The Bad Batch Whump - Tumblr Posts

Febuwhump day 3: Muzzled

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

Warning: Character death

(I'm so proud of this story lol. Please enjoy.)

Hunter woke up in a cold, dark room. Looking around he noted the room was empty other than him. His wrist met with metal as he tried to pull them up. He was sitting on his knees, both his ankles and wrist cuffed. A tight cloth was tied around his head, tucked into his mouth to stop him from speaking. Trying to move the chains kept him against the wall.

    He tried to recount what had happened to lead him to this. He remembered being separated from the rest of the batch on their last mission. The planet was freezing cold and it started to take its toll on him. Walking through the woods he would be found by Crosshair who would stun him.

    Hunter wondered why Cross hadn't just killed him. Crosshair wanted him dead, he wanted all of them dead.

    Hours passed before light spilled into the room as the door opened. Hunter looked up to see his brother. "Hello Hunter." Crosshair said coldly.

    Hunter attempted to greet the soldier but was once again reminded of the cloth that restrained him from speaking.

    Crosshair chuckled "what's wrong, cat got your tongue?" He hissed.

    Hunter rolled his eyes.

    "Don't get too comfortable Hunter. Soon you'll see." Crosshair moved to the upper corner of the room.

    Hunter wondered what that could possibly mean. His question was answered soon after as he heard familiar voices taking of how to free their brother. Hunter panicked and looked at Crosshair. He was the bait.

    Crosshair grabbed one of his vibro-knifes from his armor. Hunter relieved whoever walked through that door first would have no chance to see what was waiting for them. It was a perfect plan.

    Hunter frantically tried to free himself from the chains. He desperately tried to remove the gag from his mouth. He could hear the footsteps of his family running closer to the cell he occupied. The beeping of the combination to the door scared him. He wished the batch would have just left him instead of falling for Crosshair's trap.

    The door opened. Tech walked through the door first followed by Echo. The other two stayed outside to guard the room. Little did they know the danger was already inside.

    Hunter tried desperately to alert his brothers of Crosshair. His muffled screams were heard but not understood until Crosshair's knife submerged in Tech upper back. Tech fell to the floor. Hunter shrieked, Echo gasped and took a step back as Omega and Wrecker took their eyes off the hall. All relieved what had happened. Crosshair had killed Tech. Crosshair had killed their brother, his brother in what he would say is in the name of the empire.

    Crosshair had no remorse. He stepped closer to Echo who had fallen to the floor in disbelief. He knew Tech was dead but needed to prove it to himself in some way. Echo couldn't lose another brother. Not after so maybe. Hunter continued screaming into the cloth, both to warn the others and from the sheer pain of losing his brother to one of their own.

    Wrecker would attack Crosshair while Omega would run to Tech and Echo. Echo shook Tech trying to wake him. He couldn't grasp the fact that Tech would never wake again. Like his other brothers he would forever rest, never to be bothered by the pain of the real world again.

    Crosshair jabed the knife towards Wrecker. Wrecker moved to the left to avoid injury. This unfortunately opened Crosshair to new possibilities. He slung the knife towards Echo. More attempted warnings ignored. Echo however would move on his own to stand and be hit in the lower back. This would force him right back on his knees.

    The suppressed screaming hadn't ceased. Attempting to warn the batch, trying to get them to leave. Hearing soldiers coming closer and closer. Though no one understood him, he pleaded to his family to leave him. Even if they did understand him they wouldn't. That's the way they were or at least were now.

Wrecker slammed Crosshair into the wall "Omega try to free Hunter!"

The girl moved from where she was comforting Echo over to Hunter. As to not scare her he finally let his voice rest.

"Hold on Hunter" she spoke softly. Gently untying the gag she pulled it away from his face.

"Leave, soldiers, hall" Hunter stuttered out, his throat horse and in pain.

"Hunter, we aren't gonna just leave you here." She fiddled with Hunters chains, attempting to free him.

"Please, no one else needs to die here." He begged her.

Omega's heart broke. No matter what they did Hunter always tried to look out for them. He couldn't let it be the other way. It was like if he didn't find a way to save them, no matter the cost, he would fail them. "Wrecker" the blonde began, "can you come get these chains off Hunter?" Omega's voice sounded calm. Hunter knew she wasn't, he knew it was for him. His heart shattered as he realized the position she was put in, the position that didn't allow her to be a child.

"You need to leave, please." Hunter looked at Wrecker as he walked over to him. "They're coming."

"We aren't going to leave you." Wrecker kneeled down and pulled the chains out of the wall and floor.

Echo had begun to attempt to fight Crosshair.

Picking up Hunter, Wrecker kneeled down to Tech. "I got them both, let's go!"

Echo moved from where he was and waited until the others were out of the room before rushing out. He would close the door before Crosshair would get the chance to leave.

The team would hardly escape. Back on the Marauder the family attempted to stay together, all just barely holding themselves in one piece.

After a while everyone was physically stable. Now they were left with three adults, one child, and a body. Cid would pity them and give them some time. None of them weren't sure how much time they really could take or how to properly handle the sharp grief that came with losing Tech.

Hunter rubbed the part of his face the gag had been. If only he could have told them, if only that cursed cloth hadn't been there.

@febuwhump

Febuwhump Day 26: Forced to Choose

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

    The Bad Batch had finally been caught. All that needed to happen was for them to be executed for their crimes. Crosshair walked from the command deck where the orders were given. The empire would give the clones a little less than a day to reveal any secrets that could potentially save their lives.

    As the family's time ran out, Crosshair debated going to see them. It would be the last time he could after all. If not for anything he decided to go for closer. Why the man wanted closer he wasn't really sure but he needed it.

    Only a few minutes were left for the batch to spill some secrets when Crosshair arrived at the cell. The electric shield prevented the family from escaping. Hunter sat on the floor holding a crying Omega. Tech sat on the hanging bench bouncing his leg. His elbow rested on the other knee as he tried to think of a way out. Wrecker sat near Hunter and Omega making sure both were okay and Echo sat over with Tech trying to help him with a plan. All but Omega looked up at Crosshair as he cleared his throat. "Hello."

    "What do you want Crosshair?" Tech asked.

    Crosshair took in the sight. It saddened his to see them this way but is what traitors deserve, right? "Just came to see if you had any information" he hissed.

    "No we don't. We aren't working for any rebel groups Crosshair. We don't have anything." Hunter held Omega tighter.

    The sniper looked down at the little girl. She was terrified. Looking at the others he could see just how scared they were. Most couldn't tell but he could, he knew the looks on their faces. Though he had only seen it a few times during the war it struck some form of fear into his heart.

    "Even if we had information they'd kill us anyway so there's no point." Tech informed the soldier. That was true; no matter what they were screwed.

    "If that's all I'll be leaving." Crosshair started walking away. Behind him he heard Hunter trying to comfort Omega. As the man approached the end of the hall he stopped. Soldiers entered the other side of the hall to execute his batch mates.

