Haloooooooo! It is me! Back from the dead! Hahaha...
No seriously, I'm so freaking sorry. I'm not even really gonna go into the reasons because nothing really... excuses it, but I'm trying so, guess it has to count for something, yeah?
I'll admit, I was fucking taken aback by how much you all still care and love for this story - seriously! The comments you people leave make me cry and I can reread them to lighten up any shitty day. So, thank you, really, so fucking much. I love you all!
And I'm also sorry for not replying to comments - I don't always have the time and when I do remember to check I see it's been over 2 months and feel too embarrassed to do it then so... Yeah. Just know, all of them are appreciated to the moon and back five times over!
ALSO! I made a twitter for my writing BS since I kinda, gave up on Tumblr. You can come yell at me Quilted_Raven (hopefully it works, I dunno.)
Kix was a mess as he walked. Breathing deeply and harsh, it was only worse due to the damn glass dome the Umbarans wore. How did they breathe in this? But so far, so good… As long as he kept his distance from the others, no one would suspect that a clone had stolen one of their uniforms, right? And all the other suits in that storage room were damaged due to, some, other reason. Naturally.
Still, he didn't drag his feet. Didn't want to risk taking too long. Walking as calmly as he could, the medic approached the Tower again. And as he did, his attention was caught by what was happening by the hangers. In fact, it stopped him dead in his tracks. Krell had torn open the doors and the Umbarans spilled inside. He could see his brothers ready to fight, only to be too shocked to react at first.
'Of course. They didn't know… How could they…' the medic thought to himself and felt a sudden wave of anger.
He should be helping. He should be there, fighting Krell, trying to stop whatever it is he has planned. He could. No one would suspect him right now. Could just take his gun, walk up to him, and shoot him. Whatever happens after… They would still have better chances that way, right?
As he stood there, debating, he heard blaster fire go off. And he looked away. He can't. Too much death, too much pain. His fists shook by his side, both in anger and pain. And Kix made a choice.
She continued to evade and run, but just enough that the enemy would follow. They had to follow. And most did. She could feel the ground shake and the blasts of enemy fire streaking past her. This place was near impossible to navigate, to really know where you're going, but she didn't care. As far away as she could get from the others and then try to meet up with them again.
As Ashoka kept moving, she caught sight of a strange, flying creature, high above her. No wait, there were three. Flying together and away from the commotion and destruction.
With a grin, he looked over her shoulder, perched on one of the large trees. She saw the tanks and foot soldiers still chasing and stood up straight, giving them a clear target.
"I think this is my stop," and she followed with a two-finger salute before crouching down and jumping high up. Naturally, fire followed, but she did a graceful backflip onto one of the flying creatures.
It startled, shook but she gently patted it and tugged on its side, controlling the path it flew. The blasts kept coming, but they were too slow and too low for the now airborne Jedi.
"Let's hope that was enough…" Ahsoka whispered, glancing back. She couldn't even sense any of her brothers anymore, so maybe she really did get far enough away. She'll have to try and contact them later.
"Polo… Hey. Hey!" Linkton called, banging on the field keeping them captive. "What did they do to you? Can you even hear me?"
"Good soldiers… follow orders…" Polo kept repeating, eyes still unseeing, unblinking and dead.
"Is… Is that what they're going to do to us?" Dogma couldn't help but ask, fear tinting his voice.
"I hope not… That- What even is this?" Jigsaw swallowed, unable to look away from the horror they were seeing.
"I don't care, I'm not letting them do that to me!" one of the older ones hissed, eyes burning with anger. "They won't turn me into a damn droid."
There were a soft murmur and whispers among the others, fear and panic slowly starting to seep into their bones. More started fidgeting, exchanging glances and trying to even their breathing. But no one could really avoid the brother in the centre of the room, still repeating the same four words. No one would admit it, not really, but they could all feel the same thing. The same sense gripping their hearts, making it harder to breathe. Fear. All of them were scared.
