#i need to be medicated i think it would help

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Sunburst and fawn for the 700 follower prompt! 😍😍😍 I love your writing!

Thank you so much my friend! Thank you for supporting my writing :') This one is hot (no pun intended?) and I think I needed this to get me back into my Ace phase. He's so cute and nice and handsome and for what?

Pairing: Ace x Fem!Reader

Prompt: Virginity Loss

WC: 3100 oops!

***MINORS DNI**

TWs: virgin reader, p in v sex, oral sex, praise, fingering, Ace is so nice ugh, alcohol consumption, consent is key! unprotected sex (not cool don't do it) a bit of cum conversation? A cumversation, if you will?

Just Do It Already (+18)

——

Ace was your friend. Sure, you made out whenever you were drunk and he made sure to kiss you goodbye before he was sent on a mission… but Ace was just your friend. There was never a conversation about progressing into a relationship, as it was something completely new to the both of you. You both skirted the idea, Ace slept over in your bed on more than one occasion but it never progressed further physically than just heavy petting and passionate kisses. 

You never told Ace you were a virgin. You knew he certainly wasn’t, so it was a fact you kept close to the chest. You talked a big game, never shying away from his touch or his lips when the two of you found each other inebriated, but thankfully Ace had been reluctant himself to try and take it further… even though you felt ready. You were older than him, for fucks sake. It was about time…

Ace had been gone for almost a month now and you were beginning to worry about his safety. You couldn’t help the morose look that plagued your features as you went about your nursing duties on the ship. As much as you tried to keep your worries hidden, it was written all over your face. 

“Oh he’ll be back soon enough, little one.” Whitebeard chuckled down at you as you flushed out his IV with saline. 

“O-oh I-“ You stutter, flustered that Dad had so perceptively picked up on your concern over Ace’s wellbeing. 

“He’s right, y/n.” Marco chimed in from behind you at his desk in the medical bay. “Ace always comes home. He might be a hot head, but he doesn’t usually bite off more than he can chew.” 

“R-right. Thanks. I should really finish the laundry…” You say as you excuse yourself to the rest of your duties for the day. You pick up the basket of soiled sheets and hike it up over your hip before you exit the medical bay. 

You head to the laundry room and start washing the sheets by hand with a bar of soap and a washboard. You focus on your work and try to push the worry out of your mind. After a half hour or so, you hear commotion out on the deck of the ship. You leave the sheet in the wash bin and dry your hands on your apron before scurrying out to the deck. 

“Welcome back, mate!” “Thought you’d hauled off and deserted!” “Or got eaten by a sea king!” 

You stay to the back of the crowd that had formed on the deck of the ship, craning your neck to see what the fuss was bout. 

“Come on you guys, you had that little faith in me?” A familiar voice floats playfully through the air straight to your ears. It was Ace. You clutch your chest and let out a heavy breath. He was okay. 

You figure Ace would be caught up in the elation and welcome of his crew for awhile, so you try to slink back to finish your work. You could catch up with him later when he’s making less of a spectacle (he always did upon his return). 

“Woah woah woah hold up-“ You feel the people around you shift and a warm hand gripping your wrist and pulling you backwards. “Leaving without welcoming me back?” Ace pulled you close to him while spinning you around to face him. You swallow hard, finding it hard to steel yourself with that gorgeous freckled face so close to yours again… 

“Nearly gave me a heart attack, Firefist.” You try to sound pissed off, but the relief in your tone shown through to Ace, a small upwards quirk at the side of your lips not helping your case. “Don’t take so long without calling next time.” You scold. 

Ace makes an apologetic face. Without warning, he grips your hips and pulls you into a deep embrace, his lips close to your ear. He stroked your waist gently, his thumbs barely grazing the flesh underneath your top. 

“I promise baby, I’m going to make it up to you tonight. Gonna give it to you so fucking good…” Ace whispers softly, making sure you were the only one to hear his sinful words. He releases you just as he finished speaking, taking a few steps back to address the rest of the crowd that had formed. “No feast prepared for my arrival? Thatch!” Ace bellows across the deck. “It’s far past supper time, let’s eat!” 

The rest of the crew cheered loudly and carried Ace off to celebrate his return. You stood frozen for a few moments before you’re left alone. It was clear Ace wanted to go further with you.

Of course you wanted that, too! You were just nervous how he would feel if you told him he would be your first… you were so worried he would decide that it’s just too much pressure… too much attachment… and bail on you. Maybe you could just… not tell him…?

You broke out of your trance and headed to take a long shower. 

— — 

You took a long time to shave and moisturize your skin in the most expensive creams that a life at sea would allow. You thought that if you washed and came prepared, Ace would be less perceptive to your inexperience. You decided to put on your nicest pair of black lace panties and a matching bra, aiming to make a certain impression. You slipped on a body-con plain black dress and headed out to where the loud music was coming from. 

“Wow y/n, really showing out tonight I see… any particular reason?” Marco whistles at you and hands you a large wooden stein of beer. 

“It was laundry day.” You smirk and clink your mug with his. 

“You should really reign him in before he starts burning his own eyebrows off again.” Marco nods his head in the direction of a large group of pirates. They were all standing in a circle around a noticeably drunk Ace, cheering while Ace himself was shirtless and performing exciting and elaborate fire demonstrations.

“He’s such a ham.” You roll your eyes and drink your beer as you watch Ace relish in the feeling of being the center of attention. 

“I’m being serious, y/n. Once he knows you’re here he might cool off.” Marco remarks. 

You scoff. 

“I seriously doubt that.” You chuckle and take another big swig of alcohol. 

“Oye! Y/n! Did you see that one?” Ace shouts as he bounds over to where you were standing much like an excited puppy would. 

“Yes, yes Ace the fire-ferris-wheel never disappoints.” You giggle a bit as you push his shoulder teasingly.

“I’m leaving the two of you on your own. Stay safe kids, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Marco smiles and smacks Ace’s shoulder firmly before heading off to his quarters for the night, leaving you alone with Ace now. There were dozens of drunken pirates around you, but Ace always made you feel like it was just the two of you, no matter where you were. 

Ace leans down to nip at your bottom lip, too eager to even kiss you first. You gasp a bit and he captures your waist in his hot hands. Alcohol combined was lust was clouding his ability to control his powers, so his palms were searing hot against your skin. He moves his mouth from your lips to pepper light sucks and bites down your throat. 

“Can we go to your room, baby?” Ace whispers into your ear. He has one hand on the back of your head and the other slinking up and down your thigh. “I can’t wait anymore… need you now…” 

You pull back and nod. 

Ace grins and grabs your hand to pull you away from the deck and towards your private quarters. 

Ace leads you away from the crowd and hurriedly pushes your stateroom door open before dragging you inside. He slams the door shut behind you and is on you like a lion on a gazelle. His hands are gripping the sides of your face, pushing you into a searing kiss. His tongue pushes past your lips immediately to explore the inside of your mouth. Your hands fly up to meet his chest immediately. You push lightly, Ace pulls back from you with a hungry look in his eyes. 

“Ha ha woah pal, where’s the fire?” You chuckle nervously. 

“Oh baby I’ll show you the fire, come here…” Ace moves his hands from your face to uses them to grip your ass. He hikes you up into his arms and you yelp. Ace chuckles at his own stupid joke and moves over to toss you gently onto the bed. He climbs over on top of you much like a predatory animal hovering atop its prey. He presses a firm kiss to your lips before smooching wet kisses down your jaw and neck. Once he reached your sternum he pulls the strap of your tank dress off your shoulder, he then kissed the exposed flesh just above your covered breast. 

“Mmm let’s take this off, baby…” Ace pulls a bit harder on your top all while kissing his way down your skin. You realize that your hands were shaking as you raked them across Ace’s naked shoulders…

“I’ve never done this before!” You blurt out, almost completely involuntarily. 

Ace lifts his head from your chest to look at you with furrowed brows.

“What?” He cocks his head to the side. 

“I’m a virgin.” You spout immediately. You slap your trembling hands to your mouth. 

Ace, wide eyed now, pushes himself off you to stand on his knees on the bed. 

“Oh my god I’m so sorry! I-I had no idea! Y/n I wouldn’t ever want to make you feel-“ Ace stutters out at you, flustered now. 

“Ace it’s fine! Shut up!” You shake your head. “I didn’t tell you earlier because I wanted you to sleep with me.” You sigh. 

“Wait… so you didn’t tell me… because you want to have sex with me?” Ace scratches his head in confusion. 

“Yes! I wanted you to fuck me but I didn’t want you to be all weird about taking my virginity! It’s just it’s so not a big deal to me, I mean, the whole concept of it is a social construct! I just really like you and I want to have-“ You rattle off. 

“You’re rambling.” Ace interrupts you. He breaks into a cheeky smile. “I’ll fuck you babe, if that’s what you want. You’re sure?” He leans back over you again, hovering his face close to yours. 

“God, more than anything!” You gasp out, sounding more desperate than you’d have liked. Ace responds by hungrily taking your lips in a wet, messy kiss. You pull back briefly. 

“But Ace… can you… be a little gentle?” Your voice breaks a little of your lust filled haze and your nervousness bites at you briefly.

Ace smiles and presses a singular, tender kiss to your lips. 

“Anything for you.” 

You smile back and Ace continues where he left off in his exploration of your body, soft lips savoring each inch of skin on your collarbone. You begin to truly relax under Ace’s warm touch and you sigh in contentment. 

“Let’s get you out of this thing.” Ace says as he tugs your dress down your body and tosses it to the floor. He notices your fancy set of black lingerie and lets out a sly wolf whistle. “As pretty as you look right now, babe, I think I want it all off…” He grips the edges of your panties and slides them down your legs while you unhook your bra and let it slip to the floor to join the rest of your discarded clothing. 

You instinctively cover yourself with your hands, but Ace catches your wrists. 

“It’s okay, it’s just me. Do you want to keep going?” Ace asks earnestly. 

“Yes, please. C-can you take your clothes off too…?” You ask. Feeling a bit bare now in front of your lover, you thought that you should even the playing field. Ace grins. 

“Of course baby.” Ace briefly hops off the bed and places his hat on your nightstand. He turns away from you and kicks off his boots, followed by the sound of a belt clinking and then his shorts falling to the floor. He turns back towards you and you couldn’t help but marvel in the true beauty of his naked body. He had perfect sun kissed flesh, muscles rippling in his thighs and abs, and not to mention a very impressive cock. 

“Hey.” Ace says and you snap your eyes up to meet his gaze. “Eyes up here.” Ace winks. He then pounces on you, straddling you, and tickles his hands up your sides, making you giggle and swat his hands away. His touches become deeper and firmer, more purposeful as he started stroking up and down your sides. 

Your giggles turned into breathy sighs as he touched you. 

“Fuck me, please, Ace.” You beg for him. 

“I will, sweetheart, just gotta make sure you’re ready for me…” Ace moves back so he could spread your thighs apart and settled himself between them, his hot breath tickling your outer lips. He holds your thighs open with his strong palms as he spread your sex lewdly, exposing your sweet pearl to him. Ace leans all the way in and latches into your clit, giving it gentle sucks and licks. 

“OH, fuck!” You cry out at the sensation and your legs instinctively try to close, but Ace has them pried open still. Ace swirls his hot tongue back and forth over your sensitive nub, eliciting  gasps and moans from your dry lips. A tingling was starting to form in your lower half, a feeling that up until this point you had only given yourself.

“Can I stretch you a little, baby?” Ace says as he presses a firm kiss to your clit. 

“Yes!” You all but shout, wanting to feel more of him, wanting to keep chasing that high. 

With your consent, Ace presses one finger into your hole and slowly moves it in and out of you. You moan. You were so lost in the pleasure of Ace’s lips on your clit that you barely noticed when Ace slipped a second finger inside of you. You could feel his thick digits stretching you out, but when he curled them upwards, it hit a spot that made you yelp and jerk forward a bit. 

“There it is…” Ace smirks into your pussy as he continues to gently tap on that special spot inside you. “I want you to let go baby… You’re doing so good for me…” You whine and buck your hips, wanting him to press harder inside of you. “Wanna watch you cum, can you try and do that for me? Want you to cum all over me…” Ace praises you all while he increases the speed and pressure of his fingers. 

“AH!” You cry out as Ace pushes you to climax with his sinful hands and filthy words. This orgasm was nothing like you had given yourself. You felt your body spasm and shake for several moments as the wave of pleasure came crashing over you. 

“Good fucking girl!” Ace shouts happily as you loll your head back on the pillow and clutch your heaving chest. 

“You okay? You still want to keep going?” Ace comes back up to hover over you and strokes a lock of hair out of your sweaty face. 

“Yes, Ace.” You nod. “Please fuck me.” 

Ace lines his weeping cock up with your soaked hole. 

“And you’ll tell me if you want to stop?” Ace slides his tip through your folds and circles your clit a few times before bringing it back to rest at your entrance. 

“Yes! Now shut up and put your dick in me!” You groan, frustrated. 

Ace responds by pressing himself into you. You gasp. He sinks in a few inches then pulls back out, gently coating himself inch by inch in your wetness so he can slide further in with each stroke. It was far more intense than his fingers, but it didn’t really hurt at all, just maybe uncomfortable at first. 

“Taking it so well baby, I’m so proud of you.” Ace coos down at you, but can’t take his eyes off your pussy stretching so nicely around his member. Eventually after a few minutes of gauging your reactions and stimulating other parts of your body, Ace was able to sheath himself fully inside you. 

“Look sweetheart, you did it! So fuckin’ tight… I’m not gonna last long in here…”  Ace pants out as he starts to fuck you slow and deep. “How do you feel baby?” He asks as he slides his hands up to grab at your breasts. 

“S-so full, Ace!” You say softly, almost completely overwhelmed by the intense stimulation you were receiving. 

“You feel so amazing babe, fuck!” Ace can hardly believe how close he is to cumming. Your hot, wet center sucked him in so deeply and your fucked out face stared up at him in adoration, there was no way he could contain himself. He held out for a few minutes but once you started moaning his name, he was done for. 

“Oh shit oh fuck-“ Ace pulls out of you quickly and splatters several ropes of cum onto your mound and lower stomach. 

Ace pants as he leans back on his heels. After catching his breath, he flops next to you in bed on his stomach. 

“Hey, was this my first time or yours?” You say jokingly, still trying to catch your breath as well. 

“Ugh it’s been awhile okay…” Ace sighs as he buries his face in your pillow. 

“I’m just kidding.” You lightly slap his shoulder. “It was almost perfect.” You smile and pat his head. 

“Almost? Why almost?” Ace picks his head up and scrunches his eyebrows at you. 

“You’re about to fall asleep and I’m still here spread eagle with cum all over me.” You say.

“Oh shit-“ Ace hops up out of bed and finds some tissues to clean you up with. “Sorry baby..” He says with a sheepish grin. 

You reach up and trace his tattoo with your finger. 

“I can think of another way you could apologize.” You smirk. 

--

[hugmekenobi]

S3: The Bad Batch (15)

Chapter Fifteen: The Calvary Has Arrived

Gif by @theworstbatch

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Ever since Eriadu, Clone Force 99 had been a fractured squad. Months have passed but you're finally back with the Batch but Omega is still out there and you won't stop until you find her again.

Chapter Summary: It all comes down to this final fight on Tantiss

Masterlist for S1 and S2

<Previous Chapter

Chapter Warnings: Limited (Y/N), swearing, canon-typical violence, injury descriptions (blood, cuts, blacking out and bruising, loss of limbs, choking), needles and injections, Hemlock being extra cruel and evil, detailed torture and pain descriptions, mentions of self-sacrifice, begging and heavy angst, reader has a bit of a low moment, death, 'fixing' a death, I alter how the hangar fight goes ever so slightly, the Force and medical supplies suiting my needs, happy endings with nice emotions and light PDA

Word Count: 15.8K (Terribly sorry)

Author's notes: It's here! It's a rollercoaster! And Jen and Brad, we all know how it really went, okay? Happy reading!

Night had fallen by the time Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair had made more progress towards the base but even then, it was slow going. Patrols had increased and Wrecker’s injury was affecting him far more than he would like, they kept needing to stop to attend to it.

“Ow.” Wrecker complained as Hunter stuck him with another med patch.

“Did you think wrestling that creature was a good idea?” Crosshair snarked.

“At the time, yes.” Wrecker replied stubbornly.

“The base is five klicks away. Can you make it?” Hunter offered his hand out to Wrecker to get him back on his feet.

“Ha. Try and stop me.” Wrecker responded as he grasped Hunter’s hand.

Hunter waited a second to make sure the coast was clear before he led the way again.

--

Hemlock worked on drowning out the persistent blaring alarm as he walked down the corridor. His lack of success with you and Tech should not matter. He had enough to know how this squad operated. He still had everything under control. He stopped in front of the oncoming patrol group. “Guard the vault until the security lockdown is lifted.”

“Dr. Hemlock, one of the insurgents has been captured.” Scorch informed him.

Hemlock followed him down the side corridor towards the cells.

--

Hemlock opened the prison door to see a familiar face. He massaged the palm of his gloved hand as he entered the room. “Aligning yourself with insurgent clones…” He sighed, “Not a good look, Rampart.”

“You’re surprisingly calm, considering this secure and secret facility has been compromised.” Rampart said with a cool countenance. “I can’t imagine the Emperor will be pleased about that.”

Hemlock wasn’t about to let this failure of a man get under his skin. “All that time you spent on Kamino, yet you learned nothing about how clones think. I knew Clone Force 99 would eventually attempt to recover Omega and their Jedi. Their failure is inevitable.”

“The Jedi, I understand. But all this for the young clone too. I fail to see how she’s of value to you.”

Hemlock resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, this fool didn’t understand. “What I am working on is beyond your understanding. Something so vital to the Empire, it makes me indispensable. Unlike yourself.” He waltzed out the cell.

--

“The longer this lockdown continues, the higher the chance you’ll be discovered.” Emerie advised cautiously as Echo kept working through the system. “We need to move. Now.”

“Why can’t I find any record of the vault Omega’s held in? Or this different cell you were talking about.”

“These databanks are heavily encrypted. The vault and the cell are several levels down. Hemlock keeps them under heavy guard, but I can get you inside.”

Echo unplugged and reattached his hand as he faced Emerie. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because I was wrong about this place. And-” She inhaled sharply, “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

The sincere way in which she spoke allowed Echo to view her in a new light. He gave her a respectful nod before he donned his trooper helmet and signalled for her to lead the way.

--

“You want us to do what?” Eva double checked as Omega finished telling them the plan.

“It’s how we’re going to escape.” Omega reminded them.

“But it sounds dangerous.” Sami said worriedly.

“My squad I told you about? They’re here. If we can get out of this room and find them, we can all go home.”

“What about your friend?” Jax asked.

Omega had to push you to the back of her mind, as much as it pained her to do so. “My first objective is to get you all home first.”

Home. The word felt so foreign to them now.

“You really think this will work?” Eva asked softly.

“I’ll make sure of it.” Omega promised. “I’ve been trained for this. Let’s get into position.”

Doing as she said, each of the kids took up a seat at a different table to wait on Sami’s signal that they were clear to start.

Sami looked up at the window to see Dr. Scalder step away which was when she tapped her puzzle piece on the table.

Omega readied her tool as Jax and Eva approached the supervising droid.

“My game is broken.” Eva held the device out to the droid. “Can you fix it?”

Omega snuck up behind the droid and stabbed the droid’s power centre. The three of them manoeuvred it into her cell where she could get to work on reprograming it.

Eva and Jax kept an eye out for Sami’s signal and Eva saw the Pantoran knock over the stack of pieces which only meant one thing, “Dr. Scalder is on her way. Hurry.”

“You’ve done this before, right?” Jax asked as Omega seemed no closer to getting whatever it was that she needed to do to the droid completed.

“Yes, but not on this type of droid.” Omega hissed as she hurriedly worked on the wires in the droid’s main control panel.

--

Dr. Scalder entered the lab and asked the specimen still at the table, “Where are the others?”

Sami stayed silent and held Bayrn close to her.

“Sp-39, I asked you a question.”

Sami pointed behind Dr. Scalder as she saw the three of them approaching.

“We w-were with the droid.” Eva said quietly, her head hanging in automatic submission.

Dr. Scalder sighed in exasperation. “Another scan wasn’t scheduled. Tell me what you were really doing.”

“Eva’s telling the truth.” Omega said calmy as the droid drew closer to Dr. Scalder. “We were with the droid.”

“Dr. Karr has been too lenient with you all. Return to your alcoves. A few days of isolation should remind you-” That was all she got to say before a needle pierced her skin and she fell unconscious.

“It worked.” Sammi gasped as Bayrn released a few happy babbles.

“You did great.” Omega praised. “Now, we have to hurry. Droid, guard the door. Sami, prep the sling for Bayrn.”

