Still recovering from the Blue Shadow Virus, Rex attempts to convince Kix that he's practically fine. Unfortunately, his body didn't get the memo.
“You know, everyone else is still taking it easy, sleeping the day away. You could stand to actually relax for half a rotation, sir.” Kix said as he approached the Captain’s medbed. Only three days after being infected with the Blue Shadow Virus, Rex was already trying his patience with how often he ignored basic common sense. “I thought I said you were on bedrest for the next week.”
The Captain flinched, attempting to subtly slide his datapad under a nearby pillow. He opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was a cough and a squeak, at least until he lowered his voice into a whisper. “I, uh, was just checking mission reports. Didn’t want to be unprepared for my weekly briefing with the General.”
As a virtually extinct plague, very little information existed on recovery from the Blue Shadow Virus, but Rex had quickly learned that laryngitis was part of the package. The first day hadn’t been too bad, and he’d been able to power through a quick debrief, between attempts to cough up a lung. He’d slept through most of the second day, but during his brief lucid moments, he’d been asking for updates on the other troopers, and had been attempting to discuss troop movements with the bridge before Kix confiscated his comm.
Now on day three, his voice was paying the price. At best, he sounded like a 6th year cadet, and at the worst, he sounded like a dying frog. Jesse was never going to let him live it down, after coming in for an update and nearly falling over laughing when he heard the Captain’s voice.
“Uh huh, and when exactly is this weekly briefing?” Kix asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Tomorrow.” He croaked, sniffling and attempting to look at least a little put-together, but he still looked pale and sickly; if Kix didn’t know better, he’d be worried Rex was on the verge of falling off his medbed in a dead faint.
Kix huffed, “Do the words, “A week of bedrest,” mean nothing to you, sir?”
“Yes, but I figured that four days was enough, given that I’d be released the following day anyways.”
A vein in Kix’s forehead started to pulse. “Not five days, one week. Not that “business week” nonsense the Senate’s always trying to pull.”
“Oh, four days, then.” Rex raised his chin defiantly, resolutely ignoring how his voice cracked like a cadet when he responded.
“7 days!”
“I’m hearing two days.” Rex countered, muffling a cough before going back to reading his datapad, like the matter was decided, despite the fact that he was still running a low-grade fever and had nearly thrown up from the force of his coughing not two hours ago.
Kix shook his head emphatically, emotion suddenly filling his voice. “No. Not in my medbay. You could’ve died, sir! I-If anyone deserves a break, it’s you, so stop running yourself into the ground and rest! Please.”
Rex’s eyes widened. The last time Kix had truly raised his voice at him was back on Saleucami, after learning he got into a firefight after being benched for taking a blaster wound to the chest.
“Kix– I-I…” His voice broke. He tried to respond, but his next inhale became a painful cough, and then he couldn’t stop. Chest spasming, his damaged lungs struggled to compensate for the sudden lack of oxygen, and his vision started to darken at the edges.
As a competent medic, Kix quickly took action, helping him into a sitting position for better airflow. He rubbed his back, glancing worriedly at his vitals. “Easy sir, take a slow breath.”
“T-Trying,” He bit out, wheezing as his coughing finally subsided. If he’d had the breath to do so, he would’ve grumbled when Kix broke out the dreaded oxygen mask, but as it was, his shoulders slumped in relief when he could finally breathe again. He sat there for a moment, leaning heavily on Kix, trying to keep his heavy eyelids from closing.
“You alright now, Rex?” Kix asked softly, one hand still rubbing his back in slow circles.
Rex nodded, head lolling slightly. He whispered again, not wanting to further aggravate his throat. “-’m good… thanks, Kix.”
Kix sighed, fond exasperation bleeding through as he commented, “You know, whispering is actually worse than talking, for laryngitis. If you want to stop sounding like a cadet, you should really take a break.”
Rex opened his mouth to respond before thinking better of it, nodding reluctantly. Kix smirked, getting up from where he’d sat on Rex’s medbed, taking the Captain’s datapad with him.
“Good. Now, lay down. You are going to rest, and you are going to like it!” He ordered, only a little amused when Rex grumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, “Sir, yes sir.”
Anakin cursed
That wasn’t a new thing. Specially since he was lost in the middle of the forest with no cell service. Anakin wondered who was so important enough that both Ashoka and Obi Wan would drag him out in the middle of nowhere.
