Part 2 - Full Circle
Author's Note: Hopefully everything and everyone's backgrounds make sense. Feel free to ask if you have any questions! :D
~ Amina Gila
Wrecker is the first person he sees when they leave the room. Wrecker skids to a stop – he must've been running – letting out a panicked gasp. "Hunter! What happened to him?"
"Careful," Anakin cautions, handing him off to Wrecker, who instantly yanks him into a half-hug. Hunter's mind is a little too blurred over and hazy to think about it much, but he'd hug him back if he could, as the sheer relief crashes over him.
Wrecker's fine. He's here, alive, not – Force, he was so worried. "Are you okay?" Hunter asks, anyway, leaning against him. Wrecker's arm wraps around him, sort of holding him upright, and Hunter's pressed up against his side, soaking in his warmth.
"We're gonna be fine," Wrecker tries reassuring, though he's the one who sounds like he's about to panic. Normally, he is, but right now, he knows how badly hurt Hunter is, and he's trying to stay stable for him.
Hunter appreciates that more than he could ever say.
"We have to get outta here," Hunter offers, trying to find the doorway again. There's a... hole in the staircase now? He has no idea how that happened. Doesn't want to know. He also doesn't know how they'll get up there.
He hears distant shooting, and Wrecker backs up.
Anakin turns back towards one of the other doorways in the room, the part that Hunter can feel the cold in, eyes blazing. "Wrecker, get him out," he orders.
"Where're you going?" he asks, rebalancing Hunter slightly. Moving hurts. Standing hurts, but they need to get out before worrying about anything else.
"To end this."
He stalks towards the darkness, and the shooting is coming closer now.
It's Tech that Hunter sees first, backing away from what's presumably the spirit-thing, and Crosshair's a few steps behind.
Anakin moves forwards, and the thing stops advancing just in the shadow of darkness. For a moment, they just stare at each other, and then, the spirit hisses faintly, dangerously.
Anakin stands unmoving until it lunges, and he reaches out, catching it with the same unseen force that the spirit was using. The Force – right. That – it's hard to remember that's real sometimes. Hunter's never seen it in action.
He catches it, and the air feels... burning and energy, like it's vibrating. It's getting warmer.
The creature struggles against it, but Anakin holds fast, and the misty-edges grow inwards as if it's being ripped apart. An orange glow starts spreading across it in jagged lines, like it's burning, until it vanishes altogether, crumbling to dust.
"What the heck was that?" Wrecker yelps.
Hunter certainly has no idea.
He just wants to go to bed.
Something's changed, though. The darkness is fading, though the dimness of the room hasn't changed at all. Hunter has no idea what to make of this, but he'll worry about it when they get out.
Crosshair is the first to move, twisting around and approaching. He's limping slightly, and Hunter hardly has the sense of mind to be worried about that. Crosshair's still wearing his helmet, and he doesn't look visibly injured, which at least eases something inside him a little. If he's fine, they can get out, and... deal with this. Make sense of this, because right now, nothing really... makes any sense.
**w**
When he wakes up again, it must be a while later, considering how he doesn't hurt everywhere quite the same way. Something still feels wrong, and he's still tired, but remembering the last thing that happened jerks him awake.
Someone's here – a Togruta, which is oddly familiar, and she's hovering nearby. For a split second, Hunter half expects to see totally different markings, but the white patches around her eyes he thought he'd see aren't there. The markings on her cheeks are nearly identical, but she has diamond-shaped markings on forehead instead of a single stripe.
She jumps back the moment she realizes he's awake.
"Hey," she says, and the voice is vaguely familiar, though it's not the same as it was with Anakin.
He turns his head a little, taking in her small form. She has lightsabers, too. Two of them.
He's in a medbay somewhere, and the steady presences of his brothers are nearby. Crosshair and Wrecker are curled up together on the floor, and Tech is nearby, leaning up against the wall. They're all sleeping, and Hunter smiles faintly when he sees them.
"Who are you?" he asks her.
"I'm Ahsoka," she replies, "Skyguy's padawan."
Yeah. That – the – right. Anakin is older than... how long has it been? And why does it feel like Hunter used to know him?
Ahsoka steps aside as the door opens, and Anakin steps in. Tech stirs, jolting to wakefulness instantly. Wrecker makes a faint, grumpy sound at the noise and tugs Crosshair tighter against him, who shifts to press his face to Wrecker's neck.
Anakin looks... happier somehow.
