Chapter 2 - No Way Home

Author's Note: Warning: Non-consensual biting. 💖 And possessiveness. It's not extensive, but for people who are sensitive, be warned. And sibling squabbles, not in a good way. ;-; And urges to hurt someone close to you.

~ Rivana Rita

Crosshair notifies the rest of his squad on the way of the change in plans. His... former plans won't work, not with this alteration. Not with Hunter's enhanced abilities, and not when Crosshair himself is so exhausted right now.

He really, really just wants to sleep, but that's not an option at present. Not until this is done.

The hurt look on Hunter's face made him feel... strangely guilty, and he hates himself for feeling like that because Hunter is a traitor, and he made this choice. Crosshair tried to stop him, to talk him down, but he didn't listen, and there's nothing else Crosshair could've done about that.

He shouldn't feel bad for it. He does, anyway.

Even if he's still angry.

He's trying to protect them, the way he always has, and they don't understand that. Either that, or they don't care.

And he still doesn't fully understand what Hunter did to him, but the... strange, sudden devotion he feels is not something he appreciates. He's frustrated and hurt and angry. It has always been Hunter's role to take care of them, and he's not doing it.

Crosshair takes him to the brig. Hunter doesn't fight him, not to the very end, not when Crosshair shoves him into the cell and steps back, moving to activate the ray shield.

He wishes he would. That would make some of the guilt go away. Anger is easier to handle.

Hunter's expression is blank when he turns back, though Crosshair still knows him well enough to see the pain lingering in his eyes. And the anger.

It won't be long before the others get here, and Crosshair needs to know more about how this... vampire thing works.

He feels... different, and he doesn't like it. He can hear too much, smell too much, and feel too much. That always was something Hunter had a hard time with, not Crosshair. And he's strangely exhausted, enough to just want to find someplace and sleep.

"Why did you turn me?" he asks bluntly. What he needs is to know how it worked, but Crosshair can't ask him outright. Hunter will figure out why.

"I... we feed to regenerate," Hunter supplies. He sounds uncomfortable. "I was minorly injured when I was captured."

Crosshair didn't... know that. He didn't know how exactly Hunter was captured. He didn't really care to read the report in detail – all that mattered was that Hunter was there, and everything else had blurred out as he went to Daro to get him. This is the chance he's been looking for, to get his brothers back again. And Hunter didn't look hurt, and he certainly wasn't acting like it, though that doesn't mean much. They're used to injuries.

But for as angry as Crosshair is at him, he doesn't... like that thought, either.

(The first time he felt like himself since Kaller was that half unconscious moment that Hunter was – was he feeding on him? He doesn't really know. It was weird, but it was the first time someone's touched him in a month, and he wants more. He wanted to hold onto it and not let go. But he – he had orders, and he couldn't...)

"With that control level, I'm impressed you haven't bitten the kid yet," he throws back, mostly because getting him talking when he's angry is easier.

The long-suffering look on Hunter's face would've made him laugh once. Now, it just twists the aching longing in his heart even deeper.

And it makes him angry, too. Angry that he wants it, that he even has to, because they should have stayed together, but they left him.

Crosshair isn't hungry himself anymore, but he still feels the ridiculous urge to jump Hunter. Vampires, apparently, don't see that as anything like what humans do. Their instincts change. It's... strange. But he very, very badly wants to bite Hunter, half because he's annoyed at him, half because he wants to feel that – whatever it was – again, and if it makes Hunter feel as protective of him as it made Crosshair feel protected, he wants it again. He wants Hunter to protect him like he used to.

"You thought turning me would make me leave the Empire?" he guesses.

"I... hoped it would be enough to overrule your chip," Hunter confesses.

Crosshair still doesn't believe they exist, even if Tech, Hunter, and Omega confirmed it. And even if it is? That doesn't change anything. All it does is make him even angrier. "You thought," he repeats slowly, "That you could control me? How does that make you any better?"

Hunter jerks back, hurt flaring across his face. "I didn't – I wouldn't do that to you," he argues.

