Happy Bad Batch Day

hi guys imma start posting fics n original stories on tumblr

so i have a star wars x ninjago crossover, a bad batch fic, a pacific rim x star wars x ninjago fic, 2 unfinished original stories so yea

THE WAY HE SAYS HER NAME HES SO WORRIED FOR HER

"this is our chance."

THEY DIDNT

THEY CANT JUST

THEY CANT JUST CASUALLY BLOW UP THE MARAUDER

U CANT JUST DO THAT

AND CROSSHAIR CONCERNED DAD AND SAYING OMEGA’S NAME

AND OMEGA TRUSTING CROSSHAIR TO TRACK THE SHIP BUT HE COULDNT 😭😭😭

AND THE ASSASSIN SAYING “DOMICILE” CONFIRMS ITS TECH

TODAYS EPISODES HAVE DESTROYED MY SANITY

ITS SO CUTE AAAA

Ayo new bad batch reaction image just dropped

i genuinely cried at the ending and i dont know why

just seeing hunter aka my father figure growing old and omega leaving just

i dont wanna say goodbye

tbb got me through my parents divorce and through my suicidal thoughts

they were better friends to me than any of my real ones

they helped me transition to secondary school

they helped me find new friends

they inspired me to get my life back together

they inspired me to write stories and ive gotten into a writing program in sch because of it

they were the dads i never had

and i grew up with omega

to see the series end, to not see them again in new official content, its just breaking me

all i want is friends like them and to have a family like omega

thats all i want

i have mixed feelings about the finale tmr

im scared that someone in the batch will die

im excited cos FREE ZILLY

im sad cos the bad batch got me out of a depresso time in my life and now its ending

im happy cos its tbb

im not ready for tmr

Our Own Choices

Chapter 4

Separatist attack! After the destruction of the outpost on the Rishi moon, General Grievous and Asajj Ventress plan an attack on the planet Kamino, home of the cloning factories. Meanwhile, aboard a Jedi cruiser, Jedi knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi examine an intercepted message from General Grievous.

Rex comes into the barracks soon enough, and I'm showing Fives and Echo this new song on the holonet called "Toxic" from Boywithuke when Rex walks in. My helmet's sitting at the side, I trust Fives and Echo enough to not reveal my secret to the Kaminoans.

When Rex walks in, Fives and Echo stand at attention and I'm just leaning against the wall behind them.

"I'm guessing you have something to tell us?" I ask Rex.

"Mhm. Separatists are planning an attack on Kamino. We're going home."

And then Rex walks out of the room.

"Kamino?! This just got personal," Fives says, Echo agrees with him.

"I'm guessing I'm gonna be the only one out of you three looking at the bigger picture and not just personally," I roll my eyes. "As much as I hate that place, if it's destroyed, the production of more clones will be stopped, and we will definitely lose the war and all of us will die."

"Hey, you're not the only one looking at the bigger picture," Fives nudges me in the side.

Soon enough, we head out of the jedi cruiser with the other troopers, as usual I'm walking behind the rest, my helmet on.

So we take a stroll through Kamino, a place that I never wanted to go back to.

"Ah, look around Fives. Feels like yesterday we were here," Echo says as a group of younger clones pass us. "Heading to target practice."

"Heh, remember that?"

"Do I ever."

"Feels like yesterday I was here, heading to cleaning duty," I mutter under my breath.

And then in front of us I see 99, struggling with carrying a few guns, dropping a few on the floor. I run over and help him pick some up, he doesn't recognize me with the helmet on.

"Hey, 99!" Echo calls out.

Well, 99 can recognize them, but not me.

"Heh, you actually remembered us," Fives sounds slightly impressed.

"Oh, I remember all my brothers. Is Hevy here? Where's he?"

I don't even think he remembers me.

"Hevy's dead. Sacrificed himself on the Rishi outpost," I explain for Echo and Fives. I can talk about his death so casually now, I get over these kinds of things quite quickly.

"He saved our lives, but he gave up his own," Echo continues.

"Oh, uh, I see," 99 says, showing Echo and Fives some random medal thing that they probably got in the past.

"Hevy...gave you his medal?" Fives asks.

99 closes his eyes for a moment, before asking,"So, why have you returned to Kamino?"

"Wasn't my choice," I tell him. My helmet's still on, I can't take it off with all the Kaminoans and other troopers here.

