#clone cadet cutup

[suck-a-egg]

Domino squad: who cares if we’re pretty if we fail our finals

[eobe]

Happy Valentine's Day to you all 🥰✨ARC trooper Echo CT-1409 is CT-1402 today and he's coming for you 😽 Get SHOT! 😎💘

Big shout-out to @lonewolflupe's wholesome Valentine's event 💘 Spread love, send messages, melt and drown in sugar, because you're the most loving and supportive community I've never dared to dream of 🥰

A close up, why it’s Echo, the targets and the inevitable ramble below the cut… 🏹

I always get grumpy and blushing when too much pink, glitter, candy and stuff, but deep inside I can't help myself and yield cuteness overload dopamining 🫠✨

ARC trooper Echo is on duty for this day and he won't do a job without the best and most badass gear! ✨😈 He even borrowed himself a winged sky trooper jetpack and Omega’s bow, but only because he can 😎✨ But Maker, he's allowed, he deserves and it's Echo! 💕

Have a closer look. I never did lighting like this before! 🤩 I don't know if it's accurate – I just thought and tried to imagine of how materials would reflect, how much and where and in which angle 🤯✨

I had fun and some frustration figuring his pose! First, he's with the jetpack, what to do with the legs?

Second, as I'm an archer myself, I wanted to give him a good archer posture, but he has a scomp too! +50 skill, +50 difficulty, +100 badassity. Good thing he can hook in this bow-ring of the Zygerrian design and I'm aware that there are many little inaccurate things to find, but I'm still a drawing Padawan, not a master 😂🫶

Third, angles. Can‘t tell what it is exactly. Something worm's eye view, little mortals on the ground looking up to sweet doom coming down from the aurora skies 🤩✨🧡❤️🩷💜✨

But I‘m actually a proud little drawing Padawan looking at this artwork at all 😱 Echo, you're worth the hours. Fandom, you even more. Get ECHOed, cuties 🫶 And everyone, who sees this! 💘

My headcanon, why it has to be Echo:

(Domino Squad at the Barracks)

Echo: No! NO, I don’t want to! Hevy: Vod, it HAS to be you! Echo: This just... isn’t fair! Droidbait: What‘s your problem, brother – I can’t do it, I‘d manage to get shot with this myself! Cutup: And besides that you‘re not as half as cute as Echo! Echo: (teeth gritted) hrrr… shutup cutup! Fives: Echo, they’re right AND you’re the only one around who has the number CT-140... Echo: (interrupting) YOU are the one who always echoes that were NOT our numbers, not me! Why don't YOU be named "Echo", huh? Fives: (handing Echo the Cupid bow, doing huge puppy eyes) Vod – yes, we‘re not numbers, but being Cupid CT-1402 is actually a good thing and... not matter any numbers, you're just the best of us all. 💕🏹 Cutup: … And you really can’t hand this Droidbait! All: Shut up, Cutup!

Targets, that volunteered 😎💘:

@eclec-tech – Writing owl twin, always having a spicy caf for me, managing to inspire me into colorful dimensions and owling with meee 🧡✨ @clonethirstingisreal – My warmhearted friend, always encouraging 🥰🫶 @vrycurious – One of my most supportive out of the box thinking moots 🤩🫶 Targets, that kind of volunteered 💞👀:

@returnofthepineapple – Sweet Piña 🍍🥰 'STOKED' hehe! @freesia-writes – Cute! 😻 Side eying too loud in the reblog 👀 @crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf – Hot chick calling me bb 😽🌹💋 @523rdrebel – hehehe 😏 'can't wait' @littletroggo – Cute moot doing cute art and also ‘can't wait' 🥰✨ @cw80831 – Most proper tagging support! 🤩✨ Targets, that are locked in my crosshair 🤪💞✨:

@ghostymarni – Sweet vod 💗 Queen of Chaos, holding my beer 🍺💘 @wings-and-beskargam – Chaos twin vod 💙🫶🩵 endlessly patient and giving, lovely soul 💘 Targets, that won't get away 😎💘✨:

@lonewolflupe – Double tag, double target, double shot 🤩🏹💖💘 Get ECHOed thoroughly 😏💞🦾 Thank you for everything – you KNOW what I'm thanking you for and will never stop being thankful 🥰 🫠

@foxwithadarkside – no words needed but anyway 😎🏹✨ Muse, art collab witch, badass, quality talk, thank you 💘😽

General volunteering targets: @bixlasagna @sunshinesdaydream @covert1ntrovert @general-ida-raven @dystopicjumpsuit @chaicilatte @groguandthebadbatch @ladylucksrogue @spaceyjessa @morerandombullshit

[therealtrashpanda]

"And I said, 'Baby, you and I could really-"

"You've never even met a girl!" - Fives calling people out from the beginning.

[lifeofclonewars]

Star Wars as Quotes I've Overheard This Semester

I'm back home and had some free time for the first time in 4 months lol. Quotes come from anyone willing to say anything near me on campus, lol Enjoy.

[crashlanding-skywalker]

Cutup, walks into the room holding a salad:

Echo: is someone bringing in cONTRABAND GREENERY????

Fives, gasp dramatically: CUTUP YOU HAVE WEED???

[blackkatmagic]

when the dead tree flowers update

Chapter 18 is now up!

[local-jawa]

I‘m currently rewatching Clone Wars (AGAIN, cuz this show is legendary) and I’m at the Episode “Cadets”. Just now I realised that El-Les was like “Domino will become the best” and I’m like, yes THEY WILL. I don’t care if only two of them survived, they are a unit and they would have gotten even farther together. I will never stop appreciating Domino - and each one as an individual as well.

[tangents-within-tangents]

Friendly reminder though: S3 E1 'Clone Cadets' is meant to be watched out of chronological order because it functions narratively as a prequel episode and works better if you have already seen S1 E5 'Rookies'

Clone Wars in chronological order

Note: I got this order from the Star Wars website

[iamda05]

Whenever someone says cut up or cutting up it reminds me of cutup the clone

[suck-a-egg]

Echo: Coming soon to Pixar: An Eel Ate My Brother

[archivewriter1ont]

Thoughts on Echo as a Senator

I’ve seen a ton of people saying the Fives would be the perfect representative of the clones in an AU where Order 66 was forestalled and the clones were able to obtain rights and a Senate seat, etc… but I actually think he’s the wrong Domino twin to assume this role. I think the perfect, most willing and capable person to represent the clones would be Echo.

Note: I’m still working my way through certain seasons of TCW, so bear with me on this… I might update this post later based on new observations. (I’m stopping the analysis at the end of the TCW Bad Batch arc because the only way I see Echo actually becoming a senator is if Order 66 was stopped by the clones and the Jedi.)

