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Chapter Text

After training, Kote had hunkered in his bunkroom against the far wall, finding a blanket which he placed over his legs while he read. He had only read for a few minutes before he was interrupted by CT-7567 entering the room and coming to sit next to him, his datapad in front of him. ‘7567 had nestled in next to him and began to read without a word uttered between them. Kote smiled as he watched his vod’ika cuddle in and get comfortable; Kote pulled the blanket and rested it around his legs too, before pulling the younger one into him. ‘7567 made a happy little noise but continued to read undisturbed, a little frown of concentration on his brow. Kote turned back to his tablet and continued to read his chapter.

Kote’s eyes stung as he re-read the same passage on the datapad. He had managed to read a good bit, but the last section was too much for him. His eyes felt heavy and his body felt warm from the little vod’ika cuddled into his side. Looking down at the little one Kote was surprised to see that the blonde had fallen asleep, datapad fallen to the side, and chin resting on his chest. His even breaths was a relaxing sound now that Kote thought about it. Kote smiled and shifted slightly to get the blonde to rest his head on his shoulder before pulling him in and wrapping his arm around his smaller frame. ‘7567 was not that much smaller than Kote, but it was enough to be noticeable, especially now since he had joined the CC’s in training. Kote nuzzled into the blonde hair and let his eyes fall shut. A soft noise of happiness left the blonde's mouth as Kote fell into darkness.

It wasn’t often that Kote dreamed he couldn’t remember when the last time he had a dream was. This one however felt different from any other dream Kote could remember. He was standing tall in white and golden armour, next to an older version of himself stood another clone only slightly smaller than him in white and blue armour. They were talking about some plans, Kote tried to focus on the other vod’s face but he couldn’t see it, as if a layer of corruption covered it. Kote placed his hand on his vod’s shoulder and pulled him closer into a keldabe sending a rush through his body.

“I’m glad you are back, Rex.” His whisper was so full of love and care that Kote wondered if this was really him saying these words or was he just projecting himself onto another clone. The blue clone smiled warmly and closed his eyes and they leaned on each other, they seemed comfortable and without worry. Kote couldn’t help but smile as the blue clone wrapped a hand around the back of his older self’s neck keeping them closer. A soft squeak of happiness escaped his mouth, just loud enough for those two to hear alone.

Kote slowly woke up from the darkness of sleep to the sound of two voices talking close to him. There was the warm body of his vod’ika at his side, still safe and comforting. With care, he opened his eyes to look up at the two vod’e who looked down at him. Wolffe was smirking as he leaned over him, obviously amused at the situation he had found Kote in; Fox stood a little further away with a sour look on his face and arms crossed over his chest.

“Have a nice nap?” Wolffe laughed down at them with too much glee in his eyes. “You missed first meal.” Wolffe pulled two ration bars from his back pocket and threw them into Kote’s lap before standing tall and taking a step away. He folded his arms to copy Fox who seemed far too annoyed at the situation. He was always pretty prickly in the morning. Kote stretched a little and shook his vod’ika awake; ‘7567 gave an annoyed grunt before curling in closer. Kote gave a small huff and shook again, this time getting the blonde to open his eyes.

“We need to get up vod’ika,” Kote smiled and pulled the blanket off of them, and passed one of the bars to the blonde.

“We have about 30 minutes before we are needed in the training rooms. You better get ready.” Wolffe informed them as Kote shoved the bar into his mouth and folded the blanket before hiding it in their bunk room. Wolffe ruffled their vod’ika’s hair as he took the smallest nibble of the bar with pink cheeks.

“Should have just left them,” Fox muttered under his breath a little too loud. Wolffe shoved him with his elbow which provoked a growl.

“You would have wanted us to wake you,” Wolffe flicked his hand out in a wave to Kote before leaving the room.

“I wouldn’t have let myself nap on the floor like that,” Fox retorted as he followed Wolffe out of the room to continue another argument. Those two were always arguing outside of training and studying, the two never seemed to agree. Kote shook his head at the two and took another bite of his ration bar as he walked back over to his vod’ika on the floor. ‘7567 seemed very sleepy and kept rubbing his eyes, he was very cute like this. Kote noticed how the blonde was taking very small bites and curling in on himself, almost as if he was trying to hide his food. Kote filed that thought away for another time and knelt down.

“Come on vod’ika,” Kote smiled, “Let’s use the ‘fresher before training. Day three awaits us.”

“Kote!”

Kote winced as his name was shouted across the room. He paused in his wrestle with Bly, with one of his arms around his brother's neck he looked up to see Shepard and Prime standing in the doorway. Prime was decked in full armour and bucket on head; Kote didn’t need to see his face to know his mood. Prime only called him by his name when he was angry, it had to be one of those rotations. The two seemed to glare at him without making any movement in his direction. Kote gulped while he released his grip on his vod, yet still not moving away from any vod’e out of some unspoken fear. Bly tapped his leg subtly as Kote stood and slowly marched over to his trainers. All the vod’e in the room seemed to stop and tense in various positions, frozen in their fighting stance, waiting to see what would happen to one of their own. CT-7567 had caught his eye as he moved, fear flashing through them and with no surprise. Shepard and Prime were not known to be gentle with any vod’e regardless of rank or importance; even the alpha class were not immune. A flick of his wrist to the blonde let him know that he would be fine and for him to stay close to the other commander vod’e. CT-7567 had taken to Kote far more than any of the others, they had known each other before he joined the commander training, yet the last few rotations of intense training had brought them close. Kote had been the one to clean the injuries on his knuckles from hand to hand combat training and had been the one to hold him when he felt like he had failed one of the sims; despite the fact, he had beaten a few of the CC’s. 

Kote stopped in front of his two CO’s and saluted. Kote looked straight forward, not daring to look directly at them. He waited the insufferable silent seconds as the two gazed at him. No doubt they were judging him, and thinking of all the ways to bring him down a peg. A grunt escaped one of them before he finally got some explanation.

“With us.”

“Sir, yes sir.” Kote followed behind them and out of the door, keeping a safe enough distance to be able to miss a swing if they chose to give him one.

From inside the training room, everyone else held their breaths until the door slid to a shut with an agonizing hiss. Each vod’e in the room lowered their shoulders slightly as the discomfort of the trainers had been removed from the room, yet it was replaced with a gut-wrenching fear for the vod who had left. Kote could take care of himself, he was the most capable of all the vod’e, but he was with two people who even made the Alphas hesitate. It was ‘7567 who broke their silence as he turned to Wolffe,

“Will he be alright?”

No one answered him, all far too concerned with what to do next. In theory, they should continue their training, but in reality, the thought of having one of their own pulled away from them was fueling them more. 

“CC-2224, the results of your last three sims have reached our attention. As ever you exceed expectations in both sims and training. However-“

“If you are going to live up to your name, Kote, you had better rethink what you do in your spare time,” Prime growled at him. Kote gulped what they could have possibly seen him do that would put Prime in such a foul mood. Kote did a lot of similar things to the rest of his vod’e during his downtime, mainly studying, eating, and sleeping. On occasions, he would interact with some of the CT’s, but that wasn’t uncommon for any vod. How could he be expected not to keep an eye on the other vod’e around him when it is what he was programmed for? His response to Primes' statement or lack thereof, seemed to infuriate him further. Primes’ hand snatched his shirt and slammed him into the wall next to the door panel. Kote could barely touch the floor from where Prime held him tightly, still towering over his young body. A growl of pure rage left Primes throat, he was furious. His job off-world must have gone badly for him to still be in this irate state. Kote attempted not to show his fear of being the main target of an apex predator but it was no use. His head throbbed from where it had collided with the wall and his body betrayed him as his legs quivered visibly. Behind Prime, Kote could see Shepard smirking sinisterly at him. His eyes quickly focused on Prime once more.

“Do you know what your name means?” There was a moment's pause. “Well?!”

