I

Rex felt a slow tremor traveling up and down his arms, a chill spreading through the nerves of his spine, unease trickling into his gut as he watched his brother pace around the ray shield like he was the one trapped.

This wasn't going well at all. The 501st had just gotten back from Ringo Vinda, his command suffering slightly at the worry of both Tup and Fives and had hoped to hear news about his troopers. And news he got, telling him that Tup had died, and Fives had attempted to assassinate the Chancellor.

The fate of Tup was devastating but Fives had needed him, so he'd carefully boxed his grief and set it aside for later so that they could mourn together. But in his haste to save his brother, he'd forgotten that Fives was also an ARC, and now he was paying the price by being separated from his brother who needed him.

The one time you beat me at my own game, and it's when I need you to cooperate.

At first he'd been angry, Skywalkers impatience fueling his own. But then Fives had stumbled into the light, the action so uncharacteristic that Rex had felt his annoyance fizzle, and as Fives continued to pace around disjointedly, proclaiming the existence of some great conspiracy, a 'massive deception', Rex felt worry start to wrap around his lungs, so unused to seeing the self-assured and proud ARC so shaken. Somewhere along the line between the Citadel and Umbara, Fives had become his rock, the vod he could lean on when Cody wasn't there, they guy who would call him out when he was making stupid decisions and who boosted his confidence when he no longer had any to spare.

And now Fives needed him, he couldn't help him,because of this stupid wall. And Skywalker wasn.t helping, obviously not understanding the need to kriffing calm down despite being the physic. So it fell to Rex to calm things down.

"Fives, we are listening to you," he tried to soothe. "We only want to help."

"How do I know you're not tricking me," Fives panted. "H-How do I know, it- it won't be a trap? The Chancellor will try to kill me! I-I promise you that!"

Any calmness that had finally been attained disappeared from the general in an instant, his shoulders rising as he exclaimed, "The Chancellor?"

Panicked, Rex tried to interject, but Fives was already responding, "He's IN on it. I-I don't know to what extent, but I know he orchestrated much of this." He turned to face them, limbs more agitated then before. "He told me in the medical bay!"

"He told you," Skywalker scoffed pushing Rex to the side. "When you tried to assassinate him? You have gone too far Fives." And Rex had never wanted to smack his general more in his life, this wasn't what Fives needed. "The Chancellor isn't capable of what you claim."

"He is!" Fives barked out. "I swear to you general, you have no idea-"

And suddenly the Coruscant guard were there, and Fox was ordering Fives stand down, and Fives was yelling back and glancing toward a nearby crate, where Rex had left his pistols, and Rex's stomach dropped to his legs as he realized what he was happening, why oh why had he left them there, and the guard was getting closer, their guns were still raised and everyone was yelling and Fives suddenly dove for the blasters, Rex felt himself shout-

And suddenly they all stilled, Fives jolting slightly, before Rex saw his head tilt toward his chest, before he swayed to the side, coughing out sparks, and Rex's heart turned to ice as Fives collapsed to the ground. He didn't even realize he'd shoved his general away so he could get as close to his brother as he could, fists slamming against the stupid kriffing shield-

Suddenly it was gone, and Rex sunk to his knees to roll Fives onto his back, cursing his brothers for the second time in his life for having such good aim, calling out for a medic as Fives wheezed, struggling to take a breath.

"Rex," Fives strained out.

"Fives…" the trembles in Rex's arms started to worsen.

"This.. it's.. bigger than any of us… then anything I could've imagined," and suddenly Fives looked more alert then any before while Rex felt as if he were spiraling, because he didn't understand. Fives eyes locked onto Rex's as he reached out a hand. "I-I never meant to…" Rex leaned down as Fives suddenly trailed off.

"I only wanted to do my duty…"

Rex's heart stuttered as Fives suddenly started to fall limp, head lolling slightly. "Brother… Fives, stay with me Fives. Fives!"

"The mission…" Rex heart stopped. "The nightmares…" Fives almost looked like he was smiling. "They're finally… over…"

And then he was gone, body going completely lax, the way Rex had felt many brother's go in their final minutes, but he'd never expected Fives to be one of them, to join the Manda too soon, unhearing of his brother's pleas to not got, to hang on, to stay with me Fives, stay with me, don't go.

But even rocks erode and crumble, no matter how strong they used to be.

II

"Is it done?"

Rex probably shouldn't be using the codes he and Cody had come up with to gain access to Kamino's security camara's, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. If asked, he could just say that as the commanding officer to the two troopers, he needed to see the footage for himself, and since it was partly true, no one would think it was an abuse of power.

"It is now."

He remembered walking through the barracks the next morning after Fives death and seeing Cody make a beeline to him, grabbing him by the back of his neck and leading him to an empty storage closet to make sure he was okay despite the way his face contorted in grief and remembering that he and Cody had found the Dominoes together, Fives had mattered to Cody too. He remembered seeing Kix's face when he told him what had happened, how Kix had broken down as Jesse held him, about how it was his fault, that he should've gone with Fives, should've done more then send a simple comm. Remembered giving Kix a hugs of his own and to stop blaming himself.