In the Clone Cadets episode when Echo and Fives go to Shaak Ti to ask for a transfer, Fives doesn’t say very much because Echo is the one taking the lead. Echo is the one advocating for himself and his brother. As much as he doesn’t want his squad to fail as a whole, he definitely doesn’t want Fives to get stuck on Kamino as a ‘defect’ and he doesn’t want to, either. He’s willing to go above their trainers’ heads and speak directly to the Jedi (who the clone may or may not be very fond of at the point depending on what they’ve been taught on Kamino, because there’s no way Shaak could have personally interacted with every single trooper) in charge, demonstrating a resolve and sense of justice that required him to do something regardless of how effective his request might be.

In Rookies, Echo isn’t the first to speak to Cody and Rex when they arrive after the attack, but he is the one who tried to share helpful information that would have kept his brothers safe and displayed sorrow for Cutup when they didn’t listen. (The sergeant also looked to Echo first for information after the attack and didn’t really have anything to say to him while chastising the others at the beginning, so that’s something, too.) He speaks up to answer Rex’s questions, and though he still shows concern later on when they retake the base because he doesn’t want to lose any more of his squad, he’s the first to present the liquid tibanna as a way to even the odds (a plan that while a bit crazy, was formulated quickly and logically and ultimately succeeded).

In On the Wings of Keeradaks, not only does Echo push himself to the brink as soon as he’s out of that stasis chamber in order to help his siblings, most of whom he has never met, escape the Techno Union, he turns the results of how his captors butchered his body into their escape plan by hacking the systems and plotting their way out. There are so many more things in this episode that I could include in this list, but the main one that comes to mind is how Echo reacts when Rex points at him and says look what they did to my brother. He doesn’t cower back, ashamed to let his scars and trauma be seen – he steps forward. At this point he has been starved and enslaved, saddled with eternal medical, physical, and spiritual trauma, and yet instead of sitting down to process his own pain this man walks forward on legs that are a representation of how he was mutilated and hurt, baring a chest that’s scarred and caving in from the torment he’s endured, to present himself as a warning of what will happen to others if action isn’t taken, as a prophet of what evil exists hidden beyond the sheen of compliance most people don’t want to peek past. 

Can I say anything about Unfinished Business that isn’t abundantly clear? Echo pushed himself to the limit again, trying to prove his loyalty but also doing his best to protect Rex and, unbeknownst to him, his newfound squad. He almost fries himself in Tambor’s ship and then leaves everything he’s ever known, the only close brother he has left, to help where he can (plus he gets four new brothers out of the deal but still, that’s a major sacrifice).

Basically, I love Echo to death and think HE is actually the one who would do best in representing the clones in the Senate, because he is...

Selfless

Loyal

Determine

A Leader.

This wasn’t supposed to be so long but oh well.

[amorfista]

Hilariously accurate as per usual❤️

We were robbed by not getting an entire show dedicated to the Domino Squad.

Ghost Stories

By KyberCrystals94

Read here on Ao3

Whumptober 2023 | Day 17 | Alternative Prompt: Panic

Rating: T

Words: 847

Summary: Fives tells a ghost story during a training camp with Domino Squad.

Author’s Note: takes place during the Clone Wars, while Domino Squad are still cadets

Echo scowls into the trees surrounding their camp, arms crossed tightly over his chest. He resists the yearning to slink into the comforting glow of the firelight because he knows if any of the other Dominos wake up and find him away from his post, he will never hear the end of it for the rest of his life.

“Stupid Fives and his stupid stories,” Echo mutters to the inky darkness.

“I have a story,” Fives said around the campfire that night while the Domino Squad gnawed on stale ration bars, “but you have to promise not to be scared.”

“We’re not tubies,” Droidbait retorted.

Fives holds up his hands. “Hey, I’m just saying, if you’re terrified tonight when you’re all alone on your watch, don’t come crying to me.”

“Just tell your stupid story,” Hevy said, “I can’t imagine anything being scarier than Echo reciting the regulations in his sleep like that one time.”

“That never happened,” Echo grumbled.

“How would you know? You were asleep,” Fives said.

Echo rolled his eyes.

“Anyway,” Fives says, “this is a true story I heard from one of the troopers on Kamino. And it happened right here, on Fos Eran…”

Echo edges around the perimeter of the camp, keeping his back to where his brothers sleep, his eyes forward to the looming silhouettes of trees and squat shadows of undergrowth, barely touched by moonlight. He has his torch beam skimming the tree line, but it can’t account for everything all at once. Echo hates this, the feeling of eyes watching him, the sensation of an unidentified presence lurking.

A branch snaps.

The hair on the back of Echo’s neck stands on end.

“They say the bride went into the woods that night,” Fives said, leaning forward, voice low, “the eve before her wedding. There were flowers, she said, that only bloom in the light of the full moon.”

Echo glanced up at the reflective orb shining down at them.

“Oh,” Fives said, looking up, “I guess there’s a full moon tonight too.”

“Like you didn’t know that,” Cutup groaned.

Echo swallows, daring to glance back to where the four other members of Domino Squad sleep.

“It is just a stupid story, Echo, di’kut,” he whispers, “Stop letting it go to your head. You are part of the greatest army the galaxy has ever seen. Are you really scared of a little story?”

A gust of wind cools the back of his neck like a whispery breath.

Echo jumps.

“…after they heard her blood curdling scream, they searched for weeks, but never found her body, just a strip of fabric from the dress she wore that night. Since then, every month on the night of the fullest moon, the ghost of the bride comes searching for a groom to join her in death. You’ll see her out the corner of your eye, but when you turn to look, she isn’t there, but you’ll feel her breath on your neck, her fingers in your hair…”

Echo catches a flash of white out the corner of his eye and turns to look. Nothing.

“Of course, it’s nothing,” Echo growls, “there’s nothing there.”

“Echo…”

Echo spins around, the beam of his torch flying madly across the treetops. “Who’s there?”

“Echo…” a whisper says, a voice so soft it barely wraps around the syllables of his name.

Echo looks back to the camp where four bodies lay, deep in undisturbed sleep. How angry would they be if he woke them up now? He would probably die of embarrassment before any of his squad mates could kill him.

“Sith’s hell,” Echo curses, chest tight. Someone’s out there, in the woods. Probably someone from another squad pulling a prank. Absolute idiots. The whole lot of them. Echo swallows, gripping his torch so tight in both hands his joints ache.

“Join me, Echo…”

Fingers card through his hair.

Echo doesn’t shriek. He doesn’t. Absolutely does not. But by the time his vision clears, he is looking down at Fives who is sitting on his shebs, hands cupped over a bloody nose from Echo inadvertently backhanding him as he spun around in sheer panic. Cutup is cackling so hard he is doubled over as he staggers out of the woods from where the voice called out.

“Kark, Echo!” Fives cries, but even with his hands covering the whole lower part of his face, Echo can see from the clone’s eyes that he has the biggest, stupidest smile on his face. “Did I scare you?”

