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Sunlight is what wakes her. Waking is strange, not blinking into a dull, bare gray room that’s more a prison than an actual room. Something Emerie never realized until coming to the Marauder, seeing the ship, her family’s home for the first time ever.
The air is fresh and warm enough they don’t even need blankets, though that’s probably just as much her brothers. Crosshair is sprawled against her legs, and Wrecker’s rolled flat on his back, though somehow still managed to get half an arm under her. Tech is at her back, and Hunter is… somewhere right nearby, somewhat awake, she realizes as she slowly pries her eyes open.
She didn’t know her brothers slept in cuddle piles. It’s different. But it also feels sort of nice. Another one of the many things she never truly realized she was missing.
“Sleep well?” Hunter murmurs, blinking sleepily at her.
“Mhm.” Emerie wiggles free of the others, setting Straw-Lula beside the big, real Lula, and sitting up. “Did you?”
“Well,” he confirms. “Come on, Echo and Omega are up. We should probably hit the entire island. You have a lot to see.”
“Food’s here!” Omega yells, and the boys are out of bed in a heartbeat.
“Only thing that wakes up Wrecker is food,” Hunter adds with a snicker. “Someone says food from a klick away, and he’s already outta bed.”
Emerie finds herself smiling, even if she doesn’t laugh. It’s a strange feeling, too.
They do scramble out to eat. Apparently, some of the island’s inhabitants brought them some food, which is normal for them. They like her brothers. At least it means they’ve had somewhere to stay all this time. People to back them up. What she was most afraid of leaving the Empire for.
Wrecker does eat. A lot. Omega says she’s heading out to get some things form other places in the island, something about wanting some real, creative food other than ration bars.
None of these are ration bars. They’re fruits.
“Don’t eat to many of the sweet thingies,” Crosshair tells her gleefully, “You’ll get high. Which is fun, but no one else thinks it’s fun.”
“Because it’s not fun, Crosshair,” Echo tells him flatly. “When you get high on sugar, you start literally climbing walls, and that is not an expression.”
“Climbing walls?” Emerie squeaks.
“Our brothers are ridiculous,” Echo tells her with a laugh, patting her shoulder.
“I can tell,” Emerye tries weakly.
“Did you sleep well?” Echo asks.
“I did,” she fumbles, “Thank you.” These people are so… kind. It’s like Omega, but different in its own right and a way she doesn’t understand. All of them are different, but they love each other so much. They don’t… force each other to do things or be a certain way. They’re just… free. And Emerie wants to be free, but the concept terrifies her enough, she can hardly appreciate it.
“Ya don’t have to be super formal here,” Wrecker tells her, elbowing her arm.
“Uh.” She rubs the somewhat sore area and blinks at him, confused.
“It’s how he shows affection,” Crosshair supplies for his twin, “It’s weird.”
Wrecker doesn’t even argue, to her honest astonishment. He just laughs right along with it. And Emerie finds herself slowly smiling. “When we’re done, I’ll take ya to the beach!” he offers cheerfully, “There’s so much stuff to see!”
“You have a beach?” Emerie asks. Seas can be dangerous. She knows oceans can be dangerous, and has heard a little of some of the wild, terrifying creatures live out there. There’s a reason she was never permitted outside the Facility on any of these places. “It’s safe there?”
Wrecker laughs again. “It’s safe everywhere! Pabu’s the best place in the galaxy!” And then he’s elbowing his twin again. “Even if Crosshair’s still miserable.”
The said future-sniper just sticks his tongue out at him. “I’d take you to some of the cooler food stands,” Crosshair adds, “But Omega says you’ve never had anything other than ration bars, and might take some time getting used to.”
“We… all had that at first,” Tech interjects, “After leaving Kamino.”
Talking to him, the most, is strange. Or maybe it’s just that the other pair of twins have basically dragged her in and are halfway smothering her as she tries figuring out where in the galaxy she belongs. It should be an easy thing to understand, but it simply isn’t. Is there something wrong with her? Or is adjustment lag normal? She deeply wishes that was someone she knew how to speak to.
These people aren’t Hemlock. She doesn’t need to be afraid. But the fears still never go away.
She finishes eating, noticing the idle chatter flying around is a bit strained on everyone’s parts. Like they’re all trying to get used to each other again, and her. Perhaps it isn’t just her, but she’s still… uncomfortable. Omega was easy. She wishes she was here, but… there is a lot of the island to see.
Emerie lets the twins drag her down to the ocean, Wrecker diving head-first into the water entirely unafraid.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” she asks, heart skipping a few beats as she watches, wide-eyed.
“Nah!” he cackles floating over the water line. “Come on! We’ll teach ya how to swim.”
“Um. Okay.” That couldn’t be a skill that hurts, right? Emerie, with great reluctance, carefully wades into the water and Crosshair pokes her arms into what he insists is a how-to-swim position. It does seem to work, though, and it’s strange that she’s… mildly enjoying it.
Emerie hasn’t been in water since… ever since Hemlock took her. And she doesn’t remember much of anything before.
“Are you always this tense?” her youngest brother asks.
