The toxin is blue. Cutup sees it coming—they all do, just as the toxin alarms are starting to go off for real.
Then they're all sprinting, because if they don't make it to the safe room they're dead.
Panic rises in his throat. He'd settled into the idea that they'd succeeded. Now, everything Cutup had believed is falling apart. He barely manages to keep pace with the others, too busy struggling against his own horror as he runs.
He'd been wrong. They hadn't stopped the virus after all.
And now everyone's going to pay for it.
The virus is coming, and when Cutup risks a single glance backwards, it's gaining on them. Tendrils of cobalt mist surge through the air, a tsunami of the intangible. Cutup has to fight down another surge of fear at the sight, because it's beautiful, in a twisted sense—beautiful death, like the vibrant colors of a venomous reptile. And that makes it so much worse.
The Commander and Captain Rex pull ahead. The safe room is close, but not nearly close enough. Cutup sees the doors start to slide shut, and thinks they're all dead men already. That revelation is enough to make him stagger, sheer hopelessness nearly overwhelming him—but then Commander Tano skids to a halt, lifts her hands, and freezes the doors in place with her mind.
"Get inside!" she orders, and they obey her instantly. The Captain ushers Cutup and the Tide man in first, and then they reach back to pull Sergeant Docks and the Captain in. Captain Rex wedges a DC-15S between the doors to stop them from closing.
"Hurry!" Docks cries, pulling at the doors to try and keep them open just a little bit longer, but it's not easy. The DC-15 jammed in between the doors is trembling from the force being exerted on it. Cutup scrambles to hold the doors in place, too, and together all four clones are able to keep the doors open just long enough for the Commander to dive through, leaping almost parallel to the ground to make it through the tiny space. The Virus is right on her heels. The instant she's through, Rex knocks the gun out from between the doors, and the rest of the clones release their holds on the door. The safe room doors slide firmly shut.
For a long moment, all five of them are silent save for their harsh breathing, struggling to recover from the adrenaline rush. The virus alarm is still wailing faintly in the background, but it's faintly muffled through the blast doors. It has the strange effect of making Cutup feel detached from reality for a few disorienting moments, until he is able to steady his breathing and stand up straight.
"Everyone alright?" Captain Rex asks. They give him an assortment of affirmatives in reply, still a bit on the breathless side. Commander Tano hauls herself off of the floor, where she'd landed after her spectacular jump. She rubs her side.
"You boys okay?" she repeats, so they answer the question again. "Good. I think we managed to outrun it, so we should be safe for the time being."
"Ahsoka!" General Skywalker's voice cuts through the air from the Commander's comm. "What is going on down there?"
Ahsoka motions for the clones to relax as she turns away to answer her Master. Cutup sighs and leans against the wall gratefully. Sergeant Docks joins him, taking his helmet off and sighing.
"Glad you've made it this far, Torrent," he tells Cutup quietly. "You're good. The Lieutenant picked well. Remind me your name, soldier?"
"Cutup," Cutup answers. "And I'm pretty sure the lieutenant picked randomly. I'm lucky, that's all." Or unlucky, since he was even picked in the first place, but of course he doesn't say that out loud.
The Tide shiny joins them a moment later, and Captain Rex follows. The Captain glances at Cutup's armor and nods once when he sees the five dots on Cutup's shoulder.
"Domino, right? It's Cutup, isn't it. Good to see you, brother." Cutup gives him a sort of half-hearted salute that Rex waves off casually. "I was wondering who it was who'd been recruited from Torrent. Glad to have you by my side again."
Cutup can't stop the grin that spreads over his face behind his helmet at that.
The Tide shiny doesn't know anyone besides Captain Rex, so brief introductions are done. The shiny is called Tipper, and he's fresh from Kamino. His speech mannerisms are a lot like Hevy's, though he's a little less confrontational than Cutup's teammate. Cutup decides that he likes him.
The four of them are just starting to relax when the Commander lets out an annoyed huff and strides back over to join them. The men straightened automatically at her approach.
"Looks like we're going to be stuck in here for a few, boys," the Commander informs them apologetically. "The safe room doors can only be opened from the outside now that the virus has been released. Senator Amidala should be able to assist us, but it'll take some time… and there are also some surviving droids to worry about. They'll try to escape the facility, and release the virus as they do. The good news is that the mad doctor behind all this was captured by Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi. They were outside when the base went into lockdown, so they're safe for now."
