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S3: The Bad Batch (15)

Chapter Fifteen: The Calvary Has Arrived

Gif by @theworstbatch

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Ever since Eriadu, Clone Force 99 had been a fractured squad. Months have passed but you're finally back with the Batch but Omega is still out there and you won't stop until you find her again.

Chapter Summary: It all comes down to this final fight on Tantiss

Masterlist for S1 and S2

<Previous Chapter

Chapter Warnings: Limited (Y/N), swearing, canon-typical violence, injury descriptions (blood, cuts, blacking out and bruising, loss of limbs, choking), needles and injections, Hemlock being extra cruel and evil, detailed torture and pain descriptions, mentions of self-sacrifice, begging and heavy angst, reader has a bit of a low moment, death, 'fixing' a death, I alter how the hangar fight goes ever so slightly, the Force and medical supplies suiting my needs, happy endings with nice emotions and light PDA

Word Count: 15.8K (Terribly sorry)

Author's notes: It's here! It's a rollercoaster! And Jen and Brad, we all know how it really went, okay? Happy reading!

Night had fallen by the time Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair had made more progress towards the base but even then, it was slow going. Patrols had increased and Wrecker’s injury was affecting him far more than he would like, they kept needing to stop to attend to it.

“Ow.” Wrecker complained as Hunter stuck him with another med patch.

“Did you think wrestling that creature was a good idea?” Crosshair snarked.

“At the time, yes.” Wrecker replied stubbornly.

“The base is five klicks away. Can you make it?” Hunter offered his hand out to Wrecker to get him back on his feet.

“Ha. Try and stop me.” Wrecker responded as he grasped Hunter’s hand.

Hunter waited a second to make sure the coast was clear before he led the way again.

Hemlock worked on drowning out the persistent blaring alarm as he walked down the corridor. His lack of success with you and Tech should not matter. He had enough to know how this squad operated. He still had everything under control. He stopped in front of the oncoming patrol group. “Guard the vault until the security lockdown is lifted.”

“Dr. Hemlock, one of the insurgents has been captured.” Scorch informed him.

Hemlock followed him down the side corridor towards the cells.

Hemlock opened the prison door to see a familiar face. He massaged the palm of his gloved hand as he entered the room. “Aligning yourself with insurgent clones…” He sighed, “Not a good look, Rampart.”

“You’re surprisingly calm, considering this secure and secret facility has been compromised.” Rampart said with a cool countenance. “I can’t imagine the Emperor will be pleased about that.”

Hemlock wasn’t about to let this failure of a man get under his skin. “All that time you spent on Kamino, yet you learned nothing about how clones think. I knew Clone Force 99 would eventually attempt to recover Omega and their Jedi. Their failure is inevitable.”

“The Jedi, I understand. But all this for the young clone too. I fail to see how she’s of value to you.”

Hemlock resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, this fool didn’t understand. “What I am working on is beyond your understanding. Something so vital to the Empire, it makes me indispensable. Unlike yourself.” He waltzed out the cell.

“The longer this lockdown continues, the higher the chance you’ll be discovered.” Emerie advised cautiously as Echo kept working through the system. “We need to move. Now.”

“Why can’t I find any record of the vault Omega’s held in? Or this different cell you were talking about.”

“These databanks are heavily encrypted. The vault and the cell are several levels down. Hemlock keeps them under heavy guard, but I can get you inside.”

Echo unplugged and reattached his hand as he faced Emerie. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because I was wrong about this place. And-” She inhaled sharply, “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

The sincere way in which she spoke allowed Echo to view her in a new light. He gave her a respectful nod before he donned his trooper helmet and signalled for her to lead the way.

“You want us to do what?” Eva double checked as Omega finished telling them the plan.

“It’s how we’re going to escape.” Omega reminded them.

“But it sounds dangerous.” Sami said worriedly.

“My squad I told you about? They’re here. If we can get out of this room and find them, we can all go home.”

“What about your friend?” Jax asked.

Omega had to push you to the back of her mind, as much as it pained her to do so. “My first objective is to get you all home first.”

Home. The word felt so foreign to them now.

“You really think this will work?” Eva asked softly.

“I’ll make sure of it.” Omega promised. “I’ve been trained for this. Let’s get into position.”

Doing as she said, each of the kids took up a seat at a different table to wait on Sami’s signal that they were clear to start.

Sami looked up at the window to see Dr. Scalder step away which was when she tapped her puzzle piece on the table.

Omega readied her tool as Jax and Eva approached the supervising droid.

“My game is broken.” Eva held the device out to the droid. “Can you fix it?”

Omega snuck up behind the droid and stabbed the droid’s power centre. The three of them manoeuvred it into her cell where she could get to work on reprograming it.

Eva and Jax kept an eye out for Sami’s signal and Eva saw the Pantoran knock over the stack of pieces which only meant one thing, “Dr. Scalder is on her way. Hurry.”

“You’ve done this before, right?” Jax asked as Omega seemed no closer to getting whatever it was that she needed to do to the droid completed.

“Yes, but not on this type of droid.” Omega hissed as she hurriedly worked on the wires in the droid’s main control panel.

Dr. Scalder entered the lab and asked the specimen still at the table, “Where are the others?”

Sami stayed silent and held Bayrn close to her.

“Sp-39, I asked you a question.”

Sami pointed behind Dr. Scalder as she saw the three of them approaching.

“We w-were with the droid.” Eva said quietly, her head hanging in automatic submission.

Dr. Scalder sighed in exasperation. “Another scan wasn’t scheduled. Tell me what you were really doing.”

“Eva’s telling the truth.” Omega said calmy as the droid drew closer to Dr. Scalder. “We were with the droid.”

“Dr. Karr has been too lenient with you all. Return to your alcoves. A few days of isolation should remind you-” That was all she got to say before a needle pierced her skin and she fell unconscious.

“It worked.” Sammi gasped as Bayrn released a few happy babbles.

“You did great.” Omega praised. “Now, we have to hurry. Droid, guard the door. Sami, prep the sling for Bayrn.”

Omega dashed into her room and used her tool to get under the first panel before she could tear the rest down. Turning to the others and seeing that Bayrn was now secure on Jax’s back and Eva had her doll strapped to her, Omega asked, “Ready?”

“Ready.” Jax confirmed.

Omega led them into the walls as part to of their escape was underway.

Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair paused again as another ship passed overhead.

“He’s gonna need another med patch.” Crosshair advised Hunter as he heard Wrecker’s strained grunt and the way he kept bringing his hand to his chest.

“We’re out.” Hunter said regrettably. Seeing Wrecker so hurt was a rare thing and it made the decision to carry on forward to Tantiss that bit harder.

Wrecker got to his feet with a groan. “I- I can make it.”

Hunter and Crosshair shared a concerned look, but they followed in their brother’s insistent footsteps through the jungle yet again.

Emerie led the way to the vault, with Echo walking a few paces behind.

Echo took in the corridor awash with red beams of light. “The kids who are held in here, where’d they come from?”

“The Empire used bounty hunters to retrieve them. Their genetic material was required for certain medical testing. I didn’t know about them until recently. I couldn’t help them. Until now.” Emerie paused by the vault door.

“Well, how do the two of them fit into all this?” Echo asked as he thought about you and Omega. “These kids, are they like-”

“I believe they could be, yes. As for Omega, she’s vital to Hemlock’s main objective for the Emperor. Project Necromancer.”

“And (Y/N)?”

“Hemlock wanted her blood for the same purposes as these children, but he also had ulterior motives that his focus has shifted more towards. He stopped taking her samples a while ago.”

“Shifted to what?” Echo asked warily.

Emerie swallowed, “He wants her to join his operatives. He thinks he can… condition her the same way.”

All of what Emerie said made his blood run cold. “Don’t like the sound of that.”

“Everybody good?” Omega asked to the group behind her as they all squeezed along the path she had found to their destination.

“Bayrn’s getting restless. H- He won’t be quiet for much longer.” Jax warned.

“Don’t worry. Things are about to get very loud anyways.” Omega stopped and peered through the slats in the wall and saw that the Zillo Beast and the number of personnel watching it was still the same as what it had been when she’d first came upon it. “Wait here.” She removed the grate and sneakily clambered out and made her way to where the controls that were keeping the beast contained were situated.

However, just as she reached it and was determining which buttons did what, she heard Bayrn’s wails echo throughout the chamber, and she knew she had to hurry. She sussed out what controls would get her what she needed and when the button lit up and she pulled on the lever, she heard the winning sound of the system powering down.

As the troopers rallied to try to contain the now very awake and active Zillo Beast, she darted back and hid with the others in the wall once more and had the joy of watching her plan come to fruition.

The chaos and destruction that unfolded was something she knew Wrecker would be proud of.

Emerie opened the main vault door but was taken aback by what greeted her. “What’s going on in here?” She inquired as Dr. Scalder was escorted past- groaning and clutching at her head. But what concerned her more was the intense conversation occurring between Dr. Hemlock and Scorch.

“Omega and the specimens have escaped.” Hemlock informed her, rage simmering in his voice. “Due to Dr. Scalder’s incompetence, they exploited a weak point in within the walls. She will be dealt with.”

Just as he said that there was an intense rumble that shook the entire facility and the lights flickered off and on again.

“The Zillo’s loose in the containment level.” Scorch revealed as the information came through his comms.

Whatever was happening had not been what he’d anticipated, clearly, he’d been wise to seek the information from you and Tech, it was just an unfortunate setback that he had been unable to acquire it but no matter, he was still in control. Now that he knew Omega was out, he could go back to what he already knew about their ways. “Shut down the reactor and send a diversion to secure the transport hangar.” Hemlock said sharply. “Check on SP-42, Dr. Karr. Then find Omega. Consider your fate now tied to hers.” He exited the vault.

“SP-42?” Echo murmured, already knowing and fearing the answer.

“Yes.” Emerie confirmed quietly as the other troopers departed. She waited until everyone else left before she spoke to Echo in a louder voice, “I don’t understand. Where could the children have gone?”

Echo may not have understood a lot about the goings on in Tantiss but there was one thing about this that he did know for certain. “Omega. She released the Zillo.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because it’s exactly what I’d do.” He replied with a cheery sense of pride. “She’s splitting their numbers and creating a diversion. Come on.”

The two of them jogged out of the lab and Emerie led the way to you.

Echo followed Emerie as she took another sharp turn down a corridor and then opened a set of doors that led to another small, tight corridor with a door a few metres down.

Emerie rifled through one of the compartments in the walls outside the cell and took out your lightsaber which she clipped to her belt before she grabbed the proper medkit. Then, she grabbed a small set of keys from her person and cautiously opened the door, “(Y/N), it’s Emerie and Echo. We’re here to get you out.”

Echo’s mouth went dry as he saw you for the first time since Teth and he took in the dirtied and blood-stained uniform. It was definitely better that he found you like this instead of Hunter but even then, he was still having to steady his own breathing.

“Emerie, I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, but you’re supposed to stick me with the needle before you say things like that.” You croaked through dry and cracked lips as you kept your eyes shut.

Echo took in the mix of fresh and fading bruises on your face and the way your body was racked with exhaustion. Emerie’s prior information did not even come close to accurate- this wasn’t conditioning, it was torture. “You just allowed this to happen?” He questioned angrily as he snatched the key from Emerie and strode over to your slumped form.

“Oh, now that’s good. He almost sounds like him.” You complimented with a weary sigh.

“I didn’t mean to- Hemlock- he was-” She stopped any attempt at defence because no matter what, she’d played a part in this. “I did what I could to help her.”

“Open your eyes and look at me.” Echo implored as he undid your chains and took off his helmet.

“No.” You whimpered. “It’s a trick. It’s always a trick.”

“It’s not a trick.” Echo reassured you as he rested both hands on your shoulders. “Open your eyes.”

“Echo doesn’t have two hands.” You said, aggressively shaking your head as you kept your eyes tightly shut.

“Look at me.”

“No.”

“Look at me.” Echo pleaded. Time wasn’t on his side here and he needed you back with them.

He sounded so real; you couldn’t help yourself. You slowly opened your eyes and took in the familiar face and the eyes that were filled with worry as they looked at you. “Echo?” You whispered; your tone filled with uncertainty.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“You’re here? This is real?” Even though Omega had told you this would happen, you hadn’t allowed yourself to fully believe it.

“It’s real. And the others are on their way.” He confirmed with a small reassuring smile.

You flung your arms around him and as he returned your embrace, you already began to feel more alive than you had since arriving here.

“Come on, we gotta get you on your feet.” Echo supported you as you shakily stood up.

“Where’s- where’s Omega?” You said through gritted teeth as your body protested the movement. You knew she had a plan of her own but with Echo and Emerie here, you had to wonder why she wasn’t with them.

Emerie gave you a round of E-bacta shots to get you closer to the level of fitness they needed you to be.

At the first injection, you automatically flinched away from her and into Echo’s side.

Emerie paused and chastised herself for being so thoughtless. She held up her hands in a pacifying gesture and apologised, “Sorry. It’s just bacta to help you heal quickly.” But she waited for you to give the okay before she went any further.

You regarded her suspiciously and made no moves to allow her to carry on. You were on edge, just waiting for the familiar effects to set in and for this to all come crashing down around you.

Echo felt your body go rigid as you leaned into him. He’d never seen you like this and it unnerved him. He was so used to seeing you remain unphased, no matter what came your way. Whatever torture Hemlock had done to you had left far more than physical marks. “I saw her grab the med supplies. She wants to help.” He reassured you gently.

You glanced at his face but saw honesty and so you nodded to Emerie to continue.

Once you were more relaxed, Echo answered your question. “Omega’s already helped us out. Her plan to release the Zillo Beast has worked very well so far. Their forces are a bit stretched and frantic at the moment.” He informed you proudly.

“Oh, she’s brilliant.” You murmured with affectionate admiration.

Echo nodded in agreement as Emerie finished tending to you.

“Hey, wait a minute, you do have another hand?!” You gawped before wincing as the final injection entered your skin- the pricks were still a painful reminder of what you had endured here.

“Not exactly the time for that.” Echo reminded you.

“We cannot linger here. We need to keep moving.” Emerie agreed hastily as she put the medical supplies away.

You nodded sheepishly. “Yup, you’re right, you’re right. Keep that for later.”

Echo picked up his helmet and put it over his head. “Can you walk?” Echo asked.

You rolled your sore shoulders as you took a steadying breath and nodded. “The bacta is working. Let’s go.” You called on the Force to help you find that extra bit of strength as you all exited the cell.

The three of them stopped again and Crosshair used his binoculars to scan ahead. He saw a squad of troopers with lurca hounds and everything he’d been trying to supress since arriving back here came rushing back. His hand trembled and his breathing came to him in short pants. He couldn’t do this. His brothers couldn’t do this; he wouldn’t let them. “They’ve got heavy patrols guarding the perimeter with lurca hounds.”

“Told you we should’ve brought Batcher.” Wrecker joked feebly, groaning in pain and bracing himself against a tree. He noticed the helmeted looks of concern that were sent his way from both his brothers. “Stop looking at me like that! I’m fine!” He insisted through another groan.

“No, you’re not.” Crosshair disagreed strongly. “Change of plans. You two, head to the communications array and try to contact Rex.” He drew his sniper rifle. “I’ll infiltrate the base myself.”

“Not happening.” Hunter objected.

“Yeah, we’ve handled worse situations than this. Countless-”

“Wake up, Wrecker.” Crosshair snapped. “Clone Force 99 died with Tech.” His voice dropped slightly, “We’re not that squad anymore.”

Wrecker and Hunter reflected on that for a moment and Crosshair was right, they weren’t, it was true. But they’d become something more, hadn’t they? Something that meant far more than just a squad title for a war effort. And Tech, alive or dead, was a part of that too.

“I’ve been inside that mountain. I know what we’re up against. If we all go in, we’re not all making it out.” Crosshair continued. “(Y/N) and Omega need you both. So, I’m doing this alone. It’s- it’s what I deserve.” He said, almost to himself.

Hunter wasn’t going to accept that or even entertain the possibility. “Don’t even think about Plan 99, Crosshair. They need all of us, and so do those clones.” He stood facing his brother, so he knew, even with his helmet on, that he meant every word.

