Part 1
Plot: In which the Bad Batch stumble onto a cave in the Clone Wars, missing the rumors that anything of it is amiss... until Crosshair gets transformed into something other.
Author's Note: This is for the square "Sith AU" on the Bad Batch Bingo. :D
Summary:
Hunter: I'm glad you're having fun but CAN YOU PLEASE GET OFF OF ME?
Tech: **lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling he can't even see**
Wrecker: **walking into the same wall repeatedly** I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!
Crosshair: **5555555% blissed out, 8888888% hungry, and 100000000000000000000000% unaware that anything's wrong**
~ Rivana Rita
When he wakes, it's dark. He can't see anything, and Hunter blinks a few times, trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, but still nothing. And, his armor's off. That was definitely not his doing, either.
Hunter hears something shuffling. They're not alone. Whatever knocked them out, probably – actually, that was some sort of explosion, or something he didn't understand. Probably, they're captured by... someone.
The shuffling comes closer, and he picks up a familiar smoky-foggy scent. Crosshair. Safe.
"Crosshair?" he asks quietly, turning his head. He still can't see.
He senses Crosshair beside him now, crouching next to him. He doesn't respond verbally, but he touches Hunter's shoulder. His touch is warm and soothing, but it's not half as gentle as it ought to be, as he expected it to be.
Hunter reaches up, half of the mind to push him off and ask what he's doing, but Crosshair outright growls at him, and it hardly sounds human. He freezes momentarily, heart skipping a beat from the sheer unexpectedness and sharpness of the sound, and Crosshair half climbs on him, pinning him to the rocky ground.
Hunter jerks against it, but he's still only half awake, and he's still exhausted from something he can't quite remember, and Crosshair seems strangely stronger than him right now. Which is weird. He's not supposed to be – the regs always made fun of Crosshair for being... weak. Which he's not, he's just not as strong as many of them. He's... well, he's skinny.
"What are you doing?!" Hunter demands, half freaked out, trying to think of something semi-logical he could've done recently that would've upset his little brother.
Crosshair growls at him, shoving harder and pinning him down.
And then he bites him. Actually bites him, and it's not in the typical, chaotic Crosshair manner. It's sloppy, and it hurts. Hunter yelps a little louder than he's proud of, squirming and trying to leverage him off.
What in the galaxy does he think he's doing?
Crosshair presses his mouth to Hunter's neck, and he shivers, trying to pry him off. It feels weird, even if it doesn't hurt, and he's more freaked out than anything else. He's – what the –
"What are you doing?!" Hunter half-shrieks as Crosshair starts sucking blood out of his neck.
Crosshair growls lowly, and goes right back to his – whatever in the stars he thinks he's doing.
Hunter reaches up, trying to pry him off, but Crosshair grabs his wrist, pinning his arm to the ground. His grip is tight enough to hurt. Hunter jerks against his grip, but it's too tight.
He can't get Crosshair off, so he just gives up, holding still and letting him do whatever it is he thinks he's doing. It's uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt, and clearly, he isn't in the mental state to explain. There's no point wasting energy in a fight he won't win, either.
The last thing Hunter remembers was that they had gone inside, and something was... wrong. He doesn't know what. They were trying to set up camp for the night, and something inside was glowing. Crosshair went after it, and there was an explosion, and then... this?
"Tech?" Hunter calls, because he hears the shuffling of the others waking up.
"I can't see," Wrecker whines.
"I know," Hunter replies – they're in a cave, because it's echoing. "It's too dark."
He's surprised when Crosshair doesn't have a snarky comeback about Wrecker being afraid of the dark. He doesn't respond at all, actually, except to finally let go of one of Hunter's hands and press his hand to Hunter's side instead. It's far more affectionate than he's ever been in the past, and he finds that he actually... likes it? It's weird, but the contact is still soothing. It's been a long time since any of them have let go enough to just... be with each other.
That doesn't mean he's anywhere near relaxed though. That's impossible, considering the circumstances. Something happened to Crosshair, and he has no idea what.
If he wants to just snuggle right now, well, Hunter doesn't have an issue with that, even if it's... weird. He works his arms around him, stroking his hand down his back.
"Tech?" he asks again.
"I am here," he says, and Hunter tries to look around, but he can't really move.
"What was that? What happened?" Hunter queries.
"I am uncertain," Tech replies. He sounds distant. They must be a distance away.
Hunter sighs. "I think something's wrong with Crosshair." That sounds ludicrous. Think is an understatement. Something is definitely wrong with Crosshair.
He squirms a little, shaking Crosshair's shoulder, trying not to think too deeply into what he's doing.
"Something as in what?" Tech inquires. It sounds like he's trying to move around. Hunter can feel it, too – the slight shifting in the cave's energy, the pulsing and moving. Energy fields ripple, colliding with one another, and that's definitely someone moving. Feels like Tech – Hunter can feel the battery in the light of his goggles, too.
"I don't know." He has no idea how to explain that Crosshair is drinking his blood, and he bit him. That hurts an unreasonable amount, and his neck is still stinging a little. So is his wrist, for that matter. That, he's certain will bruise.
"Something that made him decide biting people was a good idea."
"Uh, hasn't he always done that?" Wrecker whines, as the multiple-time victim of Crosshair-biting tantrums. Wrecker and Crosshair have a very long history of being overly aggressive with each other. That's not something Crosshair has ever been with either of the others, though. He and Wrecker are... well, they're the kids, and they're twins, and there's not much else to say about the nature of their relationship.
