Chapter 21: Heartache
Me: It's been a very very long time I know... It's not my fault really. Been so tied up with school and work and all kinds of things. Here's an extra long chapter just for you guys!
Churro: Churro churro churros! -Doing a churro dance.- They don't own Star Wars: The Clone Wars, only their OCs. Co and Rex belong to Rexmidnytegreen.
Me: -is giving out free churros.- Okay okay. If you review this chapter you will get a free churro along with a poncho and a box of chocolates. Yes, I know this chapter is probably gonna be cheesy. Every brilliant idea I had was crushed when I didn't have time to write. I did get a compliment from my teacher on this story though. Now, on with Heartache.
A sudden movement from the Jedi dispersed the weapon at the same time he was brought hard to the ground by several men. He fought and struggled against them, swearing and cursing at the top of his lungs. Leon finally managed to pin the man to the floor with his arms harshly pulled behind his back.
"Let me go!" Rex growled. Part of him felt angry that he wasn't able to end things like he'd wanted to. After all, what had he to live for? The only thing that had kept him in that world had just been extinguished. Another part of him felt a neverending pain.
"No," Leon said pulling his arms tighter behind his back. Rex yelped as one of his knees pressed against his back.
Rex didn't have to look to know that his brother was next to him. He just knew he was right next to him.
"Let him up." Co said pressing his hand against his brother's shoulder.
The fight gone out of him, Rex curled up into a ball and buried his head in his knees as Leon released him slowly. He felt a pain so great he could not cry nor scream nor even whimper. He simply sat there with his eyes closed. He wished he could wake from a terrible nightmare, but he knew it was simply impossible. He felt a pair of tiny hands tug on his sleeve.
"Bubba?" His little sister shook him gently. He didn't answer. He felt like he needed to remain there still as a rock until the universe came to get him. Beside them, two medics were working over the body trying desperately to rouse the sleeping man.
"Not now Maci." Her father picked her up and walked back over to where his wife sat weeping for her son-in-law.
He tucked them both tight against him as Co settled next to Rex, wrapping his arms around him.
Ahsoka could feel strong waves of pain and grief flowing off the young man. He seemed to sink into an impenetrable darkness that he could not escape. It made her feel as though darkness were closing in on herself.
Leon felt a sudden urge to comfort the young man. He holstered his blaster then walked over to pick up the gun that'd been left forgotten on the floor. He returned it to the father then walked over to the two brother's side. He knelt to one knee next to them.
"He was special to you." Leon said. It was a statement more than a question.
Rex said nothing for a full minute. When he finally spoke, his voice was cracked and quiet. "He was more than special."
Leon nodded. "I understand." Leon glanced over where the two medics were carefully lifting the man onto a stretcher. Rex did not seem to notice them.
They were quiet for several long minutes. Leon did not expect him to say anything else. "He is my everything." Rex closed his eyes for a long time. When he finally opened them, a single tear escaped sliding silently down his cheek. Leon pretended not to notice. He dropped his head.
Leon's voice dropped so that only his ears could hear it. "It hurts to lose someone close, and I've lost so many of my brothers, I stopped counting." Co heard these words anyways and spoke slowly and softly.
"It would benefit, I think, to focus on the present, but to not forget our past. Everyone in this room has experienced some type of pain and grief from loss," He said.
Leon nodded and gently placed a hand on Rex's shoulder. He jumped as though he had forgotten he were there then looked down at his hand. He reached up and grabbed his hand.
"Thank you," He whispered. As he let go of his hand he buried his head into his brother's shoulder. He lay there for several long minutes sobbing. Leon left the two of them to resume his guard.
"The general reports that Grievous has fled." Ahsoka said as he came to stand next to her. Leon nodded. He couldn't think of anything to say.
It seemed to be an eternity before things began to die down. The ship had been cleared of droids.
Rex had curled up next to his parents. Co was talking in hushed tones to Kyiv and Jakiv. After a couple of hours or so, they returned to the Mess hall. Rex was staring at his food, but didn't touch it. He sighed and picked at it for a while, poking at it with his fork. He finally gave up and pushed it away.
Someone wrapped their arms around his neck. Rex ignored them for several long moments until he heard his mother gasp softly. He glanced up at her then down at the arms that had wrapped themselves around his neck and clung there. He reached up and grabbed one of them light brown hands, spinning around as he did. A hot pair of lips crashed down on his, and he pushed his lover away and held him tightly burying his head in his shoulder. Quay held the crying man in his arms.
