While Echo's recovery week was supposed to be relaxed, a surprise appearance from Trevor can only mean one thing; things are about to get weird.

Wordcount: 4.1k

Rating: M-17+ (Mentions of death, mild sexual content, language)

He was here. He wasn't dead. He was alive. His brother was alive!

Echo was alive!

And… and he left him. He left him behind without even checking to see if his brother was actually dead. Fives didn't think he'd ever forgive himself for that. He broke rule number one! How ironic that the broken rule that nearly confined Domino to Kamino also nearly severed the team for good?

"And you left a man behind! You broke rule number one."

It all happened so fast. So suddenly. No time to think. One second everything was fine, chaotic but fine, and then it wasn't. In an instant, Fives thought he lost yet another brother to an explosion. But Echo survived, and were it not for that Realm Walker, it sounded as if the Techno Union could have done who knew what to Echo.

"Why the long face?" Echo asked, elbowing him.

The pair sat together on the lower bunk in the small yet cozy guest room, Fives' armor in a haphazard pile next to the dresser beneath the window. The wood-paneled walls and plush red carpet were quite different than the rooms Fives was used to, but he couldn't deny it was homier than the barracks on Coruscant or the quarters on any of the Venator-Class destroyers. He ran his fingers over the checkered blanket before looking up at Echo.

"I thought I lost you, Ech." Emotion welled in his throat and he glared at the carpet, fists clenched as his eyes grew misty. "I… I left you behind. They wouldn't let me stop. I…" He grit his teeth, eyes screwing shut as tears trickled down his cheeks. "I fuckin' left you. Rule number one! How… How could I… my last brother."

Echo rested a hand over his fist. "Hey, I'm here now."

"Only thanks to that fighter," Fives grumbled, wiping his tears on his sleeve. "Who are they, anyway? Aside from a Realm Walker with weird sabers. I've never heard anything about 'em before."

"Not sure," Echo said, frowning. "Their name is Shadow, they're a member of that species from Tresed, they more or less run this squad, but other than that I don't know anything about them. Like I said, they were extremely cryptic and you probably know more than me."

"Whatever or whoever they are. I'm glad they saved you. I just- you're all I have left. Droidbait, Cutup… Hevy." Fives growled and smacked his head. "I can't keep any of you safe."

"Last I checked," Echo remarked dryly. "I'm your keeper."

Fives glared goodnaturedly and smacked his batchmate's arm. The pair playfully sparred for a bit, although to anyone who may have been watching it looked more like a sibling slap battle than coherent sparring. However, with Echo as exhausted as he was, the fight soon came to an end.

"You… heard the squad's name, right?" Fives ventured as Echo caught his breath.

Through his wheezing, Echo managed, "Yeah… Clone Force… 99. But don't… don't know much."

"Commander Cody said thanks to 99's sacrifice they were able to get off Kamino since he argued for unusual clones to be given a chance just like the rest of us," Fives supplied, concerned about the rasp in his brother's voice.

The explosion must have done some internal damage. Had they taken him to a proper medic when this all went down? Someone who could actually heal or diagnose any internal injuries? Not just the quirky little engineer who looked like he bit people if they annoyed him?

"At least… his memory… lives on," Echo continued, still wheezing.

"As it should," Fives said firmly. "He deserved so much more. I'm surprised he never mentioned these guys. Mutated fellas? That's pretty special."

"That nerdy one, Tech, seems like he was closest to 99," Echo said, flopping back onto the bed with an arm over his face.

Fives snorted and looked down at his Batchmate. "Nerdy? You're one to talk."

Echo halfway raised his arm to peer at his batchmate. "I wouldn't have to repeat everything if you moof-milkers listened to orders the first time."

Fives tried to scowl at his brother, but couldn't hide his grin. "I'm just glad to have you back. Now, I don't have to hide my grief under jokes about dominos falling one by one."

Echo rolled his eyes and let his arm fall back over his face. "Never were healthy with your emotions."

Fives bumped his leg against Echo's makeshift prosthetics. "Still got your sense of humor."

Echo chuckled. "Well someone has to be the funny one between us."

Echo's stomach growled loudly, cutting Fives off mid-sentence. Fives squinted at his brother. "Didn't they feed you?"

"Wrecker tried to get food in me. Didn't end well," Echo sighed.

"How long ago?"

"Before we got here."

"Well, it should be better now. I'm goin' to go see if they have anything."