“We’ve always known the risks. And so did Tech.” Wrecker placed a hand on Crosshair’s shoulder.

The sounds of the lurca hounds in distress got their focus back and Hunter looked through his binoculars just as the hounds were running away from their handlers.

“What’s going on?” Wrecker asked.

A deep banging and screaming of dying troopers answered his question as the Zillo Beast emerged from the base with a piercing roar.

Crosshair knew that could only be the result of one of three people. “Whose handiwork?”

“Omega’s.” Hunter and Wrecker said in unison.

“If she’s giving us a way in, let’s not waste it.” Hunter said before setting off towards the base again.

Satisfied that it was safe to emerge, Omega removed the grate and led the way over to the ladder that ran up the entirety of the base.

“You want us to climb up t-that?” Jax asked nervously.

“The Zillo got out this way. So can we.” Omega replied but she saw a familiar but fearful reluctance on Jax’s face. “What’s wrong?” She asked kindly.

“I’m not good with heights.” Jax admitted. “I- I guess I’d make a poor soldier.” He said shamefully.

Omega’s eyes softened. “My brother Wrecker hates heights too. And he’s the strongest soldier I know.” She touched Jax’s shoulder in reassurance, “Just stay focused on what’s ahead, not what’s below.” She waved them all over and led the climb up the ladder.

“The Zillo breached the bay doors and fled to the jungle after wiping out two full divisions of troopers.” Scorch said as he entered the control room. “We need reinforcements.”

Hemlock kept his hands behind his back but clenched his covered hand into a fist. “Send the shuttles after the Zillo.”

“But, sir, without air support, the rogue clones could exploit our weakened defences.”

“Of course they will. Do it.” Hemlock strode out of the control room.

Hemlock entered the training room and powered up the system. Even though he hadn’t wanted to use them just yet, the situation called for it and it was time they had a true test. Even though they’d only come up against you, Hemlock had no doubt that they were ready and could get him the results he needed. He watched with a dark smile as they emerged from their capsules.

He said nothing to them yet, he just motioned for them to follow him out but as he did so, he was interrupted by Scorch again.

“Sir, the Jedi has escaped.” Scorch told Hemlock. “Should I send a squadron to look for her?”

Hemlock massaged his gloved palm harder as he felt that rage flare up again but then a remarkable sense of calm overcame him, and a new idea emerged from the clarity. Perhaps this was the way to go after all. “No need, Commander. Send a squad to accompany the operatives to the hangar bay and when she is found, I want her alive. I want all of Clone Force 99 alive.” He nodded to his soldiers to leave for the hangar.

Now, you all would do the work for him.

All he had to do was wait.

The three of you waited until the corridor was clear before you followed Emerie around the corner and down towards another door.

Emerie slid her datapad into the panel and programmed the door to open, but it only opened a fraction before the system shorted out.

Echo peered through the gap and saw the wreckage ahead. “We’re on the right track. Omega definitely came through here.”

“And went where? How are they getting around unseen?” Emerie asked.

Echo followed up path of chaos up the way. “What’s at the top of this shaft?” He moved out the way so Emerie could look.

“It leads up to one of the transport hangars.”

“Any chance you know a shortcut?” Echo checked.

Emerie nodded and made to leave the area.

You didn’t follow them, instead you puffed out a short breath, “This isn’t going to work.”

Echo and Emerie paused and looked back at you.

“I can’t stay with the two of you. The fact we haven’t been caught yet is incredibly fortunate but the longer I’m with you, the more likely it is that’ll happen. We can’t risk either of you being discovered.”

“Well, what do you suggest?” Echo asked.

“You two can go find Omega and those kids, I’ll find Hunter and the others.”

“You don’t know the way.” Emerie pointed out.

“Sure I do.” You motioned through the gap in the door. “Just follow the mess and head straight up, right? I can get there quicker than you can now that I’m free and feeling a lot better.”

“There will be soldiers and you’re not 100%. And there’s no clear way through either.”

“I’m a lot more capable when I’m not bound and tortured.” You argued pointedly.

“It’s still not a viable-”

“Echo…” You tilted your head in his direction. “Please tell her.”

Echo nodded to you and then spoke to Emerie, “She can do it. Plus, you won’t really be able to stop her. There are only two that could, one of them is somewhere in this base and the other is doing his best to get here.”

“He’s right. You’ve helped heal me and I think you’ll find I can be far more stubborn and irritating when I’m not in a permanent state of pain.” You said with a simple shrug.

Emerie sighed but conceded the matter. The debate wouldn’t get them anywhere and, thanks to the bacta, you were on the mend. Plus, you had skills that would aid you in this task. “Very well. You’ll need this.” She handed you your weapon.

You took your lightsaber from her with a nod of thanks.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I should’ve done more to stop him.”

You offered her a slight smile. “Well, you did stop me bleeding out that one time so…”

Emerie wasn’t about to let you let her off the hook so easily. “I should’ve done more.” She repeated seriously.

“You’re doing more now.” You said, dipping your head in acceptance of her words.

Echo rested his left hand on your shoulder. “Be careful.”

You placed your own hand on his upper arm. “You too.” With that, you used the Force to widen the gap in the door and hurried through it.

Echo and Emerie began their more traditional route.

You took in the levels of destruction ahead of you and you had to hand it to both Omega and the Zillo Beast, they definitely didn’t do things by halves.

Calling on the Force, you jumped to the next highest safe point you could reach, and kept that going when you could, climbing quickly when you couldn’t, and the hangar was drawing closer by the minute.

You knew it wouldn’t be long before you saw them again.

But you also knew it would be far from over when you reached them.

Blasters drawn, the three of them had managed to reach the transport hangar and sneak their way in. The entire hangar was decimated, with bits of it’s interior now reduced to piles of scrap metal. Fires were dying all around them.

Just as Hunter was assessing the situation, he dodged the blaster bolt aimed right at his head.

They all took cover behind some scrap metal and looked ahead at the emerging squad of troopers.

“What now?” Wrecker grunted.

Crosshair was the first to peer out and he saw the stormtroopers but that wasn’t what unnerved him. The sight of four operative soldiers standing on a pile of wreckage is what alarmed him. They couldn’t handle this.

“How many?” Wrecker asked as he saw Crosshair press himself back against the scrapheap.

“Too many.”

“W-we can take ‘em.”

Crosshair steadied his shaking hand. “No we can’t. Not in your condition. We need to fall back.”

“Crosshair-” Hunter tried to argue, not trusting that Crosshair was planning.

“Go! I’ll be right behind you.” Crosshair placed a sticky bomb on the end of his rifle and fired it at a fixture hanging over the main area of the transport bay.

As they began their retreat, the troopers starting firing on them and advancing towards them.

They could only be on the defence as they fired back.

You heard blaster fire above you and- breathing hard after the strenuous climb- with one final jump, you reached the ruined transport hangar. Some wreckage blocked your path but you used the Force to push it out your way and the sight that greeted you had your stomach lurching. Troopers were everywhere and, although you had been blindfolded the entire time, you knew the four armoured soldiers making their way through the hordes of soldiers were the operatives Hemlock had pitted you against and were what he wanted you to become. You knew yourself that you still weren’t ready for this type of combat, but you couldn’t do nothing.

You took a revitalising breath as you centred yourself and blocked the lingering pain you were feeling from your mind before you ignited your lightsaber, the shining blue blade giving you that added strength you needed.

With a Force-aided leap, you sailed over the heads of troopers and placed yourself between them and the clones behind you.

For a moment, time stood still.

Hunter stopped falling back as he heard that familiar ignition sound and his head snapped towards the source and his breath caught in his throat as he saw you.

It was you. Standing in a soiled prison uniform but in a wash of blue light that stood out from the ember flames was you.

However, something was off as you blocked the blaster fire and struck down the troopers around you. Your movements weren’t quite as fluid or easy as they typically were. You moved stiffly, almost cautiously, and it was obvious to him that you were hurting. He could only let the worst imaginings take hold of him as he thought about what had happened to you and his blood boiled as anger raged through him.

Hunter got a hold of himself and fired at a trooper that was taking aim for your back.

At the sound of a body dropping next to you, you turned and followed the path the shot took, and sharp gasp left your throat.

Everything else around you slowed down and faded into the background as you caught his helmeted gaze. The paint, like his brother’s, had been stripped from his armour, but it was him. He could wear a hundred disguises, decorate his armour in a hundred different ways and you’d know it was him. You’d know him anywhere.

Time swiftly righted itself swiftly again once Crosshair’s bomb went off, shaking the already weak integrity that remained of the hangar. The entire room trembled.

You cut through the final trooper before you turned off your saber and jumped over the falling ceiling beam. You saw the top of where the hangar bay doors used to be begun to collapse which threatened to block their way out and so you called on the Force and held the structure in place. You could buy them enough time to get out and then you could follow.

But you sensed the oncoming threat a second too late.

One of the larger operatives tackled your waist and you both went sliding along the floor.

Hunter and Wrecker watched as the once steady structure started to fall once more. Clearly, whatever help you were providing was no longer available. Now, the approaching gunship was their main concern.

Hunter shoved Wrecker out of the line of fire but the resulting explosions behind him threw him across the room where he clattered into a heap of wreckage and the knock-on impact from the blast saw more falling pieces land on top of him. Darkness engulfed him.

Crosshair killed the pilot and began to run over to the two of them.

Wrecker dashed over to where his brother had fallen, “Hunter!” He removed the metal and picked him up, but he didn’t get very far before a weighted bolas wrapped around his legs, causing him to trip and drop Hunter.

Crosshair caught up to Wrecker, holstered his sniper rifle, and took the vibroblade from the side of Wrecker’s leg and worked on cutting through the rope but he saw another operative heading straight for him. He wasn’t able to draw his blaster in time. The blow landed and sent him careening backwards.

Wrecker couldn’t do anything to help his brother either. The operative that had tripped him up and hit Crosshair now towered above him and pressed his electrostaff straight into the gash in his chest and the pain was excruciating. His entire body was engulfed by the electric current and he didn’t have the energy to fight against the man above him or the hurt anymore, it all got too much, and he succumbed to the darkness.

Stars danced in front of Crosshair’s eyes as his back hit against another piece of debris and his head snapped back against the metal, but he saw that Wrecker was in trouble and he made himself stay awake as he searched for his weapon which he saw a few metres to his right. But his attempts to grab it were thwarted instantly. Crosshair groaned as a foot stamped down on his wrist before he could reach his blaster.

CX-2 caught the vibrosword from his counterpart before he looked down at the pathetic form beneath him, “You should be more careful with your shooting hand.”

Those were the last words Crosshair registered before he saw the blade descend and he felt a deep, searing pain and his sight went black.

You and the operative that had attacked you had been engaged in a fight all on your own whilst that had all gone down.

The operative had gained the upper hand in the tussle and your lightsaber had escaped your hold in the struggle.

Right now, you were doing your best to stay conscious as the operative straddled your chest and wrapped his hands around your throat, squeezing hard.

You powerfully facepalmed the underside of his chin so his neck whipped back, stunning him for a second but it was a much needed second.

With that second, his hold on your neck loosened and you were able to remove his hands from you. You pushed him off you and to the side of your body where, with a ragged breath, you got to your feet.

You stomped down hard on his stomach as he attempted to sit up. With one hand, you used the Force to keep him flat on the ground- his futile struggles spurring you on. With the other hand, you called your lightsaber to your it and activated your blade as you swung it down…

“Stop.”

Your blade hovered over the operative’s chest as you angled your head in the direction of the recognisable voice. Your breathing left you in short, uneven pants as you glared at him.

“Surrender or his head goes next.”

Your mouth went dry as you saw what the operative from Pabu was talking about. Crosshair’s shooting hand had been cut clean off and now the long vibroblade weapon was resting over his neck.

“Put your weapon down, or they all die.”

You scanned for the other two and saw another operative standing over Wrecker with an electrospear pressing down on what appeared to be an open chest wound and Hunter lay limp and unmoving on the ground.

The only reassuring thing about this situation was that they all were still breathing. Unconscious, but still alive. And that’s how you wanted to keep them.

You clenched your jaw and ground out a defeated breath as you disengaged your weapon and released your hold of the soldier beneath you.

Your operative got to his feet and snatched your weapon from you and, with a hard punch to your jaw, took your arms behind your back and held your wrists together in a strong and unnecessarily tight grip.

You were too dazed to do anything to resist it.

They moved you all out and back into Tantiss base.

Omega reached the top of the level that led to the transport hangar. As they’d all drawn nearer, they had heard the sounds of blaster fire, but it had all stopped now. She only hoped that meant Hunter and the others had gotten through.

She headed off for the hangar bay, the children following behind.

Echo and Emerie exited the lift and made for the but both of them slowed as they saw a group of operatives go down the corridor.

There were three soldiers unconscious on hovercrafts.

You were pushed along behind them, your arms held securely behind you by one of the soldiers, a fresh purple bruise on your jaw.

Emerie glanced at Echo and even with the helmet on, she could tell he was worried, “Is that the rest of your squad?” She asked as they all rounded the corner.

“Yeah.” Echo said, his voice low. “Where are they being taken?”

“I don’t know. But Hemlock will keep them well guarded.”

“I can handle that. But we have to find the children first.”

Emerie waited a second in case he wanted to change his mind. She could tell his mind was still with all of you, but he was pushing through for the current objective. “The science hangar is up ahead.”

Omega guided the others into the room and took cover by a crate as they all took in the destruction. Whatever had happened here wasn’t solely due to the Zillo Beast anymore- a firefight had occurred here too.

“Do you see your squad?” Eva whispered to Omega.

“Not yet.”

“Hey! You don’t belong here. Call it in.”

Omega jumped to her feet and started to back away from the two troopers, but two stun blasts shot above her head towards the men. She turned back around to see her rescuer was another stormtrooper.

“Causing chaos, Havoc 5?”

“Echo?” Omega gasped happily.

Echo removed his helmet and smiled, “Hey kid.” He then saw more children come out from behind Omega. “And other kids.”

“The shuttles in bay four are still operational.” Emerie informed him as she came back from checking them out.

“You’re helping us, Dr. Karr?” Eva said in surprise.

“I am. But we must hurry.”

Echo put his helmet back on and he and Emerie led the way to the shuttle at a run.

As they reached the shuttle, Omega paused and looked around her. “Wait. Where are Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair? And (Y/N), we’ve got to free her!”

“We got her out, but we split up and now, they’re all detained together.” Echo told her.

“You mean captured?”

“For now.” Echo turned to Emerie and slotted his blaster under his arm. “Can you fly that shuttle?”

“Yes. Why?”

Echo brought out a datacard and gave it to her. “Take the kids to these coordinates. We’ll meet you there.”

Sami, Jax and Eva all looked at one another anxiously.

“You’re not coming with us?” Jax asked Omega.

“There are more prisoners inside, including my family. I can’t leave without them.” Omega welcomed their group embrace and rubbed Bayrn’s head. “Don’t worry. Emerie’s taking you someplace safe. We’ll meet you there.” The kids let her go and stepped away.

“Here.” Emerie passed her datapad to Omega. “This will help you access all wings of the facility.”

“Look after them.” Omega instructed her sister.

“You have my word.” Emerie promised. She placed her hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Be careful, Omega. And…” Emerie took a short breath before she shared her final bit of what she hoped was useful intel. “And if you can, check out the maintenance closet in the prison level. It isn’t what it says, Hemlock spent almost as much time there as he did with your Jedi friend, and he didn’t tell me why. But he never did anything without a purpose. He’s hiding something there; I just don’t know what.”

‘Tech was more resistant to my methods this time.’ Hemlock’s words echoed in her head, and she couldn’t help it, theories and hope started to stir in her. She nodded to Emerie before she and Echo took off back to the base and back to the rest of you.

“You ready?” Echo asked as the door opened just as the shuttle with Emerie took off and away to safety.

She’d succeeded in her initial objective. Now it was time for the next one. “Let’s complete the mission.”

This was no nightmare.

This was no illusion.

This was no trick.

This was not a figment of your imagination.