Omega dashed into her room and used her tool to get under the first panel before she could tear the rest down. Turning to the others and seeing that Bayrn was now secure on Jax’s back and Eva had her doll strapped to her, Omega asked, “Ready?”

“Ready.” Jax confirmed.

Omega led them into the walls as part to of their escape was underway.

--

Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair paused again as another ship passed overhead.

“He’s gonna need another med patch.” Crosshair advised Hunter as he heard Wrecker’s strained grunt and the way he kept bringing his hand to his chest.

“We’re out.” Hunter said regrettably. Seeing Wrecker so hurt was a rare thing and it made the decision to carry on forward to Tantiss that bit harder.

Wrecker got to his feet with a groan. “I- I can make it.”

Hunter and Crosshair shared a concerned look, but they followed in their brother’s insistent footsteps through the jungle yet again.

--

Emerie led the way to the vault, with Echo walking a few paces behind.

Echo took in the corridor awash with red beams of light. “The kids who are held in here, where’d they come from?”

“The Empire used bounty hunters to retrieve them. Their genetic material was required for certain medical testing. I didn’t know about them until recently. I couldn’t help them. Until now.” Emerie paused by the vault door.

“Well, how do the two of them fit into all this?” Echo asked as he thought about you and Omega. “These kids, are they like-”

“I believe they could be, yes. As for Omega, she’s vital to Hemlock’s main objective for the Emperor. Project Necromancer.”

“And (Y/N)?”

“Hemlock wanted her blood for the same purposes as these children, but he also had ulterior motives that his focus has shifted more towards. He stopped taking her samples a while ago.”

“Shifted to what?” Echo asked warily.

Emerie swallowed, “He wants her to join his operatives. He thinks he can… condition her the same way.”

All of what Emerie said made his blood run cold. “Don’t like the sound of that.”

--

“Everybody good?” Omega asked to the group behind her as they all squeezed along the path she had found to their destination.

“Bayrn’s getting restless. H- He won’t be quiet for much longer.” Jax warned.

“Don’t worry. Things are about to get very loud anyways.” Omega stopped and peered through the slats in the wall and saw that the Zillo Beast and the number of personnel watching it was still the same as what it had been when she’d first came upon it. “Wait here.” She removed the grate and sneakily clambered out and made her way to where the controls that were keeping the beast contained were situated.

However, just as she reached it and was determining which buttons did what, she heard Bayrn’s wails echo throughout the chamber, and she knew she had to hurry. She sussed out what controls would get her what she needed and when the button lit up and she pulled on the lever, she heard the winning sound of the system powering down.

As the troopers rallied to try to contain the now very awake and active Zillo Beast, she darted back and hid with the others in the wall once more and had the joy of watching her plan come to fruition.

The chaos and destruction that unfolded was something she knew Wrecker would be proud of.

--

Emerie opened the main vault door but was taken aback by what greeted her. “What’s going on in here?” She inquired as Dr. Scalder was escorted past- groaning and clutching at her head. But what concerned her more was the intense conversation occurring between Dr. Hemlock and Scorch.

“Omega and the specimens have escaped.” Hemlock informed her, rage simmering in his voice. “Due to Dr. Scalder’s incompetence, they exploited a weak point in within the walls. She will be dealt with.”

Just as he said that there was an intense rumble that shook the entire facility and the lights flickered off and on again.

“The Zillo’s loose in the containment level.” Scorch revealed as the information came through his comms.

Whatever was happening had not been what he’d anticipated, clearly, he’d been wise to seek the information from you and Tech, it was just an unfortunate setback that he had been unable to acquire it but no matter, he was still in control. Now that he knew Omega was out, he could go back to what he already knew about their ways. “Shut down the reactor and send a diversion to secure the transport hangar.” Hemlock said sharply. “Check on SP-42, Dr. Karr. Then find Omega. Consider your fate now tied to hers.” He exited the vault.

“SP-42?” Echo murmured, already knowing and fearing the answer.

“Yes.” Emerie confirmed quietly as the other troopers departed. She waited until everyone else left before she spoke to Echo in a louder voice, “I don’t understand. Where could the children have gone?”

Echo may not have understood a lot about the goings on in Tantiss but there was one thing about this that he did know for certain. “Omega. She released the Zillo.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because it’s exactly what I’d do.” He replied with a cheery sense of pride. “She’s splitting their numbers and creating a diversion. Come on.”

The two of them jogged out of the lab and Emerie led the way to you.

--

Echo followed Emerie as she took another sharp turn down a corridor and then opened a set of doors that led to another small, tight corridor with a door a few metres down.

Emerie rifled through one of the compartments in the walls outside the cell and took out your lightsaber which she clipped to her belt before she grabbed the proper medkit. Then, she grabbed a small set of keys from her person and cautiously opened the door, “(Y/N), it’s Emerie and Echo. We’re here to get you out.”

Echo’s mouth went dry as he saw you for the first time since Teth and he took in the dirtied and blood-stained uniform. It was definitely better that he found you like this instead of Hunter but even then, he was still having to steady his own breathing.

“Emerie, I don’t mean to tell you how to do your job, but you’re supposed to stick me with the needle before you say things like that.” You croaked through dry and cracked lips as you kept your eyes shut.

Echo took in the mix of fresh and fading bruises on your face and the way your body was racked with exhaustion. Emerie’s prior information did not even come close to accurate- this wasn’t conditioning, it was torture. “You just allowed this to happen?” He questioned angrily as he snatched the key from Emerie and strode over to your slumped form.

“Oh, now that’s good. He almost sounds like him.” You complimented with a weary sigh.

“I didn’t mean to- Hemlock- he was-” She stopped any attempt at defence because no matter what, she’d played a part in this. “I did what I could to help her.”

“Open your eyes and look at me.” Echo implored as he undid your chains and took off his helmet.

“No.” You whimpered. “It’s a trick. It’s always a trick.”

“It’s not a trick.” Echo reassured you as he rested both hands on your shoulders. “Open your eyes.”

“Echo doesn’t have two hands.” You said, aggressively shaking your head as you kept your eyes tightly shut.

“Look at me.”

“No.”

“Look at me.” Echo pleaded. Time wasn’t on his side here and he needed you back with them.

He sounded so real; you couldn’t help yourself. You slowly opened your eyes and took in the familiar face and the eyes that were filled with worry as they looked at you. “Echo?” You whispered; your tone filled with uncertainty.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“You’re here? This is real?” Even though Omega had told you this would happen, you hadn’t allowed yourself to fully believe it.

“It’s real. And the others are on their way.” He confirmed with a small reassuring smile.

You flung your arms around him and as he returned your embrace, you already began to feel more alive than you had since arriving here.

“Come on, we gotta get you on your feet.” Echo supported you as you shakily stood up.

“Where’s- where’s Omega?” You said through gritted teeth as your body protested the movement. You knew she had a plan of her own but with Echo and Emerie here, you had to wonder why she wasn’t with them.

Emerie gave you a round of E-bacta shots to get you closer to the level of fitness they needed you to be.

At the first injection, you automatically flinched away from her and into Echo’s side.

Emerie paused and chastised herself for being so thoughtless. She held up her hands in a pacifying gesture and apologised, “Sorry. It’s just bacta to help you heal quickly.” But she waited for you to give the okay before she went any further.

You regarded her suspiciously and made no moves to allow her to carry on. You were on edge, just waiting for the familiar effects to set in and for this to all come crashing down around you.

Echo felt your body go rigid as you leaned into him. He’d never seen you like this and it unnerved him. He was so used to seeing you remain unphased, no matter what came your way. Whatever torture Hemlock had done to you had left far more than physical marks. “I saw her grab the med supplies. She wants to help.” He reassured you gently.

You glanced at his face but saw honesty and so you nodded to Emerie to continue.

Once you were more relaxed, Echo answered your question. “Omega’s already helped us out. Her plan to release the Zillo Beast has worked very well so far. Their forces are a bit stretched and frantic at the moment.” He informed you proudly.

“Oh, she’s brilliant.” You murmured with affectionate admiration.

Echo nodded in agreement as Emerie finished tending to you.

“Hey, wait a minute, you do have another hand?!” You gawped before wincing as the final injection entered your skin- the pricks were still a painful reminder of what you had endured here.

“Not exactly the time for that.” Echo reminded you.

“We cannot linger here. We need to keep moving.” Emerie agreed hastily as she put the medical supplies away.

You nodded sheepishly. “Yup, you’re right, you’re right. Keep that for later.”

Echo picked up his helmet and put it over his head. “Can you walk?” Echo asked.

You rolled your sore shoulders as you took a steadying breath and nodded. “The bacta is working. Let’s go.” You called on the Force to help you find that extra bit of strength as you all exited the cell.

--

The three of them stopped again and Crosshair used his binoculars to scan ahead. He saw a squad of troopers with lurca hounds and everything he’d been trying to supress since arriving back here came rushing back. His hand trembled and his breathing came to him in short pants. He couldn’t do this. His brothers couldn’t do this; he wouldn’t let them. “They’ve got heavy patrols guarding the perimeter with lurca hounds.”

“Told you we should’ve brought Batcher.” Wrecker joked feebly, groaning in pain and bracing himself against a tree. He noticed the helmeted looks of concern that were sent his way from both his brothers. “Stop looking at me like that! I’m fine!” He insisted through another groan.

“No, you’re not.” Crosshair disagreed strongly. “Change of plans. You two, head to the communications array and try to contact Rex.” He drew his sniper rifle. “I’ll infiltrate the base myself.”

“Not happening.” Hunter objected.

“Yeah, we’ve handled worse situations than this. Countless-”

“Wake up, Wrecker.” Crosshair snapped. “Clone Force 99 died with Tech.” His voice dropped slightly, “We’re not that squad anymore.”

Wrecker and Hunter reflected on that for a moment and Crosshair was right, they weren’t, it was true. But they’d become something more, hadn’t they? Something that meant far more than just a squad title for a war effort. And Tech, alive or dead, was a part of that too.

“I’ve been inside that mountain. I know what we’re up against. If we all go in, we’re not all making it out.” Crosshair continued. “(Y/N) and Omega need you both. So, I’m doing this alone. It’s- it’s what I deserve.” He said, almost to himself.

Hunter wasn’t going to accept that or even entertain the possibility. “Don’t even think about Plan 99, Crosshair. They need all of us, and so do those clones.” He stood facing his brother, so he knew, even with his helmet on, that he meant every word.

“We’ve always known the risks. And so did Tech.” Wrecker placed a hand on Crosshair’s shoulder.

The sounds of the lurca hounds in distress got their focus back and Hunter looked through his binoculars just as the hounds were running away from their handlers.

“What’s going on?” Wrecker asked.

A deep banging and screaming of dying troopers answered his question as the Zillo Beast emerged from the base with a piercing roar.

Crosshair knew that could only be the result of one of three people. “Whose handiwork?”

“Omega’s.” Hunter and Wrecker said in unison.

“If she’s giving us a way in, let’s not waste it.” Hunter said before setting off towards the base again.

--

Satisfied that it was safe to emerge, Omega removed the grate and led the way over to the ladder that ran up the entirety of the base.

“You want us to climb up t-that?” Jax asked nervously.

“The Zillo got out this way. So can we.” Omega replied but she saw a familiar but fearful reluctance on Jax’s face. “What’s wrong?” She asked kindly.

“I’m not good with heights.” Jax admitted. “I- I guess I’d make a poor soldier.” He said shamefully.

Omega’s eyes softened. “My brother Wrecker hates heights too. And he’s the strongest soldier I know.” She touched Jax’s shoulder in reassurance, “Just stay focused on what’s ahead, not what’s below.” She waved them all over and led the climb up the ladder.

--

“The Zillo breached the bay doors and fled to the jungle after wiping out two full divisions of troopers.” Scorch said as he entered the control room. “We need reinforcements.”

Hemlock kept his hands behind his back but clenched his covered hand into a fist. “Send the shuttles after the Zillo.”

“But, sir, without air support, the rogue clones could exploit our weakened defences.”

“Of course they will. Do it.” Hemlock strode out of the control room.

--

Hemlock entered the training room and powered up the system. Even though he hadn’t wanted to use them just yet, the situation called for it and it was time they had a true test. Even though they’d only come up against you, Hemlock had no doubt that they were ready and could get him the results he needed. He watched with a dark smile as they emerged from their capsules.

He said nothing to them yet, he just motioned for them to follow him out but as he did so, he was interrupted by Scorch again.

“Sir, the Jedi has escaped.” Scorch told Hemlock. “Should I send a squadron to look for her?”

Hemlock massaged his gloved palm harder as he felt that rage flare up again but then a remarkable sense of calm overcame him, and a new idea emerged from the clarity. Perhaps this was the way to go after all. “No need, Commander. Send a squad to accompany the operatives to the hangar bay and when she is found, I want her alive. I want all of Clone Force 99 alive.” He nodded to his soldiers to leave for the hangar.

Now, you all would do the work for him.

All he had to do was wait.

--

The three of you waited until the corridor was clear before you followed Emerie around the corner and down towards another door.

Emerie slid her datapad into the panel and programmed the door to open, but it only opened a fraction before the system shorted out.

Echo peered through the gap and saw the wreckage ahead. “We’re on the right track. Omega definitely came through here.”

“And went where? How are they getting around unseen?” Emerie asked.

Echo followed up path of chaos up the way. “What’s at the top of this shaft?” He moved out the way so Emerie could look.

“It leads up to one of the transport hangars.”

“Any chance you know a shortcut?” Echo checked.

Emerie nodded and made to leave the area.

You didn’t follow them, instead you puffed out a short breath, “This isn’t going to work.”

Echo and Emerie paused and looked back at you.

“I can’t stay with the two of you. The fact we haven’t been caught yet is incredibly fortunate but the longer I’m with you, the more likely it is that’ll happen. We can’t risk either of you being discovered.”

“Well, what do you suggest?” Echo asked.

“You two can go find Omega and those kids, I’ll find Hunter and the others.”

“You don’t know the way.” Emerie pointed out.

“Sure I do.” You motioned through the gap in the door. “Just follow the mess and head straight up, right? I can get there quicker than you can now that I’m free and feeling a lot better.”

“There will be soldiers and you’re not 100%. And there’s no clear way through either.”

“I’m a lot more capable when I’m not bound and tortured.” You argued pointedly.

“It’s still not a viable-”

“Echo…” You tilted your head in his direction. “Please tell her.”

Echo nodded to you and then spoke to Emerie, “She can do it. Plus, you won’t really be able to stop her. There are only two that could, one of them is somewhere in this base and the other is doing his best to get here.”

“He’s right. You’ve helped heal me and I think you’ll find I can be far more stubborn and irritating when I’m not in a permanent state of pain.” You said with a simple shrug.

Emerie sighed but conceded the matter. The debate wouldn’t get them anywhere and, thanks to the bacta, you were on the mend. Plus, you had skills that would aid you in this task. “Very well. You’ll need this.” She handed you your weapon.

You took your lightsaber from her with a nod of thanks.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I should’ve done more to stop him.”

You offered her a slight smile. “Well, you did stop me bleeding out that one time so…”

Emerie wasn’t about to let you let her off the hook so easily. “I should’ve done more.” She repeated seriously.

“You’re doing more now.” You said, dipping your head in acceptance of her words.

Echo rested his left hand on your shoulder. “Be careful.”

You placed your own hand on his upper arm. “You too.” With that, you used the Force to widen the gap in the door and hurried through it.

Echo and Emerie began their more traditional route.

--

You took in the levels of destruction ahead of you and you had to hand it to both Omega and the Zillo Beast, they definitely didn’t do things by halves.

Calling on the Force, you jumped to the next highest safe point you could reach, and kept that going when you could, climbing quickly when you couldn’t, and the hangar was drawing closer by the minute.

You knew it wouldn’t be long before you saw them again.

But you also knew it would be far from over when you reached them.

--

Blasters drawn, the three of them had managed to reach the transport hangar and sneak their way in. The entire hangar was decimated, with bits of it’s interior now reduced to piles of scrap metal. Fires were dying all around them.

Just as Hunter was assessing the situation, he dodged the blaster bolt aimed right at his head.

They all took cover behind some scrap metal and looked ahead at the emerging squad of troopers.

“What now?” Wrecker grunted.

Crosshair was the first to peer out and he saw the stormtroopers but that wasn’t what unnerved him. The sight of four operative soldiers standing on a pile of wreckage is what alarmed him. They couldn’t handle this.

“How many?” Wrecker asked as he saw Crosshair press himself back against the scrapheap.

“Too many.”

“W-we can take ‘em.”

Crosshair steadied his shaking hand. “No we can’t. Not in your condition. We need to fall back.”

“Crosshair-” Hunter tried to argue, not trusting that Crosshair was planning.

“Go! I’ll be right behind you.” Crosshair placed a sticky bomb on the end of his rifle and fired it at a fixture hanging over the main area of the transport bay.

As they began their retreat, the troopers starting firing on them and advancing towards them.

They could only be on the defence as they fired back.

--

You heard blaster fire above you and- breathing hard after the strenuous climb- with one final jump, you reached the ruined transport hangar. Some wreckage blocked your path but you used the Force to push it out your way and the sight that greeted you had your stomach lurching. Troopers were everywhere and, although you had been blindfolded the entire time, you knew the four armoured soldiers making their way through the hordes of soldiers were the operatives Hemlock had pitted you against and were what he wanted you to become. You knew yourself that you still weren’t ready for this type of combat, but you couldn’t do nothing.

You took a revitalising breath as you centred yourself and blocked the lingering pain you were feeling from your mind before you ignited your lightsaber, the shining blue blade giving you that added strength you needed.

With a Force-aided leap, you sailed over the heads of troopers and placed yourself between them and the clones behind you.

--

For a moment, time stood still.

Hunter stopped falling back as he heard that familiar ignition sound and his head snapped towards the source and his breath caught in his throat as he saw you.

It was you. Standing in a soiled prison uniform but in a wash of blue light that stood out from the ember flames was you.

However, something was off as you blocked the blaster fire and struck down the troopers around you. Your movements weren’t quite as fluid or easy as they typically were. You moved stiffly, almost cautiously, and it was obvious to him that you were hurting. He could only let the worst imaginings take hold of him as he thought about what had happened to you and his blood boiled as anger raged through him.

Hunter got a hold of himself and fired at a trooper that was taking aim for your back.

At the sound of a body dropping next to you, you turned and followed the path the shot took, and sharp gasp left your throat.

Everything else around you slowed down and faded into the background as you caught his helmeted gaze. The paint, like his brother’s, had been stripped from his armour, but it was him. He could wear a hundred disguises, decorate his armour in a hundred different ways and you’d know it was him. You’d know him anywhere.

Time swiftly righted itself swiftly again once Crosshair’s bomb went off, shaking the already weak integrity that remained of the hangar. The entire room trembled.  

You cut through the final trooper before you turned off your saber and jumped over the falling ceiling beam. You saw the top of where the hangar bay doors used to be begun to collapse which threatened to block their way out and so you called on the Force and held the structure in place. You could buy them enough time to get out and then you could follow.

But you sensed the oncoming threat a second too late.

One of the larger operatives tackled your waist and you both went sliding along the floor.

--

Hunter and Wrecker watched as the once steady structure started to fall once more. Clearly, whatever help you were providing was no longer available. Now, the approaching gunship was their main concern.

Hunter shoved Wrecker out of the line of fire but the resulting explosions behind him threw him across the room where he clattered into a heap of wreckage and the knock-on impact from the blast saw more falling pieces land on top of him. Darkness engulfed him.

Crosshair killed the pilot and began to run over to the two of them.

Wrecker dashed over to where his brother had fallen, “Hunter!” He removed the metal and picked him up, but he didn’t get very far before a weighted bolas wrapped around his legs, causing him to trip and drop Hunter.

Crosshair caught up to Wrecker, holstered his sniper rifle, and took the vibroblade from the side of Wrecker’s leg and worked on cutting through the rope but he saw another operative heading straight for him. He wasn’t able to draw his blaster in time. The blow landed and sent him careening backwards.

Wrecker couldn’t do anything to help his brother either. The operative that had tripped him up and hit Crosshair now towered above him and pressed his electrostaff straight into the gash in his chest and the pain was excruciating. His entire body was engulfed by the electric current and he didn’t have the energy to fight against the man above him or the hurt anymore, it all got too much, and he succumbed to the darkness.

Stars danced in front of Crosshair’s eyes as his back hit against another piece of debris and his head snapped back against the metal, but he saw that Wrecker was in trouble and he made himself stay awake as he searched for his weapon which he saw a few metres to his right. But his attempts to grab it were thwarted instantly. Crosshair groaned as a foot stamped down on his wrist before he could reach his blaster.

CX-2 caught the vibrosword from his counterpart before he looked down at the pathetic form beneath him, “You should be more careful with your shooting hand.”