"Yes, but not like this!"
There are a few minutes of semi-awkward silence, and Hunter hears the others trying – and failing – to stand. Trying to move around.
Crosshair's heart rate is... abnormally high. Enough that it worries Hunter a little, because they're not fighting, and there's nothing... stressful happening exactly. Okay. That's not entirely true, but still.
His scent is... slightly off, too. It's vaguely metallic. He doesn't exactly smell like blood, but he also sorta does, and it's a little... worrying.
"Crosshair?" Hunter asks again, shaking his shoulder.
He makes a half-growl, half-whine and presses closer, clinging to him.
Well. Probably, there'll be no getting him off any time soon.
"What was that?" Hunter asks, and he doubts Tech has much more idea than him right now, but they need to know. "The explosion?"
"Well, I did tell Crosshair to keep his distance from anything that looked abnormal," Tech grumbles.
Oh, as if he ever listens to that.
"Anyway," Hunter interjects pointedly, because arguing is pointless, "I don't suppose that's connected with the fact that he bit me?"
"Possibly," Tech says, "There are rumors about this planet."
Oh, yeah. Tech told them that there was some... disturbing species here that went extinct some years ago in the failed attempts of impressing on their little brothers to stay out of trouble. Look how that went? They're called vampires, apparently, and they live on blood, and they live inside caves, never venturing outside. Hunter was only half listening, but – oh, wait. Uh oh.
"Could... Crosshair have become one?" he asks warily. "From whatever that was?"
"I am... uncertain," Tech answers.
"H – how could that happen?" Wrecker yelps, freaked out.
Crosshair flinches slightly at the volume, and Hunter loops an arm around his waist, squeezing him lightly.
Probably, Tech never looked into it, because he didn't think it was important. Evidently... Well, they don't have their gear. "Do you have your datapad?" Hunter asks, sighing.
"Well, no."
"Where's our armor?" Wrecker asks.
"It's not far out," Hunter replies. He can feel the electric frequency, of their flashlights and blasters and yeah, Tech's datapad. They're a distance out, but it's not too far. "I'll find it once I get Crosshair off me." It's hard when Crosshair is stubbornly refusing to move. "Can't say when that'll be."
"Do you need some help?" Wrecker asks, and Hunter hears him standing.
"Could use some."
Crosshair yowls wordlessly, and Hunter winces as the sound reverberates off the walls a thousand times. Ow.
"Okay, okay. Maybe just... leave him."
"What's he doing?" Tech asks incredulously.
"There's a reason I was asking about vampires," Hunter grumbles.
"He's... drinking your blood?" Tech asks, sounding half freaked out, half incredulous.
"Yeah, and he's not stopping."
There's a thump and a crash, and Wrecker yelps. Did he just trip? It sounds like it.
"Be careful," Hunter deadpans, "It's dark."
"I can't see anything!" Wrecker whines, and there's distant shuffling.
No kidding – Hunter is half-certain there's a ceiling somewhere above him, but he wouldn't know, because he can't see anything.
Crosshair's hand lifts to Hunter's shoulder, nuzzling against him. He feels a little more relaxed now, some of his tension fading. Hutner wishes he felt the same. He has no idea if this is dangerous or – or what it means for any of them. They need to get Crosshair off so Hunter can find Tech's datapad, and until then, they're stuck.
He's feeling a little more alert, but there's only so much blood someone can lose.
There's a few more minutes before Crosshair finally pulls back a little. Hunter thinks he's looking at him, though how he can see, Hunter has no idea. He's still... close.
Crosshair leans down again, licking the still-gathering blood off his neck. Hunter yelps, catching his shoulder and trying to pry him off, because that is just. Too weird. "Crosshair, stop it. That's gross," he grumbles.
Crosshair makes a quiet grumpy sound, though he scoots back a bit, dropping his head onto Hunter's chest and curling up against him.
Oookay. This is... not ideal, but at least he's not... drinking his blood anymore? Hunter reaches up, pressing his hand to his neck in an effort to make the bleeding slow.
Crosshair's running a hand down his side, idly, but it's still sort of... strangely... comfortable? Still though, they need to move. They need to figure out what is wrong with Crosshair, and what to do about it.
Crosshair makes a noise that's way too high-pitched to be human – it's not loud, and it doesn't hurt. It sounds more like... a purr? Wait. He's not turning into a cat, is he? Never mind. That's too ridiculous.
There's another thump in the background, this time much closer, and Hunter shoves himself upright. Crosshair's already pushing himself up, surprisingly, and Hunter actually looks at him for the first time since he woke up.
His eyes are gold. They're glowing. It's not bright, but they're still bright enough for Hunter to see them vividly in the darkness.
He just stares, heart skipping a beat. This is not normal. None of this is, but he could handle it up until actually seeing Crosshair, because there's something almost inexplicably terrifying about it he can't even place. Maybe it's just that it's so wrong, and there's – there's something dark about it that he can't even make sense of.
Crosshair reaches out for him again, lightly touching his jaw. There's a glint in his eyes that looks... hungry, and they don't have time for it, so Hunter pushes his hand away, stumbling to his feet. He feels a bit bad about it, but he's entitled to be a little freaked out right now, and besides, he's needed elsewhere.