Coughing and spitting on the ground, Rex tasted the blood in his mouth. The Umbaran in front of him was still yelling, still demanding that he 'surrender Republic secrets' and kept hitting him. By now, the shock baton needed a recharge and one of the other two had to back off. These bastards thought he'd break easy? No. Way.
Seeing the defiance in his eyes apparently made them angry as they started talking amongst themselves. The captain might not understand the language, but he could clearly hear the annoyed tone. Good. Let them get pissed. It'll make them more likely to get sloppy.
"As you would not speak, we will get what we want by force," the one who had been hitting him spoke. It was hard to tell their expression with the damn glass gas chamber on their head, but they didn't sound pleased.
More hissed words from the other two before this one waved them off. Whatever 'by force' meant, apparently, not everyone was on board for it. Another thing to keep in mind.
"Do your worst," Rex hissed, snarling into the Umbaran.
"I will." And the alien reached up, to the circlet still tight around his head and pressed something.
The moment he did, the Captain screamed. His vision turned white as what felt like lighting shot through his whole body. But it was more than that. He couldn't tell, not at the moment, not with the amount of searing pain coursing through his body. Even his bones felt like they were on fire.
Were they just going to torture him? Don't they know that won't work? But no, this was different. Because Rex could feel himself slowly slipping. The white of the pain fading, replaced with a familiar darkness. Except it felt different. Suffocating and thick, like a bog of sorts. Even with his helmet on, the air was hard. Toxic almost. And yet so familiar…
There was something going around, happening. Brothers yelling and calling. Fear. Everyone was scared. He couldn't move. There was something he should be doing. Something… Something!
"BISHOP!" he heard himself scream and finally the fog cleared. He saw a brother – his first brother – be grabbed by a monster and pulled into the darkness. His arm was still outstretched, reaching, hoping for a rescue. Except it never came. Seconds later, he was being pulled up and away and he still screamed and cried.
Why. Why was he seeing this again? Why did it feel so much more real than his normal nightmares?
And then he was jerked back. Out of the darkness, the doom and horror of past events. Out of his own memory and back into the chamber with the Umbarans standing and waiting.
He was panting, hard and shallow, barely able to take in a breath. He felt his eyes burn, the warm tears down his cheeks, his vision blurred. No. No way. That couldn't have- He must have blacked out from the pain. It was just a nightmare. Same as always. It had to-
From the edge of his vision, he caught a holodevice. Small and handheld. And it was currently showing, exactly what happened in his nightmare.
No, not a nightmare. Memory. They were recording his memories.
A new wave of dread overcame him, panic settling into his heart. He couldn't fight that. Couldn't stop it. Did so, struggled as the Umbaran reached up and pressed the button again. He wanted to resist. But couldn't.
Rex screamed again, whole body convulsing as another memory and failure was forced to the forefront of his mind.
Cody was the first to peek out and check if they were still being followed. Hardly anyone still dared to breathe, to move. This wasn't their turf and they didn't want to risk getting the Umbarans' attention again.
"Clear," he whispered, slowly letting out a breath of relief. "Commander Tano managed to lead most of them away."
"And the 501st?" Boil asked, leaned up against the tree near the Commander.
"Trying to establish a connection now," Jetstream spoke up, fiddling with his transponder, changing frequencies and speaking short but clear questions of anyone could hear him.
"Most of them got away, right?" Waxer peeked over the other side, trying to spot a splash of blue. Well, blue that wasn't laying down in the dirt…
"I hope so. Those tanks are a horror," Cody pulled down his scanner, trying to spot and moving bodies. "There!" he called softly.
Not too far away, there was a group of soldiers, huddled together and trying to keep down. Good. At least some of them managed to escape the same way.
"Trapper," he nodded in the general direction. Said soldier gave a salute and started silently creeping towards the 501st group.
"Hunt, think you can try and scout for a few more?"