Beside Cutup, Rex lets out a sigh of relief at the news that his General is safe. Then, the Captain shakes his head.
"Commander, if the Senator opens those doors…"
Commander Tano winces. "We'll be contaminated instantly, I know. But we can't let the virus affect the rest of this planet. We've gotta scrap those droids before they can escape. Besides, the Generals are looking for a cure. They'll find it for sure, so there's no need to worry."
So, they'll have to go out into the cobalt mists of death. Cutup sets his jaw in determination. The Commander is right—too many would die if the droids are allowed to escape.
Clones are expendable. Republic citizens are not. Cutup glances at Docks and Tipper (who have both taken their helmets off) and sees the same expressions of resolve on their faces. They're all willing to throw themselves into the virus to protect Naboo. That's what they've been created to do.
Domino will never forgive Cutup if he dies here, but Cutup firmly believes that the safeguarding of an entire planet is much more important than the lives of four clones. The rest of Domino are capable of functioning without him.
Commander Tano sighs heavily and sits down with her back against the wall.
"We might as well get comfortable," she tells them. "Who knows how long we'll be here?" After a moment's hesitation, they join her, sliding down the walls and leaning back, relaxing the best they can considering the circumstances. She's right, after all. They can't go anywhere.
For a long moment, everything is quiet. Cutup shifts anxiously. He's always been unsettled by silence, and eventually he can't take it anymore.
"So…" he begins slowly, "Anyone bring sabacc cards?"
Tipper snorts. Docks rolls his eyes. Rex lets out a long-suffering sigh. Commander Tano giggles.
Cutup frowns. "What?" he asks. "I was just asking."
"Cutup, your sense of tact needs some work," Rex tells him, but there's a hint of amusement in his voice.
"I wish we had sabacc cards," Tipper bemoans. "That would make things a little more interesting, at least."
"I never learned to play," Commander Tano tells them. Cutup blinks incredulously.
"What, really? Every clone learns to play. It's about one of the only things we can get away with on Kamino for non-training related fun."
"And still technically against regulations," Rex reminds them. "Though that's never stopped anyone."
Tipper smirks. "Including yourself, Captain?" he asks daringly, and they're all taken by surprise when Rex laughs.
"Including myself," he confirms. "Though Commander Cody usually tears me up when we play."
Commander Tano looks intrigued.
"Teach me?" she asks.
"Uh, hang on, I'm not sure General Skywalker would approve—" Rex tries to say, but he's far too late.
"Of course," Cutup answers the Commander. "Anyone will teach you. When we get out of this mess, just ask any trooper. They'll get you up to speed."
She grins.
"Sounds like a good time," she says, then shoots Rex a sly look. "My Master doesn't need to know, right, Rex?"
Cutup stifles a chuckle as Rex sighs yet again. The light conversation is just enough to distract Cutup from their current situation. He's grateful for it, and he's sure the others feel the same way.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I only know Captain Rex's name," Commander Tano tells them, continuing the conversation. "Mind introducing yourselves, boys?"
"Sergeant Docks, sir," Docks says. "I'm with Tide company."
"Any reason behind the name?"
Docks tilts his head. "I used to spend all my free time sitting in the hangar docks on Kamino, watching the waves and rain. I found it soothing. Naturally, my squad made fun of me for it, so Docks it was."
Commander Tano gave him a smile, and turned to Cutup. Cutup grimaced.
"The name's Cutup, sir. And I, uh… well. I got it for being insubordinate to one of my trainers. I may or may not have made one too many sarcastic comments. He decked me good for it, and called me a cutup. I liked the sound of it, and then it stuck."
The Commander laughs again. Tipper's head snaps up.
"Which trainer?" he asks curiously.
"Ah, it was Bric," Cutup answers. Tipper lets out an incredulous sound.
"Kriff, you're brave," he says. "I remember Bric. He's a good trainer, but if you aren't the top of the class he hates your guts."
"What about you, trooper?" the Commander asks him. "Your name?"
The shiny grins proudly. "Tipper, sir," he answers. "Because I always tipped the scales, when my batchmates and I were in combat training." He shrugs. "Whether it was for better or for worse depended on the day." His face falls suddenly after that, and he looks down at the floor. "They're dead now. My batchmates, I mean," he finishes quietly. Cutup winces and feels a surge of sympathy for the younger clone. Rex puts a hand on Tipper's shoulder in silent support.
