"Echo?"

Echo couldn't hold himself back any longer. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Fives, who stiffened. Echo thought he'd pull away, then felt Fives' hands tentatively touch his back.

"Yes, Fives. It's me," Echo whispered through a tight throat.

"Echo… Echo!"

Fives' arms tightened and Echo felt his feet leave the floor at the force of his brother's hug. A startled and relief-filled laugh burst out of him as Fives stumbled and Echo grabbed him tighter. Words spilled out of him, overlapping with Fives' sudden talking.

"I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I saw you blow up! How did you survive?!"

"Pure luck and Separatist tech."

"Separatist?!"

"Yeah, stole my body and hijacked my brain."

"What?!"

"Don't worry, I didn't tell them any of your secrets."

"I don't care about that! Then that thing on your head-"

"In my head, it's attached-"

"To your brain?!"

"Hey, you always said my skull was hollow."

"Echo, gross!"

"But, you! Rex said you died in his arms!"

"I did! Sort of. You've seen Rex?"

"He's the one who found me."

"I should've-"

"Stop right there. But, how'd you survive? Rex never said-"

"He didn't know! Only Fox did!"

"Fox?"

"Yeah, it was his d-dumb plan-"

"How-"

"Don't a-ask me, I'm n-not a d-doct-tor."

"Fives? Fives, you're shivering!"

"I-I'm f-f- oh, k-kriff, d-don't-"

Echo gasped when Fives abruptly went limp, and grabbed him tighter. Fives gave a pained grunt. Echo tried to readjust so his link wasn't jabbing into Fives' side. As he did, he felt Fives slip further. Echo quickly dropped to his knees, keeping his grip on Fives so his fall was more of a controlled drop.

Echo hugged Fives closer. His brother's grip had loosened, and his body was wracked with shivers. Five's forehead fell against Echo's cheek, and Echo was shocked to find Fives was freezing to the touch.

"Fives, what's wrong?" Echo said, voice rising in panic.

"It… it's'kay," Fives slurred. "Jus… cold."

"Here," came Omega's voice.

Echo lifted his head and saw Omega holding out a couple of blankets. He quickly took them and wrapped them around Fives and himself. He looked down, then raised his head and looked around until he saw Hunter, who moved closer.

"Hunter, take him," Echo said.

"Wha-" Fives started.

Echo shushed him. "My armor is wet."

Echo took the blanket off himself and waited until Hunter was supporting Fives. He stood and quickly removed his armor, then sat and dragged Fives onto his lap. Fives' shivering didn't lessen, but Echo felt some of the tension in Fives relax once he'd tucked his brother close.

"Ideas, Tech?" Echo asked.

"I's 'orma…" Fives mumbled.

"Normal?" Echo repeated.

Fives' head bobbed in a slight nod. With effort, Fives said, "It… w-will.. p-p-pass."

Echo looked down uncertainly, and Fives gave him a shaky smile.

"Fine." Echo raised his head. "But I'll take a second opinion, Tech."

"I'd have to check him on the Marauder to be sure," Tech said, adjusting his goggles. "Fives, how long have you been here?"

"T-two… week-ks."

"And you were in stasis before that?"

Fives stiffened and remained silent. But his reaction was answer enough.

"There is the problem, then," Tech said, pointing at something behind them.

Echo twisted. He hadn't noticed it before, but there was a human-sized pod set into the wall. A panel covered in buttons sat in the wall beside it, and tubes dangled from the top and sides of the pod.

Echo shuddered. "They froze you."

"Kaminoans are cloners, not cryogenicists," Tech said. "A slight miscalculation in waking up the patient could have lasting side effects."

Fives flinched. Echo glared at Tech, who was too distracted by the tank to notice. Tech went to the stasis pod and plugged his datapad into it. Echo shook his head, then realized something.

"I never introduced you guys," Echo said. "Hunter's in charge. The technology whiz back there is Tech. Big guy's Wrecker, and the kid is Omega. We're the Bad Batch."

