Chapter 4 - Vampires

Author's Note: The Batch find out more about what they are. :)

~ Amina Gila

It doesn't really hurt, but he finds himself fighting the calm washing through him anyway. The closeness is soothing, yes, but that doesn't... guarantee anything. Doesn't mean he's not still afraid.

Wrecker is watching him, too, and he doesn't know if it's more from worry, or from how badly he wants to join.

And he still doesn't know what to do about Crosshair's chip. Probably, they need to figure out what the... vampire thing means first, exactly. "Omega," he says, looking to her, because she's the one that should know. "How much do you know about our... abilities? I feel different now."

"Aside from being drawn to blood?" Tech snips.

"And have fangs," Hunter adds, because he's still a little freaked out by that.

"And move way too fast," Wrecker grumbles.

"Crosshair seemed stronger, too," Tech adds. "So did you."

"I don't really know," Omega replies, "Nala Se never explained much about it."

Hunter shifts slightly closer to Echo, arm wrapping around him almost instinctively. He doesn't remember moving consciously, but he's still doing it, and he doesn't really mind. "If Echo didn't have it before, why is it happening to him?"

"I don't know," she answers, approaching and settling down next to them. "Maybe it has something to do with him being bitten?"

"But... Tech's not changing yet," Wrecker objects, looking at him for confirmation.

"Echo was bitten twice," Tech replies, typing on his datapad. "It may also be connected to Crosshair being the first who transformed, or that he was mostly transformed when he did it."

That makes a small amount of sense, as much as any of this does and probably ever will. Hunter shifts a little, and he leans closer when Echo's hand shifts from his shoulder to wrap around his back. It's weird, but not unwelcome.

Echo has been changed once already, and Hunter feels bad about doing it again. There's nothing he can do except live with it, but still.

"Are you sure you're alright with this?" Echo's voice says, and Hunter nearly jumps. He's still feeding, but he was talking, and it takes a moment to realize that he heard the voice in his head. They can do that?

"Was that you?" he queries incredulously.

Echo pulls back, still lingering close enough for Hunter to feel his warmth. "Didn't know it would work," he replies, faintly amused and slightly intrigued.

"How did you know we could do that?"

"I didn't." Echo lowers his head back to Hunter's neck, and most of the tension is draining from him.

"Do what?" Omega asks, perking up.

"The General could do it," Echo says in his mind.

Now that Hunter feels it, hears it, he can feel their bond strengthening enough that they can talk to each other. They can send thoughts to each other if they mean to. It's... "We can talk telepathically," he explains.

Omega's eyes widen. Tech is sitting in one of the seats, occasionally glancing down at them. Wrecker and Crosshair are still on the floor nearby.

"I'm sorry about the... transformation thing," Hunter sends to him, because it's something they need to say, but it's a little... awkward to talk about it with everyone here. With Crosshair here, at least.

"I know," Echo sends back. He feels far calmer than Hunter remembers in... a very long time. "It wasn't something you could control." He pauses for a moment before he keeps talking. "I can feel you. You were afraid."

How is he supposed to stay strong for them when they can feel his every fluxing emotion? "It's fine," Hunter tries reassuring. "After Crosshair – he –" He cuts himself off, at a loss for how to explain.

Echo doesn't respond verbally, but he squeezes him a little tighter. He seems to understand to a point, or at least enough to know not to pressure.

(Crosshair hurt him, and Hunter has no idea how to deal with that. He doesn't know how Crosshair will react to it when he's himself again, either. Wrecker had understood it, accepted it, because he already knew. It wasn't... the same for him, either. Hunter nearly died at two of his brothers' hands in the past couple days. That's not a very promising streak.)

Wrecker's hunger is burning stronger now, and Hunter looks at him where he's shifting uncomfortably.

Echo pulls back when the wound stops bleeding, though they stay pressed against each other. The contact is comforting, and Hunter doesn't want it broken yet.

"I believe Wrecker requires feeding as well," Tech says finally.

Hunter glances at Crosshair again, who's been quiet this entire time. His little brother catches his gaze and instantly looks away. From the way his presence curls with something like shame, he's obviously upset about what happened, too.