In the unsettling silence that falls after, everyone hears the sudden beeping of the alarm on the one of the consoles. Cutup jumps to his feet along with the others. He tenses nervously as Docks leans over to read the characters flashing across the console's screen.
"No, no, no," Docks mutters fearfully. "Some of the virus got in here! We didn't close the doors fast enough!" His words feel like a punch to the gut. Cutup swallows in horror, suddenly grateful he'd kept his helmet on… if the helmet filters are even enough to keep the virus out. It's possible that the virus' molecules are small enough to infiltrate armor seals.
Rex's fists are clenched as he turns to Commander Tano.
"We may be dead men," he tells her softly. "But we can still stop those droids once we get out of this room."
Commander Tano nods determinedly, and then glances around at Dock's fearful face and Tipper's nervous expression.
"Don't worry," she reassures them all. "My Master will find a cure. We're not dead yet!"
She's right. For a brief moment, Cutup feels a surge of hope.
Then, Tipper lets out a painful sounding cough, and all of Cutup's optimism disappears in an instant. Slowly, they all turn to look at the shiny with a growing sense of horror. Tipper's eyes are wide.
"Kriff," he mumbles, and coughs again—twice this time. The force of them rock his entire body. "Kriff."
"Hang on, Tipper," Commander Tano tells him. Her voice is much more anxious now. "Hang on. We'll be out of this soon."
Cutup takes a deep breath in an effort to steady himself—but it ends up doing the opposite. When he inhales he becomes aware of a strange pressure starting to build in his lungs. The need to cough grows exponentially once he's aware of it, and he nearly chokes at the suddenness, ripping off his helmet to cough several times. His throat feels raw afterwards.
"Helmet filters are useless against it," he tells Captain Rex, who takes his helmet off with a grim frown.
"The longer we're trapped down here, the closer droids have to releasing the virus," the Captain says. "We've got to find out some way to get these doors open. Take a look around, see if you can find anything we could use to—"
Without warning, there's a metallic click as the doors unseal. Everyone stares at the door in surprise. Commander Tano grins.
"Looks like Senator Amidala found us!" she says triumphantly. Blue mists pour in as the doors slide open. Cutup holds his breath instinctively at the sight until he realizes that it's pointless to do so. He's already contaminated.
"Senator Amidala, I'm glad you—" Ahsoka starts, stepping forwards as the doors open far enough for them to see their savior… and then she cuts herself off.
"Sorry, Commander. I know I'm not who you were hoping for," a clone's voice says. Cutup's eyes go wide.
No. He couldn't have been that stupid. He wouldn't have willingly trapped himself down in here, in almost certain death.
He wouldn't have.
Right?
The clone steps through the door, mist rolling past him so he nearly looks like some sort of wraith. Cutup's breath catches in his throat.
The Rishi eel etched onto Fives' helmet is unmistakable. Fives glances around, and the tension in his shoulders eases slightly at the sight of Cutup.
"Hey, brother," he says in a casual voice that does not fit their situation at all. "It's good to see you."
Cutup finds his voice again.
"Well, it's not kriffing good to see you!" he hisses. "Blast it, Fives, what are you doing here? Don't you know what this is?" He strides right up to his brother, poking a finger in Fives' chest. "Now we're both going to die, you idiot!"
Fives reaches up and pulls his helmet off. His expression is sympathetic, and serious. Cutup is frozen by his gaze when their eyes meet.
"I wasn't going to let you face this alone, Cutup," Fives tells him softly. Soft enough so that their audience, whom Cutup had nearly forgotten, can't hear. "I knew the risks. I couldn't let you do it alone, brother. That's why I came."
Cutup almost chokes on the wave of emotions that rise up in his throat.
"Why," he asks breathlessly. "Why, Fives? The others need you. You're the only one who knows…" He doesn't finish, but he doesn't have to.
Fives leans forwards, pressing their foreheads together gently. It's an old Mandalorian expression of comfort, one Fives and Echo had both picked up during their official ARC training.
"I'm not losing a batchmate so soon if I can help it," Fives growls. "It nearly killed me last time, watching as everyone else died one by one. It's not going to happen again."
