Hi all, I know, another one. I swear this one is finished though. I just couldn't stop writing it, I'm in the proof reading stage right now so I'll put out chapters as I go through them.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything that has to do with Star Wars The Clone Wars. My original characters are my ocs.

Backstory: So I picked up this Shadow Clone Trooper from a local guy selling Star Wars stuff, it was him and two others. I named the other two but could not figure out a name for him, just a random number that popped into my head, 5837. He instantly came off as sullen but funny at time. (Yes I gave them names and personalities, I'm a nerd.) He stayed 5837 for like a month because I couldn't think of a name. I even got use to thinking of him as 5837. Me and my cousin even said he has a name but doesn't want anyone to know what it is. We tried to think of a name for him, but to no avail. Finally it came to me and how he got it, and then I had to write about it. So this is his story. Hope you enjoy. Bonded is on hiatus...

WARNING WARNING WARNING

AN: This story will have some things in it that could trigger some unhappy feelings in people. So, WARNING, this story contains bullying, name calling, abuse, murder, depression, and suicideal thoughts/actions, and blood. I think I covered it all.

The first dream he remembered was of a young woman. She had long golden hair and it flowed all around her face. Her eyes were as blue as the sky. She smiled at him and brushed her hair behind her ear. When he reached out to her he woke up.

—

They had done something to him to make him different. Different from the rest of the clones. He knew it, felt it, heard their whispers, they're thoughts of doubt, their fear. The Force was all around them, he could feel it. It was in the way he moved in training, how he could avoid a blow from another cadet, or beat the computer simulations over and over.

They knew he was different, and for that they made him the black sheep. They taunted him daily, their instructor did nothing to stop it. Their instructor knew something wasn't right as well. And what good was a trooper if he couldn't over come some teasing from fellow troopers? But it did little to help CT-5837 learn how to cope with the constant bullying he was receiving.

"You're just jealous because I'm better than all of you!" He shouted after they'd pushed him down after their morning training.

"Why would we be jealous of you? You're a freak!" The other cadet laughed. "5837 is a freak! Why would we want to be like him?"

They'd all laughed and pointed at him calling him a freak. He clamped his hands over his ears, reciting the regs manual to himself to drown out the names they called him and their laughter. And then he felt her. A strong presence, coming towards them. It felt warm and inviting, full of encouragement and something that he couldn't describe, didn't have a word for.

"What is going on here?" Her voice was calm but demanding.

All the cadets looked up at the Togruta, they didn't know what to say.

"This type of teasing will not be condoned. Go to the Mess hall and eat your lunch," She ordered them, calmly. "5837, come with me."

He got up and followed her, wiping tears on his sleeve. They walked to an empty infirmary room and she picked him up and sat him on the table.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked him.

"You're a Jedi," He said but kept his eyes down.

She lifted his chin so he would be forced to look at her.

"My name is Shaak Ti, yes I am a Jedi and I sense a great deal of pain within you, 5837," Her voice was soothing to him, it eased something of his distress.

He nodded and more tears welled up in his eyes. "They hate me,"

Shaak Ti sighed. "They do not understand you. Not like I do."

5837 tilted his head at her curiously. Shaak Ti smiled and wiped away the tears that fell on his cheeks.

"I sense the Force within you, young one," She kept one hand on his left cheek. "You are special. Do not let them torment you into darkness. Fear causes people to do many things, sometimes bad things. Their fear of you can cause you to fear them and fear leads to anger. I do not want to hear about you fighting with the other cadets. You are better than that, do you understand, 5837?"

"I think so, ma'am," He said.

"Good," She gave him a small smile. "I will speak with your instructors and I will put an end to the bullying."

"Thank you, ma'am," He smiled.

She picked him and placed him back on the floor. "Go, eat. I will go speak with your instructor. And 5837, do not be afraid to come to me for help."

"Yes, ma'am," He nodded and ran to the Mess Hall.

Shaak Ti stood tall and strode out the door. She kept calm even though there was hurricane inside her, full of fury and disdain for the instructor and the Kaminoan's that had made 5837. A Force sensitive clone, what were they thinking? An instructor that wouldn't stop his cadets from torturing another cadet, what a cruel person he must be.