"I made a promise… I have to stand by it." Quay said softly in Rex's ear. Rex nodded silently still gripping the man painfully tight. It seemed to be minutes before he actually let go of him. Quay sat next to him simply holding him tight against his chest.
In the meantime, while Rex had been sulking, Maci had snuck off with Sophia to play in the ship's interior. Maria's mother sense seemed to flare and she suddenly stood up looking around the mess.
"Where is Maci-Leigh?" She said glaring this time at her husband who had been holding her last.
The thought seemed to suddenly dawn on him. "She must have snuck away." He gritted his teeth and shook his head.
"I saw her leave with Sophia." Shaquitta said suddenly looking up from where she'd been sorting sheet music. She quickly placed all of them music in her bag and stood up. "We need to find her, now!"
"Who is Sophia?" Maria asked turning to look at her.
"Rex's little girl," She said slinging her backpack onto her bag. Co seemed to feel her anxiety. He stood up slowly. Jakiv looked at him then back at Kyiv who couldn't see him.
"We'll stay here and ask around," Jakiv said.
"Marta, come!" Co said. The dog padded over to him on stiff legs. He knew that she was getting old and she wasn't as fast and playful as she used to be, but she had always served him well and he knew that she would now.
"I need you to find Maci." He rubbed her head as he knelt next to her. "I know you can find her. Go get her."
"Courage, go with her," Shaquitta said. The dog gave a gentle bark then followed the other dog as she sniffed out the scent of the young child then took off at a brisk trot out of the mess.
"Mum, Dad, stay here." Rex said standing up. He reached up and wiped his face with a makeup remover cloth to remove the remainder of his already smudged makeup. "We're gonna go find Maci." He said pulling Quay with him and Co. "You are coming with me so I can keep an eye on you." He said as he tugged his husband with him. ShaQuitta followed them out of the mess hall.
"Which way?" Rex said.
"I have an idea. I need to find someone first." ShaQuitta said.
"Who ya looking for?" A voice said as he stopped in front of them.
"Jesse, Hardcase!" She said cheerfully. "I need to find Fireblaze, or Chris."
"Hello." Jesse said. "I just saw them headed down that way. Be careful though, there's quite a bit of damage and debris still in the corridors."
"Thanks. Oh, I'd steer cautiously in the Mess. There's a Mama Bear in there."
Co started laughing as both troopers looked at her in confusion.
Jesse shook it off then shoved Hardcase ahead of him. Rex stared at his brother then clapped him on the shoulder.
"That is the first time I've seen you laugh like that," He said. "Though, I didn't really find that funny."
"Let's go." ShaQuitta said already several paces ahead of them. She was already picking her way over dead droids and… bodies.
Co could feel the heavy grief that hung in the air, but the thing that stopped him dead in his tracks, was the feeling of evilness that seemed to linger around the corridor. He felt Quay grab his arm to steady him as he began to lose his balance.
"What's wrong?" Quitta said turning back to them. Co opened his sightless eyes then heaved a soft sigh of relief. Everything were still buried in nothingness. That calmed him.
"Just a bit dizzy, I'm okay." Co said, his deep accent flowing with the words.
"Okay…" She said hesitantly. She knew better than to argue with the man, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She continued down the corridor. Rex stuck close to his brother to keep him from tripping on any of the debris. He heard his brother mutter in annoyance but shook his head and gripped his arm tighter.
It took them several minutes to pick their way over droids and bodies. As they finally came out of the corridor, Rex noticed the tears sliding down ShaQuitta's cheeks.
"Are you okay?" He asked. He knew the pain of grief. He knew what it was like to grieve for someone that you loved.
"I saw my friend back there… His name was Breo." She was silent then but continued along the corridor like a woman with a purpose. It wasn't long until she spotted the familiar armor that belonged to Fireblaze.
"Fireblaze!" She called out. He turned around. Chris looked back as well.
"Quitta, what's up?" He said jumping right to the point. Right away she could see that he looked terrible. Chris was leaning heavily on his brother.
"We're looking for Sophia. There's a three year old with her." She said.
"I haven-" He started to say, only to be cut off by Toby as his innocent, cold presence appeared next to them.
The eastern corridor. Were the words that jumped into Fireblaze's head.
"They're in the eastern corridor. This way, come on." Fireblaze settled Chris carefully against the wall next to another injured trooper then took off at a quick run. There was something terribly wrong. He could tell immediately. He slid to a halt right before they turned the corner that took them into the corridor.
