Heyo everyone!
Not the latest I've been, but still - everything's kinda chaotic right now and I still have University, so I honestly don't even know which day it is. TIME IS A LIE!
Things are finally getting together in this one and I do think I'll be able to wrap it up in a few more chapters. Not gonna say anything cause, ya know, nothing is ever true, but hey, I'll keep it as a reminder!
Also, a new little thing... I made a Patron! If you're interested in knowing more, feel free to check it out at my Twitter, Quilted_Raven and lemme know if you'd even consider being part of this ^^"

Also, reupload since apparently this chapter didn't properly get here

She was getting closer – could feel it. The Force was tense, thick like molasses. Ahsoka was feeling it pressing down onto her, like a crushing force of gravity, making her slow and take moments to breathe. She couldn't understand it – what was causing such pressure? It reminded her of civilians, trapped in battle areas and warzones – except worse, somehow.

"No point standing here thinking about it…" the Padawan muttered to herself, took a deep breath and continued her journey onward.

This area also seemed… calmer. There were no shards of white armour, no human-shaped bodies buried in the ground. There didn't appear to be much fighting happening around here – so why the fear? It made no sense to her. She couldn't stop thinking about it, how maybe this encampment also got attacked. That she's going to arrive and find it overrun, clones laying lifeless on the ground of being dragged screaming away.

She thought of Rex. Of the fact he's dead.

It made her focus drop and shift and she missed her next jump, tripping and falling, breaking off a branch again before landing with a hard smack on the ground. For a few moments she just stayed like that, tired, hurt and worried. She wanted to rest, get her strength back. But she was so close… If she took a rest now, who knows what would happen to the camp when she finally did arrive? She couldn't risk that. A few more moments of laying on the ground and she let out a groan, picked herself up, coughed and dusted herself off. Time to move.

Run. He had to run and not look back.
'Abandon everything you ever learned.'
He had to save him. Turn left. Down the hall.

'Who are you to decide who has the priority?'

It was taken out of his hands. Run. Past the enemy.

'You could've stayed. Should've helped.'

Find him. Get more help. Save as many as you can.

'You're a traitor to your profession.'

Can't see. Misty eyes – crying. He was crying.

'Weak.'

Run.

'Coward.'

Save him.

'Traitor.'

Please.

'You left him to die.'

"No!" he finally broke, hands flying to the glass helmet on his head. "Shut up! Shut up!"

It was in the corner of the room and the sirens were still blaring, Umbarans rushing this way and that. He knew where they would eventually end up though.

'Exactly where you left him.'

He shouldn't be here – he has to leave. Didn't have time. No telling when-

"Turn off those alarms! Find whoever is causing the breach!" that voice.

Kix's body froze, blood running cold and heartbeat stopping for a moment. Walking through the chaos, illuminated by the red lights, was Pong Krell. General. Jedi. Monster. Murderer. Demogolka.

His hand instantly went to the blaster at his side, holding tight as his focus never left the Besalisk. He could take his shot. No one knew he was there. Krell was on a warpath by the way he walked.

'Do it.'

'Save him.'

'Kill him.'

'They need you.'

'Avenge all of them.'

His hand was shaking as he aimed at the General, unable to properly even see through the mist in his eyes. He wouldn't survive the aftermath, he knew that. And yet- … and yet…

'Tell Fives-!'

Screaming internally, Kix lowered his arm, shut his eyes tight and continued running towards the direction Echo told him. He couldn't die. He had to tell Fives- so many things. Apologize even. He might be the only one left alive and free on the base who knew what Krell was doing. That he's a traitor. He can't get caught.

'If the medic dies, there's no one left to save others. You all do well to remember that.'

The instructors on Kamino – he never liked those lessons. Didn't understand them. Now he does. Like it or not, he has a job to do and he can't do it if he's dead. So, he has to survive. Has to keep going.

'Find him. Save him.'

He will.

"Where's our new friend?" Reeve asked, standing by his men as they scanned the area.

"Closing in, sir," the older of the group replied, lowering his electrobinoculars.

They were on the edge of the camp's perimeter, all primed and ready. Five of them, plus the Captain. Enough to handle the wildlife of Umbara.

"It's moving more slowly though," 3478 sounded confused, maybe worried even.

"Any clue what we're dealing with?" the Captain pulled down his own scanner antenna, looking for their target. Not close enough apparently.

