The Bad Batch

Into the Dark

—This one's gonna get a little dark y'all... so get ready—

"Jump!" Screamed Omega as she held out a hand. Hunter nodded to Echo, who blasted a few last shots into the crowd of TK troopers gathered in the cooling shaft. The ex ARC trooper leapt into the Havoc Marauder, almost missing the stairs before Omega grabbed his arm.

Now it was his turn.

"Hunter, come on!" Omega cried, almost leaping off the stairs. Hunter turned, blasting a few more TK troopers before spinning back around to jump on the Marauder. Unfortunately, the Empire's fighters had the same plan. Four of them swooped towards the ship, opening fire. Having no choice, the Marauder suddenly banked hard to the right, tipping the entrance towards the sky. In that split second, Hunter's brain jumped ahead, every sense screaming at him to jump before it was too late. They won't be able to come back around! There's too many fighters! It's now or never!

With no time to contemplate, Hunter jumped.

The forest seemed to arch below him as he fell, faster and faster towards the stairs.

CLANG!

His body collided hard with the metal, the plasteriod armor he wore protecting him from the impact. Hunter groped for a stair, reaching his had towards the closest one.

Without warning, the  Marauder suddenly shifted back to the left, and the stair slipped out of reach, Hunter's hand closing around nothing.

He knew by the look in Omega's eyes that it was over. Her mouth warped into a scream as her expression twisted into one of terror, and he briefly saw her attempt to leap after him, only for Echo to step in.

Then he was falling.

"Hunter!"

The Havoc Marauder shrunk at a blinding pace as said clone sped towards the treetops.

Hunter smacked into a branch, so hard that he swore his arm broke from the harsh impact. His body suddenly flipped as he fell, and another branch cracked into his helmet, causing stars to dance across his eyes. He fell all the way down the tree, each branch seemingly giving Hunter a fair beating.

The last branch fell away, and Hunter slammed into the ground mercilessly. A ragged cough flew from his chest on impact, and blood instantly soaked the inside of his helmet. The sticky wetness dribbled down his face, gushing from Hunter's now split lip. He gagged as the metallic taste assaulted his tastebuds, then slowly leaked down the back of his throat. Hunter attempted to take a breath, but the action only resulted in a gurgly coughing fit. So, the enhanced clone lay still as pain began to soak through the adrenaline as it left his body.

Hunter soon realized he couldn't move even if he'd wanted to. Attempts to move his legs or sit up provided no reaction from his locked limbs. His left arm was definitely broken, and by the crooked state of his legs, Hunter was sure they were broken, too. He wheezed as pain racked his body, watching stiffly as the bright green leaves of the tree he'd fallen through fluttered to the ground. His vision flickered, and Hunter realized he could no longer hear the sounds of the battle above. The leaves landed on the forest floor, glittering softly in the shaded sunlight.

Hunter sighed from his pained position. He hoped his brothers would escape and leave him behind. In the back of his mind, Hunter knew they would do the opposite, but that didn't stop him from pleading to the empty silence that they would make the right choice. For him. For Omega. A wave of sadness washed over him as he thought of the girl. Omega was strong; she would do fine without him. That didn't stop the pang of regret in Hunter's chest at the realization that he wouldn't get to see her grow up.