"Tech?" Hunter asks, and Crosshair's standing, turning away. He's lost in the darkness, but Hunter senses his heartbeat, here's the lightness of his footsteps. He's going to find Wrecker.
There's a red light in the darkness, though too dim to light anything – that's Tech.
Hunter never quite realized how frustrating it is to be in pitch blackness until he nearly trips a bunch of times himself, just on the way to finding Tech. It's not that far, but the ground is very rugged, and of all the things he can sense, ground location is not one of them.
He hears the other two shuffling around, and is mildly concerned about Crosshair biting Wrecker, too, but they need to focus.
"Whoa," Wrecker yelps, and Hunter freezes.
"Wrecker, you alright?" Hunter queries.
"Yeah," he assures. Didn't really sound like it, but Hunter lets it drop, grabbing in the general direction of where he thinks Tech's hand is about three times before managing to find it. On the bright side, it's too dark for anyone to laugh at him for it.
"Are you alright?" Tech asks him after they start moving for... Their gear is further back. At least to where the datapad is, is further back.
"I'm fine," Hunter brushes it off, because there's no time to worry about that, and really, he's still perfectly capable of moving and doing whatever he has to. "Crosshair's eyes were glowing, though."
"That does not sound promising."
Yeah, no question there.
"Your goggles don't have a light on them, do they?" Hunter asks, nearly tripping over a rock.
"If they did, you would have known years ago."
Why does no one find his jokes funny?
**w**
How in the galaxy did their armor get dumped off a short drop in the cave that they had to climb down in pitch blackness? He's certainly offering no thanks to whoever or whatever dumped it there.
Actually, on that note, Crosshair came back here at some point. He can smell it. And feel it – the traces of his heartbeat's pulse are all over back here.
Hunter climbs down himself to get the datapad, and he picks up a flashlight with it, because he is very tired of stumbling around in the dark. The fact that Crosshair's rifle was the only thing set down here neatly makes him very suspicious. It's not like they don't already know something's wrong with Crosshair, anyway. It's not like he doesn't know Crosshair was back here already. He can smell it. And feel it.
It's not like they don't help each other get their armor on all the time, but still, taking it off when their unconscious is just... weird.
"I would recommend scanning him," Tech says, turning his datapad back on.
"Do it," Hunter orders, "We need to find out what's wrong. We can get everything else later." He doesn't sense anything else in the cave, and now that he knows how to get back here, it shouldn't be hard to fall back if something attacks.
They need to get out of here and keep moving, though.
It would be so ridiculous to fail their mission because they walked into a cave and got lost. They never fail.
When they make it back, Crosshair is curled up in Wrecker's lap, sleeping. It's adorable.
"Tell me you recorded that," Hunter says, pausing. What? It's adorable. Almost unreasonably so, but these are their little brothers.
"Noted," Tech says.
Crosshair stirs a little when they approach. He was moving around in the dark just fine. Can he see, too? Hunter could swear Crosshair always had issues if it was too dark, even if he could see better. Apparently, that's not true anymore. Crosshair twitches a little, blinking awake, whining faintly.
Hunter flicks the flashlight off, handing it to Tech.
"Crosshair?" he asks hesitantly, approaching them.
"Shh," Wrecker scolds, "He's sleeping."
Crosshair shifts again, and Hunter thinks he's pushing himself upright, but he's not certain.
Tech comes a little closer, typing on his datapad.
Crosshair shoves himself to his feet, growling. It's so sudden and abrupt that Hunter takes a step back, and Tech freezes, looking up. The air feels charged and staticky somehow. Crosshair lunges at him without a second of warning. Hunter darts forwards, but Crosshair's faster, and he shoves Hunter backwards before tackling Tech.
Hunter has no idea if he's trying to bite him or not, but it certainly looks like it.
Wrecker darts forwards, yanking Crosshair off him.
Crosshair struggles against him, growling and snarling, trying to break free. Hunter pulls Tech to his feet again and turns back to their little brother. Hunter has no idea what set him off so fast.
Tech picks up his datapad again, looking decidedly grumpy about the whole thing.
Crosshair whines, flinching back in Wrecker's grip.
Hunter glances from him to Tech. "I think the light might be hurting him," he says worriedly, because that's literally the only thing he can think of.
Tech looks up at him, taking a few steps back.
Crosshair jerks forward, trying to bite Wrecker's arm and narrowly missing.
"Maybe you should go outside," Hunter suggests, "Try to figure out what's happening to him. Until then, Wrecker and I will keep him here." And hopefully not get bitten again?
Tech nods, disappearing towards the doorway,
Crosshair is still struggling in Wrecker's grip. He snarls when Hunter approaches him, but Hunter moves slowly and keeps coming, anyway. Tech tuns the flashlight back on in the background, and the lighting is bright enough for him to see Crosshair's expression for the first time. He doesn't look... all there, exactly, and there's a wildness on his face that doesn't belong, but he looks hurt. Scared.
"Don't bite me again," Hunter requests, reaching up to cover his eyes. Crosshair stills, surprisingly, and Hunter waits until Tech is out of sight to slowly pull back.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Wrecker asks anxiously.
Hunter sighs. "I don't know."
Crosshair is blinking at him, and it's too dark again to tell anything past that. His heart rate has dropped again, at least. He seems a little more like before, which... doesn't say very much.