"Are you... alright with doing it?" Hunter asks Tech. He'd offer himself, but after Echo, and after Crosshair, he's not sure that's a good idea. (Wrecker is, well Wrecker, and his hugs are rather... squashing, and if Hunter actually felt trapped right now, he might flat-out panic.)

Tech glances at Wrecker, minorly wary. "I will be fine," Tech replies, pushing himself up and setting his datapad down on his seat. He approaches Wrecker, who watches him, half-wary, half-eager.

Crosshair is watching, hunger burning in his eyes, but he doesn't move despite how visibly he wants to. Hunter feels a prickle of unease at seeing him like that. It's not fair, but he can't help it.

"Crosshair?" he asks uncertainly, probing lightly to assess danger, "Are you okay?"

He freezes, finally returning his attention to Hunter. "I'm fine," he grumbles. He looks away again, but Hunter can feel his burning desire. He wants to feed on someone again, and Hunter wishes he could offer, but... he can't.

He's too afraid of being that close to Crosshair again, and he hates himself for it.

They need to find a way to get Crosshair's chip out, and unless they go back to Bracca – which is out of the question – he doesn't know what to do. He can sense the uncertainty in Crosshair, though it's not outright hostile.

After the circumstances under which they left Kamino, Hunter keeps finding himself expecting that to change in a moment's notice.

He's still curled up against Echo, not caring to pull away, not really having the energy to. He's just tired now, and the contact soothes something in him. It feels like he ought to be calm, with his entire family here, but he's just... not.

He's afraid of something (of Crosshair) and he hates himself for it.

Wrecker pulls Tech into his lap – Tech surprisingly has no objections to that – and bites him, wrapping his arms around him and practically clinging. Tech shifts a little in his arms, but doesn't pull away despite his obvious uncertainty.

Hunter catches the sharp flare of longing from Crosshair, the way he's watching, and he wishes there was something they could offer him, but there's... not.

Omega must have caught it, too, in the way she so often catches their emotion swings, and slowly approaches Crosshair, lightly touching his arm. Hunter almost wants to tell her to get back and can't quite say why he doesn't.

Crosshair looks at her, twitching back, almost suspiciously. "What?" he asks.

"Can I touch you?" she asks, and Hunter just stares. Which isn't really fair because it isn't as though he hurt her earlier. He could have, tried to, but that is one thing Hunter was able to protect her from.

Somehow.

(Crosshair is hurting right now, and Hunter can feel it, though he's too afraid to do anything about it, and he hates himself for it. He should know what to do. He's supposed to know what to do. He's their leader.)

Crosshair looks as caught off-guard as Hunter himself is. Omega just stands there looking at him, and Hunter can imagine the look on her face even if he can't see her. "... yes?" Crosshair supplies finally.

Omega steps forwards and wraps her scrawny arms around his neck in a hug. Crosshair looks wide-eyed at Hunter for help, and Echo chokes on a laugh. Hunter can feel his amusement, too, and he very much seconds it, even if he feels a little bad about it.

"Why are you hugging me?" Crosshair queries finally, freaked out.

"You looked lonely," Omega answers, like that makes perfect sense.

He throws another look in Hunter's direction before awkwardly patting her shoulder. Omega doesn't let go.

Hunter doesn't much remember the next bit of events. He doesn't remember how, exactly, he ended up curled so tightly against Echo's side, head resting on his shoulder, but he's tired, and it doesn't really matter. Echo still has an arm wrapped around him, even if it's not something they usually do. Echo's not one for touch, isn't familiar with it, unlike the others.

Right now, though, he doesn't seem to care.

When he's opening his eyes again, Omega's still sitting beside Crosshair. Wrecker must've finished feeding, or Tech pushed him off. Tech's still near him on the floor, though. Hunter can still sense Wrecker's hunger, and something about that feels like it's settled in a bit more from earlier. He can't feel Tech or Omega, and that...

He wants to, Hunter realizes abruption. He very badly wants to get to feel them the same way he can the others.

Echo's calm, and he's the only one. Crosshair is... as chaotic as earlier. Hunter sends a mental nudge in his direction, trying to get his attention, to... something. Crosshair twitches, glancing at him. "You good?" he asks quietly. He doesn't know why his worry for Crosshair started exceeding his fear of him hurting them, not after what happened on Bracca. He could've killed them all, and...

