#tbb fix it au | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

winters-secret-star-wars-blog · 5 months

Text

When The Light Comes From The Dark

Summary:

Against the whirlwind of thoughts, Phee’s voice repeated the question. “Got a name, Brown Eyes?”

The cockpit spun around him. His fingers lightly touched his helmet around his eyes, as if to adjust something on them. “Tech.”

Another phantom touch on his shoulder, warm and gentle. “Head to these coordinates, Brown Eyes.”

He needed to find out more.

~~~

Or the one where CX-2 is actually Tech and everyone deserves their happy ending.

Word count: 4213

AO3 link

“You chose the wrong side,” was all he said before he submerged the clone under the water. From behind his mask, he watched as his struggles began to cease. It served him right. Traitors who turned their back on the Empire deserved nothing less.

The hands peppering the assassin’s arms slid below the surface as well. It wouldn’t be long now. Once CT-9904 stopped moving, he would resume pursuing the target and bring her—

Someone was behind him.

CX-2’s mind always worked fast; a trait he was secretly proud of. Although he shouldn’t have been. Such display of individuality was unbecoming of someone like him. However, it was in his nature. It provided him with a valuable advantage.

Well, at least most of the time.

It were instances like this that drove him to frustration. His mind being able to pick up something, yet his body was too slow to react. And what was worse, he made a mistake. It was foolish of him to think the others would leave their own behind, he assumed no one would be coming—

“Better late than dead, I always say.”

The woman’s words were the last thing flashing through his mind before the world turned dark.

He came to as his body collided with the rocks at the bottom. Aware of the water filling his lungs, he suppressed the urge to cough and began to swim towards the surface. Painstakingly, CX-2 heaved his body onto the rocky bank and allowed himself a moment to catch his breath.

“Ace? Ace, wake up.”

He startled awake, unaware of the fact he was starting to drift off. The phantom feeling of someone shaking him faded back to where it came from.

Ace…

There was a strange familiarity tied to the way it was spoken, stirring something in his chest. He was aware the clones were naming themselves instead of going by their designated number, this however… Ace. Was he… was he going by ace before becoming CX-2? It didn’t feel quite right, but at the same time it didn’t feel wrong either.

“Got a name, Brown Eyes?”

He sucked in a breath. It was the same voice from before. The answer to the mysterious woman’s question was at the tip of his tongue, yet it refused to come through.

He shook his head. This was ridiculous. He was CX-2 and that was all that mattered. The target might have escaped, but some of the luck was on his side at least. He could very well imagine the consequences of thinking such thoughts.

With one last steadying breath, CX-2 pushed himself to his feet and headed for his shuttle.

Tracking down the Trnadoshan wasn’t all that difficult. One would think that after dealing with the Empire and selling the rogue clones out, she’d have enough brains to disappear off the radar.

Yet she stayed in her shady little bar.

The Trandoshan’s unwillingness to give up any other information could be considered remarkable, if only it didn’t stir something in CX-2’s chest. Something dangerously resembling anger.

“Hey, you three. You could have walked away. That loyalty is admirable, but with Cid, it doesn’t always go both ways. Watch your backs.”

It happened again. The more time CX-2 spent activated outside his chamber, the more these little voices whispered to him somewhere from beyond his reach. Bits of conversations, sometimes even a quick flash of some place or another where he, to his knowledge, hasn’t been before.

This time, the voice whispered a warning. Something told him it didn’t come from what you would call a trustworthy source, but the words rang true. The emotion that was most definitely anger was, strangely enough, burning not on his own behalf, but on someone else’s.

“Remember our mutually beneficial arrangements, and how well we know one another, if you know what I mean. You’d do well to not assume I am just threatening you boys.”

She betrayed them, although he couldn’t determine who ‘them’ was.

In one swift motion, he took out his vibroblade and plunged it into the bar counter. The Trandoshan – Cid – flinched. Her eyes roamed around the bar for help that wasn’t there. The two patrons fled the moment they recognized him as a part of the Empire, although not before sending the bar owner a disgusted look.

“It would be wise to start talking now,” CX-2 said. At her hesitation, he continued. “You didn’t seem to mind selling them out for a quick credit before. Why the hesitation?”

Cid silently turned her head away in shame.

In the end, it didn’t take that much force before she was spilling again, and CX-2 left Ord Mantell with a name of a pirate that’s been in contact with the target.

“She’s not a pirate. She’s a liberator of ancient wonders.”

This particular whisper caused him to exhale through his nose sharper than usual. It could almost resemble a chuckle. That was dangerous. It was a good thing he was yet again alone, as he wasn’t sure he would be able to mask it.

Still, what a strange reaction.

The comm on his ship beeped. It was time to report his findings.

The woman had remarkably good instincts. Even without hearing the alarm, she sensed something wasn’t right and pulled out her knife as she approached the ramp. She even gave the hangar one last sweep before boarding. He kept observing her until she boarded the ship and the door closed behind her. Only then he moved.

In a corner of his soul, he was grateful for the droid’s intervention. He would hate it if he had to hurt her—

He stopped going over the data he pulled from her navicomputer, stunned by his own thoughts. He’d hate to hurt her? That was hardly the proper terminology. He was meant to think eliminate, no?