"The Generals received word of an impending attack here," Fives explains.

"Well, how can I help?"

Fives and Echo give each other a look before nodding at each other, and they tell 99 the plan.

"So uh, 99, do you remember...me?" I ask.

"Not with your helmet on," 99 replies. "Why not you take it off? We're safe for now."

"Not safe for me. I have no interest in going back to cleaning duty."

"It's you...you're that female clone, aren't you? So...you're a soldier now?"

I nod. "Keep your voice down, we don't want others to hear that."

"Oh right, sorry," 99 whispers. "So are you gonna join those...yknow...group of different clones?"

"You mean the ipad kid, the one with dog shit for hair, the buff af one, and the old man?"

Fives and Echo hold in their laughter, but I can see it on their faces.

99 chuckles, "Yea, you ever thought about maybe joining them?"

I think for a moment, and as I'm about to reply, the lighting turns red, signaling an attack. I see other troopers running to the front, and Fives and Echo are called in by the commander, and I follow them.

We reach the dude that sent for Fives and Echo. 

"Sir, you sent for us?"

"It's a dangerous assignment, but I want you two up on the bridge in sniper positions."

"Yes sir, we're on it."

And then as Fives and Echo head up to the bridge, the dude stops me before I can run off with them. 

"Aren't you a bit young to be fighting?" he asks. "Get in there with the others."

"With all due respect sir, I can handle myself," I say. "Besides, someone's gotta cover Fives and Echo." Without waiting for a response, I run off to the bridge.

I can hear the blaster fire already starting, I don't look back, I just keep running.

I reach Fives and Echo, where they're dealing with some of the droids already. I narrowly miss a blaster bolt to the face, and take cover next to them.

"There's gotta be a better defensive position than this, this place is shitty to snipe from," I say as I start shooting at the droids down below.

I see 99 coming up behind us. "I...I brought you some ammo," he says, dropping the bag on his shoulder.

"Is there a better spot than this, a better defensive position we can take?" Fives asks.

"Droids! Behind us!" Echo shouts, and Fives pushes 99 to the ground to let him take cover.

I notice that there are grenades in the bag that 99 was carrying, which is now lying on the ground, so I take one of them from the bag and throw it at the droids.

The grenade explodes on contact, knocking all the droids down. 

"There's more," 99 says, pointing at where the smoke is clearing.

Echo, Fives and I point our blasters at that area, until I see some kids walking out. They look like 12 year olds, 2 years younger than me.

"Cadets, what're you doing here?" Echo asks.

"We got separated from our group," one of the kids says.

"Where were they taking you?"

"The barracks."

"Oh, I know the best way there," 99 says, and we all follow him as he half-runs to the barracks.

We reach the barracks and the kids sit down on the beds.

"What are we gonna do?" one of them asks.

Fives and Echo look down at the floor.

"A separatist victory means...death...for all of us," 99 says.

"Oh hell nah I have no interest in dying today," I lean against a wall.

"The cadet is right. What are we gonna do?" 99 asks.

"We fight."

I look to the side, and see commander Cody and Rex taking off their helmets.

"Ayyy Rex, what took you so long?" I ask when I see him. Rex rolls his eyes. 

The cadets stand up. "But our training's not finished."

Fives steps forward. "Look around. We're one and the same. Same heart, same blood. Your training is in your blood. And my blood's boiling for a fight."

"That's one of the most useful things you've said today," I nudge Fives in the side.

"This is our home. This is our war," Echo says.

"What about weapons?" one of the cadets asks.

"The armory," 99 suggests. "It's just a few corridors away, here in the barracks. I can retrieve all the firepower we need. So who wants to blast some droids?"

Rex, Cody, Fives, Echo and I give a downwards nod of respect to 99 and Rex, Cody and I head to the armory with 99.

"Here it is, everything we need is here," 99 says, he's panting a bit. 

Rex and Cody get some weapons and I get a few pistols, a few grenades, and just stuff them on my belt, running out of the room and passing a few to the cadets.

"What about you?" one of them asks as I hand them my second last pistol.

"I only need 1 pistol."

I hear one of the droids shooting at the door to the barracks, and as the door opens, we start shooting at them through the door. As the droids advance, we back up, finding whatever cover we can get behind boxes or the beds.

