Chapter 8 – I Wanna Be Somebody to Someone

Author's Note: This is the final chapter! There's only an epilogue next week, but other than this, the fic is done. I hope you enjoyed the journey! :D

~ Amina Gila

He finds Omega sitting outside on the ramp not long later, knees tugged up to her chest, looking… genuinely miserable.

"Something wrong?" he asks, tentatively balancing on the edge of the ramp beside her. It's still weird to look after her, to try to take care of her when he's never had someone do that for him. Not the same way, anyway. Hunter took care of him, but he was young, too. He wishes he could have what she does.

"When I left Kamino with Hunter, I thought everything would be fine," she mumbles, not looking up. "Now… I don't know."

"Well," Crosshair says slowly, "What did you think it would be?"

"I thought I'd feel… different. This is where I wanna be, but I don't know if I'll even get to stay here."

Ah. That. Crosshair still thinks about it all the time, but to be honest, he can't imagine living without Omega now. She's been here the entire time he's been back, and it's the world he's getting used to. He doesn't want her gone. He – he wants her to stay. To be here, not to have to leave her behind somewhere.

"If we're settling down, too, there's no reason we can't be together."

"Hunter's never said anything about it again."

"He's afraid."

"Of what?"

"He nearly died for you," Crosshair points out, "He has a right to be."

She looks away from him again, and the quiet feels depressing. Omega, he's realized, swings back and forth a lot between being energetic and depressed. It reminds him a bit of himself, if he's being honest. He often feels like that too, now. "I… keep thinking about what Echo said," Omega ventures finally, "About helping people. If there's someone who needs us, how can we not help them?"

She's so young. So naïve. So – but if she wants them, she won't be able to stay like this. They've all made sacrifices for each other, and Crosshair would never take back any of what he's done for his brothers.

It doesn't matter if Mayday died – it hurts, but if that's what he had to endure to get back home, he doesn't care. And if Omega is going to stay with them, to be one of them, she will have to be ready to make the same sacrifices. Even if it hurts, and he doesn't want to ask that of her.

"Because it doesn't matter," Crosshair tells her bluntly, and Omega freezes, jerking upright to look up at him. He can't tell if she's more hurt or stunned by the bluntness.

"How can you say that?!" She sounds hurt.

"They're not part of our squad."

"But – how can you not care? About anyone?"

Crosshair sighs. "My brothers are more important than anyone else. It's not that I don't care. I have other priorities. The ones I care about. That I would die for." He pushes himself up, turning to head back inside and pauses in the doorway, because he can't leave her just like that. Not when she's brooding, even if he has no idea what to say to her. "So are you."

He sees her freezing and sitting up, looking up at him, but Crosshair doesn't look back. He's not going to face that little thing right now. He doesn't know how Omega managed to grow on him so much.

**w**

It's later in the night cycle when he finds that he's too restless to sleep and decides to approach Hunter, who's in the cockpit on watch. "Can't sleep?" Hunter asks, looking at him as he settles into the co-pilot's seat.

Crosshair hums noncommittally. "I've been thinking."

"Yeah?" Hunter prompts when he hesitates.

He doesn't know how to go about this, but maybe just coming out and saying it would be best. "It's about Omega," he tells him. "I know you're afraid to keep her because of what happened to me, but she'll never be safe anywhere else. She wants to stay here, and we can protect her. We'll train her, keep her safe."

Hunter stills, some complicated, unnamed emotion flashing across his face. "And if we can't?"

Crosshair shrugs. "We're together," he answers. "Our chances are pretty good, but at least we'll have tried, yeah? If the Kaminoans or Empire are after her, we're her best chance. Failing doesn't mean we didn't try."

Hunter's expression shatters, for a moment, and Crosshair can see the fear in his eyes, the pain, and he reaches out without thinking, taking Hunter's hand. "You want us to keep her?" Hunter asks, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah," he replies, "She wants us." He doesn't need to explain why that's important. They both understand. "I know you're afraid, but – but…" He doesn't know how to put the rest of that into words. But she's worth it maybe. But you don't need to protect us all the time otherwise. Things are different now. Nothing will be the way it used to be, and for all that Crosshair misses the past, longs for it, he's growing accustomed to this new normal. It's not wholly bad. "We can look out for each other."

