And here we are - the 112th boys. I'll admit, this one was... really nice to write? I enjoyed it more than I should have. Also, I'd like to ask all you lovely readers if anyone else's done these men? Or am I the first? (So, are they kinda mine? I don't know, so I'm asking!)
Anyway, this will be the last one here for the... next two weeks, probably? (School is a kriffing monster) but feel free to drop an idea or something in the review (since I'm not sure what else to add at the moment?)

Rohirrim Girl 2187: Ah yes, it's actually more added in this bit here so... grab a tissue? And feel free to hug them, pretty sure they need it

As usual, read, review and enjoy

For so long, they only knew fear, pain and suffering. And then suddenly, they were free from the monster looming over them. But the world was so different from what they came to know. Could they really get back?

When they were first assigned to the 112th Battalion, they were proud and ready to serve. By then, the war was only beginning, so there was not much reputation to go around with, with the exception of a few Jedi. So when they first met Jedi General Pong Krell, they were… surprised. They've heard the Jedi to be peacemakers and protectors, yet this particular Jedi seemed uncaring and ruthless. He made it clear quickly that he didn't really care about the men or what happens to them. Most of them had just gotten their names and he refused to use them, for most anyway. Captain Reeve, Sergeant Loto and Lieutenant Buster were the only ones he referred to by their name, and even that with disgust. They quickly realized that no matter what they do, this man wouldn't care.

Since they were all mostly the same age, young by the usual standards, no one dared to speak back to their General yet. They weren't supposed to – his orders are to be obeyed no matter what. Good soldiers, follow orders.

But when the next batch came, new rookies, the older ones felt that 'older brother' instinct take over. They just wished they could have done more than keep the shineys away from Krell, try and preserve their names and spare them any hard aches. But things were getting worse and worse the longer this went on…

Krell might have been a ruthless bastard, but he wasn't a monster. He didn't needlessly throw them into enemy fire, over and over again, expecting things to change. He didn't ban communications with others and didn't bother himself with them when they mourned the loss of their brothers. That is, until sometime in the middle of the war…

It all seemed to happen during the night. The day prior, he was his usual, cold and uncaring self. The next, he was constantly on edge, growling and yelling and every little thing set him off. No one was sure what happened, but they tried to pretend it was nothing new. Tried, and failed.

"From today onwards, we will be doubling our efforts," Krell had called them all together to address them. He walked along the lines of clones, hands behind his back and eyes glaring in front of him. "Unless we work harder, the enemy will destroy us!" he hissed, glaring down the Captain.

"But, sir, with all due respect," Loto spoke up and every brother wanted to move to stop him from talking. "We just finished a battle! We need some time to-!" but the Sergeant didn't get to finish as Pong extended one of his arms at him and the clone suddenly reached for his throat, trying to pray away an invisible hand.

"You will do as I say, clone!" the Jedi hissed, eyes narrowing and his fist tightening. "If I say be silent, you will not speak. If I say you will attack, you will attack. And if I say you will face the next enemy now, you will do so!" Loto's choking was echoing around them, his arms growing weaker as he seemed close to passing out.

"Sir, you're killing him!" Reeve called, daring to raise an arm onto the General's.

In seconds, Loto was on the ground, neck twisted at a sickening angle and Reeve was lifted off his feet by his torso, a green lightsaber inches from his face.

"You dare?!" Pong roared, eyes blazing as the Captain couldn't tear his eyes away from the green energy of death. "You have no rights! You are nothing but tools to be used and tossed aside! Do not think any of you matter!" he growled into the soldier's face, before abruptly dropping him and glaring down. "Remember that next time you try something as stupid as this, lab rat," with that, Krell turned around and left, not even giving the men a second look.

The rest were… frozen to say the least. When Loto was grabbed, their bodies seemed to just shut down and many didn't even dare breath. And then, when the Captain faced a similar situation, they were almost shaking in fear. Only when Pong turned to leave, did a few dare to move to check on the Captain and Sergeant. Reeve was shaken and needed a second to collect himself, while Loto was dead. It was there and then that the men of the 112th realized nothing would ever be the same again…

Hardly a day later, Krell prevented them from communicating with anyone outside their Battalion. He put on a strict curfew and cut their food and drink ratios in half. If anyone tried to slightly work around it, they were either lucky enough to survive or he downright killed them if he was in the mood.

