i kinda wanted to colour this drawing anyway because i was so happy with it, but after @norcumi wrote this wonderful fic partly based off of/inspired by my sketch i figured i might as well tweak it so it matches better with the context/time/setting there, and, well, here it is
i kinda wanted to colour this drawing anyway because i was so happy with it, but after @norcumi wrote this wonderful fic partly based off of/inspired by my sketch i figured i might as well tweak it so it matches better with the context/time/setting there, and, well, here it is
Pressing his fist to his mouth, Rex frowned slowly at the screen.
Around him, quiet chatter sometimes broke through his thoughts, others contemplating the same thing as he did, the sight of their brother at Vader’s side.
And yet not at the same time.
Cody was too empty eyed to be fully himself, just like every other vode under the chips control.
A lot were worried about bringing them out of that control too, several vode had bitten the end of their blasters once their sanity came back to them and Rex heart twinged painfully as he thought of Bly.
It was no secret that he had broken out of the programming only to realize what he had done.
The 327th were without a commander within the hour of Bly breaking through the chips programming, the horror and self loathing of knowing he had shot down Aayla, most likely being the one who aimed the killing shot, being too much for him.
He was one of many unfortunately.
Many vode who managed to circumvent the chips couldn’t live with the guilt, others went kamikaze, trying to take out the Emperor or important depots.
But some managed to find their way to Homebase and the other ships, joining the brothers that had rebelled.
Cody however would be safe to bring out of his chip, his Jedi was here, alive and if not well, then at least healing and just as capable as always.
He might feel guilt for shooting down the Jedi but…
Well, it was better than Bly or Blood, the latter spent every moment not on duty getting drunk and several of the medics were considering intervening.
So far Rex was holding off on signing the medics the power, Blood was still mourning her general but if she didn’t in a week or two stop drinking, he’d have no other choice but to let the medics sober her up and pretty much force her into therapy.
“What do you think Rex?” The voice cut through the blonds thought.
Looking up, Rex blinked at Wolffe with confusion, the hologram flickering in and out due to interferance.
The man huffed. “Told ya all he wasn’t listening.” He grunted, glancing at the rest of the room.
Shaking his head, sitting up, Rex sighed. “Sorry, I was thinking about Blood. Medics are on my tail about her and if she doesn’t show signs to mellowing soon, I’m going to have to give them emergency power.” He murmured.
There was a round of grimace.
While everyone understood why Blood was as she was at the moment, that didn’t mean they had to like it. To see another vod harm themselves so…
“What were you saying Wolffe?” Rex questioned, leaning forward to show he was paying attention finally.
“Cody,” Wolffe tapped at the screen he had, most likely playing the same vid Rex had of Cody. “What if we sent a message to him, lured him away from Skywalker and then knocked him out?” He questioned.
Wincing slightly at his former General’s name, having gotten used to simply calling him Vader, Rex frowned. “I’m not sure… he doesn’t leave Vader’s side much.” He stated warily.
To that Wolffe nodded. “True, but I’m thinking we grab him on Coruscant. No one is going to pay attention to a few clones on Coruscant. He’s still our vode under that helmet, if one of us approaches him and asks for him to meet him…” He trailed off.
“It is as good a plan as any,” Gree murmured, his hologram steadier due to their ship closeness to the Homebase. “Its how we managed to get Funk actually, their personality is still under there, its just messing with the part that was loyal to the Jedi I think.”
Frowning heavily, sitting back in his chair, Rex slowly rubbed his chin. “…We’d have to go about it extremely careful, no slip up or the demagolka will realize something is up.” He stated slowly, ignoring the bug eyed look some of his vode sported.
So he called Vader a demagolka, so what?
After all the things Vader had done now, the things he had done to the galaxy, to the surviving Jedi, to Obi-Wan… how could he not?
Whoever Vader had been before, that wasn’t who he was anymore.
There was nothing left of the kind, brave and sometimes reckless General that Rex knew, the one that remembered the name of every trooper and tried to minimize their fatality. The man that sat with Rex after Kadavo.
The man Rex had once loved, if purely in a platonic manner.
“Riiiight… actually, I had an idea for that,” Doom stated, leaning forward in his seat, eyes glancing nervously between Wolffe and Rex. “But it would mean getting you on Coruscant Rex.”
Brows raising and arms crossing over his chest, Rex tilted his chin. “Go on…”
Nervously, Doom lined out his plan to the room of former commanders and captains.