    Now he had to make a choice. Does he go back, destroy everything he worked for in the Empire. After all Crosshair thought he agreed with the ideals of the system. He'd already killed so many people for them. Sure the Republic had him snipe a few people but not nearly as many as the Empire.  But could he let his family die? He grew up with three of them and had become rather fond of the other two. The five soldiers had protected each other no matter the cost to themselves. They had fought side by side for so long. Omega had barely gotten to live yet. He would have drowned if it wasn't for her. He would be dead if it wasn't for any of them. Forced to choose between his head or heart; between stability or love, he chose love.

    "Alright it's time" one of the stormtroopers spoke. Hunter grabbed Omega as tight as he could to protect her or at least to comfort her. The others stood ready to at least try to escape their fates. Tech stood on his own while Wrecker and Echo stood close together. Both were fans of physical touch so being so close was comforting. None of them really expected to survive but they couldn't just sit there and wait.

    Crosshair sighed and turned around. Running down the hall he grabbed his blaster and shot. The stormtroopers fell to the ground. The batch looked at each other surprised. The killer skidded to a stop in front of the cell. Echo had gone over to inform Hunter and Omega they were safe. The girl had been buried in Hunter's chest and he only had his eyes on her. The gun shots had scared the two thinking time had run out for them.

    Omega and Hunter stood slowly. The man looked around then looked at Crosshair. "Alright. We need to find our weapons. I assume you know where they are?" He smiled softly.

    Crosshair nodded and the family, now whole again, ran to find the weaponry. From the weaponry they went for a ship. The Marauder had been left on the planet they had come from. Once off world Crosshair looked around at his family fondly. Seeing them all back on the same side made him smile. Still the deserter wasn't sure if he'd made the right choice.

    Back on the Marauder the group greeted Gonky and Wrecker gave Lula a big hug. Finally everyone was able to relax a little. Sitting down, Crosshair watched them interact with each other. Now he knew he'd made the right choice. No one really knew what was next but whatever it was, Crosshair was just happy to be home.

A Month of Whump Day 1: Environmental

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Warning: violence

Summary: Hunter takes a few regs to scout the area around a recovered base. What will happen when they are caught in a rock slide?

    Hunter had been sent with some regs to scout the surroundings around the Republic base the battalion had just reclaimed. The other batch members were to stay back to help where needed. The sergeant heard the rocks before the others. Warning them they all tried to get out of the way. Pieces of the land crashed down on top of them.

    Hunter moved from under a thin layer of rock and mub. He escaped to the outside of the tomb. Sitting on the cold ground he started at the rocks. Had anyone survived? After a moment he was able to find the sound of labored breathing. The pain in his wrist already told him he was on his own for now. There was only one thing left to do; dig. 

    The rocks were slippery and sharp. It didn't take long for Hunter's gloves to be torn to shreds. His hands would follow in their footsteps.

    After an unknown amount of time the soldier finally found someone. By this point his hands were covered in his own blood. The reg, known as Butters, breathed healthy. Hunter assessed his injuries and carefully moved him from the pile of rocks to the flat ground. "You're gonna be alright." Butters couldn't keep his eyes open. Multiple bones in the man's body had been crushed. He was drenched in his own blood. Rain pulled the crimson liquid down to the ground where it mixed with the mub.

    Hunter returned to the rock pile. It didn't take too long for him to find someone else. However this time he was dead. The rock had demolished the man's skull. Blood lined the gray rock. Hunter jumped back with freight. Not letting Butters see he removed the body of the unknown clone and took it to the other side of the rock pile.

    After finding a few more dead soldiers and one survivor, Hunter started to give up. At least he found the medic. Of course he was dead as well so he took the supplies from him and went back to the two men.

    "I'm gonna take care of you two the best I can alright?" Butters nodded and the unnamed reg didn't move. "Hey reg?" Hunter moved over to him and shook him a little. Checking for a pulse he sighed and took him to the dead side of the pile.

    After taking care of Butters, Hunter returned to the pile. With only two more people underneath the rocks he once more listened for breathing. One of them had survived while the other hadn't. He would find the alive one first. Another no named reg.

    Pulling him from the pile the soldier went to check up on Butters. His breathing had slowed and it looked like he couldn't stay awake. "Butters, you alright?"

    In response the man tried to answer but instead blood flowed from his month. Hunter gave it everything he had. "It's" stuttered the reg, "alright."

    "You're gonna be fine." Not long after Butters would fall into a permanent sleep. Sadly Hunter moved him over to the dead pile.

    Apologizing to the last reg in the pile he walked over to the only surviving soldier of the ten that had come with him. Picking him up he walked back to the base. Quite a lot of time had passed since the clones had left. The sun was rising, leaving the sky a brilliant mix of reds, oranges, and yellows. Clouds reflected the colors slightly and the light rain caused a wonderful rainbow. If only Hunter could enjoy it.

    Guards welcomed the two and took the unnamed soldier to the medical center. Hunter walked with them and was taken over to a table. The medic assisting him stared at his blood-soaked hands. "What happened Hunter?" He asked.

    The sergeant never took his eyes off the only other survivor, "rock slide. Him and I are all that's left. How long is this going to take?" Some droids took the other back for surgery and Hunter finally looked at the medic. "Oh Tech hi."

    "Hello. This shouldn't take too long. Stay still." Tech grabbed a warm, damp, washcloth and pressed it to Hunter's skin. He hissed as it touched him.

    No long after Tech would begin he would finish. "There. Be careful."

    "We need to retrieve the bodies. I can't just leave them there." Hunter looked up at his brother. The numb look on his face concerned Tech.

    "Alright. We will need help. I will go find Crosshair and Wrecker. Some regs will also be required so I will go talk to the general." With that Tech left.

    Not long after the batch and a few others would leave to retrieve the bodies. Hunter warned them of the horrors that would be ahead once they got close.

    Arriving everyone grabbed a body. The regs knew who these people were, they fought alongside them. Hunter grabbed Butters gently and looked to the others. With everyone ready they set off once more. Walking back was excruciatingly silent.

    The soldiers would be buried near the base. Not long after the batch would be assigned their next mission. Hunter's hands would heal but be covered in small scars. The scars served as a cruel reminder of his failure to protect the regs put under him that day. For a while rain served the same sort of pain on a platter. One day he would enjoy the rain again, one day.

Whumpril Day 1: Destress Signal/Panic Attack

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Note: this story may not make much sense if you haven't seen episode 14 of season 2.

Summary: What would have happened if Tech checked their old comm lines earlier?

  Tech checked the batch's old comm line sometimes. There was never anything on it. He looked because just maybe Crosshair would reach out to them, not caring what he said. This time when he turned the comm on and checked there was something. Almost immediately Tech played the message.

