Fives and Echo think they're prepared for the truth about Shadow's origins. They are very mistaken.
Wordcount: 4.4k
Rating: Teen 15+ (Themes of death/war, language, O66 indirect mentions)
"So," I began, resting my ankle on my knee and leaning back against the table as I faced the pair of ARCs. "You two already know I'm a Realm Walker."
"Yeah?" Fives said. "I mean, I know some others may have been shocked, but we've met another Realm Walker before. On the-"
"Rishi Moon Base," I finished.
Echo tilted his head. "The commander tell you?"
I laughed softly and shook my head. "Not exactly." I turned to Tech as I stood. "Have that footage from LoSa?"
Preoccupied with his salad construction, he just nodded and pointed inside where it sat atop the pool table without looking up at me.
Extending my hand, I hovered it out to me and pulled up the recording. My eyes lingered on the screen, an ember of dread flickering to life in my gut as my finger ghosted over myself.
If the Jedi Council somehow got a hold of this, what other parties had? Sith? Bounty Hunters? Others? Were they looking for me this very moment, wanting to get the likes of a Realm Walker on their side? Not that I'd ditch my boys, but that was just it. How long until I brought trouble to my boys because I'd been so careless as to not dismantle any cameras before cutting loose and letting my abilities show?
How long until Palpatine himself got his grubby little mitts on this footage?
"Shadow?" Fives asked, concern filling his gaze as he laid a hand on my shoulder. "You alright?"
Noting from the corner of my eye the way Crosshair stiffened, I nodded and shrugged Fives' hand off. "Aye, just wonderin' who else got their paws on this," I sighed, handing them the datapad.
Echo took it. "What's so bad about it?"
I crossed my arms as I sat beside Crosshair. "Press play and find out."
Giving me weird looks before exchanging a glance with each other, Echo and Fives hovered over the datapad. As the footage played out, both ARCs' eyes widened and Echo covered his mouth in shock. Fives gasped, presumably at the segment where I started tossing bits of molten rock everywhere.
Tail tip twitching, I glanced at the others. Was this the reaction the Jedi Council had when viewing the footage? Was it worse? Was there anger? Horror? Concern? Did they now see me as a danger just like they saw Anakin as one? It wasn't like I was the devil incarnate, but after watching the playbacks a few times I could definitely see how the rather... brutal massacre could be cause for worry.
At least it was only droids guarding the Skakoan scientist. Not that I would have held back against organic guards either, they knew what they signed up for, but I had a very real concern that the Jedi Council would try to restrict me even more if they saw me tear through organics like I tore through the droids.
Surely, hopefully, the footage from inside the ship hadn't been leaked.
After the video finished, Fives handed me back the datapad. "That... that was you?"
I lifted my tail. "Known anyone else with a tail like this?"
Fives glanced at Echo. "Well, we do, actually."
Echo nodded, still a bit wide-eyed. "And it's incredible. You move just like Scar did."
"You sure you never met them?" Fives asked. "I get it may be hard to talk about since they're... gone, but we can-" He stopped as Wrecker started to snicker along with Crosshair. "Hey! What gives?"
Kicking Crosshair's shin and sending a pinecone at Wrecker's bald head, I turned back to Fives. "Tell me about this Scar. What'd they look like?"
"Huge furball," Fives replied, holding a hand a foot above his head. "Stood taller than me or Ech, that's for sure. Reddish tabby fur, blue eyes, and a fluffy tail with a white tip. Just like your tail, actually."
"Anything else?"
"Had a bunch of scars," Echo added. "Stomach scrapes and two gunshot wounds in the chest. One was normal, the other was a-"
"Slugthrower," I finished.
"So you do know Scar!" Echo exclaimed.
Is the weird fanfic plot thing acting up again? Surely they should have realized by now. What's with the drawn out guessing game here? Writer, get to it!
Crosshair erupted into laughter, throwing his head back. "Wow, I know my eyes are better than regs, but this is ridiculous!" he gasped.
"What is with him?" Fives snapped.