You were not under the influence of any injection or serum.

There was no denying what you were hearing and seeing now.

There was no blocking out this type of agony that you were experiencing.

Hunter’s moans and screams of pain as the electricity crackled against his temples and jolted through the rest of his body were real.

It was all horrifyingly, heartbreakingly real.

And no matter how much you struggled against your captor’s hold, you were helpless to do anything but watch and listen.

There was no convincing yourself that it wasn’t happening.

And you knew would do anything to make it stop.

Hemlock studied the room. Your hands were now bound in cuffs in front of your body, but one operative still kept a vice-like grip on your shoulder. Hunter and the others were in their capsules, bound and powerless. Crosshair and Wrecker were still unconscious, and Crosshair’s right wrist was being sealed off by a droid. He ignored you for the moment, your time would come soon, for now, his attention lied with Hunter. He signalled for the machine to be turned off.

Hunter panted heavily as the torture finally stopped. Everything hurt, his limbs burned, his head felt like it was going to explode- and that was just from this. He could still fill a deep soreness in his ribs from the blast in the hangar bay. And right now, it may have stopped but he still felt the current in his veins, so the pain endured. He could barely keep his eyes open. He attempted to free his hands from the binders, but they were too tight. Then, he heard Hemlock’s cool, quiet voice.

“The last time we crossed paths, you had just lost a member of your squad. And it appears history may repeat itself. CT-9904 resisted my conditioning in the past, but I’ve made alterations to my methods. Something your… partner can attest to. If you all survive, you will make fine operatives.”

Hunter followed Hemlock’s gaze to where Wrecker and Crosshair were and the wave of guilt that he felt upon seeing what he’d brought on them made way for new type of hurt to enter the mix. Then his sights found yours and he saw the fear and distress in your eyes at Hemlock’s words. He had rarely seen you look so genuinely terrified and yet whatever else Hemlock was talking about got that from you.

“No!” You shouted as you violently fought against the hand holding you back. You couldn’t bear it if they suffered that fate or had to go through anymore of this.

Hemlock ignored you and approached Hunter. “And if not, well, there’s no shortage of clones to test on next.”

“We’ll survive. But you won’t.” Hunter said with as much strength as he could muster.

Hemlock regarded the clone pitifully and indicated to the operative to start the process once more.

Hunter couldn’t help the anguished shouts that left him as he felt that electric fire deep in his body once more, each nerve felt like it was burning away.

“Stop! Stop hurting him!” You cried out as you pulled against the hand on your shoulder. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from him. You wanted to take his pain away.

Hemlock turned to you and hummed out a pleased laugh as he saw the torment on your face. He had you right where he wanted you. “Do you know I finally figured something out?”

You breathed heavily as Hemlock touched the recent bruise on your jaw but did nothing to stop him in case it made things worse for the rest of them.

“You didn’t succumb to my methods because they weren’t real. I was foolish to think a Jedi such as yourself would be so easily fooled by mind games. You needed the element of doubt removed and look at the results. One glimpse of the real thing and see how you quickly you fall apart.” Hemlock said smugly.

You weren’t looking at the doctor, you were looking past him to at the man you loved with every part of you.

The man who had brought you into a crazy, wonderful family.

The man who had shown you more patience and care than you had ever deserved.

The man who had enabled you to open your heart to everything he had to offer and who had shown you that attachment could be a beautiful thing.

The man who had your heart and soul.

But was now being put through the worst kind of pain he could experience.

And then you looked to the others. To the ones who had welcomed you instantly and who had risked everything for you and Omega and who were now hurting and endangered because of it.

And it was tearing you apart. “Just let them go. Let him go. Stop this, Hemlock, please.” You choked out.

Hemlock nodded again to get the operative controlling the machine to stop. He wanted the clone awake for this.

Hunter gasped in limited relief as the electricity turned off once more. He fought through the pain to keep his eyes open as he saw Hemlock beside you, a cruel yet somehow gleeful smile on the man’s face that worried him in a way he hadn’t experienced before. There was something deeply unsettling about the sight of him standing so close to you like that.

“You know, from our time together, I can see why you would fall for her.” Hemlock commented to the clone. “She showed remarkable durability and resolve. She was quite a challenging subject.”

Hunter clenched and unclenched his hands as he watched Hemlock. It wasn’t just the physical torture that had his body feeling this much pain. After what you’d told him about Christophsis, he’d never wanted you to go through that hell again, but you had. He’d been far too late.

“But of course, such feelings are a weakness, all too easy to exploit. Oh, you should’ve heard her cry out for you, just begging me to end your suffering.” Hemlock pretended to ponder the next decision. “Then again, perhaps you can.” He stood in front of you.

Your blood ran cold as you saw the look in Hemlock’s eyes.

“You wish for his pain to stop?” Hemlock asked you, a wicked and calculated smile on his face.

“Yes.” You said, your voice scarcely above a whisper.

“Beg.”

“No.” Hunter rasped as he heard the demand.

You shoved down the bile that rose in your throat at the thought. “Please.” You breathed.

“Not so resistant now, are you?” Hemlock taunted cruelly. “But I don’t think you mean it.”

“Don’t do it.” Hunter ground out weakly.

But you would. You would do anything. You kept your attention on Hemlock. “I’m begging you, please, please don’t hurt him anymore.”

“More.” Hemlock commanded, enjoying the distraught etched on your face and the pathetic attempts the clone gave at breaking free to stop this.

You didn’t need the pressure on your shoulder that came from the operative by your side. You did it freely. You didn’t care about the humiliation, you only cared about making it end. On your knees, you glanced up at Hemlock, your voice hoarse as you pleaded, “Please. Please stop hurting him. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Hemlock caressed the side of your head. “You know what I want.”

The sight of you begging on your knees for that man caused him more pain than any machine could. Hunter, as weak as he was, still attempted to get out of his prison. You shouldn’t have to do this, not for him.

You did. You knew precisely what he was after, but you automatically shook your head in refusal.

Hemlock simply snapped his fingers.

Hunter tossed his head back and writhed and yelled in pain as the electricity coursed through his body once more.

“No, stop! Please!” You begged. You couldn’t take it anymore.

Hemlock held his hand up and it ceased once more. “Well?”

You swallowed tightly. And it wasn’t just Hunter you wanted to save; you had a family you needed to protect. “I join you, they don’t.” You negotiated quietly, hating the words as they left your mouth.

Hemlock considered the options in his head. Getting a Jedi under his command would be yet another testament to his work and that was worth more to him than these clones. It was a sacrifice he could make. “Join me and I will allow them to remain prisoners here. No conditioning required.”

You knew that was the best you were going to get for them right now. You squeezed your eyes tight as you resigned yourself to what you were about to do and ignored Hunter’s pained and faint protests. “I’ll join you.” You barely got the words out, but you’d said them now. You opened your eyes to that sadistic and twisted grin, the one from your nightmares. The one that he'd wear once he made some kind of monumental breakthrough in his research. And this time, it was warranted. He’d done it. He’d finally broken you.

Another Imperial entered the room. “Doctor, there is an incoming transmission from Governor Tarkin.”

Hemlock signalled back to the operative stood by Hunter’s capsule.

A raw and tormented scream left Hunter’s throat as his senses were overloaded once more.

You rushed to your feet and went to lunge for the doctor, but the operative held you back. “No! You said-”

“Think of it as a reminder of what will happen if you change your mind.” Hemlock said icily as he left the room.

If it weren’t for the bruising grip on your upper arms, you would’ve collapsed to the ground, but you were left with no choice but to stand there and live with what you’d decided and to hear Hunter’s cries.

The lift opened to the prison level and before the troopers on guard had time to react, Echo shot them both. He picked up the loose blasters and he and Omega advanced down the corridor.

More troopers came at them, but Echo easily took care of them whilst Omega slid the datapad into one of the terminals.

“Hey, kid. What’s going on?”

Omega turned to the clone that addressed her from behind his cell door. “We’re breaking out.” With that, she programmed all cell doors to open. “Here.” She tossed the clone a spare blaster she had acquired. “I’ll look for the others.” She told Echo, mentally including the so-called maintenance closet in that statement.

Just as she looked down one corridor, she saw another familiar face. “Nala Se!” She ran over to the Kaminoan.

Nala Se knelt down to the girl’s level. “Omega, why did you come back to this place?”

“I had to, but it’s okay. We’re all getting out this time.” She reassured her old mentor before she carried on past her, anxiously scanning for any sign of you all.

Omega hadn’t seen any of you, but she had found the door Emerie had referred to. She knew perhaps the hope she was feeling in her heart was foolish, but she couldn’t help it, it was who she was. And she’d rather know for sure than spend the rest of her life regretting that she never tried. She held her breath as she opened the door.

Omega’s exhale left her with an indistinguishable surprised and elated sound as she saw the figure.

He may have a supportive brace encasing his entire right leg.

He may be without his goggles.

He may look dishevelled and weary.

But there was no mistaking his face.

This was her brother. The brother she never thought she would see again. The one that had given up everything for them. Yet, somehow, he was standing there before her.

Omega stared at the man that had turned to face her when the door opened. “Tech?” She gasped, scarcely believing it. She needed him to speak, to confirm that she wasn’t seeing things.

Tech’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t dared take Hemlock’s words as the whole truth, but he recognised the child immediately and… and he felt alive again. “Omega?”

Another joyful sound left her throat as happy tears welled in her eyes. She dashed forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Did it not work?” Tech whispered as he rested his hands on her back. He recognised the prison uniform. And he didn’t remember a lot since Eriadu, especially with the months spent enduring Hemlock’s manipulations, but he had thought the rail car had gotten away at least.

“No, it- well-” She stopped. “The main thing to know is Crosshair did betray the Empire and he’s back with us. We can catch you up on the rest once we’re out of here.”

The news about his brother made him sigh in relief. They had been without Crosshair for far too long and Hemlock’s lies had been the only moments he had to imagine what having him back would feel like but the happy emotions it brought had all been spoiled and tainted by Hemlock’s cruelty. Now, he could allow himself to feel that happy again and he could be confident in knowing it was true. Then, he remembered the last part of Omega’s statement. “Out of here?” Tech repeated, the very concept had felt like a distant desire for such a long time.

Omega smiled at him, “Come on, Echo is waiting. We’re breaking everyone out.”

Tech released a long, relieved breath, “An excellent idea.” He concurred. He followed her- a slight limp in his gait now- out of the cell that he hadn’t been sure he’d ever leave.

“We gave up hope that anyone was coming to help us.”

Echo held his helmet and addressed the clone that had first spoken to Omega when they’d arrived, “We’ve been looking for this base for a while.”

“Echo, I searched all the cells. They’re not here. But I did find someone else.”

Echo turned at the sound of Omega’s voice but what he saw had his jaw dropping and his helmet fell from his grasp. He said nothing as he walked towards his brother and clasped him close. “I don’t believe it. How- I mean- you called out the plan- we saw you fall.”

Tech hadn’t quite expected the hug, but he welcomed it all the same. It felt good to accept that fighting against Hemlock this time had been worth the pain. This was a truth he could trust. “You forget that my intelligence did not cease to exist after I shot that connection hinge.”

Omega smiled as she heard that loveable cockiness in his voice.

Echo released his brother but kept his eyes on him. “Are you okay?” He asked, voice fuelled with concern.

Tech grew more solemn again. “As much as could be expected. However, I’m afraid to say that I have failed our squad. Hemlock, he wanted information about you all. I resisted when I could but- but his methods were rather… effective at getting the results he wanted.”

Echo had seen what Hemlock’s methods could do so in a short space of time and Tech had been here for months. So, the very fact that he had even held out at all was something to admire. “Don’t worry about that.” Echo reassured him. “All that matters is that you’re alive.”

Tech gave him a grateful bow of his head before he straightened his spine. “I see that I am not the only one with a new look.” He commented lightly, gesturing to his brace and Echo’s mechanical hand.

Echo allowed himself a short chuckle, “Yeah, well, the situation called for it.”

Tech nodded in understanding before he scanned the group of clones around them all. “But where are the others?” Tech asked, fully realising that amongst these newly freed clones, there were four faces that were missing. And the worry that flashed across Echo’s face did nothing to ease his own anxieties.

Giving Tech’s shoulder one final squeeze, he spoke to the rest of the clones surrounding them. “The rest of our squad were grabbed by Hemlock’s operatives. Where else would he take them?”

“Well, they could be in the training room. It’s where Hemlock conditions the clones he deems useful.”

“I think I know where that is.” Omega said, grabbing the datapad. “Follow me.”

“Are you joking?” Rampart shoved past Echo. “The wisest course of action is to leave while we can.”

Echo glared at the man. “Clones don’t leave our brothers behind. And Hemlock’s also got someone who is just as important to us as any other clone.” He moved Rampart out the way and kept his speech for his fellow clones. “Listen, I know you’ve all been through enough. You deserve your freedom. But Omega and I can’t do this alone. Is anyone willing to stand with us?”

The clone that spoke to Omega spoke first, “I will. I’ve got one more fight left in me.”

That spurred others on. Soon more rallying shouts were declared throughout the group.

“Good.” Echo said appreciatively. Then he turned to Tech and took a reluctant breath, “Tech…”

Tech recognised that look but hearing that the rest of you were in danger had his loyal and protective instincts as a member of this squad come rushing back to him. “I want to go with you.” Tech insisted. “They need our help.”

“You’re not 100%. We lost you once, it’s not happening again.” Echo said firmly. “Get the injured to the hangar and secure a shuttle. You can help them there.” He gave Tech a spare blaster. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Very well.” Tech said with a heavy sigh. Deep down, he knew that his current situation made him more of a liability for such a high stakes mission. He needed to recover properly and get back to form and he could start by helping the rest of these clones.

Echo put his helmet on once more. “I’ll trigger an alert in a different wing and reroute their troops. The rest of you, grab any weapon you can.”

Tech led the way with the injured, hoping that this would all come to a better conclusion that Eriadu had.

Before Omega left with Echo and the rest of their team, Nala Se’s voice stopped her.

“Omega, I must not allow my science to remain in the Empire’s hands.” She knelt down and placed a large hand on Omega’s shoulder. “The only way you will be free is if Hemlock is gone and the databanks are destroyed.”

“Then let’s get to the lab.” Omega said determinedly.

“No. Your place is with them.” Nala Se nodded to the clones.

Omega dipped her head in both a farewell and in understanding. “You’ll need this.” She gave Nala Se the datapad and watched her walk away before she joined up with Echo and left the cells.

Rampart watched the scientist go, a fresh plan of his own forming in his head as he made to follow her.

Hemlock walked back to the training room, working on dampening his simmering anger and irritation. The conversation with Tarkin had not been a productive one and now he was faced with having to deal with the lousy Imperial face-to-face.

He had it under control. Tarkin would just be another nuisance he had to deal with.

“The training floor’s two more corridors over.” Omega said to Echo as they eliminated the guards by the hall terminal.

Echo used his scomp to bring up schematics. “The pneumatic tube system runs throughout this base. Think you can use it to get eyes inside that room?” He opened a panel in the walls.

“It worked in the vault.” Omega ran over to the gap and crawled into the narrow space.

“Relay what you see, but stay out of sight until we’re in position.” Echo ordered before she disappeared. He handed her a comm.

“Rodger that.”

Nala Se had taken a grenade from a downed trooper as she made for the lab. She had accepted what her course of action would lead her to.

Covertly following her, Rampart grabbed a blaster from another body.

Nala Se entered the lab but just as she finished bringing up the databank and blood samples, a blaster clicked behind her, and she was staring down an unhappy looking Admiral Rampart. She activated the bomb behind her back, no one was going to stop her from doing what needed to be done. And if she took this Imperial down with her… well, that was an added bonus.

Omega peered out into the room from behind the ceiling grate. All was quiet. You were standing up, your hands in binders with an operative holding on tight to your shoulders, whilst the others were knocked out and in some type of capsule prison. “Echo, I have a visual on them. There’s an operative on guard but I don’t see the others.” She whispered into her comm. “I might be able to free them if you give me a big enough distraction.”

“We’re on our way.”