“It will be fun Anakin” He muttered “They are good people, he said” Anakin threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
“I’m OBi WaN KeNoBi and I LIKE DIrt and TREES and torturing my YOUNGER BROTHER!” He kicked a hollowed tree stump. “Stupid trees.”
A few days ago…
“Anakin, can you take a couple of days off work pleaseeeee? Obi Wan and I want you to meet some people and their realllyyy cool!”
Ahsoka and Anakin were sitting in a cafe in which Anakin spent most of his time programming for his job. Anakin looked up from his programming for a second to look at her. “Yeah sure, if I want to get behind this project.” He snipped
She rolled her eyes “come on! It’s Obi Wan’s friends and-“
“Obi wan has friends?”
“Haha ha, anyway their really cool! And I’d think you would get along with Fives and Rex.”
Anakin frowned “What kinda name is Fives?”
Ahsoka grinned knowing that Anakin’s curiosity would probably get him to come along. “Fives is a good guy… although he tends to attract trouble like a certain someone I know.”
“I don’t know what your talking about.” Anakin said his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“It’s settled! You’ll come with us to meet them!” She said cheerfully
Before Anakin had a chance to respond she wrote down an address on his notebook he kept on him to help sort out his programs and scurried off.
Anakin stared at the address before shrugging “what’s the worse that could happen?”
Present day
It was a lot worse. Anakin had now been wandering for an hour after parking his car near a rusted pole that had the address on it. As he trudged through the muddy trail he found that the pathway had slowly disappeared into the surrounding woods. And when he turned back to look at the trail he found it vanished completely.
Now here he was yelling at nothing and kicking some poor tree log, hoping that Obi Wan or Ahsoka would magically show up.
Eventually he came across a stream and attempted to follow it to lead him somewhere.
“Don’t follow that stream” whispered a unfamiliar voice from the trees.
Anakin to his embarrassment later shrieked and slipped on a loose mossy patch only for home to hit his head. Dazed and as he lost consciousness he swore he saw a person coming toward him at a distance.
Part 1 done! I love @waterlily707’s moth au. its so cute! I made it a modern au as well cause idk how to put it in a cannon universe. Part 2 will hopefully come soon if my schedule lets me. Part 1 Is a little short but in part 2 I’ll try to make it longer!
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex Characters: CC-2224 | Cody, CT-7567 | Rex, Obi-Wan Kenobi Additional Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s04e13 Escape From Kadavo, Implied/Referenced Torture, Whipping, Caretaking, Platonic Cuddling, Protective CC-2224 | Cody, CC-2224 | Cody Has Issues, CC-2224 | Cody Needs a Hug, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, CT-7567 | Rex Whump, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody has PTSD, Clone Trooper Mistreatment (Star Wars), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slavery, Exhaustion, Aftermath of Torture Summary:
Cody and Rex after Kadavo.
A blind Leo AU one shot
...
One day like others in the deepest of the sewers,the ex-world champion Lou Jitsu, which real name is Hamato Yoshi,was preparing for another one exhaustin day with his four blessings, Raphael the big brother,Donatello and Leonardo,the "twin" brothers,and Michaelangelo the baby brother,they now have 4,3 and 2 years respectively.
Despite being of different species and ages,the poor old rat has a bad memory and very often mistake their names,he had the idea to put them nicknames based of their shells but this was a bad idea because Raph hate being named like "Snapping one" and Donnie like "Soft one".
"They need a colors code" think to himself
While they were taking their nap,Splinter took the oportunity to go outside the sewers and take a lot of colorfull clothes for his babies.
"Sleep well my sons..."He said while climbed the sewer stairs
Hours later,that afternoon,the kids was very playful,Raph crush every fruit of the fridge with his feet to make smoothies,Donnie destroyed the TV, again. His sole defense was to see how it was made, Mikey was painting on all the walls and Leo, he had a lot of fun listening to the chaos his brothers caused but he wanted to be apart of it.
"Leo!! Come here and paint with me!"
"Sure Mikey!" Leo likes the sensation of have paint between his fingers so he just lends Mikey choose the paint and he put his hands on it
"You always let me choose the colors,what color do you like more?"
"Ummm"Leo paused briefly "I don't know,what's your favorite color?"
