#fivesoka

Rex placed hand in her shoulder and nudged her to keep moving.

“Fives is a tough man,” Rex said solemnly. “It’ll take more than that to keep him down.”

He moved past Ahsoka and kept pushing on. With one last look behind her, Ahsoka sighed and followed Rex forward.

Yet despite Rex’s words of encouragement, Ahsoka was rushing to the medical tent after the battle finished.

Ahsoka scanned the beds for Fives, his tattoo and goatee setting him apart from the crowd.

No one else was around, and he seemed to be resting. But Ahsoka rushed over all the same. Though when she reached the bedside, she froze. There was no where for her to sit, and she didn’t want to be so bold as to sit on the bed beside him. Not that he would mind, but there were other people in the tent. Nobody else knew. Well, not explicitly at least. Everyone knew about them, but neither of them had said anything to anyone. Except Echo.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot, then felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Kix.

“He took a blaster bolt to the leg. He’ll be okay, it’ll heal up just fine.” He patted her shoulder. “Don’t go losing sleep over it. I promise it’s well under control. He’ll be out a couple weeks at least, but he’ll be back to bothering everybody in no time.”

Ahsoka offered Kix a small smile. “Thanks. I know. It’s just…it’s still hard…”

Kix nodded understandingly, gave her another shoulder pat, and walked away. Ahsoka looked back down at Fives to see him staring at her.

“Aw, you’re concerned about me?” Fives asked, grinning.

Ahsoka’s face shifted from joy to annoyance. “I spend the last hour worrying about you and I get greeted with a snarky one liner?”

“Oh come on,” Fives chuckled, wincing slightly as he sat up. “That wasn’t too snarky. And besides.” He smile softened. “I know you’re not really mad.”

And he was right. Ahsoka’s slight annoyance gave way to his smile, and she sat herself down at his side. “How are you feeling?” she asked, taking his hand.

He shrugged. “Been better, but also been worse. Eh, I’ll live. You know, it won’t be a walk in the park, and it’ll be tough to be down so long. But I can manage. I’ll rest up, I’ll heal, it’ll be nothing!”

Ahsoka shook her head but smiled. “The attitude that brings life to the doctor or slowly kills him.”

“I like to keep the man on his toes,” Fives stated. “It’s good for him.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. Fives squeezed her hand. “How are you?” he asked.

Ahsoka sighed and looked down. “Fine. Better now that I know you’re okay. I, uh, yeah…it’s good to know you’ll be fine. You really had me worried. I saw you go down, I-“

“Hey,” Fives whispered, pulling her closer. “It’s all good. We were doing what we were supposed to. I’m okay. It’ll be okay. And honestly, I’m just sorry you had to see that fall. Not my most glamorous.”

This earned him a laugh, and Ahsoka gave him a playful punch.

“You’re full of it, aren’t you,” she laughed, wiping away tears before they had a chance to fall. “Even in a hospital bed.”

“Especially in a hospital bed,” he nodded solemnly. “I’m afraid this is what you’ll have to deal with for the next two weeks.” He smirked at her.

“If you’re going to be like that I’m leaving,” Ahsoka responded, pulling her hand away. But she couldn’t hide the smile or her laugh.

“No, please,” Fives begged, grabbing her hand again, smiling just as wide. “Stay? At least for a little bit longer.”

Ahsoka complied, settling back down into her previous position. Maybe a little closer.

“Even with everyone staring at us?” she whispered.

“It’s not everyone,” Fives responded glancing around the room. “And besides. I don’t care if you don’t.” he whispered back.

Ahsoka giggled and leaned her forehead in towards his. He met her.

“I don’t care,” she said, putting her free hand around his shoulder to reach the back of his head.

Fives hummed. “That’s good. Cause this is nice.”

“Yeah, it is,” Ahsoka smiled.

.

