I'm back! :D
Here we have a LOVELY chapter that was a blast to work on but got a bit long because well. That's who I am as a person.

Cross is a troublesome and conflicted Twig.
Trevor is an ass
I am done with everyone and everything
The usual nonsense

Since I've got a bunch of chapters built up, I'm post two chapters this week (today and friday) then two chapters next week (Tuesday and Friday) so look forward to that! It gonna be lit XD

And yes! Alphians can and will turn humans or Rageryans into Halfblood by biting them! Like vampires I guess, but with more perks and less drawbacks.

Warnings: None I think! Standard foul language, but other than that this chapter is pretty tame! It is 4435 words tho so enjoy that~~~

Also eyyy trailer! My anxiety hates it :'D

He'd be lying if he said it didn't sting watching Shadow and Hunter reconcile so quickly.

Seeing them accomplish in an hour what took him and her almost a day.

It wasn't fair.

Then again... it never was.

And why should it be? He didn't make it easy...

Get a damn grip. Life isn't fair. Fairs are for tourists anyways. Don't go soft for a random mountain guide.

A mountain guide he couldn't get out of his head.

Glaring at Shadow from under his helmet as she walked in front of him, Crosshair wished she was harder to get along with. Or at least easier to hate. Easier to scorn, to willingly wound with venomous words.

It'd been so much easier at the start. Her sharp tongue and bold nature quickly marked her as a threat in his book. Someone to be treated as an enemy. Someone who needed to learn that he was not someone to mess with. The hard way.

His hate towards her flowed freely, and he held nothing back. Attacked her left and right. Insulted her. Ridiculed her.

But he couldn't do it anymore. He just couldn't hate her. Couldn't hate this headstrong yet caring mountain guide.

And he hated that.

What was worse...

People were starting to notice.

When Sarah had asked him to stay behind so she could talk to him, Crosshair nearly refused. Jedi were always up to something, and to say he didn't trust them was an understatement.

They always wanted to try to get into his head. Claim they understood what he went through, when they were the very reason for it. Them and their hypocritical mantra of peace while they led thousands of men to their deaths.

If it hadn't been for their damn war, neither Crosshair nor his brothers would have been lab rats. Tortured, poked, prodded, torn apart and put back together over and over again like some experimental machine. They wouldn't have existed in the first place, but sometimes Crosshair wished that was the case anyways.

Sarah was just like any other Jedi.

He knew she was.

How could a Jedi be anything else?

He'd rudely demanded Sarah make it quick, and in response she wacked him in the side with her rake handle.

A rather blunt reminder that she was no Jedi.

"Listen here," she'd reprimanded. "Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm senile or blind."

Crosshair had retorted that he had no issue hitting a woman back, only to get smacked in the side of the helmet with that rake.

"I'll say this once, Slim." Sarah had leveled the rake handle at his nose. "The opportunity of a lifetime can come when you least expect it."

"Kark you on about?"

"You don't meet a girl like that." The rank handle had swung around to indicate Shadow as the woman walked between Crosshair's brothers. "Every planet. Remember that before you do something stupid."

The only stupid thing that he could do would be let himself fall for Shadow.

It wouldn't, couldn't, work.

They... they weren't compatible. They were too different. And she hated him anyways...

The scene at the tree further back down the trail replayed in his head, filling him with doubt.

Shadow's sly gaze, her snarky attitude, that playful smirk... all while interacting with him.

Not Hunter, not Tech, not Wrecker.

Him.

And her laugh. Akin to a wheezy jackal with lungs full of dust, yet... so endearing.

Conflicted as he was, he couldn't deny they had begun to get along fairly well recently. Crosshair wasn't so stubborn he wouldn't admit he respected the woman, even if he was too stubborn to say it aloud. Their verbal sparring, as Shadow called it, no longer held venom behind it.

Just friendly rivalry.

If something more was out of the question, could he let himself call her a friend at least? Someone he could rely on to have his back if things went south?