"No sir. Too small to classify as the winged creatures and not really avoiding us as an Umbaran would."

Reeve paused a moment, staring into the void. A possibility came to mind… But he couldn't risk the lives of his men on a chance. Not anymore.

"Prepare to shoot whatever comes into range."

"Yessir!"

And so they waited, each of them ready and steady. Minutes went by, but then, they all caught something moving towards them. It was hidden behind the larger trees – smart.

"Steady…" Reeve whispered, aiming his own rifle and waiting for it to move.

"Steady…" it paused, tired. There was a nagging in the back of his head-

It moved. "Fire!" And they did.

No one heard anything – no screaming or screeching, no sound of a body dropping. They waited a few seconds. Nothing. Reeve kept them from investigating – he knew something was off.

"I'm not an enemy!" a voice suddenly cried out – young, hurt and tired.

The soldiers all turned upwards, weapons aimed. They saw a young Togruta, holding her side, a pained expression on her face.

"Identify yourself!" the Captain's voice trembled slightly but still echoed out. His rifle was primed.

"I- I'm Ahsoka Tano, Padawan to Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker. I'm here to help!" she sounded desperate, even put her hands in the air. Her side was hit by one of them when they fired before but she still hardly showed any pain.

'Jedi' the rest of them thought. It didn't alleviate their suspicion, only made it worse.

"How did you find us?" Reeve pressed on.

"I…" and she hesitated. Looked at them, her eyes wide, filled with fear.

It shouldn't feel good to make a Jedi feel fear, but it did. It made it clear they were in the position of power for once.

'She's a child!'

"I followed the force…" she whispered, head lowered. "Please… The 501st base was attacked… My brothers need help," her eyes were pleading. He could feel his arms relaxing, just a bit.

"Brothers? There're more Padawans on Umbara?" Reeve tilted his head, confused. The others knew how this usually went – the Captain asks question, handles the situation with words. Then they either stand down or fire on his word.

"N-No… The soldiers… clones…" the Padawan's words were soft, worried.

"You see us," he made sure to empathize the word: "as brothers?"

A moment of hesitation before she nodded. "Rex… he calls me 'vod'ika' sometimes."

And it was that word, spoken properly, with a sense of love and pride, which made him lower his arms.

"Stand down," at his command, everyone put away their weapons without a moment of hesitation. Though they didn't know why.

"Gar jorhaa'ir Mando?" he asked. It's been so, so long since he's used this tongue. It felt like dust and cracked earth in his mouth. Krell forbade it. Only a handful of his brothers ever even learned it.

She looked more alive at that, even if her expression turned sheepish a moment later: "Not very much… Only a few words. But I can understand it."

A tiny snort escaped him and a small smile broke on his face: "I see. Good enough, still." And then he grew serious once again: "You're hurt."

"Oh… yeah, a bit of a fall is all," she rubbed her arm, giving a weak shrug. But they all knew she was injured badly. They've all seen similar, done similar to avoid questions.

"Come with us – you can tell us what happened after you've been patched up." With a motion of his hand, the Captain started walking back towards the camp, his men following. And with a relieved sigh, so did the little Togruta.

Cody was sitting on an upturned root, datapad in hand and scanning through information when he heard footsteps approaching.

"What can I do for you two?" he didn't even turn around, just looked away and up at the barely visible sky.

"Sir," Boil and Waxer both saluted, shared a look, before speaking. "The boys… We were all wondering what we're going to do now?"

A momentary silence, followed by a deep sigh from the Commander. They planned on heading towards the 112th but finding them could take a while… On the other hand, they could try and investigate what happened to the 501st and see if they can do anything in that regard. But his group is too small to be of much help – they're all mostly scouts. Besides, the few 501st soldiers they did find are in no condition to fight – they've hardly slept. They also can't just sit here and wait…

"Sir?" Waxer spoke up, head titled slightly.

It came down to what he thought had a better chance of working and being useful… Or what he wanted to do.

'Find Rex' was his immediate thought, but that was Cody. 'Get your men to safety' was what the Commander in him wanted. But how-

"Of course," he said aloud, a grin appearing on his face, eyes closed. He was chuckling. "Gonna have to take a page out of your book, Rex ol' boy…"

The two brothers shared a confused look and shrugged before their commanding officer stood up and turned to them: "Get ready to move – we're heading towards the airbase the 501st was at."