"Ok, this has gone on for long enough," Hunter sighed. "Ice, you're gettin' as bad as Trevor." He pointed the grilling tongs at me. "Put the poor ARCs out of their misery."
I gasped, a hand splaying across my chest. "I am nowhere near as bad as that walkin' plague. Besides, I could be a lot worse."
"Waitin' for an answer here!" Fives barked, fist clenched as he glared venomously at Crosshair. Judging by the set of his shoulders, he honestly looked two seconds away from decking the man.
Heh, deck. We're on a deck.
"Alright, boys. You wanna know why he-" I pointed at the still cackling Crosshair. "Is being a little shit right now?"
"Uh, yeah?" Fives growled.
"Very well." I stood and lifted my shirt.
Both troopers looked at me as if I'd grown two heads, but then Fives took a closer look at the different scars. He squinted, gasped, and snapped his head up to meet my gaze. "Scar?!"
I grinned. "In the flesh and fur!"
"But you died alongside Hevy!" Fives yelped.
"My death was... greatly exaggerated."
Chill out, Megamind
"How are you alive?" Echo demanded, jaw dropped as he gestured at me. "How did you survive and he didn't?"
"I... don't know," I admitted, dropping my shirt and shaking my head in defeat. "Recall how I said that you've met me, but I haven't met you?"
"Yeah?" Echo asked as Fives continued to try and wrap his head around my not-death.
The poor ARC looked like the embodiment of a blue-screen error, mouth opening and closing as he rested a hand on his head and leaned back heavily against the deck railing. Wrecker, still laughing, helped him sit down at the picnic table across from me.
"That's because I haven't gone to Rishi yet. One of the skills in my Realm Walker repertoire is time travel," I explained, twitching an ear. "Apparently."
Echo stared at the Batch, new recognition in his eyes. "This is them," he said slowly, sitting down beside Fives. "This is your commando squadron." His eyes went to Crosshair. "That's the sniper you saved from commandos."
Crosshair grabbed my tail and jerked me back to sit beside him. Slipping an arm over my shoulders as I smacked his thigh, he ignored my indignant hiss and lifted his chin with a smug smirk. "That's right, reg."
We gotta talk about your possessive shenanigans, sir sniper!
Fives shook his head and waved his hands rapidly. "Woah woah woah, back up." He pointed to me. "You're a time traveler too?"
"Guess so. I must be since I don't remember Rishi yet you, Echo, Rex, and Cody all have told me I was there," I replied with a shrug, mouth beginning to water at the aroma of ribs as Hunter added his special seasoning and sauce blend.
Hopefully, we could go ahead and wrap this conversation up soon and get to the eating bit.
Echo looked at Fives. "Realm Walkers were rumored to have unlimited powers, Fives."
"Well, yeah," Fives agreed, still blue-screening. "But this is unreal!"
"But it is real," Echo countered.
"Sorta," I replied, flicking my tail back and forth. "In this reality it is. In another, Realm Walkers don't exist."
"The... original timeline?" Fives asked. "You mentioned you knew what would happen to Ech. How?"
"Funny you should ask." Shoving Crosshair off the end of the bench in retaliation for the tail yank, I leaned back and rested my elbows on the table top. "So, you know holos? Like holoseries?"
Echo nodded, eyeing Crosshair as the sniper flopped back on the table bench with a sour expression. "Yeah. Why?"
"Where I'm from, or more accurately the universe I'm from, this galaxy is... fictional."
"You're karkin' kiddin'," Fives scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "This can't be happenin'. Not only are Realm Walkers real, not only are two people I thought were dead back in the same day, but I learn that I'm fictional. Kark, I don't remember doin' any spice."
I chuckled. "I warned you about an existential crisis, Fives."
"I didn't think you were serious!"
"Well, that's on you, then!"
As Fives grappled with his existential crisis, or was it non-existential crisis, Echo leaned forward. "Shadow, go on. What happens to me?"