"What do you think?" he sends back grumpily.

Hunter sighs. "What's wrong?" He can guess, but so much has changed, and he has no idea what's happening in his brother's mind right now. Guessing isn't the same as knowing. It's – nothing's the same, and it's an invitation for Crosshair to open up to him again, though he has no doubt he'll be pushed away again.

"You took me." He sounds unreasonably hurt by that.

"What else could they have done?" Hunter sends back, though he was... slightly surprised by that, too. He's glad Crosshair's here, but he doesn't really know what they'll do from here. "I wasn't... conscious when they took you, but I don't know what other choice they had. You're..."

"Different," he supplies. There's a heartbeat of silence, but Crosshair is still bleeding an obvious hurt. "We had a mission, Hunter. We had orders. You betrayed me."

It's not his fault, but that doesn't make it any easier to hear. "This isn't you," Hunter tells him again, quietly, carefully. He wishes he could be in a place where the others weren't here, where it was just the two of them, and he didn't need to worry about their brothers and Omega being caught in the crossfire.

Crosshair's eyes narrow at him. "This is who I am, Hunter."

"No, it's not." He's still so tired, and he doesn't want to have this conversation, but they don't have a choice. His instincts whisper that biting him is a good idea, and after how calming it was when he fed on Wrecker, and when Echo fed on him, he... knows why, though Hunter still finds that hard to believe. He knows it can't always hurt as much as when Crosshair drained him – the burning in the end was... bad. "Crosshair, it's like Tech was saying in the beginning. It's the chip in your head."

He can't make sense of his little brother's calculating look. He feels hurt, though. Angry. "You left me."

Echo's arm tightens around Hunter slightly, a guaranteed sign that he feels Hunter's tumultuous emotions.

"Yeah," Hunter replies, because it's the truth even if he hates admitting it, "You were trying to kill us. We didn't have a choice."

Crosshair hisses out an angry breath. Omega twitches, looking up at him worriedly. "You knew what would happen if you disobeyed orders!"

"I couldn't tell you to do something we knew was wrong."

"Good soldiers follow orders."

Echo nudges him, snapping Hunter out of their staring match. "You okay?" he queries.

No. Certainly not. "Fine," he sends back. He senses the skepticism though. He's still curled up against his brother's side, and there's something oddly comfortable about it. Echo's older than him, the only brother who is, and he's the only person that can make Hunter feel somewhat protected. It's... a strange feeling, not one he's used to, but he doesn't want to lose it.

Even Wrecker is looking at him worriedly now, though. He feels just as hurt as Crosshair does, if not more so, because he doesn't have the same anger.

"We're more than that, Crosshair," Hunter tries, "We're –" Coven, something in his mind supplies, because that word is Important somehow. He doesn't know that he understands or likes what they are now – his senses are overwhelming already and they're much worse now. His head is throbbing dully already. "A family," Hunter supplies instead, because that's a word they both understand.

Crosshair hisses faintly, and hunger is visibly glinting in his eyes again. This is... bad. "You left me."

What is he supposed to say to that? "We're here now," he says instead of the million arguments he could've made. Not that it even means anything. He wishes it weren't so... hard.

Echo readjusts his grip on him, and Hunter shifts to press his face to Echo's shoulder. Is he intentionally trying to hide from Crosshair's glare? Yes. Does he feel bad about that? A little bit, but facing him right now is too draining, and he just... can't.

Not after earlier.

He can't stop remembering the helpless desperation, the way all he could think of was that Crosshair would be the last person he saw and that he'd – he'd never get to see the others again, that his brother was deliberately hurting him. Which he's not entirely certain is true, but it doesn't change what he did.

"You're not facing him alone," Echo tells him over their bond, and the suddenness of it throws him a little, until he remembers that Echo can feel him the same way Hunter can feel the others now.

He doesn't really know how to feel about that.

It's mostly through that that he tries to regather himself, because he needs to be strong for them. They need him to be, as their leader. There's not time to deal with how – any of the million irrelevant complaints he has about this.

Crosshair's presence is strongest in his mind, and that alone makes him desperate to get him back. Hunter hardly even knows how they were able to survive without him for so long, and he misses him.