Remembered Skywalker's almost apologetic look when he told him that there were actually chips inside their heads, but not for the purpose of mind control, but to curb any natural aggression towards allies, to make them more docile.

As if that was any better.

But Rex still couldn't find any peace. So he'd sealed himself in his office and grabbed a data pad, and connected to the Kaminoans mainframe. And he forced himself to watch as Nala Se started tests on Tup that left him convulsing, saw Fives pacing around his own room, starting to get restless.

Watched the di'kut pull a false alarm so he and the medical droid could get to his kih'vod. Watched as they found a 'tumor' and remove it, before Nala Se came barging in demanding to know what he had done, and Fives respond that he had saved his friend. Rex took a deep breath and counted to seven as General Ti and several Kaminoan guards crowded into the room. Feeling faint when Tup started mumbling inaudibly, straining his ears as he tried to make out the words through the audio.

"What is he saying?" General Ti walked further into the room as the Kaminoan guard surrounded the perimeter.

"Brother, what mission?" Fives asked as he placed a gentle hand on Tup's.

"You… you know the one. Th-the mission. The one in our dreams…"

Rex's next breath came out shaky as he remembered Fives last words, speaking of missions that no one understood, of nightmares that he had been having, and wondered to himself if perhaps Fives had been talking about the nightmares, the ones Rex had been having since the beginning of the war, and that had been becoming more frequent, the ones he never talked about because he was ashamed he would ever even think, even subconsciously, of doing such a thing. Never once had he considered that anyone else would have thought the same.

"It never ends… the one in our dreams… oh brother," Tup reached for Fives' other hand and clutched them to his chest. "… This is the end…"

Rex felt his heart skip at the words, the room suddenly feeling colder then when he had first arrived.

"Forget the mission…

Rex watched the troopers surrounding the room twitch at his words, heads dipping and limbs shifting uncomfortably.

Or the nightmare…

He watched Fives lean forward almost desperately, the angle didn't allow his face to be seen, but Rex could imagine the helplessness on his face

I'm finally…

He'd felt it after all.

…free…"

He closed his eyes.

"No… no!

Let the data pad drop the desk. Grabbed another one.

I thought I saved him…"

He had a report to make.

III

Rex wondered how someone could feel so numb and so angry at the same time. It seemed pretty contradictory, one gave you a lack of feeling while the other was a passionate fire that burned through your veins.

He hadn't meant to snap at Ahsoka. It wasn't really her fault, after all, he understood more than anyone how fear can make even the most honorable warrior freeze and make a deadly mistake. And a mistake she had made, in her confusion, she had released the criminal that was known to have massacred many of his brothers, as a distraction. And he understood why, after all, it was a pretty good strategy. If you are a perceived outnumbered by the enemy, give them a bigger threat to deal with, and if said threat managed to massacre the enemy, all the better right?

And he understood that at that time, he's brothers were the enemy. They were firing on her to kill, looking for blood. And she did what she had to do. And Rex had agreed, had told her even that they would have to kill to get off that blasted ship.

He knew that as soon as they had gotten into the ship, he should've made as much space between him and the moon. He should definitely have not flown down to the planets surface as the venator crashed onto the surface and landed a very short distance from the now wreckage. Any survivors might start going after him and he knew this, knew that Ahsoka was right to point it out, and he knew that it was not right to shout at her, to tell her to shup up and basically blame this whole mess on her, but that's what he had done anyway, and now he was walking alongside the hulking ship, the metal from it's hull glowing slightly as it still burned from the re-entry, expecting any second, for the sound of a blaster shooting a plasma bolt through his heart.

He didn't even know why he was angry. Maybe it was because of the unfairness of it all; they had never been asked to be born, only to die in a way they didn't understand. They didn't ask for those kriffing chips to be installed in their heads to make them nothing more then meat droids, a term they had tried so hard to fight along side the physical battles. Maybe he was angry at this Sidious, the apparent mastermind behind this whole mess, for daring to think that just because he had power he could use it to make everyone's life kriffing miserable just because he wanted… what? Power? Fame? Glory? He'd seen the types of people that want those kinds of things, the way they were karked in the head, how horribly they treated others and how lonely and miserable they were. And besides, the oh-so-mighty Chancellor already had all three. Why would he need more?

He finally found himself at the door of the hanger, and felt his heart turning into lead the longer he didn't run into any survivors. He squeezed through the warped metal and made his way inside

Or maybe he was angry at himself. Maybe he was angry because he hadn't listened. He hadn't done enough to save his brothers. Just written a report and then went running around with Skywalker again and forgot about it. Maybe he was angry because despite this betrayal, Ahsoka for whatever reason decided to save him. Why him? Out of all the brothers, he was the one who most deserved death and yet Ahsoka chose to free him alone while his brothers continued to suffer.

His feet faltered as he entered the second floor of the hanger. Bodies were strewn all over the place like rag dolls, many broken into unnatural positions, some helmets discarded and some glistening with a what he assumed was blood. He didn't doubt that any more light would make the sight more gruesome. He stood there in a daze, not having felt such loss since Teth.