Co shuddered and took a couple of paces back. He didn't like the feel of things. He squeezed his eyes shut not wanting to "see" anything. He felt his brother's hand on his back. If it weren't for Maci, he would have turned back.
Fireblaze took a deep breath and rolled around the corner smoothly with his weapon raised. He knew it were no match against what may have been there, but having it was comfort.
"I'm not going down there." Quay said. "I'll wait here," He said.
"I'll stay with him." Rex said.
"Babies," Quitta said teasingly. "Come on, Co."
Co followed her. The corridor was dark, but that didn't bother him. He stuck close to the wall. The wall was solid, and it gave him something to keep him sturdy.
The trooper was scared. Co could tell that much. He could feel it in the air.
"Something doesn't feel right." Fireblaze said stopping. He reached up to switch on the headlamps on his helmet only to find that they flickered and went out.
ShaQuitta pulled off her backpack and reached inside and pulled out an infrared camera. She switched it on and quickly located Fireblaze on its LCD screen. "What's wrong?"
"Feel dizzy." He said reaching up to grasp his head with one hand.
"What do you feel like?" She asked as she scanned the hallway with the camera. Her other hand dug around her jacket pockets for a digital recorder.
"Like there's too much…" Fireblaze didn't finish the sentence. He fell to his knees coughing violently. ShaQuitta knelt to his side and placed one hand on his back. The trooper gagged and vomited.
Co stood rooted to the spot. He just somehow knew that the man was seeing things that they could not. He knew these things. He moved to take a step towards the two of them only to find that he could not move. He suddenly felt afraid being up against the world. Everything around him was muffled. He cried out, but no sound came from his lips as he was grabbed by violent hands. He felt as though he were going to be ripped apart.
Suddenly the pressure was relieved and he dropped to the cold hard floor in someone's arms. He could feel someone, but he did not know who it was.
"Co?" Rex shook his brother lightly. "Come on! Answer me!"
Co slowly lifted his head. "Rex?" His voice was very soft, and he could hardly hear it.
"Yeah, I'm right here," He said wrapping his arms around him.
Co sucked in his breath and let out a cry of pain. He suddenly found that he could not draw breath. "My ribs," He gasped out.
"Hey, hold still, you'll be okay," He soothed as he carefully pulled him against the wall. Co cried out as the movement jarred his damaged ribs.
"I'm sorry. It'll get better in a moment. Keep breathing." Rex was doing his best to remain calm, but he was starting to panic inside.
Co tried to take a breath, only to let out a soft cry as his body protested. His body began to tremble. He could dimly feel his brother grip his hand. It was cold; his brother checked his pulse only to find it was weak.
"Oh, Co please stay with me," He begged. He had no idea what to do. He took several deep breaths trying to calm himself.
"What's wrong?" Rex jumped as the voice was suddenly next to him. He looked up to see the face of the medic who'd been there working on Quay.
"He's got broken ribs...and he's going into shock." He said. The medic nodded already pulling supplies out of his medkit.
The medic set to work immediately, injecting the man with three syringes then carefully removing his shirt.
"By the way he looks, the ribs may have completely broken apart." He said more to himself than to Rex. He ran a couple of scans, in quick succession. Co began taking quick slow breaths. Rex could feel the sudden flare of pain that Co felt. He sucked in his breath.
"Are you okay?" Coric glanced at him quickly. He was carefully taping Co's ribs.
Rex nodded, his eyes closed against his brother's pain. "I can feel his pain…" Rex said through tightly clenched teeth. Coric stared at him for a moment, his hands still busily working then back at Co.
Coric decided he wasn't going to question anything going on right now. He'd had his share of strange things happen to him. Rex looked around at the sound of screaming. He froze in place.
"It's okay, Blaze. You're okay…" Quitta said pulling the trooper towards her. Maci had grabbed onto her and was clinging from her neck crying.
"Get me out of here…" Blaze whined. His voice was hardly above a whisper.
"It's okay. Come on get up." She pulled on him with one arm. Blaze managed to force himself into a standing position. He felt like he had no energy. He felt someone force him upward on his other side. He glanced up into the visor of his captain. Rex had one arm curled around his own daughter who was unconscious in his arms. He pulled Blaze's arm over his shoulders. Blaze held on as his captain partially dragged and partially supported Blaze. The moment they reached the end of the hallway, he was already beginning to feel better.
Co and Rex were sitting by the entrance to the corridor with Coric. Coric glanced up at his captain and Sophia.
