Chapter 11 - Love You're Not Alone
This was so much better in my head it's not even funny
~ Rivana Rita
Wrecker peels himself out of the wreckage, stumbling out the opening in his human form again. He throbs all over, and he's getting' really, really tired. They've been fighting for a long time, and the Mother keeps conjuring monsters. Giant, spooky monsters.
He's getting, really, really tired of all these monsters.
Wrecker stumbles through, trying to shake the exhaustion in every inch of his body. He feels wayyy more tired than he ought to. Maybe it's from not sleeping much? He hasn't been able to sleep in a very long time.
He's just made it through when Hunter suddenly goes down, and Wrecker panics. Hunter's nearly died so many times and Wrecker is terrified to lose him. Hunter's all he's had.
"Hunter!" he yelps, running to him.
Hunter groans softly, twitching on the ground. "It's okay," he whispers, panting when Wrecker grasps his shoulder and shakes him like that should be enough to bring him back. "It's Anakin. He's absorbing our power. It was meant to be his."
"You're gonna lose it?"
Hunter's wings rustle a little. "Uh – no. I don't think so. I don't know." He groans softly. "It hurts, though. I'll be fine."
Wrecker just hovers over him until he hears a shifting buzzing in the fabric of the energy inside him, linking him to someone else. He knows him, and it feels right.
It feels nice, actually.
The presence is dark but brighter than it was, and Wrecker turns back from where he's hovering by Hunter. General Skywalker climbs over the palace's edge, pulling himself up and standing.
Everything stills, even the lightning streaking through the air.
"Anakin," the Mother says, deflating a little.
He doesn't speak, but something snaps and twists over him, the same way Wrecker does when he shifts, and his form changes. His armor melts into a dark, coarse fabric, similar to the robes he wore. His helmet fades into the same face Wrecker remembers, except that his eyes are yellow, and his cape morphs off into a flowing cloak.
Huh. He can change his form, too? That's cool.
"You shouldn't have killed the Emperor," he warns.
Wrecker is starting to think everyone mean has someone really, really who likes them.
The former Jedi reaches out, twisting at the center of the cloud, ripping.
The cloud cries out, thrashing, the voice mixing with others until he doesn't know what's her and somethin' else. It sounds awful and Wrecker kinda almost feels bad for her.
"Here." Commander Tano's hand grabs his with her much tinier one, Omega on her other side. "We gotta help him. Our combined powers should be stronger than hers."
"We hafta share power?" Wrecker asks worriedly.
"It calls to me. We have to try." It feels right, and he closes his eyes, trynna just feel Omega and Echo's kid in his mind. It comes in with a rush of calm and gentleness. It crawls up his arm and into his mind, working through him – the energy is everywhere, burning through him, but it finally doesn't hurt.
He doesn't know why Hunter reacted so bad. Wrecker feels all soft and warm everywhere, and it feels amazing.
He feels Ahsoka's fierce determination and Omega's desperation to find whatever it is that's been fueling their longing. Their wills are the same – to save their galaxy and stop this destruction – and they reach out together, Ahsoka guiding their energy towards her center.
Crosshair and Tech are upright across from them, hands clasped between them. Their energy comes in short, cut and prickled, but it's there enough to tear the hole they're trying to.
An explosion rips out, leaving the air smoky and hazy.
Wrecker slowly peaks up to see the cloud again, though much smaller and shattered somehow. Emerie's lying on the ground. She's still, unconscious, but Wrecker feels so much better seeing her again.
Anakin ignites his lightsaber.
The Mother jerks her cloudy gray hand, shifting on her lower base – she's too blurry for Wrecker to see her form, because she's a cloud, but he can vaguely make out limbs moving beneath the fog. She conjures a silver blade of her own, and their blades clash. "Who do you think brought Jesse and Kix back?" He cuts at her, and she parries it, backpedaling, dodging his next stab and swinging her leg over his blade when he nearly takes the limb off.
She swings out, shoving his blade aside and kicking him in the shin. He drops to a knee, but she's already reaching out, ripping a reality hole. It's sparkling green and red at the edges. Wrecker Feels the hum of his and Tech's powers in it, the parts that don't belong to them.