Cutup shivers at the sheer determination in Fives' voice. "But now we're both stuck down here," he says sorrowfully. "And we're both going to—"
"We're not," Fives snarls. "We're not. It may not be something we can fight with blasters, but there are other ways to fight it."
Someone clears their throat behind them. Cutup steps back from his batchmate and winces when he sees Captain Rex standing behind them, arms crossed. Commander Tano is beside him, with Sergeant Docks and Tipper watching curiously from farther back.
"Not that I'm not grateful to you for getting us out of there," Captain Rex says sternly, "but why, exactly, are you here, Fives?"
Fives sighs and straightens to stiff attention.
"I bluffed my way onto a gunship and came with Tide Company's second wave," he answers honestly. "When they were called back, I rappelled from the gunship and entered the facility just as it was going into lockdown." He pauses and takes a deep breath, face carefully blank. "I will submit to any punishment, sir. I probably broke half the protocols in the regs just now."
His blatant integrity surprises Cutup, and it seems to catch Rex off guard as well. The Captain frowns deeply.
"Why did you come in the first place, soldier?" he asks.
"Why do you think, sir?" Fives answers without hesitation. Rex's gaze drifts to Cutup for an instant before snapping back to Fives.
"Alright, I know why," the Captain admits. "And ordinarily I'd give you a piece of my mind for it, but we've got more important things to worry about than your disregarding of basic regulations."
"Sir," Fives acknowledges with the air of someone resigned to horrendous punishment. "I'm not sorry, sir. I'll be of help to you here, and we both know it. But after this is over, I will submit to whatever sentence you give me."
Rex exhales and nods once. "Alright. We can't waste any more time on this. Fives, fall in. We'll discuss everything else later, understood?"
"Yessir," Fives says passively.
"We need to find Senator Amidala," Commander Tano says, stepping forwards. "Once we do, we'll be able to take care of any remaining droids."
"Well, fortunately you won't have to go far," a female voice cuts in. Cutup turns to see the Senator herself running down the corridor, with the hapless gungan in tow. They're both wearing protective biosuits, undoubtedly protected from the clouds of poison hanging in the air around them. "We were going to get you out of the safe room, but it looks like someone beat us to it."
"Not by long," Commander Tano answers. The Senator stares at the padawan, sorrow flashing across her face.
"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka," Amidala says. Commander Tano gives the older woman a soft smile.
"Don't worry about us, Senator," she replies. Then her expression hardens. "We still have a job to do."
"There aren't very many droids left," Senator Amidala informs them. "We saw some headed towards the south entrance." Sergeant Docks coughs roughly in the background. Everyone shoots him a nervous look. Commander Tano sets her jaw.
"As long as we're able to, we'll help you destroy the droids before the breach the compound," the padawan says determinedly.
"You take the North corridor, and we'll take the South. We'll meet in the middle, right beneath the entrance" Senator Amidala says instantly. Cutup's respect for her grows as she takes the DC-15S Captain Rex offers, shouldering it easily. She's obviously fought before.
"Sergeant Docks, Fives. With the Senator," Rex instructs. "Cutup, Tipper—you two are with me and the Commander."
Fives frowns. "But sir—"
"You're on thin ice as it is, Fives," Rex reminds him. Fives' mouth snaps shut. He nods mutely in acceptance and follows the Senator out into the hallway with Docks.
As much as Cutup hates to be separated from his brother, especially now, he recognizes the logic of Rex's squad choices. Sergeant Docks and Fives are the most experienced men available besides the Captain himself, and are fully capable of protecting the Senator and Gungan from harm.
"The North Corridor isn't far," Commander Tano says. "Let's move! Those droid's can't escape!" She takes off, diving fearlessly through the toxin and into the hallway. Rex is on her heels, and after a split second of mutual hesitation Cutup and Tipper follow.
The billows of cobalt toxin hanging in the air like smoke make it hard to see. Every step Cutup takes disturbs the virus, sending clouds swirling as he runs through them. The Commander's lightsaber is activated, and it serves as a beacon in the darkness. Cutup keeps his eyes fixed on it as they weave through the facility.
It doesn't take them very long to enter the North corridor. The clicking steps of droids echo through the hallway, so Cutup knows they're headed in the right direction.