(He really wants to cry for the third time tonight, actually. Not as if that matters.)

If Tech were turned, Hunter would ask him what he thinks about this, but he has no way to right now. Not without Crosshair overhearing and likely registering them as a threat.

Hunter tenses when he senses Crosshair moving closer to him. He can feel his heartbeat – hear it, too – and... he's missed him, but Crosshair's presence hasn't meant anything good for long enough that it's become permanently ingrained into his brain.

He pulls back from Echo, albeit reluctantly, because if Crosshair's near him, he has to at least keep on the lookout. It's him that Crosshair has been going after this entire time.

Crosshair's hand lightly touches his arm, and that's the first touch he's gotten from him that felt genuine since right before they left for Onderon.

That was... two weeks or so ago? Only? It feels like forever.

It feels like they've been apart for a lifetime, and Hunter aches to pull him closer, to just... hold him.

He stops when he sees the burning hunger in Crosshair's eyes. It's not outright feral like it was earlier, not a promise of pain, but he's not stupid or desperate enough to try.

"I know what you're thinking," Hunter says – what is wrong with him why is he so scared – voice steady and firm despite the panic flaring up in his chest, "And don't."

Crosshair looks unreasonably sullen about that. He can feel it, too – the sting and hurt of it echoing in the back of his mind, but he can't –

"You can bite me," Wrecker offers, obviously feeling what the problem is.

"Or me," Omega offers, and everyone turns to look at her. "... What?" she asks, confused by their looks.

"No," Hunter replies fiercely while Tech supplies a "I do not believe that would be advisable."

Now, it's her turn to look unreasonably dejected. "Why not?"

"We're still new to this," Hunter points out, "And we don't know what all the turns will do to us. It could hurt you."

"Couldn't it hurt you, too?"

Couldn't? More like didn't.

"We are older," Tech interjects, "And can lose more blood before it becomes... dangerous."

Omega still looks like she's sulking, and Hunter almost feels bad about it, but still. He is not letting any of them bite her, especially not Crosshair. She might be fine with it, but after knowing what can happen, he won't let the others be hurt like that.

Crosshair turns to look up at Wrecker who's now standing.

He stands, hunger glinting in his eyes, and jumps at him. Wrecker catches him, expecting it this time, settling down on one of the seats and pulling Crosshair into his lap. Crosshair curls up against him, twisting sideways to keep feeding. He wraps an arm around Wecker, other hand lightly resting on his chest.

Wrecker's hugging him tightly as if none of the last two weeks happened, and considering how he's not in his right mind quite yet, Hunter isn't exactly surprised.

(It still hurts a little, though, because they look genuinely comfortable, and when Crosshair did the same to him earlier, it... wasn't.)

Hunter forces that from mind, fiercely, and turns back to Echo. He needs to... say something to him. Badly. "About the... transformation thing," he starts awkwardly, talking quietly because there's no reason he can't say this aloud – it's something the others probably should hear anyway. "I know you've been changed before, and... I know we did it again."

"It's fine," Echo assures him, "I know you didn't mean to, and... there's nothing we can do but live with it, is there?"

Point.

He settles back against Echo, closing his eyes again.

**w**

Wrecker's arms are warm around him, and Crosshair burrows closer to him. The hurt fades away now that Wrecker is here, that someone is here.

He was afraid to feed on Hunter again, and he'd been afraid, and he wanted to do it so that... He didn't realize Hunter was afraid of it, too. He is, though, and that hurts. He's afraid, and Crosshair could feel Hunter's fear and uncertainty. He does as good at hiding it as he always has, but it was there, a constant clamoring in the back of his mind that he couldn't ignore.

It's bad enough that Crosshair is afraid of it. How is he supposed to deal with Hunter being afraid of it, too?

Wrecker's grip is tight around him, and it doesn't really feel like it should be. Crosshair hurt them, shot him, and that feels so wrong now.

He knows why he did it, but he still... he misses them. He wants to stay here, where he belongs, with his family, his squad – his coven? That's important, apparently – and he still wants to bite Tech, too. He wants to turn him, make him one of them.