"Oh!! This one!!"Then Mikey grabed a can of orange paint " It's orange!"
"Like the fruit?"
"Yes!!"
Then the red eared slider began to smell every can of paint "Ugh! everything smells bad!" said,covering his nose
Mikey only laughted "The paint does not smell good, you have to see the colors to differentiate them"
"What is "see" Mikey? Why you can "see" them but I can't?"
"You don't know what is "see"? See is...You know!! See! When you wake up and open your eyes,watch TV,see the music!"
"That's only for you Mikey,You have synesthesia" Said the purple one,who was approaching them
"Oh right!"
"Donnie,You are a nerd,what is "see?"
Then Donnie,very exciting,went for makers and a whiteboard,then procced to explain "The vision or visual perception is the ability to interpret visible light information reaching the eyes which is then made available for planning and action. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, or simply sight adjectival form: visual, optical, or ocular"He said while painting "any other question?"
"Yes,what is perception?" Asked Mikey
"So the see thing is relationated with my eyes?" Asked Leo
"Correct!,but you said you cannot difference the colors or...maybe you can't see the colors"
Mikey gasped with fear "Thats horrible!! You can't see none of them?! The rainbow colors?! Red,orange,yellow,green,blue,purple or pink? or more? black or white?"
"Technically, black is the result of the absence of color or the complete absorption of visible light" said Donnie "You're not helping!" screamed Mikey "You neither!!"replied the spiny softshell
"Guys!! What's the problem? I made a lot of smoothies for all of us!" said Raph
"Raph...is is something wrong with me?"asked Leo with tears in his eyes "Why I can't see? Why is so important? I'm sick? i'm a weirdo? Am I a b-bad b-brother?" Asked covering his eyes
The other three brothers don't know what to say...but they know what to do...one by one they hugged him
"We don't know if you're sick" said Raph "We don't think this converts you in a weird"said Donnie "But we know that you're not a bad brother!" Exclaimed Mikey "did you remember when the lair had a blackout and we were so scared to the dark? You're not! You were very brave! and you hugged me all the time!"
"And you can smell when Splinter puts a wrong or spoiled ingredient better than us" said Raph "And maybe you're the worst to hidding after Raph,but you're the best seeking us" said Donnie
"...Thank you guys,that means a lot!,and maybe I can't see,but I can know how you are" then Leo proceeded to touch the face of each of his brothers"Raph, you're the strongest and big of us and you have a lot of thorns...Donnie,you have a big forehead,maybe that's why you're the smartest...and Mikey,your face is always full of fresh paint,I like it!"
"Je,thanks big bro!" Said the box turtle
Then the four turtles kept playing,this time making things that Leo could do.
Later,Splinter came back with a big bag in his back "Oh childrens~!! your father brings you something!"
"No way!! Did You stole Santa's magic coat?!" Asked Mikey very exciting
"What? No,no Mikey,steal is bad for you,anyway,come on here!" He said while opened the big coat with a lot of kids clothes
"Woahhh~!!!" Gasped Raph,Mikey and Donnie
"What?,what is?"asked Leo very exciting
Splinter just smiled and put on a beautiful blue t-shirt on he "Do You like it?"
Leo procced to touch it"Is...soft,and warm,like your clothes...I like it!! can I have more!?"
"Of course,it's enough for all"
"The big is perfect for me!"Said Raph,putting on a big red football shirt
Mikey took a lot of clothes,especially the orange clothes"Everything is awesome!! I can't decide-"
"The purple clothes it's mine!!" Said Donnie, putting on a purple sweater "Purple like atomic lass~"
"What color would you like,Leo?" Asked Splinter
"Dad! He can't choose, he's blind"
"Yeah,I knew Donatello,but you can help him to decide"
"Mmm~ it's very hard,there is a lot of colors"said Mikey "What's the color of My shirt?"asked Leo "Oh!, it's blue!"answered Donnie
"How is the blue color?"
"Is a great color! It's the sky color,the sea color...your eyes color!"said Mikey
"Really?!"
"Yes!! And your shell color too!" Said Donnie
"Then I want it!" Exclaimed Leo very happy
"...My sons,I think you can use all the colors,but maybe...this looks better in only each one of you" said Splinter,tying a mask to each of them"
That's how Slinter begun to differentiate them... unfortnunately,this made he forgot his real names a lot of times,but well,at least Leo has one thing more in common with his brothers.
