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“There is another clone on this list, one who has been at this facility for far longer than any of the others.” Tech said, staring at his data pad intently.
Echo, the only one able to speak after the sudden shock of discovering Crosshair’s turn against the Empire, as well as his message to the batch, looked at his bespectacled brother. “Who?”
“All that is listed is his CT number. He is CT-5555.”
Echo froze. His hand gripped the back of Tech’s chair as he barely kept himself on his feet. “That’s impossible.”
Hunter and Tech shared a look, full of concern and confusion, but they remained quiet, waiting for Echo's reaction.
Wrecker had no such qualms, and cocked his head. “Isn’t that the number your twin had?”
“It was.” Echo felt like he was underwater, and he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before opening them back up. “And it can’t be him.”
“Echo…” Hunter reached out, attempting to placate his older brother, but Echo stepped back, shaking his head fervently.
“It can’t, Hunter! Because Rex held him in his arms while he died, and watched them cart off his dead body.” His words were detached, formulaic, because if he even allowed himself a second to entertain the idea that his twin was alive, his entire world would come crumbling down around him. “It’s not Fives.”
It couldn’t be Fives.
The clone across from him was staring.
The red glow of the cell’s shield made it difficult to truly make out details, but Crosshair stared back, eyes narrowing.
“What?” he hissed. Downtrodden, alone, and tired, he still felt his hackles raise at the thought of one of the regs judging him.
The clone cocked his head. “What’re you in here for?”
Crosshair was quiet. On one hand, his trust in anyone outside of his brothers was completely shot, but on the other, what else did he have to lose?
“Shot a natborn lieutenant.”
The clone let out a low whistle, drawing a leg up to his chest. “Not bad. Was he at least a prick?”
“A massive one.” Crosshair slowly replied. “The… brother I was working with, he got injured. The lieutenant didn’t get help, and let him die.” Mayday’s dying breath would be in Crosshair’s memories forever, the peace that spread over his brother’s face never leaving his mind.
“Kriffing hells.” The clone swore, shaking his head. “Can’t say I blame you, vod.”
Hearing the Mando’a phrase so commonly used amongst the regs to address one another directed at him made Crosshair’s stubborn heart warm, and he had to duck his head down to hide the twitch of his mouth.
Stubbornly sliding his mask of indifference back, the sniper let out a dry huff. “How about you?”
The clone smirked, bitter and sharp. “Tried to expose Emperor Palpatine and got myself shot by a Corrie Guard.”
Crosshair’s stomach dropped.
That sounded familiar.
“Really?” He attempted to keep the suspicion out of his voice.
There was no way it was him.
“Oh, yeah. My vod’ika went off on one of the Jedi Generals, and I went back to Kamino with him. He died, and the longnecks injected me with something that made me go all crazy on my captain and general.” The clone explained. His voice was shockingly nonchalant, as though they were simply discussing the weather at 79’s. “When I tried to tell them that we all had chips in our heads that were able to control us, it wasn’t the most successful moment of my life.”
That sounded very familiar.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the clone’s appearance through the red glow of the shield, and he began to see details he had only been told about.
The tattoo of the number five on the temple.
A goatee, most likely once kept meticulously trimmed and groomed, now scruffy, and spreading over the rest of the clone’s chin and cheeks.
A heavy self-sacrificial air that Crosshair had only ever seen in one other clone.
He couldn’t stop himself from blurting out a single name. “Fives?”
The clone immediately tensed, head snapping up and eyes narrowing suspiciously. “How…?”
“Your brother’s told me all about you.” Crosshair said carefully, and the tension slowly drained from Fives’ shoulders.
“Which one? Rex?” His bright flicker of hope was quickly dimmed as his face became down cast. “He’s probably the one who’s alive right now.”
“Not Rex. Echo.”
The tension was back, and Fives looked murderous. “That’s not funny.”
Crosshair shifted forward, attempting to get the other to believe him. Why he was trying so hard, he wasn’t sure, but there was something about the situation that made him want Fives to believe his words. “It’s true.”
“Echo’s dead.” Fives said, his voice sounding hollow. “He died at the Citadel trying to get the shuttle for us to escape.”
“He was captured by the Techno Union afterwards.” Crosshair explained, watching as Fives slowly shifted, listening to him. “My squad and I, along with your battalion and general, rescued him about a year ago.”
Fives’ eyes became far away. “He’s…”
Crosshair nodded. “You look like him.”
