Hola! Chapter 12 is finished! And since its my birthday… its extra long! For your reading pleaser, *extravagant bow* quick warning if you freak out every time Rex is in danger turn back now. *Dark voice* you have been warned. XD now on to the show!

Coruscant Republic clone barracks

"Best. Night. Of my life." Chopper breathed flopping down on his bunk. Echo peered at him from the top bunk of there temporary barracks.

"Told ya." He said with a smirk. "Do me a favor and name your first kid after me." Chopper scowled and tossed his pillow at him. Echo caught it easily with one hand and stuck out his tongue. Chopper scowled again.

"Shut up smart sheb." He was careful not to say more. Gus and Punch were in their bunks. It was too risky.

Sketch had stayed at the Art show after Chopper, Echo and Punch had left, apparently striking up a fascinating conversation with one of his fellow artists, a pretty Red twilek by the name of Ruby. Jester had left a couple of hours before them. Saying he had an old friend he wanted to go and see. Chopper knew exactly who that friend was but it defiantly was not a safe topic in their unit. Chopper was sure that if Gus knew he would have an aneurism. Speaking of Gus…

"Skywalker says were taking off tomorrow." Chopper felt his stomach drop. He had hoped they would have more time. Riyo had given him her number. He had wanted to… "Where's Jester and Sketch anyway?" Punch looked up from a data novel he had bought outside the art exhibit.

"Sketch is wooing some sculptor girl by the name of Ruby. Not sure what happened to Jest. He said he was going to visit and old friend." Gus scowled.

"Any idea who that is?" He asked with a twinge of impatience. Chopper knew but he wasn't telling. Punch shrugged.

"Beats me." He turned his attention back to the data novel. Echo shot Chopper a look as if to say 'you know don't you'. Chopper nodded once but said nothing. Echo nodded in response and lay back on his bunk with a copy of 'gungan's travels' in hand. He was only about three pages in to the story when a sudden wave of foreboding washed over him. He bolted up right silently. Something, some ware, was very very wrong…

YT-1300 holding cell

Rex's head felt as though someone had used it as a punching bag. A dull throbbing pulsated throughout his scull attempting to drag him out of unconsciousness. A sharp backhand to his jaw yanked him the rest of the way into reality. And his eyes opened to the disfigured face of one of his brothers.

"Good morning captain." the brother smiled. But there was no comfort in that smile only the promise of pain. As if to emphasis this point the clone pulled out an old fashion metal knife and began tracing the blade along Rexes chest.

The captain took stalk of his surroundings he was in a holding cell most likely on a ship. His hands and feet were bound to the wall and his armor was gone leaving him only in his black body suit. The brother standing in front of him, the one tracing a knife along his flesh was wearing his armor, his armor!

"Do you know who I am?" the brother asked coldly pushing the sharp metal edge of his blade against Rexes cheek.

"Your a traitor." Rex snarled in response this earned the blade being pushed harder into his skin. A few drops of crimson blood slid down Rexes cheek.

"Try again," the brother growled. "You look at me and you think HARD." Rex refused to look at his captor earning him a bone crushing punch to the stomach. Rex gasped hard for air. He'd never met a brother who could hit that hard. Sure he'd had the wind knocked out of him in a practice fight with other clones lots of times but this was different. It felt like the strength of ten men was packet behind that punch.

"Look at me!" the brother ordered sharply smacking Rex across the face with the same shattering strength. Reluctantly Rex obeyed and brought his eyes up to meet the other clones. They were a sickly yellow gold not at all like the amber brown they should have been. "Do. You. Know. Me?" Rex shook his head slowly.

"I don't know who the dar'yam you are." he growled. This earned him another bone crushing blow to the stomach. Rex bit his lip not willing to let this aruetii have the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

"Maybe this will jog your memory." the trooper grabbed the captain's chin in hand forcing him to look into his sickly yellow eyes. At first Rex couldn't understand what he was seeing. The scares on the brother's face smoothed out and his patchy black hair grew even setting into a smooth crew cut. A set of strangely familiar tattoos on his cheekbones became clearer and his eyes set into their natural hazel brown. "Permission to take point sir?" Rexes eyes widened looking at the clone before him.

