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abatcow · 10 days

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RexWalker Week - Day 1, Sith!au

Author’s Note : This fic is a part of a series me and @farkmagic came up with and are still working on. Please remember that English isn't my native language, so there might be some mistakes and stuff. I hope you all like it, have a great day/night!

Taglist : @rexwalker-week

TW : cursing, description of injuries

The bridge shook with yet another explosion, kicking up clouds of volcanic dust and smoke, that choked the sky and blinded them temporarily. Coughing and blinking the tears out of their eyes, the Bad Batch did their best not to breathe in the toxic fumes as they pressed on, cutting down the droids where they stood. Rex stopped to adjust his helmet, kicking the filters into overdrive, while doing his best to suppress his coughing as the ventilators whirred to life. “You okay?” Omega asked, voice strained, glancing at her older brother, her worry palatable through her visor. “...’m fine.” he nodded, before clearing his throat and glancing around at the hellish landscape of the planet Mustafar. “We need to keep going. Come on.” He gripped his blasters tightly and jogged after the rest of the team, with Omega following close behind him, her bow at the ready. The small crew of seven pressed on, pushing forward through the debris and smoke, with the distant sounds of volcanic eruptions following their every move. Wrecker grunted as he pushed the mangled remains of a Spider Dwarf Droid out of the way, tossing it aside with ease. He let out a cheer as the droid fell off the bridge and disappeared in the lava below, sinking like a stone in the water. “This is insane.” Crosshair muttered angrily, before flicking his toothpick after the unlucky robot. “Why are we even here? The intel isn’t worth all this hassle, is it now?” “It is.” Tech snapped back, visibly irritated. “Quit that, I can see you rolling your eyes under your bucket.” Crosshair huffed in annoyance, but didn’t argue further. As they rounded a corner, they were met with yet another wave of droids, swarming towards them like ants, with blasters at the ready. A dark, foreboding outpost loomed in the distance, overlooking the battlefield like a vulture sitting on a tree, waiting for its share of rotting meat. The sight sent a shiver down Rex’s spine. “I don’t like the look of that.” he muttered quietly, as he surveyed the sea of enemies that stood between them and the blast doors of the garrison. “Neither do I.” Echo agreed, furrowing his brows. Before any of them could come up with any plan of action, Wrecker charged at the droids with a blood-curdling war cry. He grabbed one by its leg and swung it like a club, sending several others tumbling over the edge of the narrow overpass. The giant made quick work of the droids, throwing his weight around like a bulldozer, leaving the battle field looking more like a salvage yard one would see on Ferrix. He cleared out a path to the outpost, laughing like a maniac while the terrified droids scrambled for cover and fell back to the garrison. Just as he turned to face his brothers and sister, with a proud smirk clearly visible beneath his helmet, the whole crew stopped in their tracks, as the reinforced metal doors were torn open from within, nearly flying off of its hinges. A wave of cold wind rushed out of the dark tunnel, a bone chilling contrast against the hot and suffocating atmosphere of Mustafar. The air around the Bad Batch became noticeably thicker, heavier, it felt like they were underwater. It was so sudden that it knocked the breath out of Rex’s lungs, leaving him dazed and confused. Before any of them could recover, Wrecker’s whole body tensed up and he reached up to his neck, sputtering, like he couldn’t breathe. His feet lifted off the ground, as he clawed at the invisible force that threatened to crush his windpipe, kicking and trashing wildly. “Wrecker!” Omega called out with fear as she broke into a run to help her brother, only to be knocked back by an unseen barrier. She tumbled to the ground, her energy bow slipping out of her grip. “What the...?”

The emergency lights started flickering violently, before exploding with a loud crackle and showering the bloody battlefield with sparks and broken glass. The remaining droids fell to the ground, one by one, some coughing up smoke as their hard drives melted and caught fire, other simply powering off. “...kriff?” the girl finished, as her eyes landed on her discarded weapon, fear gripping her heart. Her trusty bow, one that saved her life numerous times and has been at her side through thick and thin, was now flaring angrily, with its pinkish plasma eating through its limbs. She could feel her eyes tearing up, but she didn’t have the time to reminiscent over her fallen friend, as Crosshair’s rifle spat out a few stray bolts, one missing her by mere inches. Tech’s portable computer shut down without a warning, leaving him without his beloved gadget. A groan of surprise could be heard from Hunter, as his visor shortened out, leaving him momentarily blinded as he tried to rub away the sparks that danced in his eyes. Echo’s cybernetic legs gave out under his weight and if it wasn’t for Rex, he would’ve fallen to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

They looked at each other in fear and confusion, as their equipment continued to malfunction in strange and unexpected ways.