“Sir, yes sir.” Kote winced at the volume of his voice. “It means glory.” He successfully held back the whimper from his voice, but he could still feel it snaking its way around his throat.

“Glory!” Prime howled louder than a star destroyer engine. “You were given that name for a reason! You are not upholding it! You need to focus on being greater than the others! You are Kote!” He spat out. “Is that understood, Kote?!”

“S-sir, yes sir.” The whimper escaped and Kote prepared for the beating for showing weakness. Prime seemed to watch him prepare his body for the attack, before deciding against it. He threw Kote to the floor, making them tower over him higher than before. Kote grunted as he hit the unpadded floor. 

“I expect to see you working harder from now on, Kote,” Prime growled low before turning and marching down the hall with fury. Kote watched him turn the corner before turning slightly to face Shepard who remained in his place. There was a dark smirk on his face in the direction of Prime. 

“Well?” Shepard glared at him. “Get back in there and finish your training.” His arms folded over his chest in some form of triumph. Kote still didn’t know exactly what he had gotten in to bother for, was that going to be explained to him? “Prime was very gentle with you. Next time you might not be so lucky.” That was gentle? Kote did not want to know what would have happened if he wasn’t being ‘gentle’. 

Once Shepard had left him alone, Kote picked himself off the floor and took a moment to centre himself. What could he have possibly done that could have caused that much anger in Prime? Usually, he was angry at the clones' failures, maybe Kote should look over his last few assessments and see if he can find out if there was anything there for him to find out. Kote straightened his clothes before returning to the training room. From the moment the doors hissed behind him, Kote was bombarded by vod’e all concerned and curious as to what happened to him. CT-7567 had clung to his side the instant he had seen him, not wanting to let go of his ori’vod. Bly, Fox, Wolffe, Gree, and Monnk all crowded him, protecting him from all sides. Kote did not answer any of them, giving vague answers to each question, seeming not to know himself what had happened. 

Kote’s headache continued for the rest of that rotation and into the night, Wolffe had to sleep in his pod with him just so he could get some semblance of peace; it was strange that being with Wolffe had stopped the pain enough, but Kote was not going to have issues with it. Wolffe and himself were certainly getting too big to be sharing a pod anymore but it was too enticing to feel a vod next to him while he slept. His head rested on Wolffe’s shoulder, the sound of his heart lulling him to sleep. Once again Kote had a dream, but this one was not as sweet and warm as the previous ones.

‘7567 was laid out on the mat covered in blood and serious injuries littering his body. He curled in on himself and little whimpers escaped his throat when he thought his attacker could not hear him. His breaths were laboured and wheezing. Kote’s heartbroken seeing his vod’ika in this state, who could have done this? A few steps away was an uninjured Fox standing at attention perfectly, but Kote could see that there was fear and stress in his eyes; it was rare to see Fox like that. A dark shadow seemed to tower behind Fox, breathing down his neck. The shadow seemed to be enjoying the situation that he had put the two young clones in. Wisps of black from its body seemed to snake around Fox and one even extended to caress ‘7567’s injured body. One of the wisps wrapped tightly around Fox’s neck causing a wince from the clone. The room seemed to darken and shrink on its occupants. 

“Come to join the fun.” Repeated and bounced off the walls of the room. A dread-filled Kote’s body as an evil smirk emerged from the shadow. He knew that smirk… The words repeated again and again as the wisps seemed to grip tighter to the clones, restricting their movements. Suddenly it felt like the two clones were no longer moving, even their breaths had been stilled. Kote attempted to call out to his two vod’e and call for the danger to stop, but he could not utter the words. His voice had been stolen and his chest burnt with a pressure he could not understand. Kote attempted to reach out to the two but he had nobody with which to do so, resulting in his frustration growing inside of him…

Fox had been sitting on his open pod with Thorn and Thire curled around him. The three of them always spent their downtime with each other, regardless of what they were doing; there was a strange and strong connection between them that they did not share with any of the others in their batch. They could never explain it but they always knew when one of them was in trouble or when they needed help; because of this strong connection they tended to separate themselves from the rest of their batch, which caused a few prickly interactions between the groups. It wasn’t uncommon for this to happen between vod’e, Blye, Monkke, and Gree tended to stick together a lot, whereas Kote and Wolffe were closer than most. It just seemed that the three of them being together had caused a strange wave of unease that no one could put their finger on. 

Thorn was curled into Fox’s side as he casually read his datapad, while his legs rested on Thire’s lap, who was absent-mindedly rubbing circles on them while reading. Thorn had recently started to have a growth spurt, he was one of the last of their batch to have it, but all of them remember how it felt. Because of the pain, Fox had spent a sleep cycle curled up against Wolffe, something he never normally did, but something about Wolffe’s invitation that night had been far too enticing to his tired and strained body. Fox didn’t like physical contact with many, it made him feel strange and uncomfortable, in a way that he could never put into words and so he just avoided it when possible. Fox only hoped that he gave his vod’ika as much comfort as Wolffe had done for him. Fox felt warm and comfortable where he lay with his vod curled in on his side, there were not many happy moments on Kamino, but this was certainly one of the happiest. Many of the other vod had left their bunkroom to do their own things on their free day, so there were no expected interruptions to think about. A hiss from the door echoed in the room, looked like he was wrong.

In the doorway stood a blonde clone, CT-7567. Kote’s adopted vod’ika. Fox had no issues with the blonde if he was being honest, he seemed competent enough from what he saw. CT-7567 never seemed to need any support and was always ready to listen to them on any advice given to him, even despite the close standard year age difference between them. On a few sims he had even impressed Fox in the way he moved and achieved his target, it was easy to see why he was joining them for their commander training. CT-7567 seemed to look into the room confused for a moment before seeing them high above him on one of the top bunks. He watched them for a moment before giving a small nod and placing his hands behind his back.

“Is CC-2224 here?”

One thing that did annoy Fox about the blonde was that he never used their names when they were in private. When Kote had first introduced the blonde to them, he had explained that in their bunk room it was acceptable to use the names given to them by Prime, but that never seemed to stick in his head. Fox often wondered why. He had once caught the blonde utter ‘Kote’ when he had been upset about not doing well on a sim, but that was the only time. Thorn and Thire drew their attention to the young vod and looked over the edge of the bunk at him, while Fox remained where he was on his back. Thorn gave a small smile to the vod, 

“Not here vod’ika.”

The blonde gave a nod before lowering his head to the floor, not happy with the answer given. It reminded Fox of a sad massiff that had just been told off by one of the trainers in the security training class. Fox gave a quiet sigh as he rubbed Thorn’s lower back before pulling back down into his side. Fox knew where Kote was, or where he should be. On their days off Wolffe and Kote would schedule one of the training rooms and spar on their terms. Fox had joined them a few times and had commented on the poor skills and dirty tactics that they used. Wolffe had sprouted some nonsense about it being just for fun, but in Fox’s mind sparing was not fun at all. 

“He should be in a training room with Wolffe by now,” Fox commented softly before turning back to his datapad as Thorn curled in closer. A happy little noise escaped the blonde vod’ika before giving his thanks and leaving the room. Fox attempted to read his datapad after the hissing of the door closed, but something in the back of his mind didn’t feel right. He attempted to ignore it as drew circles on Thorn’s back. It was a few moments later when he gave up reading, the gnawing feeling in the back of his mind continued. He lowered his datapad onto his bunk and just pulled Thorn closer.

“You’re restless ori’vod,” Thire commented softly and leaned into the other two. Fox looked up at him and watched his features. There was a slight concern in his eyes but his face remained neutral. 

“I suppose,” Fox replied as he loosened his grip on Thorn. Thorn nuzzled his shoulder before pulling away from him.

“Maybe you should go with them?” He suggested before sitting up and pulling his legs in on himself. “It might make you lose some of that energy.” It was a good idea, even though he hated sparing with Kote and Wolffe in a private session, it was always good when he could beat them even with their stupid tactics. Fox let his hand brush over Thorn’s arm.