"What about the injured, sir? Surely they'll be looking for the escaped men."

"Yes, yes they will. But not right under their noses."

He gasped, hard and heavy, body shaking in his bonds. There was a cold sweat on his skin – felt far too much like water. Panic set into his heart as he felt like he was drowning again. There was yelling, vision blurred. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. He was-

A sudden surge of electricity went through him and snapped him back into the here and now. Saw his own tired and weak expression on the Umbaran's helmet. Gods he looked awful.

"Who is Echo?" the one with the elctrostaff demanded, glaring at him from under the helmet.

"Wha-?" before Rex could even finish the sentence, the staff was shoved into his side.

"What must you tell?" the Umbaran asked over the painful scream, holding the staff for a few seconds longer before pulling away.

Rex's body sagged with the movement and he choked on air, his entire side numb now. His brain was still catching up with what was happening, with what had happened.

Echo… Echo… Echo! Echo was alive. He was here. He was being used…

Snapping his head up, golden eyes almost seeming aflame in the lighting, the Captain bore his teeth and yelled. It startled the Umbarans, forcing them to take a step back.

"What have you done to him?! Where are you monsters keeping him?! I swear I'll make you all pay for what you put him through!"

The torturers shared a look before the one with the staff decided to try the proven tactic and shove into the clone's sternum. Rex felt the pain, but it was nothing compared to the anger and hate he felt. He simply screamed louder, wilder and threw his body against the restraints, making them shake and creek. The electricity coursing through him simply illuminated him in such a way, he gave the Umbarans and appearance of a demon.

He was still kneeling in the dirt but was hardly aware of it. There was yelling and movement all around him-

"Check the perimeter-!"

"Someone call a medic!"

"What's going on?"

Felt the ground shake a little at the stomping of feet. There was something cold on his face – the wind. But lines as well… right down his cheeks. Could hear his heartbeat and he thought it was going too fast. No, no, too slow. It shouldn't feel like time is moving this slow

"…ves…" a voice right next to him, barely audible. Like when he's in a bacta tank.

"…ves!" a hand on his shoulder, grip tight. A set of feet in front of his face.

"Fives?!" he finally looks up and sees Jesse looking down at him, fear and worry in his eyes. He had to lean on him to walk normally, but Hardcase was supporting him.

"W-What?" he chokes out because everything still feels fuzzy. Like when he drinks too much.

"C'mon, we gotta move – get you somewhere more comfortable," Jesse offered, nodding to the nearby tent. That's when he caught more soldiers running around.

"…No…" he whispered, eyes focused on something far away.

He could feel the heat of the explosion. Could hear the bending and scraping of metal. The way he was too slow to stop him, to save him-

"What are you talking about? We're in no condition to be-,"

"I'm going after Echo." And that simple sentence gave him a sudden bust of strength. The ARC scrambled to his feet, nearly tripped over, but franticly looked over the camp.

"Fives!"

"I need to go… He- He's here. He's alive! I can't let him down again. I won't!"

Just as he was about to move, a hand grabbed his, holding him back. Looking over his shoulder, Fives saw Hardcase giving him a determined look.

"Let go."

"I won't."

"Hardcase."

"Fives, please, listen to us-," Jesse was struggling to stand but put his hands in the air to try and calm the man.

"I'm ordering you!" a pause and for a second, it seemed like Hardcase's grip faltered. But then he simply gripped harder.

"Can't fallow that order, sir."

"Don't test me! Echo is alive right now! I can do something to help!"

"Can you?"

"I can try! If you could have saved Oberon and Spots from the virus, wouldn't you have?"

At those words, everything seemed to freeze. Hardcase's eyes grew wide and his arm fell to the side, Jesse closed his eyes and shifted to the side, like trying to shield himself from a blow. And Fives, Fives stood there in horror at what he said, opening and closing his mouth multiple times, trying to find something to say. To fix this.

"I-I didn't- I'm – I'm sorry…" he stammered, taking a step away from the two. Neither tried to stop him. Here he is again, with his big mouth and hurtful words and no way to stop it from happening. To stop the pain on his brothers' faces or the way their eyes grow tired.

"How did you…" Hardcase started, stopped and turned his gaze to his brother. Saw the guilt in his eyes. "…You told him…"

"…Yes…" was all Jesse said.