Those were the last words Crosshair registered before he saw the blade descend and he felt a deep, searing pain and his sight went black.

--

You and the operative that had attacked you had been engaged in a fight all on your own whilst that had all gone down.

The operative had gained the upper hand in the tussle and your lightsaber had escaped your hold in the struggle.

Right now, you were doing your best to stay conscious as the operative straddled your chest and wrapped his hands around your throat, squeezing hard.

You powerfully facepalmed the underside of his chin so his neck whipped back, stunning him for a second but it was a much needed second.

With that second, his hold on your neck loosened and you were able to remove his hands from you. You pushed him off you and to the side of your body where, with a ragged breath, you got to your feet.

You stomped down hard on his stomach as he attempted to sit up. With one hand, you used the Force to keep him flat on the ground- his futile struggles spurring you on. With the other hand, you called your lightsaber to your it and activated your blade as you swung it down…

“Stop.”

Your blade hovered over the operative’s chest as you angled your head in the direction of the recognisable voice. Your breathing left you in short, uneven pants as you glared at him.

“Surrender or his head goes next.”

Your mouth went dry as you saw what the operative from Pabu was talking about. Crosshair’s shooting hand had been cut clean off and now the long vibroblade weapon was resting over his neck.

“Put your weapon down, or they all die.”

You scanned for the other two and saw another operative standing over Wrecker with an electrospear pressing down on what appeared to be an open chest wound and Hunter lay limp and unmoving on the ground.

The only reassuring thing about this situation was that they all were still breathing. Unconscious, but still alive. And that’s how you wanted to keep them.

You clenched your jaw and ground out a defeated breath as you disengaged your weapon and released your hold of the soldier beneath you.

Your operative got to his feet and snatched your weapon from you and, with a hard punch to your jaw, took your arms behind your back and held your wrists together in a strong and unnecessarily tight grip.

You were too dazed to do anything to resist it.

They moved you all out and back into Tantiss base.

--

Omega reached the top of the level that led to the transport hangar. As they’d all drawn nearer, they had heard the sounds of blaster fire, but it had all stopped now. She only hoped that meant Hunter and the others had gotten through.

She headed off for the hangar bay, the children following behind.

--

Echo and Emerie exited the lift and made for the but both of them slowed as they saw a group of operatives go down the corridor.

There were three soldiers unconscious on hovercrafts.

You were pushed along behind them, your arms held securely behind you by one of the soldiers, a fresh purple bruise on your jaw.

Emerie glanced at Echo and even with the helmet on, she could tell he was worried, “Is that the rest of your squad?” She asked as they all rounded the corner.

“Yeah.” Echo said, his voice low. “Where are they being taken?”

“I don’t know. But Hemlock will keep them well guarded.”

“I can handle that. But we have to find the children first.”

Emerie waited a second in case he wanted to change his mind. She could tell his mind was still with all of you, but he was pushing through for the current objective. “The science hangar is up ahead.”

--

Omega guided the others into the room and took cover by a crate as they all took in the destruction. Whatever had happened here wasn’t solely due to the Zillo Beast anymore- a firefight had occurred here too.

“Do you see your squad?” Eva whispered to Omega.

“Not yet.”

“Hey! You don’t belong here. Call it in.”

Omega jumped to her feet and started to back away from the two troopers, but two stun blasts shot above her head towards the men. She turned back around to see her rescuer was another stormtrooper.

“Causing chaos, Havoc 5?”

“Echo?” Omega gasped happily.

Echo removed his helmet and smiled, “Hey kid.” He then saw more children come out from behind Omega. “And other kids.”

“The shuttles in bay four are still operational.” Emerie informed him as she came back from checking them out.

“You’re helping us, Dr. Karr?” Eva said in surprise.

“I am. But we must hurry.”

Echo put his helmet back on and he and Emerie led the way to the shuttle at a run.

As they reached the shuttle, Omega paused and looked around her. “Wait. Where are Hunter, Wrecker and Crosshair? And (Y/N), we’ve got to free her!”

“We got her out, but we split up and now, they’re all detained together.” Echo told her.

“You mean captured?”

“For now.” Echo turned to Emerie and slotted his blaster under his arm. “Can you fly that shuttle?”

“Yes. Why?”

Echo brought out a datacard and gave it to her. “Take the kids to these coordinates. We’ll meet you there.”

Sami, Jax and Eva all looked at one another anxiously.

“You’re not coming with us?” Jax asked Omega.

“There are more prisoners inside, including my family. I can’t leave without them.” Omega welcomed their group embrace and rubbed Bayrn’s head. “Don’t worry. Emerie’s taking you someplace safe. We’ll meet you there.” The kids let her go and stepped away.

“Here.” Emerie passed her datapad to Omega. “This will help you access all wings of the facility.”

“Look after them.” Omega instructed her sister.

“You have my word.” Emerie promised. She placed her hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Be careful, Omega. And…” Emerie took a short breath before she shared her final bit of what she hoped was useful intel. “And if you can, check out the maintenance closet in the prison level. It isn’t what it says, Hemlock spent almost as much time there as he did with your Jedi friend, and he didn’t tell me why. But he never did anything without a purpose. He’s hiding something there; I just don’t know what.”

‘Tech was more resistant to my methods this time.’ Hemlock’s words echoed in her head, and she couldn’t help it, theories and hope started to stir in her. She nodded to Emerie before she and Echo took off back to the base and back to the rest of you.

“You ready?” Echo asked as the door opened just as the shuttle with Emerie took off and away to safety.

She’d succeeded in her initial objective. Now it was time for the next one. “Let’s complete the mission.”

--

This was no nightmare.

This was no illusion.

This was no trick.

This was not a figment of your imagination.

You were not under the influence of any injection or serum.

There was no denying what you were hearing and seeing now.

There was no blocking out this type of agony that you were experiencing.

Hunter’s moans and screams of pain as the electricity crackled against his temples and jolted through the rest of his body were real.

It was all horrifyingly, heartbreakingly real.

And no matter how much you struggled against your captor’s hold, you were helpless to do anything but watch and listen.

There was no convincing yourself that it wasn’t happening.

And you knew would do anything to make it stop.

Hemlock studied the room. Your hands were now bound in cuffs in front of your body, but one operative still kept a vice-like grip on your shoulder. Hunter and the others were in their capsules, bound and powerless. Crosshair and Wrecker were still unconscious, and Crosshair’s right wrist was being sealed off by a droid. He ignored you for the moment, your time would come soon, for now, his attention lied with Hunter. He signalled for the machine to be turned off.

Hunter panted heavily as the torture finally stopped. Everything hurt, his limbs burned, his head felt like it was going to explode- and that was just from this. He could still fill a deep soreness in his ribs from the blast in the hangar bay. And right now, it may have stopped but he still felt the current in his veins, so the pain endured. He could barely keep his eyes open. He attempted to free his hands from the binders, but they were too tight. Then, he heard Hemlock’s cool, quiet voice.

“The last time we crossed paths, you had just lost a member of your squad. And it appears history may repeat itself. CT-9904 resisted my conditioning in the past, but I’ve made alterations to my methods. Something your… partner can attest to. If you all survive, you will make fine operatives.”

Hunter followed Hemlock’s gaze to where Wrecker and Crosshair were and the wave of guilt that he felt upon seeing what he’d brought on them made way for new type of hurt to enter the mix. Then his sights found yours and he saw the fear and distress in your eyes at Hemlock’s words. He had rarely seen you look so genuinely terrified and yet whatever else Hemlock was talking about got that from you.

“No!” You shouted as you violently fought against the hand holding you back. You couldn’t bear it if they suffered that fate or had to go through anymore of this.

Hemlock ignored you and approached Hunter. “And if not, well, there’s no shortage of clones to test on next.”

“We’ll survive. But you won’t.” Hunter said with as much strength as he could muster.

Hemlock regarded the clone pitifully and indicated to the operative to start the process once more.

Hunter couldn’t help the anguished shouts that left him as he felt that electric fire deep in his body once more, each nerve felt like it was burning away.

“Stop! Stop hurting him!” You cried out as you pulled against the hand on your shoulder. You couldn’t tear your eyes away from him. You wanted to take his pain away.

Hemlock turned to you and hummed out a pleased laugh as he saw the torment on your face. He had you right where he wanted you. “Do you know I finally figured something out?”

You breathed heavily as Hemlock touched the recent bruise on your jaw but did nothing to stop him in case it made things worse for the rest of them.

“You didn’t succumb to my methods because they weren’t real. I was foolish to think a Jedi such as yourself would be so easily fooled by mind games. You needed the element of doubt removed and look at the results. One glimpse of the real thing and see how you quickly you fall apart.” Hemlock said smugly.

You weren’t looking at the doctor, you were looking past him to at the man you loved with every part of you.

The man who had brought you into a crazy, wonderful family.

The man who had shown you more patience and care than you had ever deserved.

The man who had enabled you to open your heart to everything he had to offer and who had shown you that attachment could be a beautiful thing.

The man who had your heart and soul.

But was now being put through the worst kind of pain he could experience.

And then you looked to the others. To the ones who had welcomed you instantly and who had risked everything for you and Omega and who were now hurting and endangered because of it.

And it was tearing you apart. “Just let them go. Let him go. Stop this, Hemlock, please.” You choked out.

Hemlock nodded again to get the operative controlling the machine to stop. He wanted the clone awake for this.

Hunter gasped in limited relief as the electricity turned off once more. He fought through the pain to keep his eyes open as he saw Hemlock beside you, a cruel yet somehow gleeful smile on the man’s face that worried him in a way he hadn’t experienced before. There was something deeply unsettling about the sight of him standing so close to you like that.  

“You know, from our time together, I can see why you would fall for her.” Hemlock commented to the clone. “She showed remarkable durability and resolve. She was quite a challenging subject.”

Hunter clenched and unclenched his hands as he watched Hemlock. It wasn’t just the physical torture that had his body feeling this much pain. After what you’d told him about Christophsis, he’d never wanted you to go through that hell again, but you had. He’d been far too late.   

“But of course, such feelings are a weakness, all too easy to exploit. Oh, you should’ve heard her cry out for you, just begging me to end your suffering.” Hemlock pretended to ponder the next decision. “Then again, perhaps you can.” He stood in front of you.

Your blood ran cold as you saw the look in Hemlock’s eyes.

“You wish for his pain to stop?” Hemlock asked you, a wicked and calculated smile on his face.

“Yes.” You said, your voice scarcely above a whisper.

“Beg.”

“No.” Hunter rasped as he heard the demand.

You shoved down the bile that rose in your throat at the thought. “Please.” You breathed.

“Not so resistant now, are you?” Hemlock taunted cruelly. “But I don’t think you mean it.”

“Don’t do it.” Hunter ground out weakly.

But you would. You would do anything. You kept your attention on Hemlock. “I’m begging you, please, please don’t hurt him anymore.”

“More.” Hemlock commanded, enjoying the distraught etched on your face and the pathetic attempts the clone gave at breaking free to stop this.

You didn’t need the pressure on your shoulder that came from the operative by your side. You did it freely. You didn’t care about the humiliation, you only cared about making it end. On your knees, you glanced up at Hemlock, your voice hoarse as you pleaded, “Please. Please stop hurting him. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Hemlock caressed the side of your head. “You know what I want.”

The sight of you begging on your knees for that man caused him more pain than any machine could. Hunter, as weak as he was, still attempted to get out of his prison. You shouldn’t have to do this, not for him.

You did. You knew precisely what he was after, but you automatically shook your head in refusal.

Hemlock simply snapped his fingers.

Hunter tossed his head back and writhed and yelled in pain as the electricity coursed through his body once more.

“No, stop! Please!” You begged. You couldn’t take it anymore.

Hemlock held his hand up and it ceased once more. “Well?”

You swallowed tightly. And it wasn’t just Hunter you wanted to save; you had a family you needed to protect. “I join you, they don’t.” You negotiated quietly, hating the words as they left your mouth.

Hemlock considered the options in his head. Getting a Jedi under his command would be yet another testament to his work and that was worth more to him than these clones. It was a sacrifice he could make. “Join me and I will allow them to remain prisoners here. No conditioning required.”

You knew that was the best you were going to get for them right now. You squeezed your eyes tight as you resigned yourself to what you were about to do and ignored Hunter’s pained and faint protests. “I’ll join you.” You barely got the words out, but you’d said them now. You opened your eyes to that sadistic and twisted grin, the one from your nightmares. The one that he'd wear once he made some kind of monumental breakthrough in his research. And this time, it was warranted. He’d done it. He’d finally broken you.

Another Imperial entered the room. “Doctor, there is an incoming transmission from Governor Tarkin.”

Hemlock signalled back to the operative stood by Hunter’s capsule.

A raw and tormented scream left Hunter’s throat as his senses were overloaded once more.

You rushed to your feet and went to lunge for the doctor, but the operative held you back. “No! You said-”

“Think of it as a reminder of what will happen if you change your mind.” Hemlock said icily as he left the room.

If it weren’t for the bruising grip on your upper arms, you would’ve collapsed to the ground, but you were left with no choice but to stand there and live with what you’d decided and to hear Hunter’s cries.

--

The lift opened to the prison level and before the troopers on guard had time to react, Echo shot them both. He picked up the loose blasters and he and Omega advanced down the corridor.

More troopers came at them, but Echo easily took care of them whilst Omega slid the datapad into one of the terminals.

“Hey, kid. What’s going on?”

Omega turned to the clone that addressed her from behind his cell door. “We’re breaking out.” With that, she programmed all cell doors to open. “Here.” She tossed the clone a spare blaster she had acquired. “I’ll look for the others.” She told Echo, mentally including the so-called maintenance closet in that statement.

Just as she looked down one corridor, she saw another familiar face. “Nala Se!” She ran over to the Kaminoan.

Nala Se knelt down to the girl’s level. “Omega, why did you come back to this place?”

“I had to, but it’s okay. We’re all getting out this time.” She reassured her old mentor before she carried on past her, anxiously scanning for any sign of you all.

--

Omega hadn’t seen any of you, but she had found the door Emerie had referred to. She knew perhaps the hope she was feeling in her heart was foolish, but she couldn’t help it, it was who she was. And she’d rather know for sure than spend the rest of her life regretting that she never tried. She held her breath as she opened the door.

Omega’s exhale left her with an indistinguishable surprised and elated sound as she saw the figure.

He may have a supportive brace encasing his entire right leg.

He may be without his goggles.

He may look dishevelled and weary.

But there was no mistaking his face.

This was her brother. The brother she never thought she would see again. The one that had given up everything for them. Yet, somehow, he was standing there before her.

Omega stared at the man that had turned to face her when the door opened. “Tech?” She gasped, scarcely believing it. She needed him to speak, to confirm that she wasn’t seeing things.

Tech’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t dared take Hemlock’s words as the whole truth, but he recognised the child immediately and… and he felt alive again. “Omega?”

Another joyful sound left her throat as happy tears welled in her eyes. She dashed forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Did it not work?” Tech whispered as he rested his hands on her back. He recognised the prison uniform. And he didn’t remember a lot since Eriadu, especially with the months spent enduring Hemlock’s manipulations, but he had thought the rail car had gotten away at least.

“No, it- well-” She stopped. “The main thing to know is Crosshair did betray the Empire and he’s back with us. We can catch you up on the rest once we’re out of here.”

The news about his brother made him sigh in relief. They had been without Crosshair for far too long and Hemlock’s lies had been the only moments he had to imagine what having him back would feel like but the happy emotions it brought had all been spoiled and tainted by Hemlock’s cruelty. Now, he could allow himself to feel that happy again and he could be confident in knowing it was true. Then, he remembered the last part of Omega’s statement. “Out of here?” Tech repeated, the very concept had felt like a distant desire for such a long time.

Omega smiled at him, “Come on, Echo is waiting. We’re breaking everyone out.”

Tech released a long, relieved breath, “An excellent idea.” He concurred. He followed her- a slight limp in his gait now- out of the cell that he hadn’t been sure he’d ever leave.

--

“We gave up hope that anyone was coming to help us.”

Echo held his helmet and addressed the clone that had first spoken to Omega when they’d arrived, “We’ve been looking for this base for a while.”

“Echo, I searched all the cells. They’re not here. But I did find someone else.”

Echo turned at the sound of Omega’s voice but what he saw had his jaw dropping and his helmet fell from his grasp. He said nothing as he walked towards his brother and clasped him close. “I don’t believe it. How- I mean- you called out the plan- we saw you fall.”

Tech hadn’t quite expected the hug, but he welcomed it all the same. It felt good to accept that fighting against Hemlock this time had been worth the pain. This was a truth he could trust. “You forget that my intelligence did not cease to exist after I shot that connection hinge.”

Omega smiled as she heard that loveable cockiness in his voice.

Echo released his brother but kept his eyes on him. “Are you okay?” He asked, voice fuelled with concern.

Tech grew more solemn again. “As much as could be expected. However, I’m afraid to say that I have failed our squad. Hemlock, he wanted information about you all. I resisted when I could but- but his methods were rather… effective at getting the results he wanted.”

Echo had seen what Hemlock’s methods could do so in a short space of time and Tech had been here for months. So, the very fact that he had even held out at all was something to admire. “Don’t worry about that.” Echo reassured him. “All that matters is that you’re alive.”

Tech gave him a grateful bow of his head before he straightened his spine. “I see that I am not the only one with a new look.” He commented lightly, gesturing to his brace and Echo’s mechanical hand.

Echo allowed himself a short chuckle, “Yeah, well, the situation called for it.”

Tech nodded in understanding before he scanned the group of clones around them all. “But where are the others?” Tech asked, fully realising that amongst these newly freed clones, there were four faces that were missing. And the worry that flashed across Echo’s face did nothing to ease his own anxieties.

Giving Tech’s shoulder one final squeeze, he spoke to the rest of the clones surrounding them. “The rest of our squad were grabbed by Hemlock’s operatives. Where else would he take them?”

“Well, they could be in the training room. It’s where Hemlock conditions the clones he deems useful.”

“I think I know where that is.” Omega said, grabbing the datapad. “Follow me.”

“Are you joking?” Rampart shoved past Echo. “The wisest course of action is to leave while we can.”

Echo glared at the man. “Clones don’t leave our brothers behind. And Hemlock’s also got someone who is just as important to us as any other clone.” He moved Rampart out the way and kept his speech for his fellow clones. “Listen, I know you’ve all been through enough. You deserve your freedom. But Omega and I can’t do this alone. Is anyone willing to stand with us?”

The clone that spoke to Omega spoke first, “I will. I’ve got one more fight left in me.”

That spurred others on. Soon more rallying shouts were declared throughout the group.

“Good.” Echo said appreciatively. Then he turned to Tech and took a reluctant breath, “Tech…”

Tech recognised that look but hearing that the rest of you were in danger had his loyal and protective instincts as a member of this squad come rushing back to him. “I want to go with you.” Tech insisted. “They need our help.”

“You’re not 100%. We lost you once, it’s not happening again.” Echo said firmly. “Get the injured to the hangar and secure a shuttle. You can help them there.” He gave Tech a spare blaster. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Very well.” Tech said with a heavy sigh. Deep down, he knew that his current situation made him more of a liability for such a high stakes mission. He needed to recover properly and get back to form and he could start by helping the rest of these clones.  

Echo put his helmet on once more. “I’ll trigger an alert in a different wing and reroute their troops. The rest of you, grab any weapon you can.”

Tech led the way with the injured, hoping that this would all come to a better conclusion that Eriadu had.

Before Omega left with Echo and the rest of their team, Nala Se’s voice stopped her.

“Omega, I must not allow my science to remain in the Empire’s hands.” She knelt down and placed a large hand on Omega’s shoulder. “The only way you will be free is if Hemlock is gone and the databanks are destroyed.”

“Then let’s get to the lab.” Omega said determinedly.

“No. Your place is with them.” Nala Se nodded to the clones.

Omega dipped her head in both a farewell and in understanding. “You’ll need this.” She gave Nala Se the datapad and watched her walk away before she joined up with Echo and left the cells.

Rampart watched the scientist go, a fresh plan of his own forming in his head as he made to follow her.

--

Hemlock walked back to the training room, working on dampening his simmering anger and irritation. The conversation with Tarkin had not been a productive one and now he was faced with having to deal with the lousy Imperial face-to-face.

He had it under control. Tarkin would just be another nuisance he had to deal with.

--

“The training floor’s two more corridors over.” Omega said to Echo as they eliminated the guards by the hall terminal.

Echo used his scomp to bring up schematics. “The pneumatic tube system runs throughout this base. Think you can use it to get eyes inside that room?” He opened a panel in the walls.

“It worked in the vault.” Omega ran over to the gap and crawled into the narrow space.

“Relay what you see, but stay out of sight until we’re in position.” Echo ordered before she disappeared. He handed her a comm.

