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Crosshair trudged through the forest on his way back to the rendezvous after another successful mission, a simple scouting op. He grumbled as he went, he’d hardly been needed this time, except to stop Wrecker from setting off the alarms when he’d been spotted. He didn’t know why they of all squads were even needed here, any of the regs could have done it themselves.
He paused his grumbling, attention darting to the side when he spotted movement. A dark shape disappeared behind a copse of trees. Eyes narrowing, he drew his Firepuncher off his back, staying alert. There’d been nothing in the mission brief about Separatist scouts. He raised a hand to his comm as he watched.
“Movement spotted, be careful.”
He muted it again to refocus as the dark flash moved again. Tracking it closely with his Firepuncher, he kept his finger on the trigger. After a long pause, both sides waiting for the other to move, the figure lunged. The commando droid leapt towards him, vibroblade flashing in its hand.
He fired but it got close much faster than he was expecting and twisted out of the way. As it moved around him, it slashed out, forcing him to dodge to the side. He hissed when he felt the tip of the blade catch in a gap in his armour, but quickly ignored it in favour of turning to raise his rifle again. He recovered just moments before the droid did, getting another shot off as soon as it straightened to face him again. Its head snapped back and it crumpled to the ground.
Panting with the sudden adrenaline surge, he put a hand to his side, briefly inspecting it to find it bleeding sluggishly. It would be fine until he got back to the ship. Provided nothing else jumped out at him.
As the thought crossed his mind, another dark flash passed across his periphery. He snapped his head over but saw nothing. Gripping his rifle tight to halt the subtle trembles starting up in his hands, his eyes scanned the trees. When he found nothing, he swallowed thickly, trying to shove down the sudden strange dread growing in him.
He began to head back to the rendezvous, but was stopped again by another dark blur rushing past. Raising his Firepuncher again as he snapped to attention, he scanned the trees, a little desperately this time. He was being ridiculous, he’d faced plenty of commandos before.
He whipped around at another flash, finger tightening on the trigger, only a lifetime of trigger discipline preventing him from pulling it. They were surrounding him this time, somehow eluding his sharp eyes. He was caught in an unfamiliar position, and he hated it.
When Hunter found Crosshair, it was clear his brother was panicking. His head whipped around at the trees surrounding him, as if trying to find something that wasn’t there. His breathing was coming fast and ragged, and he could hear his heart racing. He held his Firepuncher ready, occasionally raising it as he turned. Hunter tried to approach quietly and carefully, concerned when he wasn’t immediately spotted.
“Hey, Cross.” Hunter cringed when Crosshair whipped the rifle around to him, keeping it level with his head. He could see the minute trembles in his hands and smell the fear radiating off him. He wished he could see his face, get a better read on him, but part of him wasn’t sure he could handle the look of pure fear he was sure was hidden underneath. One that never belonged on Crosshair.
“Don’t move.” Crosshair hissed.
Hunter kept his hands where Crosshair could see them, speaking gently. “What’s going on, vod’ika?”
His head darted to look away for a moment before he adjusted the grip on his rifle and faced Hunter again. “There’s something here.”
Hunter tilted his head to make it clear that he was listening for something. After a long pause, he shook his head. “There’s nothing here. Just us.”
Crosshair shook his head vehemently. “No, I know there is. I see them.”
He whipped away again to aim between some trees to his left. Hunter’s eyes followed and saw nothing, not even the flash of something ducking out of sight. But Crosshair seemed convinced, and if there was anything you could trust, it was Crosshair’s vision.
“What do you see?”
Crosshair lowered the Firepuncher, but continued to scan the area for a long moment before answering with a frustrated hiss. “I don’t- Something.”
Hunter nodded, understanding blooming in him. If there was something else you could always trust, it was Hunter’s senses, especially with the way Crosshair was moments away from hyperventilating. Something was clearly going on with him, he was compromised somehow. Hunter considered comming Tech, but held off until he could get Crosshair to calm down. He didn’t want to lose his head here.
He began trying to look his brother over as well as he could from a distance. “Did something happen? Are you hurt?”