"She's unconscious, but no signs of any injury." Captain Rex said as he helped Blaze settle against the wall.
Coric checked over Blaze quickly but found nothing severe. "This is getting out of hand…" Coric muttered to himself.
"It is." Quitta replied. She stood up and pulled Rex to his feet then turned to help Co up. Co leaned back feeling for the wall to brace himself against it. He felt better with something solid against his fingers.
Coric noticed that Co's muscles trembled as he stood and gripped the man's arm before he lost his balance. Co snapped his head over in his direction, a rebuke sharp on his tongue, but said nothing and nodded in thanks. Co didn't know why he felt strange. He'd broken ribs before, but for some reason he felt as though he had no energy.
He decided that he knew but didn't want to know so he didn't know. He finally stopped trembling after several long minutes. Captain Rex helped Blaze to his feet.
"How do we always get ourselves into these messes?" Rex asked his husband as they sat in the mess. Maci was sitting in her mom's lap and she was determined to not let her out of her sight again.
"I don't know… because we're crazy?" Quay replied as he wrapped one of his arms around his shoulder and Rex leaned against him. Co was chattering back and forth with his friends in rapid Ukrainian. Rex was half listening finding it difficult to follow the conversation because he wasn't too good at the language. One name stood out that they were continually mentioning.
"Who is Roher?" Rex asked his brother as he looked up at him.
"Roger," Co corrected turning his head in his brother's direction. "He's my adopted brother."
"Oh," Rex looked at Quay who shrugged and looked down at the table. They looked up as Anakin, Obi-wan and Ahsoka approached the table. Rex looked to the table as one of his hands reached up to pull off the tie that held his long black hair in a neat bun. His hair dropped and he ran his fingers through it. It fell down past the center of his back and his bangs, which were dyed a bright blue, fell across his face hiding it from view. He didn't bother pushing his hair out of his face; he wanted it to be hidden.
"We can get you home," Anakin said. "We've found an opening, but the seppies have blockaded the planet. We don't have the forces to free your planet though."
"Wait a second," ShaQuitta said then looked at Quay. "Aren't you still in the army?"
"I'm a SEAL," Quay replied correcting her as he looked at her curiously.
"Then you have access to the higher command right?" She said.
"He's a major, of course he has access," Co stated matter of factly.
"Way to rub it in Co," Rex grumbled.
"Oh hush mister enlisted," Co replied with a grumble.
"Boys!" Their mother said sharply. "Give me that noise." Both men went silent and Quay was looking at ShaQuitta.
"What are you thinking?" Anakin asked.
"We have an army and a navy… can't we fight back?" ShaQuitta said.
"We're not exactly prepared to go to war, ShaQuitta," Quay said.
"I know, but still," she said. "If we all joined forces then maybe we could stand a chance to save our own planet." Quay was silent thinking.
"Do you think that could work?" Obi-wan asked.
"Yes," Quitta said. "I actually have some pretty good influence when I want to."
"Then if we get you back, can you get a message to your forces?" He asked.
"I can do better than that. I'm taking this straight to the president," Quitta said. "Get your things and let's get out of here. I want my own bed back."
"Sounds like a plan," Co muttered before he turned to his Kyiv and began translating for him.
"How does he even live in the U.S. if he can't speak a word of english?" Quitta asked after a long moment as she looked at Kyiv.
Kyiv turned his sunglass covered eyes on her. "Nice insult," he said his words badly broken by his accent.
"I thought you didn't speak English!" She exclaimed.
Co rolled his sightless eyes as he told Kyiv what she'd said. "I spake little," he replied.
"My bad," she said. Kyiv would have rolled his eyes had he had any. He just shook his head instead and pushed his sunglasses higher up on his nose.
"But those sunglasses do make him look a little creepy," she said leaning back and looking a little creeped out.
"That's not creepy," Rex replied not looking at her.
"Ee's no," Kyiv said pulling the sunglasses off and revealing a face with no eyes, just empty eyeholes.
"Huh!" Shaquitta covered her eyes. "Put 'em back on!" She said. The three Ukrainian men busted into laughter as Kyiv covered his empty eyeholes again. Even Anakin and Obi-wan looked freaked out. Ahsoka had covered her eyes and she uncovered them when ShaQuitta pulled her hands down.
Kyiv smiled grimly at them. "Es creepy, no?" He said.
"That's not creepy… that's scary," Ahsoka said. "How did that…?"