As they approach the outskirts of the base, the clouds of virus thin out a little, so it's a bit easier to see. They turn one last corner and nearly smack right into a battle droid.
"What the—?" it gets out, and the Commander Tano beheads with in a smooth slash. The handful of droids scattered down the rest of the hallway turn at the other's cry.
"Blast them!" one shouts.
"Forwards!" the Commander cries. Rex, Cutup, and Tipper try to keep up as she surges towards the droids. Blaster bolts streak past them.
Cutup takes two droids down on the go, bracing his weapon at his shoulder. Just behind him, Tipper lets out a shout of victory as he turns one to scrap himself.
The last droid attempts to back up, firing at the Commander. Ignoring the Captain is it's fatal mistake. Rex double taps it in the chest, and it goes down instantly.
"The entrance is just around the next corner!" Commander Tano cries. There's the sounds of blasterfire up ahead—it sounds like the Senator's squad are already making a move on the fleeing droids.
They round the corner just in time to see Sergeant Docks take down the last visible droid, but the Senator is sprinting for the ladder leading up to the exit, so at least one of the droids must have made a run for it. Captain Rex follows her, and both the Captain and the Senator point their weapons up towards the droid at the same time.
"Stop! Don't open that hatch!" Senator Amidala cries.
"Ha! Too late!" the droid crows—and then it makes the mistake of trying to shoot the hatch open. The blaster bolt bounces off of the smooth metal, ricocheting until it nails the stupid droid right in the processor. It falls off of the later with a satisfying crunch. Cutup chuckles despite himself.
"Pride comes before the fall," he quotes, and pretends that he isn't pleased with himself when Commander Tano lets out a short laugh. It's an old quote from some ancient Cerean text that Cutup only remembers because Echo had read it sometime during training and had quoted it nonstop to Hevy for weeks.
"Literally, this time," Tipper adds, and Cutup snorts.
"You alright?" Fives asks as he slides into place besides Cutup—and then coughs quietly, attempting to stifle it.
"I'm fine. It hurts more if you try to stop it," Cutup reminds him glumly. Fives coughs again instead of responding, and Cutup feels a shock of fear race through him. For all of Fives' confidence that they would both survive… he's not so sure he can believe the same.
It hasn't been long enough for the sickness to set in completely. Coughs are still few and far in between, but each time Cutup coughs it lasts longer and hurts more. He doesn't want to know what it will be like in a few hours.
That is, if he's even alive in a few hours.
"We need to make a full sweep of the base," Commander Tano instructs. "Stick together this time. We don't know exactly what we're facing. Everyone good to keep going?" When everyone nods, she activates her lightsaber again. "Let's move out!"
Cutup steels himself and stays close to Fives as they begin to run again. He's not glad that his brother is dying alongside him, but he is glad that he's not alone.
An hour later, they're somewhere in the middle of the base when the Separatist facility sees fit to throw a few nasty surprises at them. Cutup shouts in alarm when two droidekas roll around the corner of the corridor they're running across, somewhere near the middle of the base.
"Stay back!" Captain Rex shouts. "Take cover! Let the Commander handle it! Draw their attention!"
Cutup plasters himself to the side of the hall to make himself less of a target. Fives is right next to him. They fire at the droidekas, bouncing blaster bolts off of their shields and distracting them from the Commander's lithe form. She's fast enough that they they can't turn to fire on her before she leaps up, landing right on top of one of their shields. Her deactivated lightsaber goes through the shield easily, and when she activates it, the the tip plunges through the first droideka's head.
Commander Tano is leaping to the second droideka when from behind him, Cutup hears the Gungan shout, "Meesa help!"
"Kriffing—no you don't," Fives hisses. "Don't interfere!" he shouts louder, but it's too late. Somehow the Gungan has gotten his hands on a blaster. He fires, nearly hitting the Commander. The droideka zeroes in on the new challenger. Fives swears as it takes aim. Before the droid can fire, Senator Amidala leaps from out of nowhere, tackling the Gungan to the ground. They go down hard, and the droideka's shots go right over them.
Commander Tano finishes the second droideka off before anyone is hurt, and leaps gracefully to the ground as it collapses. Cutup lowers his weapon. A strange hissing noise is filling the air, and Cutup can't figure out what it is—until Senator Amidala pushes herself to her feet and turns to face the rest of the group. The rubber tube providing her with oxygen has been separated from the suit, leaving a gap in her helmet.
