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When Droidbait woke up, restrained to a table, it was safe to say that he was more than a little confused.
The last thing that he remembered was stepping out into the hall, and the feeling of the blaster shots going straight into his chest.
He had thought it was almost fitting, for him to be the last to be decanted, the first to die. He couldn’t help but be grateful that it was him to go first.
Droidbait didn’t think he’d ever be able to get through his older brothers dying, if he had to watch, one by one, as each of them fell in battle.
Of course, Droidbait always hoped that his squad would make it through the war, that they’d be able to settle down together on a small, out of the way planet. Echo and Fives talked about opening a bar, a small hole in the wall that catered to clones passing through, a warm environment that was welcome to everyone from all corners of the galaxy. Hevy wanted to open a mechanic shop, working on broken-down speeders and droids. Cutup chattered on and on about the idea of owning a restaurant, sharing with his brothers about his hope to collect recipes from all over the galaxy to fill his menu.
And Droidbait?
He would have been happy floating between, basking in the light that came from his brothers’ joy.
He had thought it was the end. The pain that came from the blaster shots was nothing compared to the pain Droidbait felt at the thought of never seeing his beloved brothers again. He silently apologized into the air as his vision went black, hoping that they would be able to escape and live out their lives. Maybe they’d even put a little memorial of him in their shops when the war was over.
So waking up under bright lights with bandages wrapped around his chest was the last thing Droidbait had ever expected.
He could make out exposed wires and yet-to-be-constructed walls, and the murmuring of voices in another unseen corner of the room.
“Hello?” he called out, wincing just slightly at the hoarseness of his voice.
The voices went quiet, and footsteps approached where Droidbait was restrained. Above him, a face suddenly loomed, a natborn with calculating eyes, a slitted eyebrow, and an insincere smile.
“Glad to see you awake, CT-2010.” The man said. “We were very worried you wouldn’t pull through after seeing how many blaster shots you had taken.”
Droidbait pulled against the restraints, ignoring the sharp pains that shot through him. “Where am I? Where are my brothers? Who are you?”
The man chuckled, a chilling sound that made Droidbait freeze. “I am Dr. Hemlock. Your location is not important at this moment, all you need to worry about is how well you’ll cooperate.” An almost amused smile spread over Hemlock’s face. “As for your squad, I’m afraid that you were the only survivor we found.”
An emptiness filled Droidbair, and his struggling stopped as he stared back up at the lights above him.
The only survivor.
The last Domino.
He was alone.
When Cutup woke up, restrained to a table, he was terrified, confused, and quite honestly, a little grateful.
The feeling of the eel’s stomach constricting around him had been one of the worst experiences of Cutup’s life. He hadn’t thought that he’d get out of there, and had resigned himself to being digested over a long period of time.
He thought of his brothers, in the moment where he was snapped up by the eel.
Hevy, the oldest of the batch, who bore all of Cutup’s teasing with nothing more than an eye-roll and a good-natured shove to the shoulder.
Fives matched his teasing, always ready with his own comeback that never ceased to make Cutup laugh. His little brother knew exactly what to say to break the tension, what to poke at without going too far.
Droidbait was quiet, but Cutup loved the conversations he had with his youngest brother. Despite being the baby of the batch, Cutup found that Droidbait was the best one to go to if he wanted to chat and rant, as Droidbait never failed to have a word of advice for him.
And Echo.
Oh, how Cutup had wished, in the moment he was snapped up, that he could apologize to his younger brother. He wanted to pull him into a hug, hold him as tightly as possible, and reassure him that he loved him more than anything in the world. That Echo was his cherished little brother, and that every cruel word he said he never meant.
That couldn’t be the case, however, and Cutup had left so many unsaid things between him and his brothers, things he wanted to say, love he wanted to express.
As he shifted on the table, Cutup could feel bandages wrapped around his body, his torso almost completely covered, and a few bandages wrapped around his arms, legs, and shoulders. Footsteps made him attempt to look over to the side, only to be stopped by the feeling of a brace holding his head straight to the table.
A face leaned into his line of sight, a natborn human who looked at Cutup with something akin to curiosity.
“Hello, CT-4040.”
Cutup narrowed his eyes slightly. “Who are you?”
“I am Dr. Hemlock.” The human introduced, as though they had met on in a professional setting, and not when Cutup felt like an experiment waiting to be dissected. “You’re very lucky my troopers were able to cut you out of that eel.”
“I thought I was a goner.” Cutup admitted. He tried to look around, but could only see bright lights and a few scattered datapads on the walls. “Are you with the Republic?”