...
I hope you like it,sorry for grammatical errors,english isn't my first language
Thanks to @simplyfornardo for help me with the errors
❤️💜💙🧡
Based on that post by @vclkyrxe
. . .
The pride Anakin constantly felt for his men was doubled with their latest victory and he swaggered down the hallways of the cruiser in an excellent mood.
The 501st had worked seamlessly alongside their brothers of the 212th, thriving under the joint leadership of Rex and Cody and making it out of their latest battle relatively unscathed, with minor injuries and zero fatalities. It was a tragically uncommon outcome.
Anakin congratulated the men he passed in the corridors, clasping shoulders and forearms, cherishing their smiles. Too often, they had so little to smile about. There were less and less troopers to greet as he neared the Jedi quarters; they had little need to venture down such hallways after all. Their absence saddened Anakin greatly, so used to their presence, wishing once again that he could be permitted to bunk with his men. The dog-piles of clones he often found himself in when resting mid-battle were surprisingly comfortable.
It wasn’t appropriate, however. Not for a Jedi.
Voices startled him, having expected that familiar, lonely silence, and curious at why it was broken.
“… more careful, general. Today could have gone much differently.”
It was Cody. Anakin knew the timbre of his voice. He must be debriefing with his general and, from what Anakin was overhearing, this particular debrief was more along the lines of a lecture. He smirked, leaned back against the wall outside his master’s room to listen to him get told off for once.
“You needn’t worry, Commander. I had it under control.”
“Sometimes I wonder if you know what that word means,” Cody huffed in reply to his general’s airy dismissal. “Fine. Don’t be careful. Just, keep in mind, someday I might not be there. I could get shot down mid battle and you may not notice for the duration—”
“Cody,” said Obi-Wan, quite firm, and Anakin recognised that tone: chiding, but ultimately so gentle. “I would feel your loss instantly.”
Anakin nodded, so enthused with agreement that he forgot briefly that he wasn’t a part of the conversation. The clones had a habit of downplaying their worth. They couldn’t be blamed, of course, having been created by those who believed they were expendable, but Anakin knew different. He knew that, if Rex should fall, he would feel it.
There was silence following Obi-Wan’s words but it broke now with Cody’s softened voice.
“It does not… invalidate my point, sir.”
“Cyar’ika,” Obi-Wan sighed and the word stuck in Anakin’s mind, knowing in his heart that it was important, feeling the weight and emotion behind it. “I hear you… and I will do my upmost to ease your anxiety.”
“That feels like a weak promise.”
“Well, I know if I tell you I’ll stop being reckless, you’ll just see right through me.”
Cody chuckled, completely genuine, untainted with bitterness or exasperation. It was such an unfamiliar sound. “I suppose it will do for now.”
There was a moment of silence. Anakin had to hold himself back from prying, from reaching out into the force to know what was happening in that room.
“I need to see to the men,” said Cody. “For some of them, a victory is just as hard as a defeat.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Of course, general.”
The door opened and Anakin almost tripped over himself, realising quickly that he would not get away in time and simply leaning back against the wall, resting his chin in his hand with as much feigned nonchalance as he could muster. His goal had been to not draw attention. When Cody exited the room, however, the commander looked right at him.
His helmet was tucked under one arm, his eyes widening a moment, just a fraction, in surprise, before he set himself a carefully neutral expression.
“General Skywalker,” he acknowledged, setting off down the corridor, and Anakin grimaced a smile through his fingers.
“Cody,” he said in reply, closing his eyes in self-frustration when the man was out of sight because he definitely knew Anakin had been eavesdropping.
He wasn’t the only one.
“Anakin.”
Slowly, he turned his head. His hand lowered from his mouth. “Hey…?”
“What are you doing out here?” Obi-Wan asked, looking slightly alarmed, though it may have been because his hair was slightly out of place.
“I was coming to change out of my armour,” said Anakin honestly, “and then, well, I wasn’t expecting Cody to be down here and it, y’know, caught me off guard for a minute.”
Obi-Wan had a thoroughly unconvinced expression on his face, but he said nothing to contradict his former apprentice. “Cody was debriefing me on the battle. The men did well; the Seventh Sky Corps were very effective… Although, he was unhappy with the way I handled myself towards the end.”
