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Echo had survived so much just to be thrown back into war all over again.
It was familIar, relievingly so. With Rex at his side again, a weapon in hand, he could almost tell himself he was in the early years of the Clone Wars, his unit fighting with him.
Almost.
There had been Rex, his constant support, there to hold his hand and support his broken body as they ran from that hellish machine, but it was nearly too much - to feel so different, to be so different, with Rex promising he’d take Echo home, if such a place still existed - it was a clashing of two worlds, two universes.
He wasn’t that same ARC trooper anymore - so who was he?
At least he was with Skywalker again. Fighting alongside the Jedi general brought a sense of strength that nothing could mimic. But the new clones - Echo didn’t know what to make of them. He’d briefly met them all in his escape - the leader, the brawn, the splicer. But the fourth one, the sniper, with the permanent scowl on his face and withdrawn demeanor, confused Echo. Why didn’t he joke with his team the way the rest of them did, why did he ignore the bonds Echo would give anything to experience one last time?
It didn’t matter. One clone’s strangeness didn’t matter when they were still trapped on this terrible planet, Tambor’s droids attacking from all sides with Rex and Skywalker in danger - all for Echo.
He followed the Jedi up an outcropping of cliff, where the sniper had already situated himself on the ledge, and took aim at the clankers flying past. He knew how he looked, head full of ports and without any sort of armor, but if Rex had come all this way to save him, the least he could do was what he’d been born to do - fight.
As the battle progressed he watched the splicer - Tech, that was his name - set off a shock pulse and shut down a section of the attacking battle droids. Their leader, Hunter, launched himself forward in the melee, going after one of them with a knife of all things. The large one, whose name Echo couldn’t recall, let out a shout and charged headlong into the fray. He grabbed two droids, smashing their heads together, and even from the distance Echo could catch the gleam of his wild grin.
Wrecker. That was it.
Echo cursed to himself as another fleet of fliers rose in front of the cliff, focusing back on them. But it didn’t come easy - the mechanical whirring, so sudden, caught him off-guard. He hesitated a beat too long before firing his blaster, taking down one of the robots, even if he couldn’t take credit for the rest.
For a moment, standing there with his weapon in hand, Echo wondered if it had been worth it for Rex to save him.
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and startled, glancing back. He expected it to be Rex, ridiculously, but it was him - the sniper.
Echo knew his confusion must be written on his face, but the sniper only nodded at him resumed his position.
It wasn’t until after, when the walkers were taken down and they were taking their ship home - or away, maybe - that Echo heard him speak.
“You’re not a reg.”
Echo whipped his head from where he’d been sitting in the storage hold. The sniper was standing there in the doorway, apparently ignoring that Echo had left to be alone.
“What did you call me?”
“Regs. Normal clones. Boring ones.” He leaned against the doorway, arms folded, and Echo realized he’d removed his helmet, the lines of his tattoo circling his eyes stark in the faint light.
“Well, I am. Normal.” Echo turned away, running his flesh hand over his cybernetic one. “I mean, I was.”
“Not anymore. Don’t try to hide it.” The sniper didn’t move. “Clones like your captain - there are millions of them. But there’s no one who’s like you.”
Echo shuddered, rubbing his hand over his bare arms. “You don’t have to rub it in. And leave Rex alone.”
There was a sound from the doorway that might’ve been a laugh. “You misunderstand me. Your captain may be… something else, but he’s not you. No one is. You need to be proud of that.”
Echo growled, but he was sure it came off as a whimper. “I can’t, okay?”
“Come on, Echo.” The sniper scoffed as he entered the room, reclining against a stack of boxes. Echo wondered distantly at how interesting it was to hear his name, in that voice that did and didn’t sound like a clone’s. “Don’t hate what makes you unique.”
“That’s what this is?” Echo held up his cybernetic hand, shaking. “My defects are - ”
“They’re not defects!” Suddenly, the sniper was at his side, one hand on Echo’s metal wrist. “Look at yourself! This is - this is your gift! Use it!”
It struck Echo, more than any of the words, that his wrist was being so gently held. Almost as if it were his real skin, still a part of him.
Something in the sniper’s face softened by the smallest degree. “I know this isn’t what you wanted. But it’s what you have now. Don’t waste it.”
Echo couldn’t stop staring. “Why are you telling me any of this?”
He released Echo’s wrist, leaning back against a crate. “None of this comes easy. You’ll never be like the rest of your brothers again. If you go back there, no one, not even your captain, will understand you. But we could.”
Echo looked away to his cybernetic hand. He could still feel the warmth from the sniper’s touch. “Who are you?”
“Name’s Crosshair. You wouldn’t have seen me when you were on Kamino.”