Hemlock hummed. “I am… part of a different assignment.” Cutup’s blood went cold. “But your contributions to the experiments performed here will no doubt be of great service to the galaxy.”
“I was on Rishi with my brothers. Did your troopers…”
Cutup knew it sounded like he was begging, and any hope he felt in his heart died as soon as Hemlock looked at him with insincere sadness in his eyes.
“They did not find any other survivors. You were the only one.”
Cutup squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he was back in the stomach of the eel. That would have been less painful than the knowledge he was just given.
The only survivor.
The last Domino.
He was alone.
When Hevy woke up, restrained to a table, the only emotion he could muster up was anger.
He was pinned down, unable to move any part of his body, not even his head. He immediately tried looking around, looking for some way that he could escape to find his brothers.
His brothers.
Hevy wished with all his might that he had stopped Droidbait from stepping into the hall, that he had reacted quicker when the eel shot up behind Cutup.
The sound of Echo and Fives’ screams over the comm as Hevy hit the detonator to take out the mass of droids rang in Hevy’s ears. He couldn’t shake the feeling of their fear and anger at his decision, but he also couldn’t find it in himself to be sorry.
His precious little brothers.
Hevy would do it over and over again if it meant that his boys would live and be happy.
It hadn’t mattered that they all had been decanted at similar times. Hevy had been first, and he had been put to the side, quietly waiting, as each of his brothers followed after him. From that moment, he was the oldest, their protector.
Especially Echo and Fives. Their same-tube status had meant they were pulled away from their squad for testing, to make sure that they were growing the right way. Hevy had memories of demanding to be taken with them, of being separated by the Kaminoans when he’d push his little brothers behind him to keep them from getting taken away.
The precious few weeks after they had passed their training had been a blessing to Hevy. Their arguments and sharp insults of the past months had disappeared, and their batch was back to being the inseparable, clingy group they had once been.
Hevy held those memories close to his chest, of being the one in the center of the huddle, gathering his little brothers into his arms, protecting him from everything bad in the world.
As he tried to process his location, Hevy couldn’t help but hope that Fives and Echo, his twins, could find peace after the deaths of the rest of their batch.
The harsh lighting in the room around him made Hevy wince, and he couldn’t stop the curse that escaped from him. “Where in the kriffing hell am I?”
“Welcome, CT-782.”
The chilling voice made Hevy freeze, and the sound of the numbers made a new anger flare up within him.
“The name is Hevy, ass.”
“My, what a temper you have.” A face appeared in his line of sight, and Hevy glared up at the man. “I imagine you must be short, given that you are the oldest of five.”
He tensed. “You know about my brothers?”
The man gave him an amused smile, like he was a pet put on display. “I did look up your designation and your squad. Domino, yes?”
“Two of my brothers died.” Hevy said quickly, desperate for information. “The ones that are left, Echo and Fives… they survived Rishi.”
“Killed in action, I’m afraid. Both of them.” The man hummed, a distracted note in his voice, unaware of the panic that was filling Hevy. Nausea built within him, and he had to take deep breaths to keep himself from falling into a panicked stupor.
His brothers. His baby brothers.
They were gone. He was all that was left.
The only survivor.
The last Domino.
He was alone.
When Fives woke up, restrained to a table, he struggled to keep the tears from falling down his face as an overwhelming sorrow washed over him.
He had tried so hard. He had hoped that, of everyone, Rex would have listened to him.
He just wanted to keep his brothers safe, but it wasn’t that much of a surprise that he had failed, given that he had failed at keeping his own batch alive.
His batch…
Fives hadn’t thought about his batchmates in forever, the memories far too painful to remember. Echo was the only one he could bear to think of, unable to escape the ghost of his twin’s presence around him.
Fives supposed Hevy would be disappointed in him, that he wasn’t even able to get his own captain and general to listen to what he had to say. Cutup would probably have some sort of joke to poke at Fives about his failure, and Droidbait would lean into Fives and reassure him that things would turn out alright.
Echo would probably punch him in the arm, annoyed that he had shouldered the entire burden himself. Fives huffed out a quiet, sad laugh, knowing that if his twin had been with him, he probably would have succeeded. Echo had a way with words that Fives never did.
He remembered Hevy joking, when they were cadets, that Echo and Fives just shared a brain in their tube, that their thoughts had become so entwined that it was impossible for them to discern whose ideas were whose. Fives couldn’t help but agree, since, during their time in the 501st together, he and Echo had fought together like a single organism, both of them desperate to keep their remaining batchmate alive.
He had failed that spectacularly as well.
Fives groaned closing his eyes in frustration for a moment, until the sound of footsteps made him open them again.