I hear some blaster bolts whizz past my shoulder, and I take cover with Fives and Echo, shooting at the droids. As they advance, we continue backing up, taking some more cover behind the boxes. Rex throws a grenade at the droids, which misses, and I can feel the force of the explosion from here.

"Cadets, now!" Rex shouts into the comlink and the cadets start shooting at the droids from the high ground where they were initially hidden from view. They manage to knock down quite a few droids, making it much easier.

Cody throws another grenade at the droids, and as the smoke clears, more droids start coming in.

I hear 99 get shot, and he's tryna make his way to the armory. I run towards the droids, strafing so that I avoid blaster fire, and I try to slice up the droids as fast as I can with my sword, and when Fives and Echo help me shoot down the last one, I look back and I see 99's body on the floor. It feels like someone tightened their grip on my stomach, and I run to 99, kneeling beside him as Echo holds him in his arms.

"We..." Cody sighs. "Lost a true soldier."

"He really was one of us."

I bite my lip under my helmet, I can feel the tears coming but I don't let them flow, so I just walk away and sit on one of the beds, looking away, softly singing under my helmet to distract myself from 99's body. ("Toxic" from Boywithuke my new fav song lmao)

Later, all of us start walking out to the outdoor platform, the battle has ended. I'm leaning against a wall, watching Echo and Fives do their thing. I still have the grenades clipped to my belt, I'm throwing my knife up in the air and catching it, just like I always do.

I see Rex motioning for me to come over with Echo and Fives, and we all stand at attention (I'm just following what Echo and Fives are doing, just because I have no idea what I'm supposed to do)

"You all really stepped up in the heat of battle," Cody says.

"We did what we had to do, sir," Echo says.

"What any clone would've done," Fives continues.

"All of you showed valor out there. Real courage. Reminds me of me, actually," Rex says.

"Don't flatter yourself, we all already know," I smirk under my helmet, Rex chuckles a bit, looking at me.

"Echo, Fives, Aris, you're officially being made ARC troopers," Cody says. Echo looks at Fives, and we're all kind of a bit in shock.

"I don't think the Separatists will be coming back anytime soon," Rex says. "But if they do, Kamino will be lucky to have clones like you defending it. Good job, men."

Rex and Cody salute and Fives and Echo does the same, so I just follow them.

As I walk away with Rex, he pats me on the back. "Good job ad'ika."

"Rex, I don't wanna be an ARC trooper," I say quietly.

"Why not?" Rex looks confused.

"Too many expectations. I'm not like Fives or Echo. I'm just a kid. And besides, I don't deserve this, 99 does."

"Kid, 99's-"

"Dead, yea I know, and I've accepted that, just don't make me an ARC trooper, okay?"

Rex sighs. "Okay, ad'ika."

I nod at him. "Thanks dad."

Rex chuckles a bit.

"Okay fine, you can call me that."

Sharpshooter - Only the Strongest will Survive

Chapter 10

Word count: 2.2k

Warnings: Violence, death, blood, profanity, injuries

The howl of an animal wakes me from my light sleep. They're out again. It takes me a few moments to gain my bearings, but my hand stuffs the middle parting of the golden hairpin into my belt automatically. The metal has gone dull from blood and acid rain. 

I take a drink from one of the water packets and a bite out of my half-eaten ration bar. My stomach growls in protest, wanting more. I'm eating even less that I usually did back in North America, and for a short time, in the city. We usually had some dead fish or something from scavenging to eat besides those ration bars. 

I look out from the mouth of the cave, my cybernetic eye scanning the area. There's no clouds today. That's new. The past few days have been plagued with storms. Acid rain had been spilling into my cave non-stop. Yesterday, I woke up in knee-deep water and had to clear it out with my bare hands.

Occasionally, I hear the faint sound of an explosion going off. Poor kids. Dying to a mine. So much more dishonarable than dying in real combat. 

I haven't seen any animals since I found one of its bodies right outside my cave. Right before you killed an innocent, injured boy. I haven't encountered anyone either. I've spent days alone in my cave, plotting out my next move.

The sniper is too heavy for me to use like a pistol. The only thing it's good for in my hands is smashing people's faces in. "So uncivilized," Mayday would say. I chuckle to myself at the thought. I hope he's still alive. Focus.