“Will you be alright?” Fox asked softly, more concerned about his vod than himself. Thorn smiled bright at him and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

“I’ll be alright,” he smiled. He moved slowly across the bunk and collapsed into Thire’s lap who let out an unhappy noise. Thorn only chuckled and nuzzled into his vod. “He’s almost as comfy as you are.” Fox scoffed at him before sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bunk. 

“Almost?!” Thire questioned with an unhappy tone. Fox shook his head and swung himself onto the ladder next to his bunk, leaving them to have their little argument. It would only end with Thorn getting what he wants anyway.

Little Shit, Fox thought with a smirk. He lowered himself to the ground before turning to them.

“I’ll introduce those di’kutla to the mats for you,” Fox waved at them as he made his exit.

As Fox walked through the station towards the training rooms the strange gnawing feeling in the back of his head grew stronger. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen, but he couldn’t understand why that was. He paused at the training wing door and turned to one of the terminals. He closely examined the schedule, searching for Kote or Wolffe’s ID numbers.

Requestee: CC-2224

Location: West Training Room 15

Time: 08:00

Duration: 3 hours

Authorisation: Shepard

The punches were brutal, the kicks were savage. Every move made against the blonde was damaging, efficient, and on target. Nothing was stopping the trainer from abusing the young clone before him. The silent cries and whimpers from the blonde sent ripples of fear and sympathy through Fox as he stumbled on the scene. Every hit had one intention, to be severely injured. He had known the trainers to be tough on the CC’s and even the Alpha class, but never on a vod’ika like this. Where was his squad? Where were Wolffe and Kote who should have been training in the room?

Fox knew the blonde, he didn’t have a name. He had not been granted that favour from Prime or a trainer. He was way ahead of his batch and any of the squads he had been put into since being decanted, therefore it had been decided that he would join the commander’s training. In the last two rotations, he had done well in Fox’s opinion but apparently, that had changed this rotation…

Blood was streaming from his nose, his right eye was swollen shut. His left wrist that was attempting to cover his head seemed to bulge compared to the other that was wrapped around his stomach. The fetal position he lay in while the trainer continued his barrage seemed to make him smaller than he already was. Surely this was pushing the limits of the seven years old…

Fox took a deep breath and centred himself, eyes up, chest out, shoulders back and marched forward. Fox’s steps seemed to attract the trainer's attention mid-kick. The trainer, Shepard smirked at Fox and swung the kick at the blonde. Fox wanted to wince, he could feel that one in his stomach yet he continued till he stood before the abusive trainer. He saluted before standing at attention like a good soldier.

“Come to join the fun CC-1010?” Shepard asked with malice in his voice. He turned to face Fox before circling the young clone.

Don’t flinch…

Shepard stopped directly behind Fox, in his blind spot. Fox could not see him, but he could certainly feel him. The dangerous smirk aimed at the back of his head. The flicker of violent daydreams in his eyes. The way his fists clenched behind his back. Fox could feel everything, but he would not let Shepard stop him. 

“No sir,” Fox answered.

“Oh,” Shepard huffed before leaning into Fox’s neck. “Then what are you here for?” His breath danced on Fox’s neck and somehow made him feel worse than any private session he had ever had with Shepard.

“I was here to enquire about technique, sir.” Fox lied. He had to give his vod’ika a chance. 

“Is that so?” Shepard pulled away and began to circle once more. “You do not approve of my teaching method? Do you have any better ideas you would like to share, CC-1010?”

Fox gulped a fear that came with his number being used, there was always something about the way Shepard said his number that made Fox want to cower. That undertone of no good that always seemed to accompany his number. Out of the corner of his eye, Fox could see CT-7567 glances up through one lidded eye at him. The pain and fear in the blondes eye seemed to overshadow his fear. Fox turned his head to look directly at Shepard. A strange warmth seemed to encompass his body and a whisper of encouragement pushed the next words from his mouth with a powerful force that felt like it was about to burst from his chest.

“You need to leave this place and forget what happened.”

The words left Fox’s mouth, it was his voice; but the words did not belong to him, it belonged to something older, something greater than himself. The smaller clone seemed to stiffen as the words echoed in his ears. Fox couldn’t believe what he had just said. It was not a suggestion, he had given a command. Fox held his breath and took a long blink, waiting for a strike to connect with his body. It didn’t. Fox took a glance up at Shepard to gauge his reaction. What he saw however was not what he had expected.

Shepard’s eyes seemed to have glazed over, his eyes no longer focused and without the sharp edge of violence that it usually had. His shoulders were slumped and his fists were dropped. He was not holding himself as he usually did, that ori'buyce, kih'kovid just stood there.

“I shall leave this place and forget what happened,” he repeated in a monotone tone before slowly walking out of the room. Fox’s shoulders remained stiff until he heard the hiss of the training room. A large breath finally escaped his mouth, his lungs burning from the strain. Had that just happened? Fox waited a moment, attempting to hear any sounds from outside the training room. His eyes caught sight of his vod’s head falling back to the mats with shut eyes. His vod’ika was wheezing. It spurred him into action. 

Fox crashed to the floor next to the blonde, his hands searching for all the injuries on his body. The blonde seemed to drop in and out of consciousness as Fox continued his untrained examination. A hiss of a door froze the bodies of the room's occupants. Was it Shepard back to get his revenge? Had he only played a game with the two clones? Perhaps Fox would be joining his vod’ika on the mats. Hopefully, he could wrap himself around the younger clone before more damage was done to the little one. The door closed and the footsteps who had entered paused. More than one, Fox thought. His body curled instinctively around his vod’ika before the beating could begin, no doubt Shepard had found some help.

“Fox…”

Chapter Text

As the pod opened Kote and Wolffe were blinded by the artificial morning light that shone in the room. During this rotation they had no training or classes, they were expected to study and train on their own. He was surprised to see some pods open with vod’e resting on them. On one of the higher pods sat Thorn and Thire quietly reading their datapads. Thire seemed to notice the pod opening and curled a brow. 

“Morning,” he said with a confused look on his face. Thorn peaked over the edge of the pod to look down at the two, he gave a small smile to them before turning to dangle his legs off the edge of the bed.

“I thought you two had already left for training,” he cocked his head to the side with curiosity.

Kote and Wolffe both sat up and gazed at the high purchase that the two vod’e held over them. Why were they so high up on the pod? It wasn’t even either of their pods. If Kote had counted correctly then it was Fox’s pod they both resided upon.

“What made you think that?” Asked Wolffe as he stretched causing his shoulder to pop loudly. Thorn grimaced at the sound and leaned back so only his legs could be seen from their position.

“Fox went looking for you,” Thire explained calmly as Wolffe jumped down from Kote’s pod. “He said you had requested a training room for the morning. Said he wanted to introduce you both to the mats.” There was a little smirk at the end of his statement. A shiver of fear ran down Kote’s spine. Fox was essentially on his own without backup, almost like his dream, Kote gulped.

“Better go and see him then,” Wolffe said softly from his position on the floor. He looked at Kote from the corner of his eye as he continued to stretch his arms above his head to hide his face from Thorn and Thire. The look on his face gave peace to Kote that he would not reveal the reason why the two had left the pod, but also looked concerned about the new information. “Although I think I’ll let Fox get comfortable with the mats.” Kote nodded at Wolffe before jumping onto the ladder and closing his pod. He jumped the last little bit and landed next to Wolffe who lowered his arms, he smiled at him, he would have to thank Wolffe for being a help later. 

“Don’t have too much fun,” Thorn called from his hidden place on the bunk.

The walk to training room 15 made Kote’s stomach churn. The closer he got the stronger he felt that something was going wrong and that he needed to stop it. Wolffe kept pace with him all the way, glaring at anyone who wanted to stop them or distract them from their goal. 