Echo glares down at him. “You’re lucky they don’t let us carry blasters out here, or I would’ve shot you.”

“I didn’t know clone voices could reach that octave,” Cutup howls. “Congrats, Echo! That must be a record.”

Hevy and Droidbait are sitting up in their bedrolls now, tiredly blinking, but grins stretching their identical faces.

Echo wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole. “I’m going to pay you back,” he swears at Fives and Cutup, “both of you. You won’t see it coming, and it will be swift and painful.”

END

Author’s Note: Thought I was due for a light hearted story, so here we are.

Tag List: @isthereanechoinhere96 @followthepurrgil @amorfista

✨Let me know if you’d like to be to be added to the Tag List✨

[areyoufuckingcrazy]

Arc Trooper Fives x Bounty Hunter Reader

Summary: Domino Squad is a disaster, and you're the trainer stuck trying to fix them. They're cocky, chaotic, and hanging by a thread—especially Fives. But somewhere between the bruises, barking orders, and late-night drills, something starts to change. Maybe even you.

———

Kamino always smelled like wet metal and too much polish. The kind of place that made your trigger finger itch just to remind yourself you were still alive.

You stood alone in the empty training room, arms crossed, helmet hooked on your hip, waiting.

Fifteen minutes. You weren't used to waiting. Especially not for kids.

Domino Squad. Shak Ti's special case. Her voice still echoed in your ear from the briefing: "They have potential... but they lack unity. I believe a different kind of instructor might help."

You weren't sure if she meant your experience training commandos... or the fact that you had the patience of a womp rat with a blaster wound.

The door finally hissed open, and five clone cadets filtered in—already mid-argument.

"I told you she'd be here," one snapped.

"No, you said hangar, genius."

"I said rec room, actually."

You turned slowly to face them, expression unreadable.

"You're late."

They froze like kids caught slicing into a security terminal.

One of them—broad-shouldered, short hair, an attitude problem already radiating off him—stepped forward. "Ma'am, we were told to meet you in the hangar."

You stared him down. "Why the hell would I meet you in the hangar for live combat drills? That's where people go to leave. Not get their shebs handed to them."

Another chimed in, confused. "CT-782 told us the mess hall."

The tall one groaned. "I never said that!"

"Did too!"

"I said we should check the mess hall—"

"Why would she train us in a cafeteria?!"

They were full-on bickering now. Voices overlapping, fingers pointing, logic disappearing with every word.

You just stared. Shak Ti hadn't been exaggerating.

These kids were a walking tactical disaster.

You let them go another three seconds before barking, "Enough!"

Silence.

You stepped forward, boots echoing against the durasteel floor.

"You think this is funny? Cute? You think this is how squads survive out there in the field? Getting your coordinates mixed and your shebs blown off because nobody can get their story straight?"

They said nothing. At least they had the sense to look guilty.

You exhaled through your nose, less angry now. More tired.

"Alright. Names. One by one. And don't kriffing lie."

The one who'd spoken first crossed his arms. "CT-782. Hevy."

You gave him a look. Accurate. He was the one with the mess hall theory.

The next was shorter, more nervous. "CT-4040. Cutup."

You nodded once.

Then came a cadet with a perpetually sour expression. "CT-00-2010. Droidbait."

"Unfortunate name," you muttered.

He shrugged. "I didn't pick it."

Then came the silent one—stiff posture, emotion locked down like a vault. "CT-1409. Echo."

You raised a brow. "Because you repeat yourself?"

"Because I follow orders," he replied, a little too sharp.

You liked him already.

And finally... the fifth cadet. His armor was slightly looser, hair a little unruly, grin already forming.

"CT-5555. Fives."

You blinked. "Seriously?"

He gave you a cheeky salute. "I take training very seriously, ma'am."

You folded your arms. "And yet you still ended up fifteen minutes late to a scheduled ass-kicking."

His grin widened. "Better late than dead."

Force help me, you thought. This one's going to be a handful.

But as the squad fell into a loose formation, shoulders brushing, complaints subsiding—you saw it. The spark. They were disorganized, sure. Rough around the edges. But there was something under all that chaos.

Especially with that one.

Fives.

You didn't smile.

Not yet.

But you already knew you'd have your eye on him.

---

The simulation room smelled like ozone and bruised pride.

Smoke curled from a spent training turret. The floor was littered with foam stun bolts. And Domino Squad? Lying in a tangled heap of limbs, groaning and stunned after getting their collective asses handed to them. Again.

You stood over them, blaster still warm in your hand, utterly unimpressed.

"You know," you said, holstering your weapon, "the point of the exercise was *not* to see how many of you could trip over each other while a single assailant takes you all out in under two minutes."

Cutup coughed. "It was under two minutes?"

"I'm generous. It was forty-two seconds."

Hevy swore softly.

Fives pushed himself up onto one elbow, panting. "Okay, so—hear me out—we *let* you win. Morale-boosting strategy."

You turned slowly. "You let me what?"

He gave you that same lopsided grin from yesterday, hair mussed, lip split. "Had to make sure your ego was intact. Wouldn't want to hurt your feelings."

"Oh," you said sweetly. "Is that what this is? You playing nice?"

Fives dragged himself to his feet, still grinning. "Wouldn't want to upset someone who looks that good while kicking my ass."

There it was. The line.

The others groaned behind him.

Echo muttered, "Maker, Fives, not again."

You stepped into his space. Fives barely flinched, even with you nose to nose.

"You know what's funny?" you said, eyes locked on his.

"Me, I'm hilarious," he offered.

You slammed the butt of your blaster into the back of his knee. He dropped like a sack of supplies, flat on his back with a surprised grunt.

You knelt beside him, elbow resting on your knee, casual. "Commandos don't flirt during training."

He blinked up at you. "Maybe they should."

You bit back a laugh.

It was infuriating. It was charming. It was a problem.

You stood, stepping over him to address the squad.

"You've got potential," you said flatly. "But potential doesn't mean anything if you can't get your heads out of your own shebs long enough to function like a unit. Commandos are sharp. Focused. They move like a single weapon."

Droidbait raised a hand from the floor. "So... we're more like a broken vibroblade?"

You stared down at him. "Right now? You're a butter knife."

A few of them snorted.

You rolled your shoulders, then hit the reset on the simulation. The room flickered. Walls shifted. Obstacles reformed.

"Again."

"Now?" Echo asked, winded.

"Yes, now. You think clankers are gonna give you a breather 'cause you're winded? Again."

The lights flickered red, and the first wave of simulated droids poured in.

---

The squad filed out of the training room, grumbling and limping, drenched in sweat and ego damage. You stayed behind, checking the scoring logs. You didn't look up when footsteps returned behind you.

"Back for round four?" you asked.