He was broken out of his reverie at the sound of a wet cough. Jolting slightly, his feet stumbled forward immediately at the sound, his eyes passing over the still bodies once again as he scanned for the movement of a survivor-

He felt his breath hitch as his eyes found the familiar shape of the republic cog even in the dull light and he rushed to the familiar helmet that was bashed in around the right side of Jesse's face, the glass shattered. He carefully helped Jesse to sit up, leaning him against his chest before easing the helmet off as gently as he could, wiping away at the blood covering his brother's face.

Jesse groaned and his eyes fluttered. "Ca-Captain…"

"Shhh, don't push yourself too hard," he said quietly as Jesse coughed up some blood, felt his face crumple when he realized how sharply Jesse's armor was caved in. He felt angry again, at the battered armor for daring to become a weapon.

Jesse blinked slowly at the ceiling. "… Izzit over? The… the mission?" He coughed again. "Did we- did we finish… the mission?"

Rex swallowed thickly before bending down and pressing his forehead to Jesse's. "Yeah Jess. The mission is over." He couldn't get his voice above a whisper. "You can rest now. N-no nightmares will come for you."

Jesse's head lolled. "N-no… nightmares." His eyes slipped close. "Good… that's… good…"

Rex stayed there until he felt Ahsoka's hand on his shoulder.

IIII

Rex hadn't meant to eavesdrop. Really he hadn't.

After the order, Ahsoka had taken Rex to meet up with two sisters she had met up with while she wasn't being a jedi, and though they were wary of him at first, they warmed up to him eventually. After some time spent gathering their wits, they had decided that it was too dangerous to stick together, so they had split up, although they promised to remain in touch as much as much and as safely as possible. After that, Rex had gone straight to Saluecami, remembering the deserter he had met so long ago, and hoping that he was alright. He remembered the relief that he had felt when he found the family just as they had been three years before, thought the kids looked older, and wasted no time in warning them about the chips and the empire that had now taken place of the Republic. After that he had roamed, going place to place, getting contacts, letting his anger fuel him as he went from planet to planet.

And then the Martez sister contacted him again, telling him they had run into a band of rogue clones from Ord Mantell. It had almost been too good to be true.

Of course, out of anyone it had to be the bad batch, and Rex couldn't find it in himself to be surprised, feeling a strange sort of peace settle at being close to brothers again, even if those brothers aren't the ones he wished were with him. He was especially relieved to see Echo who seemed like he had transitioned well into the squad, surprised to meet Omega and saddened at the lack of Crosshair. Jerk or not, he didn't deserve that anymore than the rest of Rex's brothers. Of course, all that went out the window when it was revealed that they had not removed their chips.

Karking idiots.

Rex admitted that he probably could have handled that better, but he couldn't help the hand that strayed to his blasters, knowing how quickly they could change a person. Luckily, his reaction seemed to have convinced the squad of the seriousness of the situation, and Rex immediately concocted a plan to get them to Bracca as soon as possible, not trusting any medical droid to do it, let alone a human doctor.

Of course, because nothing is ever easy 501st or not, they ran into a problem. Two problems actually, if you count the giant Sar lack like creature that almost ate Wrecker, and that was that Wrecker's chip had activated, causing him to rampage across the ship in the name of order 66, and reminding Rex of unwanted memories.

Luckily, they were able to subdue him and remove the chip without any more complications, and once it was clear that Wrecker was okay, the rest of the batch went along with the procedure. It was after all was said and done that Rex found his attention brought to Wrecker who had approached Omega.

"Listen… Omega," he heard Wrecker's breath stutter. "About what happened… I tried to control it. I tried as hard as I could! I just, couldn't. Make it stop."

Rex swallowed at the admission, feeling the phantom pains of when he tried to fight off the chip, the agony splitting his head as he fought against the chip and the helplessness he felt when his body would no longer listen to his commands.

"I know Wrecker, it's okay," he heard Omega say, and suddenly all he could see was Ahsoka grabbing his hand after he apologized for everything that had happened after they had dug the last grave and telling him that it's okay Rex. I understand. I'm sorry too.

"But still, I-I'm sorry."

There wasn't a verbal response to that, but the rustling of clothes and Wrecker's delighted gasp caused him to turn his head to see her offering him what looked like popcorn.

"The mission's over. We can't break tradition."

And Rex suddenly felt his throat close as he watched the two siblings eagerly dig into the Pantoran treat, suddenly feeling his eyes sting as his heart warm. Unable to watch anymore, he grabbed his bucked and left the room as quietly as he could. Because Omega was wrong. The mission wasn't over. There was still so much to do, so many brothers to save, so many wrongs to right, his mistake that will take a lifetime to correct.

But if he could do that, if he could find more brothers that could click the way Omega and Wrecker do, support each other through the aftermath of such a tragedy, if he could give other brothers what he was unable to give the 501st and 332nd, then it would all be worth it.