Fives wrapped his arms around his legs, hunching over into a tight ball, eyes squeezed shut. Crosshair fell quiet, waiting to hear from the clone.
He wasn’t sure where the sudden rush of affection for this brother had come from.
Logically, he shouldn’t really care at all.
This was a clone he knew nothing about, one he had only heard stories of.
Of course, the stories came from Crosshair’s not-so-secret favorite of his squad, and his camaraderie with Echo prior to… everything was one of the reasons the no longer deceased ARC was welcomed into the Bad Batch with open arms.
The thought of seeing his ori’vod reunite with his twin, the joy that would return to Echo’s face, the same brightness that was only there when he told stories about his own Domino squad?
That made Crosshair watch Fives with bated breath, praying to whoever or whatever was listening that they both would live to see that moment.
Echo was alive.
His twin, the other half of his soul, his best friend, was alive.
Fives took a deep breath, reaching deep down towards the small bubble of hope building inside of him, and he grabbed into it. A disbelieving, joyful laugh escaped him, and he looked back up at the clone sitting across from him.
The silver hair had thrown him off, and he had thought the other was older than him, perhaps part of Cody’s age group, but Fives could see it in his eyes.
This was a vod’ika.
He probably wasn’t any older than Tup or Dogma had been when they joined up with the 501st.
“So what’s your name, vod?” Fives asked, feeling much lighter, and much more like his old self with the knowledge that holy kriffing hells, Echo was alive.
The clone shifted, matching Fives’ curled-up pose, resting his chin on top of his arm. “Crosshair.”
“Your squad?”
“Clone Force 99.” The clone’s mouth quirked up slightly, and Fives felt a rush of brotherly affection towards the younger clone. “The Bad Batch.”
“Named after 99?”
“Of course.”
Fives sighed, a bittersweet smile on his face. “He was the best. He’s the entire reason–”
“You and your batch passed your examination.” Crosshair continued, making Fives still and turn to watch him. “He gave your brother a pep talk and his name.”
“How did you know that?”
Crosshair let out a small huff. “Echo told me stories. Your brother’s medal is on the Marauder.” He looked up and met his eyes. “I put it in his bunk once he told me the story behind it.”
Oh.
Heavy’s medal being somewhere safe, back with Echo, made Fives want to cry.
It also made him want to burst through the shield and wrap Crosshair up in the tightest hug because, even after only knowing him for a few minutes, Fives could see that his new vod’ika’s prickly exterior was hiding a love for his brothers so strong and bright it rivaled the duo suns of Tatooine.
Tabling the need to hug his brother later, Fives asked the question that had been on his mind since seeing Crosshair thrown into the cell across from his: “So why aren’t you with your batch?”
Crosshair tapped the side of his head, and Fives’ stomach churned. “My chip was the only one that got activated. They were all able to escape, I stayed.”
“They left you?”
“It was my decision.” Crosshair said, shaking his head. “Even after they removed the chip… it was all my decision. The brother I mentioned, Mayday, he’s the reason I finally got it through my head.”
“Do your brothers know you’re alright?”
“I sent them a message. Hemlock’s looking for the kid that they’re traveling with. An unaltered clone named Omega.”
The name stirred something in Fives. Memories of a child, the size of a cadet, hopping up onto his bed with big eyes and an even bigger smile.
“Little blonde girl, big brown tooka eyes that stare into your soul? Makes you want to rethink all of your life choices?”
“That’s her.” Crosshair confirmed, and the quirk of his mouth grew into a small smirk. Fives could see the hidden fondness, however, and he beamed. “I told them to hide, to stay away.”
“If Echo’s with them, and he knows you’re in trouble, he’s not staying away.” Fives said with an affectionate eye roll that Crosshair matched.
“Oh, I know.”
“He’ll probably rain hell.”
Crosshair’s grin was positively feral, all bared teeth and sharpness. “I’m counting on it.”
Oh, Fives loved his new vod’ika.
Echo trailed after Hunter and Rex as they moved through the halls of the cloning facility. The alarms were blaring, but thankfully, due to Wrecker, Tech, and Cody’s distraction, the small infiltration group was not running into any troopers who would hinder their mission.
Omega was walking alongside Echo, the youngest member of their group having insisted upon coming with the rescue team.
“Do you think Crosshair will be happy to see us?” she whispered, her bow gripped tightly in her hands.
Echo looked down at her with a soft smile. “I hope so, Omega.”