"Skyguy, I –"
"I know," he replies, briefly patting her shoulder, "I sensed it." His gaze flicks to Hunter again. The air around him is still burning with heat and light. It's an instinctive knowledge more than it is anything else, that the look on Anakin's face is something like longing.
He can feel it a little bit, though he doesn't really know what that means.
It still burns.
"How are you feeling?" Anakin asks, lingering a distance back.
"Better." He looks at Wrecker and Crosshair again, who look at least half awake now, though either too tired, or too distracted to move. "Where are we?" Hunter pushes himself up, wincing a little as the movement pulls a bit at the still not-fully-healed injuries, though it's definitely better than earlier.
"My Star Destroyer. I thought I'd bring you here – we have... better treatment here than you had on the Marauder."
Tech stands, moving to Hunter's side, arms crossed. Hunter has the distinct impression that he wants to move closer himself, but they're in the presence of natborns right now, and they have the sense of mind to not show affection in front of them.
They were always trained not to.
"Do I know you?" Hunter decides to just right up ask, because it feels like it, but that shouldn't be possible. Every time, in his dreams, he's always seen different versions of his brothers. He's never met someone he used to know from their dreams.
Something haunted flickers through his expression. "The – yes. Yes, you did. From a long time ago. When – the – Lei-ah Skywalker was my sister."
Lei-ah. That name was his. Belonged to him in another lifetime.
Maybe it wasn't as long ago as Hunter thought.
"Normally, when... people die, their energy fades into the Force. The Jedi always told me that death brings life, and I guess I never really... believed it, until now."
That's him. It's –
He doesn't really think his mind is up to processing that right now.
"I don't really remember it," Hunter tells him. "Just bits from dreams."
"That's okay," Anakin reassures, "I don't... it doesn't matter. You're still my family, either way."
"The thing –"
"Spirit," Crosshair corrects, before Hunter can embarrass himself too much.
"What was it?" he asks anyway.
"Evidently," Anakin answers slowly, "After leaving Tatooine, you teamed up with two Jedi – both of whom I know – and... tracked down the Sith Master. You killed him somehow, but its spirit remained. It was using you to lure me out."
The –
"We still have a bond," he answers Hunter's unspoken question. "I don't know how, but we do."
"You know the Jedi?" Wrecker asks, perking up. "I thought they died?"
"All of you came back," Anakin replies. "They're two of my men. That's how I knew what was going on."
Hunter doesn't remember them quite as clearly, never knew them as well, but he has a very, very distinct memory of the Gungan Jedi intentionally hitting the blue Twi'lek in the face with his ear, and sticking his tongue out at him after he finally stalked off. He very vividly remembers the Twi'lek's half-hour rant, too – and his furious glare at past-Crosshair who wouldn't stop laughing.
Wrecker was howling, nearly literally, and to be fair, so was Hunter.
It was unreasonably hilarious.
He also remembers, vividly, seeing Wrecker and the Twi'lek thrown off a cliff edge, and finding what was left of them on the other side.
No wonder Wrecker's always had problems with heights. One of their... friends died there. Or was it their brother? Hunter doesn't really remember clearly enough to know. He remembers images, but names are... hazy.
"I... assume you'll want to talk to your brothers," Anakin adds, shifting a little, eyes darting to the others.
Something flips inside him a little. "You're my brother, too."
He smiles, gratefully, and nods slightly, but backs away anyway. "Yeah," Anakin agrees, "But they're the ones you grew up with, and a lot happened. I'll come back later." He reaches for Ahsoka, who's been standing there watching the entire time. "C'mon, Ahsoka."
They move for the door, and Hunter watches until they leave before turning back to the others.
Wrecker and Crosshair practically teleport to his side.
"I'll be fine," Hunter assures, but Wrecker's scooping him into a hug already. He relaxes into it despite himself, soaking up the calm and comfort it offers. It hurts a little, but he leans into it, wrapping his arms around Wrecker and squeezing him tightly. It's hard when Wrecker's wearing his armor and all, but it's something.
His armor is here, too – they must've gone back for it like Anakin said they would.
He remembers, vaguely, last time, too. Wrecker had come later, and Lei-ah had decided she loved him from the moment he first hugged her. Wrecker and Tech both came later, because Hunter only remembers them from when they were older. Tech wasn't a slave, and if he was, he must've escaped on his own.
Not as if that'd be surprising.