"Senator, your suit's been compromised," Captain Rex tells her sorrowfully. Commander Tano races to join then, kneeling at the Senator's side.
"I'm so sorry," Commander Tano says. The padawan's face is screwed up in anguish as Senator Amidala removes her helmet. The Commander's orange skin is already showing effects of the virus—there are dark bags under her blue eyes, and the veins just beneath her skin are starting to darken. Cutup is sure his own skin looks the same underneath his armor.
"Ahsoka… don't blame yourself," the Senator says. Her voice is resigned. "These things tend to happen in a warzone."
Fives snarls under his breath. Cutup glances at him.
"No, they don't," Fives hisses in explanation. "If the Gungan hadn't been an idiot, this wouldn't have happened. The Senator is too nice for her own good. Now she could die." Sergeant Docks is next to Fives on the other side, and gives a tiny nod of agreement.
"He is a representative of Naboo, though, so keep your voice down," the Sergeant reminds them. "Technically we have to take orders from him."
"Uh, no," Tipper deadpans softly, so immediately that Cutup chokes on a laugh that sends him into a coughing fit.
His lungs hurt. It's getting hard to breath, now, so it takes much longer for Cutup to recover this time than he would have liked. When the violent reactions finally stop, Cutup is gasping for air that hurts just as much coming in as it had coming out.
"For the record, laughing makes it worse," he tells his hovering brothers hoarsely. Over by the Senator and the Commander, who are climbing to their feet, Captain Rex coughs. Everyone flinches when he does. It's wrong. Their Captain shouldn't be going out this way.
"We're nearly finished," Commander Tano tells them. She hasn't coughed yet, but her voice is duller—it lacks the life and optimism that it had held earlier. In some ways, that's even worse than hearing the Captain cough. "Keep it up, boys. We only have a little bit more to search."
"We've got your back, sir," Cutup tells her, and the rest of the clones murmur in agreement. Commander Tano doesn't offer them a smile as she turns and starts down the hall again. The clones exchange worried looks as they fall in behind her.
If Cutup concentrates, he can feel the virus sapping the strength from his body. He can tell that his brothers can feel the same thing, because none of them are moving as surely as their training has taught them to. Cutup can't move without making sound anymore. Fives can't either, and even more disturbingly, neither can the Captain. Tipper is lagging behind a little, and Sergeant Dock's breaths are coming in harsh, ragged pants.
The reality of it sets in further with every second that goes by—they're dying. A heavy sense of despair settles over the group—even Fives, whom Cutup knows is clinging onto the last shreds of his hope.
Every time Cutup looks at his brother, he is struck by an overwhelming sense of guilt. Fives will die down here because Cutup just had to be at the range that night. If he'd gone back to the barracks with his brothers, he wouldn't have been recruited, and Domino wouldn't have been involved at all.
It's all his fault.
The next few hours pass as a pain-filled blur. Eventually they find the last few droids at the final entrance to the base. As they round the corner Commander Tano puts on a burst of speed, hacking the final two clankers into oblivion with absolutely none of her usual grace. She stumbles once the last one is dismantled, groaning, and finally begins to cough. She has to lean against the entrance's ladder to catch her balance.
"Ahsoka, are you alright?" Senator Amidala asks. The Commander doesn't push herself off of the ladder immediately, which is telling.
"I'm alright," the padawan lies. When she finally turns back towards them, Cutup is stunned at how sickly she looks. She sways on her feet, clutching to the ladder for all she's worth. Captain Rex shoulders his way through the men and sidesteps the Senator, placing a careful hand on the Commander's shoulder.
"You did good, kid," he tells her calmly. "The droids are all taken care of. Let's set up camp right here, so as soon as the Generals return with the cure we'll be ready and waiting at an entrance for them."
"Good call, Rex," Commander Tano says weakly. "Let me… I have to contact my Master first."
"I'll give you a hand," Senator Amidala says. She helps the Commander get to her feet. Once she's standing the Commander is able to keep her balance, but her shoulders are slumped, and her head lolls as if she's having a hard time keeping it up.
While the two women contact the Generals, Rex turns to the men. He takes off his helmet. His face is deathly pale, and dark veins crisscross his cheeks.
