Chapter 5 - They'll Run Into Smoke
Author's Note: Thoughts and predictions, everyone? :)
~ Amina Gila
They run for the nearest exit door, which opens onto a balcony off the top level of the building. Clones are running down the street below, alongside a tank. Wrecker and the other clone join up with them moments later.
"There," Hunter says, moving to the edge of the balcony and pointing to the tank. "We'll seize that tank and blow our way outta here." Still as fast at thinking as Anakin remembers him as.
"Let me deal with it," Anakin requests, and he nods.
Anakin jumps off the rail onto the top of the tank, blaster drawn. It'd be so much easier if he could use his lightsaber, but these are clones, and he doesn't want to hurt them.
It only takes a minute to stun all the clones on the walker, and he jumps back to the top. "All clear," Anakin calls to them.
It's almost insane how badly he's missed fighting with clones.
He resolutely does not think about how badly he misses Rex and Jesse or any of his own men back home.
Wrecker fires a grappling cable onto the tank, and Anakin jumps back inside, giving them room to come on.
Tech instantly gets to work on taking control of the walker, and Wrecker much too gleefully throws the other clones out the door.
Of course, they hardly make it anywhere before another nearby walker starts firing at them. The walker jolts, nearly throwing him off balance as one of its legs gives out and they drop to the ground.
"The rear axle stabilizer is offline," Tech reports, "We will need to recalibrate manually."
Anakin sighs, glancing around. "I only know one way out," he says, "It's a bit incriminating, but I don't know what else to do." This is not the kind of attention they wanted, but really, he couldn't expect anything else. If he was alone, he could have taken the Senator out the way he came in, but with all of them here? There's too many. They'd never be able to go unnoticed.
"What are you thinking?" Hunter asks, a shred warily.
Anakin pulls out his lightsaber. "Best way to fight tanks."
Hunter glances at the still unnamed member, who shrugs in response. The exchange strikes Anakin as a little odd – in his time, Hunter was the oldest, and he was in charge. That's definitely still true here, but whoever this is, he and Hunter have... a very different relationship. It reminds Anakin a little of how, at the start of the war, he always used to look to Rex for help on how to lead, because he wasn't sure how to do it. He got used to it fast enough, and nor does he think this is the same, but it's still... odd.
"Tech, get this bucket up and running," Hunter orders, turning back to him. "Wrecker and I will help hold them off."
Anakin jumps out of the walker door, scanning their surroundings. There's one tank right behind them, no doubt more on their way, and a good number of troops on the ground. The tank is what's dangerous, so he goes for that, leaving the others to Hunter and Wrecker.
They're perfectly capable of holding their own just fine.
The tank is preparing to fire on the one they borrowed, so Anakin cuts off the cannon part of it with his lightsaber, ripping it open and jumping down inside.
Another cannon blast flies over the top of his tank, striking the ground nearby where Hunter and Wrecker are. The ground shudders from the explosion.
Another tank must be approaching from behind him, and Anakin jumps clear of his right before a second blast strikes it, blowing it up, too.
Wrecker is down. Not down down, but down. He was thrown into a wall or something from the explosion, and Anakin can feel Hunter panicking. He's nine. Force, it's so easy to forget that.
Wrecker's hand is pressed to his helmet, and he's mumbling out an incoherent string of something like "good soldiers follow orders." The words make him sick, and it reminds Anakin of Tup, but that's not something he wants to think about.
He's not getting back up. That's what's worrying him the most – the clones don't do that. The last time this happened, it was right before Tup lost his mind, and – and that's what led to the whole string of events where Fives died.
It's not something he wants to think about, and he definitely doesn't want to let the same thing happen to Wrecker, or to any of them.
But again, it's something he'll have to worry about later.
The Force twinges with warning, and Anakin catches sight of a group of clones heading towards where Tech is.
"Hunter," he calls over the chaos, "Go find Tech."
"I'm not leaving Wrecker," he argues.
"You'll have to trust me," Anakin replies, Force-shoving a group of approaching clones. "I'll cover for him. You need to go."
He senses Hunter's wariness, but he moves, anyway.
"Wrecker, come on," Anakin urges. He can't turn back to him, because he needs to stay focused on covering for him, but they need to go. "We have to go."