There's something of an illusion in the center of it, like watching a holo but red-tinted and distant.
What is she doin'?
He sees a star destroyer crashing onto a moon. A fighter flying away, then the Mother clenches her hand and twists. He feels the lives springing to life on the other side, an explosion of energy rushing outwards as reality itself is rewritten.
"I gave them back to you, Anakin."
"That already happened," Hunter argues, eyes narrowing on her.
"I don't want to fight you," she answers, "You're my family."
"You bring chaos," Anakin replies, straightening again, his cloak blowing in the howling wind. It's rushing through Hunter's wings, too, rustling his gray feathers. "All you do is turn families on each other. Those who should never have fought."
"You're a traitor, too, Anakin."
A speeder bike sounds, and Echo flies up with the dagger again. He jumps off, looking around and moving to Anakin's side.
"Echo," she starts.
"Stop talking," Echo orders, slashing at her. She backs away, quiet, but the energy grid is twisting again, energy whirring as she reaches out and rips another soul from the Force. Omega's panting a little, teeth gritted. Every reality warp is hurting her.
Wrecker thinks it's making the ground feel shaky somehow. The air, too, and that makes no sense.
"Stop," Anakin orders, lightsaber raised. "You'll destroy –"
The red light flares outwards, ripping across all of Coruscant, and he sees figures, hears voices.
There's a bright, smoky light behind them, and Wrecker twitches, frowning in confusion and looking back at the newcomer. Echo's figure is overwritten by a red hologram of himself, and there's another reg there.
"Well, there you are."
"What did you do to your hair?" Echo asks, staring at him, disbelief and hurt rolling off of him in waves.
Ahsoka gasps softly beside Wrecker. "That's Fives," she whispers.
"B – but I thought he was dead?" Wrecker splutters out, confused.
"He was," Ahsoka answers, "Abeloth is bringing people back that are already gone. She's rewriting reality. It's going to destroy this place."
Wrecker feels it, too. The edges of reality are shuddering, shifting with uncertainty.
"Take me home, Echo."
Echo ripples back into reality, and he jerks forwards. Fives catches him and then they're wrapped in each other's arms, the dagger clanking to the ground.
"I told you." The Mother's voice is soft. "No one deserves to be alone. Not even me. Which was why I made another."
Anakin throws her. She's flung backwards, rolling over several times before making it upright She's far more humanoid than she used to be. She's a humanoid cloud, though her shimmering purplish red eyes are still huge and creepy.
They're supposed to be fighting her.
She's scared, though. Wrecker can feel it, and he feels really, really bad.
He doesn't want to hurt her.
The Mother is gathering her powers again – Wrecker feels the rippling danger and he has a very, very bad feeling about it. She is gonna shred everything.
Wrecker reaches out, gripping the edges of her power and pushing against it, straining and struggling to force the energy back into her instead of letting it tear out again.
"What good will bringing them back be if you just kill them?" Hunter demands.
"I – I'm not – stop fighting, Wrecker!" The strain is draining and his head is swimming but he can't let her kill all of his family. "Let me do this," she demands, "Just once."
"This is the third time, actually," Crosshair informs her.
She lets up unexpectedly, straightening and surveying them.
Wrecker hasn't heard from the giant monster from earlier, but hopefully those operatives or whatever they are will keep it busy. He doesn't wanna deal with them, either.
Something feels wrong, and then gravity swivels to somewhere behind them, jerking everyone back. Omega yelps, and Wrecker stumbles, fighting against it to rip out whatever she did and reverse it too normal.
Emerie's still lying there, and it's freaking him out.
Anakin is wrapping the Force around her. Hunter adds his own aqua swirling mist to it, wrapping around her and holding, shielding against her and any twisting Force-attempt she could make. Crosshair and Omega join in on either side.
Tech – doesn't. He's just standing there, watching, and Wrecker feels inclined to do the same even if he knows he should be helpful. He's just – she couldn't be all bad, right? She's scared of them, and she really, really does wanna help, even if she's ruining everything.
She struggles, but she can't break free.
