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Echo peered down off the edge of the cliff, a couple of small pebbles scattering down as he edged around the small ledge. Tech, who was a little ways ahead of him, cursed as a chunk of the ledge crumbled as he put his weight on it.
“Careful, it gets really thin over here.” He called, before turning his head to the right. “How is it over there, Omega?”
“It widens up a bit, but then there’s a gap, so be careful!” Omega called back.
Echo frowned as he pressed himself closer to the wall. He didn’t like her being this close to danger, especially when neither Tech nor himself would be able to save her if she tripped or the ground beneath her crumbled. However, the alternative would have meant that she would be with Wrecker and Hunter, who were currently trekking through the predator-riddled jungle below, and none of them had wanted that.
He swallowed as a piece of the ledge where he had just been standing broke away and plummeted down towards the ground. This ledge was anything but stable, and he wanted to get off of it as soon as possible.
‘Why does Cid always send us to the worst places?’ He grumbled internally. These jobs payed well, it’s true, but for once, just once, he’d like to be sent to a nice, safe planet to go pick a rare flower or something. No giant monsters trying to eat them, no nasty people trying to kill or capture them, just soft grass and breathable air.
Distracted by the thought of having a nice mission for once, Echo did not immediately notice that his foot wasn’t about to step onto solid ground, or any ground at all.
“Echo, your foot!” Tech yelped, his eyes widening in fear.
Tech’s sharp warning quickly brought him back to reality. He startled, jerking his leg back. The sudden movement unbalanced him, and he wobbled for a moment. Luckily, he managed to catch himself, and he took a second to breathe. He could hear both Omega and Tech sigh in relief as well.
That relief was cut short, however, by a sudden cracking sound. Slowly, the group turned their heads towards the cliff face behind them. A thin crack had formed, running up higher than they could see. The clones froze in place, each one looking at the others as they tried to decide what to do.
“Proceed, Omega, but tread lightly. This whole thing could fall if we aren’t careful.” Tech said after a minute of running calculations through his mind. The young girl nodded and began to inch her way along, followed closely by Tech.
Echo made his way along, holding his breath as much as he could. He grimaced as he stepped over the gap Omega had mentioned, his body trembling from the stress. He had never been incredibly fond of heights, but if he survived this, he just might develop a phobia. No creature without wings should ever be up this high.
Finally, a much wider ledge came into view, one that they could comfortably stand on. Omega reached it first, immediately backing away from the edge. Tech tentatively stepped over, then turned around and extended a hand to Echo. Echo anxiously shuffled closer, trying to get close enough to grab his brother’s hand.
Another cracking sound had him freezing mid-step. Tech’s eyes darted upwards as he inched closer to the edge to try and grab Echo. Echo gulped softly and took another step forward. He could see Omega hovering near Tech, her expression full of fear and worry. She too looked up, and he didn’t like the flash of terror that entered her eyes. He was almost there…
A loud snap rang out, and suddenly Echo was no longer on the ledge. His stomach flipped up into his throat as he fell downwards, the panicked yells of Omega and Tech being lost as his own cry of fear filled his ears. This was it. This was how he died.
His scream was cut short as the wind was forced from his lungs. For a moment, the world went white, all sounds being drowned out by a surge of white noise. As the screeching static ebbed away, sound, sensation and colour returned to Echo. He took in a stuttering breath, his lungs only allowing him to take in the smallest amount of air. His upper body and head throbbed horribly, but even that was drowned out by the sharp, stabbing agony that was currently emanating from his left leg. He had felt the sensation before, and he cursed the Maker internally as he realized what had happened.
His leg, which was now pinned under him at an unnatural angle, was broken.
‘Shit.’ He thought to himself.
Echo tired to get up, realizing that he must have hit another ledge on the way down. However, the pain in his body was too great, and he ended up right back where he had started. He could hear Omega and Tech shouting down to him, but he couldn’t exactly make out what. All he knew was that their usually soothing voices were now like serrated glass to his battered mind.
He lay there, unable to do anything besides struggle to breath and try not to cry. Waves of searing agony rippled through his useless body, seeping through his muscles and settling in his bones. Darkness slunk along the edges of his sight, pulsing like a living thing. He felt his eyelids grow heavy, droop, then finally close. He existed in the darkness for a moment, then slipped into unconsciousness.
There was a pressure on his chest when Echo next awoke. It was fairly light and rather warm, and it moved just out of sync with his own breathing. Cracking open a sleep-crusted eye, he saw Omega curled up on his chest, her hands loosely gripping his under armor. A quick look around revealed to him that they were back in the Havoc Marauder, and he felt himself relax. They were safe. They weren’t still on that makerforsaken cliff. They were home.
A snore drew his gaze towards a spot to the left of him, and he smiled upon seeing his brothers. Wrecker and Hunter were asleep, the latter leaning against the former. Tech was there as well, but he was still awake. Judging by his tired expression and the fact that he hadn’t noticed that Echo was awake yet, that might change soon, as the younger clone looked like he was about to drop the datapad he was holding from sheer sleepiness.
“Wha’ happened?” He asked, his voice quiet and raspy.
Tech’s head shot up, his eyes becoming clear and focused. He smiled when he saw that Echo was awake.
“You had a rather nasty fall. Your fibula is broken, but luckily for you it was a clean break. You’ll be alright, but you’ll need to keep weight off that leg for at least six weeks.” His brother explained.
Echo groaned and shut his eyes again. Tech chuckled softly, not wanting to wake the others.
“Oh don’t whine, you big baby. Wrecker and Hunter managed to find that old weapon Cid sent us to find, so we’ll all be taking some time off.” He said, setting down the datapad. “I was just looking for remote planets with good climates. I think I’ve found one, but we’ll decide where to go tomorrow.”
“As long as there’s no cliffs, I’ll be happy.” Echo muttered. He was quiet for a second, then quickly added. “Or deep water. I really do not want a repeat of our last vacation.”
Tech nodded in agreement and picked up the datapad, scrolling through the list of planets once again.