Pushing himself off the bed, Fives exited the room and found the squad's sergeant, Hunter, leaning on the counter in the kitchen. "Got anythin' for my brother to eat?" he asked.

Tech stuck his head out of the robotics room, hair a mess when he tilted up the welder's mask. "His stomach is intolerant to heavy meals. As the floor of our transport found out."

"Aw, don't be so grouchy, Tech!" Wrecker laughed from the couch.

Tech sent a venomous glare his way. "You did not have to clean it up."

"Fellas," Sergeant Hunter sighed, sipping something dark and warm; Nabooian tea by the smell of it. He looked at Fives. "We're a bit low until Shadow and Crosshair get back, but you're welcome to the fridge in the meantime. Tech's right, though. Keep the heavy solids to a minimum unless you want to clean it up."

Heading over to investigate the fridge, Fives opened it and scanned the shelves. Finding nothing aside from a questionable meiloorun that was the wrong shade of green and orange, his nose wrinkled and he shut the fridge. Turning to the sergeant, who now faced him, he rubbed the back of his neck and asked, "Did you know 99?"

"Tech did," Sergeant Hunter replied, dipping his head to indicate Tech. "I only met him a few times."

Tech looked at Fives, a somber expression on his freckled face. "Shadow said you were there with him when he died. In the barracks."

Fives' head snapped back in surprise. Shadow knew about that too? Did they also know about Hevy? Droidbait? Cutup? Why hadn't they helped them out? "How would they know?"

"Squeaky's a Realm Walker, remember?" Wrecker asked from the couch, turning around and revealing that he had been munching on some chips.

Sergeant Hunter did a double take. "Wrecker, I just told the reg we're low on food. Where did you even get that?"

"Found it!"

"Reg?" Fives growled, folding his arms over his chest as he stood straighter and lifted his chin. These men may have saved Echo, but Fives was still ready to fight them if they insulted him or his brother. Especially his brother.

"It's what we call regular clone troopers," Sergeant Hunter said with a shrug.

Fives looked him up and down. "You look normal to me aside from him," he scoffed, jerking his chin at Wrecker.

While Commander Cody mentioned they all had different elements to their DNA compared to the average trooper, they didn't look like anything special. The only one who looked like a true non-human was Shadow, and they weren't a clone. Even Wrecker could just be passed off as a really tall trooper. Fives, admittedly, also couldn't recall exactly what was different about them; in his grief, he hadn't really been paying too much attention to the specifics.

"Hardly," Sergeant Hunter chuckled, allowing his teeth to show. Teeth that Fives quickly realized were just a bit too sharp to pass as a human's. "I can not only hear your heartbeat, I feel it. Additionally, I can sense every square inch of technology in this building and every creature within a mile, if I so chose. Karkadon DNA helps with that." He tilted his head, eyes flashing like a predator's. "Also have excellent night vision. Tell me, ARC, can you do that?"

Now that Sergeant Hunter mentioned it, Fives began to notice subtle yet striking differences. Aside from the teeth and eyes, Hunter's ears were slightly pointed at the tip and his fingers had a slight amount of webbing between them. Wrecker had broader features, too. Recalling Crosshair, Fives realized he looked the most unusual; leaner and sharper features, a slightly desaturated skin tone, oddly textured hair, and, like Sergeant Hunter, sharper teeth.

"So you're all unusual?" Echo asked, leaning on the doorframe.

"Cross can hit a precise target at ten clicks and can see infrared thanks to Nexu DNA, Wrecker is strong enough to lift a gunship thanks to a bit of Rancor DNA, and Tech is unparalleled in the mental arena due to some brain implants when he was younger as well as some tampering before that," Sergeant Hunter explained.

"He means I possess above average intelligence and can solve any technical problem faster than a normal lifeform," Tech said proudly, standing taller before vanishing into the robotics room once more.

"And Shadow?" Fives asked, now supporting Echo. "How do they fit in?"

"Our partner."

Fives blinked, shaking his head. Polyamory itself wasn't a surprise to him, not by a longshot, but he hadn't heard of an entire squad sharing a partner before. Granted, there were only four men, but still! "All of you?"

"They're ambitious, and know what they like," Sergeant Hunter chuckled, a sly smile on his tattooed face.

No kidding.

"How did you end up with a Realm Walker for a partner, anyways?" Fives had to ask.

"Shadow will fill you in when they get back, I'm sure. I thought Cody talked about them some?" Sergeant Hunter remarked.