She walked through the facility until she was at Nala Se's office. The female Kaminoan looked up from her terminal screen and tilted her head curiously.

"Master Shaak Ti, how may I help you?" She asked.

"I'm here about one of the cadets," Shaak Ti stood in front of the silver metal and glass desk.

"Which cadet?" Nala Se laid her hands flat on the desk.

"Cadet 5837," Shaak Ti told her. "I've sensed something unusual about him."

Nala Se keyed in the cadet's number and pulled up his file on her terminal.

"Ah, yes. CT-5837. A four year old cadet. What sort of unusual things have you sensed about him?" Nala Se looked back at the Jedi Master.

"He is Force sensitive," Shaak Ti said.

"Oh yes, he was one of our experiments. The first Force sensitive clone. We modified his DNA with DNA of other Force sensitive beings. He will not be as strong as a Jedi, but it will make him stronger than a normal clone, he'll have more endurance, and will be more agile. He will not be able to use the Force as a Jedi does," Nala Se told her with a sense of all knowing in her voice.

Shaak Ti tilted her head at Nala Se. "He may not be able to use the Force as I, but he can still do things that make him stand out. It has caused him much grief with his peers. I request that I mentor him."

"He will be fine with his assigned instructor," Nala Se told her.

"He needs to learn the ways of the Force. It will greatly enhance his physical abilities, if that is your main concern with making a clone Force sensitive," Shaak Ti inhaled through her nose and let it out through her mouth slowly and quietly, she maintained her calmness.

"I will discuss this with the council and CT- 5837's instructor," Nala Se told her.

"May I ask, who is his instructor?" Shaak Ti folded her hands in front of her.

"His instructor is... Dred Priest," Nala Se looked at her from her terminal.

Shaak Ti's heart skipped a beat but she settled and nodded her head to Nala Se.

"Thank you," She turned and left.

A Force sensitive clone, the only one, how alone he must feel. Shaak Ti thought. And with Dred Priest. His presence makes my skin crawl.

She walked back to the Mess Hall, the cadets were cleaning up for the next set of clones that would soon come in to dine. She saw a group crowded around an individual cadet, it was 5837. He had his tray in his hands, his head was bent down. He stumbled forward as one of the other cadets pushed him. The others were poking at him and calling him freak, another push form another cadet sent him down on the floor.

Shaak Ti marched over to the small group. She saw Dred Priest watching from one of the side entrances but she didn't care about him.

"Enough!" She barked at them, the amount of emotion she put into the order sent the cadets stumbling backwards and falling on themselves.

"Leave them alone, master Jedi," Dred strolled over to them. "The boy has to learn to stick up for himself."

"The only thing he will learn from being bullied is to distrust his brothers," She told him. "Where will that get him in the battlefield?"

"If he can't learn to deal with their treatment, one way or another, then he's weak and he'll never pass his tests on the sim," Dred folded his arms. "He needs to toughen up!"

With that he reached down and grabbed 5837 by an arm and snatched him up, he bent down to put his face millimeters from 5837's face and screamed at him. "Pick up your tray cadet! MOVE MOVE!"

5837 startled and hurriedly picked up the tray and its contents that had spilled every where.

"You can't coddle them, master Jedi. Not if they're going to be soldiers," He folded his arms and watched 5837 as he picked up every single piece of scrap food that had fell off the tray, utensils, and empty fluid carton. The other cadets watched too.

"You also have no need to be so callous towards them either," She raised her chin and dared him.

"You train your cadets the way you want to, and let me deal with mine," He turned toward her.

5837 looked up at them, as did the other cadets. Older cadets started coming into the Mess hall now, they glanced over that the Jedi and the sergeant instructor.

"I will call out abuse when I see, Sergeant Priest," Shaak Ti stood firm and he got closer to her, she was taller than him but her height didn't seem to deter him.

The older cadets had paused to watch, 5837 glanced over at them. One had buzzed hair that was blonde, the few around him had the standard short cropped hair, though one had a scar on his left temple that ran down the side of his face by his eye. He turned his gaze back to his instructor and the Jedi.