Echo and his group of clones entered the training room but as soon as they entered, the lights dimmed, the floor lit up in a harsh red light and parts of the floor rose up to form obstacles. They were ambushed by the other operatives in seconds.

You couldn’t understand why the operative holding you suddenly let you go to activate the downstairs area, but the sounds of blaster fire soon told you why.

You hoped Echo’s plan was going to work.

Omega managed to sneak into the room without incident. She caught your eyeline and motioned for you to be quiet as she went over to the main control box. She worked on Wrecker’s first, and she succeeded in removing one of the wrist cuffs. Before she could work on anything else, she felt eyes on her and she let out a fearful gasp as she saw the operative staring at her.

You acted quickly. You ran in front of the operative and saw your lightsaber attached to your belt. You lunged for it but with your hands bound, you were limited in what you could offer and a powerful kick to your chest sent you tumbling to the floor. Winded and gasping for air, you could only watch as Omega’s stun blasts did nothing to stop the advance of the soldier and he took a hold of her arm and dragged her into the centre of the room. You got to your feet just as Hemlock entered the room with the operative from Pabu.

“A glaring weakness in clones is their loyalty to one another.” Hemlock said to the young girl. “Thank you for proving my point.” Then Hemlock beckoned you over to him as you both walked towards the window.

“Now that you’ve joined our ranks, perhaps it is time to see what sort of matters you will have to deal with.” Hemlock said to you. He wouldn’t free you yet, not until he knew for certain that this matter was officially over and dealt with. Your attachment for the clones remained and therefore the margin for error was still too great so for now, you remained in cuffs and his prisoner.

You forced yourself to ignore Omega’s shocked gasp as she heard that.

“Shall we see if they fare better than you did?” Hemlock allowed the firefight to continue for a couple minutes before he pressed the buttons that would introduce his special toxin into the room.

You could only watch on in horror as the clones without helmets started to cough and choke whilst they desperately clutched at their throats before they collapsed to the ground.

“Perhaps an unfair comparison given that I didn’t use this for you but alas, sometimes such things are necessary. You will find that often the most pain gets the quickest results, but with your skills, you will make quick work of things, I am sure.”

“You joined him?” Omega said in dismay.

“I had to.” You croaked, your throat closing up as everything you loved fell apart around you.

Having entertained Rampart and his delusions of Imperial redemption for long enough, Nala Se didn’t fear the blaster bolt that entered her chest and as the light faded from her eyes, she took comfort in the fact that this final act of hers would bring peace to Omega’s life.

Rampart heard the rapid beeping of the grenade that rolled free from her hand as she fell, but before he could do anything, his life left him in a flash of blinding white light.

Having been the only one with the safety of a helmet to resist the gas, Echo was on his own against the three operatives.

He staggered forward as a knife entered the back of his shoulder. His blaster was knocked out his grasp, so he used his mechanical hand to defend against the swings of the sword from the operative that had cut him, and he succeeded in throwing the black-armoured clone against one of the walls, so his helmet came off and he too feel victim to the gas.

However, Echo didn’t have long to recover before he was knocked to the ground but just as he reached for his blaster, it was kicked away, and he glanced up to see another operative pointing a blaster at his head.

Hemlock kept his sights on the scene below. “Their efforts have failed.” Hemlock stated. “Predictably so.”

You were shoved back to stand in the middle of the room with Omega.

Omega glanced at you, but your face was a blank slate. Your posture was slumped and heavy with defeat. You had no fire, no fight in you.

“Sir, there’s been an explosion in the central lab. It’s been destroyed.” Scorch revealed as he entered the training room.

This news snapped you out of your fatigued and defeated state. Hemlock wasn’t untouchable and he knew it. You remembered the nervousness you’d picked up on when he’d first told you they were coming to the base, and you saw the way his body tensed after Scorch’s words. For all his victories and apparent calmness, he knew you were the people that could get to him which was why he’d done everything he could think of to tear you apart. The thoughts sent a surge of strength and resolve through you. What the fuck were you doing? This was your team, your squad, your family. You’d all never stop fighting for each other so why had you? You’d given up so easily and that wasn’t who you were, how could you have lost sight of that? You glanced over to Omega and nodded.

Omega felt hope rise in her chest as she saw the familiar spark and determination in your eyes. She then stole a look behind her to see Wrecker slowly waking up. “You failed too.” She said smugly to Hemlock. “Your data’s gone.” And she wasn’t just talking about the samples, she knew Tech was safe too.

Hemlock whipped his head around to face the two of you. He had what he needed; he could start again. “But I still have you both.”

Picking up on Wrecker’s movements too, you got ready to fight once more. “Hey, Hemlock?” You waited until his eyes arrived on you. “Go to hell.”

Hemlock glowered at you but before he could do anything more, Omega spoke once more.

“And you’re forgetting one thing. We have them.” Omega said proudly.

Chaos erupted.

Wrecker ripped himself free of his capsule and used the portion covering his legs as a shield against the blaster fire before he launched it towards the operatives, the impact of the piece of metal against one of the control towers took down the entire system in the process.

Crosshair and Hunter groggily woke up their confinement also loosened.

Wrecker shakily got to his feet and pushed against the electrospear that the operative shoved towards his chest. He ignored the pain of the electrical current and kept his focus entirely on meeting the soldier strength for strength.

You dashed over to Hunter and rested your bound hands just beside his head “My love, I need you to stand for me.” You murmured with urgency. You placed your hands under his neck and then moved them gently still to his upper back to support him.

Hunter strained to open his eyes as he took in your still slightly blurry form, but he never failed to recognise you or your voice. He nodded and inhaled sharply as he slowly rose with your encouragement.

Whilst you did that, Omega made a break for a loose blaster, but Scorch grabbed her. She struggled against him, but she was forced to stop as Hemlock paired them together with a set of cuffs.

“We’re leaving. Get the Jedi.” Hemlock said to Scorch, passing him a hypodermic with a sedative inside it. He then snatched a blaster from CX-2 as well as the set of controls he kept on his sleeve for his ship. “Deal with them.” He directed the operative before he dragged Omega out,

Scorch came over with as he saw you attempting to aid the clone sergeant to his feet. He speedily stabbed the needle into your thigh and pressed down on the plunger.

You reacted swiftly and slapped his hand away before you landed a kick to his gut, but you felt the broken skin and as you removed the needle from your leg, you saw that the tip of it was wet, and you knew that you hadn’t been fast enough. Some of it had entered your system. A wooziness overcame you and you swayed on your feet as you fought against it.

Scorch recovered from the blow you dealt him and as he saw the unsteady way you stood as well as the lack of clarity behind your eyes, he knew he had done enough to get you compliant. He grabbed your wrist and forced you out of the room as he hurried to catch up with Hemlock.

Seeing that Hemlock was escaping with you both, Wrecker thrust the spear above him and kicked the operative back.

Hunter wearily worked on standing up straight and finding the strength to go after you and Omega.

“Get them back.” Wrecker said to Hunter before he let out a roar and charged at the operative he’d been fighting. He tackled his waist and smashed through the cracked window.

The gas dissipated and Echo glanced up to see the glass of one of the windows had cracked and there were flashes blaster fire. Whatever was happening above him was the disruption he needed.

And that distraction developed as Wrecker came crashing through the window.

In the mayhem, Echo was able to divert the blaster pointed at his head to the second operative standing behind him and take cover. Even with one operative dead, he was still outnumbered but two more rounds fired past him to disband the operative forces. Echo turned and saw that Wrecker- despite being flat on the ground- had been the one to fire the shots but he was still in danger. Echo fired a series of shots to the operative that Wrecker had forced out of the window and that operative also fell dead to the ground.

But Echo couldn’t ease up. Another operative had recovered from the disruption and attacked them again. Echo opened fire back as he took cover behind one of the obstacles.

Wrecker was slower to react. The shot he took to the inside of his leg as he rolled for shelter was yet another painful sign of how out of it he was. But he needed to get it together, Echo still needed him, and he wasn’t going to let his brother down.

Echo carefully moved around the room. He knew there were two operatives remaining and they made themselves know quickly. Now that the danger of the gas was gone, he had removed his helmet to aid in his breathing but as he walked around the side of one of the wall obstacles, a wave of blaster fire was sent in his direction, and he quickly pressed himself back against the wall. He searched for another way to somehow get behind the operative who had fired on him but as he did so, he felt a threat approaching his own back. As he turned, he saw the operative with the vibroblade weapons lunge for him and his blaster wasn’t primed to take the shot to stop it.

With a loud shout, Wrecker got to his feet and picked the operative up by the neck and smashed his head through one of the walls. That took up the last of his energy, his legs gave out and he fell to the ground with a deep groan.

Seeing his brother go down so heavily alarmed Echo deeply which was why he wasn’t the one to kill the final operative that had emerged. No, those shots came from one of the clones who had rallied by his side for this fight. He gave him a grateful nod before he knelt by Wrecker’s side. The clone could barely keep his eyes open, and he was breathing in short, sharp pants, his pain was obvious. “Wrecker, where are the others?” Echo asked as he looked on worriedly as his brother.

“They’ve- they’ve gone after-” Wrecker broke off with a low groan and couldn’t finish the thought. He was too exhausted and sore to focus on anything other than staying awake.

Echo put it together. “I can help you get there but I need you to get to your feet.” Echo urged as insistent but as caringly as possible, but Wrecker made no move to stand. “Come on, Wrecker, you can do it.” He thought of the first thing he could think of to get him there. “Tech’s alive. He’s waiting at the shuttle.”

“If that’s supposed to cheer me up, it’s a bad way to do it.” Wrecker managed to grunt.

“I’m serious. Omega found him.”

Wrecker glanced at Echo and a brief rush of adrenaline hit him as he saw the serious and honest look on Echo’s face.

“It’s true. I saw him.” The other clone added as he came over to offer his help.

Wrecker allowed himself to believe that because it was now the only thing giving him the strength to even think about getting up. With a determined moan, he got to his feet.

Echo, along with the other clone, supported Wrecker as they all made their way to the shuttle.

Hunter had managed to stand and grab the spear that the operative had left behind, but everything was still blurring together in one dark and incoherent shape. He couldn’t fully tell one sense apart from the other, everything was too sore and disjointed.

But he knew there was still an operative up here and he had to focus on finding him.

Crosshair was also beginning to get to his feet and as he saw CX-2 creep next to his pod and aim his blaster at Hunter, Crosshair kicked his arm which caused the shot to go array.

Tracking the sound, Hunter threw the spear in the direction it had come from and heard the sharp blade meeting it’s target as CX-2 was speared in the gut and the power behind Hunter’s through saw doubly sure that he was dead as he was flung back into the power grid and electrocuted.

Hunter grabbed the fallen rifle and spoke to Crosshair through gritted teeth, “I’ll go get them. You should stay here.”

“Not a chance.” Crosshair grunted as he properly got to his feet.

Hunter picked up a second blaster and handed Crosshair the sniper rifle.

Supporting each other, the two of them hobbled out the room to go catch up with you and Omega.

The night air was cold as a storm raged on.

Thunder rumbled above you.

Lightening flashed through the black clouds.

The pouring rain pelted against your skin.

The wind whipped across your face.

But as unpleasant as it was, it did help get you out of your sedative state. You just had to wait for the right moment and so long as Scorch had a blaster pressed to your back and Omega was cuffed and attached to Hemlock, it wasn’t the right moment, so you pretended to still be as compliant as you had been when being led through the corridors out of the training room.

Hemlock led the way across the exposed and narrow walkway towards the landing platform. He was almost there. He could rebuild once he got away. He ignored the girl’s struggles and protests as he dragged her further along and pressed the button on the control sleeve that would bring the ship to them. Just as the ship was preparing to land, two blaster bolts hit the right and left engines and the ship erupted into flames.

You used as your moment to take care of Scorch. You smacked the back of your head into his visor and turned on your heels to grab his blaster.

In the push and shove struggle, both of you teetered towards the edge of the bridge. One particularly nasty shove from Scorch saw to it that you fell over the top, but you still had a hold of his blaster, so he toppled over with you.

You just about managed to take a scrappy hold of the one of the bars that formed the boundary of the walkway, Scorch fell past you into the abyss below. The metal was slick against your fingers and being cuffed wasn’t making holding on any easier, your grip was haphazard at best. Which was why you weren’t surprised that you couldn’t keep a secure hold and you slipped downwards, your fingers catching the edge of the platform.

You saw the scene unfolding across from you and you wished there was more you could do to help but all you could do now was fight to keep your head up as your legs dangled aimlessly. You called on every piece of strength you had to hold on and wait this out.

Hemlock thrust Omega in front of him and wrapped his arm around her neck as he held the blaster to her head. You were out of the picture for now, his main adversaries remained further down the bridge. “That’s far enough!” He threatened as he saw the clones

Hunter shook the rain from his eyes as he and Crosshair paused to figure out the next best course of action. He had to trust that you would hold on for long enough. Right now, his priority was Omega. He knelt down and kept his blaster trained on Hemlock.

Crosshair did the same, only he rested his rife on Hunter’s shoulder as he peered down his scope.

The two of them synchronised their breathing as the storm echoed around them but that didn’t distract them. Their entire focus was on the two people down the walkway.

“You won’t get past them.” Omega said, no fear in her voice.

“They won’t risk hurting you.” Hemlock said through heavy breaths. “And it’s not only you they have to consider.”

“Neither will you. You need me alive.” Omega countered. “And she’s a lot stronger than you think.” She said, knowing that no matter what, you would be fine.

Hemlock brought her to the edge of the bridge opposite to where you were hanging. “If I go over, then you go over.” He then bellowed down to the clones, “Drop the blasters!”

But Omega wasn’t going to entertain that outcome. Hemlock’s arrogance would be his downfall. She reached into her sleeve and grabbed the tool she had stolen from Emerie’s supply kit.

Hunter saw what Omega was doing and understood her plan. “Shoot the binders.” He told Crosshair.

“I- I- I can’t.” Crosshair stammered. He had rarely practiced with his left hand as the trigger hand and these conditions were less than ideal to make such a precise shot. “They’re too close. If I’m off- I can’t risk Omega.”

“She knows what to do, Crosshair.” Hunter said. He trusted Omega and he trusted Crosshair. He had all the confidence that his brother could make the shot. “Wait for her, then take the shot.”

Crosshair let that faith and his own desire to rescue Omega guide him as he rested his finger on the trigger. He could do this. He knew he could. He inhaled and exhaled steadily as he waited on her.

Omega stabbed her implement into Hemlock’s thigh and used his surprise to step away from him and she raised their cuffed hands in the air.

When Crosshair’s shot met it’s mark and separated them, she crouched down as she heard six shots hit Hemlock’s chest and she watched his body fall over the side.

Releasing a thankful sigh, you braced yourself on your forearms as you worked on hauling yourself back up. You felt a supportive hand tug at your arm and angled your gaze to see Omega doing her best to help you back onto the bridge.

Once safely situated and cuff free thanks to Omega’s tool, you stayed propped on your knees and braced your hands on your thighs as you caught your breath and looked at the young girl and all it took was that glance from you. She crashed into you, and you squeezed her close. “Are you alright?”

Omega squeezed you back and nodded into your neck. “Yeah… I’m okay.” She said through an exhausted but relieved sigh. “Are you?”

“Yeah, kid, I’m okay.” You said, your throat tightening as you realised what was about to happen next. It had been the thing that had gotten you through every night since arriving here. And it had been the thing you had so nearly given up and lost.

You both pulled apart at the same time.

You got to your feet and followed her gaze towards the two men still kneeling further down the bridge. You didn’t need to check with her, you both started running together.

Naturally, you reached them just before Omega did and you didn’t really slow down in your approach.

With adrenaline overpowering your own lingering pain and tiredness, you- getting caught up in the excitement of seeing Hunter again- foolishly forgot about his injuries and all but launched yourself at him. You collided against his chest with a happy cry and flung your arms around him and pulled him close to you.

“Ow ow ow.” Hunter mumbled with a sharp wince as he braced himself against your strength, but he couldn’t help himself, he clung to you just as tightly.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Your words were muffled from where you pressed your face in the crook of his neck. You went to pull away instead, but he wasn’t letting you yet, in fact he readjusted his hold to keep you right where you were.

