The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

Night Lost

Idk, I just had this random plot bunny, and it got wayyyy out of control. xD

Basically, this is an AU of The Nighttime Fear, where Anakin and Ahsoka find Crosshair when he's being held captive by the Empire. Will hopefully make sense even if you haven't read that fic. ;__; xD

WARNING: Aftermath of torture. It's kind of a bit much idek.

~ Rivana Rita

Anakin and Ahsoka find the Inquisitor's fortress and rescue one of their prisoners. One of the only Jedi-clones there is. Crosshair.

"You do remember your name, right?" Anakin asks. Crosshair hasn't moved from the back of the shuttle's hold. He casts a backwards glance at him again, then climbs out of the pilot's seat to move closer.

He flinches. Anakin freezes, trying not to stare too hard at the Empire's insignia on Crosshair's shoulder. He joined the Empire when Order 66 came through. He was an Inquisitor. So why was he being held prisoner? Anakin has so many questions, but now's not a good time.

Crosshair's scared of him. All he's radiating is a raw, panicked terror. He's scared of Anakin, but he doesn't know why.

"It's okay," Anakin tries to soothe, hands raised, "We're not going to hurt you."

His dark eyes flit between him and Ahsoka. "You're Jedi," Crosshair says finally.

"And you're my friend," Anakin replies, "Let me look you over."

Crosshair is tense, stiffly wound in a way that looks like it must be painful. Probably pulling on something, but his face is so pale and drawn. He's radiating exhaustion in a way that reminds Anakin jarringly of some of the slaves on Tatooine. A child shouldn't look like that.

Crosshair's nine.

"Don't lie," Crosshair says finally, his voice barely a whisper, "You're not here to help. No one is."

It stings. They did find Crosshair accidentally, but at least they found him. "Snips, get the medkit," Anakin calls, and his padawan takes off to the back. She's the last person he knows who saw Crosshair. She fought him on Kamino to cover for Hunter's escape. They'd all been briefly captured by the Empire. Turned themselves in to save their other Force-sensitive sister they never knew they had.

Hunter asked him for help.

It got messy.

And now, two weeks later, this. Crosshair, a broken, shattered wreck of his former self. His eyes are gold and vacant. He looks... lifeless, and it worries him.

They were torturing him. That's obvious. Anakin found him in a cell, and even if it was meant to be a brief infiltration, Anakin wasn't going to leave him.

They brought him out here unconscious. He's up now, but really edgy about it.

"I'm going to try to help you," Anakin promises him, "Where are you hurt?"

Crosshair shifts. He doesn't answer. He's always edgy about admitting injuries and weaknesses, but this seems extreme.

He feels the answer, anyway – rippling through their bond and through the Force, a gutted, rolling, broken emptiness and void of hope of ever finding relief from the pain that's tearing him apart.

There's a burn on his head, the right side. Lightsaber wound. It cut across his skin and never healed over. It was never treated.

There's a clank as Ahsoka drops the medkit on the floor. "I'm back, master," his padawan says, "But I can't say if we've got enough here." She rummages through it, pulling out the bacta.