What happens when she realizes you're too karked up in the head for her to handle? She'll abandon you, you know that. People always leave you when they see who you really are.

But was that true?

She regularly called him out, sure, but her judgement was not malicious. It wasn't aimed at him, rather his flaws.

Flaws she looked past to the man beneath.

A man that she, for some reason, decided to invest her time and energy in despite the pain he caused her.

Shadow had seen his nasty side. A nasty side that stabbed her directly in the heart and twisted the poisoned blade while driving it deeper and deeper. A nasty side that left her in tears and all but crippled for the better portion of an hour.

Yet...

She continued to reach out to him, continued to extend kindness and warmth in that quirky way of hers. Even after she'd bore the brunt of his harsh words, she still showed forgiveness and understanding. Still cared for his well being.

Her friendly approach was unconventional, but it was that very unconventional-ness that made it so effective.

Besides... Crosshair knew a thing or two about being unconventional...

But one thing he couldn't get out of his head was their conversation alone yesterday.

"All I'm asking is for you to try."

To have someone other than his brothers who didn't demand perfection from him, and even allowed him to mess up without permanently condemning him a failure...

It was nothing short of refreshing.

Even after the mission ended, Crosshair would forever remember this fiery yet compassionate mountain guide.

Perhaps that was what was so remarkable about her. Shadow knew he was karked up, knew he was not the most amiable person, knew he could be downright horrible...

But she still cared. Still believed there was more to him than what he let show.

"Not everyone wishes you harm." His arm blazed where her hand had rested. Right in the gap in his armor. "I know I don't."

You're an amazing woman, Shadow. Just wish I could tell you aloud...

But the chains of insecurity and fear held him back, kept him from reaching out.

Even when he so desperately wanted to.

"Try."

If only it was that easy...

Reaching the crest of the hill, he stopped beside her and gazed across the valley as they waited for the others behind him to catch up. Hopefully a perimeter scan would take his mind off the woman beside him.

Jungle was the right word, no doubt about it. Encircled by a deep canyon, the crater supported a dense jungle, unknown dangers lurking within. Scanning the valley, focusing in and out on various points, Crosshair estimated this trek would take them the whole day at a fairly steady pace. Less than ten miles across, the jungle still no doubt had nasty surprises in store for them. They'd be lucky to make it up the opposite slope to the small trail shelter at the crest of the ridge by dusk.

A rough day lay before them, and, if Trevor's warning was correct, then it would be extra messy.

"Well, that's a thing."

Glancing to Shadow, Crosshair noticed her gaze had turned skyward and he looked up.

Clouds formed a ring around the rim of the crater like some bizarre magical barrier. Crosshair knew planets with higher magic content existed, but the team had yet to visit one.

At least... before this mission.

A mission to remember.

Movement, a dark speck against the brilliant blue and white, caught his sensitive eyes and he zeroed in on it.

Dragon. And not the one that the piece of rankweed called Trevor had transformed into.

Sleek and dark with pale blue stripes scattered across its body. Long, dark claws. Front paws with three two digit fingers and a thumb. Long wings evolved for speed rather than power. Pale spikes and a fin running the length of its back. Probably the size of a large speeder not counting the wings.

Green eyes focused directly on them.

Pulling the rifle from his pack, he aimed down the sights and prepared to blast it down.

Shadow's hand rested over the barrel and lightly pushed down. "Easy, Twiggs."

A nickname once spoken in contempt or even hatred, Shadow's voice now held an element of friendliness or even affection whenever she called him that.

Crosshair would never admit it, but he enjoyed the extensive lists of nicknames she came up with for him. Creative and unexpected, he almost looked forward to seeing what she could think of next. Her ingenuity proved highly beneficial on more than one occasion, reassuring him that she wouldn't be confined to a box when it came to strategy. A perfect fit to their unorthodox tactics.

But more than that... her nicknames for him were just that.

For him, and only him. No one else could lay claim to them. She meant them for him and him alone.

Shadow didn't treat him like a clone. Like a machine. A tool. An asset. Only wanted when needed, then quickly locked away when he served his purpose.