Hunter swallows, nodding. "Yeah," he whispers, and Crosshair can see the glimmer of tears in his eyes which makes something inside him twist sharply. "I – I suppose we can try." It's not a definite yes, but it's not a no, either, and Crosshair thinks that Hunter already knows what he's going to decide. He just needs some time to come to terms with it, and of course, overthink what it'll mean for them to keep the kid to whom they've become so attached. He'll tell her when he's ready.

A comfortable silence settles over them for a few minutes before Hunter breaks it. "Crosshair, thank you."

He looks at him, surprised. "For what?"

Hunter shrugs slightly, staring at the dashboard with a distant look on his face. "For being here, I guess." Something dark and stormy and broken flits across his face. "I don't think we'd have survived much longer if –" His voice breaks, but he doesn't need to finish for Crosshair to know what he means. If you were really gone.

"You'd have found a way," Crosshair argues because he can't imagine it any other way. The thought of them being dead makes him sick – doesn't matter if he'd have been dead, too. "We always have."

"Just –" Hunter pauses, and his exhale is slightly shaky. Crosshair pretends not to notice. "C'mere." He goes to him, melting into Hunter's arms, no matter that it's a bit awkward for him to be half on Hunter and half on the floor. The one place he has always felt secure is in Hunter's arms, and that's no less true now.

"I missed you," Crosshair mumbles into Hunter's shoulder. Doesn't know why he says it, only that it feels like something that needs to be said.

Hunter's laugh is faint and shaky, half broken, but still there, and Crosshair feels fingers slide through his hair. "I know." Hunter shifts a bit, pressing a kiss to Crosshair's head, pulling him closer. And for the first time since coming back, Crosshair realizes that he is fully comfortable next to Hunter. He's different, yes, but Crosshair is, too, and somehow, those differences don't matter as much as it felt like they used to. He's home, with Hunter, and nothing matters more than that.

**w**

They're mid-mission when Rex comms them, requesting their help. It's unexpected, and what worries Crosshair most is what he's asking. He wants them to get some reg out of trouble, and Rex cuts the connection before explaining the details. He must be in the middle of something equally risky.

Why he'd want to live like that, Crosshair genuinely doesn't even get. He just wants to be left alone with his family, but it's not like that's his place to judge – the regs are family to Rex. The only ones he's ever had, except maybe his General. Not like Echo talks about his time with the 501st constantly, so he wouldn't know.

"The distress signal sent by CC-5576 is originating from Daro," Tech reports, "A terrestrial planet in the Outer Rim with no known settlements or installations."

"What's he doing all the way out there?" Hunter queries incredulously.

"Well, does it matter?" Echo asks.

Ah, here they go again.

"We've gone on missions before without much intel." Hunter replies, arms crossed, "But this would be stretching it."

"Rex wouldn't ask us for help if it wasn't urgent," Echo points out.

"Echo's got a point," Wrecker offers.

"May I remind you that we are in the middle of a job for Cid?" Tech answers, "If we deviate, we will not be compensated. No money means no food."

If this is Rex's friend, Crosshair has to very grudgingly admit that he understands why Rex is asking them to do this. He needs help, and Crosshair would do anything for his family, too.

"Oh, yeah. Tech's got a point," Wrecker announces.

"But Rex's friend is in trouble," Omega objects, "That's more important than getting paid, right?"

Hunter ignores Wrecker's useless "the kid's got a point" to look at Crosshair in silent question. He doesn't fully know what to say himself. This is Rex, and Echo is right that he wouldn't ask for their help if he didn't think it was urgent. And if this is a friend of his, someone who could be hurt, it – it's Rex who's asking.

He helped them before. It feels wrong to turn it down.

"Doesn't seem right to turn it down," Crosshair confesses. And – and maybe, since they're together for the first time, Crosshair just feels… the slightest bit more confident. That's coming back, one tiny bit at a time. He didn't notice it until recently, either. Things are always… easier when they're together.

