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Fives isn't quite sure what possesses him to change his plans, all he knows is that he does . He wants to go to Rex, to his ori’vod and Captain, and General Skywalker, he wants to corner them and make them listen to him because he's running out of time and every active trooper on Coruscant is hunting him. The curse of knowledge weighs him down like shackles - or maybe that's just the drugs the Force-damned scientist had injected into him, Fives isn't sure any more. But what he does know, is that at any moment the Chancellor could give the order, and every single one of the Vode would turn their weapons on the Jedi.
He wants to go to Rex with this information, to the General, but Fives knows deep down that Skywalker would never believe anything that could paint his beloved Chancellor - his friend - in a bad light, because his General is painfully loyal to his friends. And Rex - well, maybe a part of Fives never really left Umbara, where his older brother had cared more about following orders than saving the lives of their men. It's unfair of Fives, he knows this, because Rex had already torn himself up over Umbara, and he didn’t need Fives doing the same, but Fives - well, Fives’ ability to forgive and forget had gotten worse since he lost Echo as his voice of reason.
He couldn’t go to Rex or General Skywalker, and the thought had hit him like a speeder truck in his fevered mind.
But - but he could go to General Kenobi.
Fives, personally, may not have ever put much stock in rumours, but Echo, and then Tup, had both been consummate gossips, so Fives has heard the scuttlebutt about the High General and his Marshal Commander. He’s seen the way those two work together, a frighteningly competent pair straight out of the old Mandalorian legends; they moved together like an ARC-pair, like they knew what the other was thinking before they even thought of it themselves. They were glorious to witness, and Fives had often found himself struck dumb whenever he ran missions with the 212th and got to watch them in person. If the Chancellor got his way, Commander Cody - his ori’vod, the ori’vod - would be forced to turn on his General, and Fives doesn’t want to think of who would walk away from that confrontation.
If Fives can get Kenobi on his side, then he’d get the Marshal Commander as well - and General Kenobi is a Jedi Councilor, it’s the perfect plan.
And somehow, guided by something that Fives can’t explain, he manages it. Despite every odd being against him, Fives manages it, he manages to get into the Jedi Temple and around all the guards, he manages to dodge all the troopers crawling across the planet looking for him. He doesn’t even know which room is General Kenobi’s, but he just happens to come across a very helpful little Jedi cadet who jumps at the chance to help an important Master, and gives him directions before scuttling off to class.
Fives succeeds, and soon he finds himself standing in front of General Kenobi’s rooms. Hands shaking and the world tilting around him, Fives reaches out, and it takes him five tries before he manages to control his laden limbs to palm the buzzer on the door. He sways, leaning against the cool door, enjoying the chill against his heated skin, and FIves considers just falling asleep there.
It would be so easy to just close his eyes and -
The door opens, and Fives flails a little as he falls, but arms catch him, steadying him, and Fives blinks his eyes open to meet the amber-brown of a Vode. A Vode with a distinctive scar curling around his eye and tightly controlled curls, and Fives sags in relief.
“Boss.” He murmurs, slumping against his brother’s chest, passively allowing his ori’vod to pull him away from the door and into the room - General Kenobi’s room. Cody is in Kenobi’s room, dressed down in a loose pair of sleep pants, and what looks like a short-sleeved version of their blacks. He smells clean, and not like the scent of GAR-issued soap, and when Fives squints past his blurry vision, he can make out a very distinctive bruise just peeking out from above the high-neck of the Commander’s top. “Oh.” Fives says dumbly.
“What’s going on, Fives?” The Commander growls, dragging the ARC trooper towards what Fives thinks is a couch, but he can’t really tell for sure because his eyes aren’t working properly, and Fives absently notes that he can’t feel his legs anymore.
“You’re in General Kenobi’s rooms.” Fives says instead, voice faint and just a little shrill, but he’s happy to see his brother, no matter how grumpy the Marshal Commander seems to be and - oops, he may have interrupted something. But he’s too relieved to see the older trooper to be too bothered about it, and he sighs in relief. “Oh thank Force. You’re here.”
Cody stares at him, expression pinched and brows furrowed, but he feels worried, “Fives, what’s going on - they’re saying you tried to kill the Chancellor.”
“Lay him down, Cody.” Another voice says, and Fives blinks, head lolling to where another blur stands, and he has to squint to make them out - it’s General Kenobi, of course it is, because this is Kenobi’s room.
Kenobi’s room where Fives definitely interrupted them.
The chip.
“General.” Fives struggles slightly in Cody’s arms, desperate to get the information he’s discovered to the man, “General - I have - something to report! It’s - it’s important! Life or death!”
Kenobi pauses, exchanging a glance with Cody over Fives head, before a soothing hand rests on Fives’ forehead, and Fives sags as the fog in his head retreats enough that the ARC trooper can focus. “Report, Trooper Fives.” Kenobi probes, and Fives salutes clumsily.
“Sir - I’ve discovered a conspiracy at the heart of the GAR.” He says, and something sharp enters Cody’s eyes. “We - the clones - we’re a trap, sir! There’s chips in our heads, brainwashing chips - that can be activated if we’re given the right order by the Chancellor; it’s what happened to Tup, it’s why he shot General Tiplar! His chip had been damaged, and it caused the order to activate early - he didn’t have a choice. I was investigating it on Kamino - we all have one, down to the tubies, and I tried to report it to the Chancellor, but he already knew . He’s the one who can activate the order, and he told me so himself.”
Kenobi looks alarmed, but it’s Cody who speaks up, and Fives turns wide, pleading eyes on his brother - begging him to believe him. “What order, Fives?”
“Kill the Jedi.”