We Are Forever

Chapter 4 - Together

Author's Note: This is the end! :D

~ Amina Gila

Hunter and Omega share, and Tech has to go with Echo, leaving Wrecker and Crosshair to squeeze in alone. Squeeze in Wrecker's case, anyway. There wasn't enough room for the armor crate, so... they did the very, very stupid thing of dumping his armor inside with them. Had to split it up a bit, because there wasn't enough room, but at least they're taking it?

AZI's power goes out right as their medical capsules clear the debris.

Omega tries to go after him, and pulling her back from opening the medical capsule on them is almost impossible. She's so self-sacrificing it freaks him out more than anything else. They're too far from the surface to get AZI.

Hunter's overwhelmingly unbearably terrified by this, but – but just like on Ryloth, Omega's frantic to get AZI back, and finally, not knowing what else to do, Hunter turns to Crosshair. "Can you get him?" he asks. He doesn't want to, but he just – doesn't know of any other way.

"You trust me to do that?" Crosshair asks, staring at him.

"Don't have much choice," he says, scooting farther up the side of the pod-thing. His hand is on his blaster, anyway, though – just in case.

Echo – albeit very reluctantly – tosses Crosshair his rifle so he can fire a cable down to get AZI. Hunter doesn't miss how Wrecker and both Echo and Tech are a millisecond short of grabbing their own blasters. Hunter doesn't blame them, either, especially considering he's doing the same thing, but it still hurts.

From there, they head for the landing platform. The climb is... long, but at least they made it, even if it is morning now.

It's clear.

That feels so, so wrong. It shouldn't be clear after everything that's just happened here.

The only good thing that's come out of it was – well, that hug. Which Hunter badly needed. But still.

"It's all... gone," Omega whispers, staring out across the sea. The cities are gone, and there's nothing in their place but a column of rising smoke. That's – that's it. All that's been left of their home.

Hunter feels numb and empty at once.

Hunter doesn't even know what to say to her.

"We should leave before the Empire's scouts show up," Tech warns.

They pause, turning to Crosshair, who's watching them, arms crossed. His helmet is off. Hunter can see his face again, and he looks empty. Scared, maybe. A little.

"Crosshair?" Hunter asks, almost shyly, approaching him. He feels ridiculously awkward about it, but he has to talk to him. He can't – won't – just leave him again. He can't go back to Ord Mantell and pretend nothing happened when Crosshair is still out there. Hunter knows he won't be able to sleep or to – anything if he's constantly, obsessively fearing Crosshair hurting him again. He won't be able to live with that, or even pretend to. "Will... you come?"

Crosshair looks down at him. He hesitates. Doesn't want to answer.

"We can help," Hunter repeats, the same as he said earlier, because he – he needs Crosshair to come with them, and he has no idea how he could make it without him. The constant stress of having to fear him would destroy him. Even going through the doors into the training room earlier was nearly impossible. He'd expected Crosshair to be there, waiting.

He'd just walked through the door on Ryloth. How could he know that wouldn't happen again?

He didn't have a warning there, and nor would he if – if they had to fight Crosshair again.