"He was born that way," Jakiv said, "Just as I can't see a thing without these," he said wiping his glasses clean on his shirt. "And also why I'm so freaking short."
"Oh... " Ahsoka said. "I'm going to go see about getting everything ready to go," she said then darted out of there quickly.
"Let's go get our stuff," Quay said jumping to his feet and dragging Rex with him.
"I'm ready to go home," Quitta said following them.
An hour later, they were all on the gunship again. There were two of them. Rex's dad, Maci, his mom, the twins and Jakiv were on one with Chris, Hurricane and Obi-wan. The other one had Rex, Quay, Co and Kyiv and Marta, and Ahsoka and Anakin along with ShaQuitta and Courage, Fireblaze, and Captain Rex.
"Hang on," Anakin said as the gunships lifted a few minutes later. "We're going in fast and we're risking taking fire so hold tight."
"Are you sure you can get us past that blockade?" Quitta asked.
"I'm sure we'll get past it," Anakin replied.
There was almost a silence that descended over them, save for the gunship's engines and the sudden sound of cannon fire. A round hit the ship and rocked it hard, but they stayed up. It was so quiet inside the gunship it was as though everyone was holding their breath. The ship entered the atmosphere and all hell broke loose.
"We're hit!" The pilot yelled.
"Can we land?!" Anakin asked.
"We're over water!"
"We can jump can't we?" Shaquitta asked.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Rex asked.
"We don't have a choice!" She said.
"Pilot, open the doors! We'll have to jump," Anakin said.
Kyiv seemed confused as he turned to Co who quickly translated the words for him. Kyiv swore in Ukrainian and Co grabbed his arm before he freaked out.
The doors opened spewing hot air into the gunship. "I'll get you as low as I can!" the pilot said over the wind.
"Hang on!" Anakin yelled.
"Jump now!" The pilot yelled.
Co froze with fear feeling Kyiv next to him but a strong shove got them both moving and they jumped gripping each other by the hand. He could hear everything, but the sound of wind was deafening.
"Keep on my voice, Co!" Rex yelled from somewhere nearby. Co honed in on it gripping tightly to Kyiv's hand as the wind tossed them around.
The next thing he knew, he couldn't breathe. He felt as though he had been plunged into a world filled with no air. He couldn't hear anything. The pressure on his ears was so great he felt as though he would collapse. He thrashed around, his hands going for his throat as he swallowed lungfuls of…
Water! Co struggled up steadily losing consciousness. He was sure he was going to die when he felt a hand grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him upward. He broke the surface coughing and sputtering and trying to calm himself so he could get his bearings. He thrashed trying to keep himself above water as his chest heaved painfully and he vomited up several mouthfuls of water.
He heard someone calling his name but he couldn't hear shook his head hard trying to dislodge the water from them. He felt a hand gripping his arm and keeping him above water and he realized it was Anakin. He was listening hard as he could through the liquid that was throwing his senses off for Kyiv.
"Kyiv?" He asked, voice raspy from coughing.
"Os," he replied. Co felt him next to him and he reached for him.
"We're not that far from shore," Anakin said then started swimming away. "Come on, this way."
Co felt Ahsoka next to them both and he felt drawn to her presence so he followed it keeping Kyiv close to him as he fought the current of the ocean. His throat felt sore and raw and all he could taste was salt water.
They swam until their feet hit ground. Co felt so tired he could barely pull himself out of the water. He felt one of the clones pulling him and Kyiv onto dry ground. A gust of cold wind cut straight through his clothes and to the bone and he shivered then tilted his head.
"Marta!" He called wondering where his companion was. He felt Kyiv push himself up and to his feet. The ground was terribly cold. After a long moment, Co reached for his cane only to realize it was missing.
"Here," Ahsoka pressed it into his hand and he handed it to Kyiv who unfolded it and pulled him to his feet. Marta bounded over, fur soaked and she shook out her fur before licking her master's hand and Co rubbed her head.
"Everyone okay?" Anakin asked as the rest of the group gathered around close.
"Yeah," Fireblaze said. They were wet through but they didn't even looked as tired as the others. "Just soaked and cold."
"We'll set up a small camp for the night," Anakin said as Rex walked over with Chris, Rex, and Quay.
"Now all we need to do is find out where we are…"
Ending note: There we go, an extra long chapter for all you guys! Sorry it's been so long! I'll try to keep updating. I don't want it to get like this again but if I get caught up with work and school then It'll be a while. I'll try to at least get shorter chapters up every two weeks or so. No promises! Read and Review, love you guys!