🧡💙

Darkness shrouded Tantiss, you didn’t need the Force to feel it. Pain and despair lingered on the walls, the suffering of countless troopers seeped into the very fabric of the building. Ahsoka felt the pain of every single poor lifeform trapped in the fortress-like facility, not just the troopers but so many others, all crying out through the Force. It made her feel sick. But beneath the suffering there was something else, something dark - the dark side was strong here, making her uneasy. Whatever experiments they were conducting here weren’t natural.

Ahsoka pushed past the waves of discomfort and every instinct telling her to get out of there as quickly as possible - she had a mission to focus on. Her first challenge was to find The Bad Batch who were somewhere within the facility; the destruction left in the wake of the escaped Zillo Beast gave her a good clue as to where to start looking. She had received Hunter’s comm only a few hours earlier, containing not much more than simple coordinates and the words ‘we found her’. There had been no time to plan or coordinate, Clone Force 99 rushing in as they always did. They were desperate to get Omega back so Ahsoka couldn’t blame them for their recklessness. Rex was also on his way but he had been on a mission on the other side of the galaxy; Ahsoka had been closer, only one hyperjump away.

The Force hummed in warning and she instinctively drew her sabres. A few moments later a squad of stormtroopers came running around the corner, opening fire. She dodged and deflected their blaster fire easily, knocking them back with the force until they crumpled to the ground. These new soldiers the Empire had employed had nothing on the highly trained clone troopers.

She leant down to listen to a blinking comlink on one of the unconscious stormtroopers’ wrists.

‘The Vault has been breached. Intruders spotted heading for the detention level.’

Ahsoka put away her sabres and began running in the direction of the detention level.

She had managed to avoid meeting too many stormtroopers on the way, it seemed the Zillo Beast had adequately diverted their attention. By the time she got there, the cells had already been opened, troopers standing in the hallways as they passed around weapons. Ahsoka sighed in relief when she saw Omega and Echo standing in the centre of the crowd.

‘Omega,’ she cried, the girl turning to grin at her. She was taller than the last time she had seen her.

‘Ahsoka!’

Omega flung herself around her middle, squeezing her tight.

‘Where are the others?’ Ahsoka asked, looking over at Echo.

Echo’s face grew grim, his mouth pulling into a thin line. ‘Captured. We’re going to find them now, some of these men have volunteered to help us.’

The relief Ahsoka had been feeling drained away. ‘I’ll come with you.’ She looked around the group of troopers, all looking tired and thin, their skin pale, many carrying visible injuries. ‘Is this everyone?’

‘I think so,’ Echo nodded.

‘Wait!’ one trooper called out behind them. ‘Are you a Jedi?’ he asked, gaping at her in disbelief and perhaps awe.

‘I’m… I’m here to help,’ she answered. ‘What is it?’

‘There’s someone else. Down the corridor in the last cell. He’s been here longer than all of us, not sure how much of him is left. But I don’t think he can walk on his own and we can’t just leave him.’

Ahsoka and Echo shared a look. ‘Take me to him,’ she ordered the trooper. ‘I won’t be long,’ she added to Echo.

Echo nodded. ‘Omega, start organising the men who are coming to help us and send the rest to the hangar, Rex’s reinforcements will be here soon and they’ll get them to safety.’

Ashoka followed the trooper down the corridor to the last cell. A man was curled up at the back of the cell, hugging his knees to his chest, his face hidden. She wouldn’t have recognised him as a trooper, his dark hair a mess of long curls that fell to almost his shoulders, an unkempt beard covering half his face. However, something about his Force signature felt familiar.

Slowly she walked forward, careful not to startle him. She gave a nod to the other trooper to thank him and dismiss him. Carefully, she crouched in front of him - he didn’t move.

‘Hey,’ she whispered. ‘I’m Ahsoka. I’m here to help you. What’s your name?’

He didn’t make any indication he had heard her. Ever so slowly she reached out and touched his arm, sending him comfort and safety through the Force; he flinched but didn’t move to shrug her off.

‘Can you tell me your name?’ she asked again. ‘Can you look at me? I promise I’m not here to hurt you, I’m here to get you out.’