“You caused quite a stir, CT-5555.” The male voice made Fives roll his eyes, resorting back to his snark instead of falling into despair like he so desperately wanted to.
“I’m supposed to be dead.”
“Yes, you are.” The man appeared over him, looking terrifyingly interested in Fives’ reaction to his words. “We were lucky enough to recover you while you still had a heartbeat.”
Fives glanced around at the bits of the room that he could see. “Where am I?”
The man extended a hand, gesturing to the room. “You are in my laboratory. I am Dr. Hemlock.”
“Are you the one putting chips in everyone’s heads?” Fives asked, eyes narrowing as Hemlock let out a condescendingly amused laugh.
“Gracious, no. We made sure yours was deactivated. No need for you to lose your mind again.”
The comment made Fives flinch.
“Are my brothers around here? Tup?”
He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn’t care.
Hemlock’s disinterested stare made Fives’s heart sink. “Unfortunately, you are the only clone we could recover and bring back.” Hemlock leaned in closer, a sharp smile growing on his face. “Your squad seems to have abandoned you.”
Fives tipped his head back, and closed his eyes, hiding his tears.
The only survivor.
The last Domino.
He was alone.
Alarms blared in the facility, startling Hevy off of his bunk. The door to his cell hissed, and slid open, the sounds of other trapped clones escaping making him jump to his feet to rush out.
As he stepped out of the cell, Hevy collided with a smaller body, a childish yelp escaping from his obstacle.
“Sorry!”
Hevy stared at the child in front of him. He had seen her walking through the facility a few times, and knew she was Nala Se’s precious assistant whose escape had caused the facility to be a flurry of panic and rushing business for the longest time.
“You need help, ad’ika?” Hevy asked, extending a hand to the child. She beamed at him, taking his offered hand.
“I’m Omega!”
He couldn’t help but return the smile, a smaller one gracing his face as he pulled her after him, the girl far too delighted to trail after her older brother. “Name’s Hevy.”
“My squad is here for me.” Omega chattered as they ran, tugging Hevy’s hand as he went to take a right, guiding them to the left instead. “You can come with us on our ship!”
The two came to a frozen stop as they heard blaster fire, and Hevy pushed Omega behind him as running footsteps came closer. As the figure appeared around the corner, the duo relaxed, recognizing the garments of an imprisoned clone.
He was holding two blasters, and nearly stumbled as he came to a stop in front of Hevy and Omega.
“What the kriff is going on?” he asked, looking behind him.
Omega beamed at him. “My squad’s picking me up! They’re taking the base, and I opened all the cells!”
The clone huffed out a laugh, looking to Hevy for confirmation before completely freezing, his eyes locking onto his tattoos. It was a small blessing that tattooed clones were able to keep their markings, and Hevy had always thanked the Force that his tattoos weren’t ones that could be hidden by hair or clothing.
“Hevy?”
The brother’s voice held a familiarity and warmth that felt like a punch to the gut for Hevy, and he immediately felt a wash of love fill him as he slowly stepped forward.
“Cut?”
As soon as he received a nod of confirmation, Cutup let out a laugh, lunging forward to wrap his arms around Hevy as tightly as he could. Hevy stood still for a moment before returning the hug, gathering Cutup close and pressing their foreheads together.
For a moment, neither brother wanted to move, clinging to each other as tightly as possible. They were only interrupted when Omega spoke up, the girl sounding extremely sorry to break apart their reunion.
“This is a really nice moment, but I think there’s more troopers coming our way!”
Hevy pulled himself away from his brother, relishing in the sound of Cutup’s laughter as he handed him the second blaster. For the first time since arriving on Tantiss, he felt hope fill him, a joy and happiness that had disappeared the second Droidbait had been shot.
He turned to face his sister, who was looking at him and Cutup with bright eyes. “Omega, do you know how to get to the hangar?”
She nodded. “Follow me!”
Falling into step with Cutup, Hevy tailed the blonde clone.
“How are you alive?” he found himself asking his brother as they ran.
Cutup glanced at him, their shoulders brushing. “No clue, honestly. I remember being in the eel, and then I’m strapped to a table with that creepy doctor looming over me.” A darkness passed over Cutup’s eyes. “He told me I was the only survivor they found.”
Anger filled Hevy. “He said that to me when I woke up.”
They came upon a panel, and stopped so Omega could type on the screen. For a brief moment, Cutup leaned into Hevy.
“If he lied about us being the only survivors…” he trailed off, and Hevy reached out a hand, squeezing Cutup’s arm reassuringly.
“I guess we’ll find out.”