Anakin waits until he spots Hunter approaching again to turn back to Wrecker, grabbing his arm and hauling him up. He's hurt, but he can walk, though he definitely hit his head pretty hard. A minor concussion, probably.
He's never seen Wrecker injured before, but that this was enough to get him down still worries him.
The tank is up and running again, and it's time to go.
**w**
The Senator, thankfully, figures out a way out before anything gets too bad. It could've gone much worse, otherwise. They blow a hole in the wall and run into the forest before the clones can find them.
This is also where they need to figure out exactly what's happening. The Batch obviously rescued the Senator for something, and from the underlying hostility he senses, it has nothing to do with morals or... anything like that. They're obviously working for someone, though Anakin still doesn't know who, or why.
Anakin comms Asajj to tell her he's going with the Batch to... wherever they're taking the Senator. There's not time to ask, and he doesn't worry about it right now. Anakin wants to trust them, but he doesn't know if he should. Even if he can trust them, there's no guarantee he can trust whoever they're working for.
None of them really talk on the way. There's a sort of tension in the air that Anakin has no doubt is either him, the Senator, or, more likely, both. They don't trust him, and they have no reason to. Anakin isn't fully certain he can trust them, either.
They're heading for Ord Mantell. Anakin's been there before a few times, and that's when he finally puts it together. They're working for Cid – she used to be a Jedi informant, and no doubt, had a similar role here.
There are far more people at her parlor than Anakin expected – something about betting, and really, Anakin doesn't pay it much attention.
The only part that really matters is that the center of attention is someone who... she's young, a child they must've picked up on the way. She's good at the... game, whatever it is she's playing that everyone's so taken up with.
Hunter is... definitely unhappy about the child – her name's Omega, Anakin picks up from the conversation – drawing so much attention. They're trying to hide from the Empire. That much is clear, but leaving her here by herself is...
Not a good idea. Granted, Anakin understands very little about their situation, but leaving her here alone surrounded by these people is far from a good idea.
Hunter's nine, though. He never had a parent, either. He'd have no way of knowing. Raising a child is hard. Anakin struggled with Ahsoka so much at first, and at least he had his mother. He wasn't entirely lost and alone.
Anakin was planning to let the conversation pass entirely until Cid shoves Hunter. She's a Trandoshan, and they're... always inclined towards violence, but when Anakin sees it, he just... can't.
"Hey," Anakin cuts in, stepping forwards, shoving Cid back and glaring. "Maybe he's wrong, but that doesn't mean you get to hit him."
"Well, well," Cid says, whacking Anakin's hand aside like it's nothing, and to a Trandoshan, it really is. "Who's this?"
"I'm a Jedi," Anakin replies, "So my name wouldn't mean anything to you, but I'd think twice about hitting the people who fought for your safety."
"How'd you pick up this one?" she asks, looking at Hunter.
"Accident," Hunter answers.
"I'm not staying," Anakin replies, "I just came for the Senator. I know some people who he knows."
Cid turns away, huffing. "Good. I'm not taking in any more strays." She pats Omega's shoulder as she passes. "You did good, kid."
Anakin scoffs, glaring after her, but she's taking the Senator to the back, and that's where he needs to be. Anakin touches Hunter's shoulder fleetingly as he passes, moving to the back.
Hunter feels hurt, and Anakin has never sensed that on him before. When Anakin knew him, he was just... playful. Light. Cheerful. Hopeful. Maybe he was more serious than the rest of his brothers, and far more level-headed, but he was never depressed. Seeing him like this hurts, but Anakin files that away for later, opting to focus on the now of trying to figure out what to do.
The Bad Batch were obviously sent in to rescue the Senator by Cid as a job, and... well, they'll need credits, so he's not gonna argue that.
He's just as lost at trying to survive.
Anakin offers to have his... friends come to pick up the Senator and take him to the CIS remnants, which he agrees to, and they leave it at that. They're already on the way, after all. When Anakin comes back out from the back, it's to see Hunter and Omega playing a round of dejarik.
His helmet's off now, and it's the first Anakin's seen him relaxed enough to take it off. It's almost jarring how much older he looks now, but the clones grow fast, and for Anakin, it's been about six months. That's over a year for the clones, and Hunter's still physically in his teens.