I'm running low on water packets too. Dehydration's a bitch, so if I don't get more water, I'll probably die. Can't have that. I found the sniper, ration bars and water packets buried in the ground. I don't know how I'll find more, considering the only way I found them was seeing the butt of the sniper stick out from the ground. 

If I encounter a person without a gun, I'll just tackle them and stab them in the neck with my hairpin. As usual. If the person has a gun, I'm fucked. Usually I'd say it's not worth the risk, but I'd rather go out fighting than of dehydration. 

After pacing the perimeter of my cave, I head back inside, taking the golden hairpin out from my belt. Running my finger across its dull surface, I notice that some of the outer layer of gold has peeled off, revealing a shiny silver underneath.

So this isn't real gold, huh. What a scam.

It doesn't seem like there are any animals near my cave. For now. They're only out hunting for what I assume are a few hours every day. When the howls stop, they're gone. That's my chance to get more supplies.

I can't see the green lights tonight. It's probably too cloudy. That also means there might be a storm coming. I won't have much time if I have to wait out the animals.

Soon, the silence returns, no longer punctuated by the sounds of feral animals. I wonder how many victims they claimed tonight. The more, the better. "Until a hundred million remain," the man in the suit said. The faster they die, the faster this nightmare ends.

Now's my time to find more supplies. I head out of my cave, hairpin clutched tightly in my hand. If I'm out looking for supplies and in the open, I can't bring my sniper. It's too heavy and bulky to drag along, so I leave the barrel sticking out of the mouth of the cave as a marker. 

The sky is brighter today. The almost blinding lights of the city probably contribute to that. The clouds almost seem like they're lit up. Visibility is good. There's no better time to go.

Walking down the slope of the base of the mountain where my cave is, I look around, trying to find any trace of water packets or ration bars in the ground. I tread carefully, making sure to avoid the little bumps in the gravel that are probably mines. 

I also make sure to avoid the bodies scattered across the ground. Seeing them from my cave was no big deal, but up close...oops. Accidentally stepped on the body of a toddler. The crack of its bones shattering under my weight echoes through the night. 

Shit shit shit everyone's gonna know I'm out here. I have to make this quick.

The scent of rotting flesh, blood and gunpowder fills my senses, and I resist the urge to throw up as I continue my careful dance across the gravel plane. Some areas in the ground have been dug up, leaving holes in the gravel. There were probably supplies or weapons there that people dug up. 

How am I supposed to find anything?

All I can do is keep walking and cling onto the hope that there are still some supplies that no one has dug up yet. Occasionally, I hear the sound of gravel crunching. I immediately switch my cybernetic eye settings to show heat signatures, but whoever's there is fast. 

It feels like my heart is in my throat. Someone's there. They might be following me. They probably want to kill me. But why follow in the darkness? Unless they want to strike at just the right moment...My hand tightens around the hairpin. I can't afford to let my guard down. My steps are barely audible without the heavy ass sniper on my back. 

Are there even any supplies left?

I keep walking on, clinging to the sliver of hope that there will somehow be rations left. Even with my guard up, my mind still drifts to Mayday. I don't even know if he's alive. 

Don't be silly. Of course he's alive.

But what if he isn't? What if he's one of these bodies on the ground? What if he's bleeding out somewhere from the wound on his head and I can't help him? What if-

Shut up. Focus.

I walk on in the same direction for what seems like eternity. Every step I take, I brace myself for an explosion beneath my feet and the excruciating pain that will probably come along with it. The sound of footsteps fades in and out, but they never get close enough for me to draw my hairpin.

Suddenly, a mine goes off right behind me, throwing me face-first to the ground. My heart leaps into my throat as I cover my head. My ears feel like they're burning. A high pitched ringing fills my senses, making my head hurt.

I look down and notice a bump in the gravel right under my chest. My eyes widen as my body tenses up. A mine. I curl up into a ball, bracing myself for the impact of the explosion.

I'm going to die. I'm sorry daddy, mummy, ah kong, ah ma...Mayday...

But nothing happens. After a few moments, I uncurl from my little ball and look around, confused. I should be dead. I should be like the others, just body parts scattered on the ground. I stepped on a mine, didn't I? Unless...

I kneel onto the ground and start digging around the bump in the gravel. My knees are scraped from the fall, the tiny rocks on the ground digging into the raw flesh, but I can't be bothered to care about that right now. I keep digging, my fingertips getting red and raw, until my hand finds what feels like fabric. I pull it out, before opening it and looking inside. 