She treated him like his own person. Like he had worth outside of how many targets he could take down. Worth outside of his efficiency in battle. Worth that had nothing to do with his special mutation.

It made him feel...

Human.

She made him feel human. Alive.

And that's why he couldn't shake her from his mind.

Her next words were lost to him, but he thought he heard "Trevor again".

"What?" he grumbled, cursing himself for getting distracted.

"He's got another form called a Swift Stormcaller. He's shifted into that form for some reason..." she said a thoughtful and lopsided frown on her face.

She looked cute like that.

Did... did he just call Shadow cute?

Oh no...

He wouldn't deny that Shadow was attractive, but finding a specific gesture or mannerism cute...

Not good.

"Why does he act so bizarre?" Tech asked, stepping to Shadow's side between her and Crosshair.

The sniper bristled. Tech spent half the night with her, cuddled up to her no less. Crosshair knew because when they went silent he'd gone to check on his little brother only to find him curled around Shadow, an arm around her with his chin all but resting on her shoulder.

The sight had left him in a tempest of emotions, many of which he didn't dare name.

But if Tech had been so close with her last night, why be clingy this morning? Didn't he get enough?

Was Shadow that nice to be close to?

What is the matter with me?

Shadow shrugged at Tech's comment. "Eh. Kaysh mirsh solus."

Crosshair lied yesterday. Mando'a sounded so good from her lips. Especially Ram'ser.

Oh he wanted to hear her say that again and again and again...

Do you hear yourself?

"That the jungle, Ice?" Hunter asked, walking up and laying a hand on Shadow's shoulder.

Why was Hunter so damn touchy with her? They'd spent the night together as well, Shadow sleeping on his chest. Couldn't he keep his hands to himself today?

Shadow clearly had no problem with the sergeant's proximity, leaning back into his hand. "I'm no botanist, but looks like it," she said sarcastically.

"Thought you were supposed to be a plant connoisseur," Hunter teased.

"Oh wow! I didn't think you knew words that big, Shaggy!" she laughed.

Hunter's arm snaked around her neck and caught her in a headlock. In an instant, Shadow jabbed her elbow into the thinner armor at Hunter's side and twisted his arm behind his back. Or tried. His pack was in the way. That didn't stop her from kicking out the back of his knee.

"Can you two not flirt for five minutes?" Crosshair hissed, heat simmering beneath his skin at their easy interactions.

"Yeah!" Wrecker laughed, ambushing Shadow from behind and picking her up. "Flirt with me instead!"

Close to gagging, Crosshair left them and headed towards the rope bridge connecting the trail across the gorge.

Tech, Hunter, and Wrecker.

All head over heels for her.

All flirting with her.

All trying to gain her attention.

It was enough to make the sniper sick.

What was so great about her affection anyways?

"Aw, wait up, Twiggy!" Shadow called.

His legs almost stopped, but Crosshair kept walking. "You hurry up," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey! C'mon- ah!"

Commotion from behind him alerted him just in time for Crosshair to turn and see Shadow rolling, ears over tail, down the grassy slope.

"On your left, Cross!" Wrecker yelped as he ran past, chasing after the whirlwind of fur. "Stop rollin, Squeak!"

"Tell! That! To! Gravity!" came the intermittent yells.

Stars above, he thought she was a high ranking martial artist! This was the second time she'd tripped and rolled down a hill.

He still remembered the contempt at her clumsiness when they'd chased her down. Contempt that had since been tempered by grudging respect as he realized what she was really capable of.

Grudging respect that was now bordering dangerously on admiration.

What a difference two days could make.

As the ground leveled out, Shadow finally came to a halt and lay face up, motionless, in the grass. Standing over her, Wrecker asked, "Squeak! You alright?"

She's resilient. She'll live.

A groan emanated from Shadow as Crosshair stopped beside them. Blue eyes opened and settled on Wrecker. Lifting her arms, Shadow made grabbing motions with her hands towards Crosshair's batchmate. "Up."