"Are you accusing me of abusing my cadets?" He was in her face now, practically on his toes, and was seething.

Shaak Ti was calm, 5837 could feel no rise in her emotions like he could feel in his instructor or the other clones around him. Excitement buzzed through him from all around.

"I am merely stating the obvious," She said.

Dred's jaw was clenched, his hands balled into fists, he managed to open one and poked her in the chest above her exposed cleavage. "I do not abuse my cadets."

Before he could remove his finger she grabbed his wrist and twisted it around and bent his arm and pulled him backwards and pinned his twisted arm against him.

"You would do well not to accost me, Sergeant Dred Priest," She put pressure on his arm and he yelped.

Some of the older cadets snickered. 5837 bent his head to hide his smile but his peers just gazed down. Shaak Ti let him go and he fell forward. He quickly stood up and held his wrist. He glared at the cadets and they quickly scurried away, except for 5837.

"Get a move on, 5837," Dred growled.

The young cadet jumped up and hurried off to put his tray in the recycle door for the droids to clean. Dred glared at Shaak Ti.

"I will be mentoring 5837, from now on," She told him, despite what Nala Se had told her.

Dred's nose flared. "You will not take my cadet."

"I will," She lifted her chin again.

Dred growled and stormed off. Shaak Ti glanced at the older cadets that were in line to get food that were watching them. She gave them a warm smile, and they smiled back. She loved how they smiled at her, they knew she cared about them, probably more than she should.

—

Dred was seething, 5837 could feel his anger rolling off him in waves. It was overwhelming, almost choking the breath out his chest. They were standing in line for some hand to hand combat training. And 5837 was dreading his turn, he knew Dred would take his anger out on him, he'd been the cause of all the trouble in the cafeteria.

"5837!" Dred barked from the middle of the training mat.

The small cadet let out a breath, trying to stay calm. He could feel the excitement of the other cadets as they watched him step forward towards Dred. The anger from the man centered on the mat was so powerful he could barely breathe. Dred told to take a fighting stance and 5837 complied, running on autopilot.

The next thing he knew he was being tossed on his back, the wind knocked out of him.

"Get up!" Dred yelled.

5837 rolled and got on his hands and knees to push himself up. Another cadet was called out on the mat. They faced each other, the other smiled mischievously at 5837. He could feel the cadet's excitement and his instructor's satisfaction of putting him down on the mat. But it wouldn't be enough for Dred.

He gave them the signal to begin their mock fight. The other cadet charged and 5837 stepped aside and drove the heel of his hand into the cadets back, causing the boy to lose balance and fall. But the cadet snapped up and swung his leg around and connected with 5837's knee. 5837 yelped and his knee buckled under him.

"GET UP!" Dred yelled.

5837 stood but his knee was in pain. The other cadet charged again and struck at 5837, but he raised his arm to block the blow and ducked just in time for the swing of the cadet's other fist. Though he was unable to avoid the blow this his stomach. He fell, clutching his aching gut, he thought he was going to throw up.

"On your feet 5837!" Dred ordered.

He started rising but the other cadet pushed him back down. The others laughed. Dred was yelling at him. He was trying to get up but the other cadet wouldn't let him. He started to panic and his stomach betrayed him. He vomited on the mat, his lunch from earlier oozed over the mat. All the cadets made 'ew' noises and laughed.

Dred shook his head and dismissed the cadets and they left 5837 sitting alone on the mat. 5837 crawled over to a corner and lied down. Tears dripped from his closed eyes. He sniffed and tried to calm himself down, but he couldn't hold back the sobs. He just wanted to be like the others, he just wanted them to accept him. He didn't understand why he had to be different.

Then he heard laughter and foot steps coming to the door. It stopped suddenly and he bolted up.

"Hey, kid. You alright?" There were four of the older cadets and they jogged over to him.

They crouched down around him and he felt something from them that he'd felt from the Jedi master. They were the ones he saw him in the Mess Hall earlier. The blonde one reached out to him but he flinched. It caused the clone's eyebrows to knit together.