“That’s not what I was asking.” The name had slipped Echo’s mind, but he held onto it now. Crosshair. “I meant - who are all of you? Your team?”
The first semblance of a smile appeared on Crosshair’s lips. “We’re Clone Force 99. The Bad Batch. And we’re not like any other team Kamino could pump out.”
“You’re all so different.” Echo swallowed, suddenly wishing Crosshair was holding his wrist again. It felt so unlike Rex’s easy touches - this was someone new, someone who could still treat him like this despite his appearance. “I had a team once. A long time ago.”
“Your captain told us.” Crosshair inclined his head. “Being without your brothers - there’s no fate worse.”
“No.” Echo rubbed his arm with his flesh hand, abruptly cold. “There’s not.”
“I’ve been separated from my team before. And I know its effects. I was only gone three cycles, but it changes you.” Crosshair half-shrugged, smiling faintly. “Even among them, I’m different. Always have been.” He cocked his head back at the rest of the ship. “We don’t always… see eye-to-eye. But I know what it is to not know your place.” The edge of his rifle swung towards Echo. “And yours could be with us.”
“What?” Echo would’ve laughed if he could. They were the most fascinating clones he’d ever fought alongside, without question. So uniquely powerful. Echo felt acutely aware of the ports in his skull, the metal protruding from his arm. “But I’m - ”
Then Crosshair’s hand was on his shoulder again, his arm extended. “You’re one of us, Echo. You’re not a reg. Don’t lower yourself to them again.”
“My brothers were regs.”
“And you’re the only one still here.”
Echo jerked out of Crosshair’s touch, and the sniper stood with his hands raised. “Think about it. Your captain might’ve known you then, but we’d know you now.” He strode to the door, paused, and turned back, silhouetted in the hall’s light. “We’re the strongest team you’ll find. And we never give up on our brothers.”
➖
Echo was shaken awake, his eyes flying open. He pulled himself up with a gasp. “Where - ”
“Echo. It’s all right.” The voice was familiarly accented, the hand that took his so small. “You were having another nightmare.”
Echo exhaled heavily, sinking back onto his bunk, his pulse still racing. He spun his cybernetic hand slightly in Omega’s to reassure her. “Sorry to wake you, kid.”
“I was already up. You were just - shaking.” Omega climbed onto the bunk, lying down at his side. “Are you okay now?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” He ruffled her hair with his flesh hand and she giggled quietly, not waking anyone else. But after a moment of silence she asked “Were you dreaming about Rex?”
Rex. He was, in a way. But Echo shook his head. “Not him. Not this time.” The nightmares had been the worst in that stretch of time when he’d believed Rex had died in Order 66. But now he had a new face in his memories that didn’t come with any comfort.
“Crosshair?”
His name sounded so delicate coming from Omega, as if he wasn’t the mind-controlled drone hunting them down. Echo nodded. “Yes.”
“We need to get him back.” Omega pulled away from Echo to meet his eyes. “Hunter’s trying, like you, but - he’s sad. He doesn’t say it, but he is.”
“He’s the one who holds us together. He’s doing the best he can, but it’s a lot for him to carry.” Echo covered his mouth, hiding his yawn. “Sorry, kid. I’m keeping you up.”
“It’s okay, I - ”
“You were already up, I know.” Echo glanced down at her. “Why?”
Omega broke his gaze, swinging her legs over the side of the bunk and staring down at her hands. “Nothing.”
“Kid.” Echo pulled himself up beside her, nudging her shoulder with his. “You can talk to me.”
“Am I the reason he’s not here? Crosshair?” Omega shoved out the question in a messy rush, throwing up her head.
Echo was startled a moment, and then he laughed. “Definitely not.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “You’re nothing like him. You’re - ” He paused. “You’re not like any of the rest of them. Look at yourself. You’re different. Use it.”
Omega looked up at him curiously, but Echo just grinned down at her. “I mean it. You were meant to be a part of us, Omega. Just like Crosshair.”
She moved aside so he could lay back down on his bunk, but she dove to cuddle up against his side the moment he did. “I want to meet him. Properly.”
Echo shifted himself, wrapping an arm around his little sister. Crosshair and Omega - even with all their genetic changes, no two clones could be less alike. But he smiled anyway. “I’d like that, too. So would he.”
He could sense Omega drifting off, but her voice was solid when she said “You and Hunter are going to find him.”
It wasn’t a question. Echo nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “We never give up on our brothers. Never.”
Even as Omega slipped into sleep, Echo knew he’d be awake for hours more, part of him still on that cliff on Skako Minor, on the only brother he’d lost but could find again.
Just hold on a little longer, Cross. Echo ran a hand over Omega’s curls. We’re coming for you. I promise.