"Copy that," Hunt nodded, took a receiver from Jetstream and took off in a different direction.
"Nighteye, I need you up top. Call out any stragglers."
"Understood," the sniper got ready and walked over to Boil and Waxer. "Give me a lift?"
"With pleasure," the two chuckled and set their hands together to make a jump board for their brother. At the silent 'go' Nighteye jumped and the two shoved him up into the treeline, where he settled into a perch.
"Testing comms," Jetstream checked, just to be sure.
"Loud and clear," came from the sniper.
"Copy, slight static," Trapper reported. "Closing in on the 501st."
"Manageable, but I don't think the range will last much longer," Hunt spoke, his own reply half robotic due to the distortion.
"Don't get out too far off. We can always move together later," Cody instructed.
As Trapper neared the group, he made sure to make a slight noise and be in line of sight, but also ready to drop and avoid fire.
"I'm a friendly," he added soon after, seeing the five brothers jump and aim at him, startled. "Trapper, 212th. Commander Cody sent me."
"Sergeant Appo, 501st. Cody's here?" one of them spoke, lowering the gun. "Where?"
"Follow me. We're trying to regroup."
Appo gave a motion to the other four as they moved in closer. "Found anyone else?"
"Not yet, but we will. We have our brothers already searching the area," the 212th soldier started to slowly lead them back to the others.
"Good, good…" the Sergeant let out a deep breath. "Thank you. Really saved us back there… We thought we were going to get killed."
"Just glad we got to you in time. And that we got here sooner."
"Better late than never…"
When the guards there saw him they tilted their heads and shared a look, before stepping a bit closer, weapons not raised but ready.
"What's wrong with your suit?" one of them asked. Luckily, these outfits came with a built-in translator, so didn't have to worry about that.
"Minor issue," Kix spoke back, wincing at how… garbled his voice sounded when put through the translator.
"You should get a replacement," the other one nodded back from where he came. To the now destroyed warehouse. Great.
"No time. Krell wants me up the Tower," he kept his sentences short and simple, hoping it won't break his cover.
One of them huffed, shaking their head and looking away. The other glanced at the hanger, where the other clones were being forced out.
"He has been in a bad mood."
"Exactly." Kix had to resist clenching his hands into fists. Could still hear his brothers yelling and screaming as they were forced out of the hanger. And worse, he heard blaster fire.
"Wounded ones are useless to me. Kill them." He had heard Krell say that before making his way here, unable to bear it any longer.
'I'm so sorry. Please forgive me… I'll avenge you, I swear…' he told himself as he swallowed down the guilt and pain. He had to find out what was happening. Find Rex. Had to be smart. It was the only way he was going to save the rest.
"I swear, he's a lunatic…" one of the two guards muttered but moved out of his way. Kix moved in an instant.
"I know right? Wonder what he even has planned…" the conversation got quieter the further the medic got from them until he couldn't hear either anymore.
Finally, he allowed himself a breath of relief, a moment to collect his thoughts before he moved again. Up and towards the control room. He passed a few more Umbarans who didn't seem to care much and made him thing that he could actually pull this off.
Arriving at the top, he saw the room was full. Aliens were bustling about, chancing security back to their own and setting up the defences. The base was retaken again. All of that – all the death and the suffering, the pain and orders… All of it. For nothing.
No, not for nothing. He could still do something. Not here. Not in this room. He'd be too exposed. But maybe… Maybe in Krell's room. Maybe he'd find something useful there?
With that in mind, Kix set off down the hall to where he assumed Pong made his place. Should be simple enough – it's the biggest one and farthest away from the entrance. From the clones.
It was almost… deserted. No guards, no security. Maybe no one cared for this part? Maybe everything was still in too much chaos to matter? Either way, Kix was grateful for the stroke of good luck. Especially, since the door wasn't locked. A bit strange, but he wasn't going to question it. Not now.