The door in front of them opened, and they were met with blaster fire from the troopers who had filled the hallway. Cutup pulled Omega behind him, and he and Hevy shot at the troopers, pushing them back further as they made their way toward the shuttle hanger.
Omega shrieked as one of the troopers shot at her, the hit landing far too close for comfort. Before Cutup or Hevy could react, a stun bolt hit the trooper, dropping them to the ground, and Omega ran to grab the fallen trooper’s blaster. Cutup and Hevy whirled around, their own stolen blasters raised, but they paused upon seeing another clone with frantic eyes standing behind them.
“Why is there a child here? She’s a baby!”
The clone’s voice was frantic, filled with horror, and so, so familiar.
Both Cutup and Hevy had the realization at the same time. “Droidbait?”
The sound of their voices made his panic cut off, and the brother stopped. He looked at Cutup and Hevy, took in their appearances, and, like Cutup had, he locked onto Hevy’s tattoos. Realization filled his eyes, and Droidbait nearly dropped his blaster.
“You’re…” he trailed off, unable to continue speaking.
More blaster fire came from the distance, and Hevy grabbed onto Omega’s free hand. “Long story short, Hemlock lied to all of us, and we’re alive. Let’s get to the hangar before we have an emotional breakdown and get shot for real this time.”
Droidbait straightened, Hevy’s tone of voice a warm, reassuring sound he had desperately missed, and fell into step beside Cutup, who gave his younger brother a bright smile. Droidbait was breathless as he looked at his two older brothers, still struggling to process the fact that they were with him.
“Did you both make it off of Rishi?” he asked as they ran. Part of him hoped, despite the criss-cross of scars across Cutup’s face, that his brothers had been free, working with other brothers to help the galaxy.
Cutup winced slightly. “Not me. I got eaten by an eel.”
“I blew myself up with the base.” Hevy called over his shoulder, making Cutup and Droidbait stare at their oldest brother in shock.
“You what?” Cutup asked.
They stopped at a corner, and Omega looked at the brothers in front of her.
“Were you all part of the same squad?” she asked curiously between gasping for breath.
Hevy nodded with a warm smile towards his brothers. “I’m the oldest, then there’s Cut, and ‘Bait’s the baby. The twins are older than him.”
“Twins?” Omega prodded, peeking around the corner. “It looks clear.”
Hevy moved to step out into the hall first, continuing the conversation. “Echo and Fiv---“
His words were cut off as he was slammed into and knocked to the ground by a running figure.
“Hevy!”Omega, Cutup, and Droidbait cried.
Hevy groaned, regaining his bearings and looking at the clone who had just slammed into him.
“Those meds must be messing with my head again, because there’s no way in the Sith hells your name is Hevy.” The clone said, rubbing the side of his head as he stumbled to his feet. His head was shaved, like every other clones’, and he looked to be one of those clones who had tattoos on their head.
His was on his temple, a simple “5”, and if that wasn’t the most obvious clue as to who he was, nothing else would be as obvious.
Cutup allowed himself a moment of excitement, darting forward to throw his arms around Fives, nearly taking them both to the ground again.
“Cutup?” Fives asked in surprise, arms automatically reaching up to return the hug. Droidbait grinned, joining the hug on Fives’ other side, and Hevy stepped closer, pressing his forehead against Fives’, who was slowly processing what was happening. “Hevy? ‘Bait? You’re all alive!”
The four brothers were beaming as they reunited, relishing the feeling of being almost complete.
“Wait…” Omega’s voice broke them up, and they turned to look at their small sister, who was staring at them. She was staring at Fives, realization slowly building on her face. “You’re Fives.”
Fives cocked his head. “Yes?”
A small smile appeared on Omega’s face. “You’re the Domino squad.”
Hevy’s eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know that?”
Omega’s smile grew even more, but before she could say anything else, a group of stormtroopers rounded the corner as well.
“Time to go!” Fives exclaimed, and the four brothers made a ring around Omega as they raced through the final stretch to get to the hanger. Hevy shot over his shoulder at the troopers following them, stunning them and making them fall to the ground.
“Watch out!” Omega yelped, grabbing onto Droidbait’s arm to pull him out of the way of a blaster shot. A commando stood between them and their doorway to the shuttle hanger. Their blaster was raised, pointing straight at Omega’s head. Before they could react, a stun shot rang out, and the commando fell to the ground When he dropped, another figure was revealed in the doorway behind them, dressed in grey and red armor, a kama around his waist.
The four older clones immediately tensed, closing in closer around Omega at the sight of the unfamiliar figure. Their tension was replaced by complete and utter crippling shock as Omega shrieked with joy, rushing past them all to leap into the clone’s arms. “ECHO!”