The hyper brother's face took on an expression of betrayal before he forced himself to swallow it all down. Clenched his fists at his sides and looked away.

"I-," but the ARC didn't get to finish as a new voice caught their attention.

"Fives! Jesse! Hardcase!" the trio turned and as if there were no more surprises possible, Ahsoka Tano stood before them, tired, hurt but smiling.

There was only a moment of hesitation before she ran up to them and hugged them – somehow, all three at the same time.

"I'm so glad you're all alive!" she pulled back, smile wide, eyes filled with relief.

"You- How did you-?" Jesse didn't get to finish before Hardcase was hugging the Padawan back, lifting her off the ground even.

"Commander! You're okay!" and he set her down, grinning.

"She's hurt but yeah," Reeve piped up from the side, already calling for a medic.

"You're hurt?" Fives regained himself, giving her a once-over. There were scrapes and bruises all along her arms, a scratch on her face and lekku and a blaster wound on the side.

"…A lot happened…" she didn't deny it, but looked away. "I- I was there when the base was overtaken…"

A moment of silence, before everyone started talking over each other.

"What do you mean you were there?"

"What did happen?"

"Are you the only one who got out? Where are the others?"

"How bad is it? Who else is left?"

Ahsoka winced slightly before putting her hands up to calm them all. After a few seconds, when she had all their attention, she spoke up: "I'm not… sure what happened, but the Umbarans invaded and retook the base. I just arrived there myself, so I don't know what was going on before but…" and she trailed off.

"What about the others?" Reeve asked, the expression of a man already planning on his face.

Tano swallowed and hugged herself, but managed to speak: "General Krell… He – He said Rex was killed… But they were capturing clones as well. And then he… He left and bought us time to escape. I left with Appo and a few others – we managed to regroup outside. Even ran into Cody and his unit. But…" and she bit her lip.

Another silence in the air, this one heavier, thicker. The soldiers were processing what she told him and Fives was the first to speak: "… Rex… is dead?" and there was disbelief in his voice.

"…I don't know…" she admitted, unable to look him in the eyes. "There was so much going on, I couldn't properly sense him… But General Krell-,"

"Don't believe a word that Demogolka says!" the ARC hissed, swiping his hand through the air. "He's nothing but a liar!"

The Padawan looked up confused and worried but saw the others matching Fives' expression. Except for the Captain, who winced and looked away from them all for a moment.

"What happened? What are you talking about?" she was confused and lost.

"Fives, she doesn't know…" Jesse whispered, a pitying look almost on his face.

"Know what?" Ahsoka pressed, looking at her brothers. "What's going on?"

Everyone shared a look. But before anyone could speak, they noticed they had gathered a crowd – soldiers stopping and looking, listening in. A few were clearly wary of the Jedi, some even intrigued, while a select few seemed horrified by the news. One, in particular, took a step closer, eyes wide and in a shaky voice said: "N-No way Rex is dead… He – He's survived way too much. He can't die." There was an odd confidence in his voice, but his posture seemed to exhume only refusal to believe.

Everyone was staring at one another, most at the Captain, however. Soft murmurs went around and Reeve took a breath before addressing them: "Everyone, back to your posts. You four," and turned to the members of the 501st: "Come with me. Let's have you properly checked out and then we can discuss a course of action."

The walls and ground were shaking with each step he took. The Force reacting to his anger. The Umbarans scurrying and scrambling. There were circuits with smoke coming off them coating the hallways, the lights flashing and doors closing. Everything electrical had gone crazy. That didn't stop Krell however.

"Someone find the main reactor and shut it off!" he yelled at a few Umbarans. He continued on his way to the source of all this.

'How did it get out?' the thought rolled around in his head and he didn't like any of the possibilities he came up with.

Stepping over a prone body, he saw a bit of smoke coming off it but otherwise didn't give it a second look. No time to waste on these pawns. There were still more running all over, a few even following him with weapons at the ready.

Finally arriving at his room, Pong saw there was the most damage here. Visibility was awful and the lights were all off. The doors even seemed damage in a way that would prevent them from opening normally.

"What an annoyance," he grumbled and activated both of his Lightsabers.

The hallway was lit up, the light from the weapons casting shadows in nightmarish ways and illuminating shadows of him and the other Umbarans. Walking up to the door, Krell simply cut it apart with his weapons and used the force to shove the remaining pieces away.