“Rodger that.”

--

Nala Se had taken a grenade from a downed trooper as she made for the lab. She had accepted what her course of action would lead her to.

Covertly following her, Rampart grabbed a blaster from another body.

--

Nala Se entered the lab but just as she finished bringing up the databank and blood samples, a blaster clicked behind her, and she was staring down an unhappy looking Admiral Rampart. She activated the bomb behind her back, no one was going to stop her from doing what needed to be done. And if she took this Imperial down with her… well, that was an added bonus.

--

Omega peered out into the room from behind the ceiling grate. All was quiet. You were standing up, your hands in binders with an operative holding on tight to your shoulders, whilst the others were knocked out and in some type of capsule prison. “Echo, I have a visual on them. There’s an operative on guard but I don’t see the others.” She whispered into her comm. “I might be able to free them if you give me a big enough distraction.”

“We’re on our way.”

--

Echo and his group of clones entered the training room but as soon as they entered, the lights dimmed, the floor lit up in a harsh red light and parts of the floor rose up to form obstacles. They were ambushed by the other operatives in seconds.

--

You couldn’t understand why the operative holding you suddenly let you go to activate the downstairs area, but the sounds of blaster fire soon told you why.

You hoped Echo’s plan was going to work.

--

Omega managed to sneak into the room without incident. She caught your eyeline and motioned for you to be quiet as she went over to the main control box. She worked on Wrecker’s first, and she succeeded in removing one of the wrist cuffs. Before she could work on anything else, she felt eyes on her and she let out a fearful gasp as she saw the operative staring at her.

You acted quickly. You ran in front of the operative and saw your lightsaber attached to your belt. You lunged for it but with your hands bound, you were limited in what you could offer and a powerful kick to your chest sent you tumbling to the floor. Winded and gasping for air, you could only watch as Omega’s stun blasts did nothing to stop the advance of the soldier and he took a hold of her arm and dragged her into the centre of the room. You got to your feet just as Hemlock entered the room with the operative from Pabu.

“A glaring weakness in clones is their loyalty to one another.” Hemlock said to the young girl. “Thank you for proving my point.” Then Hemlock beckoned you over to him as you both walked towards the window.

“Now that you’ve joined our ranks, perhaps it is time to see what sort of matters you will have to deal with.” Hemlock said to you. He wouldn’t free you yet, not until he knew for certain that this matter was officially over and dealt with. Your attachment for the clones remained and therefore the margin for error was still too great so for now, you remained in cuffs and his prisoner.

You forced yourself to ignore Omega’s shocked gasp as she heard that.

“Shall we see if they fare better than you did?” Hemlock allowed the firefight to continue for a couple minutes before he pressed the buttons that would introduce his special toxin into the room.

You could only watch on in horror as the clones without helmets started to cough and choke whilst they desperately clutched at their throats before they collapsed to the ground.

“Perhaps an unfair comparison given that I didn’t use this for you but alas, sometimes such things are necessary. You will find that often the most pain gets the quickest results, but with your skills, you will make quick work of things, I am sure.”

“You joined him?” Omega said in dismay.

“I had to.” You croaked, your throat closing up as everything you loved fell apart around you.

--

Having entertained Rampart and his delusions of Imperial redemption for long enough, Nala Se didn’t fear the blaster bolt that entered her chest and as the light faded from her eyes, she took comfort in the fact that this final act of hers would bring peace to Omega’s life.

Rampart heard the rapid beeping of the grenade that rolled free from her hand as she fell, but before he could do anything, his life left him in a flash of blinding white light.

--

Having been the only one with the safety of a helmet to resist the gas, Echo was on his own against the three operatives.

He staggered forward as a knife entered the back of his shoulder. His blaster was knocked out his grasp, so he used his mechanical hand to defend against the swings of the sword from the operative that had cut him, and he succeeded in throwing the black-armoured clone against one of the walls, so his helmet came off and he too feel victim to the gas.

However, Echo didn’t have long to recover before he was knocked to the ground but just as he reached for his blaster, it was kicked away, and he glanced up to see another operative pointing a blaster at his head.

--

Hemlock kept his sights on the scene below. “Their efforts have failed.” Hemlock stated. “Predictably so.”

You were shoved back to stand in the middle of the room with Omega.

Omega glanced at you, but your face was a blank slate. Your posture was slumped and heavy with defeat. You had no fire, no fight in you.

“Sir, there’s been an explosion in the central lab. It’s been destroyed.” Scorch revealed as he entered the training room.

This news snapped you out of your fatigued and defeated state. Hemlock wasn’t untouchable and he knew it. You remembered the nervousness you’d picked up on when he’d first told you they were coming to the base, and you saw the way his body tensed after Scorch’s words. For all his victories and apparent calmness, he knew you were the people that could get to him which was why he’d done everything he could think of to tear you apart. The thoughts sent a surge of strength and resolve through you. What the fuck were you doing? This was your team, your squad, your family. You’d all never stop fighting for each other so why had you? You’d given up so easily and that wasn’t who you were, how could you have lost sight of that? You glanced over to Omega and nodded.

Omega felt hope rise in her chest as she saw the familiar spark and determination in your eyes. She then stole a look behind her to see Wrecker slowly waking up. “You failed too.” She said smugly to Hemlock. “Your data’s gone.” And she wasn’t just talking about the samples, she knew Tech was safe too.

Hemlock whipped his head around to face the two of you. He had what he needed; he could start again. “But I still have you both.”

Picking up on Wrecker’s movements too, you got ready to fight once more. “Hey, Hemlock?” You waited until his eyes arrived on you. “Go to hell.”

Hemlock glowered at you but before he could do anything more, Omega spoke once more.

“And you’re forgetting one thing. We have them.” Omega said proudly.

Chaos erupted.

Wrecker ripped himself free of his capsule and used the portion covering his legs as a shield against the blaster fire before he launched it towards the operatives, the impact of the piece of metal against one of the control towers took down the entire system in the process.

Crosshair and Hunter groggily woke up their confinement also loosened.

Wrecker shakily got to his feet and pushed against the electrospear that the operative shoved towards his chest. He ignored the pain of the electrical current and kept his focus entirely on meeting the soldier strength for strength.

You dashed over to Hunter and rested your bound hands just beside his head “My love, I need you to stand for me.” You murmured with urgency. You placed your hands under his neck and then moved them gently still to his upper back to support him.

Hunter strained to open his eyes as he took in your still slightly blurry form, but he never failed to recognise you or your voice. He nodded and inhaled sharply as he slowly rose with your encouragement.

Whilst you did that, Omega made a break for a loose blaster, but Scorch grabbed her. She struggled against him, but she was forced to stop as Hemlock paired them together with a set of cuffs.

“We’re leaving. Get the Jedi.” Hemlock said to Scorch, passing him a hypodermic with a sedative inside it. He then snatched a blaster from CX-2 as well as the set of controls he kept on his sleeve for his ship. “Deal with them.” He directed the operative before he dragged Omega out,

Scorch came over with as he saw you attempting to aid the clone sergeant to his feet. He speedily stabbed the needle into your thigh and pressed down on the plunger.

You reacted swiftly and slapped his hand away before you landed a kick to his gut, but you felt the broken skin and as you removed the needle from your leg, you saw that the tip of it was wet, and you knew that you hadn’t been fast enough. Some of it had entered your system. A wooziness overcame you and you swayed on your feet as you fought against it.

Scorch recovered from the blow you dealt him and as he saw the unsteady way you stood as well as the lack of clarity behind your eyes, he knew he had done enough to get you compliant. He grabbed your wrist and forced you out of the room as he hurried to catch up with Hemlock.

--

Seeing that Hemlock was escaping with you both, Wrecker thrust the spear above him and kicked the operative back.

Hunter wearily worked on standing up straight and finding the strength to go after you and Omega.

“Get them back.” Wrecker said to Hunter before he let out a roar and charged at the operative he’d been fighting. He tackled his waist and smashed through the cracked window.

--

The gas dissipated and Echo glanced up to see the glass of one of the windows had cracked and there were flashes blaster fire. Whatever was happening above him was the disruption he needed.

And that distraction developed as Wrecker came crashing through the window.

In the mayhem, Echo was able to divert the blaster pointed at his head to the second operative standing behind him and take cover. Even with one operative dead, he was still outnumbered but two more rounds fired past him to disband the operative forces. Echo turned and saw that Wrecker- despite being flat on the ground- had been the one to fire the shots but he was still in danger. Echo fired a series of shots to the operative that Wrecker had forced out of the window and that operative also fell dead to the ground.

But Echo couldn’t ease up. Another operative had recovered from the disruption and attacked them again. Echo opened fire back as he took cover behind one of the obstacles.

Wrecker was slower to react. The shot he took to the inside of his leg as he rolled for shelter was yet another painful sign of how out of it he was. But he needed to get it together, Echo still needed him, and he wasn’t going to let his brother down.

Echo carefully moved around the room. He knew there were two operatives remaining and they made themselves know quickly. Now that the danger of the gas was gone, he had removed his helmet to aid in his breathing but as he walked around the side of one of the wall obstacles, a wave of blaster fire was sent in his direction, and he quickly pressed himself back against the wall. He searched for another way to somehow get behind the operative who had fired on him but as he did so, he felt a threat approaching his own back. As he turned, he saw the operative with the vibroblade weapons lunge for him and his blaster wasn’t primed to take the shot to stop it.

With a loud shout, Wrecker got to his feet and picked the operative up by the neck and smashed his head through one of the walls. That took up the last of his energy, his legs gave out and he fell to the ground with a deep groan.

Seeing his brother go down so heavily alarmed Echo deeply which was why he wasn’t the one to kill the final operative that had emerged. No, those shots came from one of the clones who had rallied by his side for this fight. He gave him a grateful nod before he knelt by Wrecker’s side. The clone could barely keep his eyes open, and he was breathing in short, sharp pants, his pain was obvious. “Wrecker, where are the others?” Echo asked as he looked on worriedly as his brother.

“They’ve- they’ve gone after-” Wrecker broke off with a low groan and couldn’t finish the thought. He was too exhausted and sore to focus on anything other than staying awake.

Echo put it together. “I can help you get there but I need you to get to your feet.” Echo urged as insistent but as caringly as possible, but Wrecker made no move to stand. “Come on, Wrecker, you can do it.” He thought of the first thing he could think of to get him there. “Tech’s alive. He’s waiting at the shuttle.”

“If that’s supposed to cheer me up, it’s a bad way to do it.” Wrecker managed to grunt.

“I’m serious. Omega found him.”

Wrecker glanced at Echo and a brief rush of adrenaline hit him as he saw the serious and honest look on Echo’s face.

“It’s true. I saw him.” The other clone added as he came over to offer his help.

Wrecker allowed himself to believe that because it was now the only thing giving him the strength to even think about getting up. With a determined moan, he got to his feet.

Echo, along with the other clone, supported Wrecker as they all made their way to the shuttle.

--

Hunter had managed to stand and grab the spear that the operative had left behind, but everything was still blurring together in one dark and incoherent shape. He couldn’t fully tell one sense apart from the other, everything was too sore and disjointed.

But he knew there was still an operative up here and he had to focus on finding him.

Crosshair was also beginning to get to his feet and as he saw CX-2 creep next to his pod and aim his blaster at Hunter, Crosshair kicked his arm which caused the shot to go array.

Tracking the sound, Hunter threw the spear in the direction it had come from and heard the sharp blade meeting it’s target as CX-2 was speared in the gut and the power behind Hunter’s through saw doubly sure that he was dead as he was flung back into the power grid and electrocuted.

Hunter grabbed the fallen rifle and spoke to Crosshair through gritted teeth, “I’ll go get them. You should stay here.”

“Not a chance.” Crosshair grunted as he properly got to his feet.

Hunter picked up a second blaster and handed Crosshair the sniper rifle.

Supporting each other, the two of them hobbled out the room to go catch up with you and Omega.

--

The night air was cold as a storm raged on.

Thunder rumbled above you.

Lightening flashed through the black clouds.

The pouring rain pelted against your skin.

The wind whipped across your face.

But as unpleasant as it was, it did help get you out of your sedative state. You just had to wait for the right moment and so long as Scorch had a blaster pressed to your back and Omega was cuffed and attached to Hemlock, it wasn’t the right moment, so you pretended to still be as compliant as you had been when being led through the corridors out of the training room.

Hemlock led the way across the exposed and narrow walkway towards the landing platform. He was almost there. He could rebuild once he got away. He ignored the girl’s struggles and protests as he dragged her further along and pressed the button on the control sleeve that would bring the ship to them. Just as the ship was preparing to land, two blaster bolts hit the right and left engines and the ship erupted into flames.

You used as your moment to take care of Scorch. You smacked the back of your head into his visor and turned on your heels to grab his blaster.

In the push and shove struggle, both of you teetered towards the edge of the bridge. One particularly nasty shove from Scorch saw to it that you fell over the top, but you still had a hold of his blaster, so he toppled over with you.

You just about managed to take a scrappy hold of the one of the bars that formed the boundary of the walkway, Scorch fell past you into the abyss below. The metal was slick against your fingers and being cuffed wasn’t making holding on any easier, your grip was haphazard at best. Which was why you weren’t surprised that you couldn’t keep a secure hold and you slipped downwards, your fingers catching the edge of the platform.

You saw the scene unfolding across from you and you wished there was more you could do to help but all you could do now was fight to keep your head up as your legs dangled aimlessly. You called on every piece of strength you had to hold on and wait this out.

--

Hemlock thrust Omega in front of him and wrapped his arm around her neck as he held the blaster to her head. You were out of the picture for now, his main adversaries remained further down the bridge. “That’s far enough!” He threatened as he saw the clones

Hunter shook the rain from his eyes as he and Crosshair paused to figure out the next best course of action. He had to trust that you would hold on for long enough. Right now, his priority was Omega. He knelt down and kept his blaster trained on Hemlock.

Crosshair did the same, only he rested his rife on Hunter’s shoulder as he peered down his scope.

The two of them synchronised their breathing as the storm echoed around them but that didn’t distract them. Their entire focus was on the two people down the walkway.

“You won’t get past them.” Omega said, no fear in her voice.

“They won’t risk hurting you.” Hemlock said through heavy breaths. “And it’s not only you they have to consider.”

“Neither will you. You need me alive.” Omega countered. “And she’s a lot stronger than you think.” She said, knowing that no matter what, you would be fine.

Hemlock brought her to the edge of the bridge opposite to where you were hanging. “If I go over, then you go over.” He then bellowed down to the clones, “Drop the blasters!”

But Omega wasn’t going to entertain that outcome. Hemlock’s arrogance would be his downfall. She reached into her sleeve and grabbed the tool she had stolen from Emerie’s supply kit.

--

Hunter saw what Omega was doing and understood her plan. “Shoot the binders.” He told Crosshair.

“I- I- I can’t.” Crosshair stammered. He had rarely practiced with his left hand as the trigger hand and these conditions were less than ideal to make such a precise shot. “They’re too close. If I’m off- I can’t risk Omega.”

“She knows what to do, Crosshair.” Hunter said. He trusted Omega and he trusted Crosshair. He had all the confidence that his brother could make the shot. “Wait for her, then take the shot.”

Crosshair let that faith and his own desire to rescue Omega guide him as he rested his finger on the trigger. He could do this. He knew he could. He inhaled and exhaled steadily as he waited on her.

--

Omega stabbed her implement into Hemlock’s thigh and used his surprise to step away from him and she raised their cuffed hands in the air.

When Crosshair’s shot met it’s mark and separated them, she crouched down as she heard six shots hit Hemlock’s chest and she watched his body fall over the side.

--

Releasing a thankful sigh, you braced yourself on your forearms as you worked on hauling yourself back up. You felt a supportive hand tug at your arm and angled your gaze to see Omega doing her best to help you back onto the bridge.

Once safely situated and cuff free thanks to Omega’s tool, you stayed propped on your knees and braced your hands on your thighs as you caught your breath and looked at the young girl and all it took was that glance from you. She crashed into you, and you squeezed her close. “Are you alright?”

Omega squeezed you back and nodded into your neck. “Yeah… I’m okay.” She said through an exhausted but relieved sigh. “Are you?”

“Yeah, kid, I’m okay.” You said, your throat tightening as you realised what was about to happen next. It had been the thing that had gotten you through every night since arriving here. And it had been the thing you had so nearly given up and lost.

You both pulled apart at the same time.

You got to your feet and followed her gaze towards the two men still kneeling further down the bridge. You didn’t need to check with her, you both started running together.

Naturally, you reached them just before Omega did and you didn’t really slow down in your approach.

With adrenaline overpowering your own lingering pain and tiredness, you- getting caught up in the excitement of seeing Hunter again- foolishly forgot about his injuries and all but launched yourself at him. You collided against his chest with a happy cry and flung your arms around him and pulled him close to you.

“Ow ow ow.” Hunter mumbled with a sharp wince as he braced himself against your strength, but he couldn’t help himself, he clung to you just as tightly.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Your words were muffled from where you pressed your face in the crook of his neck. You went to pull away instead, but he wasn’t letting you yet, in fact he readjusted his hold to keep you right where you were.

Hunter breathed you in and let himself get lost in the feeling of holding you and feeling you against him. The familiar shape and scent of your body providing him the comfort and security he needed to alleviate part of the pain he was feeling with his senses. He nuzzled into your neck and used one hand to cradle the back of your head whilst his other arm still kept you tight to him.

The two of you held onto each other like you were terrified it was all a dream and you might be taken away again. The bridge was cold and wet against your legs but after all that had just happened, it hardly mattered now. The rain continued its deluge against your body, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was this moment right here and now.

Only when his body did truly start to protest against the strain, did Hunter relax his arms.

You released your own arms and hid your face in your hands as the emotions of the time that had passed hit you all at once. Sobs mixed with laughter left your throat and racked through your body as you realised that he was safe. That Omega was safe. That they all were safe.

Hunter gently took your hands away and carefully held your bruised face. He used his thumbs to softly wipe some of the rain and tears running down your cheeks. He brushed some wet strands of hair tenderly away from your face before murmuring, “I love you.” A kiss to your forehead. “I love you,” A kiss to your cheek. “I love you,” A kiss to your other cheek.

You stared into his brown eyes as you got yourself under control and they grounded you so completely as you saw the feeling behind them. “I love you too.” You gasped breathlessly. You threaded your fingers in his damp strands and-more mindful of his injuries- leaned forward.

Hunter went to close the gap but the sound of someone managing a strained but somehow still very pointed cough caused you both to stop and you turned your head to see Crosshair and Omega waiting expectantly.

“What? No hugs for us?” Crosshair said with a light-hearted, albeit pained, smile at the two of you.

You huffed out a chuckle and together, you and Hunter slid into their embrace, and you all wrapped your arms around one another. You shared in that moment until Omega decided to break away.

You all got to your feet, but you noticed how unsteady both Crosshair and Hunter were.

With Omega looking out for Crosshair, you focused your attention on Hunter. “Lean on me.” You instructed him as you placed his arm around you, and you took on his weight as you all made your way to the transport hangar.

--

You all reached the shuttle and slowly walked up the ramp but the person you saw tending to Wrecker’s wounds had you all forgetting any remaining aches and pains.

All three of you inhaled sharply and stopped short. You shared a look to make sure you were all in agreement with what- or rather-who you were seeing.

“Yeah, you’re not seeing things.” Wrecker told you all with a cheery disposition.

Echo had a small yet delighted grin on his face as he took in the stunned yet happy reactions from all of you.

“Oh… did I not mention that?” Omega kidded, a joyous smile on her own face.

“Tech?” Crosshair all but whispered.

“You’re alive?” You and Hunter said together, emotion overwhelming both of you as you spoke.  

“You sound surprised.” Tech said with a small smile. What did catch him by surprise though was the way he was dragged into a large group hug with all six of you.

And as the shuttle took off and you all had that minute together, you were hit with a remarkable sense of home.

--

The shuttle landed in Pabu and the rescued clones steadily departed the shuttle first.

Echo, Omega and Wrecker were the first of you all to leave with Echo wanting to check on Emerie and Omega wanting to check on her friends from the vault.

Tech made to go too but hesitated as he caught the attention of a familiar face.

Phee’s eyes widened. She walked up the ramp and took in the messy yet totally recognisable man in front of her. “Well, brown eyes, it’s about damn time.”

Tech made to adjust his non-existent goggles but caught himself. “I was- uh- rather occupied for a while.”

Phee raised her chin and smiled. She came up the ramp and linked arms with the clone. “Now your survival is an adventure I want to hear all about.”

You could’ve sworn you saw the faintness of blushes on Tech’s cheeks.

“Well, it involved a grappling hook and some pretty fast thinking. I was falling…”

You, Hunter and Crosshair watched them walk away and you caught the completely astonished expression on Crosshair’s face. It was possible he was more taken aback by that than by seeing Tech come back from the dead.