The clone immediately dropped his blaster and pulled her close, lifting her up into a tight embrace, bringing his hand up to run through her blonde hair. Omega sobbed, burying her face in his shoulder as she clung to him desperately.
“I’ve got you, ad’ika.” Echo said, pressing his helmeted forehead against hers. “Kark, Omega, I’m glad you’re safe.”
Omega pulled back slightly, wiping at her eyes as she motioned to the group of four behind her. “They helped me. Hevy found me in the hallway and we found everybody else on our way to the hanger.”
Echo’s head snapped towards Hevy as soon as he heard the name. His helmet provided a level of privacy, not showing the expression on his face, but the other clones had no such privacy. Hevy was still, a hand holding onto Cutup’s arm as soon as Omega cried their final brother’s name. Cutup was grinning, bouncing on his toes as he held himself back from rushing at his little brother. Droidbait had his hands covering his mouth as his eyes watered, holding back a sob.
Fives’ legs gave out slightly, and it was only Cutup and Droidbait grabbing his arms that kept him from fully collapsing to the ground.
“Echo?” he whispered, one hand reaching up to hold onto Droidbait’s hand.
Echo was frozen, staring at the group in front of him.
Omega looked at her brother with concern, tugging on his arm. “Echo, are you okay?”
That shook him out of his stupor, and he immediately went to activate his comm, looking away from his brothers for the moment.
“Hunter, it’s Echo. I’ve got Omega and the clones who were helping her escape.” To his credit, Echo’s voice barely shook as he spoke.
Another voice crackled over the comm, the sound of blaster fire coming through. “Get to the Marauder as fast as you can. We’ve got Tech, and we’ll meet you there!”
The name got a reaction out of Echo, and he stumbled back as Omega gasped happily. “Tech’s alive?” He looked down at Omega, who was beaming, and looked towards the rest of Domino, who were all watching him, waiting for a reaction. He took a sharp breath, straightening himself up. “I… We need to get out of here.” Omega picked up his blaster, and handed it off to Echo, which he took gratefully, patting her head teasingly and making her giggle. “Follow me.”
“We’re with you, vod’ika.” Hevy couldn’t help but say, and Echo hesitated for a moment before turning and running down the hallway, the sound of blaster fire growing louder as they ran into the hanger.
Omega grabbed onto Echo’s scomp arm happily as soon as she spotted the rest of the Batch. “There they are!”
Shuttles were taking off left and right, loaded with escaping clones and pursuing troopers. Echo hoped in the back of his mind that his brothers would get away safely, and made a mental note to contact Rex as soon as he could to let him know about the influx of rogue clones.
They made it to the Marauder at the same time as the rest of the Batch, and Omega barreled into Hunter’s arms, the sergeant catching her with a broad grin, sparing a moment to hold her close to his chest. Tech was leaning against Wrecker, their larger brother looking positively weepy as he held the genius close.
“Can they come with us?” Omega asked Hunter as she pulled away from him, pointing towards the rest of Domino, who watched the reunion quietly. “They’re Echo’s batchmates!”
Echo hid a violent flinch at her words, and Hunter looked between his older brother and the four strangers (to the Bad Batch).
“We’ve got enough room.” He said, looking back at Echo. “Echo, you and Cross get us in the air.”
Thankful for the duty, Echo grabbed his lanky younger brother, pulling Crosshair away with him towards the cockpit.
“Want to talk, reg?” Crosshair asked, raising an eyebrow as Echo all but threw himself into the pilot’s seat and powered up the Marauder.
“Not at all, Cross, but thanks for the offer.” Echo replied.
Crosshair hummed, going quiet. Echo could hear the quiet sobs from the main area of the ship, he could hear Hevy’s voice as he introduced himself and the rest of his batch to Hunter. His mind was racing, so many thoughts running through his head that it was difficult to focus.
A hand rested on top of his arm, and Echo looked to the side to see Crosshair watching him, a hint of comfort in his eyes as he squeezed Echo’s arm.
The sniper studied Echo’s face. “We’re all okay, ori’vod.”
Echo let out a breath, squeezing Crosshair’s hand back, and nodded. “Let’s get out of here.”
As they shot into hyperspace, Crosshair stood, briefly pausing to rest a hand on Echo’s shoulder before he left, stepping into the main area of the ship. As soon as his younger brother stepped out, Echo punched the button that closed and locked the cockpit door. He yanked his helmet off, then ripped his armor off, unable to stand the feeling of the metal pressed against his skin as he began to breath quicker and quicker.