"We're not going to hurt you," Said the one with the scar, it looked fresh like what he'd done to get it happened not to long ago.

The blonde one reached for him again and pulled him close. 5873 wrapped his arms around the young trooper's and he picked 5837 up. The young trooper felt tears from the small cadet fall on his neck. He didn't know what had happened but he knew where to take him.

"Where are you going, Rex?" One of the clones asked.

"I'm taking him to Shaak Ti," Rex turned to face the other clone. "She'll know what to do, Cody."

With that he turned and left, there was another clone cleaning up 5837's vomit. Rex carried his little brother through the hall ways like he weighed nothing. One hand on his back, his other holding the small clone up.

"Where are you going with that cadet?"

Rex spun around to face the masculine voice behind him. It was the instructor they had seen in the Mess, the one who Shaak Ti has twisted an arm to put him in his place. Rex deduced it was this cadet that he'd seen on the floor, the one they must have been arguing over. Rex took a deep breath. 5837 twisted and looked at his instructor and wiggled to make Rex set him down, but Rex kept a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm taking him to Master Shaak Ti," Rex stood tall, he wasn't sure about disobeying an instructor, but there was a strong need to defend his little brother.

5837 looked up at Rex and Rex glanced down at him and gave him a tight lipped smile.

"That cadet is going to his rack," Dred started walking towards them with purpose.

Rex squared his shoulders, puffed his chest out, and narrowed his eyes. It caused Dred to faultier, he slowed as he looked at Rex. He was older and couldn't be pushed around like the younger cadets.

"Then I'll take him myself," He pushed 5837 back.

"He's my cadet. Stand down, trooper," Dred ordered.

"No," Rex stood firm. "He's my little brother and I won't let you hurt him."

"I'm not going to hurt him!" Dred yelled.

Rex glared at him. "He's not going with you."

5837 could feel Dred's anger boiling inside him, but more than that he could feel Rex's fierce protectiveness that some how assured him, even though he didn't know the name of the emotion Rex was projecting. He held onto Rex as if his very life depended on it, and to him it did.

"What's you number!" Dred growled.

"CT-7567," Rex growled back.

"I order you to stand-"

"That will be enough, Rex," Shaak Ti was walking up behind Rex, 5837 looked at her and she gave him a small smile.

Dred laughed humorously. "Well if it isn't the almighty Master Jedi, come to save the day."

"No, just a helpless cadet," She stood firm beside Rex.

The other three clones were now walking towards them from behind Dred but they stopped once they realized that they were in a stand off. Dred looked at the other clones then back at Shaak Ti.

"Have him, for now. I'll get him back," Dred turned and pushed his way past Cody and the other two clones.

Shaak Ti placed a hand on Rex's shoulder. "Thank you, Rex."

"Just doing my duty, ma'am," Rex gave her a smile.

"5837, thank your brother for helping you," She looked down at the cadet.

He looked up at Rex. "How?"

Rex smiled at him and crouched down to his eye level. "Just like Master Shaak Ti did. You just say thank you. But in this case, there's no need for 'thanks' little brother. We're all brothers and brothers look out for each other."

"Oh," 5837 said and looked away.

He looked at the other three clones that had approached. He felt their warm affection towards him. There in them, it flowed through the Force, their acceptance of him. Their little vod'ika, he'd heard other instructors say. He'd have to ask Shaak Ti what that warm feeling was, later.

She took him back to her quarters. The Kaminoan's had given her a large room with a large bed, a desk and a couple of lounge chairs. It was more than what she had at the Temple on Coruscant. Right now she didn't trust Dred not to come to 5837 in the young cadet's sleep to try something to hurt him. So he'd stay with her for the time being, until things settled down. It would be easier for her to teach him anyway.

He yawned, his fatigued little body making it known that it needed rest. She patted the bed and he crawled up on it and she wrapped him with the blankets.

"Rest easy, young one," She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through his hair.

Sleep came quickly for him in the sanctity of her presence. He need not worry about anything in her bed, wrapped in soft bulky blankets. For the first time in his short life he was safe. Safe from the cruelty of his peers and his instructor. Safe in her world, a place he hoped he'd never have to leave.