That means he could – or at least that's what Crosshair is starting to suspect. He doesn't really... understand what this means, but instinctively, he knows they can influence people. Somehow. Somewhat. There's a... something between them, binding them together, and he can feel a distant prickle of hurt and desperation in his mind that isn't his own. It's Hunter's, as if they're somehow connected now.

Once, Crosshair wouldn't have had a problem with it. Now, he's not so sure.

He doesn't... trust him. Can't.

Hunter's a traitor, first and foremost. He's a traitor to the Empire, and to everything they were. So, no, Crosshair doesn't trust him at all – that would be stupid.

"Hm."

"It – what we feel is a bond," he supplies, "There's a pull between us."

Crosshair already knows that. He can feel it – the uncharacteristic devotion, and he doesn't like it. It's not him, and even if it's not entirely unlike how he used to feel towards Hunter, he didn't want this. And he's hurt and furious that Hunter did this to him in the first place.

... And he has no idea how Hunter got turned, either. (Did it hurt him? Were the others there? Was anyone there? Did he want it?) Not that it matters, anyway.

He didn't want to be this, but he can still... use it to his advantage.

The question still stands though – he doesn't know how to make Hunter stay here anymore than he did previously. He doesn't know how to make sure Hunter stays loyal to him, even if Crosshair might be able to for the others.

But he has to find a way, or he'll have to kill him, and that – that is not something he wants.

And he's furious at Hunter for putting him in this situation in the first place. Crosshair has always protected him, but it's never been like this.

Hunter settles down on the floor, back against the bench in the room, and just... watches. Crosshair wants to sit down himself, but he... won't.

They won't have much longer. He needs to leave shortly to confront the others. "Some bond," he sneers, "If you still choose treason over purpose and your whole squad."

Hunter's expression tightens. The strange prickle of something in his mind lights up with hurt and anger. "Crosshair, the Empire is using you. The only thing you'll be to them is a number. I want to give you more than that."

"You already failed," Crosshair throws back venomously, "From the moment you chose to walk away."

He sighs, shifting a little, expression tightening. "I – I'm sorry," he says finally. "We shouldn't have left you." He means it, too. Crosshair can feel the radiating guilt through their... whatever it is.

It twists at his heart somehow, because Hunter has never... he's never apologized in the past because he's never had a reason to. It soothes something in him, but it angers him just as much. "Do you think," Crosshair replies tightly, "That an apology will make me leave the Empire?"

"This isn't – it's about you, Crosshair. Not the Empire." He's still calm, even if his cool is slipping away a bit at a time, and it's – it's maddening.

Pain lances through his head again, hot and sharp and burning.

Nothing Hunter does or says will make Crosshair not angry at him or not be constantly expecting to get backstabbed. Maybe literally. (Which doesn't make sense because they never hurt him, and – okay, that's not true, either. Echo and Tech collapsed a deck on him. Someone – probably Wrecker – blew up the engine of the Star Destroyer and nearly killed him.)

The anger is gnawing at him, tearing him apart inside out, and Crosshair cannot remember the last time he wanted to hurt someone so badly. It's – it seems so wrong for him to feel this way towards one of his brothers, but it's Hunter who left him. He's taking all of them into a place that's bound to get them killed, and he's still acting calm about it.

"Is it?" He's leaning a bit on the console beside him. Exhaustion is nagging at him, but he needs to stay here, focused, at least until the others are dealt with.

Hunter stands again, not moving closer, but his frustration is visible. "Yes."

You only want me if I am what you want me to be, he wants to accuse, but that's far too emotional for him. "Why did you turn me?" Crosshair asked before, but that wasn't a clear answer, though it did explain why Hunter did that. And mostly, he's trying to get a clearer answer on how it works. "It isn't as though you could have wanted me back that badly."

Hunter looks away again. He looks almost ashamed, and Crosshair can feel that over the same strange bond binding them. A strange mix of shame and guilt and hurt and regret are leaking through the... bond, if that's what it is. "That was what I was trying to do. I thought we could get you back."