“I have a question.” Crosshair asked as he stared at the fading figures.

“What’s that?” You said, pretending to have no idea as to why he looked so bewildered. You welcomed Hunter’s arm that looped around your waist and the look he gave you told you that he was willing to play along.

“We just spent the duration of that journey getting medical attention and catching Tech up on everything that had happened since you all ignored Plan 88, right?”

“Right.” Hunter agreed, ignoring the playful jab.

“And I was on Pabu and with you all a good while before everything went to shit.” Crosshair said.

“Uh huh.” You concurred, a slightly teasing smile on your face as you waited for him to get to the point of his question.

“So, please explain to me why no one thought to tell me about that.” He pointed with his left hand towards Tech and Phee. “Since when did Tech get- I mean how- just what exactly is that?”

“Oh… that.” You feigned a sudden realisation. “Huh, I guess they did get pretty close whilst we were staying here. How many dates was it before we had to leave, Hunter?”

Hunter matched your teasing tone. “Yeah, I don’t know. At least three or four- not that Tech truly realised that’s what they were. We really didn’t tell you?” He asked Crosshair, a smirk on his face.

“You two are impossible.” Crosshair groused before he walked down the ramp, muttering under his breath.

You laughed quietly as you watched him leave.

Hunter let out a low chuckle too as he brought you in closer to his side and he pressed his lips to the top of your head before you both walked out the ship.

--

Emerie observed the children from afar and was pleased to see them chasing the animals of the island and interacting with the Omega and the other young clones. “They’ve adapted quickly.” She said as Echo approached her side.

“Kids are resilient.”

“A childhood’s not something we ever had. Our lives have never been our own.”

“Until now. I’m heading to Pantora to help get some of the clones settled. I’m sure Senator Chuchi would find whatever you have to say very helpful for our cause.”

“I have a lot to make up for. I’d like to help out however I can.”

Echo rested a hand on her shoulder before he made for the shuttle once more.

Emerie followed a few paces behind.

--

As you and Hunter were making your way from the shuttle, Omega called out your name.

You paused and turned to see she had brought a group of kids over with her.

“These were the children I was telling you about. This is Eva, Jax, Sami and Bayrn.” She introduced each child in kind before she introduced you and said to them, “And this is my friend I told you about.”

“Hello.” You said warmly as they looked at you, both with curiosity and nervousness.

“I um, I filled them in on everything. I hope that’s okay.”

You nodded. “You contact Rex, I’ll catch up.” You said to Hunter whilst Omega went to go find Batcher. You crouched down in front of the remaining children. “Omega told me a lot about you too. I hear you all helped with her escape plan, that’s pretty impressive.” You said sincerely, keeping your voice tender and kind.

“Omega was the one that led it. It was all her. We didn’t do too much.” Jax said.

“A team is only as good as everyone in it. You all had a part to play, and you did it well.” You cleared your throat as you readied yourself for the next part. “Now, I know Omega has told you that I’m a Jedi, and did she tell you what that means?”

All of them nodded.

“Okay, that’s good. And I have to ask, have any of you ever like an object moved without you touching it, or you were somehow able to jump higher than you expected?”

You knew Baryn couldn’t really understand and wasn’t paying much attention as he babbled away in Sami’s arms, but you figured he was there for the same reasons as the rest of them nodded again.

“We’re going to look out for you whilst we work on getting you back to your families, but life will always be a bit different for you now, and you’ll still have to be careful. But I can teach you some things whilst you’re still here that should help and once you’re home, if you or your parents have any more questions, you’re welcome to come back.” You offered, smiling at them as they nodded. “Alright, that’s all from the grown up for today. Carry on exploring.” You said fondly before you stood up and went to rejoin Hunter and Omega

--

You, Hunter and Omega had taken up position by the weeping maya tree with Batcher lying by Omega’s side. You all watched as the clones walked around freely and the children from the vault got to enjoy being kids once more and it was a delightful sight to take in.

“With Hemlock gone and his data destroyed, they’re finally safe.” Omega said with relief.

“Mm-hmm.” Hunter agreed and released a relieved sigh of his own as the impact of that statement properly hit him. “And so are both of you.”

“Will it take long to find their families?”

“Rex and I are working on it, but we’ll look after them until then.”

“And that brings the adoptive parent tally up to eight- nine including Gungi.” You kidded affectionately before you laid down next to Hunter and rested your head in his lap.

“Like you didn’t just offer them that exact thing whilst I was speaking to him.” Hunter retorted playfully as he brushed the backs of his fingers across your cheek.

You stuck your tongue out at him before the sound of the shuttle powering up grabbed all of your attention. You raised your head and saw Echo getting ready to depart with some of the clones that wanted to continue the fight. All four of you dipped your heads and smiled in farewell.

“What about the rest of the clones?” Omega asked as she watched the shuttle leave. “Will they stay here on Pabu?”

“Well, it’s up to them. They’re free to follow their own path.” Hunter exhaled tiredly but kept his voice light as he said, “We’ve all fought enough battles for one lifetime. Now we get to choose who we want to be.”

“Like what?” Omega asked.

You smiled at Hunter and placed your head back down in his lap. You closed your eyes and let the sun’s warmth seep into your skin.

“Whatever we want, kid.” The girl leaned against his arm and his voice and face softened at the action, “Whatever we want.”

Then, as the Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair came to sit down with the three of you, Hunter stared down at your utterly content form and stroked a hand past your brow and through your hair.

He had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to be next.

Post S3 oneshot (to be posted)>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @arctrooper69, @andreaaxy, @notgonnaedit, @dominoeffectsworld, @allthingsimagines , @nightmonkeysstuff , @jellybeanstacey0519 , @callsign-denmark , @superbookishhufflepuff , @qvnthesia , @justsomerandompersonintheworld

[silantryoo]

BONUS [ LIKEALOOK ] — normal girl.

l/n y/n, first year high school.

WARNINGS ; misogyny, classism, multiple one-sided relationships, mentions of death threats, mentions of toxic fandoms, hints of imposter syndrome, sexual innuendos, sexualization, objectification, incel behaviour, slut shaming (5.4k)

l/n y/n was born a pretty baby.

her family members - cousins, aunties, uncles, grandparents - gathered around her medical crib hours after she was born, basking in her beauty.

to the l/n's, y/n was a sight to behold. her small smile and her soft cooing ignited a fire within them, one that urged them to pamper the newborn with as much love they could muster.

it was safe to say that y/n was always surrounded with love, a plethora of it.

there wasn't a single time in her childhood that she didn't feel love.

y/n loved her parents, just as much, if not more, than they love her.

they did everything that they could to make her happy and healthy, enrolling her in whatever she wanted at the time. whether that be her attending hanlim (which they could barely afford) or a simple latte at the nearest café, the l/n's first priority was their daughter.

y/n knew that she wasn't as well off as the other kids in her school. her parents were decently well off but not enough to put them in the upper tax bracket that many of seoul seemed to be in, or at least pretended to. she had nice clothes, not designer, but just enough to not be bullied by her peers. her house was a fair bit away from the more booming areas of the city; a cozy, two bedroom house an hour away from gangnam.

she was content, making sure to never take her things for granted, always making sure her clothes were neat, her shoes were clean, and helping out with the chores as much as she could.

y/n didn't need much. she didn't want much, actually. as long as her parents were there with her, she was happy.

y/n just wanted to be happy.

she knew she was pretty.

being pampered all her life does a few things to her ego, but even then, it was only her family members telling her. there was only so much you hear from your family until it started sounding like each compliment was because you were family. y/n had a slight ego, sure, but didn't have a big head. she knew she didn't hold the attention of the general public that her parents were so sure she held.

at least, she didn't think so.

"i've liked you for so long!"

y/n stared at the note in his hands, the upperclassman's hands trembling. she couldn't understand why he was so nervous. they had hung out a few times beforehand, surely he wasn't actually in love with her.

y/n was only thirteen, and this guy - han hyeongjun - had spoken to her less than ten times her entire life.

as his hands continued to shake, y/n gently pushed his arms down, giving a soft smile.

he was in no means ugly. a lot of girls would die for a chance with him, both older and younger that y/n herself. hyeongjun was nice, even funny at times when y/n had spoken to him.

y/n simply didn't know him enough, and currently, her priorities weren't dating.

"i'm sorry..." y/n watched as his face fell apart, hyeongjun's eyes wide with hurt and shock. "i'm not looking for a boyfriend right now."

"i'll wait!" his voice tore through her eardrums, a desperateness lying underneath his shaky breath. hyeongjun swallowed back what seemed to be tears. "please... give me a chance."

y/n frowned. was she hurting someone? she never wanted to hurt anyone.

"hyeongjun-oppa, i'm really not interested." she could feel herself wavering, her guilt slowly starting to outweigh her stance. "i'm sorry..."

hyeongjun crumpled the love letter in his hand, tears streaming down his face. he would never want to force the girl he liked into a relationship with him, even though he so desperately wanted to, even though it tore through him like a pain his fourteen year old self could barely comprehend.

"i understand." his tears poured violently, hyeongjun's head pounding from holding back sobs. "i just... really like you."

y/n knew she was pretty, but she didn't think she was pretty enough to cause someone pain, especially someone she barely met.

"i'm sor-"

he left without a word, bumping into the younger girl's shoulder, his face tear-stained and etched with pain.

why did it hurt y/n too?

it was a one off thing, y/n decided.

han hyeongjun was a sweet, soft hearted boy. it was most likely a crush that he had, and not the emotions he claimed them to be. even if it was, there was no way it could actually happen again.

especially not in hanlim, where idols and future actors wandered the halls, all wearing some kind of designer shoes and expensive makeup.

here, y/n was just another face, just like she always was, despite her parents' preaching.

"what's your name?"

y/n's head shot up, her eyes wide. the girl that stood before her was tall and pretty, her loafers polished as if it was spit shined. her hair was dark, her skin pale in comparison, and y/n could see the faint twinkling of her necklace.

she suddenly felt so out of place.

"me?"

"yeah, you." the girl sat beside her, a scoff threatening to escape from her pink stained lips. "i don't think i've seen you before. what's your last name?"

it was an odd question to ask, at least for y/n. she knew last names held a significance, but only the adults in her life bothered to ask, never people her age.

the girl's eyes bore into hers, as if anticipating her question, ready to jump at the chance to compare herself with y/n.

"it's l/n."

"l/n?" she rested her chin on her palm, gazing at the girl with a predatory gaze. y/n couldn't place what it was, but it felt familiar enough to make her feel uncomfortable. "i don't think i know any l/n's. are you from gangnam? seocho?"

y/n could feel her eyes bug out. gangnam? seocho? there was no way her parents could ever afford an apartment, much less rent in those areas.

"uh, no." y/n didn't know why, but she felt so cold all of a sudden. "i live in nowon."

the girl sat up, her interest piqued. there was something about her eyes that shifted.

"oh." she twirled her blonde hair (probably an idol trainee, y/n thought) in between her fingers, eyeing y/n with a curiosity that seemed less than innocent. "i see..."

she could feel her intentions, how her puppy-like eyes held more than innocence. y/n felt like a zoo animal, being observed from a close distance, and this girl, although outwardly sweet, had ravenous intentions.

the girl smiled kindly, throwing y/n off guard. "what do your parents do for a living?"

y/n blinked. maybe she was wrong.

"um..." y/n's parents made a good amount, more than the rest of her relatives. even her high school friends said that she was rich, at least in comparison to them. "my dad's an electrician and my mom's a factory worker."

there was a pause in the air, heavy and suffocating. y/n was sure she said something wrong, but she wasn't sure.

"well..." the girl leaned back, deciding not to attack the poor girl in front of her (for now), and y/n sighed a breath of fresh air. "at least you're pretty."

"oh." y/n was pretty sure it wasn't a complement, but she'd take what she can get, especially since she was the black sheep in a class full of freshly groomed ones. "thank you..."

the girl smiled, resting her hand on her chin, her long, expensive looking acrylic nails slightly digging into her cheek. y/n glances her nails, dull and plain.

"my name's shim hyewon, daughter of shim sin. y'know, the politician?"

"oh." y/n had no idea about the world of politics, much less their names. all she knew was that the girl in front of her must've been rich. "i'm l/n y/n..."

just l/n y/n.

shim hyewon led a life that y/n hadn't been used to.

her parents were busy people, working as much as they could to provide for y/n, and she couldn't be more grateful for them. she rarely saw them in the mornings, her dad having an early start to his day, and her mom usually coming home an hour after she already left for school.

her commute wasn't bad, longer than it was during high school, but that was a given. her place horribly far from hanlim. her ten minute walked turned into an hour commute (give or take a couple minutes it takes to actually walk to the station).

it was a pain, honestly, but this was what she wished for. y/n wasn't gonna let an inconvenience like this get in the way of dreams, not when her parents poured blood, sweat and tears into it.

still, y/n couldn't help but envy hyewon.

the girl had been nice to her these past couple months, and though y/n felt uncomfortable with her constant classist remarks, hyewon was sweet.

she'd wait for y/n at the entrance of the school, scrolling through the latest model of her phone (the case differing week to week, sometimes day to day), barely fatigued from the twenty minute drive with her chauffer.

she shouldn't feel jealous at the wealth, y/n was already rich with the love and support from her parents. she genuinely couldn't ask for more, but perhaps if she had just a little bit of that money...

"took you long enough."

y/n fiddled with her black blazer, shifting around. hyewon's eyes dropped to her legs for a brief moment, and once again, y/n felt like a prize to be won.

she didn't dwell on it longer, as hyewon's face shifted into an expression y/n was used to; amusement.

y/n cleared her throat, rubbing her knuckles. at times, standing face to face with her friend felt more like a job interview than two peers talking about class.

"how long were you waiting for?"

"five minutes." hyewon shrugged, standing up from her leaning position. "i thought you weren't gonna show today."

y/n woke up late, too busy studying for their history exam to sleep. she needed high grades, and there was no time to study, especially since she managed to book some auditions a week before the test.

luckily, she caught the train, but the trek up on the way to school was slower due to her drowsiness.

"i always show up to class."

the two began to walk to class, finally entering school grounds. y/n could already feel eyes on them, more specifically on her.

it was a common occurrence after her first month in school, and she found a lot of the students (mostly boys, but a girl here and there) stealing glances, some of which even handing her confession letters.

maybe they weren't used to people like her walking around, someone who was slightly less well off, and not acclimated to their tightknit social circles.

it didn't make her feel any better though.

"you shouldn't." hyewon sighed, taking in the shorter girl's side profile. "this place is boring."

hanlim wasn't boring, not to y/n. school was school, and although it was tough and monotonous, she was on the path of doing something she loved.

y/n loved the spotlight like it loved her, but sometimes, she wished that people saw her less like a trophy and more like a human being.

hyewon glanced at her as they entered the building, her eyes raking over her with an untold emotion.

she was never a patient person, and her father always scolded her for it. perhaps now was a good time to practice it. hyewon could already tell that y/n was going to be tough to crack.

reaching the room, y/n could feel the cold air on her sweat soaked back, and she couldn't wait to finally sit down. the train was packed earlier, and y/n's legs ached from standing up the entire ride. she needed a breather, sooner than later.

"hey."

oh.

"ew." hyewon scrunched up her nose before playing innocent. she looked up at the older guy, smiling with her teeth. "oops! sorry, sunbaenim. it slipped out before i realized."

jay chang.

two years y/n's senior, and son of some popular american singer that y/n couldn't remember the name of. all she knew was that girls quite literally fell for him with a simple smile, and that jay was nothing but persistant.

"it's a good thing i wasn't talking to you, then." his smile was charming, and y/n was nearly fooled by it the first time they spoke. "you look nice today, y/n."

she nodded slightly, not wanting to give him too much. "thank you, sunbaenim."

"still a no?"

hyewon rolled her eyes. "kinda obvious, don't you think?"

"what?" he smirked, dusting his shoulder. "eventually, she'll need someone like me to take care of her."

y/n didn't think she'd ever need anyone, especially someone as big headed as jay chang.

what she needed was her desk, and her seat cushion... and a cold glass of water.

"i can take care of her just fine."

"whatever." jay frowned. hyewon always seemed to get what she wanted, despite probably being the youngest in the school. everyone treated her like royalty, and it pissed him off, knowing how she truly was deep down. "besides, y/n can't expect me to hold back when she looks like that everyday."

she was no better than him.

"that's all for me, i'm guessing?"

y/n felt a firm grip around her midsection, hyewon's arm anchoring her body against hers. it felt as if she was being claimed in broad daylight, and y/n did everything in her power to push down the discomfort threatening to make itself known.

"yeah." hyewon looked up at jay. "we're leaving."

"it's just a joke!" jay put his hands up, smiling as if he did nothing wrong. "unless you wanna make it a reality, y/n-ah."

y/n shook her head, the unsettling feeling getting worse as jay continued to hover over them.

"c'mon, don't be like that." he teased softly, a hint of frustration underneath. "at the very least, go on a date with your oppa."

hyewon pushed him aside, slamming the classroom door in his face. everyday, it was the same thing; the boy showing up in front of the classroom, loud and annoying, only there to harass y/n.

it was funny, honestly, and hyewon didn't mind that it helped y/n get closer to her.

"you okay, y/n?"

"yeah." y/n pulled away from her, hyewon's arms falling from her side. the younger girl clenched her jaw. "are all the guys here like that?"

"no." she hummed as the two made their way to the lockers. hyewon glanced at y/n once more. "almost everyone here is like that."

y/n couldn't get the icky feeling off her.

she felt an item for auction.

"it makes me feel gross." y/n confided softly, the feeling never leaving her, even when it was just her and her friend talking.

hyewon paused, and y/n felt the air shift into a thick cloud, filled with something similar to smugness.

"do i make you feel gross, y/n?"

she didn't want to upset her only friend.

"no."

but that was the exact answer hyewon was looking for.

"good."

the seasons passed, and so did y/n history exam.

getting her score back wasn't the nerve wracking part.

her grades were what she expected, and although it wasn't enough to be the top of her class (because y/n wasn't gonna slave over a one hundred and go to night school and cram school), she was satisfied.

it was the auditions she was worried about, her very first (and if it went wrong, her very last). she had managed to get a callback a week ago, and like before, it all went smoothly.

until she got to the HYBE building, of course.

"mom?" y/n's feet hit the cold floor, the air conditioning blasting. both her parents must've been home. "dad?"

she wandered into the kitchen, some dishes piled up, and the table freshly wiped. on the stove was a pot of kimchi stew, her mom's favorite meal and her dad's go-to dish.

she trudged to the living room, excited at the signs of her parents finally being home. y/n knew it wasn't normal for a fifteen year old to want to hang out with her parents, but she didn't care.

y/n loved her parents.

she heard the tv and walked faster, stopping as she stood in front of her parents' view, laptop in hand.

"need something, baby?" her mom, l/n eunji, pulled away from her dad's arms, causing him to pout slightly. he was always so clingy. it was cute. "come here."

y/n raced to sit in between them, rushing to open her email.

"can i tell you something?"

"what is it?" her dad, l/n junsang, leaned over her shoulder, snooping like he usually did. "you have a boyfriend? girlfriend?"

y/n glanced at junsang, shaking her head at his over enthusiasm to her getting a girlfriend or boyfriend (which she knew deep down he detested the though of).

"what?" he shrugged. "when i was your age, girls were throwing themselves at me. boys, too."

eunji rolled her eyes. her husband never changed. "girls were running away from you, actually."

y/n, not minding their usual antics, sifted through her open tabs, closing at least eight of them (for her paper due next month).

"but you ran towards me." junsang scrunched his nose, the mole dead center wrinkling along with his skin.

eunji shook her head. after twenty years together, she assumed her husband's ego would deflate just a tad bit. somehow, it worsened when y/n was born, their young daughter resembling him in both her smile and her beauty marks.

"you were the only one who caught my attention, though." he confessed like he always did, declaring his love on a random afternoon. "i could never say no to you and your pretty eyes."

y/n could gag, but it was nice to see her parents in love, even if it made her cringe.

"um..." she shifted the attention to her, hovering over the sketchy email she got. "are you guys done flirting?"

"sorry, baby." eunji looked at her daughter, her cat-like eyes gleaming. "what's up?"

"so..." the email in front of y/n made her heart beat out of her chest. "i had a callback, right?"

"yeah...?"

"i just got the email." y/n whispered. she knew it was her first audition, and there were much prettier and more talented girls that were at the audition, but she couldn't help but hope. "i was hoping to open it with you?"

junsang smiled. he was always so grateful that his daughter was open to sharing her achievements with him and his wife. being so involved in her life, regardless of its gravity, made him happy.

all he ever wanted, ever since he was young, was to watch his kid blossom.

the two older l/n's leaned closer, watching as their daughter opened the message.

y/n's eyes widened, reading the words over and over again, but she could only focus on one thing.