“Got a name, Brown Eyes?”

There it was again, that same whisper. There have been many, but this was the only one that repeated with a certain frequency. He couldn’t figure out why it was so. CX-2 was aware of the fact he was a clone, so what was so special about it? The phenotypic eye color for all clones was brown. And while he was different from the rest, iris pigmentation was not affected by his mutation—

“Aren’t clones supposed to look alike? So much for quality control.”

“She’s not a pirate. She’s a liberator of ancient wonders.”

“Heh. Looks like you have some competition.”

Sounds of wooden classes dully clicking against each other. The sun setting and the lights coming on, resembling stars in the sky.

“Got a name, Brown Eyes?”

He sucked in a breath.

Phee.

Of course, he learned her name from the Trandoshan, but that was Phee. They… knew each other. It was a mere feeling, and he was a logical person after all, but he knew it to be true! She knew him… and the traitors… no… brothers… and the target… little sister who was technically older…

Against the whirlwind of thoughts, Phee’s voice repeated the question. “Got a name, Brown Eyes?”

The cockpit spun around him. His fingers lightly touched his helmet around his eyes, as if to adjust something on them. “Tech.”

Another phantom touch on his shoulder, warm and gentle. “Head to these coordinates, Brown Eyes.”

He needed to find out more.

Reluctantly, he punched the comm button. It would be suspicious if he suddenly went radio-silent.

He found them near the Archium. The name of the structure came to him out of nowhere, like many things did recently. The sense of familiarity the place invoked in him set something off in his very core. CX-2 pushed it asked and pressed a button on his arm.

“Report.”

“I’ve got eyes on the target.”

“Ground them and wait for the division. She must be recovered unharmed! No mistakes this time!”

“And the clones she’s with?”

“If they get in your way, eliminate them.”

CX-2 gripped his rifle. He’d have to make sure they wouldn’t get in his way.

No matter what.

The following hour passed by in an odd hazy blur as two unseen forces battled inside of him. On one hand, there was the need to follow orders. He blew up the ship. He gave the order to destroy every ship and skiff to cut any possible escape route off. He was even ready to give the order to burn the entire island to the ground.

But on the other hand…

He could’ve shot the rogue clone, or blow him up along with the ship, it would have been easier. So why didn’t he? He was meticulous about everything he did. Then why did it appear like he gave the clone enough time to escape the explosion?

“I like to blow things up,” the whisper paused before it rose in volume, “because I like to blow things up!”

At the sight of the ship burning, something screamed inside of him and didn’t stop. It blended with the screams of the civilians fleeing the soldiers. Then there was the attempt to commandeer one of their ships, and he couldn’t bring himself to shoot the clone.

Instead, he shot the pilot.

Usually, the crash would kill anyone on board, but for some reason, deep down CX-2 knew better.

He’d told the mayor he could do worse.

Then why was it impossible for him to do so?

Stars, he even lied to the soldiers he’d neutralized the two when the girl surrendered herself. It was like his body was running on autopilot, mouth detached from the brain.

Clearly, it was naïve of him to expect to find answers here. In the end, he was left only with more questions.

CX-2 escorted the girl to the ship, taking note of the look she threw over her shoulder before he made her move again, and set coordinates back to Tantiss. It wasn’t until the ship shuddered as it jumped into the hyperspace that he heard a quiet sniff.

He chanced a look over his shoulder to find the target hunched in on herself, a single tear running down her cheek.

And that’s when the haze broke and everything became clear.

“We’re a family. Aren’t we?”

“Well, uh, yes. Yes, of course we are.”

“Then why don’t you act like it?”

But he did.

“I may have process moments and thoughts differently, but it does not mean I feel any less than you.”

His grip on the controls turned white, hidden by the black gloves.

“They call him Tech.”

A good-natured shove followed. “Yeah, he can fill your head with useless info for hours.”

He would do anything for his family.

“We have not always agreed with Crosshair, but he still is our brother. We do not leave our own behind.”

They were going to get their brother back. They were going to be a complete family again, they were so close—

“When have we ever followed orders?”

Tech felt nauseous.

What had he done?

Running through every possible scenario, he concluded there was no way out of this. If it was a possibility, contacting Echo would be his best bet if he was still with Rex, seeing as he blew up his own ship and cut his brothers off, but the shuttle’s comms were monitored. The imperials would know immediately if he attempted an unauthorized transmission.

Then there was the matter of his internal homing device. He had no means to remove it from his body safely, so even if he changed the coordinates, Hemlock would keep sending other operatives after them until he succeeded at recapturing them again.

Something told Tech he would not be making it out of that situation alive.

And lastly, there was Omega. He couldn’t tell how much time has passed since Eriadu, but judging by her hair, it must have been months. She had an air of maturity around her, but there was a part of her that was easily excitable. It was impossible to tell if she would be able to keep up the ruse if he revealed himself.

Tech couldn’t risk that. Still, it didn’t stop the decision from eating away at him all the way to Tantiss.

