Lifeblood

Chapter 2 - Some People Ride 'til the End

Author's Note: Who doesn't want to bite their siblings? :)

Also, this is the first and last chapter from Crosshair's POV. I had so much fun writing his confusing thoughts, given that he still has his chip. ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Crosshair is waiting when the platform rises in the training room just like he'd predicted. Of course, Tech would choose this entrance, deeming it the most unlikely – which is why he positioned his new squad around it. Their blasters are raised the moment Tech and Echo come into sight.

Wait.

Where's Wrecker?

"And here we all are, together again," he drawls, as the two of them take in their situation. "You won't be needing your weapons."

Tech and Echo hesitate before dropping their blasters, albeit very reluctantly.

"See?" he says, smirking slightly, "Following orders isn't so difficult."

(His head hurts. What is he doing what is he doing why is he doing this? But he has to. It's the only way. "Turn them," Rampart had said, watching him coolly, "And we'll see how this little experiment works out. Or, I'll have them executed. You have your orders, Commander." And Crosshair had answered with a 'yes, sir' as always, his heart racing faster than normal, his head throbbing, everything inside him screaming and screaming and begging and demanding that he do something, because the execution that Rampart wants cannot happen. He can't let it. He has to save them, protect them, no matter what it takes, even if they hate him for it.

He hates what he is, what they've made him. He hates the urges, the cravings, the horrible sensitivity that his eyes have now. Night vision isn't worth it when normal daylight hurts enough to start up an instant headache. It's too soon, and he's not used to it, and he hates this all of this, and he wants them, his brothers, to stay far, far away. Please. Please don't come here not for him it's not worth it not worth it.)

"Where's your little sidekick? And where's Wrecker?" he demands. He'd been careful, very careful, so they wouldn't know that Hunter wasn't here with him. Surely, they couldn't have sent Wrecker to locate Hunter alone. That would be the height of stupidity. Unleashing a feral Hunter on the facility is a terrible idea. ... Maybe he should have left more reinforcements there just to make sure.

"With Omega," Echo answers, which makes sense, even though Crosshair doesn't think it's the truth for some reason. "Where's Hunter?"

"Nowhere you will find him," he sneers. Hunter is his, and he's staying. He's staying, and he won't be leaving again. (He needs to leave. Hunter needs to get out of here and stay far, far away from Crosshair, so he won't be able to compel him to obey. He's broken enough. He doesn't need to break all his brothers and bring them down with him.)

Echo and Tech look at each other. "Are you planning to kill us?" Echo challenges.

"I could," Crosshair answers idly, his blaster level and steady, aimed at them. "It would be more than justified, after you betrayed everything we stood for. And for what? The Republic?" He scoffs. "The Republic gave you nothing that the Empire couldn't also."

(He would sooner slit his own throat than kill them what is he saying what is he saying?)

"We have always been loyal to each other," Tech snaps, a hardness to him that Crosshair has never seen in the past, "Never to the Republic or an empire."

"You weren't loyal to me," he says coldly. (I didn't want them to come back for me. It would have been too dangerous for them. I would never have wanted that from them. Running was best. I didn't want this, any of this, but they were safe, and that's all that's mattered to me.) His head is still throbbing. "I was one of you. You may have forgotten, but I haven't. That is why I am going to... correct that."