Crosshair motioned vaguely to the side, continuing his fruitless search. Hunter could hear his gloves squeaking as the grip on his Firepuncher tightened impossibly. He glanced over to where he’d motioned and spotted a dead commando droid. A blaster hole burned perfectly centre in its head, its vibroblade sat beside it. Sniffing the air, he caught the faint whiff of something off about the blade, under the metallic blood and burnt metal, but he couldn’t place it.
He ignored it for now, refocusing on his brother, who needed his help here and now. “Crosshair.” He called, waiting until he turned to face him. “You need to breathe, you’re going to pass out.”
Crosshair shook his head again, a nervous sound rising in his throat. “No, I-” He swallowed thickly when something caught his attention.
Hunter called his name, waiting until he had his attention again. “There’s nothing there, Crosshair. You were tagged with something, you’re compromised. Once you calm down, we can get you to Tech and he’ll sort it out. Alright?”
“So, I’m seeing things?”
Hunter nodded. “Yeah, but we’ll figure it out.”
Crosshair stared at him for a long moment, chest heaving. His hand shook a he raised his Firepuncher, aiming at Hunter’s chest. “How do I know you’re real then?”
At least he believed him. Hunter let out a long breath. “Nothing else you’ve seen has stuck around, has it? Or spoken to you?”
Crosshair’s hands trembled. He glanced over Hunter’s shoulder briefly before snapping back. “I haven’t let them, but they’ve been waiting. Now you’re distracting me and they’re going to-” Crosshair cut himself off when he whipped the Firepuncher to the side and fired. Hunter tried not to flinch too hard, staring wide-eyed at the smoking hole in the tree before looking back at Crosshair as he returned his aim to Hunter.
“Crosshair, I’m your brother, why would I try to hurt you?”
“You wouldn’t.” Crosshair breathed.
Hunter nodded encouragingly. “Exactly. I’m trying to help you. You just need to put the gun down. It’s alright.”
The rifle lowered slightly, but he seemed reluctant to let go. “They won’t leave me alone.” Hunter’s heart broke at the sheer vulnerability in his little brother’s voice. He waited patiently as he seemed to wrestle with himself, gaze darting to the side again before refocusing, seeming to use Hunter as a visual anchor even if he didn’t entirely trust it. “How do I know you’re real?”
Hunter thought it over carefully. The hallucinations seemed to be mostly visual, at least, that was what seemed to be bothering Crosshair the most. They were staying just out of his reach. “If you can touch me, I must be real, right? You can trust that.”
Crosshair hesitated before nodding cautiously. Hunter held a hand out to his brother, stopping when he flinched back. He just held it there, not moving any closer and keeping his other hand visible by his side.
Slowly, Crosshair inched forward, rifle lowering to his side. When he got close, he lifted his trembling hand towards Hunter’s steady one. Before they touched, Crosshair’s head whipped to the side again, his breath hitching at whatever he saw. He swallowed, hesitated, then seemed to make his decision as his hand shot forward into Hunter’s.
The touch seemed to do it. As soon as he finally had a solid connection to something tangible, Crosshair crumpled into Hunter’s arms. He held his brother close, squeezing tightly as Crosshair burrowed himself into the arms of his big brother. He buried his face in Hunter’s shoulder, hiding from whatever his mind was telling him was lingering nearby.
Hunter carefully lowered them to sit on the ground. He muttered quiet words of reassurance, exaggerating his steady breathing for Crosshair to match, his own stuttering and rapid as he broke down. His whole body trembled and his fingers dug into the plates of Hunter’s armour where he clung tightly.
After long minutes, his breathing finally began to even out, following Hunter’s example. When he deemed him calm enough, Hunter murmured softly to him.
“I’m going to comm the others to come get us now.” Crosshair tensed at the idea. Hunter squeezed him back. “I’ll let you know when they get here, be your sign of what’s real. My senses are never wrong, yeah?”
Neither was Crosshair’s vision, usually, but Hunter hoped he’d let himself cling to the comfort he was offering. To his relief, Crosshair relaxed just a little and nodded.