Omega eventually fell into restless sleep, and he took the chance to remove the suicide capsule from his mouth.

There was no turning back now. Hemlock was awaiting their arrival and there was nothing Tech could do. As much as it pained him, he gave his little-big sister a slight shove to keep the appearances.

Then he was dismissed.

As the stasis chamber closed on him, he hoped his brothers would come up with a plan to find her.

Find them.

The base was a mess.

Tech categorized anything he could on his way to intercept his brothers. To a certain degree, he was glad for the initial haze the stasis chamber has left him in, as he was uncertain how he would react to their orders if he was fully himself right away. This way, however, he remained undetected.

Positioned at the vantage point with the rest of the operatives, he spotted his brothers sneaking in through the rubble. He couldn’t help but notice their armor stripped of all color.

It was like before their first ever mission.

Chasing nostalgia away, he took out his rifle and aimed before any other operative could beat him to it. He aimed at Hunter and pulled the trigger, knowing his brother would be able to dodge. It was the most subtle way to alert his squad to their presence.

Then all hell broke loose.

Crosshair watched as the other assassins passed a blade between each other. The one who nearly drowned him on Teth let the blade hover over his wrist before it was raised high into the air.

“You should be more careful with your shooting hand.”

The horror inside of him intensified as he became aware of the assassin’s intention. Time seemed to slow down with the blade’s descend.

Except the pain never came.

The blade suddenly changed the trajectory and was sent flying right at the assassin electrocuting Wrecker nearby. The throw was precise. The assassin’s grip on the staff loosened as he fell, the blade plunging even deeper into the gap in the armor when his body hit the ground.

The foot pinning his wrist to the ground disappeared as the one standing over him shifted his stance, took out his rifle in one swift motion and with no hesitation shot the one who owned the knife. The one who was previously attacking Hunter and Wrecker before being stunned by Crosshair’s explosive shot had barely a second to react before he found himself with a hole in the chest too.

Shocked, Crosshair looked up the last assassin, their gazes meeting.

“I mean it.” The tone switched from menacing to more nonchalant and matter-of-factly. “You really should be more careful, Crosshair.”

Too stunned to speak, Crosshair could only blink. The voice-changer was still active, but the intonation almost reminded him of…

The assassin removed his helmet.

“Tech,” he breathed out in disbelief.

Tech reached out his hand and Crosshair allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “My apologies. I was waiting for the right time, and in the meantime, I had to avoid suspicion.”

It was impossible. His brother who died on Eriadu after carrying out Plan 99 was standing in front of him, alive. Although in imperial gear. “How—“ Crosshair forced out a single word, but before he could force the rest of the sentence out, Tech was suddenly off his feet in one of Wrecker’s famous bone-crushing hugs.

“Ah, it’s… good to see you too, Wrecker,” Tech wheezed out. The only response he got was a sob.

“All right, Wrecker, put him down before you squeeze the living lights out of him,” Crosshair said.

After a few more sniffs and being convinced Tech was indeed real and alive and not a fragment of his imagination, Wrecker did so. It was obvious he wanted to ask the same question as Crosshair, but changed his mind last minute and instead shoved their brother. “Don’t you ever dare to do something like that ever again, you hear?!”

Tech’s mouth opened, a retort no doubt on the tip of his tongue, when a groan coming from a nearby rubble cut him off. They all spun on their heels immediately and rushed to their leader. While he and Wrecker worked on getting the debris off Hunter, Tech hovered over him, scanning for injuries.

Hunter blinked the daze away, meeting his now-alive brother’s eyes. He then clocked his other two brothers and sighed. “We’re dead, aren’t we.”

“No,” Tech replied. “Although, you came close quite a few times. We… all did.”

The implication hung heavily in the air, but they all knew this wasn’t the time or place to demand answers.

“Later,” Tech promised. “Now,” he motioned to the burning base, “Echo or Omega?”

“Take a guess,” Crosshair replied.

After a moment, Tech nodded to himself. “Omega.”

“I never took you for a sniper rifle type,” Hunter filled in the silence as they ran through the base in search for Omega. “It’s more of Crosshair’s thing.”

“I am not,” Tech replied, “but they didn’t exactly ask me what my preferences were.”

Crosshair wordlessly held out his blaster. Tech, appreciating the offering, took the sniper rifle off his back and swapped it.

They met with Echo and Omega and all the freed clones near the detention block.

At last, Tech allowed himself to fall to his knees and spread his arms in anticipation of Omega’s hug. He was never too big on physical contact, but this time, it was a necessity. For both of them.

“I’m sorry. Omega. I’m so sorry,” he murmured.

“It’s not your fault,” Omega pulled back and placed her hands on his cheeks. “They made you do it.”

Omega was always observant. Helmet or not, his attire remained the same, so it should be no wonder she connected the dots. He wanted to protest, but she was having none of it. She wiped her tears, her eyes sparked with determination.

“Let’s make him pay.”

They surrounded Hemlock on a bridge outside. He was a far cry from his usual put-together look, with his hair being a mess and a crazed look in his eyes.

He lost.

Tech could sense the thirst for revenge from all around him.

Hemlock turned to look at him, their gazes locked.