There was a moment of silence before turrets appeared and started firing.

"What in the Void-?" the Jedi had no idea there were weapons in these rooms let alone how to activate them. Still, using the Lightsabers to deflect the fire, he caught a shape in the corner of the room.

The Umbarans around him were yelling and trying to fire at the enemy, apparently unaware it was just a machine. Pong redirected three more blasts before throwing two arms into the direction of the figure, grabbing them with the Force.

"No-!" the yell was cut off when the Besalisk brought them closer through the fog and came face to face to a clone.

"That's enough now," he said with a frown, eyes narrowing. The fear in the clone's eyes almost made him smirk.

As he continued to run, he kept his head down. His communicator still had the coordinates Echo gave him and he was on the right path. There was only one building in this direction and so far, no one has noticed. But that changed as he arrived upon the entrance.

"Halt!" there were two Umbaran guards stationed there, apparently uncaring of the chaos happening around here.

"I need to get in," Kix said quickly, trembling slightly even. He was functioning on stress and adrenalin and really didn't want to deal with this.

"What's wrong with your helmet?" the second asked and he had enough.

Without another word, the medic pulled out his blaster and shot the first one. The second one barely had time to react – got one shot off into the shoulder – but was hit in the head. Taking a shaky breath, Kix ran past their still smoking bodies and into the building.

It was the muffled yelling and shouting that got everyone's attention. Even Rex calmed himself enough to glance and saw his captors share a confused look. One of them left to check it out, while the other two returned to him and seemed ready for another bout of questioning. That's when a scream echoed in the room, but for once, not from the soldier.

An Umbaran body came flying from the top of the stairs landing with a sickening smack on the ground, helmet shattered. The three looked up and saw a figure standing there before it fired off. Unfortunately the Umbarans were more prepared and dodged to the side, firing back. One even hit the person in the leg. That's when they just jumped down and onto the enemy, knocking them down, and while in that position, grabbed their helmeted head and smashed it into the ground. A green gas escaped and the Umbaran started screaming, shrieking even, clutching at their throat.

"…Kix?" Rex whispered, seeing his brother standing there, panting and wounded as the bastard who had been torturing him for who knows how long slowly suffocated.

Kix's whole body was trembling and his breathing was laboured, but there was still one more. They were hiding behind Rex, using him as a shield – not gonna happen.

"Get ready," the medic called out and shot the Captain's restraint on the left arm. That allowed him to elbow the Umbaran, sending him staggering from behind. And that's when Kix pounced.

He charged at the enemy, knocking them into the wall and then to the ground. In the scuffle, he lost his blaster, but he didn't care. A boiling and scorching rage overtook him as he slammed the Umbaran's head into the ground as well. This time, only part of the helmet shattered, but they still panicked. Kix wasn't done however.

Using his elbow, he slammed it into the opening, tearing it up wider and scraping the skin underneath. He slammed it again into the side, knocking the head away. Then punching it, right in the forehead, knocking it back and up again. He hit again. And again. Didn't notice when he started screaming, didn't notice the purple liquid running down his knuckles. Didn't even notice when his enemy stopped struggling all together. All he noticed was the face of an enemy that had killed and captured and now tortured his brothers.

Just as he was about to hit again, a hand grabbed his fist and pulled him from the corpse.

"What-?" before he could even finish the question, there were strong arms wrapped around him – but not restraining. Took a moment to smell the sweat and burnt skin. Another to realize its not fully armoured and the blonde hair.

"That's enough, Kix…" Rex said softly, holding him. It was only then the medic realized he was shaking in the embrace and there were tears running down his face.

"I… I just…" he struggled for words. Somehow, he felt so numb.

"I know… I know. You did good, Kix. You saved me. It's okay…"

'You saved him.' It was almost impossible to believe, but it's true. So with a shaky breath, he returned the hug and exhaled low and deep into the Captain's shoulder.

"I got you… I saved someone…"

Cut! Phew, that one was intense, not gonna lie. Though it was mostly wiritten around midnight - best time to write if you ask me. Also hey, lemme know if I should update/change/add any tags since this story is - did you know? - 3 years old! Well, it was when I last updated, so likem, a few months ago, but still! THREE YEARS! YOU PEOPLE ARE AMAZING, YOU KNOW THAT? I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to review ^^
Till next time~