He also has a very vivid memory of past-Tech teaching Anakin and a young Togruta – Ashla? – something about wiring.
Wrecker's hand raises to stroke over his hair, and Hunter remembers past-him doing that a lot. Wookie's are very, very touchy. It's no wonder hugs with him always felt so... special. They meant a lot in their past life. Apparently, he remembers more than he thought he did.
Tech explained what he suspected happened long ago, but it wasn't something they ever really talked about.
Crosshair squeezes in beside him, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him and wrapping his arms around Hunter, pressing his face into his shoulder. He's practically squashed between them, but it's – it's his brothers, and it's warm and comfortable, as opposed to the sharp freezing cold of the place they were before.
That was a nightmare, and he is, no doubt, going to have nightmares about that for a long time to come, but it'll be fine.
They're all fine.
**w**
Tech doesn't really talk. He's watching, obviously aware of what's happening, but he's not really... interacting with them.
Hunter lets it be for a while, uncertain of whether they should even tell Wrecker and Crosshair what happened – it doesn't really matter anyway, does it? – until the younger two leave to find something to eat. Wrecker's hungry, per usual, and Hunter sent Crosshair with him, mostly so he could talk to Tech alone.
"Tech?" he asks hesitantly, a few minutes after the door closes and of them sitting together in relative silence. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he snaps back with an uncharacteristic amount of heat in his voice.
That's quite literally a no, and Hunter pushes himself to his feet, ignoring the way he stumbles slightly when he tries moving, or how it hurts to walk. Tech is more important, and he crouches next to him, reaching out to touch him. Hunter freezes when he catches his little brother's near flinch, and pulls back.
"It wasn't you," he repeats, like he said before. "Nor was it when Crosshair... we couldn't control it."
"I am aware," Tech replies shortly.
Probably, he needs time, but Hunter doesn't want to just let this rest until he knows that Tech really understands it. It... couldn't be easy for him to let go of, and it's certainly not easy for him to think of, but it still happened, and they need to let it go.
Somehow.
"I know it wasn't... your fault," Hunter tries again, hesitantly reaching out to touch him. This time, Tech doesn't pull away. He doesn't look up either, though. "There wasn't anything we could have done to stop it."
"I... attempted to," he answers slowly, "But it was not something I could control."
Hunter squeezes his shoulder again, shifting closer. He doesn't really know what to do, though. This isn't something he's dealt with before. He doesn't really... understand emotions. It's not something they were trained to deal with on Kamino. "It's fine," he says, "It... it could've been worse."
I'm still here, Hunter doesn't say, because that's not a possibility they need to discuss, even if he has no doubt Tech is thinking about it. He could've died, almost thought he would, but he didn't.
That's... something.
They can deal with this.
Tech leans into his touch just a bit, and Hunter shifts so he's kneeling, pulling his little brother into a tight embrace.
"I'm still here," Hunter tells him quietly. Tech leans closer, setting his datapad aside and wrapping his arms around Hunter's waist, shaking. "There's gonna be things we can't understand," he continues, trying his best not to think about the fear and desperation eating him inside out. It's the past, and it doesn't matter. They're safe here, with someone – some people – who will protect them, and there isn't anything to be afraid of. "All we can do is... keep moving."
Tech is still wearing his armor, and Hunter really wishes he wasn't right now – it would make connecting with him much easier.
He can't remember the last time he saw Tech crying, but from how he's shaking, and from his uneven breathing, Hunter is fairly certain he is.
He shouldn't have gone in there, doesn't even understand why he did. It wasn't a logical choice, and he knew that. "I shouldn't have gone inside," Hunter says. "What happened – it's on me."
"It was affecting all of us," Tech argues. "Jedi can influence minds, and I believe the spirit was doing the same to all of us."
That would explain why Tech went in first, ignoring Hunter's warnings. He couldn't help it then any more than the rest of the time, and it...
"Next time, we'll stay clear of anything like that," he promises, which isn't much, but the most he can offer.
"That... would be advisable," Tech agrees, curling closer.
**w**
He ends up squeezed in between Crosshair and Tech that night – it's highly unusual for Tech to be this clingy, but considering what happened, Hunter has to let that slide. He's still worn out, even if he's been mostly out of it for the past few days, and the same is true for his brothers.
Either that, or they're just as happy as he is to take a little bit to relax.
Tech is curled up next to him, and Crosshair curls up on his other side the way he often does. Hunter has a very vivid memory of past-him doing the same thing. It... makes him wonder how much of their past lives are affecting their current ones, but he remembers once wondering what it would've been like for them to grow up together.