They reached the hallway where the room resided when Shepard was exiting a room. Kote froze with fear as the smile from his dream finally had a name; it had been him. Shepard had been the one to hurt Fox and his vod’ika. Shepard did not even glance at them as he exited the room. The door hissed behind him as his face remained blank, with no usual scowl or evil smirk that he usually left a training room with. The only way Kote could describe it was as if he was in a daydream, unaware of the world around. He turned on his heel and continued walking the other way away from the two and quickly out of sight. 

Kote let out a held breath and with a shiver turned to Wolffe who looked just as confused as he was.

“No smirk…” Wolffe muttered under his breath. It was true it was very odd, maybe there had been nothing in the room that Shepard had left and that’s why he had not smirked, but it did not explain the missing scowl. They hesitantly took steps towards their destination. An icy shiver and a shock of fear encased Kote’s spine as he realised which room Shepard had left. Room 15. The room Fox should have been in waiting for them to appear and train. Kote heard the gasp from Wolffe as he came to the same realisation. Fox was in trouble. All caution and hesitance aside, Kote stormed into the room with Wolffe on his heels. 

The training room looked normal, like any other. But it was the two occupants of the room that drove fear into Kote’s heart.

Fox crashed to the floor next to the blonde, his hands searching for all the injuries on his body. The blonde seemed to drop in and out of consciousness as Fox continued his untrained examination. A hiss of a door froze the bodies of the room's occupants. Was it Shepard back to get his revenge? Had he only played a game with the two clones? Perhaps Fox would be joining his vod’ika on the mats. Hopefully, he could wrap himself around the younger clone before more damage was done to the little one. The door closed and the footsteps who had entered paused. More than one, Fox thought. His body curled instinctively around his vod’ika before the beating could begin, no doubt Shepard had found some help.

“Fox…”

Fox uncurled slightly from the blonde boy at his name. Only a clone would call him by name. It couldn’t be Shepard. Footsteps clattered on the mats before two bodies enveloped him and the blonde. Without looking Fox instantly knew the two vod’e around him. Wolffe and Kote. 

“What happened?” Kote asked as he pulled CT-7567 into his lap to examine his damaged face. A growl escaped Wolffe’s lips as the boy’s body came into view. He instantly wrapped himself closer to the two vod’e before him, creating an extra barrier from the rest of the room. 

“Sh-shep-” The blonde could not finish his words as he choked on the tears that began to fall down his cheeks. Kote cooed the smaller one and soothed his hand up and down his arms. Fox took a deep breath and curled towards Kote.

“Looked like he was gonna kill him…” He whispered far too softly for himself. Kote’s eyes widened as he realised the seriousness of the situation. His gaze flickered to Wolffe for a moment before they nodded with their silent plan. Kote scooped the vod’ika into his arms as Wolffe held Fox’s wrist and pulled him to stand. Fox didn’t register the words from their mouths, he watched them move but could not hear what they said. A stabbing pain began to grow in his temple, he registered his jaw locking but did nothing to loosen it. He was led helplessly by Wolffe and Kote through corridors to somewhere. Later he would curiously remember how strangely deserted the corridors were. 

They ended up outside the Alpha barracks, Kote calling for someone to answer and help them. The door eventually opened to reveal an Alpha in full armour. Fox seemed to snap out of his daze at the sight of the Alpha, his training going into overdrive as he straightened his back, looked straight forward and attempted to pull his wrist from Wolffe’s grasp. Wolffe did not let go. 

“Kote,” Alpha-17 growled with annoyance at seeing the youngest clone.

“We found him with Fox in west training room 15.” Kote instantly retorted with a confidence that he would not be in danger for his words. “He’s badly injured and Fox isn’t himself.” Understatement. Fox could not wrap his head around what had happened. The pain in his head was getting worse. Maybe this was a dream and the pain was Shepard beating him for his insubordination. 

A low sigh rolled over them from the towering clone. He stepped to the side and ushered them into the barracks. The door hissed and suddenly they were surrounded by multiple Alpha-class clones. Fox felt them pass him and their vod’ika between them. Every touch made him tense up, he couldn’t relax, he was hyper-vigilant. He was pushed to stand in front of a bunk that now held his vod’ika. He watched as two Alphas saw to his injuries, while the other Alphas seemed to question Kote and Wolffe. Fox had saved their vod’ika, but at what cost? No doubt when he returned to training in the next rotation he would be beaten to an inch of his life. Shepard would not think about killing him, unlike the little blonde clone before him. CC’s were too expensive, he would be kicked out if something happened to Fox. 

“Rest Fox,” A voice danced in his ears as he felt a blanket wrap around his shoulders. 

Wolffe received the multiple blankets from one of the Alphas and instantly set them between the open pods. He needed to make a nest for Fox and ‘7567 to rest in after they had been checked. The CT seemed to have no issue with being examined but Fox was pricklier and more hostile than usual. Every touch seemed to make him jump, every word was unanswered, he was not right. Wolffe smoothed out the first blanket on the floor before reaching for the next one. He looked up as Fox once again seemed to back away from anyone who got too close. 

Bly had once commented that Wolffe was the only one who could help a stressed and hyper-vigilant clone. Something about a magic touch that seemed to calm and soothe everyone in his arms. It was not uncommon, when anyone was hurt, regardless of if it was a broken arm or a headache, they would all curl around Wolffe. Maybe if he could get to Fox he could soothe him too. Wolffe placed the blanket on the empty open pod and took a slow step towards Fox. He made sure to stay in his line of sight as he approached. Fox’s eyes looked distant, he wasn’t focusing, wasn’t aware of his surroundings. 

“Fox,” Wolffe whispered as he stood in front of his vod. Fox’s head lifted but his eyes did not seem to see him. Wolffe reached out his arms but Fox did not move. Wolffe watched him for a moment before being jostled by one of the Alphas tending to their vod’ika. Wolffe took another step with his arms outstretched towards Fox. His fingers brushed against the cloth of Fox's shirt and instantly Fox seemed to melt into him. Fox’s head laid against Wolffe’s chest and his fingers tangled in his shirt, Wolffe carefully embraced him and whispered soft reassurances to his vod. 

“Vod’ika…” Fox muttered weakly. He sounded like he had just done two cycles of survival training. So drained and broken from the events of the day and it was not even mid-meal yet. Wolffe cooed and rubbed circles into his back.

“We have him,” he whispered. “You did well ori’vod.” Fox let out a whimper and his body began to shake. That was enough for Wolffe to start leading Fox to the floor.

Kote stood at the edge of the Alpha’s barracks not knowing what to do. His vod’ika was being tended to by two Alpha’s, another group of Alpha’s guarded the door and Wolffe was trying to direct Fox to a blanket that had been placed on the floor for them to curl upon. Fox seemed to melt into Wolffe with no issue, Kote needed to learn that secret. Wolffe could make anyone melt in his arms. Kote turned back to his vod’ika and listened to the Alphas around him try to understand his injuries.

“Any pain?” 

“Wrist.” 

“Does this hurt?”

“Yes.”

He watched as they continued to tend to him. A sickening feeling twisted in Kote’s stomach as he continued to watch. Thank whoever was listening that he had the dream and Wolffe had convinced him to go and look for the others. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t. 

Kote felt strange remembering the dream. True it had done some good, but at the same time, it felt strange to have been so helpful. What could have been the chances of that happening?

Alpha 17 pulled on Kote’s arm and took him to the farthest corner of the room and sat themselves down. Kote was placed in between 17s legs with their backs against the wall so they could watch everyone. Kote shivered as he continued to watch the scene unfold. It was organised chaos for sure. 

“Wolffe mentioned a dream,” Alpha spoke softly as he pulled Kote into his chest. “What did he mean?” Kote frowned for a moment and looked over at Wolffe and Fox. Fox was attempting to pull away from Wolffe and reach for their vod’ika who was just out of reach. He couldn’t hear the words but he knew that panic was setting in once more. Wolffe and another Alpha were cooing Fox and coercing him to lay down on the blankets. Another blanket was wrapped around the two CCs.

