Chapter 3 - Madness

Author's Note: The Batch try to make sense of what's happening. :)

~ Amina Gila

Consciousness fades back in slowly. Ridiculously slowly. When Crosshair finally pulls his eyes open, it's to realize that he's in the Marauder. Home. It smells like home, and it sounds familiar, too. Hunter is curled up next to him, still unconscious. He doesn't look much better than he did earlier.

Wrecker is hovering nearby, watching, on the verge of drawing his weapon at a moment's notice. It must've been a while, because he can't smell the blood on him anymore.

Crosshair's hunger is still there, and a faint growl rises up in his throat when he makes out the faint heartbeat he didn't know he could hear. Hunter could, because his senses were... different.

The kid is here, too, and she perks up a little when she sees him stirring. "Crosshair?"

He wants to bite her, too. She's kind of adorable.

...

Why does his brain think this is normal?

"Tech," Wrecker calls, "They're up."

Crosshair glances past him, pushing himself into a sitting position – they've taken his blaster and rifle. That's the next thing he realizes. And Hunter's cuffs have been removed somewhere between then and now. Crosshair is technically a prisoner now, and he doesn't much care for that thought.

They took him. Captured him. They're his brothers, and anger rises up inside him, along with the burning return of his hunger.

They left him, and he had to hurt them. They made him do it even if he didn't want to. And then, they hurt him.

A growl rises up inside him when Tech approaches them from the cockpit. Echo comes out, too, hovering a distance behind. Tech is closest, though he wisely hovers back.

"Had you not bitten us," Tech says in a tone highly implying he's still extremely sore about that, probably in multiple ways, "I would not have believed you about craving blood."

Crosshair's eyes dart past him to Wrecker, remembering what it was like to bite him, to feed from him, and he hates himself a little for instinctively licking his lips. "Good for you," he grumbles, starting to push himself up, somewhat contemplating jumping Tech. He's the closest, and Crosshair is admittedly very annoyed at him. It... felt better after he bit Hunter. Somewhat. Hunter is still close, but the pull to him still isn't as strong as the others.

He freezes when the others instantly reach for their weapons, dropping himself back to the floor with a frustrated huff. They're close and he knows what he needs even if they'll undoubtedly stop him.

"When, precisely, did this begin?" Tech queries.

He struggles to remember back to the precise moment, but he can't, not exactly. All he remembers is the burning pain and... light. "That would have been when you blew up the engine in my face."

Omega twitches, looking wide-eyed up at Echo. Tech's expression is tight and angry, as is Echo's. Wrecker just looks hurt.

"You were trying to kill us," Wrecker snaps back, somehow looking dejected. Crosshair hates how that makes him feel.

It was a little easier when Hunter was here, because Crosshair had someone to aim his rage at. Before, he could chalk it up to them blindly following their leader in his stupidity, but that's not true when Hunter's unconscious beside him, though his heart rate is picking up slightly and Crosshair can sort of feel the slow rising of his thought patterns as he returns to consciousness. Are his senses weird from feeding on Hunter? That doesn't seem possible, but he wouldn't know.

Being angry at Hunter right now after he already killed him – how is he alive? Seriously – seems wrong.

"You're traitors," Crosshair hisses back, an echo of what he'd said back on Bracca.

Wrecker and Tech exchange glances again.

"Well, what happened to Hunter?" Echo queries, moving forwards, pointedly positioning himself between them and the kid. (Probably a good idea. She smells sort of... sweet, and Crosshair very badly wants to know what she would taste like.)

"Would you like to ask him?" he snarks back, crossing his arms, trying to hold back from jumping at them. The mere fact that they'd stun him again without a second thought should be enough of a deterrence.

"What did you do to him?" Echo demands. He's angry, but Crosshair is, too, and he just glares right back. Yes, he is being childishly difficult, but he doesn't care to be helpful, either. His oldest brother hisses out a frustrated breath. "He hardly has a pulse."