Slowly, Hunter raised his hand to his comm. “Tech, Wrecker, we’re just a few klicks south of Crosshair’s original position. Meet us here.”
He got an affirmative from Tech. He gave Crosshair a reassuring squeeze when he tensed at the sudden voices in his comm.
“Sarge! We thought you were dead!”
Tech felt the need to correct him. “Wrecker was worried you were dead. What is wrong?”
“Crosshair’s been compromised, some sort of hallucinogen or something. I found him panicking and seeing things. Just managed to talk him down.”
“Aw, don’t worry, Crossy! We’ll look out for ya!” Hunter ignored how wrong it felt to need to do so for Crosshair. For Wrecker to need to do so for Crosshair.
“We will be there shortly.”
Hunter gave an affirmative then cut off the call. He refocused his attention to Crosshair.
It took only a few minutes for the other two to arrive, approaching from the north. Hunter quietly let Crosshair know, his brother still refusing to lift his head from where he had it hidden. Hunter turned his attention to their brothers.
He nodded towards the fallen droid. “There’s something off about the knife the droid that attacked him had, smells off. It must have nicked him, but I haven’t found where yet.”
At that, Crosshair shifted, grabbing Hunter’s hand to move it to a small gap in the armour on his side. Hunter huffed, a small smile on his face. He looked back at Tech and Wrecker. “Found it.” He tried to look at it as well as he could in his position, and didn’t see any active bleeding.
Tech rolled his eyes with mild amusement before leaving to find the vibroblade. While he did that, Wrecker crouched nearby, bucket resting on his head, revealing his concerned face.
“Hey, Cross. Sorry about what happened.”
Crosshair mumbled something against Hunter’s shoulder. Neither of them caught what it was, but Wrecker smiled anyway.
“Hey, Tech’s gonna want to look you over. Can we get your bucket off? So we can get a proper look at you.”
Crosshair tensed, mulling the idea over. He seemed to agree that it would be necessary, so he reluctantly lifted his head from Hunter’s shoulder, grip tightening on Hunter’s armour as the world around them came back into view. He cringed away from Wrecker’s reaching hands, which paused midair as Hunter reassured him, before nodding to Wrecker to try again.
Crosshair blinked as the helmet was pulled off. He eyed Wrecker warily before his eyes suddenly darted somewhere over his shoulder, body tensing and breathing picking up. His eyes scanned their surroundings frantically for something that wasn’t there. Hunter squeezed him groundingly while Wrecker ducked into his view.
“Hey, Cross. You’re okay.”
Crosshair shook his head vehemently, eyes wide. Behind him, Tech began to return to them. Hunter held a hand out to subtly motion him to stop as the movement caught Crosshair’s eye, his panic growing. Tech froze, waiting with a watchful eye.
Wrecker continued to try to talk to Crosshair. “It’s alright, we’ve got your back. You can relax.”
Crosshair’s wary gaze returned to Wrecker, scrutinizing him, looking for any faults to say he wasn’t real. That he couldn’t trust him.
“Wrecker’s real.” Hunter murmured gently. “Remember what we talked about? My senses are never wrong, I’ll tell you what’s real. Wrecker’s real. You’re okay, Cross’ika.”
Crosshair let out a shuddering breath, eyes darting to the side before returning to Wrecker. Reluctantly, he unlatched a hand from Hunter and reached over to Wrecker, who made no move towards him lest he spook his brother further. When his hand met solid plastoid armour, he let out another breath, relaxing slightly with it.
Wrecker watched him encouragingly, putting his hand over Crosshair’s. “Yeah, Hunter’s got watch. We can trust Hunter, right?”
Crosshair nodded a little hesitantly. He seemed to be relaxing when his head whipped to the side, eyes widening. Before either of them could react, he returned his face to Hunter’s shoulder, hiding in the one place that had proven safe and secure this entire time. Where he knew what was real. A panicked sob escaped him, his brothers’ hearts breaking with it.