There's what looks like 4 ration bars, a few big packs of water, and a bottle of something I can't quite recognise. I'll see what it is when I get back to my cave, when I'm not out in the open. I grab the bag, slinging it over my shoulder, before turning around and walking in what I hope is the direction of my cave. 

That mine that went off next to me...there was someone there. I can see what remains of their severed body, fresh blood spilling out and staining the gravel. I try to ignore the way it seeps into my boots, making them squelch with every step I take. 

That's not good. Enemies will be able to hear me. 

But I can't run either. Too much noise. All I can do is keep walking and pray that no one comes for me.  I can feel my heart pounding in my throat. My hand instinctively reaches for the hairpin on my belt. The cool metal against my fingers feels strangely comforting.

I can still see my footprints in the gravel from my journey. I take care to follow them as accurately as possible, not wanting to set off any mines right after I got some supplies. 

The way back is much faster than the walk to get the bag. I can just about make out the mouth of my cave from here, without having my cybernetic eye zoom in. Maybe I will make it back. 

Then I hear footsteps behind me. I whip around, fists raised to protect my face, hairpin clutched tightly in one. A sharp pain shoots through my the back of my palm and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying out in pain. Warm liquid trickles down my forearm. Blood.

A large mass suddenly pounces onto me, pinning me to the ground with its weight. I put my hands out, trying to push it off, but to no avail. The knife in my attacker's hand hovers dangerously close to my neck, only held off by my hand grabbing its wrist.

I can barely breathe. The weight is suffocating, and the hand trying to drive the knife into my neck is persistent. My arm burns from the effort of holding it off. My other hand, sandwiched between our bodies, slips out and drives the hairpin into my attacker's neck.

Or at least, that's what I try to do. The hairpin won't go in. It isn't sharp enough anymore. Panic shoots through me as my arm feels like it's about to give way.

No. No! I can't die here. I can't! 

My attacker now grabs my hand that's holding the hairpin, twisting and forcing it to drop my weapon. The hairpin falls to the gravel with a "crunch". No no no no NO NO. I squirm around under the weight of the enemy, panic flooding my senses. I can't breathe.

But I'm not going down without a fight. I twist the wrist of the enemy, forcing the hand to drop the knife. I grab it by the blade, quickly shifting my grip down to the handle, before driving it into their neck. 

A scream of pain barely escapes the person before I clamp their mouth shut with my hand, pulling the knife out and driving it back into their neck for good measure. Warm, crimson liquid soaks my hands, some of it spurting out of the dead body. I take the knife with me but leave the hairpin, quickly fleeing before any more enemies come for me. 

Panicked thoughts fill the silence of the night. The hairpin wasn't sharp enough. The acid rain dulled it too much. I'll have to use the knife now. But what if that dulls too? I can't keep relying on melee or I'll die. Getting up close and personal is too much of a risk anyways, you saw what just happened. 

As the adrenaline from the fight fades, my legs start to feel heavier and heavier. Each step takes more effort than the last. There's a dull ache on my right palm, where I grabbed the blade of the knife. I'll deal with that later. All I have to do is just get back to my cave. To safety.

The way back is calm. No more fights, not even the howls of animals yet. I reach my cave and stumble to my favourite corner, the one with the thickest layer of gravel and a smooth rock for a pillow. 

Lowering myself down onto the bed of gravel,I set my bag down, opening it up and laying out my supplies, my hands staining the fabric with blood. 

Now that I can afford to read what's on the unfamiliar bottle, I can just make out the words "healing paste" on it. Perfect for the wounds on my hands, which are still slowly dripping thick, red liquid. 

I open the bottle, scooping out some of the paste onto my fingers and applying it to the gashes. I let out a soft sigh of relief, the cooling paste soothing the aches. 

Can't use too much of this. Have to save it for future wounds.

I turn my head to look at the sniper that had been waiting patiently for my return all this time. I almost feel bad for leaving it behind.

Heh. Look at you. Feeling something for a fucking gun.

Of course I feel bad for leaving it behind. The fight would've been much easier with it. Maybe there wouldn't have been a fight at all if I had just shot the enemy from a distance. Maybe the sniper is worth more than just a sledgehammer to smash people's faces in.