General Kenobi is holding the dagger now. He must have picked it up from where Echo dropped it when he went to Fives. "We have to kill her," he speaks up again.
Wrecker looks at Hunter worriedly.
It just feels kind of – wrong? She cares about them. He knows she does. Maybe there's a way to talk her down just like there was with Crosshair?
And she's panicking now. She's not strong enough to break free anymore, and She might be awful, but she also gave Echo Fives back. She can't be all bad.
"That's not the Jedi way," Ahsoka warns softly, hands clenched at her sides.
People are still dying nearby, still bein' hurt, and Wrecker hates it, but the cloud girl just looks so harmless. Well, he knows she's not, but hurting her right now just sits very badly on him.
General Kenobi turns to look at her. His eyes are red and black, the same way Crosshair's get when he's being creepy. He absorbed their powers? How did Wrecker not notice that? "There's no other choice. She'll break free and destroy everything."
"All I wanted was you." She's afraid of them with a raw, gutted fear that reminds Wrecker of his own towards Crosshair back then. "I want a family. I – I've been alone for so long, I –"
"Stop talking," Crosshair snaps. He's struggling, panting and nearly falling from the strain pressed against him. Tech reaches out, trying to lock them in place, to freeze this moment in time as they fight out their next course of action.
It'd be so easy. Just stab her in the heart and be done with it all, and she's hurt them all so much, but how can they do that?
She's defenseless. How can they hurt her?
Wrecker watches, wide-eyed, frozen.
The cloud jerks, struggling against their hold, but they're finally stronger than her.
"Whatever you're gonna do, just do it," Hunter calls. "We can't hold this forever."
General Kenobi feels high and Dark in his mind now. It's freaking Wrecker out. He thought Jedi were supposed to be nice. He's not being very nice right now. Did absorbing the Dark from Tech and Crosshair change him?
Ahsoka sighs.
General Kenobi moves closer to her, and she throws him back with her mind, struggling to jerk away. Wrecker could stop her, but he doesn't want to. She's awful but he doesn't want to watch her die.
It feels to – to –
She likes them.
When nobody else does.
Wrecker doesn't trust her, but he doesn't want to put her out of existence entirely, either. Crosshair and Emerie got a chance. Why can't she?
Nearby, Emerie shifts. She rolls over, pushing herself up on her elbow, eyes narrow and jaw clenched. "You're forgetting something." Her voice is firm despite her exhaustion. "I'm yours, and you're mine. You can't escape. You are me."
The cloud's eyes widen. "Wait –"
Wrecker has a split second to think a hopelessly confused what before purple, gray energy snakes out of the cloud's chest, connecting to Emerie's hand. Her body spasms at the surging voltage zapping down her arm and across her body, but she doesn't stop.
The cloud's energy rushes out, pouring into her and lighting the area with a brilliant purple red until Emerie's entire body is shimmering and sparking in almost the same way as Echo's, and another explosion rips through.
It's the one she was trying to get out from before crashes outwards, ripping through all the galaxy, tearing and ripping and shredding.
Wrecker reaches out with a last-minute panic, trying to reach the edges and knit it back together, keeping the fraying edges from tearing.
His mind blanks out. He thinks it was just a minute, but when he's picking himself up again with Ahsoka's hands on his arm to help him up,
Emerie's on the ground again. She's still sparking, and she feels like the Mother now, though in a far calmer, more subdued way. Not all wild and explosive. What in the galaxy did she do? Could she eat the Mother because she ate her? Wrecker has no idea, and he watches, frozen and wide-eyed.
The main part of the cloud is gone, shrunk down to a humanoid figure. She's a togruta, leaning against Anakin as she tries to stay upright. She looks so much like Ahsoka it's creepy, but all togruta's look about the same. Her skin is the same color, and so are her – what were those things called again?
Anakin catches her when she falls, her body sinking into his arms. She's breathing heavily, but her eyes pry open to focus on Ahsoka as she moves closer, and Wrecker suddenly gets the sharp feeling that he's watching something he maybe shouldn't be. "You found her," she whispers. She's smiling, the slight curve of her lips visible even from here. "You found my sister." Her Consciousness fades away and she falls, Anakin lowering her to the ground, his face closed off.