    "Plan 88, you have to hide. They're after Om-"

    "Plan 88?" Tech whispered. As he was about to play the message again he realized it was still playing. The sound of a door closing and then a hissing noise could be heard. That was it.

    Tech listened to the message over and over. Anxiety crept in and he started to lose control of his breathing. Crosshair didn't try to get them to help him nor did he bother to give them his location. The man sounded week. Not only that catching the last part of the message meant that they wanted one of them. The O made him believe it was Omega.

    The clone moved from the chair he sat in the floor and against the wall, holding the comm in front of him. Tech's breathing got worse. Air moved swiftly through his lungs as he listened again. Tears began welling in his eyes and he pulled his knees up to his chest.

He felt sick, his heart ponded, and he started to feel dizzy.

    Tech threw the comm across the room. When he heard it hit the ground his mind attacked his body harder. What if he broke it? They needed to find Crosshair. Despite the man's current condition he attempted to stand. Failing he fell back to the ground.

    With tears filling his googles he hastily pulled them off and stopped himself from throwing them as well. Placing them beside himself he lifted his hands up to his face. Tech knew how to deal with panic attacks, he had helped his brothers many times and had calmed himself down before. This time was different, this time he just couldn't.

    Alone in that dark room Tech fought to think clearly. How could he help Crosshair if he was stuck in this room? The walls felt like they were closing in and his hands felt tingly.

    Phee had been instructed to check on Tech. What she didn't expect was to hear sobbing when she got close to the room he occupied. Rushing in she kneeled in front of him. "Brown eyes?" He looked up. "I'm going to need you to breathe, okay?"

    "I" he stifled, "I can't."

    "I know it's hard but you have too. Breathe with me."

    When nothing changed in his behavior Phee called for Hunter. "Honey please you have to breathe. We can work through this."

    When Hunter got the call he dropped everything and ran to the Marauder. When he would arrive Tech was breathing a little earlier. It had been a while since he had seen his brother like this. He didn't miss it. The scene in front of him always broke his heart. "I'm here. What's going on Tech?"

    "He just keeps trying to say something about some Crosshair, Omega, and a plan."

    Hunter nodded then switched places with Phee. She wanted, more than anything, to be able to help Tech but right now he needed his brother. "I got you. Breathe okay. Tell me what's going on once you're able to."

    The two would sit there for another few minutes before Tech could really think clearly again. Tears still fell from his eyes but his breathing was under control now and he felt less ill.

    Finally Tech could explain. "We need to find Crosshair. I checked our old comm channel and found a distress signal from not too long ago." Getting up he went to check on the comm. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as he realized it was still in one piece. After that he played the message for the other two.

    The three talked then went to find the rest of the batch. Echo would arrive soon after and once handed the information to decode the puzzle was completed. Crosshair was on Mount Tantus. Now they just had to go get him.

@whumpril

Whumpril Day 8: Forgiveness (Alt prompt 5)

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Note: implied season 2 spoilers

Summary: Crosshair is rescued by the batch.

  Crosshair woke up on the Marauder. The last thing he had seen was Hemlock so how had he gotten here? Was this another cruel dream? Would he talk to his brother's again, finally feel alive again, only to be woken up from a wonderful dream to face the harsh reality that he would never see them again? That the way it needed to be.

    But no, this time he knew he was safe as pain rushed in. Never had Crosshair been so happy to be in a senseless amount of pain. Echo walked over to his brother and checked on him. "He's awake" he spoke softly.

    "Good." Hunter sounded tired. Crosshair had heard him tired before but this, this was a new kind of tired.

    Wrecker walked to Crosshair's side, "hey Cross, how do you feel?" The tone of Wrecker's voice startled the clone. Never before had he sounded so sad, so done.

    "I'm... I'm okay." Crosshair mustered the strength to speak. "Where's Omega" he whispered.

    "Resting" Echo answered the question softly.

    "Tech?" The looks on everyone's faces answered the question for him.

    "He died a little while ago." Hunter sighed, "around three months."

    Crosshair did his best to give them a nod. Three months was about the time Omega had been captured and taken to Mount Tantus. The two advents likely connected somewhere but Crosshair would wait to ask. 

    Time would go by and Crosshair would heal. Walking around with his family he wondered why they never talked about what he had done, why they forgave him so easily? Eventually the burning question had to be asked.

    Everyone sat around a table on Pabu. Echo had come to visit them and the five had been invited to have dinner with Phee, Shep, and Lyana. It was a warm and beautiful day. Everyone sat down to enjoy their time together and some good food.

    "Why?" Crosshair asked. He knew now wasn't the time but there may never be a time and he needed to know.

    "What?" Omega looked over at her brother confused.

    "Why did you forgive me so quickly?"

    The others stared at the man for a moment. "It wasn't you" Wrecker started.

    "Part of it was."

    "And you regret that part" Echo knew this would come; he knew at some point Crosshair would ask. The answer that lay in the back of their minds was that they had already lost one brother, they weren't going to lose another. Tech would want them to forgive him.

    "That doesn't change what I did."

    "Crosshair, we know that. You're our brother and we care about you. You did some awful things that you regret and have learned from them. You're not some tearable person killing people for fun. When you did hurt people you thought it was for a greater and better cause. The empire manipulated you and once you saw that you did something about it" Hunter insured his brother.

    Crosshair looked at Hunter for a moment before continuing, "I got Tech killed. You came there for me."

    "Gerrera got Tech killed, not you." Echo set his drink down.

    "He wanted you safe, all of us safe. Tech's decision was his own to make." Hunter put a hand on Crosshair's shoulder.

    "And you weren't even there! It couldn't be your fault!" Omega walked over to Crosshair, who moved his chair back slightly. "We forgave you because we understood. When you figured out you were wrong you did something about it and then instead of trying to leave Tantus you warned us." The girl wrapped her arms around the man.

    "That doesn't mean you should forgive me!" Placing his hands on her shoulders, Crosshair shoved Omega off of him. She stumbled and fell back into Wrecker.

    "Why are you trying to find reasons for us to hate you?" Echo moved over behind Hunter, who sat beside Crosshair. The three non-clones tried to figure out how to help. Unsure of what to do Shep and Lyana quietly exited, deciding they should leave it to the family. As much as they wanted to help it was best for them to work though it.

    "Because you should!" The sniper stood quickly, slamming his hands on the table. "I'm a horrible person! I don't deserve this! I don't deserve your forgiveness and I don't deserve the peace of Padu!"

    "No you're not!" Omega and Wrecker shot back.

   "You are not a horrible person Crosshair. We already told you that." Hunter stood and rested his hand on his brother's shoulder again.

    "Crosshair, you need to forgive yourself." Everyone turned to face Phee. "You can't keep blaming yourself for things out of your control and you have to acknowledge your growth" she walked closer to the clone. " If you don't it'll kill ya."

    The ex-imperial stood there stunned. "She's right" Hunter removed his hand from its resting position and laid it at his side.