“You,” he hissed. “How did you—“ he cut himself off.

“You sound surprised,” Tech stated. “It should have been obvious after you failed with Crosshair. I might have been more susceptible due to my injuries after the fall, but you should have known it wouldn’t last. We’re deviant after all. It’s in our nature.”

The crazed look intensified. “We’ll see about that. You’ve been compromised!” he yelled. “Eliminate yourself right no—“

It was Crosshair who broke the tension with the first shot right to Hemlock’s chest.

His hand didn’t shake.

The chain reaction was instant. All freed clones carrying a weapon aimed and shot and shot and shot until the force of the bolts sent Hemlock’s body over the railing into the jungle below.

Tech watched with cold detachment. This time, he was certain. There was no surviving that.

Several pairs of eyes turned to him. He blinked, snapping back to reality. “Your worries are unwarranted. I already removed my suicide capsule.”

Hunter huffed a laugh. “Of course you have.”

It hasn’t been easy readjusting to normal life after everything they’ve been through. Then again, they were never normal.

Tech already lost track of how many times he woke up screaming when the nightmares of Tantiss plagued him in the middle of the night. Thankfully, the comfort was never far. It came either in a form of a mere presence and reassuring words of his brothers and sister, an embrace from Phee, or the weight of the Lurca hound named Batcher Omega tamed and took with her the first time she escaped Tantiss.

At first, he’d been wary, but he came to care for the creature.

Some days were good. Some days the shame of what he’d done as Empire’s assassin weighted heavy on him. Shep’s words were true once again; the people of Pabu were resilient and rebuilt the damage he was responsible for after the imperial forces left.

It… wasn’t very comforting.

During those days, talking about it with Echo helped, since he was the most familiar with the feeling. He hid it well, but the time he’d spent on Skako Minor as The Algorithm responsible for countless of his brothers’ lives weighted heavy on him too.

Crosshair was a great help too. As Hunter said before the mission where they’d saved Echo, he wasn’t much of a conversationalist, but Tech was content sitting with him in silence, the quiet understanding surrounding them.

However, he wasn’t the only one affected.

It was hard to not notice the look of guilt Wrecker was watching him with from afar, even though he had nothing to be guilty of. It was Tech’s own decision to resort to Plan 99. He even said so out loud, but he knew it would take Wrecker a long time to accept it, if ever.

There were also those worried looks every time he was somewhere more elevated or was walking next to the railing when they were going to the docks. In the first case, they watched him like hawks, ready to jump at the slightest sign of trouble – even if he was only four feet off the ground. In the second case, someone always subtly-not-so-subtly wedged themselves between him and the railing. Omega rushing into various rooms with fear in her eyes only for it to disappear when she spotted him also became a regular occurrence.

He learned the hard way not to disappear on the bad days for too long after she broke down near the cave where he sought the solitude. Apparently, he’d been gone for hours and nobody could find him at any of his usual places.

And Phee…

When their ship touched back down on Pabu, she was already there, waiting for him. The moment his feet touched the ground, he found himself in yet another embrace. There was no hesitation on Tech’s side and he pulled her close.

“I’m glad you kept your word and haven’t run off with any other pirate or smuggler,” she said.

Tech didn’t comment on how her voice was thick with emotion. Instead, he opted for a simple: “I’m here now.”

Phee chuckled. “Better late than dead, I always say.”

“—you always say,” he said the last part in union. “You know, those were the exact words that began the process of breaking the conditioning.”

“Were they now?” she asked, intrigued. “Well, I’m glad I was able to help.”

Tech smiled. “You helped more than you realize.”

Phee hummed, and before Tech realized what was happening, there were lips pressing against his. They were gone as fast as they appeared, but the fluttering in his stomach remained. “Now come on,” she turned around and began to walk away, “let’s get all your friends settled.”

He blinked after her retreating form until a choked chuckle broke his trance. “What?” He saw his squad – his family – huddled together with various looks on their faces.

Wrecker was giving him two enthusiastic thumbs up, Hunter was smiling, Echo was also smiling but more smugly, Crosshair looked like he would be rather anywhere than here, and Omega was chuckling, her palms pressed against her lower face.

“Tech, you’re blushing,” she said, mirth lacing her voice.

“I guess it was inevitable,” Crosshair commented. “You two were made for each other. She flies like a maniac too.”

There was a story behind it, but for another time.

So, yes, readjusting hasn’t been easy, but they managed. They understood when Echo eventually joined Rex again, but the rest of them remained on Pabu. As civilians.

While his brothers took up work in the docks – Wrecker especially enjoyed his time on the sea –, Tech found meaning and joy in teaching the next generation all his skills. It took others two standard years before they allowed him to strike a deal with a person on another junkyard planet in the Outer Rim for him to take his apprentices there to practice their skills.

The agreement was way more mutually beneficial than the one with Cid. The junkyard owners got to sell whatever they fixed and gave them a portion of the profit, or if they managed to fix something they deemed unsalvageable, they got to keep it.

Even then, he wasn’t alone. Phee was always accompanying his group, not that he minded.

“You never know,” she shrugged as she boarded, “there might be a treasure there,” she said, winking at Omega.