Crosshair's gaze involuntarily flickers to Hunter. He still looks... dead. Or at least not much past that, but he's still breathing. Still here.

Crosshair didn't mean to kill him, and it sounds so stupid to think about, because he's not even fully sure that he did. It just... it looked like it. He could've been wrong, but that. It doesn't make it better. Doesn't make the guilt stop twisting inside him, and he hates that he feels it at all, because it was Hunter who made him make that choice. He shouldn't be worried about him, but what they had never stopped mattering to Crosshair. Even if it did to them.

He wants to reach for Hunter, to shake him back to consciousness just to ensure he's here but if he does that, it'll just wake him to the burning, insatiable hunger.

That, predictably, is the moment Hunter decides to finish blinking himself to consciousness, shifting and whining a little. Crosshair's hand snaps to his shoulder almost instantly, steadying and shaking him slightly. (Wait. Did they stun Hunter, too?)

Hunter flinches slightly, and Crosshair pulls his hand back. He's not sure if it's his hunger or the fact that it was Crosshair who hurt him earlier.

Echo moves forwards, foolishly – the pull to him is weakest, but Crosshair's hunger flares with the heartbeat being just within his reach, and Crosshair stands, tackling him.

Echo yelps, trying to shove him off, but Crosshair is stronger, pinning him down and biting. He feels a little bad about it, because Echo is their oldest and Crosshair didn't grow up with him, so he's far more... cautious of how far he pushes him. He's always been afraid of pushing Echo away from him, but he's too desperate to care right now.

Someone yells his name in the background, but he doesn't care right now.

All he is able to focus on is the fact that Hunter whines faintly next to him, and the next thing he knows, Hunter's jumping Echo, too.

Crosshair has the sense to feel a little bad about that, because Echo is a cyborg, and has half the amount of blood the rest of them do, but he was here and –

Wrecker grabs the back of his armor, yanking him off Echo. Crosshair yelps, flailing, but Wrecker shoves him at Tech before moving to Hunter, dragging him off.

Tech might once have matched Crosshair in strength, but something's changed now. It doesn't feel the same as it used to, like Crosshair is having an easier time fighting it off than he should be. Tech is gripping him tightly enough to hold him back, temporarily anyway, and Crosshair doesn't remotely appreciate that. It's annoying enough that he tries to twist around to bite Tech instead, but all he's doing instead is squirming and he opts for trying to pry Tech's arms off from around him instead.

Hunter is struggling fruitlessly against Wrecker's grip, and Echo is standing, looking none too appreciative.

"You are being unreasonably immature," Tech snaps, jerking him back, and Crosshair stomps on his foot just for good measure.

He's entitled to be petty right now, okay? They hurt him. He has a right to be angry.

"Let me go!" Crosshair snarls, successfully prying one of his brother's arms off him.

"Only if you stop attempting to bite us."

Frustration flares up again, and he elbows Tech sharply to shove him back, ripping away and whirling around. "Do you think I wanted to become this?" he snarls. "I can't help it!"

Omega is approaching him, studying him with far less fear than he expected.

"What?" Crosshair snaps, annoyed. Her look is unnervingly intelligent. She's their sister, and he still doesn't know how to feel about her existence. (She's adorable, and it kind of freaks him out, because he's never had a sister before, and he's always been the youngest. They've always taken care of him the most, and that stopped the moment their little sister came into his life. He wants to care about her, but he's not supposed to, and it's weird.)

"What happened to Hunter right before he became like this?" she queries.

He narrows his eyes at her, half wary, half not wanting to admit that he – that it happened. Something about the way she says it tips him off. "He should have been dead."

Echo stumbles slightly, catching himself on the wall, and Crosshair glances at him. an unbidden flare of alarm rising up. He is sensitive to blood loss, and they all know it, though he didn't have the mind to think about that earlier. Still wants to do it again.

"Do you... know what's happening?" Echo asks, looking to Omega.