Fives groaned. "I… wasn't listening."

Sergeant Hunter shrugged. "You lost your brother, so can't blame you there." His expression darkened. "Grief can make you do… funny things."

Fives shared a confused glance with Echo. What did that mean?

Sergeant Hunter shook his head as if to clear it of some terrible memory. "Anyway. Just sit tight, Regs. Shadow and Crosshair will be back soon."

-Shadow PoV-

We'd gotten the last of the supplies, some pastry Tech wanted, and were heading back through town to the waiting cargo bike when Crosshair suddenly stepped closer to me, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me in tight. While it was a little odd for him to show such outward affection around strangers, I didn't think anything of it until he leaned over and kissed my cheek.

In the time I'd been running around with them, we'd been able to come up with some subtle yet effective signals for different scenarios whenever we were in civvies. To an outsider, this signal just looked like two partners sharing an affectionate moment with each other. But, for us, the meaning was clear; somebody was tailing us.

I leaned against Crosshair and bumped his cheek with my nose, quickly whispering, "Where?"

Crosshair rested his head against mine. "Rodian. Two blocks back."

So it wasn't a Skakoan. Good. But a Rodian? Weird. Could have been a bounty hunter, though.

"Others?"

"No. Just one."

If there was a gang, we'd have to call Hunter and warn him to do a perimeter sweep around the cabin. Because, according to the Batch, no bounty hunter ever came after them alone. There may have been a secondary hunter, but I highly doubted they could avoid Crosshair's notice.

Crosshair's arm tightened around my waist. "Alley ahead."

As we reached the edge of one building, Crosshair drug me into the narrow passage and pinned me against a wall. Slotting a leg between mine, he braced an elbow next to my head and slipped his other hand around my back. Leaning down, his lips trailed over my neck.

"You enjoy this too much," I whispered, hands smoothing over his lean but strong shoulders before slipping inside his shirt collar. Warm skin greeted me and I massaged the muscles at the back of his neck.

"Guilty," Crosshair chuckled into my own neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin as the hand at my back tugged me closer. "But don't see you complainin'."

I bit my lip to withhold a moan, casting a glance toward the street as if I wanted to make sure we weren't being watched. Which, admittedly, was the truth. But I did not expect to see a Rodian standing a few feet away, staring at us. I cleared my throat, tugged Crosshair's shoulder, and pointed at him.

Crosshair glared at him. "You mind?" he hissed. "Kind of busy."

The Rodian, to our surprise, stepped into the alleyway with us. "Can see that! But I'd be failin' my job as cockblocker if I just went away!"

My eyes widened at the very distinct voice. "Trevor?" I demanded.

A puff of green smoke later and the menace himself stood before us with a toothy grin and his arms spread. "Ta da!"

His outfit had changed considerably from the blue t-shirt and tan cargo shorts he wore during the first adventure arc. A blank tunic top like Maul's exposed the tattoo of Maxolyn's symbol on his sternum, while raggedy black pants reminded me of something Jack Sparrow would wear. And, to tie it all together, were Chesshire Cat patterned lightsaber holsters attached to his belt and thighs. Hanging there were two sabers, more likely the orange pair he'd apparently trained me with at some point.

Somehow? I still didn't get how that all worked.

"Nice clothes," I snorted, looking him up and down.

He spun around once, showing them off. "You like? Figured I could get a more personalized get-up."

"What do you want?" Crosshair snarled, still caging me against the wall.

"I bring glad tidings!" Trevor said. "I'm a symbol of happiness, remember!"

"You're a pestilence on our existence," Crosshair retorted.

"Hey now, were it not for me you would never have met your lovely partner there!" Trevor protested.

"Get to it," came the hissed reply.

"Fine fine. Someone's moody today," Trevor huffed before turning to me. "Doin' some portal hunting."

I stiffened, pushing Crosshair off me. "Portals?" I demanded as the sniper growled unhappily at being removed. "On Naboo? You're shittin' me."

"Thou shalt not be considered shitted!"

I rolled my eyes. "Where?"

"You'll see!" Trevor said with a grin. "If I can find it."

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Look, I just broke into Lola Sayu and lost a damn life while doing so, I'm tired."

"This'll be well worth your time, I promise!"

"Sus," I spat, ears back. "That's what you are. Sus."

Trevor laughed and, with a snap of his fingers, vanished.