Fives leaned against the doorway, arms folded, nursing a fresh bruise on his jaw.

"Thought you might want some company while you reviewed our failure."

You arched a brow. "That's sweet. But I prefer my pity parties without commentary."

He grinned. "Not pity. Just... curiosity."

You turned toward him fully, arms crossed now. "About what?"

He shrugged. "Why you took this assignment. You're a bounty hunter. You train clone commandos. So what are you doing babysitting a bunch of squad rejects?"

You stared at him for a long beat.

"I don't babysit," you said finally. "I break bad habits. Yours just happen to be louder and dumber than most."

His grin faltered—just for a second.

But then he stepped closer. Not quite in your space, but almost.

"You think we've got no shot, huh?"

"I think you've got no discipline. No unity. No idea how to shut up and listen. You've got heart, sure. Fire. But fire without direction burns out fast."

Fives looked at you differently then. The grin softened. The smartass faded, just a little.

"And me?" he asked, quieter.

You blinked.

"What about you?"

He shrugged again, casual and reckless. "Where do *I* fall on your little critique list?"

You stepped closer, leaned in with a smirk of your own.

"You? You're the most dangerous one of all."

His eyebrows lifted. "Oh yeah?"

"Because you've got the spark. But you'd throw your life away in a second for someone who doesn't even like you yet."

Fives opened his mouth to reply, but you were already walking out past him.

"Be better tomorrow, cadet," you called.

He turned to watch you go, smirking despite himself.

"Oh, I will."

---

The lights were low in the training dome. It was well past curfew. The Kaminoan facility echoed with rain and distant alarms. Most cadets were asleep—except Domino Squad.

And you.

The moment you'd walked into the barracks and barked, *"Up. Now. You've got five minutes,"* they knew better than to ask questions.

Cutup groaned as he jogged alongside you toward the dome. "You realize some of us like sleeping, right?"

"You can sleep when you're competent," you shot back.

"Guess I'll be dead first," Droidbait muttered.

Fives, ever the golden retriever with a blaster, nudged Hevy. "Come on. This'll be good."

"You say that every time," Echo said, deadpan. "And every time, you eat dirt."

"Yeah," Fives grinned. "But at least I look good doing it."

You rolled your eyes but hid the smile tugging at your mouth as you keyed in the sim code. The floor shifted. A close-quarters layout, reduced visibility, enemy droids loaded for full-speed pursuit. No stuns. They had to think. Move fast. Adapt.

"Alright," you said. "You've improved. Slightly. So now we make it harder."

Droidbait groaned. "I liked it better when you just yelled at us."

"You're welcome."

You turned to Fives as he checked his blaster, already flashing you that boyish, too-easy smile. "So what's the challenge this time, boss? Try not to fall in love with you mid-firefight?"

You tilted your head. "That happen to you often, cadet?"

He winked. "Only with the deadly ones."

Your smirk was slow and wicked. "Careful, pretty boy. That flirting'll get you shot."

"Oh, I'm into danger."

"Good," you purred. "I'll make it hurt."

That got a low *ooooh* from the squad.

Fives faltered—just for a second. It was enough.

The droid in the corner of the sim fired. Fives barely turned in time before the stun bolt caught him square in the chest and sent him sprawling to the floor with a *thud.*

You crossed your arms, standing over him with a grin. "Lesson number one: distractions on the battlefield get you *killed.*"

Cutup leaned over him. "Damn, man. She really *floored* you."

"Shut up," Fives wheezed.

You turned back to the rest of them. "Get up. Formation. Now."

As they fell into line, Echo muttered under his breath, "This feels like bullying."

"You all volunteered to be here," you called over your shoulder. "This is mercy."

Fives finally staggered upright, cheeks flushed—maybe from the stun, maybe not.

He jogged to catch up, falling in step beside you.

"I'm still your favorite," he said under his breath.

"You're on a very long list, cadet."

He grinned. "But I'm climbing."

You just smirked and let him believe it.

---

The squad had been dismissed and were off licking their wounds (and egos). But you were still in the dome, reviewing footage, adjusting the next sim's layout.

You didn't look up when the door hissed open.

"You don't sleep either, huh?"

Fives.

He walked in slow, still in training gear, bruised, towel slung around his neck like some cocky prizefighter.

"Couldn't sleep," he said. "Thought I'd come get a private lesson."

You raised a brow. "Need help falling on your face again?"

"Thought I'd try doing it *on purpose* this time," he shot back, stepping up beside you.

You shook your head, amused despite yourself.

The silence stretched for a moment—comfortable. Weirdly so.

Then he asked, quieter, "Do you think we're gonna make it?"

You looked over at him, surprised.

He wasn't grinning anymore. Not really.

"I mean," he added, "Domino Squad. We screw everything up. Shak Ti thinks we're hopeless. Our last trainer quit after two weeks. You're the only one who hasn't given up on us yet."

You watched him for a beat.

"You want the honest answer?"

He nodded.

"You will. But not because of some miracle. Not because someone fixes you. You'll make it because you stop trying to be five separate heroes and start fighting like one team."

He looked at you like you'd said something *important.*

Then, because it was Fives: "Also probably because I look so good in armor."

You rolled your eyes. "And you were *so* close to having a character moment."

He chuckled, easy and low. "I like you."

You turned back to the screen, not smiling, but not not-smiling either.

"I know."

---

You stood with arms crossed in the control room above the Citadel, staring down at the training ground. The room was cold, sterile—just like the expressions on the two bounty hunter instructors beside you.

Bric scowled. "They're not ready."

El-Les sighed, gentler, but still resigned. "Too fractured. They'll fall apart under pressure."

You clenched your jaw. "They've improved."

"Not enough."

Down below, Domino Squad prepped for the exam. They looked... okay. Not perfect. Not polished. But their footing was better. Their eyes sharper. Even Hevy wasn't muttering complaints under his breath. You'd drilled them to exhaustion over the past week.

They had heart.

But heart only got you so far.

---

It started strong.

Tight formation, decent communication. Droid targets were taken down efficiently, if a bit loud. But then the turret fired.

Hevy went off plan.

Droidbait hesitated.

Cutup tripped.

Echo tried to rally them—but it was too late.

Fives shouted over the chaos. "Fall back, *together!*" but no one was listening anymore.

The blast sent them sprawling. Timer hit red.

"Simulation failed," the droid voice droned.

Silence.

You looked down at them through the glass, jaw clenched.

Below, the boys didn't even argue. They just stood there, stunned.

Disappointed.

Shak Ti's voice was calm, as always, from beside you. "They're not without merit."

Bric scoffed. "They're without skill."

You bristled. "They're not without *potential.*"

But it didn't matter. The test was failed. Domino Squad walked off the field with heavy steps and heavier hearts.

---

You found them later, back in their barracks, silent for once.

"I've seen worse squads," you said, leaning against the wall.