    Instead of arguing Crosshair started to leave. He put one foot in front of the other and left them. Despite their calls for him he left. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought. Their love, their time, their kindness; it was all wasted on him. He didn't deserve their forgiveness and he didn't deserve Tech's. In his eyes, he never would.

@whumpril

Whumpril Day 11: Nightmares/"I'm right here."

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Warning: Character death

Summary: Hunter has a pretty scary nightmare. Hope someone wakes him up.

 Walking through the cell block Hunter searched for his daughter and brother. They were supposed to be here but he just couldn't find them. All he had left was Crosshair and her. Wrecker and Echo had been killed earlier by stormtroopers.

    Finding Crosshair's cell, Hunter opened it. "Crosshair, let's go." Crosshair didn't move. "Cross, get up." Hunter walked over and shook his brother. After shaking him for a moment he realized the man was freezing. He grabbed Crosshair's face and looked into his cold, dead eyes.

    Startled Hunter jumped back. "Haar'chak!"

    From there the leader hesitantly left Crosshair's body there. He ran until he found where Omega was being held. He skidded to a stop and turned to the door. Sliding the access card on the door, it opened. "Hunter?" The girl asked.

    "Yeah kid, it's me." Hunter fell to his knees and Omega ran up to him for a hug. "are you hurt?" He wrapped his arms around her.

    "No."

    "Let's get you out of here."

    The two exited the cell. On the way back to the Marauder an eerie voice spoke from behind them. "And where do you think you're going Omega?"

    The two turned around to see Hemlock. "Home!" She yelled.

    "Home? I don't think so." With that the scientist raised his blaster and shot the girl. Hunter hadn't seen it until it was too late. His gun had already been pointed at the other so he pulled the trigger. Hemlock fell to the ground.

    Hunter kneeled down beside his little girl. His world stopped turning. She was gone. Everyone was gone. He was alone. What now? Where does he go from here? What does he do? First the clone needed to get off of Wayland.

    Grabbing Omega he started to run. It felt like that was all that he did. The world went dark and Omega was gone.

    In some dark void the words Hemlock had said to him back on Ord Mantell ran in his ears. "Who knew clones were so paternal? Fascinating."

    "Stop." Hunter looked around. "This isn't real."

    "I'm afraid this is all I could salvage. Consider it a gift."

    Broken googles clattered at his feet. Quickly Hunter picked them up and held them close to him. "You're not real." He whispered.

    "To lose one of your own-"

    "stop it." Hunter started to run. It was better than being stuck listening to the conversation he played over and over in his head.

    "Must weigh heavily on you as their leader."

    "Of course it does! They were put under my control and I failed them!"

    "There is no time Wrecker."

    "No. No not again." Hunter stopped running. He collapsed to the 'ground'. He placed his legs under him and pulled his hands up to his head.

    "Plan 99."

    "Tech I'm sorry."

    Tech's sigh sent a chill down Hunter's spine. "When have we ever followed orders?" The clone mouthed along with the words.

    "I'm sorry. God I'm sorry." Hunter whispered. The memories started to mix. It started to overwhelm the clone. He could only take so much of this. "Stop it, stop it." Tears started to trickle down his face. He caught them in his hands. "Stop it!"

    Hunter started to hear a familiar voice, "Hunter? Hunter wake up."

    "Good soldiers follow orders."

    "No." Hunter sat up quickly. Air moved swiftly in and out of his lungs. Tears fell from his eyes.

    "Hunter, are you okay?" Echo looked at his brother, concerned.

    Hunter didn't acknowledge Echo. He's breathing stayed the same. Looking down the man wasn't aware that his brother was there.

    "I'm right here. Talk to me." Echo rested his hand on Hunter's shoulder.

    'im right here.' The room was no longer dark. Hunter realized now that he was awake. This wasn't part of his nightmare and Echo was sitting in front of him. The tears didn't stop.

    "I'm right here." The older of the two opened his arms and waited.

    Hunter leaned into his brother. The two stayed like that until the sargent stopped crying. When asked to talk about the dream, he refused. Maybe one day these nightmares would leave him alone, maybe not. Only time could tell. At least he had Echo to wake him up.

Whumpril Day 15: Isolation

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: Echo is captured.

  Isolation scared Echo. Yet he found himself alone in a cell. He had told the batch to leave him and now he had no idea if they would come back for him. The batch didn't leave there own behind. Part of him hoped they would come and most of him hoped they would leave him.

    The room was cold. That was scary on it own but the silence; the deathing silence was terrifying. It was far too quiet and far too much.

    There was no one to talk to, no one to distract him for his problems. Every terrible memory hit him at ones. Blowing up, all his brothers deaths, the experiments, everything.

    Hoping to be tortured was something Echo never thought would cross his mind. The physical pain that would come would be much better than everything that plagued his mind.

    The stillness of it all almost made it feel surreal; like he'd wake up safe on the Marauder. Echo knew that wouldn't happen.

    The clone tried to find something to occupy himself with. "Hello?" he asked. No answer. He sighed. The man was alone again. It drove him crazy, as mad as Fives.

    Echo tried to escape. He walked up to the door and hit it. The electric shock made him take a few steps back. He sighed and sat back down.

    Talking to himself was the only thing Echo could think to do to keep himself sane. He talked as if there were more people with him. Slowly the words formed into something else.

    "Fives, you would love the batch." Now Echo talked to his dead brothers. If they could hear him, Echo didn't know. Then again he didn't really care. Slowly his stories came to an end and he looked around. He was alone. There were no brothers to talk to. He was alone again. 

    Time moved slowly. Echo didn't really know what was going on, where he was, or if anyone would come to save him. There was only one thing he knew, he was alone. He didn't want to be but you don't always get what you want, do you.

Whumpril Day 16: Guilt/"I'm So Sorry."

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Warnings: Mentions of death and alcohol, and spoilers for the last episode of TBB

Summary: Wrecker and his thoughts after Tech's death and Omega's capture. Oh and a short conversation with the others.

  Wrecker's mind was plagued with guilt. It wasn't something he could just slide down his throat with alcohol or something he could sleep off. It stayed there. It found the piece of your heart that was missing and used it place as it's home. It used the heart's veins and traveled to the brain to taint every memory it could.

     He couldn't reach Tech. He should have. Tech was gone. He slept at the bottom of the damn cavern on Eriadu and it was Wrecker's fault. He saw him fall. He didn't want to imagine the pain he might have felt. Tech was his brother and now he was a memory.

    Omega was also gone. Her capture could have been prevented. Maybe if he hadn't been so easy to capture, or maybe if Hunter hadn't come back for him, she would be safe.

    It was Wrecker's fault. No matter how hard he thought, he always come to the same conclusion, it was his fault.

    The remaining members of the batch had gone to Padu to plan. Hunter was against it but Echo knew they needed the rest. They would kill themselves if not and that was the last thing they needed.