"In a show revolving around this war, accurately called the Clone Wars, you and Fives pop up a bit. Same thing with Rex and Cody. But one arc was the Lola Sayu one. That's how I know you fell. But you survive, and were taken by the Techno Union and turned..."
I trailed off, tail tip rapidly twitching as that haunting image of Echo falling from the pod flashed before my eyes again.
Show for kids my ass. That was straight-up PG-13 rated horror!
"Shadow?"
I shook my head forcefully, hoping to Etch-A-Sketch the damn image from my brain. "Ah, sorry. For a kid's show, some of the scenes are less than pleasant."
"Wait, the show about war is a kids' show?" Fives exclaimed. "How'd they manage that?"
"Oh, there's a good amount of trauma-inducing moments. People falling to their deaths, Force choked, decapitation." I indicated Echo with my tail. "Fiery demises." My gaze turned back to Fives, dropping to his chest. "Blaster bolts."
He glanced down then back up to me. "Is... have you seen my death?"
Should I lie? Should I keep him in the dark? Would his death matter in this universe anyways? It wasn't going to happen. I wouldn't let it happen. Yet, at the same time, if I were in his shoes, I'd want to know too. And I really couldn't stand the thought of withholding vital information from someone after the hell I went through and was still recovering from when someone did the same to me.
"I... I have," I admitted.
"What happens to me?"
"Are you sure you want to know, Fives?" I asked gently.
"Absolutely."
"While I don't know the specifics of the events surrounding it, since I outright refuse to watch the whole arc due to your death, it... you..." I struggled to get the words out before admitting, "It's a blaster bolt to the chest. You were about to undercover a plot against your brothers, but were killed before you could tell others about it." I shook my head. "I'm sorry."
Fives blinked, then groaned loudly. "Oh come on." He turned to Echo. "You get blown up and survive. I get an itty bitty blaster bolt and kick the bucket. How's that fair?"
Echo just shook his head and rolled his eyes.
Wrecker collapsed on the deck, wheezing with laughter. "Oh, I love this reg!"
"Great, more sarcastic troopers with no regard for their personal safety," Hunter grumbled, seasoning the ribs again.
"That's rich comin' from you, Shaggy," I snorted, grinning at him over my shoulder.
His eyes narrowed, but a hint of that charismatic smile tugged his scarred lips.
Echo waved a hand to get my attention. "What did the Techno Union do to me?"
I looked back at him. "They... hacked your mind. Battle plans you and Rexy came up with? Stole 'em and used 'em against your brothers until you were thankfully rescued near the end of the war at Anaxas."
"Did Fives rescue me?"
My eyes fell to the deck and I shook my head. "No. He... he was dead by the time you got rescued."
"Then who rescued me?"
"Rex and Anakin."
"That it?"
"Well, some special forces got involved."
"Who?"
I smiled and gestured at the Bad Batch. "You're lookin' at 'em."
Echo did a double take. "Wait, these guys?" He pointed to Crosshair. "He clearly hates me, and I don't think the others are too keen on me either."
"I like ya!" Wrecker assured him, sitting up with a grin.
"Ok, one of 'em is fine with me."
"We were quite hesitant," Tech spoke up. "With your mind in possession of the Techno Union, we were understandably concerned with your true loyalties. Or, the other we were concerned. But you proved your loyalty and ingenuity, and it was for that reason we welcomed you into our team."
"I joined you?" Echo sputtered. "And left Rex?"
"Weren't a reg anymore," Hunter said. "So you joined the rest of us misfits for a bit."
"It's kinda funny," I said. "Domino was introduced as a bad batch in Season Three, then you ended up with the Bad Batch in Season Seven. Full circle."
Tech glanced at me. "I did not think about that, but the similarities are fascinating. This universe has its own version, too. We saved him in canon, while in this universe you save him by joining us over a month ago."
I flicked my tail. "Didn't think about that either, but you right!"
"Coincidences aside, thanks for talkin' this nerf-herder in after I was gone," Fives said, punching Echo's arm.