Reeve hated how he couldn't do anything, anything at all to help his brothers. Failure. You can't protect anyone. He'll kill them all. It's your fault. He was still the highest ranking clone in the Battalion, and Krell had already broken him, so that probably kept him from death. It'd be a bother for the General to get new commanding officers to be as compliant yet effective as the current ones if anything happened.

When word got out that General Krell would be leaving, the 112th didn't even really care why. Just that he's going. Freedom, even if only temporary. Breathing became easier as the news traveled. But then, so did where he was going…

"The 501st Battalion…?" they whispered carefully and in slight fear. They've heard of the Legendary Men in Blue and admired them. These clones, so much like them, have been through so much and won so many times. In a way, they were their heroes. And now, the heroes will meet the greatest monster they've ever known. Reeve hated the voice inside his head, telling him better them than you. He just prayed they would survive this and not be broken by him like they were.

In the absence of Krell, most of the men weren't sure what to do. They've never really had 'free time' since joining and didn't have anything special in mind if the opportunity ever arose. Mainly because they doubted it ever would. But now that it did come, they found themselves wandering around the empty halls, huddled together in the mess hall or sleeping peaceful for the first time in their bunks. They were making most of the situation and cherished it for as long as they could, knowing that once the Jedi came back, there's no way of telling when this might happen again.

There's been no communication with Pong since he left, and the men were slightly worried. Worried that something might have happened, that their distant brothers were all in danger, that their General had done something. They still had nothing to do, but a few did make their way to the training ground, trying to release some of the stress. So they were just waiting now, for whatever was to happen, to happen already.

However, getting a visit from two brothers was not what any of them expected. And not only that, but the two who did visit? They were the Famed Commander Cody and Captain Rex. Most of the 112th couldn't believe their eyes. These two? Their heroes were here, right now, talking to them? Maybe they were all going stir crazy from being stuck here, but no, it was real. They somehow managed to keep themselves from showing just how excited and honored they were for the duo's visit. They didn't even care why they came. At least, not until they heard the reason…

"General Krell… is dead?" Reeve whispered, voice shaking as he stood in front of the two battle worn brothers. His body was trembling as he slightly extended his arm, as if trying to check if this was all an illusion.

"He was no General…" Captain Rex said lowly and reached for Reeve's arm, gently touching him by the forearm. "But he's gone yes," they finally saw a familiar exhaustion and tiredness in the blonde's eyes. One they saw every time they saw their own face.

Captain Reeve's reaction was… understandable and to a degree, predictable. He took in a few quick breathes, before collapsing on his keens, supporting himself on his arms. The older two clones kneeled down by him, patting his shoulder and back, speaking softly and carefully words of encouragement. The others came in closer, slowly, and saw their Captain was crying. Literal tears were falling down and he was sobbing. That was more of a reaction than most have had in… in so long. And his silent words didn't escape them…

"It's over… It's finally over…" he managed, a broken smile coming to his lips as he looked at his brothers. "We're free," and they felt the situation hit them full force. They froze where they were, looked at each other, making sure they all heard right. Was this really happening? Was it all true?

"Yes, you are," Commander Cody said back, giving a nod and a smile. "You don't have to be afraid of him anymore."

They didn't know what would happen to them now that Krell was dead. Some didn't even really care. Most feared that they'd be deemed 'dysfunctional' and be decommissioned. But they'd be ready for whatever decision was made. Even if it meant they'd be taken away. At least that – demagolka as they called him – was dead. That was enough for most of them.

But when not only the Captain and Commander, but also their respective Generals put up a vote to have them join their Battalions, they felt a new sense of relief with a mix of fear. They knew these two Generals were some of the kindest there is – the best one being Plo Koon – and their distant brothers assured them of that. Yet they couldn't help but be suspicious, scared and worried. Even with Krell gone, he left his mark. It was like he had personally emended his name into their very core, marking them.