"Heavy?" his voice was horse and full of disbelief. "But... how?" the captain shook his head recovering from the shock. "You chakaar we thought you were dead!" Heavy laughed coldly.

"You would have liked that wouldn't you have captain?" Heavy's face shifted back to it's disfigured form and he went back to tracing the blade along Rexes skin.

"What the hell are you talking about Heavy?" Rex snapped as the metallic blade was pushed against his arm drawing a small line of crimson red blood.

"As if you don't know traitor!" Heavy punched him hard in the jaw to emphasize his point. Rex straitened his neck out slowly.

"I'm the traitor here?" he spate bloody saliva onto the steal floor. "I'm not the one holding his brother hostage."

"You killed them!" Heavy snapped, punching Rex all the harder in the jaw. The captain remained silent and Heavy smiled coldly. "It's timed to pay for your sins brother." He spate it out as if the very word insulted him. Rex remained silent only glaring up at Heavy's disfigured face. He had been trained in counter interrogation. He knew responding would only show weakness. Heavy grabbed his chin and forced him to look him square in the eye. "Such a distinctive face." Heavy mused taping the thin white scar on Rex's chin none to gently. "And people say every clone looks the same." As Heavy spoke his face once again shifted like putty this time his patchy black hair smoothing out into a short blond buzz cut. "Every cut, every scare, every line makes you completely unique." His scares smoothed out and shifted to display the unmistakable face that belonged to the captain. So much like his brothers but still so different. "Irreplaceable." Heavy mumbled coldly, giving his brother a grin, which bordered on psychotic.

The door to the holding cell swished open and a rodian stepped in.

"Are you done playing yet?" Greeto's lips curled in what must have been the rodian equivalent of a snarl. "We have to meet that separatist your selling him to."

"You misunderstand." Heavy shook his head smirking and not leaving Rex's form. "The separatists only pay so much for a hostage." His voice dropped several tones, the same but still different, and distinctly Rex's. "Information. That's priceless." He tossed Greeto a communicator. "Keep in touch dikut, anything I find out you can sell to the seppies after this is over." Heavy reached into one of his belt pockets and pulled out a small metal remote. He handed it to Greeto. "I want him broken by the time I get back." Heavy turned and headed for the door.

"Why do this?" Rex shouted at the man's back. "Why betray us? Why take me hostage?" he struggled against his bounds though he knew it was pointless. "Why impersonate me?" Heavy turned slowly to face him with a smile, which could only have belonged to a mad man. He seemed to radiate an even darker presence than before.

"Simple." He whispered. "I want you to hurt."

Coruscant planet-side prison, block E section 5 mental ward

The security guard led Jester down the long winding prison corridor. The eyes of each prisoner gazed out at him with hate filled expressions. Clones were not taken to kindly in this place.

He had left the art gallery before his brothers. He had simple told them he was going to visit an old friend and they believed it. Why wouldn't they? He had no reason to lie.

After several minutes of walking they reached a small room labeled 'private visitors' the guard slipped his access card into the port and the door slid open with only a slight grown of protest. The guard motioned for Jester to step inside.

"Just make sure he aint got nothing worse than a broken arm once yer done." He ordered sternly. "Bacta aint cheep." Jester's hands balled into fists at the guard's words.

He thinks I'm here to beat him and this is how he acts? It put a bad taste in Jesters mouth.

He turned quickly and entered the meeting room. It was a simple gray walled cub, with only a set of two bolted down steal chairs for decoration. Sitting in the chair farthest from the door was his brother. In an orange prison uniform and chains holding him to the chair by his ankles and wrists. Fresh bruises could be seen up and down his exposed arms, along with old scares, which looked suspiciously like burns. He was thin, a lot thinner than a clone should have been. His brother glared up at him. But the look of anger quickly turned to a broad smile.

"Jester, Su'cuy, Ner vod!" He extended his hand in welcome despite the chains, which held him in place.

"Su'cuy'gar Slick." Jester said with a smile clasping his brothers forearm in the mandoan way. Slick gestured for his brother to sit down.