Hunter breathed you in and let himself get lost in the feeling of holding you and feeling you against him. The familiar shape and scent of your body providing him the comfort and security he needed to alleviate part of the pain he was feeling with his senses. He nuzzled into your neck and used one hand to cradle the back of your head whilst his other arm still kept you tight to him.

The two of you held onto each other like you were terrified it was all a dream and you might be taken away again. The bridge was cold and wet against your legs but after all that had just happened, it hardly mattered now. The rain continued its deluge against your body, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was this moment right here and now.

Only when his body did truly start to protest against the strain, did Hunter relax his arms.

You released your own arms and hid your face in your hands as the emotions of the time that had passed hit you all at once. Sobs mixed with laughter left your throat and racked through your body as you realised that he was safe. That Omega was safe. That they all were safe.

Hunter gently took your hands away and carefully held your bruised face. He used his thumbs to softly wipe some of the rain and tears running down your cheeks. He brushed some wet strands of hair tenderly away from your face before murmuring, “I love you.” A kiss to your forehead. “I love you,” A kiss to your cheek. “I love you,” A kiss to your other cheek.

You stared into his brown eyes as you got yourself under control and they grounded you so completely as you saw the feeling behind them. “I love you too.” You gasped breathlessly. You threaded your fingers in his damp strands and-more mindful of his injuries- leaned forward.

Hunter went to close the gap but the sound of someone managing a strained but somehow still very pointed cough caused you both to stop and you turned your head to see Crosshair and Omega waiting expectantly.

“What? No hugs for us?” Crosshair said with a light-hearted, albeit pained, smile at the two of you.

You huffed out a chuckle and together, you and Hunter slid into their embrace, and you all wrapped your arms around one another. You shared in that moment until Omega decided to break away.

You all got to your feet, but you noticed how unsteady both Crosshair and Hunter were.

With Omega looking out for Crosshair, you focused your attention on Hunter. “Lean on me.” You instructed him as you placed his arm around you, and you took on his weight as you all made your way to the transport hangar.

You all reached the shuttle and slowly walked up the ramp but the person you saw tending to Wrecker’s wounds had you all forgetting any remaining aches and pains.

All three of you inhaled sharply and stopped short. You shared a look to make sure you were all in agreement with what- or rather-who you were seeing.

“Yeah, you’re not seeing things.” Wrecker told you all with a cheery disposition.

Echo had a small yet delighted grin on his face as he took in the stunned yet happy reactions from all of you.

“Oh… did I not mention that?” Omega kidded, a joyous smile on her own face.

“Tech?” Crosshair all but whispered.

“You’re alive?” You and Hunter said together, emotion overwhelming both of you as you spoke.

“You sound surprised.” Tech said with a small smile. What did catch him by surprise though was the way he was dragged into a large group hug with all six of you.

And as the shuttle took off and you all had that minute together, you were hit with a remarkable sense of home.

The shuttle landed in Pabu and the rescued clones steadily departed the shuttle first.

Echo, Omega and Wrecker were the first of you all to leave with Echo wanting to check on Emerie and Omega wanting to check on her friends from the vault.

Tech made to go too but hesitated as he caught the attention of a familiar face.

Phee’s eyes widened. She walked up the ramp and took in the messy yet totally recognisable man in front of her. “Well, brown eyes, it’s about damn time.”

Tech made to adjust his non-existent goggles but caught himself. “I was- uh- rather occupied for a while.”

Phee raised her chin and smiled. She came up the ramp and linked arms with the clone. “Now your survival is an adventure I want to hear all about.”

You could’ve sworn you saw the faintness of blushes on Tech’s cheeks.

“Well, it involved a grappling hook and some pretty fast thinking. I was falling…”

You, Hunter and Crosshair watched them walk away and you caught the completely astonished expression on Crosshair’s face. It was possible he was more taken aback by that than by seeing Tech come back from the dead.

“I have a question.” Crosshair asked as he stared at the fading figures.

“What’s that?” You said, pretending to have no idea as to why he looked so bewildered. You welcomed Hunter’s arm that looped around your waist and the look he gave you told you that he was willing to play along.

“We just spent the duration of that journey getting medical attention and catching Tech up on everything that had happened since you all ignored Plan 88, right?”

“Right.” Hunter agreed, ignoring the playful jab.

“And I was on Pabu and with you all a good while before everything went to shit.” Crosshair said.

“Uh huh.” You concurred, a slightly teasing smile on your face as you waited for him to get to the point of his question.

“So, please explain to me why no one thought to tell me about that.” He pointed with his left hand towards Tech and Phee. “Since when did Tech get- I mean how- just what exactly is that?”

“Oh… that.” You feigned a sudden realisation. “Huh, I guess they did get pretty close whilst we were staying here. How many dates was it before we had to leave, Hunter?”

Hunter matched your teasing tone. “Yeah, I don’t know. At least three or four- not that Tech truly realised that’s what they were. We really didn’t tell you?” He asked Crosshair, a smirk on his face.

“You two are impossible.” Crosshair groused before he walked down the ramp, muttering under his breath.

You laughed quietly as you watched him leave.

Hunter let out a low chuckle too as he brought you in closer to his side and he pressed his lips to the top of your head before you both walked out the ship.

Emerie observed the children from afar and was pleased to see them chasing the animals of the island and interacting with the Omega and the other young clones. “They’ve adapted quickly.” She said as Echo approached her side.

“Kids are resilient.”

“A childhood’s not something we ever had. Our lives have never been our own.”

“Until now. I’m heading to Pantora to help get some of the clones settled. I’m sure Senator Chuchi would find whatever you have to say very helpful for our cause.”

“I have a lot to make up for. I’d like to help out however I can.”

Echo rested a hand on her shoulder before he made for the shuttle once more.

Emerie followed a few paces behind.

As you and Hunter were making your way from the shuttle, Omega called out your name.

You paused and turned to see she had brought a group of kids over with her.

“These were the children I was telling you about. This is Eva, Jax, Sami and Bayrn.” She introduced each child in kind before she introduced you and said to them, “And this is my friend I told you about.”

“Hello.” You said warmly as they looked at you, both with curiosity and nervousness.

“I um, I filled them in on everything. I hope that’s okay.”

You nodded. “You contact Rex, I’ll catch up.” You said to Hunter whilst Omega went to go find Batcher. You crouched down in front of the remaining children. “Omega told me a lot about you too. I hear you all helped with her escape plan, that’s pretty impressive.” You said sincerely, keeping your voice tender and kind.

“Omega was the one that led it. It was all her. We didn’t do too much.” Jax said.

“A team is only as good as everyone in it. You all had a part to play, and you did it well.” You cleared your throat as you readied yourself for the next part. “Now, I know Omega has told you that I’m a Jedi, and did she tell you what that means?”

All of them nodded.

“Okay, that’s good. And I have to ask, have any of you ever like an object moved without you touching it, or you were somehow able to jump higher than you expected?”

You knew Baryn couldn’t really understand and wasn’t paying much attention as he babbled away in Sami’s arms, but you figured he was there for the same reasons as the rest of them nodded again.

“We’re going to look out for you whilst we work on getting you back to your families, but life will always be a bit different for you now, and you’ll still have to be careful. But I can teach you some things whilst you’re still here that should help and once you’re home, if you or your parents have any more questions, you’re welcome to come back.” You offered, smiling at them as they nodded. “Alright, that’s all from the grown up for today. Carry on exploring.” You said fondly before you stood up and went to rejoin Hunter and Omega

You, Hunter and Omega had taken up position by the weeping maya tree with Batcher lying by Omega’s side. You all watched as the clones walked around freely and the children from the vault got to enjoy being kids once more and it was a delightful sight to take in.

“With Hemlock gone and his data destroyed, they’re finally safe.” Omega said with relief.

“Mm-hmm.” Hunter agreed and released a relieved sigh of his own as the impact of that statement properly hit him. “And so are both of you.”

“Will it take long to find their families?”

“Rex and I are working on it, but we’ll look after them until then.”

“And that brings the adoptive parent tally up to eight- nine including Gungi.” You kidded affectionately before you laid down next to Hunter and rested your head in his lap.

“Like you didn’t just offer them that exact thing whilst I was speaking to him.” Hunter retorted playfully as he brushed the backs of his fingers across your cheek.

You stuck your tongue out at him before the sound of the shuttle powering up grabbed all of your attention. You raised your head and saw Echo getting ready to depart with some of the clones that wanted to continue the fight. All four of you dipped your heads and smiled in farewell.

“What about the rest of the clones?” Omega asked as she watched the shuttle leave. “Will they stay here on Pabu?”

“Well, it’s up to them. They’re free to follow their own path.” Hunter exhaled tiredly but kept his voice light as he said, “We’ve all fought enough battles for one lifetime. Now we get to choose who we want to be.”

“Like what?” Omega asked.

You smiled at Hunter and placed your head back down in his lap. You closed your eyes and let the sun’s warmth seep into your skin.

“Whatever we want, kid.” The girl leaned against his arm and his voice and face softened at the action, “Whatever we want.”

Then, as the Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair came to sit down with the three of you, Hunter stared down at your utterly content form and stroked a hand past your brow and through your hair.

He had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to be next.

Post S3 oneshot (to be posted)>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @arctrooper69, @andreaaxy, @notgonnaedit, @dominoeffectsworld, @allthingsimagines , @nightmonkeysstuff , @jellybeanstacey0519 , @callsign-denmark , @superbookishhufflepuff , @qvnthesia , @justsomerandompersonintheworld

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More Posts from Tooka-goggles

tooka-goggles

11 months ago

Spark of Hope

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Request - @narcissa-of-kaas - Hey there! Could you please do something with Tech for #39 from your prompt list ?💜

Prompt - “I had a nightmare about you and I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” (Set post season 2, pre season 3)

You couldn’t even say how much time had passed since that Force forsaken day. It had been months at best and yet somehow it felt more like years. You had never been able to adjust to a life without Tech, how could you? It was impossible to believe that there had ever been a time where you hadn’t had Tech in your life, hadn’t had him ready at your side rattling facts of, filling silences with knowledge or just sitting together as he tinkered away. Whenever you needed somebody, it was always Tech you turned to.

Then all of a sudden Tech was gone.

You still remembered the day, still remembered watching him fall from the cart, still remembered the heart wrenching scream that escaped you as you could do nothing but watch, only Hunter kept you where you were, stopping you from following after Tech, dragging you against his chest and forcing you to stay on the cart as it sped away from Tech.

You had no memory of leaving, everything since then had passed in a blur and you were certain it was only thanks to Hunter you had managed to make it back to safety.

A day hadn’t passed where you let yourself believe Tech was dead. You couldn’t ever let yourself believe that, the second you did you knew you’d be done. You had to force yourself to keep that small spark of hope that seemed to dim as each day went by.

You spent your days sat on the comm, pleading for hours for Tech to answer you, pleading with him to come back home, to come back to you. Hunter and Wrecker watched on with aching hearts as you refused to be moved, refused to let yourself accept reality.

The loss of Tech was only worsened by the loss of Omega, then Echo left to go help Rex, unable to stand being on the Marauder. You didn’t blame him, some days being on the ship drove you crazy, there were too many memories, too many constant reminders of those that should have been here but weren’t. Some days you couldn’t drag yourself out of bed, the smell of Tech on the sheets lessened with each day he was gone but you had to believe he’d be back one day.

Months had passed since that day and you were startled all of a sudden when the comm came to life, a distress signal that was used by the Batch could be heard. Hunter watched your face fill with relief, with hope. It broke his heart but still it was a code they used, they had to check it out.

You were relieved beyond words to see that Omega and Crosshair were safe and alive and yet you were disappointed. You hated to even admit it to yourself, hated the fact that when you saw the pair your heart dropped because it wasn’t Tech.

It was meant to be Tech.

Nobody blamed you for withdrawing after that, they knew you wanted Tech back. You had felt the spark of hope you had fizzle out, desperately wanting to stay alight but you didn’t know how to keep believing, didn’t know how to carry on without Tech.

It seemed that even though things had gotten better, two members of the Batch were back where they belonged, it was never right. There was constantly an empty space in every room of the Marauder, a silence after somebody said something where you still waited for Tech to talk, there were no longer random projects left out for you to fall over, it wasn’t home without Tech.

You still sat at the comm but your heart was empty as you spoke, you would give anything for a reply.

Then one day it came.

A strange message that consisted of nothing more than a set of coordinates and a cryptic message of ‘pl45’. Suddenly that spark of hope that had gone out weeks ago was back with a mighty flame, pushing out all the darkness and you just knew, it had to be him.

“Hunter!” You called, looking at the coordinates and the message, Plan 45, it was definitely a code the Batch used.

Hunter frowned as he looked at the message, Plan 45 meant mission gone wrong. It was their code, a random one to use but still their code. He wasn’t sure about it, one look at your face and he knew you had gotten your hopes up, he hated that you were going to be left more broken than before, he wasn’t sure you’d recover from this one.

“Y/N,” Hunter sighed softly but you were already shaking your head at him, standing from your seat and pushing past him into the cockpit. “Hey, I want it to be him too!”

“Then let’s go!” You snapped at Hunter, immediately feeling bad. You knew that whilst you hadn’t been coping well with the loss of Tech, without Hunter you probably would have completely lost it months ago. He truly had been your saving grace. “I’m sorry, it’s just…it’s Tech, I know it is.”

Hunter looked at you, his face contorted with sympathy but eventually he nodded, taking a seat in the cockpit as you typed in the coordinates. He didn’t say anything but that was just what you needed, to have Hunter by your side as you went to find Tech.

It had to be Tech.

It had to be.

It took two days to land on the planet the coordinates led to, a planet you didn’t know the name of and was so far off the map. You were sure Tech would have a fact or two about it if he were here.

You had sat on the comm, watching it, willing it to come alive with another message but nothing more came through.

The ship finally landed and you were the first off it, eyes scanning the forest around you, looking for any sign of Tech. The others followed you out of the Marauder, each of them looking around and seeing nothing, knowing it was going to be bad for you when you came to another dead end.

It was Hunter who heard him first, a crunch and snap of twigs under a boot alerted him and he let out a small gasp, feeling Crosshair and Wrecker look at him.

It took a few more moments but Tech appeared from the trees and you felt your legs nearly give out as you looked at him, unable to move.

“Y/N.” Tech breathed out and that was all you needed to force your feet forward, practically falling into his chest and Tech didn’t care how sore his body was he still wrapped his arms around you and held you close.

“You got my message.” He whispered into your hair and you laughed though the noise sounded more like a sob as silent tears made their way down your cheeks.

Tech felt his own eyes well up but he managed to keep the tears contained as he looked past you to his brothers, though a few tears did manage to trickle out as he saw Crosshair looking back at him.

Eventually you managed to pull away and Tech brought his hand to your cheek, brushing away your tears before he leant his forehead against yours.

“I knew you were alive.” You told him, your voice barely audible as you tried to hold back more tears. “I knew you were.”

Tech leaned forward, brushing his lips against yours and you couldn’t stop more tears from falling as you kissed him back, savouring the feeling after doubting if you would ever feel this again.

You never strayed far from Tech when the two of you eventually pulled away and he was embraced by his brothers, each of their eyes watery and a few of their cheeks wet where tears had fallen.

Eventually you all made your way back into the Marauder and Tech excused himself for a much needed sonic. You were reluctant to let him go but watched him leave, assuring yourself he was back.

“I told you.” You said softly as Hunter came to sit next to you. “I told you he was alive.”

Hunter pulled you against his chest, his arm going around your shoulder as he placed a soft kiss to your head.

“He’s alive.” Hunter murmured against your hair, still trying to wrap his mind around it himself.

By the time Tech had left the fresher Hunter had gotten the ship into hyperspace and everyone was sat together. Tech immediately made his way over to you, not wasting any time in pulling you close to him, your hand finding his as the others spoke softly, your thumb stroking over his knuckles in a constant reminder that he was there.