The decision on how they would be split up into the two Battalions was left with the 112th men themselves. None of them were too sure what to pick – they feared that even that could be turned into a mistake. But with a bit of help from some older brothers in the two Battalions, they settled on it. The closest brothers would be together and the most scarred and broken would join Kenobi. Commander Cody had assured them all that the General would keep them as safe as he could and that his missions were more careful than that of General Skywalker.

The ones who did join Anakin weren't expecting a young Togruta to be the friendliest alien they've come across. She was quick to greet them, offering a tour of the ship. They politely refused at first, until Captain Rex offered to go along. They immediately felt better, but also guilty at the hurt expression that passed the Padawan's face. They knew she was just trying to help, to be kind and show them what they never had, but their trust in Jedi was… weak at best.

Rex understood that and he seemed to explain it to her at one point, as after that, she seemed far more… reserved. They hated how they couldn't trust her, how their minds just wouldn't accept that she and the rest weren't like Krell. But clones were made for adapting and they adapted to Krell. He degraded them to such a level; they didn't even feel like they were part of the millions of clones.

The only thing left before they were fully realized into the Battalions, were some health evaluations. To see if any of them had major injuries or something of the like, and to see how their mental state was. And it was all kept very 'hush hush', because if the Kaminoans every found out, they'd just toss them into the decommission center.

A bit of time passed and they were very slowly starting to adapt to the new situation and command. They were given coms and vids to talk with their other brothers, yet some still used it in secret, fearing if they were found, they'd be punished. Everyone told them there was more than enough food and water, but they still ate little and saved what they could. It got to the point where one of the ARC Troopers – Fives, he was Fives – didn't let any of them leave until they ate a reasonable amount.

They hated how quickly they accepted that, how the younger ones almost had a feast and how good it felt to actually eat something proper until they felt better. When Fives asked a shiney if he wanted seconds, the kid could only nod while trying not to cry. It was the first step to really seeing that things would be different this time around.

The next came, when they started seeing General Skywalker and Kenobi walking around them without his lightsaber. From what they've been told, those weapons are their life, so what reason would they have to not have them? And when they saw Commander Tano setting her own glow sticks down before coming to them, they understood. They were doing it for them, because they knew they feared those weapons. Because they wanted them to feel welcomed and safe. Because they cared.

The last and probably biggest crack in their carefully crafted armor came in the form of that very Padawan. She has come to them, as usual for a small chat, when she asked what their names were. The 112th men had only told their clone bothers about how their names were lost, forgotten and thrown away. Their brothers tried to help them in any way they could, and the 112th was slowly adapting to it. However, seeing the horror and sadness in the young Jedi's face when she learned that, made them all look away. She was more affected by this than they themselves. But she quickly regained herself and simply said: "Well, I guess we better find you some names, huh?"

It wasn't even a week later that much more attention was given to their names. Their brothers tried to keep it low, for their sake, but now that the Jedi knew, there was no reason for that anymore. So they adapted to that as well. A few managed to recall their old names, but most of them chose new one. They especially loved the ones given to them by their older brothers.

And then, there were those two pilots… The ones General Skywalker had called to him one day. Both were scared, as usually when this happened, Krell would likely kill or at least yell at both of them. Reeve and Captain Rex were there as well, and the two were confused more than anything at that. As it turned out, Anakin was so pleased by their piloting skills; he wanted to ask if he could suggest a few names. The Jedi said that he knew clones named themselves or were named by their brothers, so he would understand if they refused. But he just felt like, maybe, helping them out a bit. A nudge in the right direction. It was safe to say that the two were in too much shock to do much else than nod.

"Alright, how about Drifter and Whirlwind?" Anakin had said and the two tested out the names. Their faces cracked up in a giant smile as they nodded fiercely, thanking their General. Never thought they'd do that…

"We're all family here and we look out for our own," Skywalker had said giving a bow to them. "I am honored to fight besides men as strong as you."

Cut! I think this was the longest one yet? Does it matter? Not really, but still
And as I said at the beginning, I won't be adding anything for a short while, but if you got an idea of something that could be used, feel free to share and I'll see what I can do (might even catch a break in school to scribble something down and post it)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this bit, and if you fancy, maybe leave a review for it? I love hearing from all of you!