That’s when they heard something.

Footsteps. Slow and deliberate, echoing through the dark hallway, the sound distorting as it bounced off the steel walls. Faint whispers carried by the wind tickled their ears, the voices angry, hateful, hissing and spitting indistinguishably from one another. The metal screeched and groaned, like the whole building was about to fall over, the sound reverberating through their skulls.

And then, out of the darkness, stepped a man.

Tall, dressed in black, red and grey, with a black kama wrapped around his waist, its edges torn and damaged from past battles. His armor greatly detailed and complicated, light yet strong and durable, highlighting his body and posture, with numerous belts holding everything in place. Where the man’s face should be, a black steel mask greeted them, with red markings decorating it around the visor and down the cheeks, like bloody tears. It couldn’t be any more obvious that the person standing before them was a Sith Lord. Hunter reached for his knife, only for the Sith to flick his wrist and send Wrecker crashing into the sergeant, slamming the two against the metal railing of the bridge, teetering dangerously close to the molten lava below. Rex growled in anger and aimed his pistols, but the air grew thick with acrid scent of burning metal and the clone realized, with horror, that his twin blasters were melting in his hands. “H-how?” he stammered, dropping the now useless weapons to the ground. “Fall back!” Tech yelled, scrambling to his feet and helping Omega up. “Now!” He didn’t have to say it twice, as Wrecker jumped to his feet and grabbed Echo, throwing him over his shoulder like a rag doll. “Go, go, go!”

The whispers grew louder, like a choir of demons singing their praises to some unseen deity, as the Sith continued to saunter towards them, lightsaber in hand. “Fucking go!” Crosshair yelled, his cold and cool demeanor nowhere in sight as he pushed Hunter, prompting him to move. “What are you waiting for?!” The Bad Batch broke into a run, but they didn’t even make it past the bridge, as the Sith charged at them. Rex, who was closing their escape, yelped in surprise and dodged, the lightsaber’s blade nearly taking off his head. He stumbled back and found himself cut off from the rest, with the fallen Jedi blocking his path.

He gritted his teeth as the Sith went after him like a rabid dog, the red sword cutting through the air with a loud whooshing sound. He barely had the time to raise his arm and deflect it with his gauntlet, the impact so jarring that it sent a wave of pain through his forearm, all the way from his elbow to the tips of his fingers. With an angry yell, the Sith turned and hit the clone in the face with so much strength that it cracked the visor in Rex’s helmet, the glass shards cutting his face. The clone grunted in pain, stumbling back, as his opponent continued with his merciless attack, the lightsaber hissing at it once again made contact with the beskar armor. The clone tried to fight back, but it was like hitting a brick wall with a stick. The Sith moved with unnatural speed and strength, making it nearly impossible to keep up with the onslaught. The fallen Jedi’s hand shot out, the Force slamming into Rex and throwing him to the ground, forcing the air out of his lungs. He hit the metal of the bridge with a sickening crack, pain shooting through his body as his helmet slip off his head, sliding across the floor. Blood streamed down the right side of his face, mixing with the sweat and tears as he looked up to see the Sith standing over him, his saber raised, ready to strike. In a blind panic, Rex grabbed the last thing fixed to his belt - an old lightsaber. As the saber detached from his belt, Rex was greeted by a loud crackle and a burst of brilliant, blue light. He swung it recklessly, the blade connected with the lord’s face, cutting through the metal with a sickening screech. Pieces of flaming metal and tinted glass exploded in every direction, as the Sith stumbled away with an audible groan of pain, his hand pressed to the wound. Rex lifted himself up, not waiting for his opponent to regain his vision. Keeping his distance, he brandished the saber, trying to remember what his late lover taught him, all those years ago. His chest burned with pain, lungs screaming for air, eyes watering from the toxic fumes, yet, he did not have the time to get his bearings, as the Sith lord turned to face him.

The clone’s heart stopped.

Through the broken eyeshade of the man’s mask, he saw a glint of something... familiar. The cracked visor revealed just enough of the Sith’s face for Rex to recognize the person standing in front of him. It was as if he was looking at a ghost, a memory of his past that he thought was long buried.

“...Ani?” he choked out, lowering his weapon. The Sith seemed to falter slightly, his brow furrowing in surprise and confusion, only now taking the time to study his opponent’s face, a hint of recognition in his eyes. For just a split of a second, everything went quiet. The whispers died out, the winds slowed down, even the volcanic eruptions stopped mid explosion.