I lay my head on the hard, smooth rock that I now call my pillow, trying to get comfortable. I'll figure things out in the morning. For now, I need to rest.

Our Own Choices

Chapter 10

The Bad Batch found an entrance to the city, and contacted General Skywalker, me and Rex. It's really windy up here, it's a good thing I'm wearing a helmet because I think there's sand in the wind. General Skywalker doesn't look very happy, of course he isn't. Sand's coarse, rough, irritating, and it gets everywhere, just like Crosshair. At least, when I finally get a chance to stab him. I kinda wanna rip his guts out while he's still alive, no one talks shit about Echo and makes it through the night.

"We're in business, General. Tech regained Echo's signal," Hunter says as we reach them. "It's coming from this tower. How's it going Tech?"

Tech doesn't reply, he's busy hacking the door, and in a few moments, the door opens.

"Sorry it took so long."

Shut up and stop flexing.

"Hey Crosshair, go and check it out," Hunter says and Crosshair walks into the place. 

"Yea, it's a lift."

No need to state the obvious.

"Well we already knew that," Tech says as we all walk in.

"Wait wait wait, a lift?" I hear Wrecker's sounding a bit scared. "How far up are we going?"

"Don't worry Wrecker, I'll hold your hand," Hunter replies, receiving a shoulder knock from Wrecker. "Hey cut it out Sarge. Just gimme some droids to crush."

The lift door closes and we ascend.

"Remember, this is a stealth mission. No blasting, no blowing things up. Nobody knows we're here," General Skywalker says and the doors open, revealing a bunch of droids, and the batch and I run in, blasting the remaining droids that Wrecker hasn't destroyed or thrown off the building.

Hunter and Crosshair take out the ones near the edge, while Tech and I take out the ones guarding the hallway. I manage to get 3 of them with my sword as Tech rolls and takes cover behind the crates. 

Some more droids come out from the hallway and Wrecker starts taking care of them, running over to the 2 droids at my place, but I take them out with a shot to the head in one and I throw my knife at the other, hitting it square in the head.

Once they all get taken out, Wrecker starts shouting "YEAHHHH" like he just won a battle royale solo in the legendary rank in Call of Duty.

Shit don't think about that. Anyways, cringe.

I cringe slightly and all of us stare at Wrecker with that "tf bro" look under our helmets.

"Uh sorry. I just got excited," he says, walking over to us.

"I've still got a lock on Echo's signal," Tech says.

"Alright men, let's hunt some droids," Hunter says and we walk into the hallway. We walk for about a minute before we reach a door, Hunter's the first to look out, and then signals to Rex, and they go out and blast the droids. The rest of us walk out.

"Where exactly is Echo's signal coming from?" General Skywalker asks.

"Strange. I just lost the signal," Tech says as Rex takes off his helmet.

"What? How can that be? There's no 'atmospheric disturbances' up here."

"Well, I have a new theory. I'm surprised I did not consider it earlier." Tech sounds like an AI. "The signal is only traceable during data transmissions. So until Echo dispenses more intel, I cannot pick up the signal."

"Okay, we're splitting up," General Skywalker says. "Search every door. If someone finds Echo, contact the others. We go in together, just in case there's trouble."

So Crosshair and I follow General Skywalker while the others follow Rex, running off in the other direction. I'm only following them because maybe I'll get the chance to rip Crosshair's eye out. 

General Skywalker takes one door, Crosshair takes another, and I take the furthest one, walking into the dimly-lit corridor, full of crates. 

"Echo?" I call out, and there's a slight echo throughout the room. No pun intended. There's no reply, so I turn my heat visor on, and I don't see anything, so I head out and check on General Skywalker, Crosshair is there as well.

A droid is just about to hump/blast General Skywalker and Crosshair fires a shot at the same time I throw my knife at the droid. The knife hits the droid's head and the shot hits the body of the droid. 

General Skywalker whips around, lightsaber ignited, as Crosshair lowers his rifle. General Skywalker picks up my knife from the droid's head, throwing it back at me over Crosshair's shoulder, and retracts his lightsaber. I catch the knife by the handle and sheath it back into my wrist compartment.

"Nice throw," General Skywalker says as we walk out.

"Nice shot," I say to Crosshair, and he gives me that downwards nod of respect.