He finally twists around, winding his arms around Wrecker's neck and leaning closer to bite him.
Hunter steps forwards, heart flipping a little. "Crosshair, I don't think that's a good idea."
Too late.
Wrecker doesn't react much – there's just a hitch in his breathing – which is better than when Hunter did, but at least Wrecker had a reason to expect it. Hunter's still not sure that's a good idea, though. It could easily be dangerous. None of them know why this is happening.
Hopefully, Tech will find something, or... they're going to have a problem. Well, they already do, but at least right now, Hunter has a bit of hope they'll be able to solve it. They've never dealt with anything like this before. He doesn't really... know what to do.
Wrecker shifts a little, sitting back down, and Hunter settles down beside them, touching Crosshair's back. He shifts closer to him but doesn't otherwise react.
They still need to figure out more about what's happening. "I'll go have a look around," Hunter decides finally, reaching out to touch Wrecker's shoulder. "Try to keep him here."
Wrecker doesn't seem overly worried about it, but Hunter is. In Crosshair's current state, he could easily hurt one of them badly while being entirely unaware. He might not've hurt Hunter, but if he's still... doing this, whatever it is, it's clearly worse than Hunter originally thought.
He can feel their tracks to the back, and Hunter follows them.
He's a little... wary about being out here, because they have no idea what caused whatever went wrong, but he'll be careful. They take risks all the time, and right now, he doesn't have much reason to think this is any worse than most.
Wrecker and Crosshair haven't moved, and he doesn't sense anything abnormal.
He puts his armor back on – they are still on a mission, thank you very much, Crosshair – and heads a little farther back into the cave. The frequencies in here are dull enough that he doesn't think anyone's been here in... a very long time. Long enough that their scents and heartbeats have faded entirely. Everyone has their own, and it's distinctive, at least for people he knows.
Something's... farther back. Hunter can't even say how he knows – it's some sort of instinctive... knowledge. A gut feeling. Those are rarely wrong.
It's not until Hunter actually stumbles into something and crouches down to look at it that he realizes what's wrong.
It's not that this place has some sort of... Force-Jedi-whatever-stuff.
It's a graveyard.
There are skeletons back here.
Old ones.
He's not taking a closer look than that.
They've seen much worse things, but really, they need to be elsewhere. (This place is just... creepy, alright? He doesn't want to be here longer than they have to be.)
Hunter turns off the flashlight, setting his helmet to night vision – he's not stumbling around in the dark if he has a choice – once he's close enough to the others.
Crosshair scowls when he sees him.
"What?" Hunter asks, crouching in front of them.
Crosshair growls unintelligibly, snuggling up against Wrecker again.
... okay?
"Did you find anything?" Wrecker asks.
"Nothing helpful," Hunter assures him. "Just more creepy."
"Uhhh, do I wanna know?"
"No."
Something catches his attention towards the edge of the cave. The flashlights don't light much – they're not for widespread lighting – but now that he can see everything, he sees...
Are those chains? Were those people prisoners? He doesn't want to know any more.
Technically, they all know bad things happen in the real world, but on Kamino, no one ever died. It was just this... thing that they knew could happen. It was never really real. They've only been off Kamino for several weeks. It hasn't been long, and they haven't seen much, and something like this is just...
It shouldn't unsettle him so much, but it does.
This is the first time he's seen a dead person. Definitely the first time he's seen a skeleton, much less a whole group of them.
He feels the distant flicker as Tech turns off his datapad. He senses – and hears – his approach.
"Tech's coming back," Hunter tells them, though Crosshair still doesn't respond.
Is he even capable of responding right now? His mind is... well, evidently, fairly lacking at present.
Tech still has his datapad with him, of course, because he doesn't put it down if his life depends on it.
"Find anything?" Wrecker asks, perking up. Crosshair shifts against him – Hunter can hear it, but he doesn't look.
"Actually, yes," Tech replies, crouching in front of them. "It is what I was concerned about."
"He's a vampire now?" Hunter guesses, sighing.
"Yes," Tech replies, "It would appear so."
"I thought you said they were extinct?"
"They were," Tech answers, "A group of Jedi were said to have eliminated them over a century ago. Evidently, that is not the case."
"Uh," worries Wrecker, "What does that mean?"
"I am unclear on how it happened," he admits, "Only what it could mean." He sounds worried, which... is a bad sign. Tech doesn't worry half as much as he ought to. The worrying is always Hunter's job. "Vampires feed solely on the blood of humanoid creatures. They lived primarily in this cave."
"Do they... kill the people they feed off?" Hunter queries worriedly. That's what he's worried about most.
"Eventually," Tech answers, "The only people who made it out were the ones the Jedi rescued."
Uh. Uh oh.
"Well, maybe a Jedi would know what to do," Hunter suggests.
"It is unlikely Crosshair would be willing to allow us to leave," Tech points out.
"Well, we don't have a choice," Hunter points out.
"They are extremely light sensitive," Tech adds, "Especially after their initial transformation."
Worry is burning inside him now. It's definitely worse than he thought. He doesn't quite know how to go about getting Crosshair out, then. "But he's still himself," Hunter asks. "He'd understand."
"He doesn't appear overly receptive."
Hunter looks back at Crosshair, who's just staring at them. He's not really interacting with their conversation at all, more just watching. Observing. Hunter scoots closer to him, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. Crosshair leans into it instantly, grabbing his wrist to tug him closer, purring again.