Giving him a moment to calm down, the trembling gradually slowing once more, Hunter motioned for Tech to approach. Once he was crouched beside Wrecker, Hunter spoke quietly to Crosshair.
“Tech’s here too. Do you want to see him?”
Crosshair hesitated then shook his head, unwilling to risk it again.
“Do you want to touch him? For proof.” Wrecker offered. “You don’t even have to open your eyes, I’ve gotcha.”
Another brief hesitation before Crosshair nodded again.
Wrecker met Tech’s eyes before he made any attempt to move Crosshair. He sent him a look, nodding expectantly to Crosshair. Tech’s brow furrowed before his face flashed with realisation.
“Ah, yes, I am right here, Crosshair. Wrecker will move your hand to me now.”
With that verbal confirmation of existence, Wrecker carefully pried the hand grasping his armour off, Crosshair’s breath hitching at the loss of an anchor. When he pressed it to Tech, Crosshair immediately latched onto the familiar armour, arm brushing the pouch just below it.
Satisfied that Crosshair was settled, Tech addressed the group. “I ran a scan on the knife, and it appears the Separatists have been experimenting on new weapons again. I have it for samples, and once I get a sample of blood from Crosshair, I will be able to manufacture something to help. Or at the very least determine a timeframe for when this should wear off. Many of the components are familiar, just not in combination.”
Hunter hummed. “Back to the ship then?” Tech nodded. Hunter looked down at Crosshair, giving him a squeeze. “You ready to move, Cross’ika?”
Crosshair whined, grip tightening on his brothers. Tech lurched as he was pulled closer, almost landing on top of Crosshair before Wrecker caught him.
Hunter considered their options. They could bring the ship closer, but the likelihood of stressing Crosshair out with it was too high for his liking. Keeping the hallucinations at bay, and keeping him calm and comfortable were their priorities. He looked up at Wrecker, meeting his concerned eyes.
“Could Wrecker carry you? We really need to move.” He hated pressuring him with that, but it was true. They were still in enemy territory, and if they were testing this kind of weapon here, leaving them sitting ducks like this was probably the goal.
Eventually, Crosshair nodded. Taking his hand back from Tech, Wrecker carefully positioned himself to make the transition as seamless as possible. Despite agreeing to it, Crosshair still resisted, breath picking up again when he caught a glimpse of something mid transition. He froze for a moment in panic before his mind seemed to come to a decision and he just about dove into Wrecker’s arms.
“There’s nothin there, Crossy. You’re alright.” Wrecker murmured as he adjusted his hold, letting Crosshair hide his face in his shoulder. He frowned at how his little brother trembled, but stayed steady for him. He rose to his feet, holding him close. As they prepared to leave, Tech picked up Crosshair’s abandoned Firepuncher, attaching it to his back. Hunter did the same with his helmet, clipping it to his belt.
The trip back to the ship went smoothly. Occasionally, a panicked noise would escape Crosshair, but he didn’t have another panic attack. Wrecker remained his pillar of stability as they moved, letting him cling and murmuring an endless stream of reassurances and encouragement. Tech kept his head down, focused on his datapad, fingers moving rapidly across it the only visible sign of his worry.
Hunter remained at point, leading the way despite how difficult it was to tear his eyes from his brothers. Seeing Crosshair like this had shaken them all to their core. He was their stubborn, unshakable lookout, he watched their backs with unrelenting care. Nothing got past him. If anything got to him, he never showed it outside of picking fights or going to a range, and he certainly wasn’t fighting now. Sure, he could be a clingy bastard when the moment struck, but even then, he never sought it out himself so directly. Right now, it seemed like he’d shatter without it.
But they would figure this out. They had him relatively calm, they were headed to the Marauder, Tech was already researching. He would be able to trust his eyes again. He would be fine.
When they reached the Marauder, Wrecker settled himself and Crosshair onto his bunk, letting him know quietly where they were and what was happening. Crosshair occasionally responded, but mostly just stayed quiet and tense.
Tech approached the bed with a needle in hand. “I need to get a blood sample from you now, Crosshair. Can I do that?” He asked evenly.