The six of you sat there for hours, Tech filled you in on what had happened since his fall, Omega had excitedly told Tech about her and Crosshair’s daring escape and the rest of the night was spent reliving old memories until you were all yawning.

None of you wanted to pull yourselves out of that moment but the need for sleep was too much and you forced yourselves up and into bed.

You were happy to go to bed though when Tech climbed in after you and pulled you close, the sound of his steady breathing was enough to lull you into an easy sleep, something that you hadn’t been able to do for months, your eyes falling closed feeling warm and overwhelmingly relieved.

It wasn’t until you gasped awake, shivering at the cold air that you knew something wasn’t right. You looked around and felt your heart sink as you realised you were on a cart, Storm Troopers shooting at you from across the way. It wasn’t until you saw Tech running across the rail line that you felt panic build up.

“No.” You whispered to yourself, Omega looking up at you in confusion. “No, he’s alive. I got him back.”

“Um, Hunter, something’s wrong with Y/N.” You heard Omega say but you didn’t pay attention to Hunter calling your name, instead keeping your eyes locked on Tech like your gaze alone could change everything.

“We’ve got three ships inbound.” Hunter said, dragging his gaze from you and back onto the fight.

You shook your head, how many times had you been forced to relive this day? How many times had you been forced to lose Tech? You thought you had him back, you had him back. Was that just a dream, a way to cope with him being gone?

Power came rushing back to the cart, snapping you back to reality and your eyes filled with tears as you watched Tech running back towards the cart, trying to outrun the blaster shots aimed at him.

You could only watch through blurry tear filled eyes as Tech fell from the rail line onto a falling cart, watching as he just about managed to secure himself with his grappling line but there was nowhere for him to go, the cart was falling faster than he could climb.

“Wrecker, get him on board.” Hunter commanded, though the command was filled with underlying worry.

You let out a choked sob, knowing that command wouldn’t be carried out.

“You must sever the connecting hinge. Now!” Tech instructed and you shook your head madly.

“Tech.” You managed to choke out. “Please.”

“Y/N,” You heard Tech sigh and your name falling from his lips had more sobs escaping you. “I’m sorry, my love.”

You watched as he pulled his blaster out and knew what was to come.

“Plan 99.” He said and you screamed as he fired his blaster, only able to watch as he fell, seconds away from blinding following after him only to have Hunter snatch you away from the edge, holding you tightly against his chest as you thrashed madly against him, unsure of what you could do if you managed to get out of his hold but the only thought in your mind was that you wanted Tech.

He couldn’t be dead.

You shot up with a gasp, silent tears falling down your face and sweat clinging to your body as you looked around, assuring yourself you were in the Marauder. Your heart hammered in your chest when you realised you were alone.

Had Tech ever been back?

You forced your body out of bed, of course he was back, he had to be.

Your feet silently carried you through the Marauder, only stopping when you got to the cockpit and you felt a sob escape you when you saw Tech in the pilot’s seat, looking out of the window as you flew through hyperspace.

The noise had Tech turning to face you with a worried look.

“What happened, my love?” The pet name had your mind flashing back to the last thing he said to you but you shook your head, wiping the tears away as best you could.

“I had a nightmare about you,” You told him, watching as his face softened and he made room for you on the chair. “And I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m okay, dear.” He assured you as you sat in the chair, his arm wrapping around you as he held you close, guiding your head to his chest so you could feel his heart beat loud and clear. “I’m alive.”

The words were a reassurance to the both of you as you sat there holding each other in silence whilst you passed through hyperspace, Tech was here.

He was alive and he was going nowhere.

____

Tech Taglist (Click the link in my bio to add yourself!)

@ughhhhfoff, @kashasenpai, @venuskywaker, @bobaprint, @starstruckfluff, @solstraalaa

Thank you so much for reading!❤️

Tags :

luv this Thank you for writing this piece bad batch x reader tech x reader

167 notes View Post

tooka-goggles

11 months ago

hai :3 can i request an enemies to lover miguel o hara fic where they get stuck in a closet together and reader kinda has to sit on his lap because there isnt any space and so after a few minutes of being in there, reader pisses off miguel and miguel kisses them to shut them up and then the rest is history ig 🙇‍♀️

PLS AND THANK YOU! 🙇‍♀️

also pls make the reader speak spanish im BEGGINGGG.

CLOSET

hi! ofc you can! I did my best! I’m sorry that it sucks and is cringy😀😭

Miguel O’ Hara x Hispanic Reader

Hai :3 Can I Request An Enemies To Lover Miguel O Hara Fic Where They Get Stuck In A Closet Together

Masterlist

Warnings: Suggestive Language, Maybe a glimpse of smut, and Miguel being an asshole

You were one of Miguel’s first recruits, you had been working in the spider society for as long as it had existed, you and Miguel were close (or you would like to consider that) since you both shared the same culture and language and it was easier for you to communicate with him when your English wasn’t as good as it is (since in your universe Spanish was the predominant language) and he would be one of the few people who could understand your accent or you speaking Spanish when you forgot a word.

He took it as his personal job to teach you English until you perfected it and people who didn’t know you wouldn’t be able to guess that it wasn’t your first language( though sometimes you still would forget words in English or express yourself better in Spanish) you would both mutually bring food for each other or bond over music, so yeah you considered yourself close to him.

That was until he started becoming way more stressed about everything, yeah he has been a sour asshole ever since his canon event, but people were at least able to get small responses and have conversations that weren’t all about work with him, but as the spider society grew, he felt a lot of pressure on him and started drowning himself in work to the point that he would isolate himself for days until he got everything he needed done, he could spend weeks without sleeping and eating, and obviously as he became more stressed his memories started to impulse even worse emotions on him than they did before.

Of course this made you and your other teammates worried about him, so you started to bring him lunch, make sure he slept, and just went to see if he was okay, but you checking up on him started to annoy him as he got more irritating because of the lack of sleep and the accumulation of stress, so one day he just decided you annoyed him and soon that annoyance turned into hatred, or that’s what he thought it was.

This made him become snappy at you and we all know he can be the greatest asshole, at first you’re patient with him, thinking it will pass, but as it gets worse you reach your ending point and lose all patience starting to respond to him the same way he talked to you.

The sudden change weirded everyone out, but they also noticed that ever since you started hating Miguel back, his mood became even worse, well everyone noticed except for you, which surprised everyone since you were one of the smartest people in the spider society.

So thats why everyone refused to go to a mission with Miguel when he asked them to, arguing that they already had a mission, or that they had something really important to do, until Miguel had no other option but to take you and you had no other option but to go with him.

“Do i reaally have to go with him? I mean can’t he just ask Ben instead?” You said to Jess

“Nope honey, Ben has a really important therapy session”

“Okay? so then ask Gwen? Pavitr? Hobie? anyone else?”

“He already did, they’re all busy”

“Then why can’t you go”

“As important as the spider society is, I have an ultrasound appointment today, so I can’t go even if I wanted to”

“Well the world just hates me then doesn’t it”

“Maybe it does, or maybe it’s doing you a favor”

“Trust me, being alone with him is not a favor, i don’t want to be screamed at about how i’m annoying and a fucking- what was the word? uhm una carga? how did you say that?”

“A burden?”

“Yeah that! I don’t want to be called a burden and shit like that”

“You’re no burden, but I’ll tell you what you sound like, a teenage girl, come on, you’re an adult, you can take things in a professional way”

“Well the one that’s childish is him not me”

“Uh huh, well i’ve gotta go, good luck!”

“Yeah whatever”

You were now approaching Miguel’s office while wishing you were dead ‘Puta madre neta me lleva la verga, ahora si ya no tengo de otra más que ir’ (Fuck this shit, now I really don’t have any option but to go), you were starting to grow nervous as you approached his door, you hadn’t been alone with him since your last fight where he directly called you annoying and a burden, but now you had no other option.

After finishing the mission without actually talking to each other unless necessary, you both came back to the HQ, when you arrived it was weirdly quiet and no one seemed to be there doing their duties even if it was not that late, which was really weird, that was until you saw Peter B. approaching you with a worried look

“Hey y/n, have you seen MayDay? I can’t find her, usually it takes me an hour, but it’s been four hours and I haven’t been able to find her and I’m starting to get worried” Peter said to you while still running up to you and then catching his breath

“Oh, um I’m sorry but we just got back from a mission so we haven’t seen anything, but we can help you look!”

“No we can’t” Miguel said

“Yes we can, anyways where was the last place that you saw her Peter?” You said after glaring at Miguel as if looks could kill

“Well, I think it was in that one room that has a closet.. I always forget what it’s called”

“Okay yeah, I know which one you’re talking about, let’s go take a look”

Miguel followed them even if he said he wouldn’t be helping, Mayday being on the loose could press a lot of buttons and break a lot of things and cause a lot of problems, so there he was, inside of the closet with you, while Peter “looked” around the room, until they heard a loud noise of the door closing and now he was trapped inside with you, the worst thing is that because of the lack of space you ended up in his lap.

“Great, just what I needed”

“You know I’m not happy about being here with you either okay?”

“Oh is that so? or was this your little plan to get me trapped with you and to get all up on my personal space”

“WHAT? I would NOT do that, and I do NOT want to be in the same room as you you fucking asshole!”

“Oh yeah am I an asshole? sorry I couldn’t understand you with that accent”

“WHAT? okay now you’re being unreasonable, you want me to say it in Spanish? I will, Yo no planee esto wey, yo no quiero estar en el mismo lugar que tu, yo no quiero que me hables, yo no te quiero hablar y mucho menos molestar tu pinche espacio personal, así que neta hazme un favor y cállate un rato que ya no te aguanto cabrón, neta deja de cagar el palo y de ser un pendejo de la nada y ni me trates de culpar porque yo ni se que chingados te hice para que me odies tanto-“. (I didn’t plan this, I don’t want to be in the same place as you, I don’t want you to talk to me or to talk to you or even less to be all on your fucking personal space, so please do me a favor and shut up a little because I can’t deal with you anymore, please stop being such an asshole out of nowhere and don’t blame me because i don’t even know what the fuck I did for you to hate me so much-) That’s when you felt something on your lips, and it took you some time to realize he was kissing you, Miguel O’Hara was kissing you, you sure as hell felt as a teenage girl, butterflies in your stomach and everything.

On the other side Miguel was starting to get nervous as you didn’t return the kiss, he was starting to pull away and about to say he was sorry and he didn’t mean it when he felt you pulling him close and kissing him again, at first it was just a sweet kiss, but then it started to get heated, he couldn’t help but moan when he started feeling you grinding against him, with each second passing making him harder, he started kissing your neck and sucking “Fuck Miguel- you’re gonna leave marks” but he didn’t care, he continued, hearing your moans was paradise to him, he wanted to take you there so bad, until, they heard a knock “Um guys? are you okay?” Peter B said as he unlocked the door and opened it making Miguel groan in annoyance “This isn’t over.” he said before the door completely opened and revealed a Peter with a smiling Mayday in his arms.

1K notes View Post

tooka-goggles

11 months ago

Amore - Part I

Part 31 of Starstruck

Summary

Echo and you return from the supply run and become part of an unexpected celebration. Senator Chuchi pays a visit to the clone underground and Echo gets his time to shine.

Rating: Teens and Up

Word Count: 5826

Warnings: jealousy

AO3

”Home Sweet Home” Echo smiles at you when you see the familiar shape of Coruscant. You smile back and enjoy the view of the beautiful man to your left.

Echo chuckles.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“Mh…not yet” you giggle, lean over and kiss him.

“Now you do” you say with a twinkle in your eye and keep on kissing his cheeks.

“Mh…I need to contact the traffic controller and get a vector to start the approach and land this shuttle…” Echo mumbles.

“I’m sure you can find a holding point…the others will be grateful if you let them go first…” you whisper between kisses.

“I’m gonna bust the deadline to return the shuttle and we’ll have to pay another day” Echo responds with a husky voice. “It would be a waste of our resources and...”

“I’ll pay for it…” you murmur.

Echo laughs lightly and slowly pulls away.

“I can’t allow that to happen. But I’ll make up for it. As soon as we’re back at your place we’re gonna pick up where we left off…OK?”

He runs his scomp along your cheek and down your neck.

“I hate your karking discipline” you answer with a smile, the trace of his metal still cold on your skin. Echo winks.

“No, you love it. You love my karking discipline.” He grins and reaches for the radio button. Shortly before he gets there he stops. “…and my karking scomp. You love that too.” Echo gives you a suggestive grin and quickly activates the comms to get in contact with the space traffic controller.

You land directly at the hangar of the rental company and are picked up by Gregor to get back to the hideaway of the clone network.

“Hey lovebirds!” he shouts out loud and Echo raises an eyebrow at him.

Gregor starts the engine while you throw your bags in the back of the vehicle. Some droids will take care of unloading the supplies and will get them to a storage.

Echo gets to the front with his brother while you get in the back.

Gregor leans back towards you.

“You won a date with Sarah. Need to get your brain checked after the time travel thing.”

You give him a surprised look.

“Word spreads fast” Gregor adds. “You know how it is.”

You nod and take a mental note to be careful with what you do or say before you have an idea which indecent stories the bullshit brothers already made up about your time there.

“And Rex wants to see you” Gregor says in Echo’s direction.

You sigh. Looks like it will take some time before you can pick up where you left off.

“How are you doing?” Sarah’s friendly eyes are on you while you lay down to be examined.

“My headache is gone and I’m just a little tired and dizzy now and then but it’s getting better” you answer, trying to play the whole thing down. “You know Kix did a scan like this right after I got there.”

”Oh great could you travel back in time and ask him to transfer the data to me?” Sarah asks jokingly.

You give her a look and scoff. “Alright, alright, I'll do the tests again” you finally say, not without rolling your eyes.

”You know we don’t have much data about the effect of time travel on the brain…” your friend states. “But I can make a few general assessments about your physical condition. Besides it will be interesting to see the results, add another piece to the puzzle and compare it with the data of other known incidents of this kind.“

“Well great, sounds like my case makes an amazing peer-reviewed paper“ you respond with a chuckle. “So I take it everyone here knows about it?”

Sarah sighs.

“Well yes…it came up in the Monday briefing. Normally Gregor covers for Echo in his absence but he was indisposed and Fireball took over…”

“Say no more” you groan. Sarah giggles while she keeps on running scans. “Do I want to know what indecent rumors they came up with?”

“Probably not” Sarah answers and types on the datapad. “So…how was it?” she asks tentatively.

“What do you know already?” you ask her back.

“I know that you were on Coruscant, met the 501st and witnessed something that only Rex knew about which made it likely that you did, in fact, travel through space and time.”

You take a deep breath.

“Yes…”

You know the obvious question and decide not to wait for it.

“And yes I met Echo…you know the Echo he was before…before all that happened to him” you tell her openly.

“And how do you feel about it?” Sarah asks and stops typing at the datapad to give you her full attention.

“It was…confusing” you answer. “And it…I don’t know if that makes sense to you at all but I feel bad because I couldn’t save him from that mission that…changed his life. It hurt to see him, this sweet innocent naive boy and know what’s ahead of him. And it was strange to see him knowing that this is the boy my Echo was before he became the Echo I fell in love with.” You swallow. “I haven’t quite sorted it out in my head.”

“He was really worried about you“ Sarah replies. „I’ve never seen him this way before.“ You nod.

“Yeah… I know. The supply run brought us closer together, maybe not the way the others hoped when they left us the honeymoon shuttle but…on a different level.”

“And how was Rex?” Sarah asks curiously.

You laugh.

“Rex was…pretty much the same as we know him. He had fewer lines on his face but…he was a proud father of..well a lot of children. No wonder the bullshit brothers aren't much of a challenge after the chaotic boys he had under his command by that time” you reply with a grin.

Sarah chuckles.

“That is hard to imagine but it does explain why he always keeps his cool. Speaking of the bullshit brothers – I'm sure Nemec and Fireball are dying to see you and there will be a big gathering in…Sarah checks the time “…twenty minutes so why don’t you go see them? We can do the rest of the tests later.”

You tilt your head and give her a curious look.

“Gathering? What for?”

“You’ll see…” Sarah answers with a mysterious smile. “Oh but you’ll need to wear something more festive!”