“You mean when you were free falling between gunships?”
Obi-Wan’s jaw shifted. “Yes, precisely.”
An uncertain silence stretched out and Anakin shifted his weight between his feet. “So,” said Anakin, hoping to ease his master’s obvious and uncharacteristic discomfort, “‘cyar’ika’…? Haven’t heard that one before.”
“Ah, yes,” replied Obi-Wan, aiming for nonchalant, but no less tense. “It’s a Mando’a word. A… term of endearment, I suppose, for someone I admire and respect very much. Cody—all the clones, in fact—they aren’t used to praise. It’s good for him to know that he is valued.”
Anakin nodded, eager to validate him. “Of course, Master. I agree.”
In Anakin’s mind at least, Obi-Wan wasn’t doing anything wrong. Anakin loved his men like brothers, valued each and every one of them and hoped he conveyed that as much as possible. He knew his master had qualms about attachment, but it was a difficult thing to avoid in war. Without their friends in the clones, they would be lost.
It seemed, however, that—despite his master’s disapproval of such things—he was making a special effort to relate to his men, using words of their heritage language to address them, to assure them they were important. The older clones were fluent in Mando’a and many made it their mission to pass that knowledge on to the younger generations, now that Jango Fett was no longer there to train them. They would rarely have full conversations, but Anakin heard them speak the language often, words and phrases in passing. It had become so natural that he hadn’t thought twice about it.
He was unfamiliar with this new word, however. Rex had never said that before. Anakin new the Kaminoans had not treated the clones well, but he saw Rex with his brothers—with their younger troopers especially—and he knew his captain had not taken much personality from his creators. He was good with the men. He was less willing to accept praise himself, however.
Anakin made a silent vow to change that.
. . .
Anakin spent the rest of the day honouring his vow, honouring his men left and right.
He did as he usually would, praising men in the corridors with “good work today”, and calling up to the clone mechanics atop the damaged gunships with “looking good”, and stopping by the infirmary with “rest up”. “Men” or “troops” would normally round off each encouraging call, but today he left them with “cyar’ika”. It earned him a lot of rapid blinking and confused smiles. Fives laughed aloud when he heard it.
“You too, sir!” he chortled when Anakin praised him in passing for a job well done, but he had always been boisterous. Jesse, walking beside him, stopped and stared, gaping a moment before Fives dragged him along.
Anakin knew the men must be accustomed to his praise by now, so he attributed their surprise to his newly learned term of affection and honour. He hadn’t spoken Mando’a before, it was true, and it clearly came as a surprise to his men. Anakin hoped they would become used to it. Each and every one of them deserved admiration.
“Captain,” Anakin greeted, settled in the debriefing chamber after an hour or so of practicing his new compliment, watching Rex enter, still fully armour-clad.
When the helmets were on, most clones preferred correct procedure and, as independently minded as Rex was, he was no different in that respect.
“Sir,” said Rex in return, lifted his hands to remove his helmet and it put Anakin at ease. “I spoke to the engineers. We only lost one gunship this time. The rest are repairable; some will need more time than others, but they’ll fly again.”
Anakin let him rattle on, listening patiently as his captain filled him in on battle time and potential changes. Rex was very much a man who believed his strategies could always be improved upon, no matter how much Anakin tried to praise him and his intelligence. It was just further proof of his humble, self-critical nature.
“Rex,” said Anakin, half interrupting his talk of rations and mentally kicking himself because he should have used that word. He would slip in in somewhere. “How are you? How are the men?”
“Very well, sir,” Rex replied with a small nod, not seeming surprised to be asked such a thing and that could only be good. “It’s not often we get out without losing anyone, so we’re all feeling very grateful. Worst injury out there are some second-degree burns. Kix is saying they’ll scar but won’t leave any lasting damage. We got lucky.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it. Your skill and tactical mind helped a lot of people today, cyar’ika. You should be proud.”
Rex didn’t brush off the praise as he usually would, and Anakin frowned as Rex stared, a slight flush to his cheeks.
“Sir,” he said eventually, cleared his throat, “if I may, where did you pick up that word?”
“Do the 501st not use Mando’a?” Anakin asked, worried now that Rex may have chosen to cut his Mandalorian ties and Anakin had just offended him. “I thought I heard you sometimes—”
“We—We do, sir. Many phrases are part of our daily… lingo, I suppose, but that…”
“Did I pronounce it wrong?”