    They sat around a table with Phee. Hunter held Tech's googles gently. The pirate had already been informed of Tech's death. She tried to help them, she really did, but nothing got though to them.

    "I'm so sorry." Wrecker talked softly.

    The other three looked at each other confused.

    "What are you apologizing for?" Echo asked hesitantly.

    "I should have saved him. You should have left. I'm just, I'm sorry."

    "Wrecker, it's not your fault. I wasn't just going to leave you behind, that's not how things work." 'Most of the time' ran through Hunter's head but he figured that would be better left unsaid.

    "We'll get her back." Phee spoke.

    "That doesn't change the fact that Tech's gone." Wrecker rested his arms on the table.

    "Tech made his decision" Hunter sighed, "he did it for us and we have to live with it. We'll be okay." He held his hand out and rolled all but the pinky into a fist, "I promise."

    Wrecker looked up at the hand and Hunter could have sworn he saw a small smile, "okay." The man took his brother's pinky and they promised.

    Dinner would be quiet. Everything would be kinda quiet with the two main talkers gone.

    Back on the Marauder the guilt slammed into Wrecker yet again. Seeing Tech's bunk empty pulled at his heart. He walked up to Omega's 'room' and grabbed Lula. After that he walked back to Tech's bunk and laid down. He felt safe and under attack all at the same time. Slowly he would drift off to sleep.

Whumpril Day 25: On The Run/"We're being Watched."

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: The batch gets into a stick situation after taking a mission for Cid. Tech does something and almost gets taken out by some clones. Luckily a friend helps out.

    Cid loved sending the batch on strange pickup missions. The terrain was rocky but a pleasant temperature. The trees stood tall and the grass a little taller than Omega's ankles.

     Hunter led the group with Wrecker following them close behind. Tech, Omega, and Echo walked between them. The leader put his arm out to stop them. "We're being watched." An erie feeling fell over them as they all realized it too.

    Tech and Echo moved closer to Omega and the group continued. Not long later they would run into imperial clones. They ran and fought.

    Then they entered the forest. It was dence and thorny. Echo kept Omega close while they tried to slip away. They all thought it had worked until the turned back at Wrecker. "Where is Tech?" Hunter hissed.

    "He said he'd get them off our trail and that he'd meat us on the Marauder."

    "Alright."

    Tech moved swiftly through the trees. He skidded to a stop. A river, to big to jump over was in the way. As he got ready to move to the left side he stopped. The three remaining soldiers moved to corner him.

   The mercenary grabbed his guns but looked past the clones and closed his eyes. The odds weren't in his favor and he decided the last thing he was going to see wasn't his killers. Three shots were fired and three imperial soldiers fell to the ground. Tech looked to the nearby ledge that the guns sound had come from. There was Crosshair.

    Tech smiled and nodded. Of course Crosshair would be there when he was needed most and of course he would wait tell last second. Tech reached his arm out to him, the gesture meaning for him to come with them.

    Crosshair smirked but started to leave. Then another shot went off. After that one more. He turned around quickly to see Tech on the ground. He needed to get down there.

    A million thoughts ran through Crosshair's mind as he ran to the river. Had he missed and one of the shots not been fatle? How could he have missed when it was that important? Was Tech okay? Was he alive? He would just have to find out when he got down there.

    Tech sat up and looked at his leg. He had been shot in his left thigh. Even though he had already taken care of the soldier who shot him he still held the gun towards him.

    Crosshair sighed with relief when he saw Tech sitting up. He was glad he was okay. "Let's get you to the Marauder."

    Tech stood slowly and took one step forward. He stumbled and Crosshair moved next to him to support him. Some voices could be heard nearby. "Tech, are you alright?"

    Tech nodded, "I'm fine."

    The two headed into the woods. Tech informed Crosshair which way they needed to be heading. They snuck around, trying not to be caught.

    "Down." Tech forced Crosshair into a nearby bush. Then he tumbled into the bush himself. The two watched as the soldiers walked by them. One of them stopped right before the bush and Crosshair looked over at his brother. Tech, painfully sitting on both legs had his guns ready to fire.

    Then Crosshair looked at Tech's hands. He was shaking. More than likely it was the pain from his injury. It still hurt Cross to his brother that way.

    "Check that bush" one of the clones commanded. A shot rushed out of Tech's gun. Crosshair grabbed Tech and pulled him out of the bush and somewhat dragged him away from the others.

     And they were running again. To Tech it felt like that was all he and the batch did; run. They ran from the empire, from enemies they had made, from their past and their problems. They couldn't afford to stop or slow down.

    Avoiding the clones was difficult. Avoiding the trees and briers proved to be hard as well. The adrenaline running though Tech's veins somewhat cancelled out the pain.

    "Where are you?" Hunter asked over the comm.

    "We ran into some difficulties." Tech answered.

    "We?" Echo asked, very concerned for the answer.

    "Crosshair and I."

    "Crosshair?" Wrecker asked hopeful.

    "Correct. We are almost there."

    "Alright, just hurt." Hunter turned the comm off and sighed into the pilot's chair.

     Crosshair and Tech made their way back to the Marauder. Once there, they took care of Tech's leg. They left the planet and headed back to Ord Mentell with a new, old member. Other than Tech's leg the mission was refreshing success.

Winter Whumperland Day 1: Santa Claus (Claustrophobe/Panic Attack)

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: Echo falls into a hole in a cave while on a mission. Memories of Skako Minor flood his mind.

    Echo had liked small spaces before being captured by the Techno Union. Fives thought he was crazy for it. There was something comforting about small, dark places. Echo never could explain it.

    One wrong step sent him into a panic. 'Watch your step' Tech had said. 'Caves are unpredictable' he said. The cave was dark and cold. Echo would have loved it. He should have.

    Instead he looked around at the small space he found himself in. "Echo!" he heard Wrecker tell out. "You okay!?"

    The clone couldn't find his voice. It caught in the back of his throat and became a sharp breath instead. He looked at the walls of the hole but couldn't find them. He started to slam his hand and scomp into rock. His breathing speed and he wanted to cry.

    It was just a cave. It was just a dark hole in a cave. It was just a memory. It was just cold. It was just him, in a hole, in a cave, his family above him, ready to get him out of there.

    Or was it a pod? Was it just a memory? Was it just a pod he had been trapped in for over a year? Was it just the cold? Was it just him, in a pod, captured by the enemy, his family below him, waiting for him, ready to welcome him home?

    "Echo!" Omega yelled out. But he didn't answer. He just stood there, hyperventilating, terrified of the past. He felt so small and the rock wall felt like it was closing in. He didn't even notice when a set of hands pulled him up from his place in the cave.

    "Echo, breath." Hunter spoke. He looked at Tech for answers.

    "Claustrophobe, likely attributed to his time on Skako Minor. Move." Tech practically kicked Hunter out of the way before kneeling down in front of Echo. "He is having a panic attack. I will deal with it."