It's mildly disconcerting.
"He seems unusually... clingy," Hunter supplies, and Crosshair's still himself enough to growl annoyedly at that. He's still adorable. It should not be so adorable. Not when it means everything it does.
"Vampires are very affectionate," Tech tells him, "And they are drawn most to fear."
He has no idea how those are connected – unless Tech is that terrified of physical contact, which he is not – but that explains why Crosshair was a millisecond from biting him again when Hunter first saw him. "Why are their eyes yellow?" He looks the same, but... he's not. Not fully. Hunter doesn't want to think about it.
"Either their night-vision, or a connection to their creation as Sith experiments."
What? Okay, he doesn't want to know more details about that. They hardly even know what Sith are. "Why's he still hungry?" Hunter queries.
Crosshair makes some unintelligible sound, and they all look back at him again. He's pressing closer to Hunter again, and he's half convinced Crosshair's about to jump-tackle him again.
Wait.
They're drawn to fear. The more he worries, the more inclined Crosshair will be to feed on him again.
"They do not... require food the same way humans do. Hunter, we need to get him out of here."
He knows, but he has no idea what to do right now.
"How did Crosshair turn into that?" Wrecker asks, shuddering.
"Is it safe to take him out?" Hunter asks quietly.
Crosshair whines faintly, grip tightening.
"What is it?" Tech queries.
He whines again, shifting forwards. "Stay," he requests, and at least his voice sounds the same. Hunter was mildly worried it wouldn't.
"We cannot," Tech tells him flatly, "The longer we remain here, the faster your transformation will cement."
"There's a way to fix it, right?" Wrecker asks hopefully.
Crosshair's hand slips free of Hunter's, and he growls faintly, shifting forwards. There's only a millisecond of warning before he jumps at Tech again, ignoring Hunter's yelp of protest. Crosshair would never hurt them knowingly, but he's not himself right now. He probably doesn't even know what he's doing. He wouldn't be so clingy in his right mind.
Tech yelps a bit ungracefully as Crosshair slams into him, pinning him to the ground.
"Crosshair, wait," Hunter objects, leaning forward, "You'll hurt him."
Crosshair growls at him again, ignoring Hunter's objections entirely and biting him. Hunter can smell the blood. It's metallic and coppery, and it makes him feel vaguely sick. How could Crosshair or anyone feel attracted to it? Never mind. That's not something he wants to understand.
"Crosshair, don't," Hunter objects, shaking his shoulder. He let him on himself, because there wasn't anything he could do, and he didn't understand what it meant. Same for Wrecker. Now that he knows, he just... He can't let him do that. He doesn't know if it's safe.
Crosshair growls lowly in his throat, whacking his hand away.
"Let him go," Tech requests, and Hunter pulls back, half stung, half worried. Crosshair hasn't hit him in a long time. Not like that.
It sort of stings, but he shrugs it off, because they're soldiers, and it really, really doesn't matter if Crosshair hit him. Wouldn't if he had a reason, which he does.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Hunter objects, anyway. "We don't know what it could mean." He genuinely has no idea what the implications are. He doesn't know anything about the Jedi.
Doesn't have a reason to.
"I am not going to risk harming him, either," Tech objects.
He agrees with that, obviously, but until they actually understand what's going on, it would still be safer to just... stop him. That's easier said than done, though – Hunter has no idea how they could restrain him. He doesn't want to do that, either. That would be wrong – this is Crosshair, and it's not his fault he's stuck... feral.
Well, he is the one that touched that – whatever it was and unleashed this madness, but it wasn't like he could have predicted what was about to happen. None of them could have.
"We need to get him out of here," Hunter repeats again. He's not sure if he should leave Tech with him alone, though. Hunter needs to... distract him, probably, so the others can get their armor.
Crosshair growls again. He sounds annoyed.
Hunter stills, glancing at Wrecker. He won't be able to help – this is something he needs to figure out alone. Waiting for... a few minutes is probably best, though he's... itchy about it. Uncomfortable. He doesn't know if there will be any repercussions of Crosshair... yeah. Whatever this is called.
Outright saying he's drinking their blood is too disgustingly blunt. It's gross, and Hunter does not envy him for that one bit. He still can't imagine it. Blood tastes... gross. Everyone knows that.
"Crosshair?" he asks a minute later, reaching out to touch him.
He growls again, clinging harder to Tech, who just sighs. He doesn't look overly comfortable about their present position. Hunter wasn't, either, but none of them are strangers to Crosshair's insane clinginess, even if he hasn't been like this in a long time.
"Won't be getting him off anytime soon, will we?" Hunter sighs.
The sounds Crosshair makes sounds like a gleeful laugh without actually laughing.
"Guess that's a no."
There's nothing they can do but wait, though, and Hunter might be patient, but right now, he does not want to wait.
"Will he be okay?" Wrecker whispers worriedly.
"I don't know," Hunter admits, "He better be." They need him. He can't have it any other way. They need to leave, and they have to take Crosshair with them – get him somewhere that someone will know how to help.
Crosshair finally pulls back, dropping his head onto Tech's chest, unmoving.
"Perhaps you can... get him off now," Tech offers finally. He sounds uncomfortable, slightly strained.
"Crosshair," Hunter says again, shifting forwards, lightly tugging his shoulder. "I need to talk to you."