Omega’s golden eyes filled with determination and hope as they continued walking, and Echo was completely sure that, if it were possible, she would rescue Crosshair all on her own with simply her smile and sheer force of will.
They turned a corner, pausing for a moment to make sure that there were no stray troopers or doctors hanging around, and Omega let out a soft gasp, hand reaching up to grab onto Echo’s. He looked down at her, and she pointed towards one of the cells.
Echo followed her finger and spotted the flash of silver hair behind the red shield before it disappeared, and he gave Omega a proud look for spotting their missing brother.
He reached forward, grabbing Hunter’s shoulder to stop the sergeant from moving any further. Hunter glanced back at him, and Echo nodded his head towards the cell.
The quartet made their way to the cells, and the prisoner within shifted at the sound of their footsteps, looking up.
The look that crossed his face could only be described as cautious hope, mixed with surprise at the fact that they were really, truly there.
“Hunter.” Crosshair said, his voice a quiet rasp as he took in the sight of his older brothers before him. “Echo.”
The tension in Hunter’s shoulders fell slightly. “Crosshair.”
“Hey, vod.” Echo said warmly, kneeling down in front of the cell to begin working on opening it. “You look like shit.”
Crosshair snorted, a sharp, amused sound that made Echo beam beneath his helmet. “And you haven’t changed.”
Omega poked her head out from behind Hunter, her smile shining brighter than anything Echo had ever seen. “Crosshair!”
“Omega.”
His younger brother’s voice was filled with a surprising amount of fondness, and Echo’s heart lurched. As soon as he got the ray shield down, he would be wrapping his vod’ika up in only the tightest of hugs, and not releasing him for at least a full cycle.
“I’m feeling very left out over here.” a voice drawled from the cell across from Crosshair’s.
Crosshair rolled his eyes. “You’ll get your big moment, reg.”
The warm, quiet laugh that answered Crosshair’s statement had Echo freezing in his movements on the control panel next to Crosshair’s cell.
“Who are you?” Hunter asked, suspicion in his voice as he turned to face the other cell.
There was a pause.
Then, a bombshell bigger than Order 66 was dropped on Echo.
“The name’s Fives.”
Rex inhaled sharply, and Echo could feel Crosshair’s eyes on him. He took a deep, calming breath (though it did little to soothe his racing, pounding heart, and the way his soul felt as though it was reaching out to the unseen clone).
He looked up at Hunter and Rex, stubbornly refusing to look across the way. “I’m going to get Crosshair out of here. Then, I’m getting him out of there.” Hunter nodded, and Rex placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am not processing any of this until we’re on the Marauder and on our way off this kriffed-up rock.”
Another laugh that felt like a blaster shot through the heart. “That’s valid.”
After a few more minutes of breaking through the control panel on Crosshair’s cell, the red shield disappeared, and Hunter immediately stepped in, extending a hand to his silver-haired brother.
“Let’s get you home, Cross.” he said quietly, and there was a brief flash of more disbelief on Crosshair’s face, but he took his brother’s hand, allowing himself to be pulled up into a standing position.
“Thank you, ori’vod.”
The whisper was barely audible, but Echo’s heart still warmed as Hunter slung Crosshair’s arm over his shoulders, holding him tightly to his side.
Steeling himself with a breath, Echo then shifted to the next cell, resolutely keeping his eyes on the control panel in front of him.
There was shifting, and the voice was suddenly closer, clearer. “You all are the only ones that he’s been talking about.”
The steadying grip he had on the wall tightened. “He’s our brother. We couldn’t leave him again.”
“Echo, we need to move!” Hunter called.
“I know.” the voice said, and Echo could picture the shrug that accompanied the statement. “I’m sorry I left you.”
“Don’t.” Echo snapped as he broke through the last code, hearing the quiet hiss of the shield being deactivated. He stood, and finally, finally, looked up.
His eyes immediately went to the tattoo on the clone’s temple, the impulsive decision that had been made within Torrent’s barracks. He remembered holding the tattoo gun in his hand, because if Echo got a handprint, then Fives had to get something done by his twin.
He then looked at the overgrown goatee, stubbornly attempting to maintain shape despite the lack of meticulous grooming that his twin had so often been obsessed with focusing on.
Fives gave Echo a small, bittersweet smile as he clambered to his feet, stumbling slightly. Echo immediately stuck his hands out to steady him, a reflex long left dormant, and for a moment, the two twins looked at each other, identical eyes meeting.