The rest of the batch removed their helmets as Echo introduced them. Omega smiled and waved when Echo got to her name.

"'Bad… B-Batch'?" Fives repeated.

"They're all clones, too. Just with genetic mutations. Hunter has enhanced senses, Tech's brain works at hyperspeed, and Wrecker's got the muscle," Echo said. "They helped Rex and General Skywalker find me."

Echo felt Fives flinch at General Skywalker's name. He made a mental note to avoid bringing up their former general until he felt Fives was stable enough to ask.

"After," Echo went on, "They decided to let me stick around."

Fives hummed. Echo noted with relief that his shivering was finally lessening.

"...padawan?" Fives asked.

"Huh?"

"You a padawan, Omega?" Fives asked.

Omega tilted her head with a confused frown. "No."

Echo chuckled. "She's our sister."

Fives was silent for a long moment. Then, "Like, you found her and kept her…?"

"I'm a clone like you," Omega said.

Fives took a moment to process the explanation, but he smiled once he did.

"Always wondered what it was like to have a sister," Fives said.

Omega beamed. Since Fives' shivers had reduced to a slight shaking in his arms, Echo shifted Fives so he was sitting on the floor.

"Alright, Fives," Echo said, "Care to explain what just happened?"

Fives shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not a doctor. I just get those… fits when I strain myself or get excited. They aren't as bad as they used to be. And I've never had someone to help me warm up."

Echo frowned. "They used to be worse? Do I want to know?"

"Ah… no."

Fives started to stand, but Echo caught his arm.

"No, stay there. You're still shivering."

"What, this?" Fives held up a shaking arm. "My arms haven't been steady since I woke up here."

Echo looked at Tech in alarm. Tech glanced away from his datapad at the same time.

"Well, it doesn't look like your awakening was intentional," Tech said. He waggled the datapad. "The pod lost power two weeks ago, forcing you awake. It's possible Nala Se didn't even realize you were awake."

"No, she knew," Five said. "Well, someone knew. Almost died for real when the pod spit me out because the life-support system was off. Someone had to have turned it on." He shot Echo a quizzical look. "But if Nala Se didn't send you here and you didn't know about Fox, why are you here? What were you expecting to find?"

"I don't know," Echo said. "We got out of Kamino, and AZI said he had orders to come here."

Fives tilted his head. "...what do you normally do?"

"Whatever jobs find us," Hunter said, speaking for the first time in a while. "Usually relief or stealth strike missions."

"Or impossible missions," Wrecker added with a grin.

Fives grinned back. "Sounds like fun. But, what are you doing with AZI? Medical droids never leave Kamino. Come to think of it, why'd the Kaminoans let you bring the kid along?"

Tech stated, "They didn't. She escaped with the rest of us."

"Escaped?" Fives repeated.

Echo inhaled sharply, mind skidding to a halt. "I'm an idiot."

"That's my job." Fives' smile faded when Echo didn't react. "What?"

"Where do I begin?" Echo muttered.

"The beginning is preferable." Fives gave a nervous grin. "Talk to me, Echo. You're freaking me out."

"The war is over," Hunter said.

"That's great! Right?" Fives' eyes widened when no one reacted. "Or did we lose?"

"Depends on who you ask," Echo said.

"Technically, the Republic won," Tech jumped in.

"Meaning?" Fives asked.

Echo explained, "The Separatists are mostly gone, and all their droids are turned off. But… the Jedi have been declared traitors and most of them are dead by now."

"What? How?"

"Palpatine lied."

Fives stiffened again, then his expression turned furious. "And people believed him?! Let me up, Echo, I have a chancellor to assassinate, this time it will be real."

"He's an emperor now," Echo said, brows furrowing in confusion at Fives' statement.

"Guy's real humble, isn't he?" Fives was halfway to his feet, but he gave up and sat down with a huff. "...how'd he manage to kill off the Jedi?"

"The chips."