Standing at attention, watching Vader pace on the bridge and occasionally pausing to seemingly stare out into the sky, Cody let his mind wander slightly.
When the order had come through that he was being transferred from the 212th on Kamino to Vader’s own Fist, Cody had been excited at the honor of being the left hand of Lord Vader himself.
He had been reduced to working on Kamino after the end of the clone wars with the CIS and the clean up of the Jedi, training new vode, and while that was rewarding, Cody wasn’t a teacher.
He had been raised to fight and he had been exited to join Lord Vader himself, already aware of the man’s reputation from before the war and then later on, the man fighting on the front line with the troopers.
Cody had been so optimistic.
Or that had been his initial emotions.
After about a month of watching the man’s utter ruthlessness in battle, using Cody’s own vode as shields at time and throwing them around without thoughts, Cody no longer could consider it an honor and worked more to keep his brothers as safe as possible from the menace in black.
Especially the less experienced ones.
He half expected to be on the receiving end of one of these deadly assault, particularly the snapping of his neck, when he interfered.
And yet, regardless of how clearly enraged the yellow eyed man became as he glowered at Cody, he never went as far as killing him
Choking him with the Force, yes, killing him, no.
And Cody could not for the life of him understand why.
There were other commanders able to take over for him, which meant that there was a reason for why Vader had transferred him, outside of Cody’s skills.
So he couldn’t make sense of why he kept surviving when other vod did not.
‘What’s different about me…’ Cody let his eyes slide to the blond haired man glaring out into the sky before he resumed pacing. ‘What are you thinking Lord Vader…’ Cody narrowed his eyes faintly, safe in his own mind that the Sith could not hear his mind.
He had been taught how to shield his mind just in case by…
A spike of pain throbbed through Cody’s brain and he clenched his teeth together to avoid hissing, not wanting the attention of the clearly enraged man on him.
‘The Doll…’ Cody took a breath through his nose. ‘Is it really that simple? Could it really be the Doll?’ Cody let his mind space, not daring to think of the name or the former title of the man as every time he did, his mind echoed with pain.
And the faint stirrings of a memory.
Of Rex and whispered words and the name Fives.
Glancing at the Sith once more, Cody stiffened to attention as yellow eyes landed squarely on him.
He would have to take care of those memories later.
()()()
Spooning Obi-Wan, one arm tucked around the former Jedi and his other settled under his own head, Rex let out a small sigh into the others neck.
Obi-Wan just pressed back into him, fingers slowly caressing the back of Rex hand as the captain rested it on Obi-Wan’s stomach.
Since Obi-Wan calmed down they had finally managed to settle down, curled up on Rex bunk together as Rex wrapped himself protectively around his redhead. He had removed the nerftail tie, the long length resting down Obi-Wan’s back on the bed, smelling faintly of fruits from the soap they had picked up.
He knew from Kix that sleeping on a hair tie was not a comfortable experience and had opted to remove it as they curled down together.
Because he had known from the moment Obi-Wan started to calm down that they wouldn’t be leaving the room any time soon, the clear exhaustion and outright depression visible on Obi-Wan’s face telling Rex that Obi-Wan just needed time.
And Rex had water bottles in his room, so while they preferred to have Obi-Wan eat full meals, they were also accepting of him eating snacks and drinking water. “…We’re going to have to talk about your actions you know.” Rex whispered tiredly into the others neck.
Squeezing Rex hand, Obi-Wan let out a small noise. “I know… but please can we wait until I’ve slept? I really just…” He sighed deeply and Rex felt his heart constrict with pain.
He knew that Obi-Wan still struggled quite a bit with the after effects of the Sith drug Vader had kept him on and to see the former proud General reduced to blankness hurt.
But even worse was to see him like this, emotionally unstable and uncertain as he clung to the minor comforts Rex could give him.
Instead of verbalizing all that, Rex simply nodded and nuzzled his nose into the back of his Jedi’s neck. “…If there comes a chance Obi-Wan… we’ll save him. I promise. But right now…” Rex trailed off, wincing as Obi-Wan’s breath hitched before it came out as a soft keen.
There was nothing to do for that and so they simply laid in bed, Obi-Wan watching the wall and Rex watching the back of Obi-Wan’s neck, both consumed in their thoughts.
Watching closely as Eval and Bane were being arrested by the Jedi and troopers, Anakin let out a deep breath before slowly turning to Obi-Wan still wearing Hardeen skin, giving his former Jedi master a hard look while ignoring the gray shade of Hardeen’s own flowers.
