Vision

Chapter 18.5 - Bonus Chapter - Hunter 1

Author's Note: I know we didn't need to write this out, but I started drafting it a long time ago, and figured I might as well just finish.

~ Rivana Rita

He should have been more careful. If he'd been a moment faster, he could have made that jump easily. Now, they're all at risk. Because of him. None of them have ever been captured for it. That doesn't mean they weren't trained – prepared for – such a possibility. But this isn't just someone.

It's Crosshair. He's – here. Whatever precisely his role with the Empire is, he's in charge of these people.

The Empire isn't above torturing people. Hunter knows that – he saw the interrogation droid on Raxus. And considering his brother's skills, the Empire has every reason to want to find them.

He can tell himself he can hold out. And he won't let the Empire hurt his squad, but he needs to be – real here. If – when – it gets that far, Crosshair will be in charge. He knows Hunter. He knows his weak points. And either way, he can handle a lot of things – anything, for his family – but seeing the numb, nearly dead look in his youngest brother's eyes is... not one of them.

He can't deal with Crosshair's anger. He's thrown... childish temper tantrums sometimes, the same way Vision does, but that's only if he's hurt, just like her. That's not what this is. It's something far darker, and he's trying to hurt them. He kept doing that before, on Kamino, on Onderon, on Bracca. He knows exactly what to say to make it hurt.

Trying to escape would be pointless. It would only get him killed. Crosshair would know, anyway. And he – he can't do that to Crosshair, either. He can't leave without trying.

Sleeping is impossible right now, because he can't shake the tension out of himself no matter how hard he's trying, but he needs to... save his energy, at least. He'll need it.

There are so many things he wants to say to Crosshair. So many that he doesn't think he could say even if he tried.

This is why he didn't want to go to Daro and get involved in the first place. It's not something he ever wants to do again. Not that he did from the start – that was Echo. But it was still Hunter who agreed to let him do it.

And now – now, he's here, and Crosshair's going to do Force knows what to him, and frankly, Hunter has no idea why he hasn't killed him yet. He doesn't want to think about what that could mean, either. He doesn't want Crosshair to hurt him, and that's bound to happen. It will happen. Some way or other. He's not ready for this he'snotreadyforthishe's –

Hunter looks up for the first time as he senses a familiar heartbeat outside the door before it opens and Crosshair steps inside. Hunter forces himself not to tense as his brother approaches. First, he needs answers. Something to work with. Focus. That's what he's good at. Stop panicking. They won't do anything to him until they get to – wherever. "Where are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Crosshair replies, crossing the room to him. Hunter forces himself not to tense or outwardly react. He loathes how this makes him feel – Crosshair's presence is, and always has been, comforting.

He would've gone through anything for them. Now, that's all gone. His heartbeat feels the same, the soft, pulsing energy that Hunter has always felt on him, even if something about it is... hardened now. It's still him. And up close, he still has the same foggy, smoky scent that he always has. Somehow, that hurts even more. It'd be easier if he didn't look so much like him.

Crosshair kneels beside him, taking Hunter's comm and turning it back on. Hunter had shut it off after he fell, and on hindsight, he should have destroyed it altogether. "And so will your squad," Crosshair tells him, far too smugly.