He could say something else to that, but it's the answer he needs, really. And if it doesn't work, then he'll find another way to get clear answers out of Hunter. He turns away, pushing himself up, willing himself to stay awake and stay present for the rest of this. It's not something he can make a mistake on. He may not have another chance, and he can't – can't lose them again.

Hunter calls his name behind him, but Crosshair doesn't stop.

Even if there's a teeny, tiny part of him that wants to.

**w**

He takes them to the training room. It's open ground, and it's the last place they fought together. The last time they did something together, it was right here, in this room, and it's meant as a pointed reminder of that time.

Echo, Wrecker, and Tech come through the central lift in the room, just as he knew they would. He knows their strategies. It's easy to predict.

"Well, guess you were wrong about that," Wrecker mutters to Tech as they stand in the center, blasters raised.

"And here we are, together again," Crosshair says, tossing Hunter's comm onto the floor towards them.

"Where's Hunter?" Echo snaps, jolting forwards, blaster raised towards him. He's angry, just like he was earlier.

"He's fine," Crosshair assures, only because he's fairly certain they'll need that reassurance if they're going to listen to him. "You won't be needing your weapons."

They turn, weapons still raised, seeming entirely unfazed that they're surrounded by five people, four of whom wouldn't hesitate to kill them. To be fair, it's not something that Crosshair would've been fazed by either, back when they were together. This is part of why he intended to have Hunter here in the first place – having him at blaster point would make them far less likely to do something rash.

"Unless you prefer being shot," he supplies when they don't move.

"What do you want with us?" Echo demands, unwavering.

"You are meant for more than drifting through the galaxy," he says, half toying with the idea of just stunning them, because they don't have time to wait. The transformation will take time. His still isn't over yet, if his exhaustion is anything to go by. "It's time to stop running. I'm giving you what you never gave me – a chance."

"You actually think we'd join the Empire?" Wrecker asks, and he sounds disbelieving.

"In case we haven't already made it clear," Echo snaps, "We aren't changing allegiances."

He looks to Tech, who's looking back, unwavering, blaster still raised.

They're not going to stand down. They've made that obvious, and he can't delay. The kid's still out there, and he can't risk her finding Hunter.

Crosshair fires. Wrecker goes down first, and Echo and Tech whirl to fire at him instinctively. Stun blasts – at least they're not trying to kill him – though he dodges, and fires again. He's faster than they are, and they both go down.

"Take them to the brig," he orders, holstering his blaster. "In separate cells."

He goes with Wrecker, just in case, because if he wakes up, he'll get the farthest the fastest. And maybe it's just as much that Wrecker will definitely be the easiest to get through to of all of them. He's angry, at least he was on Bracca, but he's Wrecker. He doesn't hold onto things. Not as though they can afford the liberty of choice, though.

Crosshair waits until they're going to get Echo and Tech, until the door closes, and he hears them moving down the hall before deactivating the ray shield. Wrecker is... he's here. And Crosshair is angry at him, too, though at the end of the day, he's Wrecker, and he will always follow his brothers.

He feels a sudden, lingering uncertainty at doing it though, because he really, really doesn't understand this whole vampire thing. He can't ask Hunter for specifics though, or he won't get the answers he needs.

Wrecker is close though, and seeing him again is – it reminds him jarringly of what they used to be, of how badly Crosshair has missed him. He approaches slowly, suddenly uncertain, because he really doesn't know how this works, and even if it is a sure way to make them loyal to him, it... he doesn't know what else it will mean.

But Hunter did it, and if he has objections about it, well, he shouldn't have done it to Crosshair first. And yes, maybe he is being just a little spiteful and petty about that.

Wrecker twitches the faintest bit when Crosshair crouches next to him, lightly touching his chestplate. He hovers, hesitant, uncertain, but really? This is Wrecker. It isn't as though Crosshair hasn't bitten him before. He just hasn't done it hard enough to bleed.

His instincts don't find anything... strange about it like he once would've.

He wants it, craves it, to sink his fangs into Wrecker's neck and claim him as his, to keep him here.