We look forward to working with you in the next coming weeks.

she got it? her first audition, and she got it?

y/n didn't know how to feel, a mix of gratitude and guilt coursing through her. it didn't seem fair to the others, the ones who strived for months, years.

"i knew it." junsang puffed out his chest. "no way can they deny our baby's pretty face."

her pretty face.

was that the only reason she got in? did they chose her for her face, just like everyone did in hanlim? her hardwork was glazed over, the spotlight on her features instead of her feats.

eunji flicked her husband's ear, her head lowering to meet her daughter's gaze.

"obviously, it's not just your face, y/n." her daughter was talented, and sometimes, she needed a reminder, just like everyone in her position would. "your dad and i know how talented you are. he just likes to say your face is pretty because people say you look like him."

"what?" junsang frowned. "am i not pretty?"

"junsang."

"you're very talented." he smiled, ruffling y/n's hair. "and smart too. all of which you got from m-"

"junsang."

"anyway," he waved his wife off, looking at his daughter. "you deserve it. you've worked so hard for it, and we're so proud of you. not only do we have a good daughter, but a talented one."

her parents were always her anchor, but sometimes she wished that she had the friend groups in the shows she had watched.

y/n wanted to belong both in her home and in society, where people saw passed her face.

"thank you." she whispered, earning a kiss on her temple from her mom. "i love you both."

"we love you too." eunji rubbed her back. "and don't listen to your dad about the boyfriend thing. i was the one that was getting hit on."

junsang paused, a frown suddenly on his face.

"you were?" his eyes landed on his wife, y/n deciding that now was a good time to hop off the couch and let her father and mother sort this one out. "wait, why didn't i know about this?"

eunji shrugged, standing up.

"i never told you."

eunji followed her daughter, not to her room, but to the end of the hall, her and her husband's door wide open.

"wait, what?" junsang heard y/n's door click shut, rushing to his feet to chase after his wife. "eunji, what?"

y/n met bts.

no, she worked with them, staring in multiple of their music videos, more than she expected to feature in (all at the cost of privating her social media accounts for a while. her success came with death threats, as expected).

it did wonders to her popularity in the industry, and she was amazed at how much more her peers both avoided and fawned over her. y/n always thought that it couldn't get much worse, but it did.

hyewon seemed to hover over her, watching as her locker was filled with threats from some of the older girls in hanlim. mixed into the pile were confessions, a few of which came from different schools. how they got in her locker, y/n would never know.

all she knew was that the attention was immense.

somehow, she avoided it today, waiting a couple minutes after the class president left to get cleaning supplies. there were a fair amount of students still in the class, but y/n knew they were all respectful enough to not but her.

she dusted herself off, walking outside the room and down the staircase. hyewon was somewhere nearby, either the roof where she usually sat (smelling like smoke) or in the girl's washroom close to the entrance.

"so..." jay? he never stayed after school, even if clubs were going on. "you can do a video with some older men but not go on a date with me?"

y/n's blood ran cold.

"sunbaenim." trying to not show her nerves, she lowered her head slightly, hoping that the sign of respect was enough for him to cool down.

it wasn't.

"do you like older men?" his arms crossed, his usually ironed blazer now wrinkling in his grip. "am i not old enough for you?"

y/n didn't like older men, she didn't even consider older anyone at all. she didn't wanna focus on that stuff, her sights on her dream university unwavering.

"i just don't want a boyfriend." her voice, soft and soothing, was strong with honesty.

"why not?" jay shot up, his dark eyes hard against y/n's features. "all girls want a boyfriend. you know i'll be good to you. i won't even force you to do anything."

y/n was sure his words meant to be reassuring, but it made her feel worse if anything, now knowing that jay saw her more like a toy than a human.

"i'm really not interested." she felt her voice go weaker, her legs frozen.

she wanted to leave, yet her legs stayed glued to the floor. there was a deep, unsettling feeling like her chest had been weighed down by something and she wasn't sure what.

"i don't believe you." the sinking feeling in y/n's chest was overwhelming. "don't tell me one of those bts oppas got to you first."

the staircase turned quiet, the soft whirling of the cooling units pushing through the vents. the green grass reflected the now setting sun through the window, birds chirping in the distance.

it should've been a beautiful day.

y/n felt a sense of shame she didn't understand. dirty and used, yet not even having her first kiss yet. she hadn't even held hands with anyone, yet somehow, everyone saw her as more.

she just wanted connection, love in both friendship and relationship.

jay was annoying, uncomfortable at times, but he wasn't cruel. she must've heard wrong. she had to have heard wrong.

y/n's voice came out in a soft squeak.

"i don't understand..."

she didn't, honestly.

she knew the industry came with it's consequences, but everything started even before then. it amplified, but it had always been like this in one way or another. she was always seen as something to get, something to possess, but never to connect with.

y/n was a want, but she was never a need.

"c'mon, y/n. quit playing dumb." jay was up to his wits end, and y/n could feel it in the air, a heavy smog filling her lungs. "there's another guy, isn't it?"

everyone assumed it was someone else, but it never was.

it was just her.

"are you playing hard to get or something?" his voice got louder, drowning out the birds and replacing it with a shroud of rage that concentrated around y/n. "you know how many girls would kill to have me tripping over them? and you're just here rejecting me over and over again?"

over the past few months, y/n learned to steel herself from the influx of confessions, always slightly in pain at the thought of breaking someone's heart.

it felt real, their 'love' for her.

but she knew this wasn't real, yet it hurt by the tenfold.

"it hurts, y'know." jay didn't seem hurt, and y/n was glad that his major was applied music and not broadcasting and entertainment. "you're not even giving me a chance. is it cause of the rumors you heard? are you that shallow? or are you just trying to hurt me?"

y/n didn't want to hurt anyone. she'd rather hurt herself.

"i didn't mean to-"

"but you did!" jay was fed up, nothing ever going his way. "do you like the attention or something? acting like a fucking tease all the time."

she could feel anger bursting through her chest, sick and tired of the names everyone threw her way. a thin veil frustration started to well up in her eyes, and behind, a seed of disappointment in others and in herself.

calming herself down, y/n spoke. "i don't understand why you keep calling me that."

"because you are!" jay whined, his eyebrows furrowing. y/n could basically see him stomping his foot. "you walk around with that face and expect me not to do anything."

a shiver ran through her spine.

"it's just my face..."

y/n didn't want to be seen as a trophy if it meant attracting attention like this.

did anyone even see her as human at this point?

"just shut up!" jay pushed his hair slick back, his voice echoing through the stairwell. "just fucking leave."

as if by his instructions, y/n's legs finally moved, her frame a blur as she rushed down to the main floor. she could feel her chest heaving, her eyes trained onto her feet. they carried her to the washroom, and she opened the door with a loud bang.

hyewon.

she was safe. her friend was here.

"woah," hyewon hummed, looking at y/n through the mirror. "you look crazy as fuck."

she felt crazy, her mind racing. she couldn't fathom how people saw her in that light, as if she was a medal incased in a collection of glory, plastered for the world to see.

"hyewon."

y/n rushed to her friend. she needed comfort, solace in the storm that happened mere minutes ago.

today should've been a good day.

"oh shit." hyewon pulled y/n in, her hands resting on her lower back. "hey... it's okay."

she could confide here, in between the porcelain walls, where she stood in the arms of someone she trusted. for once, she had someone to lean on, someone her age (or close to it) that listened.

y/n just wanted someone to listen.

"i don't understand why everyone thinks i want them or something." the emotions in her chest whirled with fervor, yet her voice was meek.

"i don't understand either." hyewon pull her closer, rubbing her back. "people here are fucked in the head."

y/n didn't want to believe that. she knew somewhere out there, there had to be people who were pure hearted, with pure intentions. somewhere, there were people who were just like her and her parents.

y/n wouldn't find them until after high school.

"i just wanted to make friends." she didn't mean to whine, but she was tired. "even the girls here think that i'm trying to do something. i can't even go near them without them thinking i'm trying to sabotage them."

hyewon pulled back slightly, looking at the shorter girl with vague intent. "i know you aren't, y/n."

"did i do something?" y/n was careful, never crossing the line of friendship (and most times, acquaintanceship) with anyone. she never wanted her words to be twisted, her actions perceived with an underlying meaning. "do i seem like the people they assume i am?"

she wanted to be seen for her, not for their ideals.

"no." hyewon brushed the tears off her cheek. "no, you're perfect."

"i just want people to understand." y/n was worried she'll never find anyone who cared enough about her. "i need someone to understand, or at least try. is that so much to ask for? for someone to actually care about me?"

"i know, baby." the taller girl whispered, y/n suddenly aware of how her breath hit her face. "i know."

y/n's first kiss happened on a beautiful day, in a porcelain school bathroom, the soft hum of the school's ac whirling through the vents, the sun setting through the windows.

(she always wished her first kiss happened with wonyoung, but wonyoung didn't need to know about this. y/n would rather die.)

she pulled back, bile threatening to release in her throat.

"i'm sorry"

"hey..." hyewon reached for her arm, and the predatory gaze was back. "it's okay."

it wasn't.

y/n rushed out, her legs carrying her as far from that school as they could. her lungs burned, her ears rang, and the humid air clung to her skin, refusing to release her.

sweat dripped down her back, tears poured from her eyes and betrayal suffocated her.

it hurt. everything hurt. the way jay's words stuck onto her like cheap perfume, and the actions of hyewon - of someone she knew she shouldn't have trusted - clawed into her.

she was battered, ripped to shreds, and never had she so desperately yearned for someone to hold her, to tell her that everything would be okay.

y/n wanted the comfort of a close friend, one she trusted with her gut. she wanted to hear the soothing words, the advice they'd give her. y/n longed for someone in her corner.

y/n just wanted to hear that it wasn't her fault.

(it wasn't, and it never was, and it never will be.)

(and two weeks later, y/n sported a new yellow blazer, assigned to a new seat and her commute lengthened to an extra thirty minutes.)

masterlist | next

taglist (CLOSED)!!

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[hellsenthero]

A Martyrs Hymn

Bucky X Reader

After being captured by Hydra, both you and Bucky are scared to lose the other, and close just isn't close enough.

Warnings/themes: Language, smut, angst, fluff.

MASTERLIST

-----

You were on your knees, hands behind your back. Like a good Christian, looking for absolution.

But you weren't. You were just looking to get out of this alive. But the zip ties around your wrists and the gun cocked, pressed up against the back of your head execution style suggested otherwise.

The cement floor dug into your knees. The smell of bleach was strong in the small room, no doubt from the cleaning of other victims.

You wondered how much bleach they'll use after they kill you. Would they need a lot-- to clean up your brains from the floor. Would your blood flow down the sloped floor into the drain? Or would it splatter across the walls like it did in those slasher movies?

"I'll ask you one more time. Where is our asset?"

You knew exactly who they meant, and you knew exactly where he was.

"I don't know." You answered.

"So be it."

You got little more than a second to pray that their asset remained safe and far away before a bang echoed out through the small room. The door, crushed inwards from the outside, flew open. You turned, as did the man behind you with the gun.

You gasped as a shot went off. Then one more.

The blood splattered, like it does in the slasher movies, before the man's body collapsed to the floor. Slowly, a pool of blood formed around the still warm body of your capture.

You were in enough shock that all you could think was—Both. Blood splatters and pools on the ground.

Hands grasped your face, your body, checking you over, moving you, freeing you. You looked up into the stormy blue eyes of the asset. Your lover, Bucky Barnes.

“Are you hurt?” Breathed Bucky.

“No.” You answered truthfully.

Bucky was quick to wrap his arms around you, squeezing your body tight to his own before he released you with a frown. “We need to go.”

You stood as Bucky did before following him out of the room. Through the cold cement hallways Bucky kept vigilant. His gaze swept your surroundings before finding you and leading you further through the twisting labyrinth that was Hydra’s strong hold.

Sunlight greeted you as you followed Bucky out of the building. You found yourself wondering if it was the same day, or even the same week as it was when you had been captured. But you couldn't be bothered to ask the date or time of day.

“Bruce is on the jet, he'll check you over, okay?”

“Okay.”

The jet was close by, and ten minutes later, Bruce gave you the all clear. You could tell the news relieved Bucky as he slumped down in his seat.

“I told you.” You chased him.

“I worry.” He argued.

You rested a gentle hand on Bucky's thigh. “I know you do. I'm sorry I worried you.”

Bucky leaned over in his seat to press a gentle kiss to the crown of your head. “‘s not your fault, baby.”

He never let go of you the whole flight. He fussed over you like a mother hen, getting even worse when Bruce told you that you still needed to go to medical and get checked out by a doctor.

You kept your own hand on his as well. He was your anchor just as much as you were his. After the scare that was you being captured, neither of you wanted to let go of that grounding connection.

The final check-in with Dr. Cho was shorter than expected. You got the all-clear to go back to your suite and rest before even attempting a report on your initial mission and capture. It was a temporary relief off of your shoulders.

Bucky kept an arm around you all the way back to your shared bedroom. His touch was firm but gentle. You knew it was reassuring for him to keep a hand on you after being captured by Hydra.

“I'm tired.” You admitted as you neared your door.

"We'll get you cleaned up and tucked into bed soon." Bucky promised. He made sure that once in your shared bedroom, you didn't have to lift a finger.

Bucky helped strip you of your clothes once in your shared bathroom. It wasn't sexual, the way he took you clothes off and looked at your body. You knew he was looking for cuts, bruises, anything that meant you'd been harmed. You were both glad when he found nothing more than a few bruises.

With gentle fingers, Bucky washed your body with your favourite body wash. Everywhere he touched, it was with a gentle, loving hand. It was different from the last shower you'd shared, where Bucky left bruises across your hips from his tight grip as he'd fucked you to completion.

In the bedroom, Bucky grabbed his softest shirt for you to wear. His scent wrapped around you like a hug, but still, it wasn't enough for you. And it certainly wasn't enough for him.

Bucky needed to hold you after what happened. He knew he was a selfish man when it came to you. Close was never close enough, especially after what happened today.

A whisper of your name in the dim bedroom had you turning around to face Bucky. One look at his face and you knew what he needed. It was the same thing you craved from him. You moved as one. Grasping and clinging on to the other for dear life. Your legs tangled with Bucky's as he rolled you over onto your back. His arms strained as he held himself above you. He nuzzled at your neck, kissing you, taking in your scent. His lips traveled along your body, mapping you out. His breathing was a hymn for your ears only. Your body was his temple and he was a martyr.

“Never again.” Bucky breathed as he sunk into you.

“Never again.” You promised.

[cheemscakecat]

I can’t help but wonder if Fritz was angrily thinking about BLU’s negligence for a moment. He had to collect himself before responding to Scout. It makes enough sense, if Scout just had a respawn failure that caused seizures.

Clearly he’s not doing well, even this early in the movie. We don’t know how many Mercenaries had life altering, scarring respawn failures that left them unable to work, but it surely happened. Fritz is really struggling to talk about it, even with Scout being a friend and a patient who needs to know. You can tell he hates to dwell on it.

The silent personality makes sense as a natural progression of that. Being stuck living with the memories and burden of Mercenaries getting mutilated despite your best efforts, being stuck reporting to people who don’t care like you.

Why not go silent and stare at the useless men to make them uneasy? To make them stop badgering you with ceaseless questions, to give yourself relief from having to revisit the trauma. Trauma that they didn’t care about or share, being the middlemen.

He was already fed up and angry, but not ready to lash out at the idiots “fixing” the respawn crisis.

He was capable of fighting well, but didn’t want to be violent. Not unless he had to be. So the injustice grew, and the anger and disgust simmered.

This was the only time Archibald and Ludwig were in the same room. He’s arguably the only merc on Blue who would have known Jules in real life, considering the respawn crisis. Soldier and Spy may have gotten their perception of Jules from what little they knew about the respawn crisis through their Medic’s words. Fritz looked at him with revulsion.

Soldier imagined Archibald as a calculating, greedy monster who let good people die, using them as pawns. Conspiring under the mask of being a good person, using that to fill his pockets with blood money. Conspiring with Redmond and Blutarch, the old fools.

Spy imagined Archibald as a simpering coward who made other people get their hands bloody while refusing to lift a finger. Someone who doesn’t care if his own men put themselves on the line, lying to them indiscriminately. Someone with cruel, evil men in his employ and those that were innocently getting used.

Fritz might not even believe that Jules is dead, considering the fact that Spy was talking/acting crazy and lying about how Scout died. That, and his quiet personality is the one who heard the funeral speech, not him. So that could mean that his natural response to a living, breathing Archibald is revulsion.

Can’t say I blame him. Jules Archibald was an awful man, and the Administrator probably had him killed like the director when he stopped making himself useful.

That still left the injustice of being used, and the rage that comes along with it. Whether Fritz preferred to be peaceful or not, those lingering emotions needed an outlet. And as RED mercenaries continued to target the healer with childish mockery and attacks; and Admin continued to be indifferent and cruel, that outlet emerged.

The personality that doesn’t hold back when it comes to a fight. The skill was there before, and so was the anger. But Fritz didn’t have a personality that was ready and willing to lash out at Users and Abusers. The vengeful one.

I think I know exactly what name he’d go by.

[harlowcomehome]

Food poisoning and sock puppets:

A/N: A Hazel and Jade fic. Requested by @vanwritesfan-fiction 💜 (⚠️: Vomit mentioned.)

The sound of Jack wrenching made your stomach turn. Fortunately for you, seafood was something you would never consume. Your husband on the other hand made the grand mistake of eating gas station sushi and had food poisoning for the last few days because of it.

“Baby” you sympathetically pouted as you walked into the bathroom. He was on his hands and knees above the toilet, sweat trailing down his cheeks and his face was the most pale you’d ever seen it.

You stood above the sink, wetting a washcloth as he gripped the sides of the toilet yet again, letting what was left of the water he had been drinking.

“I fucking hate this” he groaned, weaker than he had ever been. His eyelids were swollen, his nose red and his lips dry as could be. You had never seen him this sick before and started growing more and more concerned. “I’m going to call and have a nurse get you on an IV drip. You have to have some liquids and vitamins in you.” You put the cold washcloth against the back of his neck without warning sending a chill down his spine. He weakly nodded as you immediately made arrangements for that to happen.

Hazel and Jade knocked on your door as you helped Jack get back into bed, they had been spending the last two days with Maggie and Brian and hadn’t seen Jack since.

“Daddy? Do you still feel sicky?” Jade was horrified as she laid eyes on her dad. Her big brown eyes were wide as she looked over to you for reassurance as she carefully crawled into bed on the opposite side of Jack.

“A little bit” Jack lied, sniffling as he looked over to you for backup.

“He has a little bit of a stomach bug, but we are going to have some medical professionals come over and help him get healthy again” you smiled, propping up a pillow behind his back before turning your focus back over to the girls.

“Do you need me to get you anything?” Hazel was worried as she eyed her dad up and down noticing he looked worse now than he did days ago.

“No Hazey, thank you. I just need a nap” Jack weakly smiled and you took that as your queue to get them out of the room.

“Are you girls hungry?”

Hazel and Jade both quickly made their way to the kitchen, and you left Jack with a kiss on his sweaty forehead before following them to the kitchen.

“It was the gas station sushi wasn’t it?” Hazel was very quick to figure things out, which wasn’t always an easy thing.

You stifled a giggle as you started the rice cooker for the girls. “Yeah, I really think it was.”

“Food poisoning?” Hazel had always heard you warn Jack about it but she didn’t think it had finally happened.

“Daddy ate rat poison?” Jade was still clueless as to what was going on, as Hazel explained it to her your front doorbell rang and the nurse who was going to fill Jack full of fluids and electrolytes was already at your door.

You got Nurse John situated in your bedroom, explaining the situation before you made your way back to the kitchen.

Both Hazel and Jade were looking at you with gigantic smiles on their faces, so you knew they were up to something.

“Yes? What’re you two thinking?” You smiled as you changed the settings on your rice cooker and faced them.

“We need two tube socks, some googly eyes, felt, and a box!” Hazel spoke confidently and you knew where she was going with this idea.

“We are going to make a socks puppets play!” Jade giggled, covering her smile with her hand.

Hazel shushed her, “We want it to be a surprise!”

“Ohs! Yes! A sock puppets surprise for daddy” Jade whispered as you tried to recall where Jack's long socks were hiding.

“I know we have an extra box in the garage, and I think you girls have googly eyes and felt in your craft room. Go check!” You instructed Hazel to go look as Jade followed behind her.

You opened the dryer to find a ton of Jacks socks, picking a pair out for the girls and taking your hot glue gun out of the laundry room closet. You had hidden it from the girls, worried they’d accidentally burn themselves with it. You found a spare brown cardboard box that was perfect to use also.