    Tech looked at the man in front of him. He felt uneasy but felt the others would be incapable of helping Echo breath calmly. Still, he wondered if he was the best person to take care of him.

    The clone stood in front of his brother. "What you are feeling is scary, but not dangerous. Focus on your breathing not the memory." Echo looked up at him. "You need to breathe slowly." Tech started to slowly to encourage him to do the same.

    Slowly Echo started to breathe earlier. "Can you tell me five things you can see?" Tech asked patiently. Echo looked around.

    "Tech I don't think that's going to he-"

    "Hush" Tech cut off Hunter. "Now tell me five things you see."

    Echo looked around. "There's some, Stalactites, some standing water, bats, yo-you, and the others."

    "Good job. How about four things you hear? Can you do that."

    "Well I hear you" Echo slightly chuckled. He was still so tense. His breathing was slower but still irregular. "There's water dripping into that puddle, the bats, and the humming of the, the light."

    "Good. You are doing good. Now can you tell me three things you can smell?"

    Hunter and Wrecker watched the two. They didn't know that Tech could be so, gentle? Omega stayed near Hunter.

    "It's musky, the cave water, and the cologne Phee gave you." He sort of smiled, "it sort of smells like Kamino."

    Tech smiled softly. "Two things you can feel."

    "The rocks are kind of smooth." Echo reached out to Tech, "and you."

    "One thing you can taste?"

    "The smell of the cave." Echo sighed. He felt safe again. He was just a man, in a cave, with his family.

    "Can I do anything for you?" Tech asked calmly.

    "You already have." Tech helped Echo up. "Thank you Tech."

    "It is no problem. We need to finish the mission now. Do you think you will be alright?"

    "Yeah, I think I will."

Merry Whumpmas Day 4: Chills

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: As Crosshair reunites with his family he notices that someone is not there.

Seeing his brothers again was a lot for Crosshair. He thought he had told them not to come, to leave him behind like they had before. Even if understood why now, it still hurt. The scar was still a scab.

But then he noticed, Tech was missing. His body shook with a chilling realization. It felt like his whole body went cold and he almost froze in place. It was the only reason he wouldn't be there. Tech had to be dead.

Fear gripped his heart and squeezed. It was almost painful. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe Crosshair was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

He wanted to ask but the fear and uncertainty left him speechless. Instead he put one foot in front of the other. He followed the rest of his family outside of this awful place that had broken him. They led him to the light he had long forgotten.

Hope.

Still, Crosshair couldn't be happy. As they walked he realized there was no way Tech could be with them. Was he hurt? Could he be with the Marauder? Why did they look so, nervous.

When they did get to the Marauder, Rex was waiting. Warm blood was replaced with ice water. He was gone. That's why they were nervous; why Omega hadn't said anything when he asked about them. She didn't know how to tell him.

The water froze him. He stood still, staring at the Marauder. He thought about every memory that he had with Tech in it. There was no way he was gone. Not without saying goodbye right?

But hadn't they already? Was their last encounter supposed to give him closer? Was he supposed to be okay? Could he move? Did moving mean excepting?

Hunter put a hand on Crosshair's shoulder and tried to move him along. "We need to go."

"He's not there, is he?"

An icicle plunged into the man's heart. "No. Tech's not there."

Crosshair wanted to cry. The only thing that stood in his way was dehydration.

"We have to go Crosshair" Hunter shook. He put slight pressure on his brother's back, trying to move forward.

Slowly Crosshair moved, Hunter's hand generating enough heat to move his frozen body forward. He was finally home.

Home was different than he remembered. First of all there was room for Omega. Then Tech's bunk had been left untouched. His blanket was still folded over.

Crosshair looked at his own. It had been made. He knew he hadn't made it. He moved the blanket to find a small letter. A chill went up his spine as he grabbed it.

It was from Tech. He gently opened it with shaky hands. He pulled the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it.

It read, "Dear Crosshair, I didn't know what would happen. In truth I didn't expect the mission to go well. But I knew we had to go. If not for anything, to make up for the damage we had done to you. That is not to say you didn't hurt us as well. I hope I will retrieve this letter once I am on the ship. If not, I was told it is best to not leave words unsaid. You were a good brother Crosshair. I was grateful to have you."

Crosshair held the letter to his chest. That was the most affection Tech had ever shown to him. He laid on his bed and let out a sigh. This was going to be hard.

Winter Whumperland Day 6: Jack Frost (Amnesia)

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: After a reg attacked Hunter, he finds he can't remember anything.

  When Hunter woke up, he couldn't remember how he had gotten to this white room. He wasn't sure who these people around him were. He didn't remember anything.

    "Hunter, you're awake!" The tallest  man yelled.

    "Don't yell." The man that talked looked robotic.

    Someone stood nearby. He looked worried but didn't say anything.

    "Who are you?" Hunter asked.

    He watched the tallest man hold back tears. "I'm Wrecker, your brother. Do you not remember?"

    A man with the glasses walked to the other man's side and put a hand in him. "Hunter hit his head extremely hard when he was attacked. Amnesia is not a surprising result."

    The man in the corner spoke up, "I'm going to kill the mother fu-" he was interrupted by the man with glasses.

    "That won't help." He sounded robotic, like his voice should belong to the cyborg standing by the tallest of the group. Still something was comforting about it.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked as he tried to sit up. He noticed how bright the lights were and laid back down for a minute. His head hurt. "What happened?"

"One of the regs hit you with the butt of their gun" hissed the gray hair man.

"Regs?" Hunter wasn't sure why that stood out the most. "What?"

"Let's introduce ourselves. I'm sure it's not very fun being surrounded by a bunch of people you don't know must be unpleasant. I'm Echo. I work with you."

"Alright." Hunter sat up this time. He looked around and shook his head. "Where are we?"

"This is the Kaminoan cloning facility. It is also our home. I am Tech, one of your technically millions of brothers."

"Don't break him" the gray hair man spoke.

"I'm Wrecker! I'm one of your brothers too!"

"Yeah I remember you saying that earlier." Hunter tried to make sense of the knowledge he had. He was a clone. That wasn't the most surprising part. What surprised him the most was how many clones existed. Why did they exist? What purpose had they been made for?

The others looked at the gray haired man, trying to get him to say something. When he didn't, Tech took over. "This is Crosshair. He is also a clone. We are your batch mates and work with you. Echo joined after being turned into that."

Hunter tried to look at Echo. "Okay." Slowing the group explained the war and how he was a sergeant in the army of the Galactic Republic. They explained some of their relationships with him and how they grew up together.

For a long time Hunter felt empty. These people around him had so many memories of him but he barely knew who they were. He watched them grieve over a man who he didn't know; over a man he had been.

It took time. Recovery always takes time. The clone that had caused the trauma to Hunter was never punished. The Kaminoans didn't have the time. Hunter grew strangely close to some regs, despite never liking them before.