Crosshair whines grumpily. It's far more adorable than it should be. It ought to be disturbing. It kind of is, a little, but still. Crosshair whines again, shifting a little, probably close to pushing himself up. Hunter lifts his hand to lightly touch his hair. Crosshair leans into it, purring. Crosshair climbs off him finally, looking up at Hunter.
"We need to go," Hunter tells him bluntly, touching his shoulder.
Crosshair blinks at him, lightly touching his chestplate. It's oddly intimate, even for him. "Stay," he says stubbornly. His hands lift to Hunter's helmet, pulling it off. He blinks at the sudden darkness, but the bright yellow gold of his eyes comes into view again. They're supposed to be brown. Not... whatever this is.
Hunter sighs. "It's hurting you."
His hand lifts for Hunter's shoulder, and he reaches back, lightly gripping his wrist. Crosshair glances at his hand and then just climbs into his lap.
Um.
Okay!?
Crosshair is staring at him, though, so he keeps talking.
"The longer you're here, the worse this will get," Hunter tells him, "I know you would never hurt us."
"Mine," Crosshair insists, and Hunter smiles faintly, no matter what's happening around them.
"Yes, we are," he says, lightly touching his cheek.
Crosshair leans into it, purring. "Mine." He snuggles up against Hunter's chest, arms wrapping around him.
They're really getting distracted now, but Crosshair feels so small without his armor, and sometimes, Hunter does want to just hold him. They do... belong to each other, and they would do anything for each other. But that isn't what they're here for – they can talk later, and a conversation this emotional is just making him uncomfortable.
"Staying here will kill us," Hunter tells him.
Crosshair shifts back, head tilting a little, lifting a hand to Hunter's head. He nearly jumps at the unexpectedness of the touch – Crosshair's hand feels freezing against his forehead. Hunter feels something gentle and warm in his head, and it's a very disturbing sensation. "I wouldn't do that," Crosshair's voice whispers, though he didn't speak.
Hunter jerks back, gasping.
"What was that?!" he demands, "Was that you?"
Crosshair laughs, reaching up to grip his shoulder again, leaning closer. His gaze drops from Hunter's face a little, and he sighs.
"Don't do that," Hunter requests, "I know you're hungry. I know you can't think about this clearly right now, but it will hurt us."
Crosshair shifts back a little, looking up at him. Hunger is burning in his eyes again, and he does not like the looks of that.
It's weird how he gets hungry whenever Hunter gets... jittery.
Breathe.
He needs to breathe. Stop being afraid.
"We can fix this," he promises, "Just – we have to go outside." Well, with what Tech said about the... vampire everything, getting him outside in the first place might be more difficult than Hunter anticipated. He's... afraid, too, because he doesn't want to risk hurting him. That's – that's better than letting Crosshair kill them, but neither is something he wants to risk.
Hunter has no idea if this is really something he even can stop, but he's afraid of... of this going wrong. They've never been at risk of losing someone before, and Hunter has no idea if this'll work. He's scared, and trying not to be is hard. He has no idea if they'll really be able to fix this.
"Come on," Hunter tells him gently, nudging his shoulder. He tries to pry Crosshair off him, and he stands, tugging Crosshair's arm to get him to move before he bites someone again. Crosshair shuffles after him reluctantly as he moves for the cave exit. Crosshair hands his helmet back, and Hunter takes it, holding it against his hip.
He's close to the exit when Hunter sees the moonlight spilling across the rock and lighting the gray surface. It feels odd to be able to see again. It's so bright. Not enough to see clearly, but still enough that he can see again.
Crosshair freezes, hissing faintly, and Hunter feels himself forcibly jerked to a stop. He tries to move, but he can't. He can't move, and he jerks against it, but something's... holding him. Hunter turns to look at Crosshair – well, he can move his head, at least – who's standing with his hand outstretched, and the same look that Jedi get sometimes when they use the – whatever they call it.
"Crosshair?" Hunter hisses. "What?" This isn't normal. The vampire thing, he got, but the – that wasn't supposed to mean he'd get these... whatever the Jedi call it. Doesn't know. Never cared.
Crosshair lowers his hand, and Hunter breathes a sigh of relief at being able to move again – thank you. He looks annoyed. Maybe hurt and scared and... a long list of things that he can't read, but mostly just... well, feral.
"Stay," he says stubbornly, glaring. He looks angry.
"We can't," Hunter argues with a shake of his head.
Crosshair grabs his wrist before he can move for the doorway again. His grip is tight and that's the same hand he was holding before, and Hunter gasps at the sharp spontaneity and the pain that shoots through it.
"Stop it!" Hunter snaps at him, and Crosshair freezes. He lets go of him, arms dropping, deflating a bit. Guilt flickers to life in his chest, hot and fierce. He's not supposed to snap at them or hurt them. It doesn't matter if they hurt him. It isn't like it was major. "I'm sorry," Hunter says, sighing, hesitantly approaching him. He touches Crosshair's shoulder, and he leans into it, though he still manages to look like a kicked tooka. "But I don't know what else to do."
"It hurts," Crosshair mutters in protest, shifting a little.
He slips an arm around Crosshair's shoulders, gently tugging him towards the door. "We don't know of any other way to break the connection."
He presses closer into Hunter's side, a quiet, near-whimper escaping him.