“Sir… do you know what it means?”
It dawned on Anakin suddenly that it was an intimate thing to compliment someone in their own language. “Rex,” he said through an exhale, rising to his feet to take Rex’s shoulders. The captain’s flush deepened, keeping searching eyes on his general. “You deserve admiration. I know the Kaminoans taught you otherwise, but I make it a point not to listen to those who treat people like property… I know it’s a Mando’a word and I’m not a clone, so tell me if I’m overstepping, but I see us as brothers. I had hoped you felt the same.”
Rex gaped a moment, closing his mouth with a click. “Sir, I don’t think you know, so I’m just going to tell it to you straight. ‘Cyar’ika’ is a term of romantic endearment. Loosely translated it means ‘darling’ or… ‘sweetheart’.”
Anakin stared at him, slowly releasing his shoulders. The blushing was making sense now. “That can’t be right…”
“It’s what Fives calls his lovers… They seem to like it, I suppose, but—”
“That’s what Fives calls…?” Anakin echoed, trailing in disbelief because Fives’ response to being called Cyar’ika suddenly made a lot more sense now that he had that flirtatious context.
“What did you think it meant?”
“Well, I didn’t think that!” exclaimed Anakin, waving a hand because Rex’s lips were twitching in the beginnings of a grin. “Okay, no, there has to be some other context to it. Surely it can be used platonically.”
“It really can’t,” said Rex, tilted his head in interest. “Who taught you that word, sir?”
It clicked suddenly—properly this time—and Anakin exhaled in disbelief because there was no doubt in his mind that Obi-Wan knew the real meaning of that word. There was no question now that Obi-Wan had lied to him, or—at the very least—twisted the truth enough not to be honest at all.
“I made… an assumption,” said Anakin slowly, “and I was very mistaken.”
He wondered how deep his misunderstanding ran.
If it had reached a point where Obi-Wan was calling Cody by a name that could only be awarded to lovers, then the image he had created of his master in his mind must be very mistaken indeed.
Just one more for Sans rest day, @undertalethingems made a great list of drawing ideas and I really loved the one of him and Alphys going to a museum to nerd out so I drew them into my local museum
Prologue here: https://alienficsoutofspite.tumblr.com/post/677031338403151872/curses-cocoons-and-clones-prologue
Im aware this part is short but things are going to get busy for me soon and I’m trying to relax when I can so I’ll be slower with updates but in the meantime, please enjoy.
“Sirs…the floors are glowing.”
Hardcase who was supposed to scouting the building with Dogma while the others used the rain to rinse off all the muck off was poking at loose piece of wood. It was slightly hidden by a pillar in the back of the room. Rex barely contained a sigh. Ahsoka peeked at said lose floorboard and gently pried it open. “Wizard! It looks like a cave system.”
“Maybe the people who lived here used it as a means of escape.” General Kenobi suggested
“Or to hide spice.” Rex grumbled. He was NOT in the mood to find some weird cave that may or may not have something that they weren’t supposed to find. Suddenly he was glad that General Skywalker wasn’t here. He was currently on Coruscant spending time with his secret wife as the Chancellor summoned him for some meetings of some kind. Anakin Skywalker would have gone in went no plan and would probably need a rescue.
Unfortunately, Kenobi although more cautious was curious. With Ahsoka on the team Rex was sure they were going on an spontaneous adventure again.
“What do you think Commander Cody?” Asked Kenobi.
Rex prayed that he would say to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.
To Rex’s dismay, The commander took off his helmet and peered down “I think we should check it out in case the Separatists left something important.”
The cave system was thankfully not a maze but it certainly was a complicated one. Rex it reminded uncomfortably of the labs on Kamino. Some of the other vode must have the same thought as their shoulders were stiff like they were being watched by the trainers. The only source of light were these weird bulbs that grew on the stalactites of the cave.
Cody suddenly stopped in front of large opening. “Cody?” Rex was almost afraid to ask
He waved his hand “Sorry I thought…. Nevermind.” He hurried over to Kenobi. Rex and Fives exchanged looks. Even though the helmets they knew how to read a vode’s body language. Something was definitely wrong. Rex turned to the opening. “Want to check it out?” Asked Fives.
“Let’s see what this place is really about.” muttered Rex and walked further into the cave.