The man glared at his batchmate. "Nerf-herder yourself, shit for brains."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Ok, I expected Fives to be the cusser, not you!"
"He took up the habit after Hevy died," Fives chuckled, ruffling Echo's hair. "Think he would have been proud of Ech here for loosening up."
"I'll be sure you get a chance to find out," I said. "Because one way or another, I will find a way to go back. I already have, apparently, but I just gotta figure out when."
"Think I know."
We looked at Crosshair in surprise. "What?"
Arms folded over his chest, he plucked his toothpick from his lips and pointed back toward town. "That plague always shows up when things are about to take an interestin' turn," he drawled. "Four cots? Extra supplies? Lookin' for a portal?" He shrugged. "Sounds to me like he's onto somethin'."
Tech spoke up. "I cannot believe I am saying this, but Crosshair brings up an excellent point."
Even Crosshair looked surprised at the statement, although a smug grin quickly replaced the shock and he sat straighter. "Thanks, Four Eyes."
"Why else would he show up after no contact for weeks?" Tech continued, ignoring the sniper. "The only issue is that would require the Network to have branched to Naboo, and considering that we have found no other portals since the remains of one on Planet 42, that is highly improbable."
"Didn't you first say Realm Walkers were improbable, Tech?" Hunter asked, turning the ribs over. "Besides, we already know Ice can have some funny effects on things."
Tech frowned, pondering that for a moment before he nodded. "It could be," he said, turning to me. "That the longer you remain in our universe, the more you affect it. On our first journey to your galaxy, Nova said that you could become exceptionally powerful if given time."
I twitched an ear and swished my tail thoughtfully. "Could be comin' up. It would track with Trevor being all mysterious before something goes down."
"Food's ready!" Hunter announced.
After we'd all gotta our shares and crowded around the main table, Fives shook his head at me from across the table where he sat with Echo and Tech. "About Rishi. You'd go back even knowing you die?"
"It's a flaw we haven't been able to fix," Crosshair muttered. "I've tried."
"Shadow is rather determined when they set their mind to something," Tech agreed, nibbling on his salad. "As we found out on our first mission with them."
"First mission, eh?" Fives asked with a sly grin, only to nearly fall off the bench when Nothing scuttled onto the table beside Crosshair. "What is that thing?!"
Nothing hissed at him, raising its forelimbs and tail threateningly.
Crosshair grabbed its tail. "Nothing!" he ordered. "Daabe."
"That's clearly something," Fives retorted as Nothing angrily chittered but hopped down to the ground.
"No, its name is Nothing," I corrected. "It's a Night Hunter, and we picked it up on our first mission." I indicated Crosshair with a tilt of my head. "It imprinted on Twiggy."
"Uh huh," Fives remarked, glancing under the table where Nothing was challenging his boots. "Loyal little thing."
"Am not little!"
I sighed. "Nothing, you are small."
"Not forever!"
"No, but you got a good while yet before you get full size. Now leave the ARC alone."
"This arrangement displeases me."
"Arrangement displeases you? Karkin' hell, you sound like Tech."
The engineer glared at me from over his salad bowl.
"Wait," Echo said, shaking his head as he held up a hand. "You... understand it?"
"It's a Kelusian critter," I replied, using my tail to sweep Nothing away from where it had begun a war dance toward Fives' foot. "As an Alphian, I can communicate with any animal from that planet."
"Kelusia?" Echo asked. "Haven't heard of that one."
I chuckled. "Be surprised if you had. It's in another galaxy. We went there during our first mission as a team. And, well, it's a planet I created."
"Huh?" the ARC twins exclaimed.
"See, this universe is three crossovers in one. Yours, mine, and the universe I created of my stories. Alphians, and everything from Stone's Throw, is a product of my imagination. That's why no one heard of Alphians. My fictional universe and your universe were not connected whatsoever until I ended up here. They had no concept of this galaxy, and vice versa."
"So you're a god? Goddess?" Echo asked.
"Technically speakin', I guess so. I'm human in my reality, and there's no magic there. Or space travel. It's quite dull, so to compensate my fictional world is full of magic."