“I can’t help it,” she confesses, quiet, “I was raised by Hemlock. He would constantly warn me of danger.”
The twins exchange glances. Emerie finds herself somewhat glad she can’t understand the meaning. But it also makes her feel very, sorely left out. This is all so new and overwhelming. “C’mon!” Wrecker calls, plunging deeper, “It’s great out here.”
Still with worried reluctance, Emerie follows. But she does trust them.
***
“Come on, you can get in!” Crosshair calls, waving from where he’s in the ocean halfway up his chest. Entirely unafraid.
Even seeing the ocean makes her heart race and her mind whirl, thinking through a long list of awful, deadly creatures that could spawn from the water at any moment. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“C’mon, Emerie,” Wrecker soothes, patting her shoulder, “Ya don’t need to be afraid. It’s just water.”
Which she knows, logically. However… “Can we be… completely certain there is not something we missed?” Emerie queries anxiously.
“If not, someone’ll get bitten,” Crosshair says, “You could get a crab on your toe.”
“Not helping, Crosshair!” Wrecker scowls.
“Good.”
Seriously? Why is he like this?
“Look,” Wrecker tries, “Even if we did get hurt, we’d have a lot of fun! Scars aren’t something to be ashamed of. They’re just a mark of all the cool adventures we’ve ever had!”
Emerie truly wishes she could get her mind to accept that. Even if he’s being a little… wild. “I understand what both of you are saying,” Emerie replies, still hesitant and afraid. “It is just that… even if I’m away from Hemlock. I keep hearing his voice.”
“They’re Hemlock’s fear,” Crosshair tells her, silver curls completely sopped against his face. He’s… adorable. Even if he’s sharp and a bit overwhelming or intense.
“Don’t be afraid, Emerie,” Wrecker promises, his still large hand squeezing her shoulder. “I’ll keep you safe. You just need to let go of your fear. Or play with it, it’s fun!”
“I have never… had ‘fun’ before,” Emerie says slowly. “Everything is for a point.”
“Well, the point is having fun,” Wrecker offers.
And Emerie trusts him, tries her best to, and jumps into the water after her little brothers.
***
She feels a lot better after the long splash in the ocean. It was terrifying, and she was panicking, but nothing happened, and Emerie feels her first real bits of relief at the freedom and knowledge that they’re free, and that all of Hemlock’s warnings were wrong.
Nothing unspeakably terrible will happen if she takes dares, if she walks in the wild where humans and countless other species across the galaxy live all the time. She lets go of her fear, and it’s an amazing feeling.
She doesn’t need to worry, and it will take time to peel away her fears, layer by layer, but she might actually make it work.
Hunter pulls her aside next to offer her a few… less ‘junk’ foods. “I know, Wrecker’s gonna want you to try everything cool right away,” he tells her with a small smile, “But I thought I should get you something healthier. A bit more like what you’re used to.”
“Oh. Uh.” Emerie blinks down at the bowl, still almost surprised to have a bowl she can see… real, actual plant food in. Was it washed was it – she can breathe. Humans lived in the wild on wild vegetables without processing and probably even cooking for thousands of years on many planets. “Thank you. You’re right. It’s nice to have something that isn’t purely sweet.”
Hunter doesn’t really laugh, but he does smile, even if they’re weighted in a way that makes him look far too old. “You should have seen them when we first started buying our own food. All they wanted was sugar.”
“And they weren’t fully aware of how unhealthy that is?”
“Oh, they were. Echo and Omega had to keep each other on leashes so no one would give into them.”
“That sounds…” difficult to imagine. Emerie can’t imagine anyone being willy to give a child what they requested, merely because they requested. But then again… Omega has been nothing but kind to her. It should not be this difficult. Omega is not Hemlock.
Somehow, Emerie needs to keep reminding herself.
“Interesting,” she settles.
“They can be wild, but they mean well.”
“I know.” It’s strange to breathe fresh air with all it’s warmness, freedom, and smells instead of the constant dark, cold, chemical stent Tantiss always provided. Everything about Pabu is jarring. And the wildness… is nice. “It… is nice to have a family and place to belong.”
“We’re just getting used to this, too,” Hunter tells her. “My brothers and I grew up together. We’ve never had a sister except Omega. And she’s kind of more like our mom.”
Emerie smiles as her heart surges with fondness. “Yes. She is.”
***
“This is really the worst time to mention what you two have been through,” Echo says at the dinner table. They’re eating outside, the sun setting in the distance and sky turning gold. “But we do need to talk about it at least a little. Omega told me a lot, and I could do with a bit from you.” He nods to Emerie, who freezes.
She knew what she was involved in, and that she really felt like she had no choice, but she was still hurting a lot of people. She could’ve said no, but he would’ve had her replaced. Doesn’t change that she saw all those other clones hurt, though.
“I’ll be happy to help however I can,” Emerie offers tentatively, which is the truth. Even if talking about Tantiss terrifies her.
“That’s good. We’ve been searching for that base a while, to no avail.”
“Sorry we weren’t able to get the coordinates or anything,” Omega offers. “All we’ve got is Nala Se’s datapad, but no matter what I’ve done with it, I still can’t get it to work.”