Guess he got the answer.
"Be careful," Tech grumbles as Crosshair sets about his usual climbing half on Hunter. He's on his back, and after – after, it's relaxing to have them both curled up against him, no matter if it does hurt.
"It's fine," Hunter objects automatically, because this is Crosshair, and he wants him close. Besides, he appreciates how no matter how many details the youngest duo knows, they're not acting like he's broken or something. He was admittedly a little afraid of that, but no matter what did happen, he's still their leader.
It's still his responsibility to take care of them.
"That lightsaber," Crosshair asks over Wrecker's grumbles about how he's being kicked to the floor again, "Was it yours?"
Hunter thinks about it for a moment, "No," he answers, "I think it was one of the Jedi's. The Twi'lek's. I took it after he..." Wrecker was there when it happened. They were thrown off the cliff together, and the Jedi died saving him. He was still injured, but the fall should've killed him otherwise.
Sometimes, Hunter really wishes he didn't remember the graphic details of how they died.
He also has a very vivid memory of Ema getting her neck snapped by the... Sith? Was that a Sith? Either way, that's definitely one of the less pleasant memories.
There's someone else, too – someone Hunter and Anakin used to know. Someone he doesn't really remember. Their mother.
Is she still alive?
He'll have to ask Anakin later.
Crosshair drops his head onto Hunter's chest, winding an arm around him and pointedly ignoring Tech's disapproving glares.
He's struck by a sudden, disturbingly vivid memory of curling up with Anakin and someone else like this before. Definitely remembers doing it with past-Wrecker and Crosshair, though waking up to a face full of fur was sometimes... unpleasant.
Wrecker just thought it was funny.
Crosshair's hand trails down his side, and Hunter works his arm under him to tug him closer.
It really does feel like they're home.
He still needs to talk to Anakin again, though.
**w**
It's been a little bit by the time he finally sees Anakin again. Tech is still very reluctant to let him move, but Hunter is way, way too tired of staying cramped in tiny quarters. It's not dark at least, but it's still too much like... Yeah. He's very glad to get out.
"I... wanted to talk to you," Anakin confesses a little uncomfortably. "If... that's alright?"
Hunter throws a glance at the others, but they don't have any visible objections. It's a little... different to talk to anyone without the three of them shadowing him, but this is Anakin, and it's them who were siblings. It's something he needs to do alone, just this once. "It's fine," he reassures with a nod.
"We can go to my quarters," Anakin says, "We won't be interrupted there."
He's in his armor again, and it's relieving to have it back. He feels safer like this.
It's big, but it's the General's quarters, so of course, it's big. It's messy though, in a way that Hunter very much remembers. It reminds him of his own quarters back on Kamino. It makes... sense, Hunter thinks ruefully, that they're still so similar. They used to share a room on Tatooine, too.
"I know, it's a mess," Anakin says instantly. "You don't need to tell me."
"Our barracks on Kamino is, too," he replies, "I don't mind."
Anakin laughs. Force, he's missed that sound. "Figures. Obi-Wan always complains about it, though."
Who's that?
"He's my master," Anakin explains, as if reading his mind, which he probably did. "After the Jedi found me, he trained and raised me."
Chaos is a part of them, and it always has been. Hunter doesn't know how he feels about the fact that someone was, apparently, trying to change that in his... brother. Anakin isn't really his little brother anymore, not like he used to be, though it still feels like he is. Hunter might be much younger than him – he's eight, and eight has always been an important number to them for some reason, but he does age faster, too.
"When did we leave?" Hunter queries. "I know we were on Tatooine, and something... changed."
"Yeah." Anakin's smile is slightly bitter and wistful. "You met the Jedi. Two of them – they offered to help. And one of them had a sister. She freed you, and you left. They were going to help all of Tatooine, but then..."
"We ran into the Sith," he says numbly.
"I'll come back for you, I promise."
"And you came back for us, instead."
"The Force works in ways we don't understand," Anakin replies, turning to face him fully. "We think we were meant to be together."
He doesn't really understand anything about the Force, but a distant part of him finds that comment soothing anyway. Familiar, like he's heard someone say that before, and finds comfort in it.
"I'm sorry," Anakin tells him quietly, turning towards him, "I know there wasn't much I could've done to stop it, but I... felt what was happening. Our bond is still there somehow. I'm not sure if the spirit forged something, or... what, but we have one."