“I had a dream about Fox and ‘7567 getting hurt,” Kote explained. “They were getting hurt by Shepard. It didn’t feel like a normal dream. I thought I was there with them.” Kote squeezed his fists as he remembered the frustration of watching the scene play out.

“What made you go after them?” 

“Wolffe said we should.” It wasn’t an inaccurate statement, but it wasn’t the truth. He didn’t want to let it be known that his dream had actually frightened him. He couldn’t be scared of anything if he was going to lead all of them into battle one day.

“Has this happened before?” 17s voice took on a serious tone, like the ones he used in training. Kote shook his head, no he could never remember a dream like this one before… that was a lie too. There was that dream about his older self and a clone called Rex, but that had not happened. It had felt just as real as the dream with Fox, but that one had not come to pass.

“Have you told anyone about this?” Kote paused for a moment and thought.

“Only Wolffe,” he answered. 17 nodded and pulled Kote into a tight embrace.

“Good, keep it that way.” He responded, “don’t tell anyone else. Not even ‘7567 or Fox about this.” Kote felt unsure about that though but he agreed to the suggestion. It was not worth bringing up anyway. Kote looked back at the scene in front of them and noticed Fox was now asleep on the floor with Wolffe curled at his back. Little whimpers of pain were coming from his vod’ika on the bed, it broke Kote’s heart,

“He needs you,” 17 spoke and released Kote from his grasp. Kote didn’t look back and quickly made his way over to the CT. He noted Wolffe watching his vod’ika from the ground, clearly not tired like Fox. Kote cooed as he reached his vod’ikas side. He smoothed his head and uttered words of reassurance. 

“I’m here. I’ve got you.” He was there, he would keep him safe. ‘7567 smiled up at him weakly and attempted to pull Kote onto the pod with him. Kote held his arms and shook his head. It was not enough room and he would jostle the younger clones' injuries. Slowly he picked up the CT and placed him gently on the floor next to Fox. Instinctively Fox seemed to curl around the blonde in his sleep. His protective panic was still high. Kote smiled and nuzzled in behind the blonde, keeping him warm. A blanket was placed on top of them before the alphas dispersed to do their own thing. Wolffe caressed his knuckles against the back of ‘7567s cheek who leaned into the affectionate touch despite the pain it would cause his face.

“Is he okay?” The little one asked. A snort escaped Wolffe and Kote, of course, their vod’ika would be more worried about Fox than himself.

“He will be just fine,” Kote responded and patted the curls on Fox’s head. “He just needs some rest like you.” Wolffe snorted again and muttered,

“Wouldn’t let this happen to himself.” Kote shook his head and a giggle escaped the blonde as they both recalled the conversation from a previous cycle.

“Anything you need?” Kote asked softly as he caressed their vod'ikas arm gently. He shook his head in response, but the droop of his eyelids was enough to let them know what he wanted. Sleep.

“We have the watch,” Kote whispered and watched as their vod’ika slowly sank into sleep.

Next thing Fox noticed was the darkness that surrounded him. He was warm and wrapped in something soft. He felt two bodies around him, one curled into his back and another at his front. Fox blinked slowly and saw ahead of blonde hair snuggled into his chest. His vod’ika was sleeping quietly, head resting in his chest. At his back, he felt a warm breath ghost over his neck and arms tighten around his middle, it must have been Wolffe. Behind his vod’ika was Kote, awake and watching him. Kote smiled, nuzzling his face into the blonde's hair before reaching a hand to grasp Fox’s.

“Su cuy'gar.” Kote whispered, pulling his face from the blonde hair. His thumb drew circles over the back of Fox’s hand.

“Where are we?” Fox croaked with a dry voice. Kote gave him a sympathetic look and squeezed his hand.

“In the Alpha barracks,” he whispered again. “They wouldn’t let us leave in case Shepard came after you and blondie here.” Fox looked around and noticed that he was on the floor between two open Alpha pods. A large blanket was between them and the floor, while multiple others surrounded the smaller clones. Kote smiled at him and watched as the blonde vod muttered something in his sleep before nuzzling deeper into Fox’s chest. “We were all worried,” his smile dropped. “What happened?”

Fox wished he could answer that question. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember what exactly happened. It was a blur to him. One moment he was standing in the doorway to the training room, next he was between the blonde and Shepard, then finally he was surrounded by vod’e. Fox shook his head before shuffling closer to Kote and his vod’ika. Wolffe must have been chasing Fox’s heat in his sleep because he unwittingly nuzzled into his back, arms pulling tighter. Fox gave a soft smile before looking at Kote.

“I’m not sure, vod.” He shrugged. “I honestly can’t explain it.” His eyes lowered to the little one in his arms. A warm feeling encapsulates his body as he noted the bacta covered injuries. A feeling of praise and happiness came from nowhere and floated in his mind. Kote squeezed his hand.

“‘Lek,” Kote whispered. “Rest, we will be here when you wake.”

Chapter Text

The morning came quicker than Fox would have liked. He had wished that whatever force had pushed him to step between the blonde and Shepard would stop the Chrono and make it never come, but it did. Fox blinked awake reluctantly, the warm bodies surrounding him beckoned him to rest a little while longer. Fox turned his head as a nagging feeling in the back of his head started. Behind the pile of vod’e was Alpha 17, just watching them from the outstretched pod. He did not seem himself, he was unsettled. Fox gulped as 17 inclined his head to the door before silently walking over. Fox leaned his chin against the blonde head before slowly extracting himself from the pile before him. He followed 17 out the door and into the hallway. When the door hissed closed 17 turned towards him with a serious look on his face. Fox gulped again, he did not want to answer questions about the previous day's events, his head was still fuzzy and he still could not explain what had happened.

“What happened?” The alpha enquired, but Fox could not look up at him. He remained silent and focused on the floor.

“Did he touch you?” 17 asked quietly even with the empty hallway protecting them from any prying ears. Fox shivered for a moment, before shaking his head knowing well the implications of the question. 

“Did he say anything?”

“Not towards me.”

“Towards ‘7567?” Alpha enquired with a much more stern voice. It was no secret that like Kote, 17 had a soft spot for CT-7567. Alpha 17 had been the one who suggested that he join the CC’s for command training.  Fox thought for a moment,

“Not that I heard.”

“I see.” Fox glanced up at 17 and noted the concerned look turned towards the door they had both exited. Fox remained silent and returned to looking at the floor while 17 pondered something. Fox assumed he would be planning how to look after the CT from now on, but that was an impossible task. The blonde would always be surrounded by enemies from the Kyr’tsad, there was no logical way to protect him. 17 turned his attention back to Fox and a shock ran down his spine. It was not just the blonde he would have to protect, it would be Fox too, or possibly one of the other CC’s. Shepard's attack on the blonde was bolder than all his other ones. Some had come away from the situations with far fewer injuries or less visible ones than the blondes, but he had never openly done it either, not with a definite witness at least. 

Fox jumped a little as Alpha 17 placed his hand on his shoulder, no doubt he had seen the reaction. That was stupid. Why did he do that? He is a soldier, not a child.

“Go get a shower,” his ori’vod spoke softly. “You have trained with me in two hours. I’ll see you all there.”

Fox immediately returned to his bunk room. It had been quiet, not even 99 had been pottering around with the cleaning clones yet. When he had reached the bunk room he had been surprised to see his pod still open. He glanced up as the door shut behind him to see a head pop over the edge. Thorn? Fox frowned slightly as he watched his vod blink tiredly before realising who he was looking at. Thorn jumped from the pod onto the ladder before slamming into Fox with a tight embrace. Fox held Thorn lightly as his ribs were crushed by the strength of his vod. A whimper escaped Thorn’s lips before he looked up at Fox. His eyes searched for something to understand where Fox had been in the last cycle. Thorn pulled Fox into the shower room that joined on to their pod room. He shut the door quickly behind them and turned on the water to heat up. Fox blinked as he watched his vod’ika putter around turning on the biggest shower at the end of the room and pulling two towels from the dispenser by the door. Fox just watched, not really sure what to do. He hadn’t even spoken a word to the younger CC, yet Thorn seemed ready for action. Thorn returned to Fox and pulled him further into the room and closer to the warm steam of the showers.