Crosshair groaned loudly. "Hate his illusions."

"You and me both," I sighed. "Though." I smirked. "Can't complain too much this time."

Crosshair sent a seductive look my way, eyes half closed as he hummed questioningly. "Oh, that so? Well, darlin', let's get back so we can-" He lifted my chin, running a thumb over my lower lip. "Continue this little distraction."

Snatching the front of his shirt, I drug him in for a proper kiss. The sniper had zero complaints, hands flying to my hips where they slipped beneath the rim of my shirt. Ice-cold yet blazing-hot fingertips burned against my skin as Crosshair squeezed tightly and pulled me in closer. When we finally broke apart for air, he pressed his forehead to mine and rasped, "Moment those regs are gone." He tugged my pants. "So are these."

"Bet," I panted, grinning.

He returned the grin with a sly smirk of his own as he nudged my chin up with a curled finger. "Really can't get enough of me, kitten?"

"You're one to talk, Mister Our-Fallback-Plan-Is-A-Makeout-Sesh."

He chuckled. "Guilty." A light, lingering kiss. "So very, very guilty.."

Strolling out of the alley, we returned to the cargo speeder only to find quite a bit more supplies than we originally ordered. As well as… cots? I counted four, which was four too many because Echo and Fives already had the bunk room.

"Don't think those are gonna fit, Kabri," I remarked as we reached the tall, muscular vendor standing beside it with a datapad.

A red-skinned Togruta with pale, tiger-like markings on his face, arms, and tall lekku, Kabri shrugged. "A man was pretty adamant about it, kid," he apologized with a small smile.

I narrowed my eyes. "Tan skin, messy black hair, green eyes?"

Kabri nodded. "Yes! Said you'd know him if I described him to you."

As Crosshair groaned loudly, I sighed. "Aye, I know 'im. Wish I could say I didn't but I do."

"He seemed like a handful," Kabri agreed with a sympathetic look at Crosshair. "I'll just send the cots and extra supplies in a separate shipment to your cabin."

"Thanks, Kabri," Crosshair said, mounting the bike and fishing an extra twenty-credit piece out of his pocket. He tossed it to the Togruta. "For dealin' with that nuisance."

Kabri merely dipped his head to Crosshair. The vendor was perhaps one of the few that the Batch actually sought out, as he didn't try to tempt them into buying any unnecessary supplies. Or baubles, as Crosshair called them for… some reason? Kabri was also the only vendor who Crosshair was kind to, mostly because the Togruta didn't pester him with unnecessary conversation. For Crosshair, that meant the difference between a ghost of a smile and a full-on scowl.

Hopping onto the bike behind Crosshair, wrapping my arms around his waist, I saluted to Kabri. "See ya in a few, Kabri! Will save you some ribs."

He bared his sharp teeth in a grin. "Look forward to it!"

The return trip took slightly longer due to the extra weight, and when we returned we found the men sitting around on the front deck. Hunter was fiddling with the grill, and the sense of normalcy from the whole scene brought a smile to my face. These moments were my favorite right behind the banter, because we could pretend, even for a little bit, that there was no war. No death. No battles. Just vibes.

Wrecker lounged on one of the many large boulders scattered around the yard, snoring his head off as he lay in a rather… uncomfortable position. Kinda like Sid from Ice Age, sprawled on his back and one wrong move from rolling off onto his face. While the men could literally sleep anywhere, Wrecker certainly was the perfectionist of the group when it came to that skill.

Tech, meanwhile, walked alongside Echo and took notes as the ARC tested out his first prosthetics. Black metal and red wires brought to mind Echo's fate in the other timeline, and I wondered how his path would turn out in this reality. He certainly had no reason to stay with the Batch now given Fives was still alive, and here his prosthetics were limited to his lower legs only. He wasn't a cybie here, just a double amputee. Still normal enough to pass as a reg who simply sustained major injuries during a battle.

No, he would not be staying.

I threw up a peace sign as we pulled up. "Howdy, y'all."

Hellfire that was so Southern.

Wrecker's head shot up. "Squeaky!" Sitting up a bit too fast, he slid off the rock and tumbled into the grass with a loud thump. He quickly recovered, however, and scrambled over to us. "Alright! Eat time!" he cheered, encasing me in a firm bear hug as soon as I hopped off the bike.

Wriggling in his iron grip as he spun us around, I coughed. "Good to see you too, Scruffball!"