Once he was left in his blacks, Echo fell out of the pilot’s seat and collapsed against the wall, his heart pounding against his chest as he gasped.
His batch was alive.
They were alive, and safe, and on the other side of the door.
Tech was alive, he was safe, gathered up in Wrecker’s arms as Hunter checked him over for injuries.
Crosshair was alive, Omega no doubt clinging to his side like a leech as they traveled through hyperspace.
Every single one of his batchmates were alive and well, and Echo was more terrified than he had ever felt in his entire life.
The amount of emotions that wrecked through him was punishingly aggressive. The most prominent was happiness, of course it was. He was overwhelmingly happy that his brothers were alive. The time he had spent grieving, never in his wildest dreams had Echo ever thought that his batchmates would be alive.
It was too much.
Rescuing Omega had been his entire focus while he was with Rex, it was all he paid attention to. Finding her had been expected, the joy he felt upon hearing her cry his name warm and familiar. It was enough.
But then she had said his name.
One of the names Echo couldn’t hear without a wave of sadness washing over him.
He had hoped that it was a fluke, that Omega had simply misheard the clone who had guided her to safety, but then he had looked at the group, and his heart fell into his stomach.
He had recognized every single one of them, their eyes looking at him with the same shock that he felt. Echo was shaken to his core. He had long since accepted his brothers’ deaths, he even talked about them with the Bad Batch without falling apart afterwards. He could share stories with Rex about Fives without the two of them tearing up at the memory.
Every wound in his heart that had healed from his brothers’ deaths reopened as he stared at their faces.
Hevy’s warm eyes, full of concern.
Cutup’s smile, bright, disbelieving, and happy.
Droidbait’s tearful expression, always more emotionally open.
Fives’ trembling hands, yearning to hold onto his twin.
Echo wanted to fall apart then and there. But he couldn’t, so he pushed them away, only to find out that his precious vod’ika was still alive as well.
That was the straw that broke him.
Echo pulled his legs up to his chest, burying his face in his knees as his shoulders shook. His heart felt like it was in his throat, tears falling down his cheeks.
It was the most overwhelming mix of emotions Echo had ever experienced, the joy, the aching nostalgia, the guilt, the pain, everything swirling around at once.
He was more prepared to approach Tech than his own batchmates. Tech knew what happened to him, he had been there when Rex and General Skywalker had found him, and he had been the one to free Echo from the Techno Union’s chambers.
His batchmates, however, only had memories of when he was still a shiny. Fives remembered him in his prime. None of them knew what had happened to him, and Echo was terrified of what they would think.
“Echo?” Tech’s quiet voice came from the other side of the door, and Echo couldn’t resist his brother in any way, shape, or form. He hit the button to unlock the door, and as soon as she heard the quiet hiss, Tech slipped into the cockpit, keeping the door shut behind him.
He lowered himself down beside Echo, and tucked himself into his side. Echo felt fresh tears fill his eyes, and he wrapped his arm around his younger brother’s shoulders, tugging him closer and leaning his head against Tech’s.
“Force, it’s good to have you back, vod’ika.” Echo whispered, his voice shaking just slightly.
Tech hummed, leaning into Echo. “I will admit that I was concerned you would not find me.” Echo huffed out a quiet laugh. “I am grateful to be home.” A moment of peaceful silence fell between the two before Tech shifted, looking at Echo with concern on his face. “Are you alright, ori’vod?”
Echo gave him a small smile. “I feel like we should be focusing on if you’re okay, Tech’ika.”
“I’m not the one who has had multiple brothers come back to life.” Tech replied bluntly. “I… heard your older brother, Hevy, say that Hemlock told each of them that they were the only survivors of their batch.”
Each of his brothers, completely alone in their grief.
Echo couldn’t help but bitterly think that it was fitting, each of them alone in their grief over losing their batchmates.
“I never thought I’d find them alive.” He admitted quietly. “It never even crossed my mind that they’d be alive. You’d think, when I was hooked up with the Techno Union, that I would have seen at least a glimpse of them surviving.”
Tech reached up, holding onto Echo’s hand with his own. “We never knew that Hemlock existed, Echo.”
Echo closed his eyes, leaning back to rest his head against the wall. “Tech, what if they hate what I’ve turned into?” He could hear murmurings outside, and a few tears slipped down his cheeks. “What if they’re disappointed?”