"So, you come to break me out yet?" it was a joke, not a very good one but still a joke. Jester shook his head with a chuckle.

"Not today Slick." The former sergeant made a face.

"Your no fun." Jester laughed. "So." Slick said after a moment. "What brings you to this quack house."

"Our convoy is refueling I thought I'd stop bye to say hi." Slick laughed darkly.

"Nothing like visiting a convicted traitor to warm yer heart right?" His voice was layered with sarcasm. "What's on yer mind kid?" Jester sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Darks dead. Gus got promoted."

"Osik." Slick swore. "Rex is a bigger ordinii than I thought. I mean why not Sketch? Even Punch would have made a better sergeant than Gus!" Jester shook his head. Slick was right. Gus was too paranoid. Some may think that paranoia made you a better leader. Those people would be wrong. Slick shook his head and muttered a few choices swear words about the 'shabla republic morons'.

"We got a new trooper." Jester offered quietly. "His names Echo." Slick raised his eyebrow in question.

"You not like him or something?" Jester shook his head quickly.

"No, no its not that its just…." He sighed. "I don't know there's something… different about him. Something… off." All trace of joking disappeared from Slicks face and he leaned in close.

"You think he might be like us?" Slicks voice dropped to a whisper. "Different?"

"I don't even know." Jester sighed. "I never could tell this kind of thing. Remember I used to thing Chopper was like us?" Slick laughed slightly but it did little to lower the tension in the air and left behind an ominous hollow feel. "What do you think?" Slick shrugged as leaned back against his chair.

"If he is, he is, if he's not, he's not chances are were not the only ones of our kind Jester." Jester sighed.

"So should I confront him about it?" Slicks frown deepened.

"No, to risky what if he's not and he rates on you? There's a 110% chance you'll end up on a kaminoan operating table." Both men shivered slightly. That was what they feared most, being caught. If the kaminans found out they were different…

"Who's been beating you?" Slick appeared slightly blindsided by the question but brushed it off quickly.

"That's not important." He said it quickly, almost to quickly. Jester sighed heavily.

"How many of them were brothers?" Slick scowled.

"Six." He replied coldly. "Stone drunk all of them. The shabuir guard chained me down so I couldn't fight back."

"You could have." Jester mumbled. "You could have easily." Slick glared at him.

"Last I checked sending a couple thousand volts through someone isn't normal. I many be a traitor, but I still don't want to get dissected." Jester sighed.

"Ya your right, its just…" he trailed off.

Not for the first time Jester couldn't help but think how pointless it all was. He didn't consider himself a traitor but if he was still 'chummy' with a convicted turncoat he couldn't exactly be loyal could he? But he and Slick… they were hatched from the same growth Jar. That was close, a lot closer than hatch-mates and that was one of the reasons Jester couldn't hate him for what he'd done. Slick had been Jesters hero all through there early years. He had followed the would-be-traitor like a loyal dog and if Slick had ever asked him to commit treason… Jester didn't even know.

"You wish we didn't have to hide." Slick mumbled crossing his arms over his chest. Jester nodded quietly. "Kriff same here. Don't you think it would have been nice if I could go full voltage on a Jedi?" Slick held his hand up in the air fingers spread and Jester could literally see the electricity jumping from fingertip to fingertip. "But come on Jest." Slick shook his head and griped his hand into a fist cutting off the electric current, which had flown through the room and caused every hair on Jesters body to stand on end. "Just think about what they would do to you? If they found out you could tear droids apart with the bat of an eyelash." Jester focused his gaze on the ground. He knew what he could do, had grown comfortable with it over the years, but hearing it out loud still unnerved him. All the same he nodded slowly.

"Yes sir." Neither man understood there abnormalities in the slightest but one thing was for sure, it was a secret they would take to their graves.

Dunt dunt daaaaaa! Oh isn't it just delicious? I got the idea that there would be someone who didn't hate Slick for his betrayal and Jester just fit the bill! :D well anyway today is my birthday, which is why I posted this. It is my present to me! So leave me a review would ya? I want some presents! :DD