“Hurt?” He asked quietly as he slowly pulled Fox’s shirt off. Fox blinked a few times, still not sure what was going on.

“N-no…” He answered as Thorn then pulled off his own shirt. Were they going to shower together? When was the last time they had even done that? Thorn kept asking him questions about injuries and if he remembered random things that only they would know. Fox shook his head and grabbed Thorn’s hands as he reached for Fox’s pants.

“S-Stop.” Fox squeezed his wrists. “I… I don’t understand what you are doing.” Fox answered honestly. It seemed to wash the worried look from Thorn’s eyes and replace it with a soft confusion. Thorn bit his lip before looking Fox in the eyes.

“You didn’t come back,” Thorn answered softly and clenched his fists. “I th-thought that maybe,” he gulped. A tear fell from his eye. “That maybe they had gotten you.” There were so many horrid thoughts attached to that statement. Fox didn’t care which one Thorn had chosen to consider, it was wrong. Mindwipe, touched or broken. It didn’t matter. It was a horrifying thought and it had not been the first time they had seen it happen. That’s why Thorn had been in his bunk, waiting for him to return. Waiting to pick up the pieces again.

“I’m here,” Fox whispered softly and pulled his vod’ika into his chest. Something about Thorn’s reaction had snapped Fox out of the dazed state of the previous cycle. Fox was starting to see clearer, even if he was still confused about the previous day's events. His vod’ika needed him now. Another sob escaped Thorn’s lips as he wrapped his arms around Fox releasing his worries and fears. Fox sighed as his vod’ika continued to cry into his chest. He would have to tell him. He would have to explain. But how? He couldn’t tell Alpha or Kote what had happened, let alone Thorn. But he had to, didn’t he? He owed it to Thorn who had been willing to remind Fox who he was, to fix him, to comfort him. He owed it to his vod’ika.

Fox pushed his vod away from him and gave a weak smile,

“Let’s get a shower before it gets cold.”

Soon enough the two were clean and in new clothes, climbing to Fox’s pod. They wrapped themselves around each other and closed the pod to give them some privacy. They held each other for a while as the sounds of other pods around them began to open. After a lull in the pod’s opening Fox raked his fingers through Thorn’s curls.

“I didn’t mean to be gone so long.” He explained softly, keeping his tones quiet and calming. Thorn rested on his chest, being calmed by Fox’s heartbeat. “Something happened and I had to step in.”

“What was it?” Thorn asked softly as he traced patterns over Fox’s chest. 

Fox took a big deep breath before slowly and carefully explaining every action that he had taken the day before. He explained about the compulsion to stand up to Shepard and to stop him from hurting the blonde. About The injuries, being dragged to the Alpha’s, about the fuzziness. Thorn’s fingers stopped tracing lines and tightened into a fist on Fox’s shirt as he continued to explain the events leading up to him returning that morning. He didn’t interrupt, nor make any sounds till Fox was done. 

“What made you do it?” Thorn asked softly.

“I don’t know.” He answered honestly.

“What if it happens again?” Thorn asked meekly and looked up at Fox. “What if someone sees it happen? Will you get into trouble?” What if you leave me? It was left unspoken but Fox still knew it.

Fox didn’t have the answer for him. Whatever had happened with Fox to protect the blonde had not been normal and it seemed to worry Thorn a lot. Fox pulled him into a tighter embrace.

“I’ll be alright.” He whispered to himself. He would be okay, he would protect his vod’e. 

The training session with Alpha 17 had been far easier than Kote had expected, yet the exhaustion from the previous cycle was clearly visible, even to those who knew nothing of it. ‘7567 had been partnered with Wolffe for the training and seemed to be getting better. Wolffe was being as gentle as he could with the CT, constantly watching for irritation and avoiding certain areas of his body while they trained. From how Thorn was clinging to Fox it was obvious he knew. Thire didn’t seem to be as clingy, maybe he had not been given the facts yet. Kote had been partnered with Thire and he would use this as a chance to speak to him. While in the waiting chamber he brought up the topic of the previous day with the younger CC.

“Fox okay?” He asked quietly.

“What happened?” Thire asked as he side-eyed Kote. Thire was on edge, his eyes constantly darting to the different screens in their chamber. Their goal was to monitor and advise the pair in the maze so as not to activate any security. So far Bly and Monkk needed no support from them.

“Shepard,” Kote responded. Thire turned his full attention to Kote. No more words needed to be uttered between them to know the seriousness of the situation. Thire stared at Kote for a long while before looking up at the camera on the wall. Kote clocked it before turning his body slightly so his face would be out of view. Luckily audio was not recorded in this training session so he was free to do what was needed. 

“I want to get even,” Kote began. “But I need your help.” Thire turned to the screens showing the outside of the room. They were meant to be monitoring Bly and Monkk as they traversed the maze to get to their position after all.

“What do you need?”

“I need to know what happened before we arrived in the training hall yesterday, and I need to know what Shepard did after he left.” Thire nodded as he moved the screen to a different image. “Can you get me that?”

“That's all you need?”

“For now, yes. Then we can plan our next move.”

Later that cycle Kote was confronted by Thorn and Thire in one of the storage units behind the training rooms. Of course, Thire told Thorn about Kote wanting revenge. From the way Thorn had looked at CT-7567 and Fox through the training there was no doubt that he wanted revenge as well. Here they would plan their next move. Thire held up an encrypted datapad with a projection of the security footage. 

“As you can see he was watching the training room before blondie went inside,” Thire explained calmly as they watched Shepard shove the CT through the door after the little one had realised it was empty. 

The image changed to show the inside of the room. Shepard clamped his hand around the CTs neck and threw him to the floor forcefully.

“It isn’t enough that you’re defective that you have to go and bother the favourites.” Shepard's voice snarled on the recording. 

Kote’s fists clenched as he watched the recording. His vod’ika was hurt because of that demagolka and he needed revenge.

Shepard pinned the blonde to the floor and began to throw punches at his face and chest, all while he attempted to fight back. His hands scratched uselessly at the armour covering Shepard. ‘7567 did not once utter a cry or a beg until Shepard raised himself from the ground and let him go. The blonde grasped for air but kept himself as small as possible.

“You think that because you train with them that you are one of them. You will always be second rate, even to the CTs.” Thorn growled next to Thire as they continued. The hate in the room for their trainer was growing the more he verbally and physically attacked the child. “We should decommission you while we can.” Shepherd's smirk seemed more evil than usual as a flash of pure terror enveloped the blonde. He began to kick the blonde who was holding back his pain. One swift kick that connected with the blonde's wrist sent the boy screaming, the first sound he had actually made. 

“I think it is time for us to have some fun.” He laughed, “don’t worry, I’ll make sure you will have something to remember me by when you leave.” 

Thorn and Kote froze as the words repeated in their heads. Shepard had threatened to decommission their vod’ika. That was not something the CCs had witnessed first hand, they had experience with reconditioning but not decommission. They were not dumb, they knew it happened, but never to someone they knew. Both Fox and Wolffe had been reconditioned when they were only five years old. It had traumatised all of them. They hadn’t understood why their vod’e had been dumped in the room by two long necks with confused subdued looks. 

Thire paused the recording and turned off the datapad. He looked at his two vod and gave a sigh,

“There is not much more. Fox comes in and stops him from beating him much more.” Thire folded his arms gracefully over his chest. “After that Shepard returns to his room and doesn’t exit it until 0800 this morning.”