Echo didn't look up. "You've trained worse squads?"

"No," you admitted. "But I've seen them. You want pity, or you want another shot?"

Fives finally looked at you. "They're not gonna let us retake it."

You tossed a datapad onto the table. "Shak Ti overruled Bric. Said you were worth the gamble."

They all stared.

Hevy slowly blinked. "...You serious?"

You gave him a sharp nod. "Final shot. Pass, and you graduate. Fail, and I'm not gonna waste my time making your funerals look nice."

Fives grinned, eyes gleaming. "You do care."

You shoved a practice baton into his chest. "I care about not wasting good talent. Let's go, squad. Again."

---

You watched from the same control room, this time with arms folded, jaw tense, heart stubbornly in your throat.

Domino Squad hit the field. Silent. Steady.

They moved like a unit.

When Hevy took the high ground, Echo and Cutup covered the flank. Fives ran point, calling out shots, focused, fast, precise.

When the turrets came, no one panicked. When Droidbait hesitated, Fives yanked him out of the way without missing a beat.

They didn't fall apart.

They didn't fall at all.

The simulation ended with the squad fully intact, the objective secured, and the droid voice confirming: "Simulation complete. Pass."

Bric said nothing. El-Les smiled.

You? You let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding.

---

You met them outside the dome, arms crossed again—but this time your eyes betrayed you.

Pride. Real pride.

They were grinning, sweaty, bruised, but *standing taller* than they ever had.

"Well?" you said. "You gonna thank me, or what?"

Cutup smirked. "Thank you for the emotional trauma?"

Hevy laughed. "Wouldn't be the same without it."

You looked at Fives. He looked back, eyes softer than you'd ever seen them.

And then, without thinking, you stepped in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

A beat.

Then two.

The entire squad: *"OOOOHHHHHHH—"*

Fives flushed crimson, frozen in place. "Did—Did anyone else feel the room spin or—?"

You smirked, stepping back. "Don't let it go to your head, pretty boy. You're still just a cadet."

He blinked. "A cadet who *just graduated.*"

You held his gaze a moment longer, something unsaid between you.

Then you turned. "Until we meet again."

"Wait—" he called after you.

You glanced over your shoulder.

He smiled, still a little dazed. "You're gonna miss me."

You grinned. "I already do."

And then you were gone, leaving Domino Squad behind to bask in their victory.

And Fives?

Well, he touched his cheek for a suspiciously long time that day.

———

Part 2

A/N

For more clones please check out my Wattpad account or my material list

[rendomski]

The Domino Effect

Summary: Shaak Ti was often tempted to save some clone kids. AU, where she finally goes for it. And the ties of siblinghood run strong among the clones.

An impromptu ficlet, ~1000 words. Enjoy 🙂.

Force acts in mysterious ways, thinks Shaak Ti when she walks by the cadet barracks late in their night cycle and overhears the argument. Apparently, someone who doesn’t want to be called Hevy decided to go AWOL, and 99 is trying to persuade him otherwise.

Supervising kids that are raised with a sole purpose—to fight and die for the Republic—is a morally challenging task. Shaak has been tempted multiple times just to take on board as many kids as she can and whisk them far from this madness. Something tips the scales, finally, as she steps into the vast barracks and speaks, “So, you want to get away, cadet?”

They both freeze in shock.

“No, General, sir. Hevy wasn’t going to—” 99 begins, but not-Hevy interrupts him, staring with a desperate defiance.

“Yes, sir. I was planning to go AWOL.”

Shaak stares him back, but the kid, almost a grown-up—or what goes as grown-up nowadays, the cadets are shipped away even at a younger age than at the beginning of the war—does not budge.

“Alright,�� says Shaak. “Is this your stuff? Take it and let’s go to my ship.”

“Sir?”

“You want to go AWOL? I can take you off-world on my ship. No one would dare search for you there.”

Not-Hevy grabs the bag with whatever he can claim as his own, but then hesitates.

“Sir, with your permission. My brother, CT-4040. Trainer Bric has it against him. He would do anything so that CT-4040 doesn’t pass his final test.” His eyes go wider as it dawns upon him how implausible the chance Shaak is offering him and how close he might be to failure by asking even more of her. He finishes nonetheless. “May I… may you take him away, too?”

Shaak’s confidence that she is doing the right thing blooms.

“Yes. You may take your brother with you.”

***

“Sir?”

“Yes, CT-4040?”

“Cutup, sir. My name is Cutup,” he glances at CT-782, who is stubbornly not Hevy. “Since tonight. So… Droidbait. CT-782, we’re not leaving him behind, like we did during the simulation, do we?”

Leaving behind during the simulation, this sounds very familiar. “Cadets, what squad are you from?” Shaak asks and nods upon the name, knowing already what comes. “I understand. Go for your brother, and bring Fives and CT-1409 along, too.”

***

“99, I am not leaving without you. We all owe you.”

The aged clone shakes his head, “No, Hevy. You go with the General. As for me, there are a few other troubled brothers that need my support here.”

Of course, five pairs of near-identical eyes stare at Shaak hopefully at the words. “General? You have some more space on your ship, don’t you, sir?”

She sighs. “Just be quiet. It is getting serious, so from now on, let's make it a stealth mission.”

“You've heard the General. It is a stealth mission.”

Exasperated groans, “We're standing right here, Echo,” follow.

***

“Sir?” Fives tugs at her sleeve with suspicious shyness. “It may sound crazy, but… Well, there is a girl here.”

“Oh, not again!”

“Don’t listen to him, General. He is making it all up. He has never met a girl in his life.”

“Well, I did! I keep telling you, and you idiots, refuse to believe me!” Fives snaps. “Sir, there is a girl here, working in the hospital. I met her. I talked to her.”

***

There is a girl, indeed. Experimental Medical Researcher 003, EMR-003 for short, whom Shaak has never met and never seen in any official documents. Moreso, she has never even heard of the Jango female clone program. And this gets extremely suspicious now. Her hunting instincts and the Force both sing to her that she is on the trail of something bigger.

“I am not the only one here, sir. There is one more girl, at least. She is different, but she is also one of us. I can get her out of the lab, I know the way.”

***

Another girl is different, for sure. Shaak can't grasp what is different about this kid—a five-year-old cadet at the most. Not the blond hair, there is a number of blond cadets around. There is something else, something elusive.

“Oh, you want to take us all off-world?” Omega, not EMR-something, notes Shaak, looks at the gang of clones with contagious joy and amazement. Cutup winks at her, and she waves back at him enthusiastically. “We must take my brothers with us!”

“We are all your brothers,” says no-longer-CT-1409-but-still-rather-reluctant Echo serenely.

“I know! But those are… They are my little brothers! And,” she saddens, her childish voice dropping almost to a whisper. “There are only four of them left.”

