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Crosshair wasn't exactly certain as to what went wrong. The mission had been simple. Hunter and Wrecker were going after the main goal- taking out the Droid factory. Tech and Crosshair had been sent to retrieve useful information from a near by tower. They had managed to make it all the way into the data room, only to fall into a trap.
The Seperatists ended up stripping them of their gear, and their armor- leaving them only in their blacks. The two were then transported into the middle of nowhere. Crosshair snarled as a droid shoved the muzzle of its gun into his back. It was attempted to lead him to the edge of the vehicle, where he was certain to be pushed off into the freezing snow below. Tech was right besides him. The smaller clone was already shivering, his goggles- which had, surprisingly, not been confiscated- fogging up badly enough to where Crosshair couldn't see through them.
The droid prodded at his side again, and Crosshair snapped. He ducked his head, spinning around to land a swift kick to the droid's legs. The clanker clattered to the floor, but it was soon replaced by another. Crosshair struggled to get the gun out of its hands, but he was sluggish from the cold. A loud bang sliced through the air.
Crosshair's eyes widened as pain blossomed in his side. His legs buckled, knees hitting the floor with a heavy clunk. Blood splattered the floor as Crosshair tried to push himself back to his feet. He could vaguely hear Tech's concerned voice in his ears, but it sounded far away. Before he had time to react, Crosshair felt metal hands grabbing at his arms. He felt himself being tossed off the edge of the ship, and with a pained wheezed, he hit the snow covered ground and rolled.
When Crosshair opened his eyes, he was covered in white. Snow blanketed nearly everything around him. Small splotches of red dotted the snow around him. Everything hurt. His side was screaming, the burning sensation more than he could handle. Crosshair curled into himself, eyes squeezing shut as he grasped at his bloodied side. There were too many sensations rolling around in his chest- too many emotions. He wasn't used to such a surge of feeling. It was overwhelming.
Crosshair, slowly, pushed himself onto his hands and knees. A single tear dripped down his nose, and fell into the heaps of snow below, joining the splattered of blood that were already there. The sniper gasped for breath as pain surged through his entire body from the movement. He could feel himself shaking rather violently, but he couldn't tell if it was from the cold, or from pain.
There was a voice shouting near by. More tears dripped down Crosshair's face, confusing the sniper. Those were his tears, weren't they? Why was he crying? Showing such an emotion would show others that he was vulnerable- he couldn't let that happen.
That voice was getting louder. Why did it sound familiar?
"Crosshair!"
Suddenly, Crosshair was forced back into the real world. His eyes were blurred with tears, but he could make out the shape of Tech's form near by. The shorter clone was shouted, obviously concerned, as he trudged through the snow. It wasn't long before Tech was at his side, a hand already on his shoulder.
"Crosshair, you're bleeding," Tech pointed out, voice filled with concern.
Crosshair frowned, brow furrowing. He couldn't remember the last time he had heard his brother speak with so much emotion. Obviously, Tech must be very worked up if he was actually feeling something strong enough that it showed in his voice.
Eventually, Crosshair realized he was still being spoken to. The taller clone refocused his gaze on Tech, tears still drilling down his face.
"Can you hear me? We need to move! At this rate, the blizzard will hit us before we can find shelter, and there is no way we'll be able to survive it- especially with you injured." Tech was trying to help Crosshair to stand, but he was already breathing harder than he should be. The cold must be exhausting him.
Crosshair gave a small nod. With a shaky breath and a pained hiss, he managed to get himself to his feet. If Tech's steadying hands had not been on his chest, he was certain he would had fallen back into the snow. Crosshair clutched at his wound, grimacing at the feeling of warm blood on his otherwise freezing hand.
Tech wrapped Crosshair's free hand around his should, allowing his brother to lean against him. "We need to find shelter. I believe I saw a cave when we were still on the ship," Tech mumbled. He was shivering against Crosshair's side.
A frown made its way onto Crosshair's face as they slowly, but surely, began trecking forwards. Thankfully, his emotions had settled down for the time being. Enough to stop his tears, at least. Exhaustion was starting to kick in, however. Crosshair's eye lids felt heavy- heavier than they had in a long time.
Tech seemed to notice what was happening, as he suddenly elbowed his brother in the side. "Don't fall asleep," he huffed. "You might not wake up. I need you to keep your eyes open."
A soft hum left Crosshair to show he had heard. He gave his blaster wound a light squeezed, sending waves of pain through his side. It hurt, but it did the trick. The sniper felt much more awake than he had moments ago.
Crosshair wasn't sure when they had found a cave, but he was brought back to reality when Tech helped him to settle down against a cave wall. It was significantly warmer inside, but not enough to stop the two clones from their violent shivers.
"Let me see your wound," Tech breathed, voice stuttering from the cold.
Crosshair slowly peeled his blood soaked hand away from his wound. Tech knelt down next to his brother, already going about ripping Crosshair's blacks to peel away the burnt edges around the wound. The shorter clone frowned, face shifting into something much more serious than it had been moments ago.
"I need to clean it out as best as I can, then I'll have to try wrapping it," Tech stuttered.
Crosshair could hear his teeth chattering as he went to grab something from the mouth of the cave. Moments later, and Tech returned with a handful of snow.
"I'm going to try using snow to clean it out," Tech murmured.
Crosshair shook his head, hand weakly moving in a sad attempt to push Tech away. "'S gonna hurt," he breathed, words slurring together.
"I know," Tech said, apologetically. "But, it'll help it to feel better later."
Without hesitation, Tech pressed the clean snow into his brother's side. Crosshair's breath hitched, and he immediately flinched away from the shorter clone's touch. Tech shifted closer once again, and worked to rip some of his own blacks into long strips. Once he was satisfied with the melted snow dripping from Crosshair's side, he pressed fabric against the wound to soak up any remaining liquid. Finally, the rest of the fabric was used to tightly wrap around Crosshair's side.
Crosshair, for his part, managed to keep quiet during the ordeal. As soon as Tech was done, he scooted away from his brother and pulled his knees up to his chest.
"I'm sorry," Tech mumbled.
Crosshair let out a heavy sigh. He was doing his best to keep himself awake, but it was like fighting a losing battle.
"'M fine. Don't worry 'bout it."
He heard the sound of Tech moving again. His brother was suddenly pressed against his non-injured side. Tech's shaking was so violent that it managed to shake Cross along with it.
"Need to preserve warmth. 'M sure Hunter will be here soon," Tech mumbled, words slurring together.
Crosshair slowly wrapped an arm around his brother, pulling him closer.
"Think he noticed we're gone?"
He felt Tech nod. "'S past check-in time. He knows."
Crosshair hummed, softly. Tech always checked in on time during missions. Hunter was probably already tracking down their current whereabouts.
"You okay?" Tech was peering up at him now, brow furrowed.
Crosshair nodded. "'M fine. Just wanna go home," He breathed. The sniper was silent for a moment. "Tell me about what you've been doin' to the ship."
Tech shifted against his side, head moving to rest against the taller clone. "Smart," he replied. "Trying to keep yourself awake." Tech muttered something to himself before rattling off about the different upgrades he was working on. His voice shook, his teeth chattered, and he stumbled over his words, but it did the trick.
Hunter and Wrecker managed to find them before they froze to death, and before Crosshair bled out. When the two awoke in the make-shift medbay aboard their ship, Crosshair ended up requesting that Tech ramble about one of his interests to help calm him after the day's events.