“There was more of the weird glowing eggs things in here.” Rex mused to himself. There was, with them growing thicker and bigger clusters. Rex’s eyes wandered to the centerpiece in the middle of the room. It was a small object on a pillar. It was round and porous with vines and flowers growing in the tiny holes. Fives reached his hand towards it-
“Wait!”
But it was too late a thick pollen erupted from the object covering the room in the stuff.
“Fives!”
“Uhhh…..sorry sir?”
Rex groaned it was bad enough being covered in mud.
Rex felt the beginnings of a headache “let’s just go back to the men.”
“Yes sir.”
Fives didn’t argue and as they slowly walked to the others Rex felt his headache worsening. By when he saw Commander Ahsoka and Cody he felt like his entire body was being crushed.
Cody shouted when Rex collapsed. Distantly he was aware of Fives doing the same. The last thing he saw was Ahsoka’s and Cody’s worried faces.
(Ben and Luke, Ahsoka, Rex, and Leia, Chrono)
Intensely on my mind right now: Rex’s weird role as just That Mando Kid Wandering The Temple in the Uncle Ben and Little Luke verse
He walks in on padawan strategy classes, looking all of ten or twelve years old, and just sits in the back. He waits. He audits. When someone complains about how they don’t need battlefield strategy classes, that they’re Jedi and there hasn’t been a war in so long, when the teacher is just exhaustedly explaining for the fifth time that Jedi are regularly called in to warzones, to negotiate ceasefires or extract Senate representatives, when the teacher tries to impress upon their students that reading a battlefield is important even if you don’t expect to lead a battle…
Rex just sets a dejarik board in front of the padawan, who’s twice his size and can tell that Rex is about as force-sensitive as a barely-more-than-null brick, and says, “If you can beat me, you can claim that you’re good enough at reading a battlefield to skip this class. If you can’t, you’re sticking around. Understand?”
The teacher didn’t agree to this ahead of time, but has seen Rex pull this on other people, including experienced knights and masters, and just. Gestures for them to go ahead. Fuck it! The weird Mando kid is capable of outmaneuvering highly-ranked masters, Force or no! Clearly he knows his shit!
Rex, seasoned battle commander that he is, with literal decades of training and experience, wins easily. The padawan is very upset. Rex doesn’t care, because in his mind, the padawan’s behavior was going to get brothers from Kamino killed fifteen years down the line.
And he just keeps on doing that, to the point where all the masters who run those kinds of classes on war and strategy and tactics just reach out to Ben like “Hey… is this kid legit or just hyperfocused on the subject or–” “He grew up in a military cult.” “…” “For reasons I cannot disclose, yes, he’s legitimately more experienced in this field than most field-ready Jedi masters. Just be glad the military cult in question wasn’t Kyr’tsad, honestly.”
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CC-5052 | Bly & CT-7567 | Rex Characters: CT-7567 | Rex, CC-5052 | Bly Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Kamino Is Terrible, bly is a good brother, rex is hurting, he misses his batchmates :( Summary:
Rex remembers one night back on Kamino when Bly was there.
Inspired by let the river in by saltsanford.
When everyone woke up they starting to process of packing and heading to the ship so they can leave this god forsaken planet.
Poor Rex and Fives ended up in the pockets of Cody after a long argument of how to transport them. Rex was grateful that they were in separate pockets. The jostling bumped caused him to hit his antenna which sent bursts of nausea and pain through his head.
The mud leftover from the rain wasn’t helpful to their travel. Many of the men slipped, much to their dismay. Ahsoka got one of her boots suck and had to walk the rest of the way with her boot filled with mud.
When they got to the city everyone was tired and hungry. The ship was in the heart of the city. The smell of food that floated in the air made Fives’s mouth water. In vaguely Fives could hear someone mentioned getting food for the rest of them and he agreed.
He was hungry, tired and sore. It was getting to the point the cotton that was left in Cody’s pocket for lighting fires was looking appetizing.
Fives reached out and picked a piece of the cotton. He was so hungry-
Rex finally noticed on what he was doing “Wh- Fives what are-“
Too late, he had eaten half the cotton piece that was in the pocket. Which is seriously impressive since it was bigger then his current size.
“Did-did you just eat half of the cotton”
“….no….”
“I’m calling Kix.”