“Why threaten him though?” Thorn enquired turning to Kote for answers. “Did he think he would get something out of this?”

“Apart from his usual thrills of the threat,” Thire shrugged. “Probably not a lot.”

Kote lowered his eyes to the floor and willed his body not to shake. Could Shepard have attacked the blonde because of him? It had only been a few cycles ago when he and Prime had told Kote to do better and be better. Could they have been referring to himself and the blonde? Maybe they had taken too many risks with their affection outside of the bunk room. Too many soft words and too many embraces. This would not stop Shepard. He would strike again. They needed to stop him before it was too late.

“What’s the plan al’verde?” Thire asked standing straight and to attention. Thorn joined him at his side waiting for instructions. The two looked determined and ready to face the entire galaxy to get revenge for Fox and ‘7567, and they’d follow Kote all the way through the osik. Kote slowly began to form a plan in his brain. He just had to keep Fox and his vod’ika out of the way and in view while it happened. 

“I want in,” Wolffe spoke suddenly in the quiet of the locker room. Kote and himself were the only ones who were left. Thorn and Thire had dragged both Fox and their vod’ika to the mess for mid-meal, leaving the elder of the batch to take their time cleaning.

“I don’t care what it is, I want in.”

Kote looked over his shoulder at Wolffe who stared at him with the determination of a veteran soldier. Wolffe would be a brilliant commander, he was caring, calculative and aware even with his temper. Even now without any knowledge, he was willing to listen and support in any way he could, whichever Jetii had him would be very lucky. But right now Kote could not risk bringing Wolffe along for the ride, Thorn and Thire were all he needed.

“Not this time vod’e,” Kote shook his head and turned towards his closest vod. Wolffe growled and stepped closer to Kote. Wolffe’s crowding tactic would work on most vod’e to get what he wanted but it did not work on Kote. Kote levelled his head at his vod and held his gaze. Kote could see the anger and frustration in Wolffe’s eyes, but his plan was dangerous and he would not risk Wolffe. Kote did not think he could look into those eyes and see emptiness again. 

Wolffe slammed Kote backwards into the lockers. It didn’t hurt, Wolffe was not that rough with Kote, but the sound made it seem worse.

“I need to be there with you when you do this,” Wolffe snarled close to Kote’s face. “I need to watch your back when this happens. I know you want revenge. I do too. Let me help.”

“I can’t,” Kote whispered softly as he placed a hand on the scruff of Wolffe’s neck. Wolffe’s eyes began to water as the frustration grew. He growled and slammed his fist against the locker beside Kote. Kote did not flinch, just held his hand softly for when Wolffe was ready. Wolffe lowered his head to Kote’s shoulder. “I can’t risk you getting reconditioned again.”

“It won’t matter if you, Thorn and Thire are there too,” Wolffe muttered into his shoulder. So he knew they were involved. Had he heard them in the storage room and that was why he was confronting him now.

“I need you to watch the vod’ika and Fox while this happens.” Kote wrapped his other arm around Wolffe as Wolffe’s hands snuck around his waist. “If something goes wrong, I need you to protect them.”

“I should protect you.”

“No,” Kote cooed and began to soothe his hand up and down Wolffe’s spine. “I’ll be fine. They need you now.” There was silence for a moment. The storm of emotions was still hovering around them. 

“Is this how you felt when-” Wolffe took a shuddering breath. “When-” When I got reconditioned? Wolffe didn’t finish the questioning. Kote had felt exactly like this, weak, useless, helpless. He had to watch the two be dragged away kicking and screaming from a training session with Prime only to be returned the next cycle completely docile and silent. Kote had helped as much as he could, but he still wished he could have helped more.

Wolffe slowly moved his head into a kov’nyn and closed his eyes. 

“Come back,” Wolffe whispered softly. 

“I’ll see you on the other side.”

“Are you sure about this Thorn?” Kote asks softly as they set up the final parts of their plan into place.

“I’m sure,” Thorn nods as he slowly turns Fox’s training helmet over in his hands. The plan was to convince Shepard that Thorn was Fox and then lead him to their room. Hopefully, they would have enough manpower for this to work. They had forgone the idea of bringing anyone else into the plan, it was too risky and having another stressed CC was not a good plan. As far as the other CC’s were concerned Kote, Thorn and Thire were off having a training session with Alpha 17 who had agreed to be their alibi. Wolffe was in the CC barracks with Fox and ‘7567 going over strategies and subtly keeping each other safe. If their plan went well then they should be finished and trackless in just over an hour. They would use the maintenance tunnel between the old medical rooms and the Alpha barracks to make their escape. After that they would move back to their bunk room and haul up with Wolffe and the others. If all went according to plan they should be covered and free of suspicion by the time Shepard is found.

Thire had offered to take the place of bate, but out of the three, he was the better at slicing, meaning he would cover the cameras and make them loop so security would not suspect that anything was wrong. Kote would be in the room waiting for ‘Fox’ to join him. If Shepard’s usual routine was correct he would enter and attempt to ‘entertain’ Kote and ‘Fox’. Then Kote and Thorn would overpower him and seek their revenge.

Thire pulled Thorn into a kov’nyn and whispered soft words to him. The words were not for Kote to hear and he was okay with that. Hopefully, he could get back soon and have that moment with his vod’ika as well.

If only the plan had gone as well as it should have. 

Upon entering the room and seeing ‘Fox’ and Kote in a private, intimate moment, Shepard locked the medical room tight leaving Thire stuck outside. More things had gone downhill from there. Thorn had been slammed into the wall the moment Shepard got the chance, leaving Kote to take on Shepard alone for the moment. Kote knew he had no chance against his trainer alone, he had hoped that having Thorn and Thire by his side was enough but he was wrong. It was not enough. 

He found himself pinned to one of the old medical beds in the room attempting to kick Shepard off, but his legs could not bend the right way to push him off. He scrambled at Shepard’s arms around his neck holding him down while the man smirked with glee down at him. Kote struggled to breathe, his throat burned and his lungs screamed for air. He could not shift him. His body began to shut down. A voice in the back of his head told him to keep fighting.

“Chakaar!” Screamed Thorn as he managed to wrap his own arm around Shepard’s neck, pulling backwards with his whole body weight. It managed to get him off Kote and stumble backward. Kote rolled off the medical bed to the floor, holding his neck and gasping for breath. Shepard thrashed as he attempted to get the clone off his back, but he had no purchase to gain leverage on. Thorn tightened his grip, hoping Kote would get up soon to give him the sleeping shot. Kote stumbled as he attempted to stand. He reached for the sedation in his belt, keeping his fist wrapped tightly around it. Kote glanced up to watch Shepard fall backwards into the wall, jamming Thorn between him in the wall. The armour cracked as it made contact. Shepard managed to grasp Thorn as Kote ran towards him. He managed to swing his body to the side sending Thorn off balance and releasing his grasp enough to free himself. Thorn went flying to the floor as Kote moved his hand to swing and make contact with his unarmoured forearm. Shepard caught Kote’s arm and squeezed tight. Kote growled as his hand spasmed and released the shot to roll somewhere on the floor. Kote blinked and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor. His head throbbed as Shepard towered over him. Headbutt. Damn it, Alpha had taught him to watch out for that. The room spun around him and a swelling of pain punched him as he attempted to move more.

Thorn was up on his feet once more, helmet taken off in the fall. He lunged at Shepard, deflecting a hit and then kicking his leg as Kote crumpled to the floor before him. Thorn was quick, always had been. He twisted around Shepard and knocked the back of his leg, stuttering his balance. But Shepard had trained them, he knew all their moves. Thorn threw a punch, only to be deflected and spun around. Shepard managed to get him in a headlock restricting his airflow. Thorn growled and scratched at the arm around his neck. He glanced over at Kote who looked ready to pass out with how pale he suddenly was. 