Shaak sighs. Alright, four more little kids, not a big difference.

***

…they happen to be not quite little kids, and it is finally clear what is different about Omega. The list of questions and problems grows ever longer. Shaak has hunted down and bitten more than she can chew.

She needs to take someone into the partnership in crime—Plo, most likely. And Obi Wan, who found Kamino in the first place, may have some valuable insights…

But first things first. Her navicomputer is still calculating the hyperspace route when a fight erupts in the back of the ship. And Fives is proudly showing EMR-003 around the ship, despite being here for the first time himself. Half of his explanations are totally wrong. Lanky, bespectacled cadet who has confidently strapped himself in the copilot seat and already asked Shaak three questions in a row, turns around and begins to correct him. Someone is asking loudly over the clamour whether her Jedi ship is equipped with guns.

Only 99 gazes silently into the starry void, mesmerised. Looking in his wizened face, Shaak Ti realises that this is his first time in space, despite his long and respectable age of thirteen.

[writingmonet]

Fives Psychology, part one: heir of the Dominoes

Okay, this may be very, very long, I’m high in caffeine and my brain won’t shut up about this since yesterday. Is this necessary? Only for my sanity. Also, it doesn’t seem to have been written? This is a huge shock for me, considering how popular Fives is (and how underrated Echo criminally is). This is part one. Part two will focus on Rex, Tup, the chip and Echo's return Arc.

Let’s begin chronologically, with Clone Cadets.

SW's chronology is a mess but this episode can easily be placed in 21 BBY at the very early stages of the war. Fives is a member of Domino Squad.

What this episode learn us?

First, Fives closest brother is Echo (he’s his twin, fight me).

And that means a hell of things for us. As @dominosquadsupremacy as pointed out in her own analyze of the episode, Fives and Echo are the closest. Echo wants to change squads? Yeah, sure. But not without Fives. Fives want to change squads? No prob’s as long as Echo’s here. But for that, they have to convince General Shaak Ti.

And guess who speaks for advocating their cause? You guessed it. Not Fives. Fives is not the one talking when he and Echo request to learn of the squad. It’s Echo. It’s Echo who makes the points and Echo who answers Fives' questions when he has one.

Now, Echo does has a reputation of shyness among the fandom, to whom I agree to, toward strangers. Within his squad? Hell no. Echo is the one who calls Hevy on his behaviour. He is the one who engage himself in a physical fight with Hevy because he can’t stand being mock by his older brother. Echo has traits that Fives will display later, but for the current time he does not. Some may argue that this is because the writers didn’t had plan Fives to “die” as it was for Echo and has Hevy was already dead (since this episode is shortly before the infamous Cutadel Arc but was created after Rookies). And you’re probably right by pointing this. But it doesn’t dismiss my point. Quite the opposite I dare to say. Following the “death” of Echo, Fives in his own, was the one who changed of behaviour, encouraged by his closest brother’s death. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let’s return to our Clone Cadets.

Something I forgot to add is Domino Squad's common ambition: being an ARC Trooper. They all want that, and this will be relevant in the episode ARC Trooper.

During the infamous (absolutely not foreshadowing) fail-test, Fives and Echo are together (as they already were in the beginning), Echo even making a joke at his brother (perhaps to light his mood) assuring him that he’s on his side. It’s a recurring theme among them, being at each other’s side. Wherever Fives go, Echo go. And vice-versa. Until the end of times (sorry, wrong universe.)

Anyway. When they decides to let Droidbait (DB) behind, injured, Fives and Echo are making the decision with Hevy. Cutup is the one staying behind (and does this imply that, if Cutup had survived he would have seen that Echo wasn’t dead? I may overthink it, but for the sake’s of tragedy, let’s say yes). When the test is stopped, F&E exchanges a look (and honestly, Colt was right to be mad at them).

After that, they don't reappear until the end where, Fives and Echo are again at each other's hips, and while Echo takes the Citadel first, he's shortly followed by Fives and the others who cheers.

To the first who tells me that Fives has NO display characteristic traits in this episode, I’ll ask him to rewatch the first 5 mins. Fives get mad at Echo. Since the beginning Fives tends to be angry in stressful situations (as they all are), even toward his twin. Later, more anecdotally but still, he calls on Cutup about his famous girl lie. Again, Fives (I think but this time it’s nearly impossible to be 100% right) is the one stopping Hevy from engaging in a second fight, against Bric (which he would have lost, let us be honest).

To summarises in a nutshell

Fives closest brother is Echo

Fives let Echo do the talking to advocate their opinions, their well-being and ambitions at General Shaak Ti where Fives appears more reserved in front of, more hesitant.

Echo answers Fives doubts and questions. Some might say he's Fives guiding voice.

Fives already has anger (like Hevy and Echo I say) but it's Echo who physically hit a brother

Echo always tries to lighten the mood, not only to Fives.

Being an ARC Trooper is Domino Squad's whole goal. That's what they want.

In addition, while Echo is mainly spoken bout here, the influence of the others, especially Hevy, cannot be denied on Fives. Hevy is the one who considers themselves as just a number when he clearly thinks of himself as an individual. Hevy does not let his brothers down, thanks to 99.

And speaking of Hevy, I present you the Rookies episode.

Now here, this episode is mark by 2 majors events

the appearance of Rex in Fives and Echo's life

The death of all Fives' brother except one

Let us talk about Hevy first. Hevy who dies in a very heroic (but avoidable) way, if only the device had worked properly. Hevy sacrificed himself. We do not have, unfortunately, Fives' reaction to his death, but to say that he was unaffected would be madness.

Because Hevy displays many traits that Fives will also later. They're both bold, impatient, and headstrong. They value their brothers above the republic. Hevy stayed in Kamino to not let down his Dominoes brothers, to ensure their success. He died to protect his brothers, both died doing their duties He also was a man of action, much like Fives.

Much like Hevy, DB and Cutup death has impacted Fives. To honour them he painted a Rishi Eel on his helmet, which he did not change.

Now I think the Rishi is a symbol that represents Domino as a whole. It was the first and only mission they ever did together. It was the last time they were together, free from Kamino's suffocating walls. It was also the place where Fives met Rex.

Rookies introduce us to Rex and Cody meeting the Dominoes. That is major. not only because Hevy, in a few hours, managed to make an ever-lasting impression on Rex, but because Rex decides to take Fives & Echo when he shouldn't have. That's right! Cody presents himself as their new boss. Not Rex. Now, perhaps Cody was simply the boss because he was the superior of Rex. But again, at the end of the day, Rex takes the twins and not Cody.

Fives is not extremely prominent in this episode, but even from day 1 hos closeness to Echo was here. Echo checks on him regularly. Fives do not mock him unlike Hevy & Cutup at the start of the episode (and as they did on Clone Cadets). Echo stops firing in a middle of a fight because Fives is touched, and Cody has to remind him to keep firing.