The batch started to think he would never remember who he was before. But with never remembering, Hunter could forget the blood and death he had seen before. He could forget all the ways the regs had done them wrong and he was growing a relationship with some of them. He seemed happy.

Then he remembered. Slowly, Hunter had been getting back little memories. Small things like short memories from when he had been younger. But one day he just knew who he had been before.

It had been months. The memories were overpowering. Hunter felt confused and lost. He felt both frozen and on fire. The memories of who he once was seemed like a distant lifetime ago. He remembered he had liked red more then blue and how he hadn't liked lemonade, even though he loved it now.

It was strange. It felt like he was a completely different person now. Hunter liked talking to the regs, or at least most of them. He had known a life that wasn't on a battle field, even if he was preparing for war. His biggest problem had been the regs and not the droids on the other side of the war.

The first thing the man did was tell Echo. He had grown closer to him then before. Soon he told the others. They seemed overjoyed to have their Hunter back but Hunter wasn't so sure. He still liked lemonade and the color blue more than orange juice and red. He still wanted to be friends with the regs he was around.

As time moved on, Hunter got used to being himself again. He felt more confused then anything. At first he wasn't sure that he wanted his memories back. All the death and destruction his two eyes had seen was overwhelming. But he got used to it.

Hunter finally felt normal again. After months and months of not knowing who he was and not know what to do with who he had been, he grew to like the person he was now but also who he had been. He liked knowing about his brothers and who they had been. He learned to cherish his memories. After all, nothing is permanent.

Febuwhump Day 3: "Bite Down on This"

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: Omega is injured and imperials are around. Hunter is trying to help her with the pain as well as keep her quiet.

  Hunter had always been scared of Omega getting hurt. As he got to know her, he knew that he could only handle it so well. She was his little sister but he felt so much like her father. He never even knew he could feel like a father.

    But now he was faced with that. He hadn't been keen on being her on the mission. Phee had said she would keep an eye on her but the girl snuck aboard.  Now she was in front of Hunter, bleeding.

    The clone looked around. Omega was sobbing. Hunter recounted everything that had brought them to this moment, trying to make sense of any of it. A mission for Cid. One bounty hunter with a determination to 'win' and one explosion later his little girl was hurt.

    Now he looked back at her. "Hunter, imperials are heading to the site of the explosion. Be careful." Tech warned. He didn't answer him. Instead he looked around and tried to find an answer.

    Taking off a piece of his armor, he tore a part of his undershirt off. He balled it up and held it to Omega's mouth. "bite down on this."

    Fear rushed over Omega. "Hunter" she said. Her continued to cry as she took the cloth in her mouth.

    Hunter held her wound carefully. The glass was still in her side. He took torn pieces of his clothes and placed them by the glass. He pressed on her side and she yelled. "I know. I'm sorry." He's voice shook.

     The black fabric hid the blood that had started to poll in Omega's mouth. All Hunter could hear was her cries. He tried to listen for the imperials but his mind betrayed him.

    Omega started to cough. She squeezed Hunter's hand as she tried to stay quiet. The man brought his comm up to his face and spoke softly. "Omega's down" he started, "sending you our location." Then he turned off his comm.

    Now Hunter could hear the radios of the enemy. He looked at Omega and realized that the cloth she had been biting down on was filled with blood. He panicked and took it out of her mouth. Her cries became less muffled.

    The man placed a hand over her mouth for a moment. "I know. I'm sorry. You'll be okay." She looked confused.

    Hunter felt like he was going to cry. He didn't want to scare her. If he cried now, she would worry and that was the last thing he needed.

    "You'll be okay." Hunter tried to remain calm. He felt her blood on his hand and realized they didn't have time. Now he didn't care who found them. The empire wanted Omega and alive so if they found them, they would at least take care of her.

    Even if that meant they killed him. She needed help. The voices grew closer. "Over here!" One called.

    Hunter sighed. He had faced things like this before. He grabbed his gun and got ready to fire. As troopers turned the corner they were gunned down by Echo and Tech. Wrecker followed ise behind.

    "We're here." Echo said. Wrecker took one look at Omega and teared up. He placed a hand on Echo's shoulder to steady himself. Tech assessed the girls injuries and Echo took Hunter back.

    "Echo" Hunter spoke. Echo just took him into his arms.

    "She'll be okay."

    Tech picked Omega up and started to walk. "We need to get back to the Marauder."

    The family made their way to the ship and Tech started to tend to his sisters wounds. Later in the evening he would emerge from his room. "She'll be fine."

    "See. I told you."

    Hunter sighed. "Thank you, Tech." He walked back to be with her and sat beside her. He looked at her and rested his arms on his knees. At least she was alright.

Febuwhump Day 8: "Why Won't it Stop?"

Fandom: The Bad Batch

Warning: Character Injury

Summary: Hunter is injured while trying to flee some imperials. Omega is trying to help him.

  Blood was something the bad batch didn't shy away from. They had seen their fair share of it. It was a strange thing to be mostly used to. Every now and again it would hit them that they really weren't all that different then the other living beings on that field.

    However Omega was not used to the crimson liquid flowing outside of the body. The war was over. Yet a whole other fight had begun the moment the clones pulled the trigger.

    The batch was fighting a different fight then most. Or maybe they were fighting the same fight most every family was, protecting each other.

    For Hunter, he was protecting his vod'ikas, ori'vod, and ad'ika. That's what he was fighting for. Not that he really had much a choice. With bounty hunters after Omega and Crosshair after the rest of them, fighting was one inevitable.

    When the empire caught up to them on a mission for Cid, they knew the mission would be difficult. The empire made everything difficult. Avoiding them was difficult.

    Hunter had heard them coming. He looked over at his brothers and motioned for them to be ready for an attack. Then he grabbed Omega and pulled both of them behind a nearby wall.

    As the imperials terned the corner, Hunter turned his focus to a way out. They were cornered, yet. Hunter wanted it to stay that way. Shots were fired. The batch returned fire.

    The imperials fell and the family got ready to move. The Sargent had looked around the corner. He had his arm near Omega to protect her. More soldiers flooded into the previously crowded streets. The man tried to go back behind the building, but he as to late. A bullet ripped though his lower abdomen and Hunter fell to the pavement.

    "Hunter!" Omega screamed. She ran to his side and dragged him back behind the towering apartment building. Taking his helmet off, she set it beside them. The older clones hands covered the wound. He seemed almost distant or lost.

    The girl knew what to do, she really did. But everything she thought she knew fled her mind. She pressed her little hands over his and tried to hold pressure on the wound. Tears came to the corners of her eyes.

    Blood flowed out of the gunshot wound. It trickled over his body like rivers that lead to lakes. Puddles started to form as he lost more blood.

    "Why won't it stop?" Omega squeaked. The girl cried as she kept holding the wound. Hitting her comm, she called for her brothers. Frantically she tried to find ways to keep Hunter's blood inside of him.