Opening the door as carefully as he could, the medic slipped inside and closed it a moment later, just to be sure. But when he finally turned and took in the room, his heart stopped and his breath caught in his thought.
"W-What… the hell… is this?" he whispered, eyes wide and fear evident in his voice.
"So… That's…" Hardcase was looking straight ahead, eyes wide. The other two had just finished explaining the situation to him, best they could. "Wow."
"Any of this help?" Jesse gently set a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes, trying and searching for recognition.
"N-No, not really…" the hyper clone gave a bitter laugh. "I feel like I should but… I don't…"
"It's okay," Fives patted his leg. "You'll be okay."
"Yeah?" and there was a hint of fear in the man's eyes as he looked up. "They ain't gonna decommission me cause I hit my head too hard?"
"No way!" Jesse was quick to assure, eyes hard. "We won't let that happen."
"Exactly," the ARC trooper nodded. "I'll make sure no one gets near any of this. We're not letting them take you away."
Hardcase seemed to relax a bit at that, giving a weak nod. "Okay… Okay, I-I trust you… Thank you," and gave a pained smile.
"Anytime, brother."
It was then, that they all heard a commotion happening outside the tent. Fives was the first up, leaning over the screen to see the entrance and caught sight of soldiers running and moving past.
"What's happening?"
"No sure…" the ARC got up and turned to the other two. "Stay there. I'll check it out."
"What the- no!"
"Jesse, you can barely walk! Stay. Here." The voice came out with an order and had the bald man close his mouth.
Making sure neither would move, Fives rushed to the entrance, seeing glimpses of other clones moving and getting up. Getting out, there was some sort of organization going on, all happening around the Captain tent.
"Reeve!" he called as he walked up quickly, seeing the man talking to another soldier. He looked up at being called and his expression was… apologetic almost.
"Fives," he greeted, nodding to the clone next to him. "You should be resting."
"What's going on?"
"Nothing that we can do anything about."
"Tell me."
"Fives, listen-"
"Sir!" another clone came running in, holding a datapad. "We lost contact with another one. That whole area is currently a dark zone."
"Damn," Reeve hissed, running a hand over his face.
"Hey!" Fives had enough, pulling the Captain by the arm to face me. "What's going on?"
A pause, as the older man seemed to consider. His eyes were tired, resigned and almost… sad. When he spoke, his voice was soft: "We lost all signals with the captured Umbaran base. The same one the 501st took over. It's all dark. No one knows what's going on, but my guess? The Umbarans took it back. I'm sorry."
"You'll pay for this, you hear me? You won't get away with it!" Scar yelled and howled as he was dragged away, shoved and pushed towards one of the other buildings.
Krell just chuckled, a self-satisfied smirk on his face: "Oh, but I already have. You would never understand why I am doing this, but I assure you, it's for the best."
"The kriff it is!" Fixer hissed from where he was shoved onto the ground, still struggling. He had killed three Umbarans when he realized they were executing those soldiers too wounded too move.
"I am doing this for the Republic!" Pong hissed, eyes narrowing. "You are weapons that must either be destroyed or controlled! Be grateful I am choosing to make you useful to some degree!"
"You're insane!"
"No, I'm the only one who sees clearly! You clones bring nothing but death and destruction! I will prevent that, no matter the cost!" the Jedi towered over everyone else, eyes blazing and unfeeling. Of course, they wouldn't understand. No one would. Not unless they had seen what he did. This was the only way.
And cut!
So, yeah, same shit still getting worse and worse - y'all know the drill. Though I am considering if I should kinda... shorten the story? Had this BIG plan for it and all, but seeing how slow my updates are, I figure if I just, finish around the Umbara you lovely readers will actually have a finished and completed story, instead of six unresolved ones. Lemme know what y'all think about that - as I said, only considering for now, but I'll let ya know what I decide in the end.
As usual, thanks fo freaking much if you're still following the story and welcome if you're new! The updates are shit but I hear its worth it xD
Till next time, stay well and safe~