And, at the end of the day, it's the two of them together. They only have each other's left after Rishi and yet we already see the seeds of Fives changing.

Episode 3: ARC Troopers.

We learn and observe multiple things during this episode. Now, I'm going to analyze this deleted scene, who can still be considered as canon.

Fives is impatient to be an ARC Trooper. Frankly, I guess why. He's been in the 501st so long (we know that this episode happened in 21 BBY too but SW years seem to be longer than ours) and it's frustrating not being able to achieve what was his squad dream is (is: because Echo remains).

They have Hevy's name and iconic canon on their armour. They mourn him, like they mourn Cutup (when Fives tries to make a joke but Echo reminds him that it was Cutup who was good with the jocks, not him) and DB too (even the writers won't state it). Their meeting with 99 also taught them that Hevy let his medal to 99 (I headcanon that this medal is all that remains for Echo to his brothers, along with his and Fives' medals).

Defending Kamino is defending the place where them, as a squad, have grow up. They have no love for the Kaminoans (I mean, who has?) but they'll defend the place no matter what

99's death. Here we can see that it's Echo who reacts the most strongly to 99's death. Again, Echo seems to be the impulsive one, who tends to react strongly to emotions and events (hugging 99's in his arms, screaming his name shortly before that). Fives doesn't. He's growing impatient with his lack of evolution and clearly is ambitious and mourns his brothers but he's not as emotional as Echo can be toward 99's death.

At the end of the day, they are named ARC Troopers to which Echo's first reaction is surprise, while Fives' one is pride. They did it. They accomplished their squad dream: being the best of the best.

Now, it is time (as it always is in stories) to deconstruct all of that.

One simple method for that: Echo's death - Fives' closest brother and twin.

Now this essay lead me to the question of: was Echo's fake death always wanted? From what I understood (by comparing to other clones' deaths and Filoni's comments) it appears that yes.

That led me to the other question of why? Pure tragedy, like Filoni likes? Probably. Continuation of Fives legacy? It may have been the wish in TBB, and - writing-wise, this is my favourite option, although she's imperfect and would deserve a writing commentary on his own, I digress.

I'm gonna spare you all the details but Echo's death is a echo of Hevy one. Death for duty, duty for protecting his brother. As seen in the previous episode, Echo tends to react emotionally, harshly and strongly when one of his close brother is in danger. When he run toward the shuttle I bet that the only thing he was caring for was getting Fives outta here.

Wanna an anecdote? What is the common point between the Citadel Arc, Umbara Arc and TBB final in s3? Matt Michnovetz. He wrote those arcs. And, while Echo is never explainly mentioned in Umabara you can feel his ghost on Fives' changing character.

Fives did not take well Echo's death. I do not invent. First of all his reaction, is strikingly similar to Echo's one at 99's death (a violent scream of the name and, should he have time, he would have stayed with his brother but was forced to walk away). Fives pass the rest of the following episode looking behind him as if his twin could reappear and this was just one, big joke.

(I don't want to end up a wall decoration)

Now on Umbara. The episodes are complex so let us be focus. First there is this quote of rex who might appears as anecdotical but who bothers me.

Rex: good to have you back

Fives: just like old times

So this means that between the Citadel (s3) and Umbara (s4) Fives wasn't with the 501st, as Rex lieutenant? Like old times means that they were doing missions together with Echo, but they didn't for a while? Where was Fives all this time? Did he request to take missions solo? I do not know but this imply that, at some point, Fives was gone from Rex's sight and only came back for Umbara, and this seems to have been the first mission they were doing together just like old times.

Now, Fives has an extremely changed demeanour during the arc who reminds us of Hevy and Echo, and he clearly has some left-to-deal issues.

Fives spoken advocation for his brother's well-being - like Echo

Fives strong and commanding leadership - like Hevy

Fives fighting all authority and calling Rex - like hevy

Fives deciding that "screw up that, I'm outta here!" - much like Hevy improvised plan in front of a desperate situation in Clone cadets, in their final test.

Fives clearly struggling to not go physical with Pong Krell to defend Rex - unlike Echo here

His outbursts of emotions, anger and frustration, are very reminders of himself and Echo as well

His closeness to clones like Rex and Tup and Jesse and so on may come from a psychological need to always having someone on his side, like his twin. I'm not sure Fives knows how to remain without anyone on his side (but this is part 2 mostly, so I leave it here)

Then there's this quote:

Where's the honour in marching blindly to our deaths?

Fives saw DB, Hevy and Echo sacrificing themselves knowing that they had no chance to get out of this alive. They walked blindly to their deaths, and Fives never forgot that. If he can stop his brothers from doing so, he will. Pong Krell saw clones as disposable. Rex was too stuck in his commanding-book nature to react. Fives had enough. I think he threw the book and the rules (if he ever respected them) the moment Echo went out of his life. All his actions on Umbara are a mirror of his dominoes brothers and the consequence of Echo's death on his psychological mind. He's Fives ghost and this ghost will never be able to leave him in peace as long as his brothers are threatened and cast aside. Fives is done with commanding officers like Tarkin and Krell who don't care for his brother's lives ("he is the one who never realizes the cost").

An appreciable detail is the animation. On Umbara Fives look clearly exhausted, as if he hadn't slept for a long time. We can see the progress of the animation here and it's all more fantastic if we consider that, yes, Fives probably didn't have a single good night of sleep since his twin's death.

Personally I only have a face like that when I didn't get my week of goodnight

Okay, this is long enough and I need to go. Don't hesitate to give me your arguments if you think I'm wrong, I would love to discuss it with you. Sorry if this is incomprehensive to you, I wrote that in like one hour and I'm too lazy to do a second lecture.

[margindoodles2407]

You guys were asking for the Fives And Echo Dissertation so here it is. Courtesy of @seeking-elsewhither, who first asked the question, "Do you think Fives or Echo is older?" and then patiently listened as things got out of hand.

(Author's note: this is written in my own sort of weird style, where I have a point to prove but to prove it I use almost a kind of narrative style. A great previous example of this is The Crosshair Dissertation, which I published whilst watching The Bad Batch. I hope this style doesn't throw anyone off. Thank you for your time.)

@whyoneartheven You may be interested in this and @kitty-i-swear-to-gosh I know you asked me where the thesis was so I'm tagging you. I hope you don't mind :)

Tube twins are incredibly rare within the ranks of the GAR. Very few of them survive gestation due to lack of nutrients or other complications, and the few that do are often… taken care of by the Kaminoan scientists. The reason for this is that (based on prior tests and research) tube twins, more than any other clones, have a tendency to become dangerously codependent. They will often prioritize their twin over the rest of their squad, which means missions get failed and battles are lost. And Force forbid a pair of twins get separated, whether it be through simple reassignment or, worse, death- it can cause severe mental depletion to the point of a psychosomatic response, a full-on breakdown, and too many other problems to count.