Somehow, Hunter thinks that explains the burning fire in the back of his mind. "It did something to me," Hunter explains slowly, "I don't know what it was. It felt like it was... changing me." He doesn't want to talk about it, but he thinks Anakin should know, anyway.
"I couldn't say," he replies, shaking his head, "But I can... guess. It was only because of our... bond that it could do that. I'm sorry."
"Don't be." It comes out with far more passion than Hunter thought it would. "You're my brother. That matters more than anything it could've done to me."
His expression swells with gratitude, and Anakin reaches out. It's with pure instinct that Hunter reaches back, taking his hands and squeezing. His left one is warm, but the right is... hard.
It's not supposed to be hard.
"What happened to your hand?" Hunter asks, mildly freaked out.
"I misplaced it," he replies with a very un-reassuring smile.
"You lost it?!" Okay, probably he doesn't want to talk about that any more than Hunter wants to talk about what happened to him earlier when Tech – when he was captured, but he assumed Anakin would've been fine without him. He was a Jedi, not... he has something that Hunter never has.
"Dooku," he explains sheepishly. "I know. It was a stupid slip-up on my part. I could've died, but it doesn't matter. I'm fine."
"What happened to our mother?" Hunter asks, and it feels so weird to say, but he really, really wants to know.
The amusement in Anakin's expression falls instantly. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. "She's gone."
Hunter never even knew her, hardly remembers her, so he has no idea why it hurts so much. (Probably, because she's the only person Hunter always knew who would take care of him, even if he did the same. He wants to have someone to lean on, to not have to take care of everyone, always, because it's so hard, but she's gone. And he'll never see her again.)
Anakin tugs him into a hug, and Hunter leans into it, wrapping his arms around him. He feels warm in a way that distinctly reminds him of Wrecker, though it's a little different. It's more of a... non-physical warmth that somehow bleeds its way into the physical world.
He shouldn't feel like he knows Anakin, because he really doesn't remember him – it's more like remembering the life of someone else – but he does. Something about the warmth, the caring is so familiar, and it's maybe the first thing that lets him slowly, truly relax.
Things are different with Anakin than the others, because Hunter's their leader and it's always on him to take care of them. It's not supposed to be any other way. He could never ask them to worry about him, to take care of him, even if Tech does it, anyway. Well, they all do, but Tech's the second oldest.
Even if he certainly isn't the second most responsible.
Hunter has to very, very reluctantly admit that's probably Crosshair.
Well, it is Crosshair, and his brother's gone so far from what he was when he was younger. The pride Hunter feels at Crosshair's abilities are the same as he once felt when Anakin first started rebuilding the podracer they stole.
That was fun.
He remembers vague flashes, bits and pieces, remembers that they had a mother who took care of them, that she was... amazing.
He doesn't know why he always thought she'd be fine.
Anakin's fully grown now, and so, so different, but at heart, still every bit of what he used to be.
It's between that and the memories that make him finally break down and cry. Anakin clings to him tighter, pressing his face to Hunter's pauldron.
They lost so much time together, and he... prefers where and what they are now, but it still hurts. He wanted to take care of Anakin, to protect him, but that was... once before. Their mother's gone, their entire life is gone, and that never really... mattered until he realized how real their lives were.
He didn't know how recent it was.
Their mother's gone, and he doesn't even remember her name.
It feels stupid to be affected by her death so much, when he hardly even remembers her face, but...
And then, there's what happened back on the – that place. With that spirit, and he doesn't want to think about it, but he can't stop, either. He can't stop remembering the pain and helplessness, and it – it felt familiar. He didn't have time to think about it then, doesn't want to, now, either.
Probably, that was far from the first time it happened, but that was the... general nature of his existence for years.
He doesn't feel quite as self-conscious about crying as he thought he would, maybe because Anakin is, too.
(He has a vaguely vivid memory of that happening before. It'd been... some years before he left. Anakin was five, and Lei-ah would've been about fifteen – he remembers it was in an alleyway somewhere. She fought someone, someone who was trying to hurt Anakin, and ended up with a knife stabbed through her hand. Ashla – the fierce little Togruta she was – stepped forwards without a shred of fear and choked the man to death with the Force. Lei-ah knew what it was, and she'd panicked, ordered her to never, under any circumstances, do that again.)