Hunter wants to stop. Doesn't want to go out there, just seeing how Crosshair is acting about it, but Hunter really doesn't know if it'll actually help. "Tell me if you need to stop, okay?" he requests, and Crosshair nods into his shoulder.
They clear the cave entrance, and Crosshair sits down, curling up into a miserable ball. Hunter sits beside him, pulling him against his side. Crosshair rests his head on Hunter's shoulder, closing his eyes.
He doesn't know how to handle this. He's scared. Can't help it. Hunter has no idea if they're really going to be able to stop this, and he's... worried. He doesn't want Crosshair to get hurt out here, but if – if it's darkness that makes the turn existent, then... light should be able to break it? Maybe? That seems like a good guess.
Crosshair shivers under his arm. Hunter squeezes him tightly, reaching up to brush a hand through his hair. ... Okay, maybe he's feeling as snuggly as Crosshair himself is being.
For a few minutes, they sit together in silence, the dim moonlight streaming over the area.
Crosshair shifts a little, and Hunter looks over at him – his eyes don't look quite as... bright, but that could be their lack of glowiness.
"Finally!" Wrecker's voice booms from inside the cave, and Crosshair jumps, growling lowly. Wrecker appears in the entrance of the cave, dumping an armful of Crosshair's armor on the ground. Tech is a few feet behind him.
"Quiet," Hunter whisper-hisses, "I think he's sensitive to sound, too."
"Oh," Wrecker whispers loudly, sitting down beside them. He reaches for Crosshair, who climbs into his lap way too readily.
Hunter casts another glance their way before pulling his sleeve up – it really doesn't matter, but his wrist is still throbbing badly, and he doesn't think it's broken or anything, but it still hurts. He's broken limbs before, and he knows what it feels like. This is just bruising. Doesn't even know why Crosshair was holding him that tightly.
It's red and a bit swollen, and the area's discolored.
He didn't notice Crosshair reaching for him until he grabs his hand, squeezing it lightly and tugging it closer to him.
"It's not bad," Hunter supplies self-consciously.
Crosshair's staring at it though, something sharply intent in it before he pulls it closer to his face, and Hunter has a split second of warning before he bites it.
Hunter yelps. That hurt. And why in the galaxy is his solution to literally everything now just biting it? He jerks against it instinctively, but Crosshair tightens his grip and doesn't let go.
Here he thought after yelling at him earlier when he hadn't done that in years would be enough to – ugh.
He still feels bad about that.
"This should help," Crosshair's voice insists in his mind, and he sounds like himself, but he's – he's not.
"I can appreciate you think so," Hunter replies grumpily, "But can you please stop licking me? It's gross." He can appreciate it if Crosshair's purring like a kitten, but can he at least not slobber all over him, too?
At least the pressure he's putting on it right now isn't enough for it to hurt. But still. It's ugggggggh.
"Do you know how long this'll last?" Hunter asks Tech, half pleadingly, because he has no idea how long this'll take.
"I believe we will have until morning at the latest," Tech replies, and he sighs again.
That is... a long time. Not that long, either. They have to figure something out. They can't let Crosshair hurt them, and... what are they supposed to do?
Crosshair pulls his head back, flipping Hunter's arm over in his hand. "Better?" he queries.
He sounds so childishly hopeful, and Hunter has no idea how that's supposed to help, but it isn't throbbing so much right now. "Yeah," he replies half-heartedly.
Crosshair offers a half-hearted smile at that, leaning back against Wrecker's chest.
**w**
Hunter doesn't remember falling asleep, but sometime, he did – his head on Wrecker's shoulder. He's woken up when a battle droid patrol finally finds them.
The shootout is fast, though it would've been longer if Crosshair hadn't let out one of those inhumane growls he does and just... charged them. He was moving way too fast. And beat them up all Wrecker style.
Wrecker thought it was hilarious.
Hunter's more shaken up than anything.
Tech was just staring.
Crosshair just stands there, looks around, and reaches for Wrecker again. Wrecker laughs, scooping him up. Crosshair wraps his arms around his neck, clinging to him. "Can we keep him like this?" Wrecker asks, "I like it better."
"No," Hunter says flatly, even if there's a teeny, tiny, traitorous part of his brain that says yes. He does not want one of his little brothers stuck permanently in a feral, animalistic state.
"I would not recommend that," Tech replies flatly.
Their mission was to take out the Separatist presence on-planet, but that's not really... feasible until they've guaranteed Crosshair's safe. Which isn't yet.
Tech finally gets him to hold still enough to scan him, and after studying whatever he found, finally reports that his brainwave activity is irregular. Which, yeah, Hunter already guessed.
But the mere fact that Crosshair was willing to hold still long enough is a good sign. The sky is lightening a little, and Hunter's half scared, half hopeful.
Crosshair steps away from Wrecker, turning back to Hunter. He still looks hungry – there's a glinting glitter in his eyes, even if it's dulled from what it was like earlier. He looks a little more... human.
"How do you feel?" Hunter asks him, approaching.
Crosshair turns to him, hands lifting to lay on his chestplate. It's intimate and a bit odd, but not uncomfortable. "Hungry," he supplies.
"Yeah," Hunter replies, "I know." Wishes there was something he could do about it, but there's not.
His hand lifts to his shoulder. "Can I?" Crosshair asks. He sounds so hopeful, so desperate, and Hunter looks past him to Tech almost helplessly.