Anakin watches them from the side, arms crossed, just... observing. They're close. They remind him of himself and Ahsoka, and he misses her so badly. He has no idea when he'll ever see her again, but he's not going to give up trying.
It lasts until she wins, and Omega squeals gleefully.
Hunter looks half exasperated, but he gives her a half-hearted smile, anyway.
Anakin approaches them a little, and Hunter shifts back, looking up at him. "We never asked your name," he says.
Anakin shrugs a little. "I'm Anakin Skywalker," he replies, "There's... I have many questions, but I do not think this –" he gestures around them, "–Is a good place to discuss it."
"Why did you help us?" Hunter queries, standing.
"We were on the same mission," Anakin points out. "I don't see a reason not to."
"But how do you know us?" Hunter asks.
"Yeah," the unnamed one agrees, "How do you know us?" His helmet's off when Anakin turns to him, and he freezes when he sees his face.
He looks like all the clones, but they all have the most minimal differences. He's – he's not Anakin's, but everything snaps into focus the moment he sees the tattoo on his face.
Fives.
Fives.
Oh, Force.
No wonder he felt so familiar.
No wonder the way he talked and moved, the way he – everything gave Anakin a sense of deja vu.
No wonder he reminded Anakin of Echo but was too similar and different for Anakin to figure it out.
Fives has been dead in his mind for months, and it hurts so much; Anakin just... he never stopped thinking about him. He never could. Fives was his best friend. They – Anakin trusted him, and they weren't closer than he and Rex, but there was just something about Fives' chaos and loyalty and – Fives that it drew Anakin to him in a way he could never be close with anyone else.
"Fives?" Anakin breathes.
He wants to cry. He wants to – he doesn't even know, but he's missed him so badly. Fives meant so much to all of them, and his death was so senseless. He didn't have to die. Anakin was standing right there, but there was nothing he could do. Staying together for Rex had taken everything he had. He and Fives had worked together throughout nearly the entire war.
Anakin had no idea how to go on without him for a long time.
He still doesn't.
"How do you know us?" Fives demands. There's no softness or recognition in his eyes. He looks angry, tense. Defensive. He's afraid, and he's showing it as anger. He's so much darker than the Fives Anakin knew. It reminds him of how he got after losing Echo, but this is worse.
He never expected to see Fives here.
Qui-Gon was hard, but Fives –
"It's complicated," Anakin manages, "Maybe we should go to your ship, where it's – it's more..."
Hunter glances at the others, and Omega looks up at him. "What's a Jedi?" she asks before Hunter can reply.
"They're like the Sith," Fives replies, "Basically, just the same, only a bit more moronic."
"They're very different," Anakin argues, "The Sith are selfish. They only think inwardly, about themselves. The Jedi serve others, or... at least they're supposed to."
Fives scoffs.
"We can go to the Marauder," Hunter agrees.
Fives is glaring at him, and Anakin tries to pretend it doesn't hurt.
"The Jedi fought against us in the Clone Wars," Tech interjects as they move for the door, "It is... difficult to imagine working with one."
"Wrecker was injured," Anakin blurts out at random, trying to distract himself. "You might want to check him over."
Force. This is so much like what happened last time, and he can't let another version of Fives die.
It feels like he's being thrown back into the past, back into the nightmare of how it happened before, and he's so, so afraid of losing Fives a second time over.
They need him.
He and Hunter seem almost strangely close.
They settle down in their respective seats in the Marauder, just looking at each other.
"Who exactly are you?" Fives demands, staring at him, "And how do you know us?"
"It's complicated," Anakin tells him again, "You might not even believe me."
"Why not?" Omega asks, leaning forwards, eyes bright. "It can't be that strange."
He laughs, even if the levity fades fast.
"It is. I'm from... another place. I lived another life somewhere... else. Somewhere that... I did know you." He looks at Tech, because if anyone would understand, it's him. "Have you ever heard of the multiverse?"
"Uh, what's that?" Wrecker asks over Tech's mumbled no.
Here they go. "It's a... place where..." Force, he has no idea how to explain things. Anakin doesn't mind explaining things. He just minds when everyone is staring at him like he has all the answers in the universe, when he knows exactly how stupid he really is. Even now, the you failed them, you failed your mother, you failed Qui-Gon, you failed Fives is whispering in his mind.