(Hunter still remembers her looking right back, with the fire of a thousand suns in her bright blue eyes, offering a "he hurt you" as if that explained everything in the galaxy. To her, it did, and Hunter misses her, too.)
He suspects that's part of where his... obsession with knives came from in the first place.
There'd been a lot of blood, and Anakin hadn't even been fazed by it.
The thing is gone, destroyed, and that should be enough to make him feel better, so why isn't it enough?
It's a long while before they finally pull back, mostly because Hunter's very aware of the time passing, and that his brothers are waiting. He needs to go back and make sure they're alright.
He doesn't know what this will mean for the future, either. Anakin is a General, and Hunter doesn't really work with Jedi. He doesn't know how much, if at all, they'll get to see each other.
"We should find your brothers," Anakin says finally, smiling a little weakly, though he looks somewhat relieved. "Echo and Fives have been waiting to meet you."
"What did my name mean?" Hunter asks. Names are important, and they always have meanings. He doesn't understand how the system works for natborns, though.
"Lei-ah? It's from Tatooine legends. I don't know how Mom got it so long before we came there. Maybe she knew someone, I never asked. But it's a derivative of the name Leia, which is the air-dragon."
Dragons are a bit familiar – he remembers people talking about them, remembers telling Anakin about them.
"The... sun, fire dragon is most common," Anakin continues, "Because it's Tatooine." Yeah, that needs no explanation. "But they have air, water, and earth, too. It means something like 'gifted hunter'."
He snorts. "That's oddly appropriate."
Anakin laughs. "Yeah."
They leave his quarters together, and Hunter really hopes they can come back someday. He wants to, to get to know exactly who his once-little brother has become.
**w**
Hunter knows who they are the moment he sees them.
Echo and Fives, Anakin introduces them as.
The two Jedi.
He doesn't even need to ask who was who.
"Now, all we're missing are Ema and Ash," Fives says cheerfully, waving a hand. He looks unreasonably gleeful, and it's so strange to see that grin on a human face.
"Think we'll find them?" Wrecker asks.
"If they're here, too," Hunter replies. Ema was... Echo's sister. He remembers that much. She wasn't a Jedi, but she'd found him again somehow.
"They are," Anakin replies, "All things... come full circle. Remember the younger sister Ashla talked about?"
Hunter doesn't miss the shift in Crosshair's expression at that. He... was her sister before, too. He was from... Dathomir, Hunter thinks the name was. Or something, but she ended up on Tatooine, under the same master as Ashla was. They were... close. They were sisters.
Apparently, reincarnation doesn't care about genders, which is a bit weird, but could be worse.
"Of course, I remember her," he throws back, a little sharper than usual, and Hunter instinctively reaches to touch his arm. Past-Crosshair was hurt the worst when Ashla died – she was lost in a sandstorm.
"I found her, too," Anakin adds. "Ahsoka. My padawan."
"That would explain the similarity," Tech notes, which, yeah. It would, and does, though Hunter can't imagine looking at Ahsoka and calling her his sister the way he always thought he would Ashla's sister.
He tries to think of someone who Ashla could be, but his mind draws up blanks.
Hunter can't imagine anyone with her bright smile or light or chaos. The closest he can think of is Crosshair when he was little, which obviously isn't true, though they're so similar, it's creepy. Like when she was lost, a part of past-Crosshair changed to fill the emptiness they all had.
None of them are exactly the same, but similar, and Hunter really... wonders.
He can't imagine Ashla not being a girl, though if she's one of the clones, she obviously couldn't be. Same for Ema.
"Do you think she's one of us?" Hunter asks.
"I can't imagine Ema not as a Twi'lek," Echo grumbles, "Much less not as my sister."
Hunter seconds that.
"The Force doesn't care," Fives quips, "It had to steal too many spirits for us clones to exist."
Echo gives him a disgusted look. "That is not how the Force works."
"How do you know? You're not a Jedi."
That's probably the most insulting question to ask someone who was a Jedi in their past life, and Hunter struggles to keep from grinning. There's definitely no question as to who used to be a chaotic Gungan that somehow managed to avoid stabbing himself, and who used to be a grumpy, blue Twi'lek, even if they're identical now.
"You know, I couldn't imagine Lei-ah as anything other than my sister, but here we are," Anakin reminds.
Hunter could say the same about Crosshair.
"All things come full circle."
"I'll come back for you."
They'll find Ashla and Ema. Somehow.
If they have two crazy little – or older – sisters, they'll find each other again, hopefully for a... better future this time.
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