Neither Fives nor Echo knows the real reason they were allowed to survive. They both doubt it was a show of mercy on the parts of the Kaminoans, and even less likely is the idea that they somehow slipped through the radar unnoticed. They agree, though, that it's better not to pry. For their own sake.

Now, with this knowledge in mind: let's examine the fact that, in my mind, Fives is the elder twin. To make sense of this, you may need to take a brief refresher on my characterization of Fives. He's a silly guy, yes, and we love him for it. He also takes responsibility incredibly seriously, he does NOT tolerate those who abuse their positions of authority, when he sets his mind to something only the Force itself could possibly hope to stop him, and he is willing to literally fight and die for the people he loves.

Now, Fives is not the eldest of his vode. He has Hevy, Cutup and Droidbait ahead of him, and only Echo directly under his care. Echo his twin, Echo his closest brother, his best friend, his confidant, his better half.

And he, Fives, is his older brother.

On Kamino, he keeps his head down, as much as deep in his soul he wants to lash out against the Kaminoans and their standards of genetic purity, because if he were to act out on Kamino he could get himself and his entire squad in trouble. And he has a responsibility not to do that. But he also has a responsibility to protect them- ESPECIALLY ECHO- in other ways.

He… becomes a little bit overprotective of Echo. He has a tendency to constantly pull "older brother status", but he's not doing it out of a sense of inflated ego or superiority, he's doing it out of a genuine sense of duty. He's doing it because he knows the danger tube twins are in, the fact that most of their twin brothers died as tubies or newborns. He's doing it because he knows Kamino is a harsh world, a dangerous world, a world of scientists so pragmatic that they speak of human beings as "units" and discard anyone who doesn't measure up to their standard of genetic perfection. He's doing it because he loves Echo, he loves his brother more than anything in the galaxy and he genuinely wants him to be safe. But Echo, especially as a cadet, doesn't fully understand this. And he does resent Fives, just a little bit (mostly as a cadet), because in his mind Fives is only being needlessly overprotective. He feels that Fives won't let him fight his own battles, he feels that Fives thinks that he's weak and incapable just because he's the youngest and the younger TWIN and the straight-laced rule-follower who would never willingly go seeking out a fight. As cadets, they get into a LOT of arguments about this, and it's not until right before their graduation that they both finally seem to fully understand each other.

Now-- the Kaminoans are absolutely not justified in their termination of tube twins. But they aren't exactly wrong about the dangers of codependency. Especially after the Rishi Moon, Fives and Echo really feel like it's them against the galaxy. That's not that they don't love and care for their other brethren, but they begin to cling to each other in somehow an even more intense way than they did as cadets and as shinies. It's a good thing they both end up going to the 501st, they both end up in Torrent Company, they both enter ARC Training and both graduate ARC Training. It's a good thing they're assigned on the same missions. Rex and Anakin recognize that they do seem to work best as a team, their movements seem to be in tandem and it's almost as if they can communicate between each other without saying anything, which makes them both utterly fascinating to watch and entirely lethal on the battlefield.

So of course it's only natural to assign them both to the Citadel mission.

Such a shame no one knew there was a bomb in that shuttle.

Fives spends the next few weeks after the incident completely out of it. He's a sobbing, hysterical, sleep-deprived mess, and everyone begins to wonder if the stories about separated tube twins having broken minds are true. But Fives is not a fragile man. He's devastated, he's lost the person he loves most in all the world, he's experienced the worst tragedy in his short life… but he also knows that he has a responsibility. To his Captain, to his Company, to his brothers. So he pulls himself together and goes back to war. But there's something markedly different about him after the Citadel. He's still warm and friendly and kind, but he's not as quick to smile. He's slower to laugh. His gaze holds a kind of sadness and emptiness to it that brothers unfamiliar with the story of his life don't fully understand. (Even the ones who are familiar don't fully understand. Only the Captain, and the men who were at the Citadel, really get it, and even then… none of them had a twin.)

When he first meets Tup and Dogma, they kind of remind him of the old days. They aren't twins, but they share such an incredibly close bond that they could be. He sees a lot of himself in Tup. He sees even more of Echo in Dogma, which is why the whole debacle with Krell breaks his heart so much. (People ask him if he hates Dogma, for everything he did. For trying to execute him. Fives always looks them hard in the face and simply responds, in clipped tones, "No, of course not. How could I hate my brother?" The recipients hardly wonder if his words might have a double meaning.)

He ends up taking Tup under his wing, the way Rex took him and Echo under his. (If Dogma had stayed in the 501st, he'd be there too.) And part of the reason they're such close friends is because of the way that Fives sees so much of himself in his younger brother (and so much of Echo in Dogma). It's one of the reasons Fives fights so hard against the chips.

It's the reason that it's not just blasterfire that shatters his heart.

Echo is rescued from stasis a few weeks later. He doesn't ask where Fives is, not at first. There's the whole shock of getting off of Skako Minor, then there's the stress of the Battle of Anaxes, then there's the joining of an entirely new squad.

But he knows there was a reason, and not a good one, that the arms he woke up in were Rex's and not his twin's.

He finally works up the courage to ask the Captain where his brother is.

Rex tells him Fives is gone, and he screams.

He screams, horrible sobbing tears, because the one and only thing that kept him going through those years of horrible torture and pain and absolute agony was the fact that he HAD to stay alive, because he HAD to see Fives again. He HAD to get back to Fives his twin, Fives his closest brother, his best friend, his confidant, his better half.

Was everything he went through for nothing?

Should he have just… let himself die? On Skako Minor, should he have just… given up?

No. No, he tells himself, when he's finally calmed himself down (which is… not after a short period of time). That's not what Fives would want.

And that's why, when he has a chance to go with Rex, when he has a chance to go and finish what Fives started- rescue their vode from the prison in their own minds- he grabs it with hand and scomp and doesn't let go. He loves Clone Force 99, he loves Omega, he loves them all more than he's loved anyone since he was first separated from his brother.

But this… this is why he didn't die. This is why he didn't let himself give up. Rex told him the stories, the stories of Umbara and the tragedy of the Chips. And Echo knows that, if Fives were alive, he'd be right there too, fighting the Empire under its very nose.

How could he possibly do anything else?

(And, years and years and thousands of rescued Clones later, as he lays, an old man, struggling to take his final breaths, surrounded by his former Captain and the squad that took him in and the little girl with star-colored hair who has grown into such an incredible young woman-- out of the corner of his failing eyes he sees a bluish figure with unruly curls and warm, grinning eyes and a supernova smile, eternally twelve-twenty-four and crystal clear against the grey fuzz of everything else. And finally, it's the twin he lived his whole life in memory of who's the first to welcome him into the afterlife.)