"I'm sorry," Crosshair whispers in his mind, grateful that he has a way to just talk to Wrecker about this. It's – he doesn't know how to do this. He's never had anything to apologize for, never had a reason to, but he...

It was Wrecker, and he can definitely be very, very annoying sometimes, but Crosshair shot him. He hurt him. Wrecker's older than him, and he's always taken care of him, even if he's far more chaotic and childish. That never stopped him.

Wrecker's hand lifts to his head, pressing him close. He reaches back mentally, a little clumsily, but still there. "You nearly killed us," he says, hurt burning in his voice.

He whines faintly, resting his head on Wrecker's shoulder. Hunger is still burning inside him, desperate and whispering, but he just...

Wrecker pushes his head back to his neck, just holding him. "Just stay?" he asks, a little desperately, and Crosshair nuzzles against him again, clinging.

"I will," he sends back, hesitantly pressing his mouth to the bite again.

Something in him feels a little more settled than earlier, and he relaxes in Wrecker's grip. He doesn't know how to deal with what happened, with the fact that he hurt them, but it's not something that'll ever go away.

He doesn't really know what it'll mean.

Wrecker settles back in the seat, and they cling to each other until the worst of his hunger fades out, and Crosshair drops his head back to his brother's shoulder, closing his eyes. He doesn't want to let go.

Wrecker shifts slightly under him, and that's what reminds him of the fact that his brother's still turning, that Tech pushed him off mid-way before he lost too much blood. He felt bad about it, but there wasn't much choice.

Yeah. Like what happened to Hunter earlier. He still feels sick at the memory, and Crosshair pushes back from Wrecker to throw a glance in Hunter's direction, just to make sure he's fine. He's still sleeping curled up by Echo, which is... weird on a million levels, primarily being that this is Hunter, and he doesn't do things like that.

Crosshair doesn't quite know what to think about that right now.

"Can I?" Wrecker asks, slightly desperate, hand shifting to tilt Crosshair's head back a little. It's intimate, but he doesn't find it half as uncomfortable as he'd once have thought he would. Okay, he wouldn't before either, but after they left him, things... changed.

He cares more about having them with him, about not being alone, than he does the orders he was given, and Crosshair doesn't know what to think about that, either. It's easier not to.

"Yeah," he agrees almost instantly, and they shift their position a little so Crosshair's facing him. Wrecker's arms wrap around his waist, tugging him close while he ducks his head to his neck and bites.

The pain is sharp, but it fades the moment he starts feeding, and Crosshair feels himself relax for what's practically the first time since all this started. It never really felt right to take something from them after he hurt them, but to... give them something is different. And this is Wrecker. This is far from the weirdest thing they've ever done.

Crosshair reaches up to wrap his arms around Wrecker's neck.

He doesn't really have anything to say to him, so he doesn't offer anything at all, trying to let himself relax in his brother's warmth and presence above all else. He's missed them so much.

He doesn't know how long it is, but it's been a little while before Wrecker pulls back from his neck, tugging Crosshair closer against his chest.

The nagging exhaustion overwhelms him instantly.

Crosshair wakes up a while later, far more rested than he's felt in a long time – impressive, considering that he's in the same place he was before. He feels... fine, except being somewhat sore from the awkward position he's in.

There's faint talking in the background, but he's still content to stay here, curled up in Wrecker's arms right now.

He feels safe, andhe couldn't ask for anything more.

**w**

It's weird. This whole thing is weird, Wrecker decides. He has fangs now, and he can feel Hunter and Crosshair and Echo's minds echoing inside his mind. It's weird, but kinda cool, too.

Crosshair is still nestled in his lap, unmoving, even if Wrecker can feel he's awake. After what happened, Wrecker is just glad Crosshair's here. He's back with them, and he's here to stay.

It would be... easier, if not for what happened to Hunter.

He doesn't know how it happened, just that it happened, and Crosshair hurt him. Hunter was scared of being hurt again. Wrecker felt that vibrating in his mind, and he never really thought Hunter could be scared of anything, but there was that, and he was.

That was half of why he offered Crosshair to bite him instead, because he was still hungry, and Wrecker couldn't ignore that. Crosshair is still their little brother and he needed help, even if he's still...

Hurt.