But most importantly, Omega finally for to have a normal childhood. They watched their little-big sister grow up until it was time for her to go on her own journey. As he sat on the porch of his and Phee’s own home watching the ship fly off into the night, only one thing was on his mind:

In the end, it was all worth it.

#the bad batch #tbb spoilers #techphee #tbb tech #tbb phee #phee genoa #tbb omega #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #the bad batch fanfiction #tech lives #cx 2 #fix it fic #everybody lives au #the bad batch finale

72 notes · View notes

tangents-within-tangents · 19 days

Text

Some of yall I swear: Tech’s death was SO sad, he deserved a happy ending with his family! So I’m gonna write a fix-it au where he is horribly injured, tortured, experimented on, traumatized, brainwashed, and forced to fight against the people he loves. Yeah, he deserves this!

Me: ????!?!?

#Please HOW is this better?#I get people are sad and didn't want him to die/stay dead #and I know people are all for the angst #but if the problem was really “Tech deserves to be happy too”#how come i haven't seen a *single* fix-it where plan 99 didn’t happen in the first place?#all im saying #tbb #tbb tech #tech lives #fanon #tbb fandom #fanfiction #ao3 #fix it au #the bad batch

23 notes · View notes

coffeeandbatboys · 7 months

Text

Riye

(Mando'a; favor after a run of bad luck)

K'oyacyi: a literal order to stay alive

Warnings: mentions of death, Fives Lives!AU fix it. There is a lot of Mando'a in this. Set when Echo and Rex are split from the bad batch. Echo makes some bad jokes about his death. No clonecest here just really close brothers. Cloneshippers DNI I will block you.

The nightmares plagued Rex's mind every night. War had not been kind to his mental health, and the things he'd seen haunted him to the day.

The death of his Vod'ika at the hands of the Coruscant Guard was a regular occurrence in his dreams. Replaying the horrifying image of the blaster bolt burning into Fives' chest.

But he'd get up every morning and face another day of walking on eggshells so as to not catch the eye of the empire.

Which was kriffing hard seeing as he was in the middle of a very large firefight involving athere'sn entire company of Imperial Stormtroopers. He really wished that he hadn't asked Echo to stay with the computer equipment back at the inn, but it wouldn't do any good to wish at this point.

But another voice joined the fray. A clone, no doubt, but underneath a layer of tiredness, a familiar lilt of humor shone through. It made Rex's heart ache to hear it. But he caught sight of the newcomer's armor and nearly cried out. ARC armor. With little flecks of blue paint stubbornly refusing to be scrubbed off, and shoddy patchwork over a hole in the left breastplate. It couldn't be.

"Fives?!" Rex cried, taking his helmet off once they were in the clear.

The hand that held a blaster faltered and fell to his side.

"Rex..."

"How the hell are you still alive, di'kut?"

"Its good to see you too Captain. Not really sure, to answer your question." He said, taking his bucket off and flashing a sad smile.

Rex pulled the ARC Trooper close.

"I've got someone who's been waiting a long time to see you."

Fives cocked his head to the side, but Rex didn't offer an explanation right away, just turned and led his little brother by the hand.

"Long story short, Echo never died."

Fives shook his head. "What the kark did you just say?"

"He was given over to the techno union so they could use his brain to mine our battle plans. He's got a whole cybernetic getup but he looks very, very different."

When they reached the inn, Rex ordered Fives (who was still trying to process the earlier information) to put his bucket on and stay quiet in the main room. A minute later, he returned with an odd looking clone who bore gray and red armor, and had a scomp attachment on one arm.

"I'm not sure how to tell you boys this but everything you thought you knew is wrong."

"What are you talking about, Rex?" Echo deadpanned, Causing Fives to still.

"Echo, it seems we've found—"

Before the captain could finish his introduction, Fives had taken his helmet off again, earning a groan from the former.

It was Echo's turn to go rigid. He slowly removed his own helmet, revealing his teary eyes.

"It can't be. You're supposed to be-" Echo was cut off by Fives lunging forward to wrap his twin in the biggest hug of their lives. It took Echo a second to get his bearings and return the gesture, but he was still in shock.

"Stars, Echo, what did they do to you?" He asked, pulling away to hold his brother's pale face in his hands. Tears were gathering in his eyes as they frantically searched Echo's.

Echo gave a lopsided grin. "Turns out you get new a cool new set of limbs when you get blown up."

This caused a pained cry to rise from Fives' throat at the terrible joke.

"I thought you were dead."

"I could say the same about you!"

Echo leaned his forehead against Fives'. They hadn't noticed that Rex left to force knew where until that moment.

After hours of talking, the twins were exhausted. They'd hardly left each other's side since they'd been reunited. And neither one was planning on doing so any time soon. But they needed rest, so they had moved to one of the two beds, still opting to be close.

"Do you remember what we told each other the morning before..." Echo didn't really want to finish the sentence.

"Yeah." Fives scoffed. "K'oyacyi."

Echo giggled. "Yeah that went up in flames. Kinda like I did."

Fives groaned "You need to stop joking about that di'kut. You 'dying' really messed me up."