After a moment, Crosshair unlatched one hand from Wrecker and stretched his arm out. Tech took it, quietly announcing his every move. Crosshair flinched when he felt the needle, burying his face further into Wrecker, who gave him a comforting squeeze. When it was done, Tech kept pressure on the site until it stopped bleeding then let him reattach himself to Wrecker.
Hunter watched closely from the other bunk as Tech attached the blood vial to a scanner for analysis. While that was working, he returned to Crosshair, meeting Hunter’s eyes briefly. Hunter sat forward, ready to intervene.
“Crosshair, I understand that you might be averse to it currently, but I need you to lift your head so that I can conduct a thorough examination of your condition. I will endeavour to be as fast as possible.”
There was a long pause after that, only broken by a hitch in Crosshair’s breathing before he slowly lifted his head to look at Tech. Almost immediately, his eyes darted to the side, but Tech was quick catch him and gently guide his head to look at him.
He immediately noted how large Crosshair’s pupils were before bringing up a light to shine in them. He again talked through every step of his examination, never leaving anything a surprise. Crosshair still flinched at the light.
It seemed to be going relatively smoothly, Tech managing to redirect Crosshair’s attention whenever he got distracted, until partway through answering a series of questions. Tech had him describe what he was seeing when he trailed off, eyes widening, focused on something towards the gunner’s mount. His breathing picked up, and Tech tried to redirect him, but went unheard.
Suddenly, Crosshair kicked out towards Tech, earning a shout of surprise from Hunter and Wrecker. Tech went down at the sudden strike to the stomach, landing in a heap.
“Crossy, you’re okay! It’s alright!” Wrecker tried as Crosshair began squirming in his grip. He managed to twist free, Wrecker not wanting to hurt him while he was so desperate to escape. He slid to his feet, eyes darting around the space before his hand went to his leg holster. Hunter cursed himself for forgetting about it as a blaster bolt was sent into the wall of the ship.
Crosshair seemed to falter then, unsure what to do. He lowered the blaster, but didn’t let go. Hunter shifted to get into his line of sight, but the movement just caused Crosshair to flinch violently, backing away until he hit a wall. His chest heaved with panicked breaths as he pressed himself against it. His eyes darted between the three of them and a few other empty spaces.
Hunter sent a quick glance to the other two. Tech remained where he was on the ground, recovered from the kick but not wanting to spook Crosshair by getting up. Wrecker remained glued to the bunk, eyes wide with fear and worry as he watched their little brother panic.
In the best place to do anything, Hunter tried again, this time staying where he was, hands held up placatingly.
“Crosshair, Cross’ika, you’re okay. It’s just us, whatever else you’re seeing isn’t real.”
Crosshair’s eyes darted to him momentarily before darting away, shaking his head, swallowing nervously before he spoke. “No! No, you’re lying. You’re lying.”
He began to repeat that over and over like a nervous tic.
Hunter’s brow furrowed. “Who’s saying I’m lying? There’s no one else here, Cross’ika, just your brothers.”
He didn’t miss how the trembling started up again in full force. His eyes moved from Hunter to an empty space near him, as if he was now listening to someone else speak. Concern only grew in him that the hallucinations were now more than just visual.
Crosshair seemed to hesitate, unsure what to say. His grip tightened on his blaster, but it wasn’t raised again. Seeing the how conflicted he was, Hunter tried again to get through to him.
“Look at where you are, Cross’ika. You’re on the Marauder. Why would anyone else be on here with you apart from us?”
Crosshair seemed to consider this before his eyes widened, darting to another part of the bunks, blaster raising with it. Before Hunter could protest, it went off again, leaving a burn in the frame of his bunk. That didn’t seem to do anything to calm Crosshair as his face paled when whatever he was aiming for didn’t fall.
“Why’re-? They need- Out!” He spoke in short bursts between rapid breaths. “Stop looking!” He gasped. He pressed himself even tighter into the wall, cornered, unable to escape whatever was tormenting him. He was trapped.