To his credit, Obi-Wan winced and looked down at his feet, his shoulders slumping.
“…Least you tried.” Anakin muttered, keeping his voice low in case Windu heard him as he stepped closer to his master and wrapped his arms around the unfamiliar shape.
A wet little laugh was echoed into his shoulder, Obi-Wan returning to hug weakly. “Apologies Anakin, I wanted to go find you but I knew my comms would be monitored… I did… my time was limited.” He stated, his voice muffled into Anakin’s tunic.
Snorting, Anakin pushed the other back, reaching up as he hissed quietly, taking in the swelling of Obi-Wan’s eye and the blood leaking from his split eyebrow and lip. “That’s going to need ice and some bacta master, we should get you to your soulmate and Helix.” He tutted worriedly, Obi-Wan wincing again at the touch to the injuries.
Bane had not been gentle with Obi-Wan once he had figured out who ‘Hardeen’ was, though thankfully it had dislodged the voice changer so Obi-Wan’s voice was at least his own despite the violence enacted on the Jedi.
Violence which showed on the brutalized skin of his master as Anakin guided Obi-Wan away, relieved when Windu announced that report could wait until they were on Coruscant as Obi-Wan dabbed at his eyebrow and lip with the edge of his dirty sleeve.
However Anakin did not miss the sight of Chancellor Palpatine’s confused and slightly frustrated glance at them, leaving Anakin bewildered in turn.
He would have thought that the Chancellor would be happy for him to learn that Obi-Wan was alright, maybe the Chancellor was just frustrated about being kept out of the loop?
Pushing the thought away, Anakin focused on Obi-Wan and getting him aid, Obi-Wan’s bruising and bloodied face making him move faster.
Along with Obi-Wan’s now open Force bond alerting him to the pure exhaustion in Obi-Wan’s veins. “How long until you can get rid of that face?” Anakin murmured quietly, both Jedi moving to the LZ for the incoming shuttle and then stopping so the pilot could see where they were.
The question got a tired chuckle out of Obi-Wan. “Oh? Tired of my visage already Anakin?” The man teased, the smile causing a new wave of blood to leak down the others chin.
Wincing, Anakin reached into his belt and pulled out the tissue package he had started carrying when he became Ahsoka’s master, pressing the clean tissue to Obi-Wan’s lip instead while keeping his mech hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “I miss your face master, so yes. I am tired of Hardeen’s face.” He stated in a dry tone.
Unfamiliar eyes softened into a familiar look, Obi-Wan lifting his hand to hold the tissue to his face. “Well, that makes sense. And to be honest, I am unsure. The nano tech used to construct my face is not something I was familiar with I admit.” Obi-Wan mused thoughtfully.
That had Anakin’s mind going into a full time stop as he stared at his master, opening his mouth then closing it. “…Obi-Wan, nano tech is dangerously unstable.” He choked out quietly, eyes widening.
Grimacing, Obi-Wan gave a nod before breathing out shakily. “The Chancellor is an important person. And your friend.” Obi-Wan answered simply, his voice quiet.
It was the latter more than the former that ended up warming Anakin, because he was aware that Obi-Wan had no love lost for Palpatine.
Respect, yes, love, no.
So that meant that Obi-Wan had risked a dangerous procedure for Anakin’s friend.
For Anakin when the incident was boiled down to its basic perimeters.
Squeezing Obi-Wan’s shoulder carefully, Anakin drew the older man closer and huffed slightly when Obi-Wan rested his head tiredly on Anakin’s shoulder. “Lets get you to a medic old man.” He murmured fondly, the sting of having to hold Obi-Wan’s body in his arms and watching his funeral not gone but slightly mitigated once more.
Obi-Wan had tried to inform him and he had done it for Anakin.
And that was enough to ease some of the natural anger Anakin felt at his core.
The shuttle finally landed and the two Jedi stepped in, Anakin grabbing the strap overhead while wrapping his arm supportively around Obi-Wan as he called out that they were in.
Both to keep contact with the man but also due to the exhaustion he could feel in Obi-Wan and the way he could tell that lifting his arms as far as over his shoulders would pain the man. “Just lean on me master… I’ll take care of things.” He murmured quietly, worried for the man.
Who knew how much Obi-Wan had been resting or eating while undercover, Obi-Wan had issues with both of those things while on a good day.
Under continual stress in an undercover mission?
Yeah, Obi-Wan eating was something of an afterthought unless someone was around like the Nuveria mission where Anakin had managed to keep a tab on Obi-Wan during the undercover mission and made sure the man at least ate.