"Fine," Hunter agrees, "We'll check it out."

Ditching Cid's mission is… probably not the greatest of ideas, but just this once, Crosshair doesn't really care.

It turns out, Daro is actually an Imperial outpost, and their extraction is far more complicated than any of them are comfortable with. Anyone except Echo, anyway. They know that without even having to ask.

"We should go back to the Marauder and leave word with Rex," Hunter says finally, scooting backward away from the edge.

"What about the mission?" Echo argues.

"We do not know for certain if CC-5576 is even in there, or if he is still alive," Tech points out. It's blunt, but not untrue. Crosshair doesn't want to have to go back and tell Rex they couldn't do it, either, though. His brothers might've failed missions after he… was lost, but he isn't used to that. Doesn't want to do it because he – he understands.

He would do anything for his brothers, too, and if Rex asked them to, it just…

Saying no doesn't sit well with him.

"Not much different than Skako Minor," Crosshair points out, scooting back, too. They're crouching at the edge of the expanse now, just far back enough that they should be out of sight.

Hunter looks up at him. "You want to go?" He sounds neutral. Not upset, just… uncertain.

Crosshair doesn't know quite how to voice his answer to that. He doesn't want to, but he trusts Hunter to get them in and out. He still believes in him, no matter what they've been through, because this is Hunter, and the only thing that really matters is that he tries. And he loves them. He would do anything for them.

"You'll know what to do," Crosshair tells him, and it's a little bit sappy and sentimental, but he means it. Or maybe he just means it as an apology to Echo, because there – there are some regs who are worth fighting for, and if Rex cares about him, then… Crosshair knows how it feels for friends to die. And maybe it's not quite as much about that as it is in blind loyalty and trust in the one person he'd follow blindly to the death. "You always do."

Hunter meets Crosshair's gaze through his visor, and it feels like they said a million things while saying nothing at all – some things, they don't need words to communicate.

Hunter knows Crosshair trusts him, and that will mean more to him than any words ever could. They're together, and if they have a chance to make anything right, it will be now.

"Alright," Hunter concedes at last, "We'll go."

**w**

They break into the facility to get the reg – Gregor – out. It doesn't go quite as they'd anticipated, but then which of their missions ever have? The important thing is that they escape in one piece and with Gregor in tow. Crosshair can see Rex's worry when Hunter tells him what happened on the mission. The most important piece of intel that they discovered was that the Empire is training TK-troopers – natborns – to replace the clones. Which begs the question of what's happening to the clones?

There's millions of them, and Crosshair might not like the regs, but he's still worried. All of them are.

"We need to know what's going on," Echo says as they head to Ord Mantell to drop Gregor off with Cid until Rex can stop by to pick him up. "We need answers. This concerns every single clone out there. If something is happening to them, we need to know."

Crosshair can see that Hunter doesn't want to do it, but he can also see that Hunter agrees with Echo. Maybe it's not their problem, exactly, but it could be. Maybe even will be. "How?" Hunter asks. "What are you thinking?"

"Kamino," Echo says slowly, "If we could find a way to get there undetected then maybe we can find out what's happening to all our brothers."

Hunter shakes his head. "There's no way for us to go there. It's too dangerous. It'll be too well-guarded."

"I know a way in," Omega pipes up, and then goes on to explain about a secret landing platform which they can use to get into the Kaminoan facilities undetected.

They all exchange looks, and Crosshair sees Hunter's expression settle with resolve as he turns to Tech. "We'll go to Kamino once we drop off Gregor."

Crosshair doesn't know how to feel during the hyperspace trip to Kamino. For so long he only wanted to go back there. Kamino was his home. It's where he grew up. Other than the Marauder, he's never had a home. Since being rescued, a part of him has yearned to go back, to the past, to the times when everything was simpler. Easier. He's wanted to go back to the past and to the brothers he knew.

He's begun to adjust, though, and Tech was right that it would just take some time. It's not nearly as hard as it used to be even if there's still some moments where he aches for the past. But he's different, too. If he ended up in the past, he doesn't know how he'd even handle it, being thrown back with brothers who didn't live through his loss and who don't know what he endured. They're scarred, yes, but they can be scarred together. Their broken pieces fit together.