For a moment, Crosshair just looks at him, remembering, letting himself feel the desperate, aching urge to get him back and that he not be alone anymore, and hoping that this is how the turning process works, before leaning down and biting.

Wrecker twitches slightly, and Crosshair pulls back, despite the desperate, aching urge that just wants to curl closer and not let go. It's not... comfortable, exactly, but it's warm and safe.

When Crosshair fed on his... now-former squad member, it was out of necessity, but that's not what this is.

He knows, now, why Hunter hadn't wanted to let him go once he started. The twisting, aching anger and hurt are slowly receding simply at the contact. The deep, unwanted, but now ever-present, instincts inside him are begging for more. He wants to – to curl up in Wrecker's lap and feed, literally just because he can.

And because Crosshair misses him.

It's almost ridiculous, because he hasn't wanted Wrecker's attention in a very long time, but he does now. Badly.

Very badly.

His blood is... strangely warm, but then again, that makes sense, with how Tech always said Wrecker's metabolism was abnormally high. Its flavor is... more distinct, a little stronger than he thought it'd be, and just so, incredibly Wrecker-like that – yeah, his vampire instincts are definitely taking over now, and he's almost too tired to care.

Almost, except that he still needs to turn the others, and he can't let the kid free Hunter, or the entire mission could turn out a failure. His brothers could die, and he can't – can't let that happen.

Crosshair pushes himself up, slowly, pausing when Wrecker's hand lifts to touch his shoulder.

It's hard to feel through his armor, but it's firm and strong and warm and there.

"Crosshair?" he mumbles, voice faint, quiet – he's still mostly out of it, which is good.

"Here," he supplies, considering pulling back, but he doesn't want to. He wants to stay here, curl closer, to be held, and – he wishes he could feel like this about Hunter.

"What...?" Wrecker asks, trailing off, but his eye comes into focus a moment later as he snaps too fully conscious. It's always disturbing to see him do that. He pulls his hand back instantly, and Crosshair can't help feeling slightly stung.

Hurt flares up instantly, and Crosshair straightens, not quite pulling back yet – he doesn't want to break contact, not so soon, not at all.

"Where're we?" Wrecker asks, pressing his hand to his neck over the bite – probably, it's hurting at its worst right now. That's where it starts.

It hurt when Hunter bit him, and it had made Crosshair furious, because this – it was Hunter, and he's supposed to protect them, but he's been hurting them all since this started, and Crosshair doesn't understand why. He can somewhat understand it now, with how badly he's itching to feed on one of them.

"What'd you do?" Wrecker demands, and he sounds so hurt and angry.

Crosshair pulls his hand back from him, standing as frustration and hurt washes through him. "I saved your life," he throws back, "You're welcome."

Wrecker pushes himself to sit, rubbing his neck and whining quietly. "What did you do, Crosshair?" He sounds hurt, and that makes a surge of guilt swell up instantly, and Crosshair is as angry that he feels guilty in the first place as he is anything else.

"I'm a vampire," he replies bluntly, "And I turned you."

"You – what?" Wrecker yelps.

... why is he acting like he didn't know? Crosshair knows Hunter wouldn't have planned to turn him, but the others would've known what Hunter is, right? Unless it was too recent, he wouldn't know. Crosshair nearly rolls his eyes. "I turned you," he repeats, "Vampires are loyal to their sires."

"But –" He sounds more confused and freaked out than anything else. "It – they –"

"You'll be fine," Crosshair assures him, stepping back. One down, two more to go.

Wrecker jolts to his feet and makes a move for the doorway, Crosshair – even with his now-enhanced strength – knows he won't be able to stop him, not physically, but he presses a hand to his chestplate again, keeping him back.

"Don't," Crosshair snaps, "Your turn just began. You'll hurt the others and the kid."

Wrecker freezes, whining, looking from him to the door.

"Stay," Crosshair orders him firmly, the gnawing desperation to keep him, to not be alone again, burning through him.

Some of the fight fades, and Wrecker doesn't back away, but he doesn't press forwards.