"I think so," she replies, moving a little closer to Hunter who's still struggling fruitlessly in Wrecker's grip. Omega's expression pinches with worry again. "When we were younger, Nala Se gave us something." We? Does she really consider herself one of them? The kid's way too young to be a soldier, to fight with them. She couldn't be over six – from her size, she's probably younger, though Crosshair wouldn't really know. Girls grow... different. Maybe?

(And, a semi-hysterical part of his mind wonders, he's never had a sister before. Could she fight like them? It's not like he'd know – though Suu could in the short time Crosshair knew her. She's not human though? He has no idea. He's never known a human girl before, and Jedi do not count.)

"She told me you were too valuable to lose, and... so was I. She gave me something that she said would... keep us safe. She told me it would make sure we could never die."

"And you believe that?" Crosshair asks dubiously, because that's the most ridiculous thing he's heard since this started.

"Well, you do have fangs," she reminds, like he needed the reminder.

"Something has changed in your and Hunter's DNA," Tech replies, pulling out his datapad. Predictably, he already scanned that. "Though it does appear to have already been present." He looks at the kid. "Omega, what did she call it?"

How in the stars does Tech actually believe that?

Hunter whines faintly, and Crosshair's gaze snaps to him. He still looks pale, and Crosshair hates to leave him like that, to not try to help him but he doesn't really... know what to do. He tried, earlier, and that made it worse.

" – when our vampire abilities wake up," Omega is saying in the background. "We have to let them bite someone," she continues, "They need it to heal."

Tech looks at Crosshair again, expression tight, and he glares back, annoyed. He almost wants to bite him just out of spite. Okay. He definitely wants to bite him purely out of spite. Hunter is the one who really needs it though, and Crosshair can't really make sense of how he even cares right now, when he didn't not very long ago.

"Wait," Wrecker asks, confused, "Them biting us was supposed to help?"

"It... would appear that it does," Tech admits grudgingly, "Though I cannot say what the long-term effects would be."

"Is Echo gonna be okay?" Wrecker asks worriedly, "Does he have it, too?"

"Not that I am aware of," Tech replies immediately.

"No," Omega answers. Does she really sound disappointed?

He doesn't know what that'll mean for Echo, if anything at all. All he does know is that he can feel a strange burning of something in the back of his mind that feels a lot like his eldest brother. He isn't... dying, is he?

Crosshair turns to Hunter again, moving closer, the strangely instinctive, burning desire to help him rising up inside. He was there earlier, and he doesn't want to hurt his brothers like that. He can't do that to them. Can't do it to Hunter, no matter how angry Crosshair is at him.

He doesn't really know what he could do with Wrecker still holding onto him though.

Actually...

"Crosshair, don't," Echo snaps, but he's already moving, tackling Wrecker again.

He doesn't know if it's the speed or angle that knocks him down, but either way, they end up on the floor again. Crosshair bites him, ignoring Wrecker's overly dramatic yelp, and snuggles up against him. Normally, if not for how they've been apart and everything that's happened to them, he wouldn't even have found it weird. It isn't as though Wrecker isn't aggressively affectionate all the time.

"I didn't say you could bite me again," Wrecker whines, and Crosshair just growls at him, uncaring to verbally respond despite the million snippy comments that come to mind, or the amusement he feels. He's missed them. Badly.

Crosshair twitches at Hunter's strangled whine – he sounds like he's about to cry from sheer frustration. He's the one that really needs this, even if Crosshair's every instinct demands that he feed first. "Hunter," he says, pulling back and sliding off Wrecker onto the floor, "Come here."

He's still sprawled on Wecker's arm, and he doesn't feel bad about that, anyway.

"Wrecker," Tech says, approaching and crouching nearby, "I suggest you let him go."

He does, though a bit reluctantly, and Hunter swings himself onto him, pressing his mouth to the bite. Crosshair wants to curl closer, to feed himself, but that isn't really fair to Hunter right now – why is he so worried about that suddenly, anyway? It doesn't really make sense. It doesn't really feel like misplaced guilt, either.