"We live on a timeline," Anakin settles for, "Somewhere within time and space. The multiverse is something... beyond time, where there are... other versions of us, who... made different choices, and lived different lives. Does that make sense?"
Wrecker and Omega are staring at him blankly.
"No," Fives says grumpily, arms crossed, still glaring.
"Actually, yes," Tech objects.
Hunter sighs, eyes darting to his brothers. "Go on," he requests.
"In the timeline I'm from, there was no Empire. At least there wasn't from where I was. I... something went wrong. I don't know what, but I was fighting a Sith, and he somehow opened a wormhole through reality. I got sucked through, and I landed... on Coruscant. I escaped, but I..."
"That doesn't answer how you knew us."
Hunter sighs again. He's giving Fives a pointed look, requesting to be re-given leadership role. He's seen that look on the clones countless times.
Fives huffs a little, but he finally catches it, and settles back a little.
"I fought with the clones during the war," Anakin replies, "During the Clone Wars. The CIS was called the Separatists, people who were breaking away from the Republic because they didn't believe in it. I was the General of... the 501st. Fives was an ARC trooper."
"I thought you said they were different times," Hunter objects, "Why do they sound so... similar?"
Fives was with the 501st here, too? Anakin isn't going to think about that too hard. He's too afraid to ask about Rex. "I assume events are... always meant to happen similarly."
"We never served with a Sith," Hunter says, "How did you meet us?"
"I... I worked with you on a mission," Anakin replies, biting his lip, eyes darting to Fives. "Fives –" He knows his voice breaks over the name, but he genuinely doesn't care. "– Was... gone by then. There were four of you. Crosshair... I don't know what happened to him. But – but I knew you. Briefly. Echo was... your fifth member."
Fives inhales sharply at the name. He slams his helmet down on the chair next to him. "Echo's dead," he snaps.
"So were you," Anakin replies, blinking a few times. "You were my best friend, Fives. He was with us for – for a while. We lost him. We thought he was gone. That's what you died believing." He inhales deeply, trying to get a grip on himself, but he's crying, anyway. Didn't mean to. Doesn't really care. They're clones. They're safe. "We found Echo just after. He was a Separatist... experiment. He joined you after you helped rescue him."
He doesn't want to think about this. He still remembers the feel of Fives' life fading into the Force after he hit the floor, a blaster hole burned through his chest. There's – more about that he needs to get to. So much more. "I still don't understand what happened to Crosshair, and I never knew Omega."
"Well, we found Omega later," Hunter supplies, "We took her from Kamino the same time we left the Empire. It was... changing, and we couldn't stand for what it was becoming."
Anakin nods a little.
"And Crosshair," Hunter continues, looking away, "Didn't come with us."
"What?" Anakin breathes, "Why would he not come with you? You meant everything to each other."
"Apparently not," Fives replies, "He turned on us. He shot Wrecker."
What in the stars has he walked into?
"It wasn't his fault," Omega pipes up. "You shouldn't be angry at him."
Everyone stills at that.
"She is correct," Tech agrees, and Anakin starts, gut twisting uncomfortably. There's more to this that he doesn't understand, or like. It's going a way he doesn't like, at least. "There is a possibility Crosshair's inhibitor chip was influencing his actions."
"What?" Anakin whispers.
No.
Nononono.
This isn't happening. Not again.
"Inhibitor chips," Omega repeats, "The Kaminoans put inhibitor chips in all the clones."
Not again. This can't be happening again. Force.
He's panicking. This is bad. They don't have time for it.
"Good soldiers follow orders."
"I can't believe Fives would try to assassinate the Chancellor."
"Fives may no longer be the man you once knew."
"We just want to talk to you."
"I just need you to listen to me. Please."
"I don't know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this."
"I swear to you, General, you have no idea –"
"Stand down, soldier!"
"Get away from me!"
"Fives. Stay with me. Fives!"
He remembers every minute of that. All of it. Start to finish.
Anakin knew everything with Tup was the start of something... bad, but he is not going to lose Fives again. Fives' death is something that will haunt him forever.
He tangles his hands into his hair, half yanking on the strands because it hurts, and the pain is grounding. "Tup," Anakin whispers.
They're all staring at him.
"You knew him, too?" Fives asks.