Hazel had excitedly come back with googly eyes and as the girls sat down to eat their lunch, you hot glued googly eyes onto the pair of socks before cutting a square hole out of the cardboard box.

“Can you make mine a princess?” Jade brought you felt and you worked with what you had to make her sock puppet resemble a princess.

“I can’t imagine being betrayed by food like that” Hazel was only half joking, but it still made you giggle. She had her dad’s mannerisms and never failed to mirror his facial expressions.

When nurse John had given the all clear, leaving for the day you made sure to thank him profusely. Jack had been sound asleep for the last two hours which was more sleep than either one of you had gotten the last few days.

Hazel and Jade drew knobs and buttons on the box, making scribbles and drawings of the family on the side. Hazel had written “Harlow TV” on the side in glitter gel-pen making you “awww” out loud before taking a picture of it.

The girls had spent the entire afternoon practicing their play for Jack and you were impressed at how determined they were to make him feel better. They had a lot of your combined traits, and knowing they both wanted nothing more than to make their dad smile made you feel great about your parenting.

It was almost dinner time and the girls were getting antsy when you went into the bedroom to check on Jack. He had finally started to stir away, his eyelids fluttering open once he felt you beside him.

“Mmm- hi” he mumbled covering his mouth with his hand. “I do not want to knock you out with this breath”’ he chuckled realizing how sore his ribs were at that moment.

“You know damn well I don’t care about that” you lied for the sake of his ego, knowing he was finally starting to feel human again. You leaned over giving him a quick peck, catching him off guard.

“Ew!” He slowly stood up, “I know you really love me because that’s so nasty.” He started making his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth when you followed him.

“Oh? The marriage and two children wasn’t what showed you I love you but the stank breathed kiss was it?” You teased knowing it would make him laugh.

He snorted “Hey! Don’t make me laugh! My ribs feel broken” he groaned smiling through the pain anyway.

“Sorry baby, but also while you were resting the girls came up with a surprise for you” You wore a giant smile which told him everything he needed to know.

“Let me shower real quick while I still have energy and then I’ll go out to the living room, sound good?” He hadn’t showered in two days and now that he had a wave of energy he could tell and was beyond embarrassed by it.

“I’ll tell them to get in position” you saluted him making him let out a low chuckle as you skipped back to the living room to tell the girls.

When Jack was out of the shower he had put on a new set of lounge clothes and slippers, and both of the girls ran over to him to hug him.

“You don’t look like death any more daddy!” Jade didn’t have a filter, making the family laugh as she ran to sit beside Hazel behind the box.

Jack joined you on the couch as he cocked an eyebrow at you, wondering what this was about. You eyed him up and down, his wet curls serving as a very handsome distraction.

“Mom! Go!” Hazel whispered, giving you your cue.

“Oh, my fault” you giggled having been caught giving Jack googly eyes. You cleared your throat, standing beside the cardboard box “Introducing a Harlow TV production!”

Then you took a seat beside Jack again on the couch, he was hiding his smile with his hands worried his daughters would interpret it wrong. He adjusted himself to sit back on the couch, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you in closer to him.

Hazel had put a set of small round bottle cap glasses on her sock. “Princess Sockie, I’m here today to check your temperature!”

“No doctors are scary!” Jade forgot to move her socks mouth as she spoke making you and Jack stifle a laugh.

“I promise I’m not scary! I’m here to make sure you get better!” Hazel looked over at you guys to make sure you were watching.

“Do you have bandaids?” Jade asked and Hazel pulled out a set of bluey bandaids showing them to the audience (you and Jack.)

“You don’t need a bandaid princess Sockie! You have a tummy ache” Hazel was taking her role very seriously.

“I’d like one just because” Jade had forgotten most of her lines and was making things up now.

The play went on for about ten minutes and Jack couldn’t help but audibly laugh out loud once he realized Jade's princess character was inspired by him.

When the girls were done both you and Jack obnoxiously cheered and clapped as the two of them took a bow in front of their makeshift set.

“Do you feel better now?” Jade looked up at her dad hoping that both she and Hazel had miraculously healed him.

“So much better! I think that’s all I needed!” He gave both of the girls a hug before turning to you with a big smile on his face and pulling you in to join the group hug.

[in1-nutshell]

Hi is been a while since I requested can you do lost light Fort max has a son that is weak and gets really sick really easily

I hope you have a nice day

Mid way through writing I realized I didn't know which Buddy you wanted, so this is going to be Human Buddy.

If this is not what you want, please let me know.

Hope you enjoy!

Fortress Maximus with a human son who gets sick easily

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Slight Angst, Human reader

IDW

Fortress Maximus officially became Buddy’s Guardian when his parents had passed away on a mission.

According to the will, they had left Buddy in the care of Fortress Maximus, their dear friend and companion.

Max took on the duty full-heartedly.

It did take a while for him and Buddy to officially get used to the new normal.

With his night terrors and with Buddy’s physical state.

Yes, the bot did know about the child’s health before he became his guardian.

He felt appalled to hear how many Earth parents would abandon their kids in the times they need them the most.

Now, because of Buddy’s physical state, he is not allowed to walk on the floor.

It’s too much of a risk.

Instead, if he wants to try walking (with supervision) there are catwalks around.

If not, then Fort Max is just going to pick him up and keep him in his servo.

Red Alert has babyproofed and updated all the guard railings with the arrival of Buddy.

Cerebros helps Fort Max understand what he needs to do with Buddy’s medications or physical therapy.

Holoforms become a necessity with Buddy.

While being hugged by a giant robot is awesome, it’s not the same as getting a hug from a human.

It also helps with any massages on any strained muscle.

Prowl does come by every now and then to check how things are with Buddy and Fort Max.

Has Fortress Maximus found Prowl giving a digit massage to Buddy’s back when he complained about the pain?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Rung is happy to see how far Fort Max has come since they last met on the Lost Light.

Buddy sometimes joins in on the calls happy to see Uncle Rung again.

Fort Max: “All right time for bed.” Buddy with sleepy eyes: “I can *yawn* stay up a little longer.”

Fort Max chuckles a bit as he gently plucks the boy up and gently places him back in bed.

Fort Max: “Maybe another time we try and stay up later. Now rest.”

Fort Max turns on the little stary night light and turns to the door.

Buddy: “Max? Do you think I’ll be strong like you one day?” The bot stops and turns to his boy. Fort Max: “Sure kid and I bet you’ll grow even strong.” Buddy: “… Do you really think I’ll get better?”

Fort Max comes back into the room and takes a seat by the berth and gently places one of his digits and gently wipes the falling tear from his face.

Fort Max: “You are going to get better. You will get better. You’re a fighter Buddy, stubborn like—” Buddy: “Like Uncle Prowl?”

Fort Max holds the wince at the words ‘Uncle’ and ‘Prowl’ for Buddy’s sake.

Fort Max: “Sure kiddo.”

Buddy seems happy with that.

Buddy: “When can Uncle Prowl come back?” Fort Max: “Whenever he has time kiddo, now bed time.” Buddy: “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”

Fort Max leaves his digit by Buddy’s side. The little boy turns and hugs the digit the best he can and slowly begins closing his eyes.

Buddy: “Mmm… Love you Dad…” Fort Max smiles warmly at his son: “Night… my son.”

[chosos-husband]

Actually love this man so much. Curse sorcerer is a little bit more angsty

Nanami with injured! Reader

Non-Curse Sorcerer s/o:

-Even the most simple injuries, Nanami is wanting to help you address it.

-Man tells you how to clean cuts and stuff as if you haven’t done it a hundred times beforehand. However, it does completely come from a place of love.

-I feel like most sorcerers would have some sort of training in first aid? So, he is very knowledgeable on what to do depending on the injury you got.

-He would be a little hesitant to put you in a position to repeat these injuries. For example, if you cut yourself chopping whatever for dinner, he may just offer to do it for you for a long time.

-Is very attentive to make sure that it is healing right 💓 sweetheart of a man.

-More serious injuries, like car crashes, he would act very chill. He wants to be calm so he doesn’t freak you out more.

-However, the second he is away from you, he is a bit panicked. Nanami is noticeably more irritable around others and is high key stressing.

-He would let the doctors do whatever they needed to do, but does call Shoko to make sure it sounds like the best option.

-Nanami would likely be very hesitant to leave you for any period of time. Would take paid time off just to make sure that he is there for however long you need him for.

-Amazing during recovery phase. Remembers when you need to take any medications, if you need to rest a certain way or amount. He is amazing at remembering all the details that your doctor tells you. Nanami also would send plenty of reminder texts to make sure you complete them when he goes back to work.

-SO. MUCH. ATTENTION. He is very soft and afraid of hurting you! But plenty of soft kisses and a lot of verbal affection about how strong you are

-Also exempt from doing any household chores for awhile more than likely. Nanami loves you sm

Curse Sorcerer S/O

-With small injuries, he does have a bit more of a “get over it” mentality. Not that he doesn’t care. He does! But, expects a little more strength from a sorcerer partner.

-He also wouldn’t worry as much about helping to bandage any cuts you have.

-He does feel the need to check it though to make sure you did it right. He does this in a very discreet way to make sure he doesn’t offend you but man he is still worrying a little. He still would wanna make sure it is healing right.

-I think Nanami would interrogate a sorcerer partner a bit more on bruises. Because a normal person like okay you bump into things or fell. But, with a sorcerer partner, he has to worry you were fighting something by yourself.

-Speaking of fighting‼️Deathly injuries from fighting curses get him very worked up. He would definitely feel more guilt about your injuries. There is only so much he can do about traffic. However, this he could have prevented. He could have gone with you.

-Definitely asks Shoko so many fucking questions help her.

-If you’re knocked out, he doesn’t leave. He will not leave until he sees you have woken up. It doesn’t matter what is happening.

-Again, takes all your injuries kinda personally.

-He is very similar in care for more serious injuries though. Man is so concerned and does put it on himself to make sure that you are taking all the steps for the best and most efficient recovery.

-Nanami apologizes to you for not being there/fast enough to prevent you getting hurt. It is COMPLETELY genuine.

-This would also make him more likely realize how fast he can lose you. It kinda freaks him out. Sometimes, he’ll stay up and watch you sleep, thinking about better ways to make sure you are safe. However, you can only be so safe when fighting curses.

-you guys need a vacation.

[auschizm]

I’m confused about something. I don’t mean to be mean, but I don’t understand. How do doctors force people to take meds? Why would someone continue to take a med that they don’t like the effects of? When a doctor starts me on a new med and it makes things worse, I stop taking it. Do doctors have some way to enforce that I put a pill into my mouth every day? How do they even know if I have? No doctor has ever tried to prove that I was or wasn’t taking any med. I do inform them that I stopped taking the med that had bad side effects and they always seem to approve of that. Is that not how it usually works? I know doctors can be awful so I’m definitely not saying that being forced to take a med isn’t possible but is that common? Should I be worried about something bad happening from me telling a doctor that I stopped taking a med they gave me? I really hope this comes across as genuine curiosity!

Various ways doctors might force medication (in this context mainly antipsychotics) on people include:

Dismissing and invalidating your concerns/negative experience with the meds. ("If you don't think these meds are helping you're wrong/too sick to know what you need.")

Restricting treatment based on your refusal to take meds. ("If you don't agree to take these meds I won't continue treating you/I'll refuse to refer you to further treatment elsewhere.")

Threatening hospitalization. ("If you don't take these meds I'll be forced to hospitalize you.")

Making discharge conditional based on you taking the meds. ("I won't discharge you before you agree to take these meds.")

Physically forcing meds on you while inpatient. ("If you refuse to take these meds, we will forcibly inject them.")

Threatening further forced hospitalization if you stop taking the meds. ("If you stop taking these meds/don't show up for scheduled injections, I will forcibly hospitalize you again.")

Getting a court order mandating you to continue taking the meds as part of your parole.

Not all doctors use these strategies, but it does happen to a concerning amount of psychosis spec people.

[hugmeimtouchdeprived]

Pretty sure this has been done a million times before, BUT I am bored and have been sitting for 3 hours in a train and the internet is very bad and I desperately need something to do.

Tw: Some noncon elements? Nothing explicit or in detail. Fem! Reader

What if you're on a train, or bus, or some other form of public transport, so crowded you don't even question it when a stranger suddenly sits next to you.

Kyle would draw you in with his charisma and good looks. I mean, have you seen this man?? Even as he sits a bit too close, thighs and shoulders almost touching yours, you don't question it too much. Or when his hand touches your thigh. He apologizes, of course, with that goddamn pretty smile of his, excusing it as him being tired after a long day. Even when he does it again, giving your soft thigh a squeeze, you don't even mention it. Even when his fingers discreetly slip under the hem of your sundress.

Soap wouldn't be nearly as apologetic. He's got charisma, keeps yapping throughout the drive about whatever, askong you questions. Where are you going, why, ye got anyone waiting there? Come on, he doesn't mean anything by it, just some small talk! But sure, he understands your anxiety about sharing all that info with a stranger, he doesn't intend to make you feel uncomfortable (maybe he doesn't intend to, but he sure as shit doesn't really care when he does, squishing his thigh against yours and practically pressing up against your when he points at something through the window you're seated next to, his hand "accidentally" brushing up against your chest, whispering something in your ear).

Ghost would crowd you into that tiny seat for the whole drive, barely saying a word to you. You're happy to stay in your own little bubble as much as you can, with the slightly creepy man next to you with the black mask (what's it called in English, not his regular mask/balaclava but like a medical one?? Surgical mask? The type people wore during covid????). You swear he keeps staring at you, but every time you glance in his direction, he seems to be looking at his phone, or maybe reading something. The moment you turn you feel eyes on you again.

Would follow you after it, though, that man has no shame whatsoever. Doesn't even realize why you keep glancing behind you and speeding up your pace. He just wants to make sure you make it safely to wherever you're going, right? Won't leave until he sees you walk inside your apartment building, or hotel, or wherever you're headed.

Then again, nobody is going to even think about messing with you while you walk, not when they see the fucking giant following you from a small distance.

Price. Price Price Price. I don't intend to really write for him because I'm not as into him as I am into the rest of 141 (love him!!! Just don't feel like writing for him usually!!) but I am, still, very bored and have some thoughts. He'd follow you, just like Ghost, but unlike the lieutenant, he'd shamelessly walk right alongside you, keeping the now-very-one-sided conversation going. Even when you seem a bit uncomfortable and try to turn to another street, hoping he wouldn't follow, but he does. He's a gentleman, you know? No gentleman would allow a lady like yourself to walk home alone at this time of night, no ma'am.

Might even invite himself into your humble abode, politely removing his shoes at the entrance and asking you where the kitchen is so he can get something to drink. "You want anything, love?"

Yeah, you're not getting rid of any of them after meeting them. Even if they didn't follow you (as far as you know) you will bump into them again sometime later, laughing about what a coincidence it is when he asks you out for coffee or whatever.

Thank you for reading!🌷 I slept for one hour last night and haven't been able to sleep on the train, someone help me it's going to be a long day :)

[mattypattypinky]

Hi, could I maybe request some romantic head cannons with Anxiety, about if the reader got sick?

I'm actually fighting rlly bad allergies rn, so I'm gonna tackle this one bc it seems fun and relatable a bit <33

Anxiety X A Sickly Reader

Anxiety would want nothing more than for you to feel better when you're sick. If she found out you were sick, she'd be very scared that something bad could happen to you, or that it could be a contagious sickness... I feel as though her anxiety would get to her, and she would take matters into her own hands.

She doesn't mean to be condescending or off putting, or embarrass you, but she means this in the nicest way when she tells you to get away from the panel, and tells you to stay in a specific area, or circle. She'd wear a hospital mask and gloves around you until further notice, and would wash her hands plenty more each interaction, as to ensure she doesn't get sick, or spread your germs to the other emotions.

She'd be very paranoid of it spreading... But, that wouldn't stop her from wanting to take care of you. I feel like she'd let you sit in her chair, maybe move it away from the others to lessen the risk of germs spreading, but she lets you use it.

She can always deep clean the chair later for germs, but now, your comfort is what's important to her...

She would bring you warm tea, or some sort of warm drink for your scratchy, or sore throat, and supply you with a nice, large roll of toilet paper or a tissue box so that you have something to blow your nose with... She'd give you the most comfortable type, too. Soft on your nose, so it lessens irritation.

She'd worry her head off about you, and search for what your sickness could be. She may misdiagnose you with something scary or terrible out of her anxious tendency to jump to conclusions about what could happen...

She'd let the chair massage you, if you had a sore body, she'd even offer to rub your shoulders, or back, herself. Though, I feel she'd be far too anxious too do it at first, since she is not a professional... What if she makes it worse???

She'd supply you with tons of hydration, such as giving you a pack of bottled waters along with your tea, just incase. She would insist you drink them at least a little bit. It is very important to hydrate when sick...

You know what else is important when you're sick? Rest.

She would give you a weighted blanket, and a soft pillow - And set up something to relax you, like some soft music, or your favorite movie with a phone. If you're in another room entirely, she'd dim the lights so you can rest, and she would be willing to turn on the bedtime mode and night light on the phone, so your eyes don't strain, and it's less sore on your head.

I feel like she'd have headache medication on the ready. I just think she has migraines a lot, with all that stress she carries. If you told her you had one, she would offer you up some medication from her pocket, or one of her suitcases.

If you felt dizzy, she'd be a little unsure of what to do to make you feel better. She might dim the lights, and make sure nothing was moving or you weren't actively roaming about, out of fear it would make you more dizzy, or you'd faint.

She would check your pulse, paranoid like, if you felt faint. She would also highly suggest you eat something, as it might help!

If you were too tired to sit up and do something to help yourself, she would offer to do it for you. Do you need someone to blow your nose for you because you can't muster the energy to hold the tissue? She's got you. Need someone to make you soup? She'll certainly try. Need the AC turned up / down? She'll be temperature-control.

She'd anxiously watch you sleep, to make sure you're okay in your sleep...

If you were so sick you were delirious, emotional, or dizzy, she would try to help you calm down and focus on something simple to ground you, and make you feel like you have a small ounce of control in the moment.

She would scold, or judge someone who judges you. If disgust says your sneezes are 'disgusting!! ew, ew, ew!' - She'll defend you with her life. I fear she might even say that she likes your sneezes, and then immediately backtrack, apologetic and convincing that she didn't mean it in a weird way.

If you were nauseous, or puking - she would bring you a bucket, and she would be the type of girlfriend to hold your shoulder while you do so.

She'd be insistent on nursing you back to health. She wants too. She wants to monitor all your symptoms, how long they take to recover, and if your recovery is going smoothly... But regardless of it all, she's just worried about you.

She wants you to be okay.

[goodluckclove]

Warning: Major Vent Post

One mission statement that has ruled my life since I was 14 and running my high school's GSA: so much of queer and neurodivergent youth are suffering and I'm going to do virtually everything I can think of to help them.

I tended to my schoolmates self harm scars and called the police on abusive parents as a child. And now, over a decade later, I'll help some poor kid compose an explanation to help explain their psychosis and hopefully get treated.

I can't fucking believe this type of shit still happens. It's insane to me that I still need to be doing this. Have we made no productive strides in terms of mental health for our younger generations? We know the terms. We have the communities. And yet for some fucking reason our siblings still don't feel safe in their environments to ask for the treatments they know they probably need.

Even just therapy. Even just fucking therapy.

"oh but not everyone needs therapy and medication-" yeah man that's great for you, but there's a 16 year old in Indiana who would fucking love some Vyvanse or Cymbalta and a safe person to process trauma with.

It doesn't even need to be forever. Adolescence is literally the worst of mental health for most people and there are kids there just raw dogging it and thinking "well I guess I'm fucked". It gets easier as you reach adulthood but you gotta reach it first, you know?

Anyways I'm upset. I was literally begging a kid here in the middle of an episode to wake up their parent. I don't know if they will. I hope they will. It makes me think of the girl I talked down from the bridge a few months ago. I don't know what happened to her either.

I can't do enough for these kids. I'm not their parent. I can't raise them all. I can give them all the resources and information and support I can, but if their guardians refuse to get them to a doctor then they aren't going to a doctor. And by the time they have access to their own health insurance, they might think it's not worth trying. Fuck.

Youth I need you to take care of yourselves. Please. There's so much in the world if you're willing to scratch and claw your way towards recovery I swear to God.

Fuck I'm tired now.

[johnnycakesswitch]

Do you have any anxious!Ponyboy headcanons??