There are a few moments of quiet, during which Crosshair finds himself contemplating jumping one of the others out of sheer boredom – he's not entirely certain the hunger will be naturally going away any time soon – but...

Crosshair reaches out, finding Wrecker's hand and curling up against his side, squeezing his hand lightly. Wrecker tugs him slightly closer, and Crosshair relaxes a little in the warmth of it.

The scent of blood is a little overwhelming, and he wants it, but he'll have to wait a while. If – if Wrecker gets hungry, too, that will be bad. Hunter got entirely drained. Crosshair doesn't know how much he'll need – though he did feed on Crosshair and Tech for a while already. Hopefully, they don't need to worry.

He doesn't really remember when it became a they again, either. He's a prisoner here, technically, but he doesn't want to go. Crosshair squeezes his hand a little tighter, as if that might somehow help.

Wrecker squeezes him back, and Crosshair shifts, head lightly resting on Wrecker's shoulder. It isn't until now that he realizes how tired he is. He wants to sleep, though his still-burning hunger is keeping him from doing so.

Something is burning, flickering in his mind. Hunter's emotions are dying down to a contented calm, but Echo's are... He's hungry now, too. As if they needed to deal with that. Who is Echo supposed to feed on, Tech?

Crosshair tugs back from Wrecker, even if he doesn't really want to, though he doesn't get up. Probably should, but he doesn't want to.

Wrecker wraps his arm around Hunter instead, who just snuggles closer. He looks a little better, and Crosshair wants to touch him again, though he keeps back. (He wants to curl up in Hunter's arms, to feel his warmth, and to be with him again.)

"Whatever happened to them, is happening to me, too," Echo grumbles finally, pacing.

"That is not ideal," Tech replies.

"Why not?" Crosshair purrs, "He can still bite you."

His brother huffs, annoyed. "That is... feasible."

Good, because Crosshair refuses to volunteer. He doesn't want a repeat of nearly going all-out feral again. He was seconds short of biting Hunter again earlier, and he doesn't care to accidently kill one of his brothers again.

"I'm not going to bite any of you," Echo grumbles.

"I'm not sure that is something you can control," Tech objects.

Echo keeps pacing, not objecting, though refusing to even attempt feeding. Maybe it's not as bad for him as it was Hunter and Crosshair, then. Because he didn't die first? Crosshair has no idea. This whole concept is weird.

Hunter is the first to move, shifting a little and resting his head on Wrecker's shoulder. He looks... comfortable. Somewhat contented.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asks, though he doesn't move to pull away from Wrecker yet.

"Yeah," Wrecker replies, though Crosshair can feel how something about him is shifting, too. He can feel the same strange... connection to him that he has to Hunter and Wrecker now. It's weird. Why doesn't Tech have it, too? It's got to be something more complex than feeding. Hunter didn't... transform until he died, and Wrecker was fine.

Hunter shifts a little, looking at him, and Crosshair instinctively freezes, looking away. He can't bring himself to meet his brother's gaze right now, not after – Force whatdidhedowhydidhedothat why –

"Crosshair?" Hunter says uncertainly. He doesn't sound antagonistic; more cautiously wary, like he's testing waters to see what kind of reaction he'll get.

Something in his voice makes Crosshair reluctantly meet his gaze. He doesn't want to talk to him. He's still angry and hurt and so many other things that he doesn't want to think about.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

Crosshair shifts back a little, not wanting to answer, not – anything. He's still a prisoner. And – he wants to be here, but he also doesn't. It doesn't feel like he belongs here.

Hunter looks from him to Echo and Tech. Omega's hovering nearby, quiet enough that Crosshair almost didn't notice she was there from how focused he is on Wrecker and Hunter. He's frowning, somewhat worried now. He pushes himself up, shifting to look at Crosshair.

Crosshair turns his head away a little, trying to fight off the annoying instincts demanding that he bite Hunter again because that's supposed to help somehow. It won't. The last time he did that – he's scared to do it again.