And it does still hurt, because Crosshair was their youngest and Wrecker would do anything to protect him, as would all of them, but he still turned on them. Even if it wasn't really his fault, that only helps so much.

It's a little better now though, with him here.

Whatever hostility Crosshair had towards them has melted away for now, though. He's still afraid to take it, to take him for who he used to be. Wrecker's afraid of losing him again, of Crosshair turning on them again, and he's desperate to have him back, but he's just as terrified for... something worse happening.

Even if he hurt them, he still – it's confusing, and he hates it. Everything used to be easy with Crosshair. He's their little brother, and Wrecker would always protect him, and Crosshair would always look out for them even if they did everything to take care of him first and foremost. Then he left, and Omega's the youngest now, and everything... it's confusing, and Wrecker has no idea what to do with it.

His vampire instincts are whispering that biting Crosshair again is supposed to help something. He wants to. Feeding on Crosshair was calming, and it made the gaping emptiness inside him relax with the surety of his little brother being here again, but it feels so... wrong to hurt him. And yes, Wrecker isn't always overly gentle with them, but they're fully grown, and he never hurts them. It's something he's always been careful about since he was little, and he's very reluctant to just do it.

The feeding doesn't hurt, but it still is weird to do it to them. Doesn't seem right, even if it's... what they are? Both Hunter and Crosshair bit him, and it didn't hurt much. It freaked him out the first time Crosshair jumped him back on Bracca, mostly because of what he'd just done to them earlier. And that hurt. Crosshair didn't seem quite in his right mind back then, though, not like he is now.

Wrecker looks up from his little brother as Tech approaches. "I will need to scan you," he says, holding his datapad.

"Nothin' to see," Wrecker whines, because he hates scanners and being poked and prodded at. He's always hated that, but it got worse after he lost his eye, and he spent ages in a medbay on Kamino to make sure he'd still be useful. Which he is.

Tech's expression borders on disbelieving. "I need to ensure the transformation has not harmed you."

He looks past Tech to Hunter, who nods to him, telling him it's safe to let go, but he doesn't want to.

Crosshair squeezes him a little tighter, equally stubborn.

Hunter approaches them, and Echo's hovering in the background beside the gunner's mount where Omega is. "Come on," he says, "Echo and I are fine, but we need to make sure."

Wrecker huffs, but complies, letting go of Crosshair who makes a growling sound that sounds more like it belongs to some tiny, furry animal. It's adorable. He yanks Crosshair into a hug again and strokes a hand over his head. Crosshair nuzzles against his neck, purring.

He... does that now?

Wrecker freezes, and Hunter outright cracks up at the sound. "Alright," Hunter says, touching Crosshair's shoulder lightly, "You can keep snuggling later."

Wrecker still doesn't want to move, but he pushes himself to his feet because Hunter told him to, and after nearly losing Hunter, after hurting him, Wrecker doesn't want to do something to make him upset. Crosshair hurt him, too, and he's fine now, of course, but it still happened. He'd never seen Hunter as upset as he was then. He doesn't get emotional. About anything. It's just not something that happens.

Crosshair grumbles the whole way, but he stands and backs away. Hunter fleetingly touches his shoulder to steady him, and Crosshair glances at him briefly before looking away again. Wrecker feels it as a mix of shame and hurt flickers through his mind.

Tech scans them both, assuring them that they're fine. He looks at Hunter, and Wrecker somehow already knows what he's going to say. "I suspect Wrecker and Echo's turns were caused by being bitten by a mostly turned vampire," he says, "We could test that theory."

"On you?" Hunter guesses. "Are you sure?"

"All of you have already been turned." He wants it, and Wrecker wants it, too – wants to be able to feel Tech in his mind the same way as the others. He's their brother, and Wrecker's every instinct rises up and demands they turn him so he can be one of them like he should be.

Hunter sighs. "Alright. Should I...?"

Omega looks up from where she's holding Lula, and Wrecker moves over to her. He can... smell her, which is weird because Wrecker's never really been able to do that before. There's something sweet and flowery about her that's more distinct than his brothers, and he very, very badly wants to bite her.

She's tiny though, and he won't because he's more afraid of hurting her than he wants to feed. It isn't as though he needs to anyway.

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