A small hum had him glancing down at the other, catching Obi-Wan’s small smile almost hidden behind the tissue. “Of course Anakin, I trust you to handle things.” He chuckled quietly, dropping his head on the black clothed shoulder as he breathed out tiredly.
Warmth slithered through Anakin, silencing the last of the anger as Anakin watched his master in turn, the shuttle rocking slightly as they took off.
Much to his utter relief and bewilderment, Obi-Wan has not fled so to speak.
Rex finds the Jedi sitting in the cockpit of one of the ships, simply staring at the view screen with his eyes lost and his hands in his lap.
Behind him, Dume is shifting uncertainly but Rex can’t bring himself to think of the boy right now as he instead slowly approaches Obi-Wan and rests his hand on the others shoulder.
He gets a flinch, Obi-Wan clearly coming back to the situation at hand as he looks up at Rex, the two staring mutely at each other.
Finally, Obi-Wan spoke. “I want him back… how dare Vader use him like that…” He whispered, tone utterly wretched and broken and Rex let out a small noise before crouching down and hugging the Jedi, running his hand over Obi-Wan’s messy nerftail, stroking it carefully before resting his arms around him.
“I know. I know it hurts. He was your commander and my brother. Seeing him like that…” Rex trailed off, Obi-Wan letting out a little hitched breath before letting out a small sob against Rex shoulder.
When he had come back to Homebase, the first thing he had done was start searching the hanger, looking into every ship.
Because while the others knew Obi-Wan, Rex knew him best, both the man he was during the war and the man that had come out of Vader’s clutches broken but healing.
The only other people that knew Obi-Wan as well as he, would be Cody and one Anakin Skywalker.
Which is why Rex had made a direct beeline to the most derelict of the ships, already knowing the history of Anakin and Obi-Wan to know that this was the ship the other man would choose, this was the ship the other would be in.
The one he would try to fly.
And he had been right.
Where the others hadn’t been able to find Obi-Wan as he locked himself down from the Force and removed any trackers, Rex found him because he didn’t need any of those items to find his Obi-Wan.
Pressing their cheeks together, Rex let out a small noise and then shifted, until he could reach and pick up the other man, settling his hands below each of Obi-Wan’s thighs. And Obi-Wan’s arms came up around Rex neck in response, a muffled sob escaping into Rex shoulder as the former captain stood with the Jedi in his arms.
Turning while adjusting his grip on Obi-Wan, Rex gave Dume a long look as he gazed at them with his mouth open.
But instead of saying something, Rex just started walking, moving forward with Obi-Wan in his grasp.
He was meet by Helix on the outside of the shuttle, the medic face becoming one of pure relief as he watched the former captain with the Jedi.
“Take care of him.” Rex murmured to the medic, nodding to Dume, the former padawan freezing in place when he saw another clone.
Helix however just nodded, giving Dume a small smile and gesturing for him to follow as Rex moved off with Obi-Wan in his arms. Along the way to his quarters, several troopers stopped what they were doing, clearly having been on search too.
Relief covered their faces and several went for their comms to inform others that Obi-Wan had been found.
The troopers always reacted with extreme prejudice anytime any of their remaining Jedi were in danger or missing.
And to find Obi-Wan of all people missing, knowing that his fate would not simply be death but a return to his state as Vader’s doll?
Well, they were protective for a reason.
Rex pressed his cheek to Obi-Wan’s temple, awkwardly fumbling for his keypad when he reached his quarters only to breath out in relief when Lamb hurried over and helped him, the young clone getting the door open as he watched with large, concerned eyes.
Rex just nodded to his fellow blond trooper and stepped in, letting the door snap shut behind him as he stepped around the clothing items he had abandoned on the floor that morning.
He knew that they would have to talk about what Obi-Wan had almost done later, he knew that Obi-Wan needed a lot more help than any might have realized as he had almost run off and into a known trap but right in that moment all Rex did was to sit down on his bunk with Obi-Wan straddling his lap.
Both hurt, the knowledge of where Cody was and yet the helplessness in knowing they couldn’t rescue him.
The helplessness in knowing it was a trap.
Rocking Obi-Wan, Rex didn’t promise things were going to be okay.
Because he couldn’t.
Because he couldn’t promise that they could rescue Cody.
So instead he just rocked him, crooning quietly as Obi-Wan sobbed harshly into his shoulder, the noise echoing of Rex quarter walls.
SWpromptsandask 