“Hey.” Fives said softly.
Echo felt the tears building up, and he squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “Hi.”
“Alright, boys.” Rex knocked his shoulder against Echo’s, his eyes shining brightly at the sight of his twins reuniting. “Let’s get out of here.”
As soon as the quartet and their newly sprung brothers made it onto the Marauder, Tech pulled away from the facility, barely sparing a glance over his shoulder to make sure that all of his siblings were piled in together.
Wrecker pulled Crosshair into a tight, joyful embrace, lifting the sniper off the ground as he wept. Crosshair, for all his snarky, emotionless quips, returned the embrace, burying his face in his large brother’s shoulder.
As soon as the ship was steadily flying through hyperspace, Echo threw himself across the ship towards Fives, his twin already opening his arms to accept the hug. They stumbled back together, and the embrace they fell into was a familiar, wonderful thing.
Fives paid no mind to Echo’s prosthetics, grabbing onto his armor with a tight grip, as though believing that the closer they were together, the faster their separated souls would heal.
“Crosshair told me what happened.” Fives whispered, his face tucked against Echo’s collarbone.
Echo let out a shaking breath, arms tightening around his brother. “Tell me what happened to you?”
Fives nodded. “Later.”
Echo completely understood, and simply pressed his forehead into Fives’ temple, finally, finally feeling completely whole. He was vaguely aware of Cody and Rex joining the hug, their arms wrapping around the hugging twins tightly, Cody leaning his head against Echo’s, and Rex’s hand holding onto Fives’ blacks as though he was going to slip away the second they let go of one another. The two older brothers exchanged a happy, relieved look over the heads of their younger brothers, surrounding their twins with so much love and affection that it seemed as though the Marauder would explode.
After a few minutes of simply basking in the embrace of his brothers, the three men who knew him better than anyone in the entire galaxy, Echo pulled back, and Fives followed, a shaking, large smile on his face as they both took in the sight of their twin, completely alive and safe, grinning at each other with the expression that never failed to lift their spirits.
Echo turned his head, and watched his squad for a moment, catching Crosshair swiping a hand beneath his eyes as Omega stepped back from hugging him with a grip that would rival a Sarlacc’s.
He met the sniper’s eyes, eyes filled with a hidden, controlled joy, a joy mirrored on the faces of his own Batch, and Echo felt as though his entire heart would explode as he saw the people he loved the most finally reunite with each other.
He couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and grabbing onto Crosshair’s wrist with a gentle grip, dragging the sniper towards him and Fives. Crosshair leaned into him as Echo wrapped his arm around his vod’ika, his free arm opening to his twin, who was already stepping closer to embrace them both. Echo clung to his vod’ika and his twin, a fresh batch of tears filling his eyes at the realization that they were both okay. They were both alive. They were both safe.
"Psssst... Hunter!"
Omega's whisper had her older brother turning around from where he was speaking with Cody. The Marauder was still a few hours out from Pabu, and the ride had been surprisingly smooth.
Omega was poking her head around the entrance to the cockpit, an excited, secretive look on her face as she beckoned for the rest of her brothers to join her.
Hunter bit back a laugh at her actions, and approached, followed by Cody and Rex.
"What is it?"
Omega's smile grew, and she pointed towards the bunk that had belonged to Crosshair before... everything, and where the sniper had retired after the rescue.
Rex let out a soft, affectionate sound, and Hunter's heart swelled with warmth.
Echo was lying down in the middle of the bunk, looking peaceful in a way that Hunter had never seen him. The furrow in his brow that seemed to permanently be etched into the older clone's face was gone, and there was even a slight smile on his face.
On one side was Fives, his twin wrapped around him to the point where it was difficult to tell which limbs belonged to who. The position did not look comfortable in any way whatsoever, but Hunter had a feeling it was a sleeping arrangement that had been common for years.
On Echo's other side, tucked between his ori'vod and the wall, was Crosshair. He was on his side, face pushed against Echo's shoulder, with one hand stretched across to hold onto Fives' arm.
Something had happened between Crosshair and Fives during their time at the facility, Hunter knew. He wouldn't press, because he was just happy to have his brother back, and happy to see Echo looking happier than he had in ages with his twin back in his arms.
Hunter also knew that Echo would do anything and everything to keep this peace, to keep the brothers they had saved close to his heart.
His family was all together again, and that was the only thing that mattered to Echo.