She really was all over the place. Serious, heartfelt, sympathetic, quirky, playful, snarky, angry, childish, worried, and on and on it went.

So sporadic.

So chaotic.

So downright... intriguing.

Maker, look at you. Worse than some wide-eyed cadet. You know she'd never choose someone like you.

Wrecker laughed and scooped Shadow up again. "Better, Squeak?"

"Goodness sake, don't spin me, I'm dizzy enough!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "You'll get me so I can't walk straight!"

"Aw, I'd get to carry ya more, then!"

Was Shadow heavy? She didn't look too heavy.

What was wrong with him?

Shadow's eyes fixed on him as her head hung upside down. "Heyyyy, you're walkin' on the ceilin', Twiggy!" she giggled, giving him a toothy grin.

No snark saturated her words; this was pure, goofy Shadow.

Why was her goofy side so addicting to see? He hated it when people didn't take things seriously! Why didn't he hate it with her?

Because you know that foolishness hides a cunning woman, and she only shows this side when she's comfortable.

He liked the thought of Shadow being comfortable around him more than he cared to admit.

"You alright, Ice?" Hunter asked as he reached their side with Tech close behind.

Another toothy grin. "Define alright, Sarge."

"Are you alright in the physical sense?" Tech chirped, tilting his head.

"Then yes, nerd!" She reached out towards Tech, batting air. "C'mere, I wanna play with them antennas."

"Most certainly not!" Tech balked, brows furrowing as he took a step back.

Crosshair's breath caught at the pleading expression on Shadow's face and the way her pupils expanded.

Sith karkin' hells, she should not be that cute when she does that.

Again with calling her cute?

"Please, Techie? Just... just a little swat?" Shadow asked, pouting.

Tech's eyes softened, but he remained firm in his refusal.

Shadow's expression lost its innocence and she groaned loudly. "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on, then."

This Shadow was better. This Shadow didn't make his chest grow fuzzy or his cheeks grow warm.

"Why must you cuss so much?" Tech sighed, adjusting his goggles.

"Adds spice," Shadow snickered, spreading her arms wide with hands splayed.

"Says the girl who ran out of the room when I tried flirting with her," Hunter remarked, crossing his arms.

"I told you I don't know how to deal with that side of a dude. Besides, you and I both know my flirting skills are less than..." A sly smirk spread over Shadow's face. "Appealin'."

Judging by the laugh rumbling in Hunter's chest, they shared some inside joke around that word.

What was it? What had they discussed yesterday morning while the others were hiding the ship?

"I certainly found it charming," Hunter remarked, poking her nose.

Shadow snapped her teeth at his finger in response.

Crosshair thought nothing of it until Tech gasped and rushed to Shadow's side.

"Open your mouth again!"

Shadow stared at the nerd. "'Scuse me?"

"Open!" Tech insisted. "I thought I saw fangs on the roof of your mouth!"

Ears flattened and eyes went wide. "Uh..."

"I saw them last night too," Hunter added.

"You got extra fangs, Squeaky?" Wrecker asked excitedly.

Crosshair had seen them, but just thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. They often did that with finer details at closer range.

And he was not about to wear glasses around others, and especially not on missions.

Shadow looked around at them before she sighed and opened her mouth again, allowing Tech to peer inside.

"She does! She has two fangs folded against the roof of her mouth!" Tech exclaimed. "What are they for? Why do you have them? How potent is your venom? Is it lethal? Could I take some in a vial-"

"You ain't milkin' me like a damn adder," Shadow interrupted, prodding Tech's stomach. "And it ain't venom they inject. It's Alphian DNA."

"What?"

Crosshair had the same thought. She had a built in way to inject DNA into someone?!

He supposed he technically did, but not via his teeth.

"See," Shadow began, sitting up and arranging herself in Wrecker's arms. "If I bite you with these, first off it's gonna suck because it's painful as hell to have Alphian DNA introduced into you if you aren't Alphian. But eventually, it will mix."