"I'll be back," Crosshair tells him, closing the cell door again.

He tries not to look at his brother's hurt and frustration and anger and – is that fear? Is Wrecker scared? He can feel the same connection that he has with Hunter, though it's a little different – Crosshair feels more... protective of him than anything else, and it's the opposite with Hunter. Crosshair can feel him, and it hurts.

Everything about this does.

But Wrecker chose to leave him. They all did.

Crosshair forces himself to turn away.

**w**

He goes to Tech next, because with as exhausted as he is, he's fairly certain he'll end up falling asleep next to one of them at this rate, and that's far less likely with Echo than anyone else.

It wasn't awkward with Wrecker, simply because of how chaotic they've always been, but the thought of actually biting Tech is... weird.

Not as though he doesn't spend half the time being tempted, though. Tech can be very, very irritating.

Crosshair doesn't hesitate this time – there's no time. Being this close with Tech is... odd, and it's not until he's actually touching him, fangs biting into his neck, that he realizes how badly he wants the contact. He and Tech have always been close in a very different way than this.

He pushes himself up, making to close the ray shield before Tech wakes – because knowing him, unlike Wrecker, his first thought will be to escape. For Tech, it'll be instinct, and he'll do it fast and calculating, even if he's only semi-conscious.

Locking him in there feels wrong, but... it's not as though he has another option.

Tech wakes up a little slower than Wrecker did. Probably, Wrecker was only half affected by the stun bolt, anyway. Tech's face is blank, but there's a tightness in his expression that Crosshair still notices – he's good at reading them. He can see their expressions far clearer than most people, and he can see Tech's uncertain cautiousness.

"Crosshair," he says finally, neutrally. Either he's entirely oblivious to the fact that Crosshair just bit him, or he doesn't care. With Tech, it's hard to tell.

He ponders for a moment how best to drop the turn, but Tech beats him to it.

"Hunter turned you," he guesses.

"You knew?" Crosshair asks, slightly surprised. With how Wrecker was acting, he wasn't even sure if he knew about it.

"Of course, I knew." Tech sounds almost offended. "I picked it up on the scans immediately afterwards."

"Wrecker didn't know."

"Hunter told me," Tech admits, slightly grudgingly, "When I confronted him about it."

That is... Crosshair wouldn't be too keen on telling anyone that he was feeling a sudden, spontaneous inclination to drink their blood either, to be fair. He definitely wouldn't have wanted his brothers to know in that place. Still, that seems like a stupid choice, and considering how annoyed – and petty – he's still feeling... "He's even keeping things from the squad now?"

"Hunter did what he thought best, as he always has," Tech replies, already irked. "I do not see your issue."

He's hurting, angry and lashing out, just as Crosshair himself is. He knows that, but he's still angry. Tech left him, too. They all did.

"We were brothers once," he throws back tightly, "And you've forgotten all of that."

He leaves, moving on to Echo, because he needs to hurry and feed them before someone figures out what's happening, before the kid shows up. She'll be looking, no doubt.

He feels as bitter and empty when he leaves Tech as he did Hunter, and he can't help wondering if that's ever going to change, because even if they're here and Crosshair won't have to constantly worry about them anymore, he has no guarantee that they'll actually want to stay with him.

They'll be there, because he's making them stay, not because they care about him enough to. It wouldn't be real.

**w**

It's the hardest with Echo. He's... been changed once, entirely against his will, and Crosshair hesitates – though briefly – at doing it again. But Hunter did it to him, so they can't really complain about it, can they?

But still. Echo is... Echo, and he's staying because he wants to, not because it's where he grew up and all he knew. The others, Crosshair knows, would take it – at least he once would've thought they would, because they're close, and for all that they're close with Echo, they... it's different for the four of them.

They need each other, and Crosshair is angry at them for leaving, because they know that, and he doesn't understand why they would turn traitor – or much care for that matter – or leave him behind over – over anything. That's not who they are.