They arrive on Kamino without any fanfare, narrowly avoiding interception by the three Star Destroyers in orbit around the planet. There's only three. It strikes Crosshair as odd because there's usually more than that. After they land on the platform, Omega takes them through the tube system – that's a thing apparently, and the clones were never told – to a lab. Nala Se's private research lab, to be precise.

Echo scomps into the system while the rest of the look around, searching for anything or anyone. All they find is AZI, a med droid which is apparently Omega's best friend or something. Crosshair doesn't want to ask. He's tense and jittery. Something isn't right.

"Something's wrong," Echo tells them a moment later, and everyone turns to him. "All the central files have been wiped. There's nothing in the system."

From AZI, they learn that Kaminoan medical personnel were forced onto transports and the clone troopers were all transferred off-world. But why? Why is the Empire decommissioning the cloning facilities? What are they planning?

"I might be able to retrieve more data from the central command center," Tech suggests.

Hunter sighs. "We've come this far. The place is abandoned, but we need to be quick. We don't know what the Empire is planning."

As they leave the lab and head toward the main facilities, rain beating down on them, Crosshair can't shake the feeling of foreboding. From the way his brothers are so jittery, he thinks they can feel it, too. Once they arrive, Tech and Echo immediately get to work on trying to retrieve the deleted files, while the rest of them pace around and wait.

And wait some more.

It's strange to be back here on Kamino. The halls are familiar enough to give Crosshair an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. A part of him misses the past. Maybe he always will, but he can learn to let it go and keep moving. He has to.

"I don't like this," he admits, stopping next to Wrecker.

"Yeah, me either," comes the answer, and Wrecker touches his shoulder fleetingly, whether to give or receive comfort Crosshair doesn't know.

Crosshair's pacing back and forth. Hunter is, too. He's close enough to Tech to hear his sharp inhale as he yanks out his datapad's connection. "Hunter, three Venators are descending on the city. We need to leave, now."

They run, and Wrecker picks up Omega so she doesn't fall behind and so they can move faster. It's easier to run when they don't need to worry about encountering resistance. Kamino is deserted, and Crosshair can't shake the chilling feeling of seeing it. It's deserted. Empty. And it's all wrong. This was never what Kamino was like in his memories.

It doesn't matter. Blue laser fire is raining down from the Star Destroyers, destroying everything. They head back into the facility, and it becomes a blur from there – running, falling, trying to survive, staying as close to each other as they can.

Echo nearly gets drowned, but Crosshair yanks him free in time before he's separated from them. They pause, breathing heavily and looking at each other. They might be underwater, but at least they're alive. They're together. That matters most.

"I believe we have landed on the ocean floor," Tech announces, and that isn't disturbing or anything. They can swim, but not that far, not to mention that they'll run out of oxygen long before they reach the surface.

The only secure area is, apparently, their old barracks, and Crosshair wants to laugh at the irony. He can't deny feeling a certain sense of anticipation at going back there. For so long, it's been one of the things he wanted most. He told himself that he and Mayday would escape and that he'd be able to go back to their barracks and refamiliarize himself with all that he lost. That never happened.

The Marauder is his home, but Kamino was, too.

"This is our room?" Wrecker demands incredulously as they step inside, the door automatically shutting behind them.

Crosshair stills, taking off his helmet as though in a dream as he looks around. It's… empty. It's empty like the rest of Kamino is. Their drawings are still on the walls of their bunks, but all their things are gone.

"Check it out. Our board's still here," Wrecker says, nudging Crosshair, and he turns toward it, fingers lightly tracing over the marks. He can see the last mark they put on for the mission before he was lost. There's a gap, some scribbled markings etched in the surface, and then, there's more marks drawn on. So many missions they went on without him.

He thought coming back to Kamino, to their barracks, would somehow help him feel… more whole. He was wrong. Coming back only makes it hurt worse. This is not his home. This isn't where he grew up. It's gone. It's all gone, and there's no getting it back. The tears that sting his eyes are instinctive, and he tries to swallow them down before anyone can see.