He nearly flinches when Hunter reaches to touch his shoulder, light and fleeting, before pulling back. It's fine. They're fine, and he doesn't have anything to be afraid of, but it won't stop. He doesn't want to hurt Hunter again – not right now anyway – and he's afraid he will anyway.

**w**

He didn't think he'd wake up again. Not after Crosshair – did he kill him? Or just nearly? None of this really makes sense, and Hunter only somewhat followed what was being said after he awoke the second time when they were all aboard the Marauder. All he could think about was his desperation to get away and find a way to feed.

He can completely understand how Crosshair did that to him now. He's still... hungry, but it's manageable, and he's not going to do it any longer than he has to. It's dangerous.

He... bit all of them? Crosshair twice, and –

They smell different. Crosshair does, and Wrecker and Echo are changing, too. They're a little more metallic, though it's still... the same. Hunter doesn't fully know what's causing that, though it... makes sense. Somewhat.

"Sorry," Hunter says, a bit sheepishly if he's being honest, as he approaches Echo. "I wasn't in my right mind."

Echo huffs, though there's a faint look of amusement on his face, beneath the tightness as his hunger slowly grows. "We know."

He looks at Tech, who he'd... bitten a while back. Tech stunned him after Wrecker pulled him off and he wouldn't stop struggling. Frankly, with how desperately hungry he was then, he didn't even mind. It hurt and everything hurt, and he hated himself for wanting to do something that would hurt them, but he couldn't stop it.

Staying so close to Crosshair when he wasn't feeding on him was hard. Crosshair had told him to stop, and after having nearly died the same way, Hunter hadn't been able to keep doing it. Not when he knew the fear and helplessness of it, when there was nothing he could do. It hurt, and he'd been so, so scared.

For as out of it as he was, Hunter couldn't hurt Crosshair. Not like that.

He vaguely remembers Crosshair saying something right when he was returning to consciousness earlier, what sounded like a frantic series of apologies, but he could be wrong.

Hunter turns to Tech, because he needs to apologize to him, too. "Tech?" he tries.

"I will be fine," he reassures, "It was not significant damage."

Hunter turns to the kid, and she's been standing to the side for a while in silence, just watching. Of all of them, she seems to have adapted to it fast. Personally, he's still unsure what to think about it. Everything feels... different now, and his head is pounding. Everything is somehow louder, and the scents are sharper and it... he's accustomed to that, but that doesn't make it easier. It doesn't help to know it'll never stop hurting.

"Are you okay?" Omega asks, coming closer. Her scent is strong, and something inside him is burning, demanding that he bite her, too, because that will mark her as his, as theirs. He tamps it down, tries to force it from mind because he won't do that. She's small, and it's not like he's that desperate anymore.

"Yeah," Hunter replies, crouching in front of her and squeezing her shoulder. His gaze drifts past her to where Crosshair is still sitting. Wrecker's pushed himself up now, and he and Crosshair are sort of awkwardly glancing at each other. Probably, they need to keep an eye on Crosshair right now – they still can't trust him.

(He killed Hunter earlier. Technically – or at least close. But he did it. He knows it wasn't his fault, understands the desperation, but he can't imagine it going as far as what Crosshair did. It wasn't his fault, and Hunter knows that. He shouldn't be so upset it happened. He hates himself for being so hurt, for how afraid he is of trying to approach him again. He has to try anyway, because this isn't about him. It's about Crosshair. Always has been.)

They need to find a way to get his chip out, and fast, before he starts trying to hurt them again. Hunter doesn't much care to find out what'll happen when that happens again.

He sighs, glancing at Tech again, but he doesn't know how to verbally ask what he's wondering without alerting Crosshair. They need to be... careful. They can't do something that would tip him off or make him react, and it's hard when he has no idea what that means.

"We have a problem," Echo supplies, and Hunter's gaze snaps back over to him. He can... sort of feel Echo and Wrecker now, though it's just fading into his mind. He can feel Crosshair acutely, which he can't really make sense of. He can feel his youngest brother the strongest; his frustration and hurt and fear and a multitude of other emotions he can't even begin to make sense of.