HELL YEA

We head to where the others are, General Skywalker leading the way. We see a bunch of droids surrounding them, and General Skywalker force pushes some of the droids out of the way, slicing them in half with his lightsaber. I run ahead and steal some kills from Hunter with my sword, pistol in the other hand. 

Crosshair shoots from behind, and then doing that Call of Duty slide, shooting 2 more droids in the process and hitting one with his rifle before shooting it.

General Skywalker finishes up the last droid, and then there's a moment of silence and we all look around, before more droids come from the hallway, blasting at us. I duck as a blaster bolt whizzes over my head, going to take cover where Hunter, Rex and Tech are at.

"GUYS SHOULDN'T WE LIKE OPEN THAT DOOR OR SMTH," I shout as I blast a few droids that are coming from the opposite hallway.

"Tech, open that door for Rex!" General Skywalker commands, and Tech gets to work. Rex and I run to the door as it opens and we find ourselves in a room lit by yellow floor lamps, electricity crackling at some pillars, and there's a control panel below what looks like one of those escape pods.

"This doesn't look good," I comment as Tech goes to press some buttons on the control panel, which causes some white gas to come out of the pod. "I'm definitely picking up a life-form in there," Tech says as he presses more buttons. "It seems to be a stasis chamber. I think I can get it open." 

And then when the stasis chamber opens, a bunch of white gas flows out, followed by what I can barely recognize as Echo, connected to the thing by wires, hanging out, his eyes lifeless. He looks almost droidlike, with all the machinery connected to him. I can almost hear him transmitting "CT-1409", and I resist the urge to back away, creeped out by Echo's dead-looking eyes.

"Echo," Rex says, before standing on the control panel and disconnecting a wire from Echo's legs, and carrying him, setting him down on the ground. I now have a clear view of him, his right arm has become a prosthetic one, it looks like the machinery that the droids use to open doors in the republic ships. 

"Tech, we gotta get him outta here," Rex says. "Figure out how to unplug him from...from this mess."

We both take off our helmets and look down at Echo. His skin is really pale, and I can see Rex's horrified expression, while I keep a neutral one, I'll deal with it when I'm alone. "What have they done to you?" Rex sounds like he just lost a battle royale solo when he was one of the last 2 guys remaining and got sniped.

"We-we have to get to the shuttle to escape the Citadel...no...I'll go first..." Echo's voice is weak, and Rex puts a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down, and I do the same. "Echo-"

"No...no...no..."

"Echo, it's Rex. I'm here," Rex says, and Echo's shaking slightly, breathing heavily. I know how it feels like. The choking feeling as memories of injuries are recounted. 

"Rex? You-you came back for me," Echo says, grabbing Rex's arm. I kneel down next to his side.

Of course we did. We don't leave our own behind. 

"Yes, yes I did," Rex replies, a concerned expression on his face, staring down at Echo. 

"What-what happened? Where am I?" 

"It's okay Echo. You're safe now," Rex says, holding Echo's arm reassuringly. "Just sit tight, trooper. You're going home."

He motions for Tech to come over and try to help disconnect Echo, and my hand's still on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

You're gonna be okay, Echo. You're gonna be okay.

Into the Dark

Chapter 1: Frontlines

(unfinished story btw i abandoned it a while ago)

Word count: 1.2k

Warnings: Violence, war, death

I see the enemy mechs take formation in front of me. Everything is crystal clear from my cockpit, and I can feel the adrenaline rush. That's what I love about this war.

In my own mech, I charge towards the formation, breaking through them as I slice at two with my double swords. I activate my thrusters to stop mid-air, turning around and raising the shield that was on my back a few moments ago to block the bullets that the enemy mechs just fired at me.

And now it's time for me to bring my own guns out. The laser gatling guns come out from under my mech's arms, and I command them to fire. The lasers pierce another one of the cockpits of the mechs, and it falls limp onto the battle raging far below.

Suddenly, one of the mechs rams into me from behind, the alarms in my mech blare as I spin in the air. I try to shake the mech off, but it's grip on me is too strong. We're spiralling to the ground, further and further away from the Rip where more mechs are coming.

I see the ground below. Blaster shots everywhere, the only difference between ours and the enemies' is the colour. I max out my thrusters, getting myself back upright and peeling the mech off me and flying upwards. The enemy mech follows.

We're almost going at the same speed, ascending rapidly. I get my sword out, abruptly stopping. The enemy mech following me crashes into me again, but this time I have the advantage and stab it in the cockpit. The mech's lights go out, and its body goes limp, falling back down.