Saying no is so, so hard, even if he knows he should. Maybe. Crosshair wouldn't be hungry if there wasn't a reason for it, so... maybe he should? Tech usually knows those things, but he looks just as lost as Hunter feels. Doesn't really matter, though, because Crosshair's already shoving him onto the rocky ground, his fangs sinking into Hunter's neck again.
He sighs, closing his eyes and trying to let himself just feel, focusing on Crosshair's warmth next to – and on – him, on the smokiness and familiarity of his scent, and feeling the electric pulsing of his heart, how it flows outwards in curving waves.
He doesn't know the meaning of the – experiment thing Tech mentioned. Not sure that anyone really does. They'd have to talk to a Jedi, though. Hunter doesn't know anyone, and he doesn't... know if he can trust them. Maybe ask Cody, though. He works with the Jedi. He's got to know a number of them.
Hunter strokes his hand down Crosshair's back, holding him close. "Tech?" Hunter asks, "Is... anything changing?"
"His brain waves appear to have calmed," Tech replies, "Though I cannot say what it will mean for his physical state."
Hunter works his other arm around Crosshair, just holding him against his chest. Silently, he begs the – anything listening that Crosshair stay, because he can't live without him. None of them can, and they need Crosshair. They all need each other.
Stay, Hunter whispers mentally. Stay with us.
At least he's still adorable, even if it's worrying.
They're still there when the sun rises, though Crosshair's just snuggling instead of being... vampire-y. It actually feels nice. Hunter misses being able to just be and hold onto one of his brothers. They haven't had time to be this close in a very long time.
Crosshair is the first to move, even if it's as sluggish as he always is when he wakes up.
His eyes are brown again.
Tech is the first to move forward, scanning him, but Crosshair still finches back from the light. He doesn't object to it, though, but he catches Hunter's gaze and looks away. "I didn't mean to hurt you," he says.
"I know," Hunter replies, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "This whole thing was weird."
Crosshair nods slightly.
"You okay?" Wrecker asks, nudging his shoulder.
He looks up. "Yeah." Crosshair stands, dusting himself off. His heartbeat is still a little... off, though, and his expression is tight. He's in pain.
"Does anything hurt?" Tech asks, attempting to scan him three times over and Crosshair shoves his hand away.
Hunter snorts.
"It's bright," Crosshair mutters, picking up his armor and piecing it on. Tech moves over to help him, even if it's completely unnecessary.
Hunter turns to Wrecker, who shoves his helmet up. "Uuuugh. I could sleep for a week," he whines.
Hunter pats his shoulder. "The mission'll be over soon once we make sure Crosshair's fine."
**w**
Well, the mission might've been over soon, but as for Crosshair being fine, it's not so... fast. Or easy. They make sure Crosshair's fine enough to fight, which he is, before moving on. He might not be constantly hungry anymore, but something about him has definitely... changed.
Hunter commed Cody and gave him a rundown of that situation. He didn't get it any more than they did.
Crosshair still has fangs, and he still is drawn to blood, though he's himself enough to not act on it every ten minutes. The bruising on Hunter's wrist is mysteriously healed though, as are the bite marks on his arm, so they suspect he might've been right about the – ugh ew that is gross – biting things helping. Something about healing or... apparently, whatever-Sith-experiment was adorable even if it's terrifying.
And... Crosshair has some sort of very disturbingly weird Jedi-something abilities. He can still talk in their minds, and he can... move things. His eyes still turn yellow at random – watching their color change shifting is very, very weird. The creepiest part was where he got upset enough to start... well, sparking.
Hunter's still shaken up from feeling the electric charge whipping around him. It'd been charged and staticky and he started... zapping things.
Yeah.
It was very creepy.
He seems fine now, though, lounging in one of the seats up against the Marauder's wall.
Hunter's sitting on the floor when Wrecker comes and sprawls in his lap, a very, very visible bite mark on his neck. His eye looks disturbingly off-colored. Oh, not again.
"'m hungry," he supplies, curling up like a giant tooka.
"Crosshair, what did you do?" Hunter demands.
Crosshair's smile is slightly feral. Doesn't know if it's more adorable or terrifying. "I was hungry, too," he supplies.
Hunter closes his eyes, sighing. Loudly. Tries to quell the panic swelling in his chest, but if they were able to make it work with Crosshair, they can do it for Wrecker, too. Maybe?
"And at least it doesn't feel so... empty," Crosshair adds, scooting farther back in his seat.
Empty? Why would he feel empty? He's been touching them all nonstop since this started. It stings way more than it ought to.
"Don't overthink it," Crosshair scolds, "I know you're here, but you can't... feel me the way I can you."
He tried explaining it, but Hunter couldn't make sense of it. All he did gather was that Crosshair's senses are heightened now. Significantly so. And, it's weird, because only Hunter's had those abilities.
"And you just had to start with Wrecker."
"Like I said," Crosshair snips, "Don't overthink it. At least we can get all growl-y together."
Help. Apparently, Crosshair's not as himself as he'd like to pretend. He's talking like he did when he was four.
"Whatever you do," Hunter says firmly, "Do not turn me. I don't want to start purring like a cat."
Crosshair grins ferally and jumps him.
Oh – uh oh. Well, this should be fun.
Author's Note: Look, I know there's more to say, but honestly I have to end this before it gets too long xD
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