Several hours later after checking Fives for potential food poisoning. Kix concluded that their diet had changed in the process of transforming and allowed him to finish eating some of the cotton with some moderation. The rest of the crew went to get some clean up. General Kenobi went to get some local food for the rest of them. Rex refused to try to eat the cotton and waited for the food to arrive despite the rumbling that Fives could hear.
The food, when the general came back was flavorful and full of spices. Fives even with the food he already ate chowed down. Rex ate even more with the rice and mild sauce being his favorite. Anakin folded up some bread and put some meat and rice just for them. Kix was careful to see what they had in case it upset their bodies just in case.
When the meal was almost finished, Kix and Jessie bickered over who gets the last piece of flatbread. Fives didn’t have the heart to tell them that Cody and Ahsoka was enjoying it watching them fight.
Fives and Rex where sitting on the edge of the table quietly watching the others. The size difference was….unnerving. Fives hoped that a night’s sleep would help before his emotions start get the better of him.
…………….
Hello!
Uhhhhhh happy mermay? I started this part along with Maelstrom last week cause I forgot it was going to be mermay on the day I planned to post. So I had more done with this rather then Maelstrom for mermay…. So here’s moth au instead!
Spoiler: This is an excerpt from Inheritance, a fic we have yet to release. ^-^
It’s probably been close to an hour by now though Anakin’s not exactly sure when he finally pulls himself up onto a higher platform of the building. Right up ahead, light glints off a familiar armored figure, who’s standing his back facing him.
“Rex?” Anakin calls cautiously, taking a step towards him.
Something about his presence just feels off. Almost… double maybe. And he can sense the Son right around here, but he doesn’t actually see him anywhere.
“Rex?” he calls again when the clone doesn’t respond, “Come on, let’s go.”
Finally, he slowly turns around. “We can’t,” he objects, “He’s right. Right about everything. You have to join him.”
That’s… totally unlike him. Both what he’s saying, and the way he’s saying it. What did the Son do to him? “Rex, what’s wrong?” Anakin asks warily.
“What’s wrong?” he repeats like that’s the stupidest question he’s ever heard, “What should I go back for? To fight in a war I have no say in? As a slave to the Jedi?” Anakin flinches back at the unexpected question. He’s not exactly wrong. That is all the clones are, slaves to the Jedi and the Republic. They have no say in any of it, and even if they didn’t want to fight, it wouldn’t matter. He tries to take care of his own clones as well as he can, but he knows other Jedi aren’t the same way.
But he needs to focus on the situation at hand right now, not… this. An issue that bothers him all the time even if he never talks about it to anyone. “This isn’t you, Rex. He did something to you.” That he knows for sure. Rex may have a point, but he would never say something like that in his right mind. It’s not the way he is. It’s like – like the Son is somehow controlling his mind, and Anakin clings to that hope, because he refuses to believe that the man who’s always had his back would turn on him like this.
“He did nothing to me,” the clone retorts, “He just asked me to give you a message.”
“What?” Anakin demands, cautious and suspicious.
“He said if you don’t join him, he will kill me.” What?! No, he’s never going to let that happen.
“I won’t let him!”
“Then you will do it yourself,” Rex snarls suddenly, whipping out his blasters and open firing. Only years of constant training allow him to react in time, diving out of the way as the shots tear into the ground around him. He hastily ignites his lightsaber, deflecting the shots away, trying to avoid sending any of them too close to Rex as he does so.
No, just no. He doesn’t want to fight him. He can’t fight him. He’s like – something almost like a brother. Anakin takes a few steps back as Rex keeps shooting at him, then jumps down from the ledge and continues advancing towards him. The only way he’ll be able to stop this is if he stops just defending himself and disarms Rex. Somehow, without hurting him.
“I don’t want to fight you, Rex,” he says, but the clone doesn’t even respond, just keeps firing.
Fine. He raises a hand, Force shoving Rex into the wall behind him and ripping away his blasters with the Force, him in place. The captain strains against the Force grip, but it doesn’t break. This doesn’t really solve the problem of how he’s going to free him from whatever the Son did to him.
He’s still pondering it when Obi-Wan runs into view, pulling out his lightsaber. “Any suggestions?”
“The Daughter said she might be able to do something to break the mind control, but she’s fighting the Son right now.”
Then what are they supposed to do?