"Missed you so much, Squeaky!" he laughed, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"We were gone for an hour," Crosshair scoffed, rolling his eyes as he dismounted and shared a frat-handshake with Hunter.

"Can still miss 'em!" Wrecker defended, finally setting me down.

I staggered as he let go, but a lash of my tail regained my balance. Jerking my thumb toward to bike, I grinned up at Wrecker. "Got supplies! Ready to unload?"

"You bet! Wanna race?"

"Before you do that," Tech interjected. "The additional weight will make a good test for Echo."

"Awwww, but I wanna race!"

"We can always race another time, Scruff." I punched his arm. "Besides, we both know I'm the fastest!"

"That's just cause you're small!" Wrecker teased, shoving me back.

I shifted into a backstance, fists raised. "Them's fightin' words, partner!"

Crosshair stepped between us. "Fight later, I'm hungry."

I narrowed my eyes, then glanced at Wrecker. "Wreck, thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

A madman grin spread across his face. "Double Trouble!"

"Hey!" Hunter barked as Wrecker and I turned on Crosshair, the sniper recoiling with a hiss as we jabbed towards his ribs. "Get those supplies unloaded first, then duke it out!"

"Kill joy," I snorted, but backed down and headed for the groceries. Reaching the cargo carrier, I looked over my shoulder to see both Fives and Echo hovering nearby. "Hey, boys."

"Load us up, Shadow," Fives chuckled.

I raised an eyebrow at Echo's legs, not super faithful in the rickety-looking metal contraptions, but shrugged. By now I'd learned that a commonality amongst those with the Mister Fett gene was the utter inability to take it easy when dealing with an injury, and any attempts at persuasion would only be met with an even stronger determination to do the Thing. Even if that Thing was incredibly stupid.

As I found out with the firecracker and toilet incident.

"Alright, fellas," I joked. "Load up and defend your honor."

Echo squinted at me. "Defend our honor?"

I snickered. "Aye. Only those willing to risk dishonor make two trips." I flicked my tail at Wrecker, who carried a backpack-sized crate under each arm and somehow balanced another atop his head.

Fives laughed. "I'll top that! Watch!"

"Kark, there's two of 'em," Hunter groaned, getting a crate of his own.

"More the merrier!" I sang, tossing four crates to Fives. "Go nuts, Fives my man."

Lo and behold, the ARC managed to balance not one but two crates on his head, much to Wrecker's dismay. Echo stuck with one crate, while I got the three: one under each arm and my tail around the third. With Crosshair and Tech also helping out, the unloading and unpacking took no time at all. Digging out the ribs before they went in the freezer, I carried them out to the deck and over to Hunter.

"Hey, Hunt," I said, handing them to the sergeant. "Set aside some less done ones for Kabri. He's bringin' another load in a few."

Hunter frowned. "Another load? How much food did you order, Ice?"

"Probably not enough," Crosshair mumbled, shooting a glare at the ARC twins.

Fives lifted his chin and a single finger, causing Wrecker to crack up.

I snatched the back of Crosshair's shirt as he lunged at the ARC. "It ain't what I ordered," I sighed, flopping on the picnic table bench and pulling Crosshair down beside me. "It's what Trevor ordered."

Hunter whipped his head around to stare at me. "Sorry, didn't hear that right. Did you say Trevor?"

I nodded, tail curling around Crosshair's waist to keep him next to me. "Aye. He's back and you know what that means."

"So much for a peaceful recovery," Hunter remarked, glancing at the pair of ARCs.

Fives tilted his head. "Trevor? Who's he and why is he bad?"

"He's… another Realm Walker," I said slowly, eyeing Crosshair as the man glared venomously at the ARC twins while stroking my tail like a damn Bond villain.

Fives huffed a soft laugh. "Here I thought Realm Walkers were rare, yet we've met two and know of a third."

Echo shook his head. "We don't know that Scar was a Realm Walker," he said.

Er, about that.

"C'mon, Ech! They had to be," Fives countered. "Their blades turned weird colors like Shadow's here. That sure as hell isn't something lightsabers do unless they belong to some interdimensional and multiverse-jumpin' being."

"Yeah, but-" Echo stopped abruptly, catching the glances the Batch and I were all sharing. "What? Why are you looking at each other like that?"

I exchanged yet another glance with my boys then chuckled. "Well, we got some time until the ribs are done. Get ready for your existential crisis, fellas, 'cause it's comin' in hot."

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