Lifeblood

Chapter 1 - They Be My Rescue, My Lifeline

Author's Note: Haha I got a few things to say about this fic. First of all, I regret absolutely nothing about this. I got this prompt on my Bad Batch bingo card, and then, this prompt popped into my head and I went wild. I wrote all 17.5ish k of this fic in three days, and I set a new record by writing a little over 9k in one day. So yeah, I'm pretty proud of myself AND this fic. :)

Vampires. Vampires are amazing, especially in non-romantic settings.

Also, I have developed a new love for non-consensual biting. :D

WARNING: Uh... non-consensual biting and blood. Drinking blood. Vampires, yeah? :)

PS. Oooh yeah. There are five chapters, and I'll be posting weekly on Tuesday! ^-^

Final Note: When I wrote this, I was rather obsessively listening to the song Family. There's a Bad Batch tribute on YT by A.J. with that song and it's amaaaazing! <3 All their tributes are amazing, actually. :D

~ Amina Gila

Hunter's body aches all over, but he doesn't let it show. He's had worse, and he can deal with this, too. He's more worried about what the Empire plans to do with him, for he has no doubt that they'll use him to try and get to the rest of his squad. And he won't let that happen. He won't let his fear show, either, because he knows who the Empire will send after him, them.

Crosshair.

And Hunter is not at all ready to see his youngest brother again, no matter how much he misses him. Crosshair is on the other side, and... Hunter can try to get through to him, but he doesn't know how much it'll even matter when his chip is active. He can try, at least.

"I figured you'd show up," he states flatly when Crosshair finally steps into view – Hunter has been tracking his familiar heartbeat for nearly a minute by now.

Crosshair stops, deactivating the ray shield and pulling off his helmet. His eyes are cold and distant, as they have been ever since Order 66 came through. And yet... And yet, there is something distinctly different about him. Hunter can't quite tell what, but it puts him on edge. There's... something darker about him, almost, and his scent is faintly tinged with a metallic edge that reminds Hunter of blood but isn't quite the same.

"I was hoping for the whole squad, but you'll do," Crosshair replies.

Oh. Delightful.

Does that mean torture? Hunter can handle torture. He was trained for it. What he can't handle is seeing his brother's cool, impassive gaze on him as he endures it. And yet... He'll endure it. Anything for Omega. Anything for the rest of his squad. It's his responsibility to keep them safe, so that's what he'll do, no matter the cost to himself.

He doesn't say anything as Crosshair and his new squad of troopers load him onto a transport. He settles on the floor, slightly curled in on himself, trepidation weighing heavily on him. Where are they going? What are they planning?

Hunter has no idea, and it scares him more than he wants to admit. It scares him, because he doesn't want to think of the things that Crosshair could do to him. He forces himself to make his face as blank as possible when he senses Crosshair returning to the main hold. "Where are we going?" he asks, though he doubts he'll get an answer.

Crosshair approaches him, crouching down and picking up his comm, thumbing it on. "You'll find out soon enough," he answers, rising. "And so will your squad." Your squad. Not our squad. It stings more than Hunter thought it might.

They're your brothers too, he wants to say, but doesn't, because he doesn't want to be that vulnerable in front of the other troopers. "They'll know it's a trap," he points out, trying to coax more information out of Crosshair.