"We won't be able to do much soon," he tells them grimly. "Do a quick search of the nearby area, find anything that might be useful, and gather it here. Then get comfortable. We can't do anything but wait from here on out."
They scatter without saluting him. No one has the energy to do so. It's here that Cutup's vision starts to blur—whether it's from the pain slowly spreading from his chest to his whole body or a side effect of the actual poison, he isn't sure. Fives puts a trembling hand on his shoulder and guides him to sit down against the wall, pulling his helmet off. Cutup coughs.
"Stay here, brother," Fives tells him. "You've done enough for now."
Cutup opens his mouth to complain, because he's not helpless yet, but instead of words, he coughs again. It's getting worse, and not just in him—Fives himself coughs as he leaves, nearly doubling over from the force of it.
Cutup zones out until he hears voices drawing closer again. Tipper slumps to the ground next to him, shoved into place by Docks, who similarly insists that Tipper has done enough. Tipper doesn't even try to protest, just tilts his head back against the wall and breathes raggedly. His eyes are screwed tightly shut. Cutup doesn't have the energy to comfort him.
When Fives returns, Cutup peers up at him blearily. He's ashamed that his brother is working and he is not, so he tries to stand, but Fives pushes him back down before he can get far. Cutup hates that he's grateful for it. Even just attempting to stand had sent pain through his body.
"We didn't find too much," Fives says, talking just loud enough so that Tipper can hear, too. He takes of his helmet. The black veins make Cutup cringe. "There is a water pipe nearby, though. We should be able to tap into it."
Water sounds amazing. Cutup's throat aches from coughing so much.
As Fives moves closer, Cutup suddenly realizes that he's limping. He doesn't remember Fives taking a hit during their skirmishes.
"What's wrong with your leg?" he asks slowly. Fives shrugs a bit guiltily.
"I may or may not have jumped out of a gunship," he answers, and Cutup knows it'll only make things worse but he can't swallow the laugh the bursts from his throat. That's such a Fives thing to do.
Then he stops laughing, because Fives has been running around the base with an injured leg this whole time. Cutup hadn't even noticed. How hadn't he noticed?
"Hey, hey!" Fives is suddenly saying. He's shaking Cutup, who gasps from the lance of agony that overwhelms him at Fives' assault. "You have to talk to me, Cutup. Don't zone out like that."
He'd zoned out again? Cutup hadn't realized. "Sorry," he mumbles. "'M just tired."
"I know," Fives says. "I am, too."
Cutup blinks at him slowly. The world is starting to go just a little fuzzy at the edges.
"Sit down with me, then," he offers. "You're tired too. And injured."
Fives shakes his head.
"No, not yet," he tells Cutup gently. "I knew it would be like this. I was prepared for it. I knew it would hurt, so I can resist it better. That's why I'm here. You've got to stay with me, understood? Echo and the rest will kill me if I don't bring you back."
Cutup flinches.
"M'sorry," he slurs out. "M'sorry, Fives. This is my fault—"
Fives claps a hand over Cutup's mouth.
"It's not," he says firmly (but still gently, which Cutup is grateful for). "You didn't choose to come here, and you didn't force me to follow. I made this choice. I wasn't going to lose you so easily."
"Earlier you said… we could fight it?" Cutup asks him doubtfully. Fives nods.
"Just stay awake," he tells Cutup. "That's all you have to do to fight it, is stay awake. I know you're strong enough. You want to live, right?"
Cutup grits his teeth.
"Yeah. I want to live. There's still stuff to do. We have to fix things. We have to—"
Fives shushes him. "Good. As long as you want to live, you haven't given up. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to make sure you live. You trust me?"
Cutup does trust Fives. He nods a weak affirmative, and Fives smiles.
"Stay awake," he tells him, and goes to talk to the Captain.
Staying awake is hard. Especially because it hurts. Slipping under, succumbing to the darkness, will take the pain away, but he promised Fives he wouldn't sleep. He promised, so he fights it.
He spends an indeterminable time trapped between varying degrees of clarity. In one moment, his senses are dulled, and he'll feel brief sensations of hands skirting against his face, or hear the gentle murmur of a brother's voice. In the next moment everything is sharp and painful. Senator Amidala kneels in front of him at one such moment, and wearily he notices that her eyes are brown with gold flecks scattered through her irises—a detail he never would have taken the time to notice ordinarily. She dabs a wet cloth across his forehead, and the coldness of the rag is so startling to him that it hurts. He blinks, and everything goes fuzzy again. He catches a glimpse of blond hair, and hears muffled coughing that could be his own just as much as it could be someone else's.