Wrecker runs from there to the kid's side, helping her upright. She looks exhausted, but the fight is finally over.
The Emperor is... dead? He doesn't know what that means.
Through the smoke and ash, Wrecker sees Tech moving to another form. This one motionless. He kneels beside her, wordless and unspeaking.
The presence is gone. She's dead.
Anakin stands, turning away from the togruta to the other body and crouches beside it.
"That was the Mother's original form?" Ahsoka asks quietly.
"Abeloth," he answers, "The split killed her. Her family is gone. It is what she wanted."
Wrecker can't imagine that. What would it be like to lose your entire family? He lost Tech and Crosshair and the kids, but he never lost Hunter. He didn't lose everybody, even if it hurt.
"She belongs on Mortis," he continues, "So does the dagger. We took them from there, and we should return them to where they belong."
"What will you do now?" Hunter queries, standing.
Wrecker reaches to make another mini reality hole to take the body back – if her family's there, she's probably gonna wanna be there, too.
"We'll talk when I'm back."
Anakin yanks the dagger away from General Kenobi – ignoring his disgruntled face – and clips it to his belt. He lifts the body, and they all watch as he steps through the portal and disappears from sight.
He doesn't hear the fighting down below anymore. The Mother's monsters must've disappeared when her power was ripped in half.
Wrecker hates death. It always feels so sad. Especially now that he knows what it's like.
They wait until he's back to move.
Ahsoka is the first over to Anakin, hands clenching at her sides as she looks up at him. "You – you survived."
"I knew you'd find your way back." Ahsoka jolts forwards, throwing her arms around his neck and burrowing herself in his embrace. His arms come around her, cradling her small form against his chest. Wrecker's bond with her burns, humming with a lighted happiness.
"That was Ashla, wasn't it?" Ahsoka asks against his shoulder. "My sister? I thought she was dead."
"She was," Anakin confirms, his face on her montrals. "She was my best friend. For years, when we were growing up – until her master left her to die in a sandstorm."
"She didn't die," Omega interrupts. "I thought it was a dream at first. This kid. She was calling me in a dream on Mortis. I saw her there, and I pulled her out, but then the Mother came and I woke up."
"She found her," Anakin says, "Somehow, she – fused them into one. The power split brought her back."
"There are three of all of us," Tech says, "Perhaps that is what is needed to balance the power."
Wrecker doesn't really care about any of that – he just wants to sleep. And make sure everybody's okay.
"I don't know what happened," Ahsoka confesses in a whisper, pulling back from Anakin's shoulder though she's still holding him. "I – the Empire – I – Maul told me about Sidious. I..."
"Sidious is gone," Anakin replies, "We don't need to worry about him anymore. Ashla saved us. He tried to have you killed. I'm sorry."
"The entire cruiser – it crashed."
"I found Jesse and Kix," Anakin tells her softly, "And all the clones. They're alright. You can come home. You can stay with the Empire. We can remake this into something – better. You won't have to worry about fighting anymore."
Ahsoka gasps shakily, clinging to him again. She's crying.
Anakin pulls her against him, hand on the back of her head, holding her against his chest.
"Wow," says a reg's voice out of absolutely nowhere – is that Fives? He looks the same, and he's standing by Echo, so he probably is, but this is all so strange. "Can I get a hug like that."
Echo talks about him all the time, and he's really nice, so Wrecker just yanks him into a hug, laughing at his shriek. Echo laughs, and Wrecker hasn't heard that in forever. He looks amused. Relaxed.
Omega giggles.
The fight's done, and Wrecker really wants to go eat something and then sleep for a very long time.
He feels energy flickering in his mind again, another little portal opening from across the galaxy, and this time, he knows what it is.
Someone else stands out amidst the smoke now hovering thickly over them.
She's small, but all that matters is that Wrecker finally, finally remembers her. He always has, even if he feels like he never knew her.
It doesn't make any sense, cuz Wrecker always knew her, but he somehow didn't, and the Mother rewrote their entire life to make it work.
Vision.
She lowers her sparking hands, looking around, dark eyes bright with the same awed wonder that Omega had on Saleucami.