Hunter slowly raised his hands where Crosshair could see them, pausing when that drew his attention. “Remember what we talked about, Cross? You can trust my senses, they never lie.” Crosshair swallowed thickly between hyperventilating breaths, but his eyes remained fixed on Hunter. “I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. We’re safe, you’re safe.”
Crosshair’s eyes darted away again, blaster audibly shaking. “I don’t… Can’t…”
Hunter tried to smooth the concern from his features, opening himself to his brother. “Remember what else we said? If you can touch me, I must be real, yeah?”
“I-” He studied Hunter closely, shaking his head. “Don’t come near me.” The demand was quiet and breathless. If he didn’t slow down soon, he’d pass out.
Hunter nodded. “Alright, I’ll stay here. No one’s coming near you.” After brief consideration, he began to slowly lower himself down to sit on the ground, making himself small and unthreatening. “I’ll just be right here.”
Crosshair frowned as he watched, confusion flashing across his face. Thinking again for a moment, Hunter nudged Tech who lay beside him, muttering quietly to him as Crosshair’s gaze was drawn away again. “He’s hearing things.”
“Yes, I got that.” Came Tech’s quiet reply. Hunter sent him a look. Crosshair needed something real to cut through the fake. If anyone could talk that much, it was Tech.
Tech got the hint and spoke up, voice even as he drew their little brother’s attention. “Have I told you about the fascinating plant life on this planet? The lush forests are unique to this part of the Outer Rim.” Without waiting for a response, Tech continued on. He spoke in a constant, even stream, spouting all sorts of facts about the planet that he hadn’t had the chance to tell his brothers just yet.
Crosshair’s brow furrowed as he glanced between Tech and whatever else he was seeing. To everyone else’s unending relief, he slowly began to slide down the wall, curling up against it as Tech’ voice cut through more and more of whatever he was hearing. His expression remained fearful and his body remained tightly coiled, but Tech’s talking was clearly grounding, and he was no longer hyperventilating. His breathing remained ragged, but he was no longer about to pass out.
The sound of the blaster clattering to the ground had everyone sagging with relief. Crosshair now sat with his eyes trained on Tech, occasionally tensing and glancing at something before looking back, chest hitching. His legs were pulled up, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees, similar to how he would often hide as a cadet whenever things got to be too much.
Hunter found himself relaxing a little as Tech talked, sitting back to lean against the bunk behind him. On his bunk, Wrecker did the same, relaxing back as his eyes flicked between Tech and where he could barely see Crosshair.
Hunter found his own eyes drifting towards Tech as he spoke, until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Moving slowly, he looked over to see Crosshair beginning to shuffle away from the wall. He met Hunter’s eyes and tensed, eyes widening. Hunter offered him a gentle smile before looking away again, not missing how he seemed to relax as soon as eyes were off him.
A few more minutes passed of the rest of the Batch waiting patiently for Crosshair to battle with himself and get closer. Once he was close enough to see them all clearly, sitting just out of reach, his eyes widened once again as he took in all three of them, suddenly unsure of what to do or why he’d convinced himself this was alright.
Hunter caught his eye and slowly extended a hand out to him, mirroring the moment in the forest. Crosshair eyed it warily, glancing down at Tech who he’d have to scoot past to reach it. With a bracing breath, he reached out to Hunter, not moving from his spot. Hunter felt his heart simultaneously break and swell at the offer and trust.
Slowly and oh so carefully, he made his way over, stopping just close enough for their hands to meet. This time, Crosshair’s trembling seemed to grow with the contact, and Hunter worried he was about to be thrown into another episode. Instead, the grip tightened almost painfully as he was pulled closer. Hunter followed until he sat right in front of Crosshair. Finally in reach, Crosshair buried himself in the proven safety of his oldest brother’s arms. Hunter held him close as he hid his face in his shoulder again.
“You’re alright, Cross’ika. I’ve got you.”
Crosshair shook with silent sobs.
Hunter looked over at the other two, nodding for Tech to continue his work on the toxin while Wrecker just stayed on the bunk, fiddling with Lula. Tech rose silently, quickly distracting himself with the scanners and data.