“You really are a thorn in the side.” He laughed in Thorn’s ear. Thorn growled as he attempted to kick backwards but no luck. “Trying to be ‘1010?” His airway was restricted more. Thorn gasped for air as his chest burnt from the pressure, panic was starting to set in.  Kote growled as he heard the sickening words from Shepard’s mouth, “I’ll show you what it's like.” 

Kote felt a warmth in his chest beat fast, wanting to be let out. It pulled on his arm as he watched Shepard manhandle Thorn to the floor. It whispered inviting words into his ear. It begged. Do it. Anger flooded his mind, he would not let Thorn be hurt too. Kote screamed and threw his hand at the two. The pressure and warmth sprinted out of his voice and swirled up his arms and out of his fingertips rushing to Shepard who turned to see the invisible attack hit him square in the chest. The force slammed Shepard into the far wall, smacking his head with a hard thunk. He collapsed to the floor as Thorn heavily panted and rose to his feet. Kote panted heavily as the weight in his chest left leaving him confused and feeling weak. He registered the force coming from him, but his mind could have sworn another had launched the attack. He frowned as he watched Shepard’s crippled body on the floor. Had he done that? Had he somehow pushed him off of Thorn? But how?

Thorn was rushing to his side and lifting him to his feet along with the sedative that was beside him. Thorn pulled him close and made sure he was steady before moving over to Shepard. Shepard slowly seemed to come back to reality from the hit, but his movement was slowed, his voice slurred.

“You did that,” he slurred with half-lidded eyes. Thorn ignored him and administered the sedation. Shepard smirked up at Kote, “we’ll watch you burn, J-“ Kote gulped as the whisper echoed in his ear, the smirk burned into his mind. The threat would not work on them now. They would remove the problem. 

Thorn rose to his feet and placed his hands on Kote’s shoulders. Kote turned his gaze to meet Thorn’s concerned gaze. There was a softness in Thorn’s eyes as if he knew what to do, how to comfort. He had seen this confusion happen before.

“That was you?” Thorn asked softly as he rubbed his thumb over Kote’s shoulder. Kote gulped, it must have been. He nodded, even though he was unsure how. Thorn pulled them closer in a kov’nyn. “It’s okay. It’s safe with me. I won’t say.” Somehow those words seemed to calm Kote, the rush of thoughts about the attack and their mission seemed to calm. It was replaced with only them. Thorn and Kote standing close, breathing together, holding each other.

The moment was broken when the locking mechanism on the door unlocked and the door hissed. Turning they watched as Thire entered the room with a concerned look. Kote watched as Thorn smiled at him. Thire seemed to smile mischievously and nodded,

“You both look very cute, but we have a mission to finish.”

Soon enough they moved Shepard’s subdued body into the next room which had one of the old reconditioning machines. From what Kote knew the machine was no longer in use because of the development of newer and less damaging models. There were a few clones from the original batch of 100 who no longer existed because of complications with the machine. If there was a complication with the procedure then it would not be a loss. They placed Shepard on the table with his head in the machine. Thire stood at the console and tapped away at the buttons. He scanned over the screen while Thorn and Fox began work on opening the ventilation hatch. Once it was open they waited for Thire to give them the go-ahead.

“The machine is automated,” He explained as he turned the machine on and programmed the horrid thing. “Once it starts it can be left to run.”

“Then we crawl away to Alpha,” Thorn nodded as he placed Fox’s helmet on his head. Couldn’t leave that behind. 

“Exactly,” Thire nodded and tapped the button to begin. Thorn squeezed Kote’s hand before leading them inside the ventilation. Thire brought up the rear and closed their exit. The machine whirred to life and a few sparks of light flashed behind them as they kept on moving. After a few minutes they reached the vent casing that they needed to open to get to the Alpha barracks, only it was already open. Kote gulped as Thorn and Thire both turned to him before pulling themselves out. 

Standing up in the Alpha bunk room gave them the answer. On an open pod, leaning back, legs stretched out and ankles crossed was Alpha 17. He was watching a datapad closely, not making eye contact with them.

“I would shut that,” he suggested as his fingers tapped on the datapad. All three turned back to the vent and made sure that it was shut tight with no signs of any tampering. “Very good,” Alpha spoke as he stood from his pod and strode over to them. Kote noted it was one of the pods that had bracketed them the previous night. 

“Covered your tracks?” He called sending all of them to attention and feeling like they were on a sanctioned mission.

“Nothing left in the room,” Thorn answered.

“Security?”

“Still seeing the looping footage,” Thire answered.

“And Shepard?”

“Will forget the last week of memory,” Kote answered. Alpha 17 huffed at them and glanced over them. He noted the marks around Thorn and Kote’s necks. It seemed to be the only injuries they sustained.

“You overpowered him easily?” Alpha enquired with a raised brow. Thire turned to the two, he had been unable to access the security feed in the room to know what had happened. Thorn and Kote shared a glance; Kote’s heart stopped at the possibility of Thorn telling Alpha what had happened. Alpha had warned Kote not to tell anyone about the strange happenings in his life. True he had not actually told Thorn, but Thorn had seen him push the enemy into a wall with a strange invisible force. That seemed to go along with the strange dreams. Thorn turned back to Alpha and smiled,

“Only a few minor injuries, otherwise it was no problem.” Kote let out a breath, Thanks, Thorn. Alpha nodded and dismissed them all to the refreshers.

Showered and with fresh bacta applied the three vod’e returned back to their bunk room. The exhaustion from their mission had drained each one but no more than Kote. He now knew he had a special power inside of him which he couldn’t talk about with anyone, not even Wolffe or Thorn who knew it existed. If he did then there was a chance that he could get caught, they could get hurt because of it. He would use the dreams, they were useful and something he could keep to himself. But that power that he used against Shepard was too much. He would need to keep himself controlled, keep his anger down and hidden. It would not help in the long run to let his power take control of him. 

Entering the bunk room soothed Kote out of his turmoil. In the back of the room where their kit was stored was a pile of vod’e wrapped up in blankets. Wolffe was in the centre of the pile reading quietly with Fox dozing on his shoulder, and their vod’ika curled up with his head in Wolffe’s lap. Kote stopped as the door hissed closed behind them and watched as Thorn and Thire instantly joined the pile. They gave Wolffe a nod before the two weaved their way into the pile; Thorn now between Fox’s legs making him groan, and Thire curling on Fox’s outside to be his shield. The two wrapped the spare blankets around themselves and nuzzled into him, closing their eyes and letting their minds wander. 

Wolffe looked up at Kote with a curious raise of his brow. Kote gave a soft smile and nodded at him. Wolffe gave a small smile and placed his hand on their vod’ikas shoulder giving a small shake. Their vod’ika squeaked and blinked open his eyes. Kote’s smile brightened and strode over to the pile. He knelt down in front of his vod’ika who rubbed his eyes before noticing him.

“You’re back,” he muttered with a yawn at the tail. “How was training?” Kote pulled the young one into his arms and settled himself next to Wolffe. 

“Nothing we can’t handle,” he replied. Wolffe wrapped his own blanket around Kote’s shoulders, his fingers brushing against the red mark around his neck. Kote nuzzled into the blonde's hair who seemed to settle quickly and looked at Wolffe. Later, he communicated between their eyes. Wolffe nodded and pulled the two into his side.

“I’ve got the watch,” Wolffe whispered as Kote relaxed into their vod’e pile. Sleep called to him softly between the warms of his vod’e and the weight of his vod’ika in his arms. They will be just fine, a voice whispered in his head.

Kote’s dream was as sweet as the first one he had. It was himself in the future sitting in a lush garden looking at an orange sky. Next to him was CT-7567 in civvie clothes along with Wolffe and Fox. They were cuddled together with the noise of a city below them. A metal city stood on the horizon beyond them. Each held a beer in their hands, they were celebrating something.

“To freedom!”