Echo's stomach dropped. He remembered crying his heart out after Rex told him what had happened to Fives. Or what they'd thought happened.

"Hey," Echo spoke in the same reassuring voice he used when one of the dominoes woke up from a nightmare when they were cadets. "I'm right here, Fives. You're here. What more could we ask for? We kept our promise. K'oyacyi."

Fives' grip on his brother tightened a little bit.

"Ner Vod, I don't ever want to watch you die again. You're my brother; I love you. I just...I can't do that again."

"I love you too, Fives'ika. I promise you won't. I'm here."

When Rex came back, he was met with Fives sleeping soundly on one of the beds, and Echo sprawled out over half of his twin brother's torso. Both had a death grip like beskar on each other. His domino vod'ikas, back together again.

#Star wars #star wars tcw #The clone wars #Tcw fix it AU #Star wars fix it #echo and fives #arc trooper fives #tcw fives #fives #tbb echo #arc trooper echo #bad batch echo #the bad batch #Echo tbb #Tbb echo #Fives tcw #Tcw fives #domino twins #Domino twin reunion

52 notes · View notes

faceofpoe · 6 months

Text

well this aged ominously and/or perfectly (certain point of view etc etc)

look this season hooked me on the Crosshair character development and relationship with Omega if we get this too I will just

I'm going to be insufferable about this. If it amounts to nothing it is an incredible cruel trolling of the fanbase. Episode 5 I started to get suspicious how we were handling Tech but. Like. Episodes 6&7. If that's. If Crosshair *knows* I -

The tremor the trauma the things he won't talk about

Being taunted by CX1 with "Right, brother?" Did Crosshair try to snap him out of it, jog his memory, appeal to their brotherhood to no effect?

Jumping to engage the operative alone. Twice. More afraid of the others finding out than afraid of the operative.

The double meaning potential in "you made the wrong choice."

The shoulder grasping as he's losing consciousness the pause when Crosshair stops moving

Send help I am unwell.

Also see: my post about how CX-Tech actually sets us up for the perfect Hunter full-circle arc.

#also I love how CX-Tech is so prevalent a theory that even if it's not it's going to be an AU fix-it staple once the show is done lol #count on it #the bad batch #tbb #bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #bad batch spoilers #have i mentioned identity tropes are my favorite?#because #yeah #better late than dead

42 notes · View notes

thecoffeelorian · 8 months

Text

The Special Guest, Part 2 (Codywan; You Are Commander Cody)

No Pressure Tags: @codyday2224 @mysticalgalaxysalad @600yearoldlovecraftianhorrorshow @enigmatist17 @eclec-tech @lazinesswrites @ladykagewaki @wolverina2002 @emzalot @freesia-writes and anyone else NOT wanting a horrifying end for this good man!

💛 ...when you open your eyes again...after your ship crashed? later...? ...you're someplace other than the dune you "landed" in, and with a small stack of pillows under your head.

💛 other than the fact that you're lying flat upon a bedroll with a thick bandage around your head, though...nothing else about you seems to have been "tampered with" while you were knocked out.

💛 in fact...it's almost as though your rescuer knew to be respectful to you until you woke up, if not also every minute after.

💛 that's when you hear an all-too-familiar voice speak quietly from the shadows, a voice you let yourself believe that you would never hear again.

💛 "Hello there."

💛 it's enough to get you to throw yourself backward against the wall, if not also to force you to sit on your own hands so that you don't do THAT THING a second time.

💛 THAT THING, after all, destroyed the Jetii without so much as a second thought, so...if you can delay it as long as you can, give your General time to escape again--

💛 "--It wasn't you, Commander."

💛 ...this is the precise moment that you not only freeze where you sit, but you also feel dismay over what should be happening again, but isn't.

💛 why...?!

💛 that's when he feels it's safe enough to come out of the shadows, looking a little bit older and worse for wear...but, thank the Force, very much alive.

💛 "I can tell you...well, as much as I possibly can, Commander, but please. Whatever you do afterward, wherever you go...stop blaming yourself."

💛 after an awkward moment of silence, silence where you barely manage a small nod in the middle of what seems like ten thousand thoughts with a million more on the way...he welcomes you home.

💛 in other words, he doesn't hesitate to press his forehead against yours, a sign of affection from both the culture that arranged your birth and the one that sustains it now.

💛 perhaps now, after so long...you can finally allow yourself to rest.

Part 1:

#star wars #commander cody #marshall commander cody #kote #obi wan kenobi #codywan #these boys ARE getting their happy ending.#bullet fic #hope it's properly cody-centric now #and thank you! 😊💗#you are commander cody #fix it fic #fix it au if tbb does EXACTLY what i think it's gonna do #cody day 2224

36 notes · View notes

coldbrewarts · 6 months

Text

The dialogue in chapter three is kinda good and kinda bad but here are my favorite lines so far

This Promise Of Hope chapter 3 releases tomorrow!