From the bunk, Wrecker watched as Crosshair slowly calmed. Hunter still felt him trembling in his arms, muscles tense and ready to bolt as he clung to the one thing he knew to be real. After a few minutes, Wrecker held up Lula to Hunter, desperate to help. He shook his head, mouthing “later” when he looked downtrodden at the answer. He nodded dejectedly and sat up to watch Tech work, sitting the doll in his lap.
That was how they stayed for a long time. Tech worked quietly at one side of the room. Wrecker sat on his bunk, eyes flicking between his brothers every few minutes. Hunter stayed on the floor with Crosshair, holding him close and whispering quiet reassurances, trying to chase the hallucinations away as much as possible. Crosshair never stopped shaking, his muscles stayed tense, his breathing stayed fast, and he occasionally cringed away from something, but there were no more sudden outbursts.
This gave them all plenty of time to think. As he sat there with Crosshair, Hunter’s mind raced over everything that had happened. Crosshair relied so heavily on his eyesight, not just because it was superior to most other beings in the galaxy and it was what he was made for, but because he was the team’s lookout, he watched over them and they all trusted what he saw implicitly. Messing with that trust would shake Crosshair to the core.
But something bothered Hunter about the reactions he was having. They would expect him to be aggravated, lash out, of course, maybe be a little more paranoid than usual about what he saw, but going so far as to shoot blindly before he fully understood what he was seeing was never a Crosshair move. And the sheer panic this brought out in him… Hunter had seen Crosshair panic the first time he’d been faced with a flashbang, blinding him for two days, but the panic he experienced then was nowhere near this. And it only seemed to be getting worse with time, not better.
He glanced up when Tech approached, sitting on the bunk Hunter had left. He held a device with several small vials sticking out of it, with two currently mixing something. They all braced when he began to speak.
“I have discovered what I believe the intended effects of the toxin are, and a potential treatment.”
They all let out a collective breath, both at that news and that Crosshair only tensed briefly at the sudden voice before relaxing back into Hunter.
“What’s it do?” Wrecker whispered.
Tech’s mouth pressed into a thin line, his eyes never leaving Crosshair. “It appears to be a powerful hallucinogen with mind altering effects. Specifically, it targets areas of the brain associated with fear responses and heightens them. Unfortunately, Crosshair’s already generally heightened paranoia and fear have very much taken such an effect to the extreme very quickly. I am quite frankly amazed we have been able to talk him down twice. Of course, it would be devastating for anyone to experience.”
Hunter let out a slightly shaky breath of his own at that news, giving Crosshair another squeeze for both their comfort. Even Crosshair knew he was one of the most paranoid people they knew, for better and worse, and he owned it. To have that completely turned on him, to leave him such an unstable mess all for some pointless war…
He blinked up when Wrecker asked another question. “How long’s it last? Can we help him?”
Tech adjusted his goggles and held up the device. “The components were simple to break down and a prototype treatment was relatively simple to manufacture. It is by no means perfect, but it should prove effective at relieving the worst of the effects. The toxin should stop naturally in a day, however I am unsure how long any lingering effects may last. It is a very unorthodox toxin. I will not be able to give an accurate estimate until treatment begins.”
Hunter sent him a grim smile of thanks. “That’s fine, Tech. How long until it’s ready?”
As if on cue, the light on the device flashed.
“Now.” Tech said, removing a vial and loading it into a hypo. “He will need a second dose in six hours. This one should stop the worst of the symptoms and help him begin to regulate again.”
He shuffled closer to join them on the floor before pausing, glancing at Hunter. Hunter stared back, both unsure of how to proceed. Hunter gave Crosshair a squeeze.
“Hey, Cross. Tech’s got something to help stop this. You’ll feel a pinch and then we just need to wait for the medicine to work. Sound good?”
Crosshair shifted, a tentative sound escaping him. He seemed to be thinking for a long moment before giving a small nod. Hunter smiled.