This couldn’t be true. Rex knew that it wasn’t possible.

Anakin was dead and has been for years. He died on Coruscant, at the hands of Sidious, nearly a decade ago.

The clone saw the destroyed Chancellor’s suite with his own eyes, the burn marks left by lightning and the shattered windows stained with blood. He was there, during the funeral and when the Council built a statue of the man, to honor Skywalker’s sacrifice.

The clone tried to convince himself that he was just seeing things. That he got a whiff of the fumes and was now hallucinating the man standing in front of him.

But the eyes staring back at him were the same as the ones that haunted his dreams, the same as the ones he saw when he closed his own. The person hidden behind the mask was the one he had loved and lost, the one he saw every time he was on Coruscant, in the Jedi Temple’s courtyard. He knew, deep down, that no hallucination could map out all the details of his lover’s face. The scar over his eye, the very one Rex would kiss as they woke up in bed. The curve of cheekbone, the same one Rex would trace over with his thumb during those quiet and short moments they had in between battles.

Both men were frozen in place and time, like the world around them ceased to exist, like they were the only two left in the entire universe. It was only them and the platform they were standing on. Rex could feel the heat of the lava below, the toxic air burning his lungs and eating through their membrane, but he didn’t move an inch. All he could do was look at the man he had loved, the man he thought he has lost forever.

He wanted to scream, to lash out, to beg and plead for it not to be true, for it all to be a cruel nightmare, a trick of his imagination...

The fallen Jedi shook his head, as if to clear his mind from a haze, before looking up at Rex with anger, fury even. He lunged at the clone and their sabers connected with a loud crack, showering the two men with sparks. The plasma blades screeched and groaned against each other, as they fought for dominance, trying to gain extra ground. The men traded blows, their lightsabers creating a blur of blue and red. The ground shook beneath their feet as the seismic activities grew stronger, more violent.

The clone was able to push his enemy back before hitting him in the face, cracking the mask clean off. The Sith took a shaky step back, blood trickling down his face, before swinging his weapon in a wide arc.

Rex parried the hit and, with, tears blurring his vision, he reached out, grabbing Anakin by the arm and trying to wrench the weapon out of his grasp. “Anakin, stop!” he yelled, his grip tightening on the black sleeve of the Sith’s robe as they continued to wrestle. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, what his next move could possibly be. His mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all.

Now, up close and without the mask, he could see the man’s face clearly : mangled and scarred. His hair was longer, eyes more sunken, making his face look nearly skeletal, but it was him, without a shadow of a doubt. “You left me to die, Rex!” the man yelled in response, his words ringing over the explosions and wind. “You all did!” Rex could feel the blood draining from his face and his heart breaking into a million little pieces at the sound of his lover’s voice. “Ani, I...!” he tried to deny it, to defend himself, but the Sith cut him off with a vicious kick to the chest, sending him tumbling backwards to the ground. The lightsaber slipped from his grasp, sliding across the floor and out of reach. He struggled to get back up, his body aching and vision spinning, coughing violently, the vapors scratching at his throat and forcing tears out of his eyes. He could hear footsteps approaching and the hum of the lightsaber, as the fallen Jedi raised his weapon, ready to deliver the final blow. Suddenly, with a deafening roar, the Marauder descended upon the battlefield, the ship’s laser cannons firing at the Sith, kicking up debris and forcing him back, creating a barrier of fire between him and the injured clone. Rex looked over his shoulder, to see Echo standing on the entry ramp of the ship, as it hovered a few feet off the ground. “Get in!” the cyborg yelled, reaching out for his brother. “C’mon!” But Rex hesitated. He turned to look at the Sith, his heart sinking. Anakin stood at the other end of the platform, his gaze wild and filled with hate, pain, animalistic fury. “You did this to me!” he roared, his voice distorting and warping to the point that it could no longer be recognized as human. The wind picked up, tearing at his clothes and hair, throwing ash and smoke up into the air. The disembodied voices were now wailing, cackling, howling. “Ani, please!” Rex could feel tears streaming down his face. “Come back to us!” “Oh, Rex...” he chuckled mockingly. It was a sad, nearly pitiful sound. And as their world continued to fall apart around them, with waves of scalding hot liquid crashing against the supports of the bridge, eating through the metal like it was nothing, with the pieces of the bridge breaking off and falling into the ocean of lava, their eyes locked. And as the ground split apart, molten lava spewing like a geyser, the heat and fumes threatening to suffocate them, Anakin... smirked.

“...you are the one who left.”

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