"As we found out during our first mission with 'em," Hunter remarked from the other side of Wrecker.
"And boy, is that a story for the ages," I agreed with a laugh.
"Don't know about Ech," Fives said. "But I for one am up for the longer version. If you care to share."
"Squeaky's great at stories!" Wrecker said as he dug into his ribs.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Hunter grumbled, rubbing his temple. "Also, Tech, I see you feedin' that thing under the table."
"Greens are vital for its development as stated in the care manual Paul gave me back on Kelusia," Tech defended as Nothing hissed at Hunter.
"But at the table?"
"Its intelligence is parallel to our own! Why shouldn't I?"
"So that's why it likes Tech more now," I said with a snort of amusement as Tech and Hunter began to argue while Crosshair fought down a snicker. Turning my attention to Fives, I smiled. "Want a story, Fives my man?"
He grinned and leaned forward, elbows braced on the table. "Kark yeah!"
"Then story time it is!" I leaned back, sweeping my hand through the air in a grand gesture as I began the tale. "See, it all started when I woke up at a place called the Outpost on Planet 42..."
-Later: Fives PoV-
Scar alive.
Realm Walkers existing.
Echo returned from the dead.
Hevy and the others possibly alive sometime in the future.
He himself just a character in a show.
Another galaxy beyond the reaches of his own with talking animals and widespread magic.
Said galaxy a product of the Realm Walker's imagination.
What. A. Karking. Day.
Fives sighed heavily, dragging his hands down his face as he stared at the dark wood-paneled ceiling. Laying on his back in the top bunk of the cabin's guest room, the chatter in the room above him had trailed off maybe an hour ago and now only faint snoring drifted through the cracks in the wood. But Fives remained wide awake, his new knowledge about the universe keeping him from sleep despite the exhaustion weighing his limbs down. Try as he might, all attempts failed and left him with racing thoughts as he stared at the handful of glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the wood above him.
Fictional. He was karking fictional. Everything around him, everything he knew, everyone he would meet aside from Shadow, was fictional. Everything to do with this war was already laid out. Every battle, every skirmish... every death. His death, even. At least he was gunned down while trying to do what was right. Judging by Shadow's reaction when he asked how the war ended, he'd been spared a worse fate.
He and Echo both tried to press the Realm Walker about the end of the war, and the conspiracy that Fives himself died trying to uncover, but unfortunately got nowhere. Neither Shadow nor their team gave them even the slightest clue as to what it was, although Fives did notice the commandos rubbing the sides of their skulls.
Was it something in his head? In all the clones' heads? Could it be linked to those blasted inhibitor chips? What if they weren't just for controlling aggression and rogue behavior, as the longnecks claimed? Fives wouldn't be surprised; those Kaminoans were shady bastards.
He'd seen one of the chips once, on a brain scan of Hevy when they were cadets after some roughhousing resulted in a hard hit to the head which left Hevy unconscious. When he woke up, he was acting very weird and the Kaminoans immediately removed his chip before sending him back to his squad. The longnecks claimed his inability to follow orders and headstrong behavior were a result of the chip's removal, but Fives knew that was a load of bantha shit.
Hevy was combative even before they took it out.
Maybe he should ask Shadow about it? Ask them if it was the inhibitor chips that were the cause of the calamity at the war's end? But would they even answer? They just shut him down when he tried to ask earlier, saying over and over that "Forbidden Knowledge is forbidden for a reason" and "they had to play it safe". Maybe if he waited a few days, and showed the Realm Walker he was trustworthy, they'd tell him? Or at least tell him what they could?
Covers rustled beneath him. "Stop sighin'. You're shakin' the bunk."
Rolling over and leaning over the rail to grin at his brother, Fives teased, "Not me. Earthquake."
"On Naboo? You're karked in the head," Echo said with a snort, rolling his eyes. Or, Fives figured he was rolling his eyes. Aside from the faint moonlight streaming in through the cracks in the curtains, and the glow in the dark stars, the room was dark.