Omg absolutely 😁

• Ponyboy was always an anxious kid, but it got a lot worse after his parents died. He would have those awful nightmares and sometimes really bad ones would cause a panic attack. Soda sleeping with him helped that a lot though

• one thing that helps calm him a lot is reading, so if Johnny notices that Pony’s been really stressed or anxious lately, he’ll ask Ponyboy to read out loud to him because he knows it’ll give him something to focus on and it usually settles his nerves a little

• he hates being anxious so much because it not only stresses him out a lot, but it has such a physical affect on his body. He doesn’t get a lot of sleep, head and stomachaches become so frequent, and he never has an appetite when he’s feeling so much anxiety like this. If it’s really bad, he’ll even throw up sometimes because it’s just so much and his body doesn’t know what to do

• some big triggers for his anxiety to spike are when he’s overwhelmed or if his mind starts to make up these crazy scenarios of something terrible happening. Finals week at school is always a bad time for everyone. Pony is just miserable because he stresses himself out so bad and the others feel awful not knowing how to help him. If Darry or Soda are ever home late from work without calling, he assumes the worst. If he goes a few days without seeing Johnny or Dally, he’s just sure that something terrible happened.

• after the church fire and Johnny and Dally dying, Pony goes through the worst bout of anxiety he’s ever had. He doesn’t want to go to school because he’s afraid if he leaves, something will happen to someone else and he won’t get to say goodbye. He couldn’t eat and was sick so often to the point that he lost weight and Darry and Soda were so concerned that they took him to the doctor and Pony was prescribed anxiety medication. It took a little while to even out, but once it did, things started getting better and everyone was relieved

• when Pony is feeling really anxious, all he really wants is to be comforted, but he never knows that’s what he wants. If he’s stressing over school, he won’t want to stop studying and doing work until someone coaxes him out of it and starts taking care of him. If he believes that something has happened to someone, he’s almost inconsolable until he’s absolutely sure that the person is okay, only then he’s able to relax

• Darry and Soda have done their best to find ways to comfort their baby brother. Darry is good at verbal comfort. He’s the best person when it comes to reassurance because he says things in a way that Pony actually believes him. Darry telling him that everything is alright and everyone is safe is very grounding to Pony. If that’s the type of comfort Pony needs, Darry’s got it. Soda is good at physical comfort. If his baby brother is hurting, Soda will hold him until it’s all better. It breaks his heart to see Pony so upset and anxious, so he’ll do whatever he can to help. He can feel when Pony is so tense with stress, especially in bed at night, so he’ll hug him and rub his stomach to try and settle him down, which almost always works. If Ponyboy is anxious to the point of feeling sick, Soda is who he wants. Most of the time, a combination of both of his brothers is good enough to calm him down a lot

That’s all I can think of for now! I have a fic idea about Pony being super stressed and anxious over school that I’m gonna try to work on this weekend too. Thank you for the ask!!

[phantoms-lair]

80

Danny Phantom x Video Game

"Condor you will be assigned a partner for this mission. Code name Potoo. He's from another agency, he'll meet you in Spain." To be honest, he was expecting someone like Krauser. What he wasn't expecting was... "Condor to Roost. That is a child." "Come again, Condor?" "Code Name Potoo is literally a child." There was no visuals on over the ear pieces, but he could imagine Hunnigan's pursed lips. "Our other branch indicated the despite his appearance, Codename Potoo wasn't a child." Our other branch was trying to get out of some shit. Because that was a child. "I don't supposed they'd be willing to offer said agents files?" "They're...classified beyond our clearance?" Hunnnigan sounded puzzled, as well she should be. They were a mission to rescue the President's daughter. Nothing should be beyond their clearance. "I think a closer look is due at our other agency. Condor out." Leon took another look at the black haired teenager who was glaring at him. Mostly looking at the shape not quite hidden under his turtleneck. Leon's money was on some kind of control collar or bomb to ensure complicity. Mission one, save Ashley. Mission two, save Codename Potoo

~

Leon had been a cop for all of one day. And maybe it was egotistical, but he felt he'd been a better cop in that one day than those two were in their entire career. They didn't question the boy on the investigation. They didn't notice the collar he was wearing. They seemed very unconcerned that people had been disappeared here lately. And when one didn't come back in a timely manner from his pee break, he'd sent Leon and the kid. If it was just Leon he'd hoped it was because they HAD noticed things were wrong and this was all contrived to separate Leon and the kid so they could make sure he was okay. But no, they were just lazy. Any attempt at communication with the kid had been met with glares and Leon wasn't entirely sure he could talk. But he couldn't blame him. Look what the government had done to him, why would he trust one of it's agents?

But the further they got into the woods, the worse a feeling he had. This place felt wrong in way he couldn't put into words. He wasn't sure if he felt better or worse wen they found the house. Leon called out several times, but didn't get an answer. He apologized when they found the old man who lived there, but the kid tensed. And good instincts as he noticed the missing officers bloody id on the ground. The old man might have taken him by surprise if the kid hadn't throw a bowl off the table surprising him. Leon leapt to his feet with a spin kick that knocked the man into a wall, his neck hitting at an odd angle. The kids hands flew to his mouth. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Leon felt no regrets about killing a man who'd come after him with an ax, but doing so in front of kid was a different matter. No matter what that kid may have been forced to see prior. "It looks like one of our guides is hurt an might need medical attention. I'm going to look for him, okay?" The kid nodded, pale but still in the game. A scream lead them to the basement. Leon took lead on the search and couldn't help but draw his gun when they found him. It was the one bad habit he hadn't been able to break from Raccoon City. No matter how much it had been drilled into him that when he saw a bloody corpse that the corpse itself was not a threat, that's where his gun automatically trained. Thankfully the corpse stayed where it was. He had to get the kid out of there. "We need to stay quiet." Leon instructed. "Let's get back to the car and report this. The kid nodded, all signs of defiance gone. They moved back to the stairs, only to have the man form earlier be blocking their path. Broken neck and all. "Not again," Leon griped, earning a confused look from the kid. Still, it wasn't hard to put the dead man down again, and grab the kid to head for the car. Their path was interrupted though, by a door smashing open ,and two men leaving the previously locked off area and right down their escape route. Okay, new plan. Gesturing to be quiet, he headed down the hall towards the new area. He had to look back a few times to make sure the kid was following him, he moved so quietly. his stealth skill must have been why he was put on the mission. Sadly the new area didn't have an exit, so they went up the stairs to a small room. Leon quietly locked the door behind them. "If anyone tries to get in, barricade the door with that bookshelf." The kid nodded. Leon looked around and a small planning area caught his eye. On it were pictures of Ashley and a map of Valdelobos, with a lake marked. "Condor to Roost. I've found evidence that our target, Baby Eagle, is in the village." "Our intel was correct." Hunnigan sounded pleased. "Continue your search and I'll find what I can about the area." "Anything on the other agency." "Need to know only," Hunnigan said with an amount of frustration that mean like him, she apparently didn't need to know. "Right, Condor out." Leon shut off his comm right as there was a thud of an ax against the door. The kid was good to his instruction and slammed the bookcase down, far more easily than Leon thought he would. "We need to get out of here." Leon explained. "Follow me." He kicked out the window and dove through it. He turned to catch the kid only to find him landing by his side. He pulled them out of sight before the attackers could finish breaking down the door and see where they went. "Kid, is it going to hurt you if I take that collar off?" The kid recoiled, eyes full of fear. "I won't if it will hurt you," Leon assured. "But...I knew this girl named Sherry. She'd be about your age now. She was infected with a deadly virus and received a cure. The government wanted to take her, to make her into a weapon. And the only way they'd agree to leave her alone was if someone else took her place. Me." The kids eyes widened. "I wouldn't let them do that to Sherry. And if there's anything I can do to get you out of here, I will."

He could see hope and fear warring in his eyes until finally the kid pulled his turtleneck down, careful not to touch the medical monstrosity around his neck. Leon gulped at the sheer amount of trust he was being shown. The metal sent what felt like small shocks through his fingers as he worked on it. But the mechanism wasn't complicated and soon gave a satisfying 'clunk' as the lock unlatched.

The kid grabbed the collar flung it away as far as he could. Leon couldn't help but wince as his flesh hissed upon touching it. What had seemed like a minor irritant to him seemed to be caustic to the kid. The boy gasped for breath and made the first vocal sound Leon had ever heard him make. A sob. He collapsed to his knees and Leon caught him, holding him gently and telling him it would be okay, he's free, the government will never touch him again. The moment was broken by a cry of "¡Agarradlo!" "I'll hold them off." Leon said. "You get back to the car. Tell the officer there we were attacked and his partner is dead. When he goes to get back up flee." He lined up his shot but was interrupted by a blast of green whizzing past him and hitting the villager in the face. "I don't have to take orders anymore." The kid said shakily. "And...I want to help that girl." "This is going to be really dangerous, kid." Leon warned, trying to be nonchalant about the glowing green fire in the kids hands and eyes.. "Believe me. It's a step up from the experiments." The kid said dryly. "They were planning to torture and experiment on me till there was nothing left. They just thought using the control collar to force me on this mission would get them more funding. And my name's not kid. It's Danny." "Okay Danny. If you want to bail at any point, I'll get you out of here." "No need, I can escape just fine on my own - once Ashley's safe."

He didn't exactly plan on taking Danny's word for it, but the green fire definitely upped his survivability odds. Hopefully together they could save Ashely too.

[mxckiemxn]

Standby

Chapter 4-Run

Word Count: 1,600

Warnings: swearing, infections, blood, guns, food insecurity, anxiety, mentions of death, zombie shit

Taglist: @rkive-joonie @tweetiebirb @arantxaglz

Author's note: Another shorter chapter haha. Sorry it took so long. I've been extremely busy and stressed this last week. As always, feel free to reblog if you like it and let me know what y'all think about this chapter. ~Mackie 💜

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up covered in a pool of your own sweat and feeling as if the room was spinning. You looked to your side, only to realize Hobi wasn’t there. You slowly lifted the blankets to look at your inflamed wound. It looked as if it had become infected as a thick, clear substance oozed out of it.

You cried as you attempted to sit up. Pain flowing throughout your entire body as your torso throbbed intensely. You stood up weakly, as your legs shook beneath you. Feeling as if they were about to give out. Slowly, you put one foot in front of the other, losing your balance and falling to the floor. The sound must’ve alerted Hobi, because soon enough he was running into the room.

“What happened?” He frantically asked, trying to help you up before you pushed him off.

“Please don’t touch me, Hobi!” You cried. The feeling of his hands on you made you feel as if your skin was on fire.

“Jin!” Hobi yelled a few times, trying to wake the others. It didn’t take too long though, and within a couple of minutes, everyone was running to your room.

“Shit, she has fever.” Jin stated, as he tried to look at your wound. He received the same treatment as Hobi. Getting pushed off as you continued to cry in pain.

“Y/N, please. I need to see if it’s infected.” Jin pleaded. You looked up at him with worried eyes. “I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

You allowed him to check your wound, and he kept his promise, remaining as gentle as he possibly could.

“Fuck. It’s infected.” He stated as he looked at the others behind him.

“This is bad. What are we going to do?” Jungkook asked through an anxious tone.

“She needs antibiotics. She could die if we don’t get this under control.” Yoongi said.

“She’s not going to die!” Hobi yelled, still crouched down beside you. Being as careful as possible as to not touch you.

“She will if the infection spreads, Hoseok!” Yoongi yelled back.

“Yoongi’s right, Hoseok. If we don’t get her some proper medication, then the infection will spread.” Namjoon reasoned.

“Then we need to find something.” Hobi argued.

“Please, stop yelling.” You groaned. The sound was starting to give you a headache.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” Hobi whispered.

“There has to be a pharmacy somewhere. Right?” Taehyung asked.

“Where, Taehyung? We don’t even know where we are. We could be hours away from a pharmacy.” Jimin stated, now starting to panic as well.

“Will everyone just please calm down!” Namjoon said through a loud tone.

As much as you hated the sound, it worked. Everyone stopped arguing and looked to Namjoon for answers. No one knew what was going to happen to you if they couldn’t get antibiotics in time.

“If there isn’t a pharmacy nearby, there has to be a hospital or a doctor’s office. That would be our best bet.” He stated.

“A hospital is too dangerous.” You muttered.

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take.” Namjoon said.

“We drove for hours and didn’t see anything. How can we be certain we’ll find something?” Jungkook asked.

“We should all go.” Taehyung suggested, causing everyone to direct their attention to him. “Look, we don’t know how long it’ll take and by the time we find what we’re looking for, the infection could already be spreading. The sooner Y/N takes the antibiotics, the better.” He continued.

“Fucking fine with me. Come on, Y/N. Let’s get you up.” Hobi quickly stated, attempting to put his arms around you.

“Will you please calm down?” You asked him, gently swatting his hands away. “Is everyone fine with coming, or does anyone want to stay here?”

“I never unpacked. So, I’m fine with going.” Jimin stated.

“Yeah, me too.” Jungkook added.

As you looked around at the men surrounding you, it was evident that they were all willing to pick up and leave again if it meant saving your life.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s grab our bags quickly. Jin, help Hobi get Y/N in the car.” Namjoon said.

Everyone dispersed to gather their things and prepare to leave again as Jin and Hobi helped you to stand.

“I’ve got her. Grab her bags.” Jin told Hobi, who wore a look of hesitation before nodding.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, causing you to look up at him with a look of confusion.

“Never better.” You said, causing him to chuckle at your sarcasm.

“No, I mean mentally, how are you?” He rephrased.

“I’m tired, Jin.” You admitted. He didn’t say a word in response. Opting to nod in understanding.

Once he was sure that you were secure in the backseat of his car, he stared down at you for a moment as his hands rested on the door.

“You know you’re going to be okay, right? We’re going to take care of you.” He said softly.

“I know, Jin. That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Then what is it?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m worried that if something does happen to me, that Hobi would blame himself for it. I know he made a promise to me, but I’m afraid that he’s going to get himself killed in the process of trying to fulfill it.” You told him.

“I won’t let that happen. None of us will. You’re one of us now, Y/N. We’re all going to make it through this.” His tone was soft, but you could see the sincerity in his eyes.

“Thank you, Jin.” You said. He gave you a confirming nod before shutting the door gently and entering the drivers side.

Shortly after, Hobi and Jungkook took their seats in the car and we were off. The air felt heavy, but you were unsure if it was due to the burning sensation flooding your body. With every bump in the road, you winced lightly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jin had been driving for about an hour, yet the scenery hadn’t changed much. You were still surrounded by trees and the sun was finally starting to rise. You couldn’t help but think about your parents. If there was a chance that they were still alive, are they happy? If they were dead, did they die peacefully? The thoughts lingered incessantly. It made you want to hit your head against the window repeatedly in an attempt to get the images to leave your mind.

The sound of static pulled you from your thoughts, Yoongi’s voice coming through the other end.

“Hyung, we have to stop.” He said, causing everyone to sit up.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Jin asked, pulling to the side of the road.

“We’ve run out of gas. We can’t go any further.” He said as he parked in front of you.

“Fucking hell.” Jin groaned as he rested his head on the steering wheel.

As you attempted to pull yourself up to look over your shoulder, you realized just how low the gas gauge was in this car as well. You guys could probably drive for a couple more miles, but it wouldn’t matter. You’d run out of gas soon enough too.

“We’re going to have to walk.” Jin muttered, looking at you in the rear view mirror.

“She can’t walk in her condition.” Jungkook spoke.

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine.” You reassured the men in the car.

You weren’t too keen on walking, but you had no other choice. It was either wait here for the infection to spread and die or die trying to stop it. Either way, you mentally prepared yourself for the journey.

Namjoon knocked on Jin’s window as the others approached the car.

“We’re going to have to continue on foot.” He spoke.

“I know. We’re almost out of gas too.” Jin sighed.

“Y/N, how are you doing?” Namjoon asked.

“I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.” You said weakly.

“Let’s only take what we need. If we find gas, we’ll come back for the cars.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You did your best to keep up a good pace, but you were still slowly trailing behind the others as Hobi allowed you to hold on to his arm in order to remain steady. The group had to leave a lot behind. Only splitting as much food and water that you could fit in each of your bags.

“Wait!” Namjoon raised his hand as he stopped walking, signaling everyone else to come to a halt.

“What is it?” Tae asked quietly.

“Look up there.” Namjoon pointed to the road ahead of us that was on a hill.

You did your best to focus on what he was looking at, squinting as the sun shone directly in your eyes. Your breath hitched as you realized what it was.

There was a massive hoard of zombies ahead. There had to be hundreds of them, all walking towards you. As you began looking around, you realized that they weren’t just ahead of your group, but all around you. Coming out from the trees as if they were waiting for the right time to strike.

“Guys, we need to run!” You urged, making the others aware of the impending danger that you were all in.

Everyone began running in the opposite direction, unsure of where to go. The zombies were catching up and there was nowhere around to hide. You cried as you lost your grip on Hobi’s arm, falling to the ground harshly.

“Y/N!” He called, as he realized you were no longer beside him.

“I’ve got her. Just go!” Yoongi’s voice yelled from behind you. “Put your arms around me.” He instructed and you quickly did as you were told as he picked you up, bridal style, and began running.

You couldn’t help but look over his shoulder, panicking as you realized how close they were now and how far away the rest of the boys had gotten.

“Yoongi, you need to let go of me. I’m slowing you down.” You told him.

“Shut up, Y/N.” He growled through deep breaths.

You reached over his shoulder and began digging through his bag, trying to find his gun. Once you felt the cold metal, you quickly pulled it out and turned off the safety before firing at the zombies closest behind you. The unsteadiness of your body as you shook in Yoongi’s arms made firing a sure shot nearly impossible, but it slowed a few of them down. As you turned back around, you realized that the others were no longer in sight, and there was a smaller group of zombies coming from the right side of the road.

“Fuck, Yoongi turn left!” You yelled.

He carried you into an opening in the woods, not stopping until you were both sure that you’d gotten away. You were now in the middle of the woods, tall trees surrounding you. Yoongi gently set you down on the ground with your back against a tree as he fell to his knees, attempting to catch his breath.

As he looked up at you, the two of you shared a knowing look. You had gotten separated from your group, and neither of you knew where you were. You were alone now.

“What are we going to do?” You asked through a whisper as tears formed in your eyes.

He stared at you for a moment before sighing and snickering lowly as he shook his head.

“We’re going to find a pharmacy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[aleksa-sims]

RL Story

CW: addiction, baby health

My Baby and I have been home for 4 weeks now. Little progress and improvements in my Son’s development were slowly noticeable. He still cried at night, but he became much calmer compared to the first weeks before. I think this is mainly due to the usual routine we have developed together at home. What also helped Lucas a lot, was our first visit to the pediatrician after the hospital discharge. The pediatrician recommended a special baby-formula, because my little one cried a lot and also lost weight.

As for that withdrawal symptoms thing, the pediatrician said the same, as the docs in the hospital told me. My Baby had a mild withdrawal, but now after 3 weeks, it should be over. From a medical pov, he's ok! The constant crying and restlessness should also subside, once we change his baby-formula. The doc explained to me, that Lucas seems to be a very sensitive child. I simply have to accept it! This was the second time a doctor told me my Son was sensitive. Well, I get it now! My Baby’s okay, I just need to be a bit more chilled.

Anyway! My Baby was getting better while I was getting... worse. I was constantly feeling sad and totally exhausted. I was terrified for my Son, even though he was FINE! So my Mom slept with me & Lucas. In my bed! 🫤 I didn’t ask her to!! She stayed every night with us in my room, to feed Lucas at night. My Mom knew that his crying, scared/worried me, because I kept thinking something was wrong with Lucas. She just wanted to help me. But somehow Lucas got used to sleeping in my bed. Just like my.... Mom!? 😫

I am truly grateful to her, for everything she has done for Lucas & me, and is still doing. But I think she...... meant it too well, if you understand me? With her constant help, she basically... replaced me as a mother. Now my Son had two Moms, yk? Ofc, that's nothing bad or so!! My whole situation back then was just... chaotic. Actually, I should be with Lucas & Nico alone, at our own place! But unfortunately, this was not possible at the time.

However, things will go a bit wrong, especially as soon as Nico comes back home. Also between me & my parents it's gonna get.... stressfull. Tbh, I needed help. But since I didn’t talk to anyone about it, my parents didn’t know I was depressed. Instead, they expected the worst (of me). They thought I had relapsed.😠

Oh, and Sandra also came to me. She and Liam visited Lucas quite often the first days. I have entrusted Sandra with some things that have burdened me. Yesterday Philip called me. He wanted to see Lucas. I told S. I was afraid of becoming like Isabella. 😞I don’t know why I felt that way?? Maybe bcs I talked to P.?? Sandra tried to make me realize that N.'s & my situation is not like P.'s & Isabella's (was). I just felt guilty about Lucas, like I was a bad mother. That's why.... I was afraid to become like Isabella.

And that my Mom took over my job as a Mother at the beginning, did not do me any good. But also my Dad, he somehow replaced Nico for Lucas. It's so strange. Bcs actually my parents did nothing bad! They only helped us. Still... I....I never thought that all this would have such a negative effect on the relationship between Nico &Lucas.

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