I look up at the bunch of mechs coming through, and smirk. More victims for me.

Before they can get into formation, I charge at one of them, slicing it in half before it can react, activating my gatling guns and firing at the enemy mechs before they can fire at me.

Some of the enemy mechs remain unmoving. I can almost sense the fear in them. They've heard about me before. Stories about how I defeated entire legions of enemy mechs. Stories about the Demon of The Other Realm.

I dip down as they start firing at me, and I block some of the enemy fire with my shield. It's about to break. It hasn't handled this much fire in a while. My mech shows me the one that's firing the most, and I fly, shield still up, into the enemy mech, crushing its thrusters with one arm, hurling it down onto the battlefield.

No more mechs are coming through the Rip, and I only have about 10 more to go. I ascend further up really near the Rip, and use the cover of the clouds to hide, activating my guns again and shooting down below. My mech shows me the targets, and all I need to do is fire.

And soon enough, only one mech remains. I want to take this one out in the coolest way possible. The pilot should feel honoured.

I go out of the cloud cover, seeing the final mech. I fly above it as it fires at me, flying straight downwards as I pass by it.

It's too late by the time it turns around, its thrusters are already destroyed from my shots. And it falls.

I grab it by the torso and speed downwards. I can't sense the fear in the pilot of this mech, only the feeling you get when you know you're about to die and you've accepted it.

I hear a timer ticking. I already know it's a bomb. I've heard too many of them. And suddenly, the mech grips onto me as we get closer to the ground, and it doesn't wanna let go.

I wrench one of my arms out from its grip, and get my shield. I activate my thrusters as we hit the ground, slowing our landing.

The next thing I see is flames as I raise my shield. The force knocks me backwards, and I flip before landing on my feet, driving my sword into the ground to slow myself to a stop.

I'm in the middle of a battlefield now. Enemy troops try to penetrate my armour with their blasters, firing at my cockpit.

I gotta get out of here fast. And anyways, I think the boys down below are having fun.

I activate my thrusters again and fly back to base.

The fights are getting easier and easier. They're running out of mechs and pilots. They're focusing more on the ground combat.

I remember my days on the ground as I step out of my cockpit and I flex my metal arm.

Flashback

The sounds of blaster fire echo through the battlefield as I take cover. A grenade lands right next to me and my group. I jump out just in time as the grenade explodes. The others aren't so lucky.

I see soldiers being struck down by fireballs, burning at the torso or the head. I feel the ground shaking, and suddenly I get launched into the air by an unknown force, as if the earth itself was trying to kill me.

I land on my back, pain shooting up my torso and I resist the urge to scream. Show no weakness. My vision is blurry.

The tide turns, and not in our favour. The fire strikes down so many soldiers. I inch back, dropping my blaster. I can't stand.

I find some cover in one of the wrecked enemy mechs. I curl up into a ball as the sounds of blaster fire grow louder.

Soon, it all stops. I crawl out from the wreckage, and bodies are strewn all over the ground. I try to stand up, but my legs feel like jelly, and I fall to the ground again. I still can't see clearly.

I see a figure standing over me, holding a blaster and a lightsaber clipped to its belt. I can see that its hair is black, just reaching its shoulders, and in its hand is a ball with a red light blinking.

I recognize the sound of the beeping of the ball in its hands. It's a grenade. And the figure drops it before running away.

I crawl away as fast as I can, but it's not fast enough. The beeping sounds get to the part where it's so fast that it almost flatlines.

I block my head with one of my arms as it explodes.

Flashback ends

Blown clean off my shoulder. I move my fingers of my metal arm around, hearing the clink of metal against metal.

That was what drove me to fight. But not as a ground soldier anymore. I was going to be a part of the elites, having the privilege of flying in a mech. And I did get it.

I have nightmares of the explosion sometimes, when I still had a flesh-and-blood arm. But I brush it off quickly. Show no weakness.

I walk over to the commander's office to report in.

"When's the next battle," I ask, slumping onto the chair, one leg on the armrest.

"Already? No rest for the Demon of The Other Realm," he smirks. I hate that title. They found me in the Rip. They knew I wasn't from their realm, and I did too. That title is only a reminder of it.

"Yes commander. No rest for the Demon of The Other Realm."