“I can attend to that matter,” Tech offers, head snapping up.
“I as well,” Emerie replies, “I am so far entirely unaware of a way to hack into these, but there may be something we can do.”
“If we can get it online,” Echo muses, “We should be able to pull more intel on Tantiss. It could have schematics, entry points. Maybe even the coordinates of the base itself.”
Actually, as afterthought… “However,” Emerie spells out slowly, “If we hack it, we will need to be careful. Hemlock may have installed a deletion backup.”
“That will not be a problem,” Tech replies, “I can find a way around it.”
Echo clears his throat. “You both,” he corrects, “Can find a way around it. Together.”
Emerie feels a little surge of hope. Tech is the one she hasn’t spent really any time with, both of them still getting used to the fact that they’re twins. Tech didn’t even know she existed a few days ago.
She would like to spend time with him, but this is a lot to take in at once. And neither is she certain that her brother wants to be with her. They do not even know her.
Emerie looks at her eldest brother, who smiles back at her reassuringly. “It’d be a good opportunity for you to work together,” he replies, “In case either of you have any difficulty.”
***
They do put their heads together and figure it out, the datapad sitting between them and with a few devices plugged into it that Tech insists should help. Emerie has never hacked anything before, but she’ll admit, she enjoys the technological details of it.
Her and Tech mostly talk technical details, and spiral into a few arguments over how they’re going to hack into it. Tech firmly insists he’s better, which Emerie was not arguing, thank you very much, and annoys her.
But nobody said having siblings would be easy, so she tolerates it.
“Can I ask you an… irrelevant, personal question?” Emerie asks shyly when the data is finally in front of them, safely bypassing the deletion program and all the encryptions on it.
“Possibly,” Tech replies shortly.
“We’re twins,” Emerie states tentatively, “I still don’t know how to feel about it. I have been alone my whole life.”
“Well, we are twins,” Tech answers vaguely. “Adapting to entirely new concepts and rapid change can be confusing and disorienting for everyone. Not that I am confused, naturally.”
Emerie, for her part, doesn’t really understand what he means by that. She met him yesterday. “Are you,” she ventures slowly, “Glad we met?”
“Naturally,” he starts, then pauses. “Well it is different than I imagined, yes, I am.”
“I’m really glad I met you – all of you,” Emerie tells him shyly.
Tech offers her a smile, which she returns. Neither are one to look someone in the eye beyond when strictly necessary, and this once, she finds herself deeply grateful to have met someone who understands.
Even if they… apparently… have a far more volatile relationship than she does with the rest of her brothers.
***
“How are things with you and your brothers?” Omega asks, one hand stroking Batcher even if she’s focusing on Emerie.
“It is… nice, I suppose. Different than anything I am used to.” Emerie hesitates. “But nice.”
Omega smiles brightly. “I’m glad to hear. I knew you’d fit right in. It’ll just take some time to adapt.”
“Tech told me that as well. It is a lot to take in, but I am really grateful you got me off Tantiss.”
Omega tugs her in for a one-armed hug. The gestures of affection are confusing to her, but still… nice? Emerie hugs her back. “You deserved so much better, Emerie.”
“I was still helping Hemlock.”
“You’re a kid trying to survive,” her sister replies firmly, “And I’m not gonna say your guild is unwarranted, but I hope you can find a way to accept and let it go.”
“I just need to get the clones I helped hurt out of there. They deserve to be somewhere safe, too.”
“We are gonna find Tantiss, Emerie. And we’re going to help get every one of our brothers to safety, I promise.” Her face falls, and Emerie remembers Fives. Echo’s twin, apparently. Who… no one knows what happened to, but it’s best to assume worst.
If Omega hadn’t been slowed down by her, if she made her move earlier, they could have escaped. Fives could still be alive.
“I’m sorry about Fives.”
“We’ll be okay,” Omega promises, but the way her face instantly falls at her brothers’ name says something entirely different.
And Emerie knows, naturally, that fives’ death wasn’t fully on her, despite feeling a small measure of responsibility. “Still. What happened to him wasn’t right. I just wish we could have gotten something about the coordinates.”
“Hemlock probably anticipated something like this. He’s kept it hidden, but there’s a way there. We’ll find it, or Anakin will.” Omega gives her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Maybe we can look over the files we did find? There could be something useful to us, even if they they’re just medical files. There’s got to be something about what they’re doing to those clones. Even if it’s just about… experiments.”
Yes. And Emerie is very much not prepared for what she will see, but this is still something they need to know. “I’ll help,” she promises, climbing up beside Omega and opening up the files.
Which is how she finds herself leaning on her sisters’ arm as she scrolls through her datapad.
“You too, Tech,” Omega calls out, motioning their other brother here over to sit on her other side. It’s… nice to know they’re working on the same thing. Even if Tech feels obviously challenged by her presence and is attempting to make a point at being better. As if it were some comparison.
She wakes up sometime later, maybe towards morning, just briefly, to realize they fell asleep and someone – probably Echo – dumped a blanket over all of them.
It really is nice to have a family.