SWTCW Oneshots (Mainly Clones) part 2

Drowning

"You're doing great, AZI!"

They had just managed to escape the ruins of Kamino in the available medical capsules that they had found. Omega, who was traveling on her own, found herself being pushed up by AZI.

The droid looked at her, then suddenly turned and looked up. Pieces of debris slammed into her capsule, pushing her down and down..back toward the ocean floor.

"Omega!" AZI cried.

Her heart sank, and she found herself terrified as she banged on the glass. "AZI!"

The droid was racing toward her, but his battery reserves were beginning to deplete. His lit-up eyes began to flicker just as he reached her.

"AZI, help!"

Slowly, he began to cut through, but before he could free her, his eyes flickered. She knew what this meant.

"No! Hang on a little longer!"

But everything came to a terrifying halt as AZI's eyes darkened. And he began to sink toward the bottom as she did.

"Omega! What's happening?" Hunter called, panicked, through her comm.

"H-Hunter! I—I need help! I'm trapped between some debris. AZI's batteries depleted!"

A panicked breath. "Don't worry, Omega. I'm coming for you!"

But it was too deep for him to do in one breath.

There was a dull thud as the capsule hit the ocean floor. Omega could only lay there, shaking and breathing heavily.

She couldn't die here.

She didn't want to die.

....

"I can't see her!" Echo said.

"Chances are, she has reached the ocean floor by now," Tech chipped in.

That wasn't comforting.

Hunter shook his head. "She's down there alone. I'm going after her."

"You can't swim that far in one breath, Hunter!" Echo told him. "You'll die!"

"It doesn't matter," He pulled off his backpack. "I won't let her die down there by herself."

But before he could haul himself over the edge of the capsule, Crosshair was shoving him back.

"What are you doing?"

The sniper gave him a look, then inhaled deeply and jumped into the water.

"Crosshair!"

....

Omega was finding it more difficult to breathe as time went on. It was definitely better than having her lungs fill with water, but it was still terrifying.

She was gonna die.

She was gonna die.

No one would be able to save her. She was stuck down here.

Her eyes drifted along the wreckage she could see. Her home was gone, left here to rot and decay at the bottom of the planet's endless ocean.

And she would die with it.

After she left Kamino, it was more of a bad memory to her. But she made good ones too. Now all of those memories were gone.

Something banged on the capsule glass and she turned. Something in her heart seemed to light up, but then quickly darkened again.

"Crosshair?"

He was actually trying to save her.

At the cost of his own life.

He tried to lift the metal off of her capsule, but there was no success. He was running out of air. She could tell. She pounded on the glass.

"Crosshair! You need to go back up. You're gonna die!"

He looked at her, then pointed at the button that would open the capsule doors.

She looked at him and he quickly noticed.

Better than nothing.

Omega took in the largest inhale she could manage and opened the capsule. Water filled it immediately and Crosshair grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.

She kicked with all her might, still looking at Crosshair in worry. He was holding her close and kicking hard himself. It was the most display of affection she's ever seen him give.

His eyes fluttered. But she kept pushing him.

He glanced at her, and she actually saw him smile. Apparently what she said earlier had managed to break something in him.

Then, he let go. He pushed her above him and helped propel her forward just as he started to slow. The surface was in sight.

Her eyes widened as she tugged on him. But she couldn't breathe either. He grabbed her hand, squeezed, and let go, letting himself sink as she struggled to make it to the surface.

But she looked back down. His eyes slid closed and his jaw went slack. She wanted to scream.

One she breached the surface, she gasped, coughing and sputtering as Hunter pulled her up and into his arms, cradling her.

"Oh force, you scared the hell out of me," He touched her face. "Are you okay?"

She sobbed. "Crosshair!"

His eyes widened as he looked down into the empty water. Their brother was nowhere in sight.

Echo, Tech, and Wrecker all looked down as well.

"We—We gotta get him!" Wrecker yelled.

"Wrecker, none of us have the capability of holding our breath for that long. Crosshair has already likely succumbed to the lack of oxygen," Tech reasoned. Something in his voice sounded sad.

Echo lowered his head.

"He saved me.." Omega whispered. "H-He saved me. He didn't deserve to die. I-I know he did a lot of terrible things to us but he—"

Hunter held her close, running a hand through her hair as tears stung his own eyes. "I know. He didn't deserve it."

When they returned to the Havoc Marauder, it felt empty. Sure, Crosshair was gone for a long time, but it still felt empty.

Like something would never be the same again.  And despite the distance that grew between the sniper and the batch, it was clear that his death hit hard regardless.

They all truly loved each other, despite the mistakes they've made.