Hunter is talking to Tech and Echo about the feasibility of cutting through the flooring to get into the underwater tunnel they landed on. Crosshair stares at them, feeling oddly distant and disconnected when Wrecker's large hand lands on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

He sucks in a shaky breath. "This is where we grew up."

Wrecker looks at him, uncertain. It takes him a moment to understand, and Crosshair can see the pained grimace flicker across his face as he looks at the barren room. "Yeah, but we got each other." Their eyes meet, an unspoken understanding passing between them before Wrecker folds Crosshair into his arms. Kamino isn't their home, not anymore. Their home is the Marauder, and more importantly, their home is each other.

Everything is different now and for the first time, Crosshair thinks he can let go. The past is in the past. He's not getting it back, and even if he could, he doesn't know that he would want to. He's right where he wants to be.

They make it into the tunnel and somehow avoid becoming dinner for a particularly hungry and vicious sea monster before making it back to Nala Se's lab. Only to run into a new problem. The tunnel from here to the platform is broken, meaning that they're trapped. Again.

"Tech," Crosshair says, approaching him, "What are our odds?" He's terrified. They all are. And he trusts Tech to tell him the blunt truth, even if it's not what he wants to hear.

There's a pause as his older brother adjusts his goggles. "With our comms down, we will not be able to contact anyone for help. Our oxygen levels will be critical in a few hours, but we will figure out a solution on our own, as we always have. We will not be trapped here."

Crosshair toys with the toothpick in his mouth, the sixth or seventh one he's gone through since they came to Kamino. He knows Tech isn't lying to him, but hope is a dangerous thing. Then again, if he didn't have hope of escape, he wouldn't be here right now. "At least we'll die together if we fail," he answers.

Tech gives him a sharp look. "That is not something to joke about."

"Who said I was joking?"

Tech is right, though. Of course, he is. He's always very quick to remind them that he is seldom wrong if something he says is brought into question. Echo realizes that they can use the medical capsules to escape, and that is how Crosshair finds himself crammed into a capsule with Tech. Hunter goes with Echo to help him if he needs it, and Wrecker and Omega each go on their own. Wrecker does because he's too big to fit with anyone and Omega does because she's so small that she'll throw off the weight distribution if she goes with someone else.

Crosshair had almost gone with Omega, but he's glad he didn't when he realizes exactly how difficult it is for him to be in an enclosed space. It makes him feel as though he's trapped, back there, and he just – he can't –

Not being able to see anything outside the glass other than murky shapes and shadows in the water isn't helping either. It's so dark, and he can feel his heart hammering in his chest as fear drowns him – ha, no pun intended.

Tech's hand closes around his wrist. He can probably hear Crosshair's hyperventilated breathing even with their helmets on. Pathetic. He should be better than this.

"We will not drown," Tech says firmly. "Focus on me, Crosshair. We will make it to the surface and leave Kamino with the intel we have obtained. The mission was a success."

Tech's voice and his grounding touch keep Crosshair from spiraling. It's enough that he reacts in time to Omega's panicked cries over AZI. "I'm a sniper, kid," he tells her over comms before she can do something stupid like go after a droid and probably die trying. "What do you think I do?"

They make it to the surface, and Crosshair finally feels like he can breathe again. It's instinct to draw his rifle and search for the droid through the scope, pulling it to the surface. Omega's grateful smile and tearful "thank you" somehow make the whole ordeal worth it.

It's morning by the time they get back to the Marauder. He doesn't know how to feel about the smoking debris of what was once Tipoca City in the distance. It's gone. Kamino is gone. Crosshair thought he'd feel something other than numb as he looks at it before finally turning away, back to the Marauder.

One part of his life is over.

It's time for the next part to begin, and he finds that he's looking forward to it.

It's time to go home.

Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^

Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)

We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

ALSO: We have SW gift request forms for General, Anakin-Clones-centric, and Bad Batch fics. :D (delete spaces) bit . ly / CourtesyTrefflinFicRequests