“Festive…?” you reply. “I just hopped out of the shuttle and it’s not like I took something festive with me on a supply run.”

“Don’t worry” Sarah answers with her signature smile. “I have some spare clothes in my closet.”

She moves over and takes out a classy black satin shirt.

“I think this will fit nicely…”

You look at her wardrobe and the impressive selection of backup clothes in it.

“Erm…why do you…”

Sarah laughs cheerfully. “You really don’t want to know how often people puke at me…and that always happens when I have somewhere to be afterwards.”

You stare at her and are somehow grateful that you chose a more…sterile profession.

Sarah giggles when she sees your disgusted face and you laugh about yourself, shake your head, turn around and quickly get changed.

“Aaaaaamooooreeee! Amoreeeeeee Mioooooo!” you hear someone sing loudly in the little shop when you leave Sarah’s office. You don’t need to see who it is - while the clone voices are essentially all the same there is only one of them who has enough bullshit energy in his head to flood the hallway with his poor imitation of a Venetian gondolier without ever having been close to the Solar system, let alone Earth or Italy.

“Aaaaaamooooreeee! Amoreeeeeee Mioooooo!” Fireball keeps on singing from the top of his lungs without hitting a single note.

“Fireball, I told you a hundred times it’s Re...” you hear Nemec but he stops when he sees you.

Fireball is cleaning his already shiny vembrace and tries to remove an invisible stain from his armor.

“Is your armor clean for a change?” you ask instead of saying hello.

Fireball looks up and smiles brightly.

“Ah look who’s back from the dead!” He drops his cloth and gives you a big hug. You chuckle.

“I was never dead…”

“If you had stayed in the past it wouldn’t have been any different for us” Nemec replies.

“Did you meet us?” Fireball asks curiously. Nemec rolls his eyes.

“How many times do I have to tell you that we were on Kashyyyk by that time?”

Fireball rolls his eyes back.

“Well I guess it’s better this way. You know…” he wraps his arm around you and gets very close – close enough for you to smell his aftershave, something he normally doesn't wear for work. “It‘s hard to believe but I looked even better back then. You probably wouldn’t have returned if you had met me.”

You chuckle and get yourself out of his grip.

“Sure Fireball…so…tell me, what’s all that singing about Amore about?”

Nemec and Fireball exchange glances and it takes a suspiciously long amount of time until one of them answers.

“Oh erm…that's because...erm because of my future bride from Pantora, you know” Fireball answers. It sounds like a low pull-out but you are too curious to get into that and giggle.

"Oh…have you made any progress with senator Chuchi?“

Fireball gives you a confident grin.

"Not yet but she will be here today and I won’t waste that chance.“

"She’ll be here?“ you start to feel a little uncomfortable because…well because of her feelings for Echo. You haven't met her in person since you and Echo got together and there’s no way this is not going to be weird.

"Uh-hum“ Fireball answers, his mind obviously fully occupied with his advances towards the senator. You feel Nemec's eyes on you - he can see you feel uncomfortable. You quickly continue to keep the conversation going.

"Why is she here?”

Nemec and Fireball look at each other again. This is getting more and more conspicuous…

“You’ll see” Fireball replies with a mysterious smile that seems awfully similar to Sarah’s, just like the wording.

"Ah come on, give me something!“ you plead. You’re not sure whether this is the kind of surprise you’re going to like.

“OK…just because it’s you…and because we’re friends" Fireball replies with a grin and looks to the side to think about his words. "So it is an important event - otherwise the senator wouldn’t be here - and Echo will play a very important role but he doesn’t know yet. And above all there will be free booze and food. I‘m pretty sure you’re gonna like it.“

You listen to the words and don’t really share your friend’s enthusiasm. In fact you’re beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Only Echo and you know about Chuchi's feelings for him and the whole setup together with their secrecy sounds very dubious. Knowing that clones often don’t know much about normal standards of society doesn’t help either. You’re a little afraid of the answer but you know you have to ask…

“Please tell me you didn’t plan a surprise wedding after you got us the honeymoon shuttle“ you groan. "You know people should consent to…”

“No that’s not it” Nemec interrupts you and chuckles. "You know we have a lot of bullshit in our heads but that would cross a line, even for us.”

“Speak only for yourself” Fireball replies.

You give him a little puff. You are still not convinced that you're gonna like whatever is happening but at least you ruled out your biggest worry.

The gathering takes place at a hangar right next to the clone underground‘s old industrial building. It’s not really the newest and shiniest hangar you have ever seen which is probably a good thing in terms of keeping a low profile. To be honest you never realized it was there...you never really wondered what was in the vicinity of the clone underground‘s base in general and it was all good as long as it was abandoned but you are sure that Rex and Echo knew about it all along, probably even chose this specific building for the clone underground because of the hangar next to it and the possibility to expand.

Nemec and Fireball enter before you and mingle with the other clones.

In spite of the worn and shabby outside – OK and inside – of the hangar you can feel a change, a ceremonial atmosphere. The hangar is dark in the back, there seems to be a force field to hide what can be found there. In the front you see a stage with a microphone at a lectern and in front of that high tables, champagne glasses, even some snacks. Some are still being set up by a few Pantoran aides.

And then you see her.

Senator Chuchi.

A rare guest - her heavy schedule doesn’t allow her to be here in person that often and her presence would increase the risk of being found out, not only by the Empire but also by the yellow press - the paparazzi would love to get something compromising about Mrs. Perfect.

You muster the senator’s perfect dress - several layers of flawless silk, purple and blue with golden brocade, not a single crease, not a single stain, perfectly ironed, perfectly worn. Her blue skin softly shimmers in the lights of the hangar, her long dark eyelashes bring out her big golden eyes.

And then there’s you. Jeans and the shirt Sarah borrowed you so you don’t have to show up in your sweaty t-shirt from the trip, dark circles under your eyes from the aftereffects of the concussion and the time travel. You look like shit.

Sarah waves in your direction and signals you to come over. You tear your eyes away from the senator and walk towards the high table with your friend. She looks at you and grins.

"Jealous?“

You roll your eyes.

"I know I don’t have to be jealous but…can’t she at least have…a pimple or something?“ you complain.

Sarah chuckles.

"Maybe she has one on her rear. A really nasty huge whitehead filled with...“

"No…“ you interrupt her.. "I don’t even wish that for her, I‘m just…being stupid.“

You groan about yourself. It's not like you are particularly proud about your indifferent feelings for the senator.

"You know it’s funny...” you start with brutal honesty “…as soon as I hear something that even remotely resembles body shaming I get really mad and dogmatic but she can’t change that she’s beautiful like that either and still a part of me judges her for it. I know it’s wrong but I can’t…I just can’t feel differently.“

“Well that's probably because you are a real bitch” Sarah answers and chuckles. “Just kidding. At least you’re aware if it.“

The senator finishes her conversation with one of her guards, picks up one of the trays with snacks and walks towards Rex. It doesn’t take more than three steps for an assistant to rush to her and take the tray off of her hands. For a second you see frustration flicker in her eyes - a senator is not supposed to carry around trays, there is dedicated service personnel for those kind of tasks. It is not appropriate for someone in her position and it doesn’t matter that she wanted to go where the tray had to go anyway. She probably never actively signed up for having her ass wiped all day but it’s the price she has to pay to be in a position of power.

Come to think of it it is really remarkable to have her here with her entourage, fully dressed up, knowing exactly that there will be no press release, no fame, no votes gained with what she’s doing here - she is here because of what she believes in, paying the clones her respect. She probably doesn’t have many appointments of her own choice - the vast majority will be mandatory events with people she doesn’t care about to talk about agendas she cares about even less. And with the press waiting for her to slip, look tired, misspeak or talk to someone a little too long or do anything else that would be worth a headline.

You don’t envy her.

She may be in a position of power but it comes at the cost of her personal freedom.

The senator moves on to Rex and they start to talk. The tray with the snacks has already arrived at the high table next to him. You can see with how much respect they treat each other. You are lucky to have political support like that.

Echo approaches the two and gives Chuchi a formal nod. He has changed and looks breathtaking with the black and red kama around his hips. She gently puts her hand on his shoulder and gracefully lowers her gaze before she looks him in the eyes.

You hold your breath.

She‘s touching him…

She's touching your man.

Gently.

You grind your teeth.

How dare she touch him in front of your eyes.

But suddenly you realize - their eyes meet only shortly and there is this awkwardness between them that you only see when one confessed their love and the other didn’t return their feelings. It is just a fracture of a second but you know Echo too well and observe the senator too closely to miss it. It is just a friendly greeting and none of them wants this to become more awkward than it already is but they are professionals. And Chuchi…again…can’t afford to let any feelings affect what she is doing. She can go home and cry about her heartbreak later and probably she will but now she‘s a senator playing her role.

You remember Echo‘s words. "I need someone with an edge.“

He chose you.

Your jealousy leaves for sympathy. No, you really don’t want to walk in her shoes.

You watch Echo, Rex and Chuchi exchange a few sentences before Echo leaves the stage and walks towards the group of clones. He puts himself in position.

"ATTEN-SHUN!“ His loud voice cuts through the air, confident, loud, clear, commanding respect.

Immediately all conversations stop and the clones stand at attention. Echo swiftly turns around with military precision, faces the stage and lifts his chin up.

This is him.

The man you fell in love with.

The disciplined soldier, the man you looked up to from the moment you met him.

He may be your partner, the one you tried to convince to get into a holding pattern to have some sexy time in the cockpit before you land.

He may be the man who always makes breakfast for you.

He may be the man who was afraid you could have had an affair with his past self.

But he is also - and always will be - the man who makes you starstruck. The perfect soldier, determined, loyal and precise.

You allow yourself to swoon a little bit and miss the first words Rex has been saying into the mic.

"…thank the senator for the generous gift of this event. And I‘m not only talking about the booze and the buffet…“ The civilians and a few clones allow themselves to chuckle, a clear sign that even though the troopers are standing at attention the core military standards are more relaxed now that they are no longer a part of the GAR.

"…but also for something much bigger than that. This day is nothing less than a cornerstone in the history of the clone underground.“ Rex pauses dramatically to give his words some weight. Sarah looks over to you and winks at you with a smile.

"But I don’t want to steal senator Chuchi's show…senator?“

Rex makes an inviting gesture and leaves the spot at the lectern to Chuchi.

The senator puts her hand over the microphone and quietly asks Rex an inaudible question. He gives her a reassuring nod and she lifts her hand from the mic again.

“Please…stand at ease” are her first words before she starts her speech. The clones loosen up a bit and put their hands behind their backs.

"My dear friends…“ Her soft yet fierce voice echoes in the hangar.

"…I am very grateful to stand before you today and be able to finally see all of you in person again.“ Chuchi pauses shortly before she continues.

"My political efforts for your rights and the rights of all your brothers continue to be the most important part of my daily work. I could convince a growing number of parties from all over the galaxy to support this very essential human rights topic. But I have to be honest with you - our progress is slow, very slow, and almost as quickly as we gain supporters we lose them because people bow down to the intimidation of the empire.“

The senator lowers her gaze and shakes her head to show her regret.

"The practical hurdles also proved to be more challenging than expected and our lawyers have a hard time getting a grip on legal issues like the question about reparations for years of work without wages versus the cost of life and training the republic provided versus the lack of a free choice of your profession. Drafting up a waterproof and convincing basis for questions like these takes time.“

The senator‘s look changes from that of a politician into that of a fighter.

"Time we don’t have! Time many of your brothers don’t have because they are held captive as insurgents because they refused to follow illegal orders. Time the clones who are with the empire don't have because they don't have a free will and every day the chip forces them to act in a way they normally never would. Time none of you has because of your accelerated aging. Time is against us. We can’t wait for years until a political solution takes effect, we need to act now!“

The senator takes a few breaths and lets her eyes browse over the crowd.

"Three weeks ago a Pantoran patrol found a former mining ship hidden at a remote dwarf planet in our solar system. It was occupied by pirates who used that place as a basis between raids to perform modifications. A member of the patrol who captured the pirates is a confidant of mine and immediately realized its value for the clone underground. According to the books this ship was decommissioned and scrapped two weeks ago - but I can assure you it’s still in one piece.“

Senator Chuchi gives her adjutant a nod and on the push of a button the visual force field is deactivated and a huge ship is revealed in the back of the hangar, professionally showcased by perfect lighting of a dozen floodlights. A murmur goes through the members of the clone underground and you gasp when you begin to realize what is actually happening.

Rex has a confident and proud smile on his face. The senator looks over to him and once the murmuring has left for curiosity about her next words she continues to speak.

"This is the Remora. We named it after a fish you can find at different places in the galaxy that harbor aquatic lifeforms. Two of these places are Pantora and Kamino, giving the name context from both our homeworlds. Remoras are fish who leech onto bigger fish, sometimes also ships, to accompany them. This specific Remora…“ she points at the ship "…can extend a bridge and leech onto docking ports. But there is more…“

Senator Chuchi looks over to Rex and steps aside to give him the floor again.

"The pirates turned the escape pod into a leech vessel that can be attached to other ships and breach their hull. The transformation has not yet been completed and there are other works on the ship ahead of us but it will be feasible to finish them with our resources. Once operational it is the perfect ship for stealth infiltration, insertion and extraction missions like rescuing clones from prisoner transports.“

Rex smiles brightly with confidence and looks every one of his man in the eyes, gives his words some space, lets them understand what it means.

You feel a tingling in your stomach when it dawns on you how huge this development actually is. This ship offers a thousand possibilities for the underground, independence from the shuttle rental service and way more space and flexibility. Given its size it could even provide housing for every member of the clone underground if they were found out on Coruscant and it would still be almost empty with everyone living on board.

You begin to understand what this has to do with Echo - he will probably spend the next weeks drawing up tactics and strategies for its effective use, concepts of operations, required refurbishments and also plans for secondary effects like a probable increase in numbers of the underground - partially by having rescued prisoner join them, partially by getting more supporters because of the strong symbolism of this ship's very existence.

"Now Echo, would you please join us?“ Rex asks. Echo immediately follows his former Captain‘s request but you have the feeling that he doesn’t know what Rex is up to. Maybe he wants him to give a passionate speech on the fly, something Echo is incredibly good at. If someone can electrify the masses it’s the war hero, the only former ARC trooper at the underground, the embodiment of never giving up and unparalleled determination.

You realize that your face already has a smile on it - you are really looking forward to see Echo in this role again, see him enthrall the audience after he just stumbled out of the shuttle with you.

Well it seems it was good you couldn’t convince him to spend some sexy time with you at the holding point - they all would have waited for you.

Echo marches up to the stage with sharp military precision and finally stops to stand at attention facing Rex, perpendicular to the audience. You admire his beautiful prominent nose, the nose he pressed against the most sensitive parts of your body so often. You just love his profile…

'Lucky me‘ you think and soak in this moment.

Rex chuckles. "At ease.“

Echo relaxes a bit but not too much. He links his hand and scomp behind his back and still has his chin up and his body straight.

"Echo…“ Rex starts and it suddenly feels as if he forgets about the crowd, the senator, the ceremony for a moment and it’s just the two of them, just these two old companions and noone else. This is a very personal moment.

The hangar is quiet, you could hear a pin drop. A strange solemn atmosphere fills the room.

"The Remora is an excellent ship, a beacon of hope for us.“

Rex pauses and firmly looks Echo into the eyes. Everyone is holding their breaths.

Without breaking eye contact Rex slowly reaches out his left hand and puts it on Echo‘s chest. Just the way he must have done it a long time ago, back then when Echo was just a shiny and they first met on the Rishi moon.

Rex still takes his time to make this moment last, with his palm firmly pressed against Echo‘s chest and their eyes locked. This is obviously not about a speech…

"And an excellent ship needs an excellent commander" Rex continues. "Echo, we go way back. And I can't think of a better man for the job than you. As of now, I‘m giving you the command over the Remora.“

The audience needs a second but then the first people start to clap, mostly civilian supporters, but soon the clones give up their position and join them.