"Hey, never know. Maybe Naboo is different as well thanks to Shadow's presence."
"Still can't believe it," Echo muttered. "A Realm Walker. That's what they are. A Realm Walker saved me."
"I'm sure they'd drop you back off on Lola Sayu if you'd like."
Despite the dark room, a small pillow hit Fives square in the nose and sent the ARC reeling back.
"Yeah, like they'd want to deal with your blubberin'."
"Blubberin'?" Fives scoffed in mock offense, rubbing his nose as he leaned over the edge of the dark wooden railing again. "Think I'm entitled to shed a few tears to get my kid brother back."
Another pillow smacked him in the face with pinpoint accuracy. "Kid brother yourself."
"Where do you keep gettin' those?" Fives demanded, rubbing his nose again.
Smack.
"Magic."
Throwing the third pillow back at his brother, Fives snorted. "So now you believe in magic."
"Never said I didn't. We serve under General Skywalker. There has to be some higher force keeping that man alive."
"Speakin' of alive," Fives said. "D'ya think they'll really do it?"
"Who'll do what?"
"Shadow rescue Hevy. And the others."
"I don't know. Maybe?"
"I mean, I don't know how else they could have survived that explosion."
"They control lava."
A muffled voice came from above. "It's the rock I control, not the hot."
Fives' cheeks burned. After Shadow lost a life to help Echo, the last thing he wanted to do was keep them up while they tried to sleep. "Sorry, Shadow."
"Can I get an apology too?" came Hunter's dry comment.
"Would rather you regs just shut up and save the chatter for tomorrow," Crosshair retorted.
Tech's voice sounded as well. "Technically, it is not entirely unlike your mutterings when you first learned of Shadow's origins."
"Shut it, Four Eyes."
Wrecker didn't contribute, but the snores still continued so the man must have still been asleep. Due to the injuries he sustained in what had to be an explosive accident of his own, his hearing probably was not the greatest.
"Hey, I thought my brother was dead," Fives defended.
"You would be hypocritical if you argued against that, Crosshair," Tech said. "Given the chattiness you yourself displayed after the incident with Shadow-"
"Listen here, you miserable little-"
"I will vine you both to opposite ends of the loft if you start arguin'," Shadow interrupted. "I want cuddles, so stow the anger. Duke it out tomorrow in basketball."
"Tch, like he can even reach the net," Crosshair grumbled, but rustling covers told Fives he was snuggling with his Realm Walker partner.
You talk one hell of a big game, Crosshair, but you are whipped for that Realm Walker partner of yours.
"I can jump just fine, thank you!" Tech huffed, but the argument didn't resume.
Rolling his eyes at the group above him, Fives remarked to Echo, "Well, you heard the Realm Walker boss." Then, with a sly grin, he teased, "Sleepy night night, little bro."
"Call me little bro again and it's not my ass that's going to go sleepy night night," Echo shot back, jabbing one of his prosthetics between the slats on the bunk and into the bottom of Fives' mattress.
Laughing, Fives settled deeper into the covers. Yet, somehow, he knew his thoughts would be racing for a good while yet.
What is it, Shadow?
What can't you tell us?
What are you hiding?
Why won't you talk about the future?
He stared at the ceiling, dread beginning to churn his stomach.
What are you so afraid of?
Additional note. Hate to give bad news two weeks in a row, but this will be the last FNF chapter on any site for a little bit. I've taken on too much at one time, and something needs to be dropped for the time being before I crash hard again. Given TtFR has gotten nearly 400+ more views within the same amount of time as this story, I've picked that one to be the story I continue to post and it will remain on a bi-weekly schedule. Given that this is the end of FNF's "first act", this is a good place to stop before launching into act 2 "Rishi Rescue". Thanks for understanding!
Big thanks to all the support, especially from my patrons Jesse, Lil, and Dragon! If you enjoyed, please leave a vote/comment! It helps fuel my motivation and drive, plus makes the long writing hours worth it.