    "Stop, come on stop" she pleaded. "Why won't it stop?" Hunter wanted to comfort her. More than anything he wanted to tell her that it would be okay. That at some point he would stop bleeding and things would be fine.

    It was warm. The blood that ran over him was warm compared to the chilly day. Omega's words hurt. He opened his mouth to speak but just couldn't. The girl kept pressing on his side, whispering to herself, "why can't I get it to stop?"

    The two listened to footsteps that were growing closer to them. Even almost unconscious, Hunter could tell who it was. Tech kneeled down beside the two. Wrecker and Echo covered him as he prepared to move his brother.

    "I can't get it to stop. He just keeps bleeding." The girl cried.

    "It will be alright, probably." Tech tried to comfort her. The family moved back. The strongest of the group grabbed Hunter. Echo led them back to the Marauder, where Tech could better assist Hunter.

    The Marauder was almost silent. The only noise was the sound of the ship's engine and Tech talking to Wrecker every now and again. He asked for different medical instruments. Without a word, Wrecker would hand them to him.

    Slowly Hunter recovered. He almost felt like a fool for getting shot. Mostly, he just felt bad for stressing out Omega. She was so worried and he never wanted her to feel that way again.

Febuwhump Day 9: Bees

Fandom: The Bad Batch

Summary: Wrecker never liked bugs. But now that Tech's gone, he finds some beauty in his brother's favorite insect. Bees.

  Bugs were not Wrecker's strong suit. Most of the time they weren't a problem, but sometimes they freaked him out. After being stormed by 'the hive' with Cid, he decided he simply was afraid of them.

    This included bees. There were a lot of bugs on Padu. There were a lot of flowers on the island. It was one of the things that the clone liked. Their simple beauty was something most didn't expect a clone to love the way he did.

    But he didn't like the bees. The small bugs freaked him out. Even so he would be around them often. The rest of the batch didn't share his distrust of the small insects.

    Tech had loved bees. "Bees are extremely important to every ecosystem. Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of the galaxy's crops depend on the insects's pollination."

    "I don't care" Wrecker joked. He nudged his brother.

    However Tech did. Trying to continue, Crosshair cut him off. "We don't care."

    Now Wrecker wished he had listened. The clone watched the bees buzz around the sunflowers that were around him. What bothered him was the fact that they shut him up even though he was clearly excited about it.

    The bees flew near him and unlike every time before, Wrecker let them. Instead of shoeing them away, he welcomed them. Tech's voice rang in his head, "Did you know that there is at least one species of bee on most every planet."

    "Does he just do that?" Echo sighed.

    "Yeah" Hunter answered. "Normal one of them tells him to shut up by now."

    "Bumblebees technically shouldn't be able to fly because of-"

    Tech was cut off by Crosshair. "Shut up" the clone growled. Despite being shut up, Tech didn't seem upset. Instead he continued what he had been doing previously.

    "Seems kinda mean" Echo whispered to his brother.

    "If they don't he'll talk for hours."

    Now Wrecker was left wondering what he was going to say. What else had they left unsaid? What seemingly useless piece of information had they missed out on?

    Wrecker would do anything to hear Tech info dump about bees again. Info dump about anything really. He wanted to know why bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly. More than anything he wanted his brother back.

    "Watching the bees?" Phee asked, sitting next to Wrecker.

    "Yeah" he sighed. "I never liked them before. Actually used to be scared of them. Up until now." A sort of sad smile flashed across his face. "They are actually pretty nice" he sobbed.

    "It's gonna be okay big guy." Phee comforted him.

    A bee landed on the clone's knee. Out of instinct, he screamed. Then he just watched it. Putting his finger by it the insect crawled onto his finger. It was smaller than his finger nail. "Hey Tech."

Whump: The Musical Day 3: Jesus Christ Superstar (betrayed)

Fandom: The Bad Batch

Summary: Crosshair turns Cody in when he suspects he is going to desert.

Cody loved Crosshair, but right now he hated him. Right now he hated him more than he hated himself, which was a lot. When during their last conversation he may have implied he was done with the empire, he didn't expect Crosshair to turn him in for suspected desertion.

But as he grabbed him armor and his blaster to leave, there was a knock at the door. It was more of an accident than anything. The door opened. A few men came in, Crosshair one of them.

"What are you doing here Crosshair? It's 0200. What's going on?"

"I could ask you the same question."

Cody put down his helmet. He looked at Crosshair, betrayed. "Oh."

"Arrest him."

Reaching for his gun, Cody kicked one of the men away. Then he stunned the other. Picking his helmet back up, he pushed past Crosshair who shot at him with live rounds. He knew his brother doesn't miss without a reason but Cody didn't want to stay long enough to figure out what that reason was.

Turning the corner, the commander tripped over his feet and hit the wall. Pushing himself off the wall, he kept running down the hall. There was no way he was going to get taken by the empire. He knew what happened and while there was a chance he would deserve a fate as cruel as the other captives, he also knew he didn't want it.

It was hard to believe that Crosshair had turned him in. They had been so close during the war. He was the only one he told about his private life other than Obi-wan and Rex. At least the deeper parts of his private life. The parts that no one but them needed to know.

Crosshair was the last one alive. The death of Nova, Wyler, and the governor of Desix were Cody's last straw. He needed to know why the clones killed the Jedi, why they followed every order like droids.

Running down the hall, Cody tried to ignore every thought he was having. At the time, he didn't have the time to be angry with Crosshair or himself. Right now, he needed to focus on getting out of the building and off world. From there, the man didn't know. It was a start.

There were troopers at the door. Cody stunned them and slammed the doors open. He avoided hurting the men that laid on the ground. Crosshair turned the corner and ran after him. Outside, Cody realized that the sniper had caught up to him.

The Battle Memorial was always lit up. At least for now. With the way the empire treated the clones, it would have surprised Cody if when the lights started to die, the empire wouldn't replace them. As he ran past it, a bullet met the back of the man's left knee. He fell to the ground and turned to face Crosshair.

"I'll give you a chance to fix this, commander."

"Do you really think you're doing a good thing?"

"I'm following orders."

"But we are more than just orders. We are living people. Yet we keep acting like we don't know right from wrong! I'm done following orders when I know they are wrong."

Crosshair was silent, like he didn't know what to say. Either way, he was going to see this though.

"Out of everyone, I thought you would understand. I guess I was wrong."

Other troopers came to assist Crosshair. "Grab him and take him to a cell."

"It's not too late to change your mind Cross. Do what's right. See through your orders, before it gets you killed."

Without saying a word, Crosshair stunned Cody. He felt betrayed. After his batch had already left him, the only reg he liked had to go and try to desert. The men took Cody to a cell.

Even if Cody had become a traitor, Crosshair still watched him closely. But one day he disappeared. He was quietly transferred somewhere. When the sniper tried to learn more, there was no information to be found. Hopefully he was okay.