Echo is different, and he used to be a reg, and he's their brother just as much, but in the end, Crosshair could... understand, somewhat, why he wouldn't choose Crosshair and their squad over something else.

Crosshair is somewhat hesitant about it, too, because he doesn't know what the turn could do to Echo. But if he doesn't turn Echo, he – he'll have to kill him, and it would be bad enough if it were accidental, but Crosshair can't outright kill him. It – he can't. Even if they're traitors, even if they deserve it.

He's more hesitant about it, but the same desperate, aching, yearning comes up just as fast, and despite his reservations about it, Crosshair bites him, anyway.

He's pulling back, unwilling to linger – not on Echo, because it's different, and Crosshair doesn't want to risk draining too much blood from him. Tech had told them way back of the dangers of blood loss for him – when Echo entirely unexpectedly lashes out.

Crosshair has been hit with a scomp before, and it's decidedly unpleasant. On hindsight, he should've expected it, because Echo is always a bit violent when he wakes up unexpectedly, especially if something triggers him.

Of course, he doesn't like the proximity, or feeling trapped in any shape or form.

Echo flips them over, either through the unfair advantage of his oldest brother's mechanical limbs or the weight they add, pinning him down.

"Calm down," Crosshair growls, annoyed.

Echo is breathing heavily, eyes wild. Panicking. He sees Crosshair as a threat right now, not a brother.

"I'm not trying to hurt you," he adds, pulling away and flipping them over. Echo's a prisoner, and even if Crosshair is trying to calm him down so he doesn't do anything stupid, he can't let him out.

"Yeah, well, I beg to differ," Echo snaps, glaring. He jerks, and Crosshair puts a shred more pressure, keeping him down. "You were trying to kill us not long ago."

"You're traitors," he throws back, standing and moving to the cell door. Likely, Echo's about to jump him. "But I brought you here to give you the chance you never gave me, so you can be loyal to the Empire. To me."

... Does he sound possessive? Yes. He doesn't care though, because all that matters is getting his brothers back. He doesn't care about anything else.

"Stay," Crosshair orders when Echo makes a move forwards. He freezes in much the same way Wrecker did, though he seems a whole lot less happy about being compelled.

"How are you doing this?" he demands fiercely when Crosshair turns to close the shield, just in case. If Echo does fight it off, he can't risk the chaos that will follow.

"Hunter's a vampire," Crosshair tells him bluntly, "He turned me."

"Since when," Echo repeats, "Did Hunter become a vampire?"

"You were with him," he throws back. When he turns back, Echo's hand is pressed to his neck, and he's glaring. Fiercely.

"And you turned me," Echo accuses, "All of us. Do you think that will make us loyal to the Empire, Crosshair?" He's angry, genuinely angry, and Crosshair can't remember the last time he saw that on Echo, and it's definitely never been directed at him.

"You won't have a choice." He moves towards the door, pausing, lingering, maybe because it feels like there's still something he's missing that he ought to say. Echo is angry, hurting, and to just walk out goes against everything that Crosshair has ever done, even if he has every right to. "It was the alternative to killing you," he adds.

"And," his oldest brother asks darkly, "You think this is better?"

Crosshair leaves, not looking back – it's been a little while, and Wrecker's probably already going feral by now. The hunger comes in fast, and it's overwhelming. It was for him at least, and he can't say for sure if the process would be the same for the others, seeing as Crosshair is still turning himself. He doesn't know how long it takes. Probably, it'll be settled over in a couple days, but right now, he just wants to sleep.

Stunning his squad is fast, and easy, and he takes their comm and weapons, dropping them off in the cells with his brothers. In cuffs, of course, because there's no reason to make a scene. He gives Wrecker two, just to make sure, and leaves before his brother jumps them because from the amount of snarling and pacing he's doing, that'll be momentary.

Tech doesn't move, and he hardly even looks at Crosshair when he comes in again. He tries his best to pretend it doesn't hurt.

Something about his bond with Hunter has gone... oddly quiet and calm, and he goes back to check on him the moment they're otherwise in the clear – only to come face-to-face with a familiar, pink energy-bow.

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