#coldbrewarts #star wars #the bad batch #the clone wars #Crosshair #fives #this promise of hope #Crosshair tbb #tbb crosshair #tcw fives #Kala San #tapper #clone tapper #tcw fix it au #tbb fix it au #tbb

16 notes · View notes

waywardsou2 · 5 months

Text

I have a few up coming fics I'm planning on writing. They are all in the works but if you want to see them I will deliver. Here's a rundown of each fic and it would help me know which one to start working on if you would vote in the poll below

(names pending)

1. Recovered and Recovering (A Tech is CX-2/ fix-it fic)

2. Rewrite the stars (A possible continuation of 'Recovered and Recovering' but full of Tech/Phee shenanigans)

3. The highest M count (a shorter fic where Omega saves Tech using the force)

4. The retirement plan (a fic about the years between the events on Tantis and Omega joining the rebellion (W/O Tech tho, this is mostly canon compliant)

5. Solitary confinement (a smaller fic as well that talks about Crosshairs trauma and his time on Tantis (when his tremors start, the anxiety he developes, general trauma and angst with not a lot of comfort)

21 notes · View notes

tbb-appreciation-week · 18 days

Text

(Image text and NSFW prompt are under the cut)

HAPPY BAD BATCH DAY!!! WE MADE IT!!! This amazing week is over, but there's still one last chance to change the Bad Batch's story, answering a simple question: What if...? The possibilities are endless, and it's up to you to make better or worse. What's going to be?

TAGS FOR TODAY. [Use those that are relevant to your work only.]

#tbbaw2024 #the bad batch appreciation week 2024 #what if... ? #fix it au #"this is your last chance to fix it" #arc trooper fives #[nsfw prompt] #fanfic #fanart #gifset #[or any other medium] #[trigger warnings] #nsfw #[any other relevant tags]

And for those who cross-post to the collection on Ao3: Don't forget to add The Bad Batch Appreciation Week as an Additional tag!!

DAY 7: What if…?

Fix-it AU

"This is your last chance to fix it."

ARC Trooper Fives

Palette: #675900, #FFCD70, #FF8B17, #FF600B, #781C00

(NSFW) Aftercare

#tbb appreciation week 2024 #tbbaw2024 #the bad batch appreciation week 2024 #tbbaw2024 day 7 #tbbaw2024 prompts #tbb #the bad batch #fix it au #“this is your last chance to fix it”#arc trooper fives #aftercare

7 notes · View notes

chicknstripz · 1 year

Text

∘₊✧ [[ Taken ]] ✧₊∘

Pairing|| GN!Reader X Crosshair Word Count|| 1582 Tags|| Mild teasing, Fluff, Soft!Crosshair, Short reader (No specific height mentioned, Sexual intimacy mentioned, Cross has 0% shame! Synopsis|| You give Crosshair a special gift to remind him that someone loves him.

'Holiday' prompt for @clonexreaderbingo

Lazy mornings spent in bed where your favorite thing. The feel of freshly laundered sheets against your skin, the sound of idle chatter from the living room as Cross’s brothers made themselves breakfast, and the sensation of his arms pulling you close as he mumbled sleep roughed ‘morning’ would never cease to satisfy. You smile as you sink into him, the warmth of his body just enough to lull you into a slight doze, but alas the youngest occupant of your shared home had other ideas - their sing-song voice breaking the idyl as they broke into your room. “Ba’vodu! Ba’vodu! It’s life day! C’mon! It’s time to open presents!” You think you hear Cross utter a curse beneath his breath, another of his halfhearted complaints about how Hunter had too soft a heart as he propped himself on one elbow. “It is not morning yet Omega.” The young girl giggles, completely unbothered by his stern tone as she clambers into your bed. “Yes it is!! It’s ooh five hundred to be exact!” Cross clicks his tongue in disapproval, his quick reflexes preventing your niece from disturbing your relaxed state. He holds her back with relative ease, gently guiding her from your side of the bed to his, his head shaking the whole time as he situates her beside him. “Mir’sheb.” Omega gasps, her hands flying to her mouth as she turns her honied gaze to you “Ba’vodu Cross said a bad word!” You laugh, the sound vibrating pleasantly in your chest as you sit upright. The sun has barely warmed the opposite wall, the slight slits from the shutters casting long lines of orange along the pale blue. Crosshair himself looks caught between mild amusement and frustration, his tired eyes showing the desire to still be asleep, but he would never ever take that out on Omega - his warm sleepy smile curling his lip as you giggle at Omega ‘horrors’ “Don’t worry ‘megs, I’ll make sure he gets an appropriate punishment” “Promises, promises” You laugh at Cross’s whispered comment as you sit upright, one hand adjusting the bed covers to keep your nakedness covered, whilst the other motions to the half open door of your bedroom. Personally you’d rather stay in bed for a few more hours, properly wake up, but you knew Omega well enough by now to know that she wouldn’t leave you alone. Not with presents on the line! You somehow get her to vacate the room, your firm promises to follow after her in short order encouraging her out the door, and you let out a little sigh as you look back at Cross with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I should know to lock the door by now.” “S’alright, she’d just slice the lock anyway.” You don’t think you’ll get over how competent the kid is, or how much her brothers encourage her lawless behavior. To them it’s a useful life skill, to you it’s troubling, your frown earning you a poke in the side from Cross. “Better for her to practice on family, then complete strangers” “You won’t be saying that if she walks in on us having sex.” “Kids gotta learn.”