"Of course," Anakin answers, blinking a few times. "You were – you were close with him. He was the start of it. Of everything. I know about the inhibitor chips. They were put in you to... I don't know the medical details. The Kaminoans said it was necessary. Tup's... broke down and he... lost his mind." Anakin's eyes jump to Wrecker, and he shifts a little. "Wrecker, do you remember what happened on Raxus after you hit your head?"
"Uh," Wrecker says, shifting a bit and absently rubbing his head, "A little. Did something important happen?"
"Yes."
This is so, so similar. Anakin doesn't want to think about it, but here it is – playing out in front of his eyes again, as if whispering a taunting you're not strong enough to save them, you are the sun-dragon, but you failed, you will always fail.
"I won't fail again."
He doesn't want to do this. Doesn't think he can.
They are going to want to know more, knowing how they are, how Tech is, but maybe – if there's a chance they could lose Wrecker, that he could lose his mind and hurt them, they deserve to know. Anakin is just terrified to know what else that could lead to.
"It happened back during the war," he says, sitting back. "It happened to Top. Something happened to his inhibitor chip, and it started... decaying. He turned on the Jedi we were fighting with and killed her. We couldn't understand what happened, but I... he kept saying that." Anakin looks at Wrecker, hands twisting together in his lap. "Good soldiers follow orders. He kept repeating it. That was all we could get out of him."
He doesn't want to think about any of this, but they have to know.
"I sent him back to Kamino," Anakin continues, "I didn't know what else to do. He wasn't himself. His mind felt... different." When he thinks about it, for the briefest moment, he felt the same darkness on Wrecker, the same disassociation and distance. Like he's there, but not. "Fives went with him, and allegedly, removed Tup's inhibitor chip. He died from it, but he and... Fives removed his own."
He squeezes his eyes closed, trying to keep explaining without falling into the nightmare again.
"He lost his mind," Anakin continues quietly, "He tried to assassinate the Chancellor. I – Rex and I were trying to help him, but it was all so fast, and... He trapped us in a ray shield so we couldn't help him when the Coruscant Guard showed up. They were trying to arrest him. He wouldn't stop fighting."
He was scared.
Anakin could see it then, but all seemed so unreal, and it was so confusing.
If he'd listened, maybe he would've realized that Fives was... right. Maybe he would have realized who Palpatine was before it was too late.
"But that's not what's important right now," Anakin adds, "If what happened to Tup is happening to Wrecker, we have to figure something out before it gets... too far along."
"Do you think he could die?" Omega whispers, eyes wide, gripping Wrecker's hand.
He loathes having to tell her this, but she deserves to know the truth, too. "I – I don't know. The Kaminoans would have known how to treat Tup, and it... didn't work. I don't know if it's the same, but it..."
They said Crosshair left. Tech and Omega said it was his chip. That's how this entire conversation started. Does... wait.
"If Crosshair's chip was active, why weren't yours?"
"The Kaminoans manipulated preexisting aberrations in our DNA, resulting in Wrecker's brute strength, Hunter's enhanced senses, and my exceptional mind," Tech replies, "My guess is we are immune to the effects of the programming, though I can't be one hundred percent certain of it."
"Then we need to figure out what to do," Anakin says, "I think we'll need to scan him, and I don't know of a place we can do that at if we can't go to Kamino." Actually... "Unless we can get to a Star Destroyer."
"Any Star Destroyer would have a far too strong Imperial presence," Hunter objects instantly.
"Unless it's in a shipyard," Anakin replies, "I knew some in my timeline, but right now, going there would be a guess. All planets seem mostly the same, though."
"Well, what are you thinking?" Hunter queries.
"Bracca. But we'll have to be ready for anything. There are people there, and we'll have to keep it low."
"Doesn't sound like we have much choice," Hunter replies, pushing himself to his feet. "Exactly how bad do you think the danger is?"
"I don't know." Doesn't want to think about it. He's still processing what happened to Crosshair, and he still doesn't know much about how Fives ended up with them here. It feels like he hardly knows anything about them. Still doesn't understand who Omega is. "It could be severe. It may not be that dangerous. I... don't know. I wasn't that close with Tup."
Hunter nods, though he looks worried. They all are. Anakin can feel it, and he wishes he had something more to say to them, but really, he doesn't.
"I think I should meditate a bit first," Anakin requests, "This is... a bit of a lot to process."
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