A Sacrafice of the Heart (HunterxCrosshair) Book 1 - COMPLETE!

Chapter 18

Crosshair had fought many battles over the years but none as such as this. He was battling one of his children for the safety of his other children. The Empire had destroyed his eldest’s mind, making him swear his life to the Empire. In general, Crosshair had no interaction with Crux because at the time, he was trying to hide Ashton and Honey from the Empire but it all fell apart when he made that fatal mistake which almost cost him and his children their lives. Crosshair seriously didn’t want to fight Crux but he had too, otherwise his other side would take over and cause mayhem.

A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts, Crosshair looked up to see Wrecker looking at him. “Are you going to be okay, Cross?” Crosshair nodded, not trusting his voice, Wrecker smiled at him before putting his helmet on his own head and heading off in his direction with Tech. Hunter grabbed his arm stopping Crosshair in his tracks, he whispered something in Crosshairs ear making the clone visibly smile. Hunter smiled back before leaving Crosshair at the doors of the battle he would soon be facing. The bad batch watched their sniper place his helmet on his head and breath deeply before he shoved the doors open so they would swing open violently before working his way into the room. Two hands landed on Hunter’s shoulders reassuring the sergeant that everything would be alright. 

Crosshair didn’t know what to expect when he walked into the room but he certainly didn’t expect the hanging cages filled with those against the Empire. Amusingly he noticed Wolffe ignoring Rex in their cage which seemed to have been lowered next to Echo’s. The other cage level with theirs was Omega’s. Crosshair managed to get a quick look at the three children who seemed to look in his direction with a look of help. A chuckle echoed around the room sending shivers up many of their spines. Crosshair stopped before crossing his arms, clearly not amused at his opponent's entrance. The Empire was getting sadder each time they came into battle.

“CT-9904, it’s been a long time since we last battled or should I say it’s nice to finally meet your true self personally dad?” the familiar voice of Crux echoed around the small arena. Echo looked around simultaneously with Fives as the two tried to figure out where their enemy was. “Crosshair! Watch out!” Ahsoka yelled earning herself a zap of electricity. The warning was all Crosshair needed; he whipped around to only jump back as a dagger aimed for his stomach. He glared at his opponent who smirked back. Crux dressed as a bounty hunter with half of his face covered by a mask covering the scars of the torture he was put through by what he believes was Crosshair but it was the Empire. Crosshair thanked Hunter for keeping his helmet as he fought hand to hand with Crux, he clearly was the distraction. Crosshair refused to use his sniper which was currently strapped to his back but the Beskar Spear he was using was currently holding up a lot better than what his Firepuncher would be.

Hunter frowned from above when Crosshair took a shot to his arm, but refused to give up. The bad batch armour was much stronger than any normal armour and that was because Crosshair had personally crafted it with Tech’s help. It meant the armour could take ten times more shots than that of regular clone armour. Hunter remembered when Echo first joined and he mocked the armour but was quickly shot down by Crosshair before an argument even started. Carefully Hunter and Tech descend, appearing in front of the higher cages before helping the clones out of the cages. Tech appeared in front of Gregor and Thorns' cage and noticed something was off. Thorn wasn’t moving but Gregor had stood over him in protection. Tech swung himself into the cage but realised his mistake but it was too late. The cage lit up blue alerting Crux of something. 

“Seems like I have one your brothers trapped with two clones” Crux exclaimed trying to get a reaction out of his opponent whose sole focus was on Crux at the minute. Crux frowned before smiling when the doors opened behind Crosshair to reveal Wrecker being dragged into the room before shoved into the electric cage beside the Jedi. Crosshair frowned when he noticed his two brothers had been caught, a sudden feeling settled in his stomach when he caught a glimpse of who had just entered the room. Tarkin. Crosshair whipped around only to duck when a fist aimed for his head, Crosshair quickly flipped backwards landing in front of Omega's cage. The sniper's ribs were aching, his chest screaming in pain but he wouldn’t let it stop him. Crosshair had a goal and it currently didn’t involve being beaten by the Empire anytime soon so he fought with all his might. 

A sharp pain in his chest had him stumbling forward putting his sense of balance, Crosshair bit his lip to avoid the pain slipping through his vocal cords. It only took a second, that’s all Crux needed before he kicked Crosshair backwards. The sniper stumbled backwards, he could hear the cries and encouragement of his name but something wasn’t adding up. The pain in his chest seemed to spread, Crosshair realised. He couldn’t breathe because his oxygen tank wasn’t connected, with quick hands he rolled out the way of Crux’s oncoming attack before taking a deep breath and disconnecting the breathing mechanism. Omega cried out “Honey!”. Crosshair turned in time to see his daughter slump forward, without hesitation Crosshair disconnected his tank all the way and threw into Omega’s cage with pure accuracy. Omega felt something hit her side and she gasped at what she saw. With quick thinking she connected the oxygen to Honey’s and within seconds Honey started feeling better. Sadly, not much could be said for Crosshair. His lungs were burning, his movement getting slower but he had to focus and get everyone out. 

Dodging out the way of another attack, Crosshair could tell Crux was getting frustrated and more annoyed but this gave Crosshair the perfect opportunity to strike. BANG! Crosshair felt a huge pain in his knee, he looked down to see that he had been shot, he turned to see Tarkin holding a blaster in his direction as stormtroopers surrounded Tarkin. Crosshair glared at the man while getting to his feet. A sharp pain of pure agony split through Crosshairs side, the sniper looked down to see Crux’s blade had gone straight through his side effectively trapping him. Crosshair squeezed his eyes to stop the tears, he bit his lip to stop from crying out especially when it was violently pulled out of him. Falling to his knees alerted Crosshair to footsteps in front of him. Looking up, Crosshair came face-to-face with none other than Admiral Tarkin. 

“CT-9904, it is time you came home” Tarkin announced. 

Silence fell over the arena, Omega watched as her parental figure bled out in front of her but soon her vision fell to the darkness. Echo intensely watched the sniper of the batch keep up his stance and not shift under the Empire’s stare. Crosshair glared at Tarkin who only chuckled. Tarkin then gestured for his elite stormtroopers to grab Crosshair and follow him. Wrecker watched anxiously as his youngest brother fought with all his might but these troopers were almost as big as Wrecker himself. Crosshair soon found himself dragged through a narrow corridor leading towards the landing pads.

“CROSSHAIR, DOWN!”. Hearing the familiarity of his sergeant had Crosshair on the floor quicker than one could say ‘bullet’. An explosive waves of bombs set off one after another down the narrow corridor. A hand grabbed his shoulder before pulling him to his feet and dragging him away from the shots fired at them. Hunter slammed his hand down on a button next to the door effectively shielding them from the enemy and the door slammed shut. Hunter noticed they were in some type of medical bay, so he turned to where he left Crosshair only to panic. 

Crosshair sat against the wall coughing up blood while trying to keep his eyes open. His eyes slipped closed with the shadow of Hunter sprinting in his direction. 

Meanwhile…

Crux was madder than he had ever been. The smirking coming from the clones wasn’t helping the situation or the teasing, he didn’t understand why all of them didn't have the collars on because he would gladly zap them all into oblivion for their remarks. 

Behind him the doors slammed open, Crux whipped around with a remark of his own. “Finally, what took you so long. Father?”. Crux watched as Tarkin's body crumbled to the floor unconscious. He never saw what was coming next. Something pinched his neck and then total darkness followed. Crux had failed. 

“Captain, Why am I always saving your asses?!” 

…

“Cody!”

Shorter Chapter but next few chapters are on their way!
Your Comments are always welcome! Omega gets her own Chapter next!