"I know," Hunter replies, eyes flickering to Tech. He doesn't know what to do about it, either. "I..." He should offer Echo to feed on him, but he's afraid to. After what Crosshair did, he – he can't imagine being that close with anyone. He trusts Echo, and Wrecker, but he trusted Crosshair once, too. It was soothing, but there's a certain vulnerability to it, and he can't imagine...

That again.

Not so soon.

He feels Crosshair glance at him for the first time, probably worried by the way he just cut himself off. It's not something he does, because even if he's often uncertain about things, he'll never let the others know that. He can't let them doubt him, because that off-throws his role as their leader.

"What do we do?" Wrecker asks uncertainly.

He has no idea. He glances at Tech, hoping for some sort of... something. He already fed on Tech for a while, and he has no idea how long it's been, or if he's recovered. He doesn't know if he can afford to lose much more blood.

The kid's out of the question, as is Wrecker by now, and he will not let any of them be that close to Crosshair. It's – it's too risky.

That means he has to offer, whether he wants to or not. He shouldn't be so – so worried about it. It's Echo. "You can... bite me," he offers somewhat awkwardly.

He doesn't want that. It's stupid and selfish and they don't have time to worry about his wants, but he very much Does Not Want that again. It hurt when Crosshair did it, and he doesn't know what it says about him that he's willing to shun something that's so central to... whatever they are now. When Crosshair fed on him, it hurt, and he was so scared.

Echo hesitates, eyeing him uncertainly. "Are you sure you're alright with it?"

No. Absolutely not. "We don't have much choice," he replies, sitting down near Omega. It'd be easier if they did it back here on the floor, even if that's not exactly ideal. There's nowhere they can sit beside each other, unless they take to the racks, and Hunter doesn't want Crosshair out of his sight.

Crosshair doesn't feel threatening in his mind, but that may not mean anything.

Echo approaches him slowly, settling down beside him. He's sitting next to Hunter now, close enough that their thighs are touching, and it... it's calming. Echo is older than him, and Hunter isn't used to having anyone older than him. He'd been the oldest until Echo joined.

Echo is hesitant about it, but he touches Hunter's arm, leaning a little closer. Hunter is half certain Echo's going to ask him if he's certain again, but he doesn't. He's not all-out feral like Crosshair was earlier, or like Hunter was, but he's getting there.

His heart rate spikes a bit when Echo shifts closer to him, and Hunter forces his breathing even, trying to just watch and listen and feel. He hears Echo's heartbeat right next to him, though his scent is nearly overwhelming right now. It's... sort of warm, and it always has traces of the machinery that are so much a part of him now.

Hunter can feel Crosshair's eyes on him, can feel his distant worry. He doesn't fully understand how he can feel it, but it's there, and Hunter doesn't mind, even if it's weird. He doesn't know if their bond goes both ways, and doesn't much care for that thought.

None of the others in Echo's place would be hesitating anymore, but it's different for him. He didn't grow up with them, even if he's still become a part of their squad and family. He's never been as tactile as the others. The regs aren't like them in that way. It's... uncomfortable for him, and Hunter feels a little bad about that, too. He failed them, or at least it feels like he did, though he's not familiar enough with this yet to determine.

He still doesn't entirely understand what's happening.

He has to force himself to stay still when Echo finally bites down. It's just Echo; he shouldn't feel so jittery about it.

(He nearly died the last time this happened, and that doesn't mean anything, but he can't get it out of his head.)

Crosshair's distant, quiet whine catches his attention, and Hunter's eyes dart to him. He doesn't like the sound of that, either. Back, earlier when Hunter was feeding on him, it'd been maddening when Crosshair told him to stop, when he could still smell blood so strongly and so close. He couldn't keep feeding on him anyway though. It'd been – it hurt.

It'd been the same when Crosshair bit Wrecker earlier.

He forces that from mind, refocusing on Wrecker. He's alright right now, but that may not mean much for long.

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