The Nighttime Fear

Chapter 6 - Crosshair

Author's Note: There's only one chapter left. Is anyone even reading this fic?

WARNINGS: torture, possessiveness, a suicide attempt

~ Rivana Rita

Anakin taught him how to lose himself in his own mind, how to shut everything out that doesn't matter.

Hunter knows how to lock himself inside his own mind. He taught himself on Kamino, and Anakin helped him perfect it. "You're gonna need to know someday," Anakin had told him, and he was right.

The Force is dark. So dark.

He slips inward instead, and Wrecker and Tech reach for him instantly.

"Are you okay?" Wrecker's asking him. He's lightyears away, but he's panicking.

"I'll live," Hunter sends back, no matter how dry he sounds, "I think."

"What are they doing to you?" Tech demands. He's angry. (Hunter should've found a way back. This was his fault. If he hadn't insisted that they go in, he'd be with them, and they wouldn't have to worry about what Crosshair is doing to him. He can't imagine how that'll affect Crosshair. They have never hurt each other before.)

"Doesn't matter," Hunter replies, because he doesn't want to explain it, but he's fairly certain the others can get the image well enough. They've always been able to tell when each other is hurt. "But – the Empire has a whole group of Fallen Jedi here. Crosshair's just one of many."

"Tell us where you are," Tech all but orders.

"It's too dangerous," Hunter sighs, "I know – I know you want to come for me, but this isn't something you can handle."

"We'll bring Anakin!" Wrecker volunteers.

He has no idea how loud his sigh carries out mentally. "Crosshair is... not himself," he confesses, "I don't know how badly this is going to hurt him."

"He is the one hurting you, isn't he?" Tech asks bluntly.

Hunter feels Wrecker's flinch. He didn't realize how far that carried through mentally.

He can feel Crosshair distantly in his mind, drawn in because the other three are in at once. Their bonds are weird – if two of them are talking, it'll often transfer over to the others. The number of times Hunter's caught Wrecker and Crosshair plotting elaborate pranks on people is frankly insane.

They need to be careful, need to be fast, or Crosshair will hear this.

"He took me to Coruscant," Hunter sends to them, "He's – he's different though. I don't know how to explain it."

If Tech were here, Hunter's fairly certain he'd be holding his hand. He can feel it, imagine it at least – the distant warmth that he's always offered. Wrecker sends him an equivalent of a mental hug before Hunter gently nudges them out of his mind. They need distance, even if he wants to take a few minutes of reprieve in their company.

There's no way out of this, no way that he can get through to Crosshair, and if – if they're going to survive, they need to find him. He wishes he didn't have to ask this of them, but there's no choice.

Time blurs together, and Hunter has no idea how long it's been. All he knows is that he aches everywhere and his head is throbbing and the light is too bright and he's tired of feeling.

The room is blurred in a way that's at least mildly worrying, but it doesn't really matter. Nothing does, except that Crosshair is torturing him, and Hunter has no idea what he's so angry about. It was more than that they left him, even if he's never said anything beyond that. It was... something worse. Something that happened after, maybe, but Hunter has no idea what. Hunter doesn't know how to talk to him anymore.