“Disappointed?” his younger brother actually sounded incredibly offended at Echo’s words. “Ori’vod, they’ve come back from the dead, just like you. You managed to survive being tortured and used by the Techno Union. You have been traveling with us, and working on helping the galaxy after the Empire’s rise. You have been working with Captain Rex to help the rest of our brothers find better futures.” Echo looked at Tech, who was watching him with intent eyes, the grip on his hand growing tighter as he spoke. “You have been doing so much to make the galaxy a marginally better place. From the stories you have told us, I cannot help but think that they will be immensely proud of what you have accomplished.”
Echo watched his younger brother for a moment before tightening his arm around his shoulder, grabbing him in a tight hug, and Tech flailed for a moment before relaxing into the hug. They sat for a few seconds.
“I really did miss you, Tech’ika.” Echo whispered.
“I missed you too, ori’vod.” Tech replied quietly. “Now, go and greet your batchmates.”
His younger brother’s words buoying him, Echo slowly stood, reaching down and pulling Tech to his feet. “You’d better commandeer that comm and let Phee know you’re alive. She was convinced you were alive from the moment we told her what happened.”
Tech’s cheeks grew pink, but a soft smile snuck onto his face as he slid into the pilot’s chair, and Echo unlocked the cabin door, stepping out into the main area.
Wrecker and Crosshair were sitting at the two consoles, exchanging barbs like they were back in their room on Kamino. Wrecker’s smile was wider than Echo had ever seen, and Crosshair’s smirk was warm as he dodged Wrecker attempting to hit him with Lula. As Echo passed them, he knocked his shoulder against Wrecker’s, and squeezed Crosshair’s shoulder.
“Hunter and Omega?” he asked quietly, and Wrecker pointed towards Omega’s room. Echo followed his motion, and his heart warmed.
Hunter sat in the gunner seat, and Omega was curled up in his lap, a tiny ball of blonde hair that was wrapped in a blanket, and surrounded by Hunter’s arms, her head buried in his shoulder.
Crosshair poked Echo’s side, making him twitch and look at the sniper. “Your bunk’s been stolen.”
Echo frowned slightly, and moved towards where the bunks were located. His eyes immediately went to his bunk, and he had to bite back a fresh wave of tears.
Hevy was at the center, as always, serving as the pillow for the rest of his brothers. Cutup was curled on his right, one leg falling off the bunk, and one of his arms wrapped around Hevy’s midsection, with his other hand reaching down to hold onto Droidbait’s arm.
The youngest member of Domino was using Hevy’s legs as a pillow, his lower half thrown across Cutup, and his hands splayed out in the direction of the rest of his brothers.
Fives was pressed against the wall on Hevy’s left side, curled in a position that looked awkward and uncomfortable for anyone who didn’t know him. His forehead was pressed into Hevy’s shoulder, and one of his hands stretched over Hevy to brush against Cutup’s head.
With a pang in his heart, Echo noticed a space left between Fives and Hevy. A perfectly Echo-shaped space that his brothers had left, despite the fact that he hadn’t even given them a proper greeting during their escape.
That needed to change.
He couldn’t stop the mischievous grin that spread over his face, unable to resist the urge to lay out on top of all four of his brothers.
As he stretched out across the rest of his squad, Cutup was the first to react, groaning and reaching to shove at Echo’s side.
“Kriff, you’re heavy.” He grumbled, the rest of Domino slowly reacting to the added weight.
Echo’s smile grew, and a snicker escaped him. “Sounds like you’re still on those meds, Cut. He’s Hevy, I’m Echo.”
Cutup let out a louder groan at Echo’s words, and Fives, now fully awake, let out a cackling laugh, reaching out to grab onto Echo and pull him across their brothers, wrapping around him like a vine.
Hevy grinned down at Echo from where he was now pressed against his right side, and maneuvered his arm to wrap around Echo’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Good one, vod’ika.”
“We do have a lot of those jokes to make up for.” Droidbait commented, shifting so that he was lying on his front, his chin propped up on Hevy’s stomach. He reached out, taking Echo’s scomp arm in his hands, running his fingers over the metal.
Cutup grumbled as he shifted, staying curled against Hevy, but tangling his legs with Droidbait’s as he looked at his younger brother intently.
“I thought I was the only one left.” Echo admitted softly. “I almost… the Techno Union got me after the Citadel.” Fives inhaled sharply behind him, and he pressed closer, burying his face in Echo’s shoulder. “There were times I almost gave up during all of that. I’m glad I didn’t because I wouldn’t have found the Bad Batch, and we wouldn’t be here, but it was… it was the worst time, thinking I was the only Domino.”
Hevy leaned down, pressing his forehead against the top of Echo’s head. “You’re not alone now, Ey’ika.” He looked at his brothers with warmth in his eyes. “None of us are.”