Fives jerked his gaze to Echo's, eyes wide with pain and horror. Echo lowered his head, regret filling him even though he knew he couldn't have changed anything.

"Something set them all off, turning the clones against the Jedi. Only a few of the clones escaped its effects," Echo said, nodding to the rest of the squad. "We were declared traitors, and we've been on the run for the last six months."

"And you came back to Kamino because your medical droid wanted to?"

Echo winced. "That's too long of a story. To tell you down here, at least."

"Or on Kamino," Wrecker agreed, discomfort clear in his too-loud voice.

Fives tilted his head, but knew better than to press. He leaned forward and stood.

Echo let him this time, but kept a hand at Fives' back in case he stumbled. It hurt watching Fives move so slowly, testing his legs before putting his full weight on them. His worry must have shown on his face, because Fives chuckled.

"I'm alright," Fives assured him.

Echo shook his head. "I'll feel better when we get you out of here."

"Agreed," Hunter said. "Wrecker, go back to the Marauder and get Echo's cloak and a pack. Omega, we'll gather Fives' things."

"Won't take long," Fives said as he walked slowly to the table. "Make sure to grab the datapad."

Omega emerged from a small bedroom, datapad in hand. "What's on it?"

"Not much," Fives admitted. "But Fox left a note explaining how he faked my death for me. Something about a reaction in the body between that mind-scrambling medicine Nala Se gave me and a low-power blast from a blaster."

"A form of catatonia," Tech said without looking up from his own datapad. "A combination of tonic immobility and catalepsy, brought on by what was likely benzodiazepine and/or dextroamphetamine considering Nala Se's preference of them, then the energy from a bolt neutralized the benzodiazepine and short-circuited your nervous system."

"...that," Fives said.

"Only Fox would know how to kill someone without actually killing them," Echo said in exasperation.

"As much as I'd like to punch Fox for that, he did save my life," Fives said grudgingly. "Just would have been nice if he had told someone. Like me."

Echo went to Fives' side. "Rex is going to be so glad to see you. He tried to figure out what happened to you, you know."

Fives gave Echo a small smile, but it looked strained.

"The knowledge saved his and Ahsoka's life when Order 66 was enacted," Tech piped up.

Fives' eyes shot wide. "Ahsoka's alive still?"

"Yes, but Rex doesn't know that we know," Hunter said, shooting Tech an annoyed frown. "Tech hacked into Rex's datapad."

"I did not," Tech said, actually sounding insulted. "Rex wanted me to make his datapad secure, and I did."

"After reading the mission reports he still writes out of habit," Echo dead-panned. He clearly remembered the day Tech had nonchalantly dropped that little bomb on the group a few days after the mission on Bracca.

"He really shouldn't keep that sort of information on him," Tech mused.

Everyone gave up on the conversation. Tech sometimes forgot that personal privacy was a thing, and it was pointless to try and convince him that he'd done something invasive.

Wrecker returned then. Fives' meager belongings were packed away, and Fives donned the cloak.

Then, without a backward glance, Fives marched out of the room and to the lift. Echo stayed at his side the whole time. Fives was steady again, but Echo couldn't quite shake the memory of Fives collapsing.

Echo watched the doors close behind them. He twitched when he felt a weight against his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Fives leaning his head against his shoulder.

After a few seconds, Fives said, "Either I shrunk in the pod, or you got taller."

"Metal legs give me a bit of height," Echo said.

Fives hummed. "Not fair. Hey, where we headed?"

Echo looked at Hunter, who made a "after you" gesture. Echo tilted his head to the side, his extra bit of height letting his head rest comfortably on Fives'.

"Where do you want to go?" Echo asked.

"...anyplace that isn't here," Fives whispered.

The lift panel opened above the squad, dropping buckets of rain on the squad. Echo and Fives didn't move, though.

"I think that can be arranged," Echo whispered to his brother.

A/N: Hehe, aw, I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as me! This story is at the end... on FF. Pat reon Dabblers get two bonus scenes! (Hunter's musings and reunion with Rex! :D)