"Mix?" Tech asked. "You mean you can transfer Alphian DNA to a non-Alphian?"

She can do what?

"Only humans, Relks, and Rageryans. But yes. And when we do, that individual becomes an artificial Halfblood."

That was... since when could species do that?

"So if you were to bite me, I would become half human-half Alphian? Could I shift? Use elements?" Tech asked, words spilling out of him and slurring together.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Shadow said, tail flicking. "You only have one animal form as a Halfblood though."

Even just one, though. The implications that had. The power that could give someone...

"What about your healing rate?" Tech continued.

"Yeah, you'd get that too."

"Fascinating!"

A screech from above made them all look up to see Trevor circling overhead.

"Speakin' of Halfbloods," Shadow commented. Finally rolling out of Wrecker's grip, staggering as she caught her balance, she squinted up at Trevor.

Crosshair tried not to pay too much attention to the way her pupils narrowed to mere slits against the bright light, but he found her eyes so interesting when the pupils shifted. A small detail, yet an interesting sign she was indeed not human.

Shadow frowned as she stepped back to peer up at Trevor, putting a few feet between herself and the unit. "He... looks like he's about to go into a-" Her face dropped. "Oh no."

"What-" was all Hunter managed before Trevor stalled, entered a dive, snatched Shadow off the ground, and soared back into the air with her.

What in the name of the Force just happened?!

"Ice!"

"Shadow!"

"Squeak!"

"Trevor!" Shadow's angry snarl rang out.

"Way, hey, and up she rises!" the Halfblood laughed, flying back and forth.

"My foot is about to rise up your scaley ass!" Shadow snapped. "Damnit, let me go!"

"As you wish!" Trevor laughed, and threw Shadow out into the open air.

Crosshair wasn't sure who screamed her name the loudest, Wrecker or Hunter. Either way, seeing the woman hurtle towards the earth nearly sent him into a panic.

They were helpless to save her.

The impact would break something even if they caught her.

Only Shadow could save herself.

She's got to have a form that can fly. She's got to know how to do something. Come on, furball. I know you can do it. Shift!

As if she'd heard him, mist enveloped Shadow and rapidly expanded to the size of the beast from the first night... then continued to grow.

Dragon. She had a dragon form. Frost-Breather or something.

Knew you could do it.

He breathed easier, relieved she'd acted quickly before slamming into the ground like an organic asteroid. Or... at least slamming with deadly force. Her landing was anything but smooth, leaving a shallow gouge of churred earth and grass as she crashed.

The size of the gouge was... unsettling.

How big was she?

"Ice!" Hunter yelled, running to her quickly followed by Wrecker and Tech.

Crosshair himself picked up a jog to her, hoping the landing hadn't caused her to break something. They needed her at full strength today even more so than yesterday.

They reached her side as the mist began to clear.

"Shadow! Are you ok?!" Wrecker yelled.

A low, rough growl answered him. "Son of a fuckin' bitch!" Shadow snarled, the mist around her finally evaporating.

In the mist's place lay a massive feline, nearly twice as big as her beast form from the first night without even taking into account the immense feathered wings awkwardly folded against her back. This beast form also possessed saber teeth, albeit smaller. Thick fluff adorned her cheeks and feathers fanned out around the crown of her head, trailing down a muscular neck to between her shoulders. A long, thick tail stretched behind her, long fur lining the sides and forming a tuft at the tapered end.

In short, she was big, strong, and very fluffy.

"Shadow you're... you're a dragon!" Hunter exclaimed, stepping back to see the new form in its entirety.

"What gave it away?" she groaned, squinting at Hunter. "The wings?"

You've got to be kidding me.

An elemental, telekinetic, shapeshifting dragon warrior. How overpowered was she?

Hunter's words about her being a Realm Walker floated through his mind, but he quickly shoved them away. It gave him a headache whenever he even remotely thought about that and what it could mean for them.

Pushing herself to her feet, long talons on both her front and back paws glinting in the light, Shadow hauled herself out of the elongated crater. "By thunder, Imma kill him," she hissed, shaking the dirt from her calico pelt.