He's in a state of lucidity when the Commander's strength finally fails her. He's surprised it had taken this long. She's smaller than the rest of them, and her body is less developed—her own willpower is the only thing that's been keeping her going until now.
Captain Rex catches her as she falls, and everyone with enough strength left to watch pretends not to notice the way his arms shake at her weight (little as it is).
Cutup loses time again, the next time everything goes fuzzy. His own breathing is loud and uncontrollable. For a while he uses the sound to ground him, coughing weakly every other inhalation and wondering how long they've been here for.
When sanity returns to him once more, Fives is kneeling in front of him. His brother looks terrible. Cutup says so without really meaning to, and realizes that he's still somewhat delirious despite the rare clarity of his senses. Fives grins at him, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah? You don't look so good yourself," he rasps out hoarsely. "Look in a mirror lately? We make a sorry pair." Cutup doesn't have the resilience to respond. When Fives leans forwards to squeeze some water into Cutup's mouth, Cutup's eyes drift passed him and notice a limp body in the background, covered by a scavenged tarp. He jerks in realization, immediately regretting it when the motion sends waves of pain through his feeble body.
"Who," he gasps out. "Who, Fives?"
Fives shakes his head sorrowfully. "The Sergeant," he answers softly. "Tipper's still holding on, but barely. The Senator won't leave his side. Captain Rex is trying to help the Commander, but he's not going to last long."
Cutup's next exhale is shaky, tainted by hopelessness. Sergeant Docks had been a good man. He hadn't deserved to go out in such a stupid way. None of them did.
"What 'bout you?" he gets out. Fives shrugs, flinching slightly at the motion.
"I'm fine," he lies. "Stay awake, it won't be long now." Fives tries to stand… and can't. His brother's limbs refuse to cooperate.
"Sithspit," Fives groans. "Blast it, not now! We're so close, just a little longer…"
Cutup's entire body aches. Coughing sends throbbing agony through his nerves, and he can practically feel his lungs failing.
"Fives…" he starts weakly. "Fives, stay with me... for a bit? Then get up."
Fives stares at him. They both know he won't be getting up again. Fives shuffles closer to Cutup so they're shoulder to shoulder against the wall.
"Just stay awake, Cutup, you hear me?" Fives repeats. "We're strong enough to beat this. We've got things to do, remember?"
"Docks was strong," Cutup whispers. "Now he's dead."
He can't see Fives' face anymore, but he can feel his brother tense at his side.
"Don't," Fives says. "Don't you dare think like that. I've got you, hear me? We can beat this."
Cutup wants to respond. He really does, but his tongue refuses to obey him.
"Hey, Cutup. Talk to me, brother!"
Cutup opens his mouth again, but words won't come out. Black spots suddenly swirl across his vision, blinding him for a few disorienting moments.
"Fives?" he tries to say, but it sounds more like "Fvvss?" His eyelids are heavy.
"Hey, hey. Stay awake! We've got stuff to do, remember? You only have to last a little longer, then you can sleep!"
Cutup moans. He hurts. He wants to sleep.
"Cutup! Stay with me, brother, don't give up now! Don't make me have come down here for nothing!"
Cutup knows he needs to stay awake. He tries, he tries, but it's not easy. He thinks he zones out again, because when he opens his eyes just a crack Fives is shaking him again. The only problem is, he can't feel it. Fives is shaking him but Cutup can't feel it at all.
Fives is calling his name. Cutup can hear it, but as if Fives is a long, long ways away. Darkness is creeping across his vision, making everything fade—
Kriff. He's losing. He's losing, he can't hang on to consciousness—
"Cutup, keep your eyes open! Stay here, just a little longer! No, no—can you hear me? Cutup! You can't—please, you have to hang on! I didn't come this far just to watch you die! Stay awake! Cutup! Please… stay with me, brother! Cutup? Cutup!"
A/N: Ahh... this was fun to write. So much angst. I'm not apologizing.
Thank you to those who have left reviews or favorites on this story! You guys are amazing, and keep me going! More chapters are on the way!