She never got to get off Kamino.
And suddenly, he remembers – remembers when Omega broke down the first night back from Tantiss to tell them she saw Vision there, that she'd finally seen her sister again after they were ripped away from each other for years. That Emerie talked to her every day and they had to leave her behind to get off.
They did, but then the mountain crashed down on them, and they never really talked about it since.
Omega's gasp is quiet, and then she runs to her, yanking her little sister into a hug. None of them have seen Vision in so long, except Emerie, who's unconscious right now.
They really hardly knew her. It was only about a month before they were sent back to the fronts, and she was gone when they came back and Omega dropped in.
She's been alone all that time and stuck in a place as awful as Tantiss. Crosshair has nightmares about it all the time. So does the kid. He can't believe they left her there.
Wrecker runs to them, crouching and scooping them into his arms.
"Hey," Vision croaks, "Good to see ya, too. 've missed you."
Her head is on Wrecker's shoulder, a few strands of her shoulder-length dark brown curls brush his face as he hugs her tightly against him. She was so small and fun and cute, he's missed her so bad. Even if it's been years, Omega still talks about her all the time. They grew up together. Sorta. Vision is seven now, and Omega's fourteen, but they're the same height. Vision grows double, too.
"We've missed ya, too," Wrecker promises.
"I'm sorry I left. I let you get taken just like our brothers."
"It's okay, 'mega," Vision promises, wriggling to hug Wrecker, too. "It wasn't your fault. I know you'd have helped me if you could."
"We weren't supposed to get taken apart. Nala Se said she wouldn't – I don't know what happened."
"It's not your fault she had me taken," Vision promises, "I think it was the Empire. There might be something about it on Kamino."
Wrecker freezes up. No one told her?
"Vision," Omega says quietly, "Kamino's gone."
"What?"
"The Empire," Hunter interrupts gently, kneeling beside them and Wrecker sets the kids down. Vision turns to look up at him with wide eyes. "They had the entire facility decommissioned. The clones were transported to... another holding facility which was also destroyed. Wrecker and I pulled out the only three survivors we know of."
"Kamino's gone?" Vision repeats, her eyes wide. She's horrified and angry and that's another part of their lives the Empire took away. Wrecker is very, very glad the Emperor is dead.
"I'm sorry, kid."
She sighs. "I guess we can't lose much we haven't already. Where have you been staying?"
"It's an island," Hunter tells her, "Pabu. You'd like it there."
She scrunches her face a little. "Okay." She reaches to him for a hug, and Wrecker is almost surprised when he gives right in. They all missed her, though. Never thought they'd see her again after Kamino was destroyed.
Echo comes to pat her shoulder. "Emerie told us you told her to go," he tells her, "That was brave of you."
"I did what you would do," she tells him with a shrug. "She had to get Omega out of there. Crosshair didn't have much time. Where is he, anyway?"
Wrecker looks back – he's lingering a good distance behind them, arms crossed. Crosshair slowly moves closer at being called.
"Hello to you, too," Vision calls, waving, "You haven't shown up in ages. You okay?"
Crosshair scoffs. He's struggling at a loss for words, and Wrecker thinks they all are. "Yeah," he says finally, a little shakily, "I'm alive."
Vision laughs. The Mother actually sounded a lot like her. Wrecker wishes he'd thought about that ages ago. "Okay. Sure."
"Hi?" another voice attentively asks – another kid who came through with Vision. There's three of them, actually.
"This is Jax," Vision announces, "They're other kids who were on Tantiss with me. Jedi. Well, they were with me, until Hemlock had me moved 'cuz I was being too annoying." She rolls her eyes.
"How about we all get something to eat and get some rest?" Hunter suggests, "We've got a lot to talk about."
"Our roles will determine our future," Anakin interrupts, "But there is room in the palace temporarily."
"Thank you," Hunter tells him meaningly.
Omega smiles up at Wrecker, and he pats her shoulder again. Everything feels lighter now.
He feels free.
Btw, to double-explain about Vision, the Mother rewrote the reality into one where she existed. So she existed the entire time, but she also didn't. Reality warping alert. xD
Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^
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