You can’t decide if he’s teasing you or if he simply has no shame. Both are equally likely with the sniper. You give him a long hard look, your eyes narrowed so much it draws a laugh from him, and you almost laugh along with him as you realize it was the former rather than the later. Kriffing idiot! How you’d ever fallen in love with him was a mystery, yet here you were trying to hold back laughter as you pulled one of his shirts over your head.

“You’re a menace, you know that right?”

“Guilty as charged”

You continue shaking your head as you pull on a pair of pants, the gleam of a carefully wrapped present making you smile. You’d intended to give it to him later tonight, once the others had gone to sleep, but seeing him there - stretching in the early morning light - it dashed all your plans. You grabbed it, rubbed a thumb over the patterned paper, and turned toward him with a smile.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I got you a little something.”

“How touching”

Again you laughed, the old snark from back in the day now a joke you shared. Oh how you’d bickered back in the day, back and forth for days on end, but now? Well, you’d be pressed to match the old Cross with the new Cross. It was as if the transition from being a soldier to a mercenary had awakened something in him, the days and days of providing for and protecting Omega bringing out a softness he’d hidden for so very long. The present is brought close to your heart, your smile momentarily becoming playful disappointment.

“Well, if you don’t want it ...”

You all but bark out a laugh as he takes it from your hand, his breath warming your ear as he kisses your brow.

“Don’t be a brat.”

“Look who's calling the weequay slimy.”

The comment earns you a gentle shove of the shoulder, his warm eyes gleaming in the light as he examines the present. His touch is gentle and tender, the present treated like a maker damned holy item, and you guess that to him - it is. He’s never had presents before you came along, never experienced warmth and love unless it came from a brother. Each corner of the paper is pulled away carefully, reverently, and you know that if you looked you’d find the paper stashed in his box of keepsakes. Oh yes. You know about that! Cross might think he’s being sneaky, but the underside of the bed doesn’t make for the best hiding spot in the world!

With the paper gone he next opens the box, his eyes going wide in shock at what he sees within. You’d spent days on the little project, pursuing the craft stall for beads in black and red, and blackened durasteel wire. It was an object of blood, sweat, and tears. The necklace checked and double checked to make sure you’d got the morse correct. Which you had if his little swallow was anything to go by, the microexpressions that crossed his facial features betraying just how touched he was by this.

“You ... want me to wear this?”

“Of course. You’re mine and I’m not afraid to let people know it.”

He cocks a brow at you, his fingers trailing the beaded proclamation of your love.

“And there was me thinking you weren't the possessive type.”

You take the necklace from him with a tut, your eyes full of warmth as you motion for him to crouch to your level.

“It’s got nothing to do with possession. It’s a little something for you to wear under your armor, a physical reminder that someone out there loves you, and if someone happens to see it? Well then all the better. It’ll just make ‘em wonder what type of person would fall hopelessly in love with you.”

Making people jealous or curious hadn’t been your intention, but you can’t help but admit that you got a thrill out of it. The mental image of someone’s eyes widening in surprise as they read the morse makes you beam from ear to ear. Crosshair wasn’t the type of person you’d associate with being ‘taken’, all hard edges and harsh snark with outsiders, and definitely not with someone like you. You were soft, considerate, the complete opposite of your significant other, and yet you worked - oh maker did you work! Your relationship grows from gripping friends to understanding lovers.

“Jealous too, anyone would think I was rubbing off on you.”

“Don’t get a big head Cross, Hunter can’t afford to widen them.”

He laughs, a muted little snicker that makes your heart leap as you secure the clasp.

“That's on him for spoiling the kid.”

“As if you don’t?”

He tries to give you his best glare, but fails, the mock offense twisting into a garish grin.

“It was about time the kid had a proper blaster.”

You smile alongside him, your thoughts drifting to the child sized firepuncher he’d sourced from one of his contacts. You couldn’t wait to see Omega open it, couldn’t wait to watch her learn to use it with skill and precision, and most of all you couldn’t wait to see Cross celebrate his first life day, the laughter that so often found you bubbling in your chest as you watched him enter the main room to raucous applause and playful teasing. He took it all with a sour smile and crossed arms, but you knew he was enjoying it, the dance in his eyes betraying the enjoyment he found from being among his family.

He enjoyed watching Omega open her presents, her innocence maintained by the hard work of her brothers. He enjoyed watching his brothers, his smile growing in smug glee every time they praised his gift choice. He enjoyed opening them, the simple joy of having possessions warming his facial features. But most of all? He enjoyed being with you, the care and love you gave treasured above all else as he brought you close to his side, the glimmer of the light catching the beads upon his neck making your heart swell with love.

He was yours and you were his, and nothing in the galaxy could ever tear you apart!

#cfb2023 #crosshair x reader #crosshair tbb #ttb fanfic #star wars fanfiction #fluff #soft crosshair #AU timeline #our fav sniper gets to be with his brothers!#He deserves better then servitude in the empire!#fix it #one shot #short & sweet #prompt challenge

82 notes · View notes