Sithspit, her leg alone from her paw to her back is taller than Tech.

"Added some jazz to your adventure!" Trevor laughed from above.

"Bastard!" Shadow roared. She reared on her hind legs, standing twice as tall as Wrecker, and inhaled deeply before spitting an arc of turquoise ice in the other dragon's direction.

That is... something.

Trevor laughed and easily dodged. "Have fun, Shads! Time to see if the Wonderpets were right!"

"You're gonna need to call them for help when I'm done with you!" Shadow swore.

"Gotta catch me first!" Trevor teased, soaring back into the sky.

Shadow dropped to her from paws to give chase, but immediately her legs gave out and she slammed into the ground. The ground shuddered minutely. "Twiggs, do me a favor and snipe Trevor," she grumbled, eyes shut as she panted hard.

Crosshair nearly did just that. The man could have killed her.

But Trevor was already gone, having raced away after the ice volley.

Shadow groaned. "Shouldn't have tried ice spitting..."

"Is this the Icespitter? It's massive! What does it eat? What habit are they usually found in? Are all of them that bad at landing? What-"

"Sand rats and night bats, Tech, chill!" Shadow snapped, tall ears low against her skull and pupils mere slits as sharp teeth flashed.

Tech winced but continued, "I have just never seen such a creature before-"

"You're about to see a side of me you've never seen before if you don't stop yappin'," she warned, feathers bristling down her neck.

"Technically you were hostile towards me after Crosshair fell into the stream."

Crosshair barely withheld his wince at the mention of yesterday's incident.

"Tech," Hunter intervened as another deep growl started within Shadow's chest. "Check her for injuries."

"I assure you I'm fine," Shadow grumbled.

"Either way," Hunter said slowly. "Just let him scan you."

"Fine," she huffed, ears back as she laid in place while Tech walked around her with a scanner.

"Can I inspect your tail at least?" Tech ventured.

"Fine. Look but don't poke."

Stepping forward, Wrecker hugged Shadow gently around the neck. As Shadow leaned against him, he sat down and let her head rest in his lap. Or, half her head. It was nearly as big as he was. "You ok, Squeaky?" he asked, softly stroking her feathered neck.

"Sore as hell and drained, actually," she grumbled with a sigh, feathers falling still as she calmed and relaxed under Wrecker's careful touch. "But thanks for the pets..."

"Course, Squeak."

Were her feathers soft?

Stop that.

"Ice, what did he mean by adding some 'jazz' to the trip?" Hunter ventured, kneeling down.

Crosshair took up a lookout position, keeping watch for Trevor again or droids. The old blaster wound between his neck and shoulder ached, a sure sign that conflict was ahead. It always acted up before a battle, and he did not care to be blindsided.

"Well," Shadow was saying, "Because I panicked and shifted into a Pseudo dragon-"

"I thought Icespitters were False dragons!" Tech exclaimed from the tip of her tail.

"Huh?" Shadow exclaimed, ears flicking up and angling back to listen to him. "What moron told you that?"

"You did!" Tech reminded her. "Before we started on the trail yesterday, you said Icespitters were False dragons."

"I did?" Shadow asked, nose wrinkling as she lifted her head and twisted her neck to look directly behind her. "Well, they're not. They're Pseudo dragons! Why would I say they were False dragons?"

"What's the difference?" Hunter asked.

Shadow looked back to him. "For starters, as you can probably see, pseudos are hella big. They can spit both ice and fire. They also live a lot longer." She paused, ears laying low as she looked away. "And... they uh... feed off food and magic."

"So?" Crosshair asked. What did that have to do with anything?

Blue eyes shifted towards him. "Alphian powers come from magic. I just used up a whole bunch o' that magic."

"Meaning?" Hunter ventured.

Shadow sighed, the uncharacteristic look of defeat sending a chill through Crosshair. "I'm out of magic... for the rest of the day."

Sith karking hells!