“Great. I’m just going to have to move you a little. There we go.” Crosshair was reluctant, but let Hunter move him to expose enough of his neck for Tech to inject the hypo. Despite the warning and agreeing, Crosshair flinched violently at the sensation, almost knocking Tech back again before Hunter caught him, pulling him closer.
“You’re alright, Cross’ika. It’ll be fine now.” There was a small whimper before Crosshair returned to his place in Hunter’s arms.
Nothing seemed to change for a long while. At some point, Tech left to get the Marauder in the air and begin typing up a report on the new Separatist weapon. Wrecker, despite being exhausted from the recent mission, stayed awake to watch over his brothers on the floor, Hunter appreciating the company. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle Crosshair like this alone. His heart had already broken ten times over in the past couple of hours.
He was going through his quiet reassurances, hardly needing to think about them anymore, when Crosshair shifted, his muscles finally beginning to relax. Hunter couldn’t hold back the relieved grin when his little brother began to slowly sink properly into his arms, relaxing against him. He had to blink back tears when he let out a soft sigh as he settled.
“You feeling better, Cross’ika?” He muttered, earning an almost immediate nod.
“Aw, you tired, Crossy?” Wrecker asked quietly, Crosshair only jolting a little at the sound of his voice. When he nodded again, Hunter looked down to see his head turned to face out a little, still mostly hidden, but enough to show his eyes closed and face beginning to relax into sleep. Being constantly on edge had left him utterly drained.
“Want to join Wrecker on the bunk? It’ll be a lot more comfortable up there.”
Crosshair nodded, letting Hunter help him to his feet after he tensed with a hitched breath when he went to pick him up. He still didn’t open his eyes as he let Hunter guide him along. Wrecker made sure to announce himself before touching Crosshair. He flinched a little at the touch, but quickly latched on as he was coaxed into Wrecker’s welcoming arms.
“Wanna hold Lula? She helps me when I’m scared.” Crosshair didn’t answer as he settled against Wrecker, but accepted Lula when she was pressed into his arms, leaving her squished between the pair.
“Get some rest, Cross’ika, we’re not going anywhere.” Hunter said softly before retreating into the cockpit to check on Tech.
“I don’t know that that’s a good idea just yet.” Hunter crossed his arms, watching Crosshair as he put on his armour. Crosshair rolled his eyes.
“I’m fine, Hunter.”
“You refused to go into the fresher this morning because something was in there and wouldn’t leave.”
Crosshair huffed and avoided his eyes, but kept donning his armour, teeth clenching around his toothpick. His fingers moved nimbly over the buckles like they had a thousand times before.
“I propose a solution.” Tech said, appearing next to Hunter. “As Crosshair is still feeling the lingering effects of the toxin, I will join him as lookout.” Hunter frowned, but before he could say anything, Tech continued. “This is a demolition, my being down there is not vital to the mission. Keeping Crosshair’s paranoia from getting the better of him, however, is something I can do.”
Hunter looked between his brothers, both equally as unyielding, Crosshair more so now that he had support. And he didn’t even protest Tech’s comment on his needing help. He sighed. “Fine, but if anything happens…”
“We know the drill.” Crosshair’s toothpick bounced off Hunter’s chestplate. Hunter didn’t miss how his eyes flicked briefly away before darting back. Tech had said the lingering effects should wear off within the week, but that didn’t mean any of them had to like that they lingered at all.
The tension was broken when Wrecker burst into the bunks. “We’re about to leave hyperspace.” He announced, eyes lighting up when he spotted Crosshair armoured up. “Crossy’s joining?”
Crosshair scowled. “Don’t call me that.”
“Tech'll be keeping an eye on him.” Hunter said as their brother crossed the room.
Wrecker gave Crosshair a playful shove. “I’ll make this explosion extra special for ya, don’t you worry!”
“Why would I-?” Wrecker cut him off with another shove, earning one in retaliation. Hunter shook his head at their antics, nodding back towards the cockpit.
“Come on, let’s get down there before Gonky somehow gets involved.”
“I would prefer that the ship remains in one piece.” Tech agreed as he turned to join him, leaving their little brothers to squabble.