And all you see is Echo, Rex‘s hand still firmly placed on his chest, their eyes locked. You remember that picture you saw during your time travel, the picture of Fives and him when they were promoted to ARC troopers and young Echo looked as if he was about to faint. You don’t see much of that man anymore. This is not a pup who’s about to faint because he gets promoted. This is a seasoned soldier who knows he is, in fact, the best man for the job. Without arrogance and with enough humility to be aware of the big responsibility he’s taking but at the same time with the certainty that he is able to live up to the expectations that come with this command. He is proud but never cocky and gratefully accepts the trust put into him.

He‘s perfect.

He‘s in his element.

In his head a thousand ideas manifest already, a thousand battle plans, a thousand strategies unfold. Success has never been a reason for him to lean back but a motivator to be the best he can be and show everyone why the trust placed in him is justified.

You have never been prouder.

Rex slowly lets go of Echo’s chest once the applause begins to fade and he gives him a nod. Echo nods back.

A Pantoran assistant approaches the stage after senator Chuchi gave her a subtle signal. She carries three glasses with champagne. You are so captivated by the scene and the beauty and confidence of your man that you almost miss the tray next to you. A Pantoran gives you a friendly smile and offers a glass to you too. You take it like in trance and join everyone‘s toast on the new commander.

Your man.

The man who deserves it most.

He worked so hard and never expected anything in return.

And yet he got his own command today.

Rex could have claimed it for himself but he stepped back and made Echo the person who would be in the history books, the one who would change the fate of all clones.

Part 32: Amore - Part II (on 1st July)

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tooka-goggles

11 months ago

Stop you're loosing me! Miguel o'hara x wife reader pt3 - "Afterglow"

basically the last part of my stop you're loosing me series where you and miggy break up and get back together pt 1 and 2 are on my profile so go read those if you havent! They’re both on my profile @ultradelusional

•

(Readers pov)

you had been trying to forget Miguel. Trying to forget the way he used to hold you, the way he'd make you feel safe, the way he'd kiss you in the middle of the night. no one can quite forget the people they're married to. As you and Miguel where still legally married. The past 4 days back in your dimension had been filled with people from the spider society visiting and comforting you. Jess especially.

Everyone who visited kept trying to get you to move on but fact is you couldn’t. Miguel your husband, your everything. He hadn’t even tried reaching out which was the worst part which made you ponder the fact that this could be the end of your marriage even more.

(Miguel’s pov)

after that dream of you Miguel regretted everything more than he already did. but as peter b had said he was thinking more rationally. so Miguel set Lyla to locate where in the multiverse you where and when she located you off he went. “Lego spiderman you’re in charge while I’m gone” Miguel said to Lego spider man as he disappeared through the portal to your dimension.

(Reader’s pov)

As you where laying in bed in the bedroom of your apartment in your dimension things being eerily quiet. As only a monorail speeding past your window was the only sound. A portal suddenly appeared right on the floor of your bedroom and a tall figure you knew all too well stepped out.

“Miguel?” You said horsely as you noticed how the past 4 days had changed him. He was skinnier, thick dark eye-bags crowded themselves under his deep brown eyes as the whites of his eyes where slightly red from crying. You also noticed a slight stubble on his face from a lack of self care. His brown wavy locks also had a few steaks of grey. “Wow I guess me leaving him had done some…changes” you thought yourself guilty of his negative changes.

“Mi amour I…” Miguel started to say he knew he had to say something meaningful to get you back. Back into his arms and back in his life.

“Hey it’s all me, In my head I’m the one who burned this down but it’s not what I meant sorry that I hurt you I promise I don’t wanna do this to you and I regret everything” he stated tears bellowing out of his eyes.

“Miguel I-“ you started to say before he cut you off

“Don’t. You don’t need to accept an apology. 4 days ago was supposed to be me and Martha’s anniversary that’s why I kept thinking about her in the days leading up. It would’ve been our 10th anniversary.”

“Oh Miguel…I’m so sorry I didn’t know that my love you never talk about your past life.” You say walking up to him cupping his face and wiping his tears away from his cheeks.

“I’m truly sorry y/n, you’re my wife and I never ever regret marrying you, you where the one who lifted my haze of grief and let the light in” Miguel says as he hesitantly kisses your hand. “You’re my light my love, my everything, tu mi vida” he’s now balling his eyes out as he chokes out “will you let me back in? Will you be my wife again?” He says pulling out your wedding ring.

“Oh great heavens yes!!” You say tears coming to your eyes as he slips on your ring fitting perfectly as it always has.

“Let’s go back home” Miguel says picking you up in his arms as you both go through the portal back to HQ “new dress?” He remarks noticing the same green dress from his dream

“Why yes” you reply as the portal engulfs you both and Miguel leaning in for a passionate kiss

The kiss seems to last forever as both your lips fit perfectly in one another after being separate for so so long. you both don’t notice you’re already back at the spider society and many of your friends are watching you two kiss.

“EWWW” hobie calls out making you and Miguel’s lips break apart both your cheeks flushing bright pink with embarrassment.

OK GUYS THATS THE END HOPE YOU ENJOYED!!

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tooka-goggles

11 months ago

📂 𝐑𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

↳ 📁 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥

Miguel O’Hara x Fem!Reader

𝐀𝐎3 | 𝐌𝐲 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 | 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2.4k

𝐂𝐖 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐖: Nothing much, just reader being in shock (?)

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Miguel takes a significant step by revealing a life-changing secret to you during your night out. You took this opportunity to pave the way to a more honest and brighter future.

Friday came sooner than you could anticipate and throughout the rest of the week up until the day, it took you longer than you expected to pick an outfit for your date. Even if you were the one that initiated it, you didn’t know if you should go all out or if it'll just be something casual. Surely, Miguel wouldn’t just take you to some local cafe. You didn’t want to overdress Miguel and make it look like you put too much effort into this. Your nerves subsided when Miguel told you the night before that he picked a restaurant downtown and it gave you somewhat of an idea of what to wear. You hated the fact that you were overthinking this. It was only Miguel - your ex-husband that you still cared about enough to stress about what to wear. Sure you had your rough patches, really rough patches, but you were married for three years and Miguel had seen you at your worst. Or maybe he hadn’t even noticed because he was too focused on his career. Either way, you knew you were thinking too deep into this.

But on the other hand, the perfectionist side of you still wanted to make a lasting good impression tonight. This date was a chance to finally get what you secretly desired and for a second chance with the man you loved. You wanted to look good, perhaps even earn a compliment or two from Miguel. You haven’t been on a real date after the divorce, you couldn’t bring yourself to try again with someone and emotionally invest yourself into another man. Not when your heart was still secretly tied to Miguel’s whether you wanted to admit it to yourself or not. You wondered how Miguel was feeling about all of this. Was he as much of a mess as you were? Maybe he was thinking about how to be better to you this time. He knew he messed up which was a hopeful sign.

Finally, you were able to pick an outfit to wear for tonight. It’s been a while since you pampered yourself up like this. It would be an understatement to say you were nervous with how things will turn out. But after seeing yourself in the mirror, with the dress on that was very flattering on your body shape, you felt a little bit more confident in yourself. All your nerves seemed to disappear momentarily as you walked out the door. The feeling crumbled, however, the second you saw Miguel standing idly waiting for you. You felt a sudden rush of heat reaching your core making you lose your composure for a split second. You never thought you’d see him clean up so nicely like this ever again after you went your separate ways. It was refreshing and you felt a little flattered he put this much effort into his looks for this date with you.

“Hey, you.” you cooed, trying to sound as lighthearted as you could. Miguel perked up and his attention was on you now - you didn’t know why that made you a little self conscious. Perhaps it was the way his eyes lingered for a few seconds longer than necessary.

“Hey…you…you look phenomenal.” He commented. The words floated around in your head and went straight to your heart, making your cheeks burn up. How had he caused this much of a reaction in your body from just a simple compliment?

“Thank you. Shall we get going?” Miguel answered your question by sticking his arms out for you to take which you did. There was a comfortable breeze in the Neuva York air that made the dress you were wearing flow gracefully around your body. As you walked through the quiet streets, you couldn’t help but catch quick glances at Miguel who was leading you with his arm linked with yours.

“You look breathtaking too by the way…” you blurted out, making him look back at you with an arched eyebrow. “I mean it’s not just your looks that made me attracted to you, it’s your headstrong willpower that’s kinda hot. I want to wake up to someone like that everyday.” You couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of your throat right now. When did you become so bold with your mouth?

“Is that so?” Miguel stopped in his tracks and leaned in closer to you, making your heart hammer hard in your rib cage. “You know, I’m glad we’re going out again, so I can see your flustered expression up close like this.”

Lord Almighty what the fuck had he done to you…?

He chuckled softly as he continued to walk, your stunned reaction only adding to his amusement. Even with the cool air outside, it wasn’t enough to reduce the heat you felt on your cheeks. You finally reached your destination after walking for a few minutes. As you opened the door, you were welcomed to the warm embrace of ambient lighting that illuminated a soft golden glow that bathed the room. The atmosphere was hushed, with the gentle murmurs of guests engaging in harsh conversation along with a soft piano playing a melodious tune. There was a tantalising aroma of gourmet dishes that lingered in the air, enticing your senses. You couldn’t help but appreciate Miguel’s choice for this date. You were introduced to the host who guided you to your seats near the windows that offered a view of Nueva York that twinkled beautifully in the night. He handed you both menus and after picking your options you were left alone again before your food was served to both of you. Miguel went for the Chicken Parmigiana and you went for the Baked Ziti.

Every now and then, as you both conversed with each other, you couldn’t help but feel how Miguel’s presence made you feel both comfort and appreciative at the same time. You would find yourself watching how open and inviting his body language was and his warm tone as he spoke with you. It wasn't hard for you to believe that this was a man that once knew you better than anyone else. It was like every thought about your divorce was left outside the second you stepped in the building. There was a long comfortable pause as you continued on your food. You couldn’t shake off the feeling that tonight was different, a rare moment of emotional honesty amidst your shared history.

“Miguel, can I say something a little vulnerable about me?” You asked, your voice went quiet but enough to be heard over the noise around you.

“Of course, cariño. I’m always listening.” Miguel replied, his gaze on you was soft and encouraging.

“Is it…is it bad that after our divorce, I found it hard to build an emotional connection with anyone?” You confessed. You fiddled with the fork in your hand as if seeking some sort of comfort from the silverware. “Not just romantically, but generally too…I’m sorry, I don’t want to blame our divorce for the way I turned out.” You continued with your tone adding a hint of sorrow. The distant laughter of the other guests and the clinking of the cutlery added a soothing backdrop to the vulnerable conversation. You didn’t know what it was but tonight, you felt more comfortable to be more emotionally transparent with Miguel. Miguel’s eyes locked with yours as he listened to you intently, taking in everything you just vented out to him.

“Hey, it’s alright. You were hurting over our divorce and it’s normal that you couldn’t find someone that could give you that connection you had with me. And since we’re being honest with each other, there’s something I want to confess too.” Miguel said, his eyes still fixated on yours. You couldn’t help but be mesmerised by how his eyes — a mix of brown with red — glimmered under the lighting.

“Yes?” You prodded him, taking a sip of your drink from the glass.

“Well, I want to know if you’re okay with me being a superhero.” The sentence made you almost choke, causing you to throw a brief coughing fit.

“Sorry?!” You spattered out your drink in shock. Was he out of his fucking mind?

“I know it sounds crazy, but you’re looking at Spider-Man.” Time seemed to stand still as you tried to process the enormity of what he just disclosed.

“For how long…?” Your voice was trailing off now as you were lost deep in your thoughts. You couldn’t believe your ears.

Miguel leaned in closer and lowered his voice, as if he was sharing a well-guarded secret. “This had been happening before we even got together, before you even joined Alchemax even. I was involved in a laboratory accident that merged my DNA with a spider. So 50% of my DNA is from a spider.”

“What?” There was a small voice, very minimal, that was urging you to just leave this restaurant right now and never turn back. But your intuitions and your heart kept you rooted to your seat, unable to tear away from him.

“I know it's hard to believe.” Miguel admitted, his gaze never leaving yours. “But just stay with me here. So after I learned about my powers, I used it to serve justice in this city and fight for people against those in power and who abuse their authority. I wanted to serve a purpose.” He paused again, waiting for your response and desperately trying to read your expression.

“And you managed to keep that from me throughout our entire marriage?” You started to taste bile building up at the far back of your throat that was overtaking the ziti flavour, making you feel nauseous.

“Believe me, there were many times where I wanted to tell you. But I didn’t know how to explain it all without sounding like a joke.”

“Was that why you were so focused on work rather than our marriage?”

“Yes, that’s why I was always away and didn’t have time to spend with you…but I don’t want to use that as an excuse for the way things had turned out.” He said, his voice sounding almost apologetic. It was all adding up in your head now. The late-night arrivals, the perpetual exhaustion, the mysterious bruises. Each piece of the puzzle painted a clearer picture. Whenever he returned, he often came home looking like he did some physically demanding work when his job only required him to move around in the lab.

You weren’t sure if there were physical changes to his body after his genes were altered, but now that you recall it, you could’ve sworn you saw something emerge from his canines when you would be screaming at each other during your final stages of your marriage. However, you were too blinded by anger to even register it. There were other odd habits you picked up on too but you brushed them all off. Were they manifestations of his spider DNA? You weren’t entirely sure.

“You’re sure you want to get back together? To reconcile and remarry?” Your voice trembled in uncertainty. There was a tinge of doubt that irked the back of your mind about all of this. It was hard to tell if Miguel will be able to balance his superhero life and your marriage. You didn’t want to repeat history and lose Miguel for good, you couldn’t bear it. The thought made your stomach churn.

“More than anything. You’re the most important thing in my life but I was too blinded by my alter ego to even notice.” Miguel squeezed your fingers as he told you, trying to sound as sincere as he could. Everything was crashing down on you all at once and it was getting a little hard to breathe. It felt like the walls in the restaurant were closing in and suffocating you as you tried to process everything you’ve just heard. Part of you wanted to melt into the floor and disappear but the rational part told you to stay and hear Miguel out. You rapidly blinked away the tears that built up in your eyes from how overwhelmed this new information was - the last thing you wanted was to create a scene in the restaurant.

“I saw that…” Miguel said as he reached across the table and held your chin up to look at him. “Don’t hide your feelings from me cariño, not again.” The sudden attentiveness and attention to your micro expressions made your head spin.

“I’m sorry…this is just a little overbearing. This whole info dump of you being Spider-Man.” You swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his sincere gaze.

“That’s understandable. You don’t have to process all of this at this moment. Taking all this news wasn’t expected of you.” Your doubts started to creep up on you again but this time, they came in waves and it was harder to escape the dark thoughts.

“What if things don’t work out? What if we end up falling apart again? Miguel, I’m terrified of getting my hopes up, I can’t bear another heartbreak.” Your voice quivered from the built up emotion you were feeling. Miguel caressed your cheeks before he spoke again with determination.

“We won’t let that happen. The whole reason we fell apart was because of my secrets. Now you know I’m Spider-Man, we can build something stronger, querida. I promise, from this point on, no more secrets between us. You have my word.” You caught your breath as you listened to him speak. You wondered if this time would be different, if the wounds of your past could truly heal and the love you had will find a way to rebuild your relationship. The night continued on with his words still weighing in the air between the two of you. You took this moment to reflect on everything that just happened and wondered what the future will hold. You imagined yourself years later, after remarrying— Miguel coming home to you from his heroic duties, and you, patching him up and then preparing him dinner. The thought sends warmth throughout your body. You didn’t want this night to end after dinner, you wanted to be with Miguel for as long as you could. You hesitated for a moment, watching Miguel finish off his food before you spoke your mind.

“Do you have anywhere to be after this?” You asked.

“No I don’t. Why?” He replied, putting down the cutlery and grabbing his jacket from behind the chair.

“Do you….wanna come back to mine? I don’t want to be alone tonight.” You didn’t know why you were getting nervous all of a sudden. Miguel’s lips curled into a knowing smirk at the request.

“Heh, I thought you’d never ask. Let me get the check and we’ll get out of here…” His tone hinted at the anticipation of something more than just a quiet night alone.

Part 3 🔞🔞

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