Two stormtroopers stood in front of the cell door and after a few seconds they entered. Instead of just getting up to go with them, this time Crosshair decided he was done being compliant. Even if this killed him, he didn't care anymore.

    The clone sat down and stared at the two "What?" He snarled. The troopers looked at each other then shrugged and grabbed him. Crosshair probably should have expected that. He fought back. It hurt but nothing physically hurt more than that damn droid. He kicked at the others feet and thrashed to get out of their grip.

    When they got him to the door he tried to stand so he could fight them better. Almost escaping the left bucket head slammed his gun over Crosshair's head. He fell and the troopers put a pair of handcuffs on him.

    This time the clone didn't fight. He didn't comply either. Instead he just let them drag him. Every now and again he would try to pull his arm to his side but it never worked.

    Crosshair was thrown into the room he hated the most. If he ever had it his way he would blow up this Kriff forsaken facility. Not only for himself but for his imprisoned brothers as well. Why he cared for the regs, the clone didn't know.

    Hemlock entered the room with Emory close behind. "I see you're being defiant again? Bad decision really."

     Crosshair looked over at the man. The hum of the imperial prob came into earshot and Crosshair attempted to stay calm. As the prob got closer he started to panic.

    The droids needle stabbed into his flesh. A cold, poisonous liquid was released into Crosshair's body. It hurt, it hurt like hell. The dose had been increased to show the clone why he better comply. Imperial property can't be fighting against the very thing that owns it after all. 

    The pain took over his body. Screams started to escape Crosshair's mouth but he tried to stop them. Showing the pain he was in would only satisfy the mad scientist. Muffling a scream tears ran from his eyes.

    Hemlock smiled. He was wining; Crosshair was breaking. A while later the torture would end and Crosshair would be dragged back to his cell.

    The other clones on the hall began fighting as well soon after seeing Crosshair defy. Maybe there was hope for them after all. They followed in their brother's footsteps by refusing to leave their cells or by denying Hemlock the pleasure of seeing them express their pain. As irritating as it was the scientist was impressed.

    Time passed and the clones never backed down. They were created to fight so why not fight? If they got dragged down to hell because of it they would go with a smile, waiting to see their lost brothers. That was an ending they could live with.

Whumpril Day 19: Choking/Muffled Subs/"I'm Worried About You."

Fandom: Star Wars the Clone Wars

Summary: Obi-wan and Dooku battle. It doesn't go well and it takes Obi-wan mental health down.

     Obi-wan and Count Dooku's lightsaber met. They were just about evenly matched. Their fight had been going on for quite some time but Dooku was getting impatient. As their lightsabers moved apart the count decided he was done with the game. He reached his unoccupied hand up and force pushed Obi-wan into the wall behind them.

     The Jedi hit the wall. His feet weren't allowed to touch the ground. Invisible pressure closed around his throat. He couldn't breathe. Responding to the feeling, Obi-wan moved his hands to his throat. Even if he knew it wouldn't help he dug at his neck.

    Looking around Kenobi tried to find a way to escape. His vision started to blur and he felt lightheaded. The man's feet kicked as he tried to find the ground. Tears bordered his eyes. He had felt weak before but never quite like this.

    Obi-wan stopped fighting; he no longer searched for the ground and he let his arms fall to his side. He somewhat hoped that Dooku would release him but other than that his mind was mostly worried about his loved ones. He just hoped they would be okay, that this wouldn't hurt them as deeply as he had been hurt when Qui-gon or Satine had died.

    Dooku didn't let go. He held Obi-wan there. Anakin rounded the corner just as the man gave up and for a brief moment he thought that his brother was gone. Angrily, he attacked the politician. This caused Dooku to drop Kenobi.

    Air flower through his lungs once more. It took a moment before Obi-wan could get control of his breathing again.

    Anakin had taken note that his master was still alive and placed himself protectively between him and Dooku. As the two fought Obi-wan collected himself.

    Around six minutes passed and Obi-wan stood to assist his rescuer. He wasn't completely ready but he wasn't sure he ever would be. Facing your own mortality is scary after all.

    The Jedi forced Dooku to retreat. They reconvened with their men and finished the battle. After a Republic win, they headed back to their star cruisers.

    Kenobi walked into his quarters and placed his lightsaber on his bunk. He walked into the refresher that was connected to his room.

    Obi-wan stared at his reflection. He ran his fingers over the scratches on his neck. Something broke in him. It was like everything came down all at once.

    The man walked back out to his bed. He went to sit on it but missed and landed on the floor. Tears fell from his eyes and he started to cry. His breathing sped up and he pulled his knees towards himself.

    Obi-wan tried to stay quiet. The walls weren't exactly thin but he worried someone might hear.

    It felt like he was suffocating all over again. That feeling of being unable to control your breathing. Even if air moved in and out of his lungs it was far too fast. His sobs slightly echoed in the practically empty room; making everything feel surreal.

    Times passed and Obi-wan laid on the floor. He didn't quite have the will to get up yet. There was a knock on the door and for a moment he debated not answering it. "I'll be right there." Obi-wan's voice still came off shaky

     Cody stood on the other side. "Can I come in?" he asked.

    Obi-wan just nodded. Cody walked Obi-wan to his bed and sat them both down. "What's going on?"

    "Oh, nothing."

    "I'm worried about you."

    "You don't have to do that" Obi-wan's voice failed to hide his stress.

    "Then tell me what's going on." Cody had his ways of getting his general to talk to him.

    "It's nothing you should worry about."

    Cody tenderly placed his hand on Obi-wan's lower thigh, "then why are your eyes all red? You can talk to me."

     "It's not" Obi-wan looked into the others eyes. Instead of trying to reassure his commander it was nothing he just went in to hug him.

    He grabbed at Cody's shoulders, fabric filled his fist. His face rested in the others chest.

    His muffled sobs broke the clone's heart. He wasn't sure how long he would be holding Obi-wan but he didn't care. Cody would sit there until his general stopped crying. Then he would wait until he felt better, even if it took all night. Even if it took the next day, or the next, or tell the end of the war, or even his whole life. He would be there.

@whumpril