“Domino is back together.” Fives said with a beaming smile.
“Rex is going to lose his mind.” Echo said, tilting his head back to meet his twin’s eyes. Fives snickered, bumping his forehead against Echo’s temple, a reassuring motion that had been a constant since they were cadets.
Echo looked back towards the main part of the Marauder, and made out Tech being smothered by Crosshair and Wrecker, his younger brothers bustling around their newly returned member. Cutup tapped Echo’s shoulder lightly. “Let’s sleep, vod. We’re okay.”
With practiced ease, Domino shifted back into their sleeping spots, now with Echo fitting into the empty space between Hevy and Fives perfectly. He rested his head right above Hevy’s heart, the sound of his older brother’s heartbeat a soothing melody, and he reached down with his flesh hand to grab onto Droidbait’s stretched hand.
As soon as their hands came into contact, Droidbait clung to Echo, shifting and happily closing his eyes as he held onto his older brother. Feeling the settling mattress, Fives moved slightly, his other arm coming up to wrap around Echo, sandwiching him between his twin and his oldest brother, and Fives curled around his twin. Cutup’s arm that was wrapped around Hevy twitched, and he reached out just a bit more, grabbing onto the sleeve of Echo’s blacks.
The feeling of having his brothers around him, of being piled into a group sleep huddle like they were cadets, was all Echo needed to start crying again.
It wasn’t the great, heaving sobs he had expected, but silent tears falling down his cheeks as he pressed his face into Hevy’s chest, curling tighter into his oldest brother. Hevy’s own eyes were wet with tears, and his arms tightened, gathering all of his brothers close to him, the feeling of his batch, alive and safe, giving him more comfort than he ever thought he would experience.
On Pabu, Rex, Cody, and Phee waited anxiously as the Havoc Marauder came to land. Other residents of the island were bustling about, some preparing the Batch’s home for them, a surprise that they had all but insisted upon when Rex told them about their plan to rescue Omega.
The door to the ship fell opened, and Omega came racing out, running straight into Phee’s arms with a delighted laugh.
“Phee!” the young clone’s voice was bright and happy. Phee grinned down at the girl, squeezing her once before releasing her, and Rex braced himself for Omega’s barreling form as she ran at him.
“How are you, kid?” he asked, looking down at his sister.
Omega had a strange twinkle in her eye, something secretive and excited. “I’m great!”
As she let go of him, Rex looked back towards the Marauder, and his jaw dropped.
Hunter and Crosshair were the first to come out, talking quietly between themselves with small smiles. Behind them, Wrecker excitedly stepped out, supporting a slightly skinner, wearier-looking Tech, whose eyes automatically went towards Phee, whose grin had grown even wider upon seeing him.
Rex felt a warmth build him as he watched Wrecker help Tech over to Phee, the bespectacled clone pulled into the woman’s arms as soon as he was close enough.
Omega happily skipped back to Hunter’s side, leaning into him. Rex and Cody looked at the members of the match, taking note of one prominent missing presence.
“Echo?” Rex asked, the warmth he felt being replaced by a chilling fear.
Hunter’s smile grew, and Omega giggled as they both glanced towards the ship. Rex followed their sightline, and he relaxed as he spotted his younger brother exiting. He could hear a relieved sigh leave Cody as well.
Rex noticed an ease in Echo’s shoulders, a happiness in his eyes that he hadn’t seen since…
“No.” the captain whispered as another clone stepped out behind Echo, automatically falling into step beside him, and throwing an arm around his shoulders.
“Holy karking shit.” Cody swore, eyes growing comically wide.
Echo and Fives heard Cody’s voice, and the twins turned toward their older brothers, identical, mischievous grins on their faces, and Rex felt as though his legs were about to give out.
His boys.
But that wasn’t it.
Three more clones stepped out behind the Domino twins, laughing and talking, and Echo and Fives turned to face them with their grins growing, joining in the conversation with ease.
Rex studied the new brothers, feeling something achingly familiar about them. He looked towards one with tattoos on his jaw, and a sharp realization hit him.
He looked towards Cody, who appeared to be identically shocked. “Cody…”
Cody couldn’t do anything but nod, unable to speak or look away from where Hevy stood, the memory of his younger brother’s shouts as he faced down battle droids and (assumedly) died alone fresh in his mind.
Echo turned back towards his older brothers, his smile growing even wider as he leaned into Fives, Droidbait tucked up against his other side, Cutup draped over his shoulders behind him, and Hevy reaching over Droidbait to press a hand to Echo’s shoulder.
“Looks like Dominos don't get knocked down easily, ori’vod.”