‘There’s no way out,’ he croaked, so quiet she almost didn’t hear him.

‘There is,’ she insisted gently. ‘Your brothers have come to rescue you. Captain Rex is on the way. You can leave this place.’

‘Rex,’ he repeated, lifting his head ever so slightly.

‘You know Rex?’ she asked, her heart suddenly beating faster at the prospect that this clone had fought with the 501st, that she might know him. She searched his Force signature again, so familiar and yet she couldn’t place it - it was as if something dark had twisted it, as if he had lost a part of himself.

The trooper lifted his eyes to meet hers, a small flicker of recognition in his expression. Ahsoka froze, something about his gaze, haunted and distant as it was, reminded her of…

Her hand trembled slightly as she slowly lifted it to his face, waiting to see if he would pull away before tentatively touching his cheek. He didn’t flinch at her touch this time, his gaze steady. Her fingers moved to his temple, gently pushing the curls out his face, revealing a tattooed five.

She let out a shocked gasp that turned into a sob. ‘Fives?’

He blinked at her, his eyes looking over her shoulder into the distance, his eyebrows pulling into a frown as if he was trying to remember.

‘Fives? Can it be?’ she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks.

‘5555’ he croaked, slowly as if each digit caused him physical pain. ‘ARC-55-55.’

She let out another sob and pulled him into an embrace; he let her.

‘Echo!’ she half screamed, tears freely falling now. ‘Echo! Get in here! Now!’

The sound of feet hitting the floor grew louder. Echo skidded inside, followed by a couple of other troopers, blaster raised.

‘What? What is it?’ he asked, frantically searching the room for a threat.

‘It’s… it’s Fives.’

‘What about Fives?’

‘No, he is Fives.’

Echo’s eyes fell to the trooper slumped in Ahsoka’s arms. He shook his head in disbelief.

‘Fives is dead.’

‘They never found a body,’ she said softly, her voice on the verge of breaking.

‘It can’t be him,’ he muttered, appearing almost panicked.

‘Echo, look at him!’ she ordered. Gently she eased Fives’ head away from where it was hidden against her chest, cradling his jaw in one hand as the other pushed his hair off his forehead to reveal the tattoo. ‘It’s him.’

Echo stumbled backwards as if physically struck. ‘It can’t,’ he whispered, the words shaking. ‘It can’t be him.’ Tears welled in his eyes as he took a step forward. His legs seemed to give out beneath him and he collapsed onto the floor beside them. ‘Brother?’ he whispered , tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder. ‘Is it really you?’

‘ARC-55-55,’ Fives repeated, his eyes not focusing on either of them.

‘What did they do to him?’ Echo grimaced.

‘I don’t know.’ She tried to wipe her tears away, swallowing hard. ‘But we need to get him out of here.’

‘Echo!’ Omega’s voice reached them. ‘We need to find the others!’

Echo looked conflicted, his pain filled gaze still leveled on Fives.

‘Go,’ Ahsoka ordered him gently. ‘Your squad needs you. I will get Fives to safety, I promise.’

Echo shook his head. ‘I can’t… I can’t leave him.’

‘I’ve got him,’ she told him firmly. ‘The Batch are your family just as much as Fives is and they need you.’

Echo flexed his jaw, wrestling with himself internally. ‘Alright,’ he whispered after a moment. He reached to squeez Fives’ shoulder. ‘Stay strong, brother. I’ll see you soon.’ He gave Ahsoka a meaningful nod. ‘Be careful, Commander.’

Ahsoka nodded in return, a heavy sense of understanding between them.

She watched him go as he rushed to join Omega.

One of the men who was too injured to join the fight came to the cell and together they hauled Fives to his feet. Fives didn’t resist, which either meant he recognised her enough to trust her or he was simply too weak to fight back. She hoped it was the former, although her heart sank every moment Fives continued to stare blankly at her. For a moment she thought she saw recognition in his eyes, a shadow of the affection that used to fill his gaze every time he looked at her, but it quickly passed, if it had even existed at all.

They managed to make it out of the detention level with no incident. It was slow going, many of the men weak or injured, however they met no resistance. The Stormtroopers were all focused on the Zillo and wherever the Bad Batch were being held, the rag tag bunch of men clearly were not high up on their priorities right now.

Fives stayed silent the whole time. He was clearly weak, the little amount of skin she could see heavily scarred, limping from injury and holding his arm in a way that suggested it hurt to move it. He was thin too, his blacks hanging off him. She was trying desperately hard not to think about what he had been through or how she had left him to suffer because if she did she would break down and she couldn’t afford to do that right now.

The trooper helping her carry Fives glanced over at her. She vaguely remembered him introducing himself as Hacker - he had a large amount of visible burn scarring all over his face and neck which seemed to cause him pain whenever he smiled. That didn’t stop him though from trying - she appreciated the thought.

‘You know him?’ He asked softly, clearly referring to Fives.

‘Yeah,’ she swallowed.

There was a time when they knew each other better than anyone else, when she knew him intimately in a way no one else could. Nights spent exploring each other’s bodies, soft mornings, loaded glances across briefing rooms, his arms around her as she sobbed against his chest, her hands in his hair as he fell asleep with his head on her stomach after a nightmare. Now… now they felt like strangers, just an echo of what they used to have. She hadn’t even recognised his Force signature.

‘He was in my battalion,’ she said simply.

Hacker nodded slowly, as if he knew there was more to it but didn’t push.

When they entered the hangar, they were faced with devastation. Fires burned amid the rubble, bodies littered the ground - some clearly victims of the Zillo, others with blaster marks. It was completely deserted of life, the guards all having made a run for it.

Rex’s ship was already there and waiting, he’d brought a transport knowing they would need to transport the prisoners off world. As soon as they approached the ramp lowered and they rushed inside.

‘Where’s Omega?’ Rex asked as he welcomed the men on board.

‘She went with Echo to rescue their squad,’ she told him.

‘Do we wait for them?’

‘Yes, they’ll be here.’

Rex nodded, his attention turning to Fives.

‘Kriff, I knew it was bad but I didn’t know it was this bad,’ he sighed, shaking his head as he surveyed the ship full of his brothers, all clearly having been mistreated. Fives was by far the worst.

Fives seemed to recognise his voice, turning his head to look up at him from where he sat slumped on a bench. ‘Rex?’ He whispered, his voice cracked and hoarse from misuse, or perhaps from screaming.

Ahsoka tried to not let the fact he recognised Rex and not her sting. She should just be grateful that he remembered anyone at all after the hell he had clearly been put through. But it did hurt, even if she tried to pretend otherwise.

Rex turned and frowned. ‘Who…’ he began but then froze, his eyes jumping questioningly between Ahsoka and Fives. Ahsoka nodded, feeling tears prick her eyes again. Rex knelt down in front of him. ‘Fives?’ He asked disbelievingly.

‘Fives. I’m Fives,’ he croaked as he nodded his head. He said his name like it was unfamiliar, like he was trying to remind himself of who he was.

‘I…’ Rex tried but words seemed to fail him, pulling Fives into a fierce hug instead. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered, holding onto him as if he might disappear if he let go. ‘You were right, I should have listened. I’m so so sorry.’

Ahsoka hugged herself. She didn’t know how to feel, it was all too much. The relief and joy of finding Fives alive, the disbelief and confusion having thought he was dead, the horror and pain when she thought what he had been though, the guilt that threatened to engulf her. She had been told he was dead, shot by a brother, driven mad by a virus. She should have known better than to believe it, she should have checked, she should have made sure. They had never found the body - he had fallen from the warehouse landing pad, the impact of the blaster bolt sending him over the edge into the depths of Coruscant. That was what she had been told. She had believed it, moved on with her life whilst Fives suffered.