One assassin against about ten medics truly wasn't a fair fight, but it was over quickly and Creed bolted for the hallway. The voices were partially satiated by the amount of bloodshed, but still whispering violently. They didn't know where to go, though, and neither did Creed. He just knew he had to get out.
He turned the corner and headed down one of the side halls, his vision starting to blur with pain. The cast on his neck had come loose during the fight and he'd taken it off, and he'd accidentally broken off the cast that was supposed to be supporting. There was still one cast for his ankle, but it didn't stop the shooting pain that came with every footfall. Every movement, every breath was painful, but he pressed forward. He didn't want to die, and he knew how to push through the pain. He'd made it this part, he wasn't going to give up now.
Chaos.
The sudden thought brought him almost immediately to a halt. Where the thought had come from, he wasn't sure, but he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around. He couldn't leave Chaos. He couldn't leave his brother. He'd have to find him and bring him with.
But where was he?
Creed's eyes scanned the halls as he tried to make sense of it all. His head was spinning, but there appeared to be about three halls, well lit. He didn't know what time of day it was, but he assumed that it was a good bet Chaos was training or in the mess hall.
Where are the training rooms? He thought, his gaze skipping around. There was a long pause before Skate stepped forward, gesturing down the left hallway with his decayed hands. He watched Creed with hollow eyes as Creed turned and followed the mental ghost's directions and bolted down the hall.
He didn't run nearly as fast, trying to keep himself from passing out and making sure he could see where he was going. He caught sight of the doors and squinted to try and make out where he was. Everything was so confusing, and the light was giving him a headache. His body was screaming at him in pain, but he kept moving. He wasn't giving up on his brother. He was getting out of here and he wasn't leaving Chaos.
He made it down a few more doorways before he recognized the entrance to one of the training rooms and he keyed the door, grabbing the wall for support as he gasped. As the door opened he looked inside to see the room was dark, all the lights off. Creed frowned. They didn't turn off the training room lights unless it was nighttime.
Was it already that late in the day?
Everything was a jumble in his head, and he was struggling to keep up. It had to be late since the lights were out, which meant Chaos was more likely in his barracks. But where was that?
Creed turned, still gripping the wall some. He closed his eyes a moment, a sharp stabbing pain calling attention to the dizzying migraine that was pounding in his skull. He staggered, putting a hand to his head and groaning softly.
Ignore it. Keep moving, Specter urged him, soon joined by Dawn and Tadem. Their voices made the migraine worse, adding to the throbbing in his head, but he had to listen to them or else they would never quit.
So he kept going, forcing his eyes open as he pressed onward down the hall. He had to find Chaos barracks if it meant checking all of Kamino.
Just keep moving, the voices continued to urge, quieter now. Creed listened to them and started off a little quicker. He knew where his old barracks were, and if he remembered right, Chaos' hadn't been far from there. He just had to make sure he didn't alert anyone to his presence or else he was convinced they'd try to kill him. They wanted him dead, all of them.
Don't let them get you. They'll kill you. They're all like Dunn. They hate you.
The voices were right, at least Creed assumed so. They were rarely wrong, so why shouldn't he trust them?
He turned the corner, trying to pick up his pace but his leg was seriously bothering him as he limped down the hallway. He glanced down at it, pausing as he looked at the way the cast bulged out underneath the pants leg.
You don't need it. It's making your leg hurt.
Just remove it, you'll be fine.
Creed frowned, but nodded in agreement with them and knelt down slowly, breaking off the cast and throwing it aside before standing. He took a quick step and nearly collapsed, agonizing pain shooting up through his leg. He grabbed the wall and hissed through his teeth, but steeled his whole body. He took a moment to recover, then he pushed off the wall and gritted his teeth as he sprinted down the hall.
He made it a few corridors before he had to stop, struggling simply not to collapse. He gripped the wall and practically dragged himself down the hallway, thankfully finding himself among the first few rows of barracks. He glanced at each number, trying to recall through a foggy mind which one was Chaos'.
What if they moved him? What if we walk into the wrong one?
It was the first time Tadem had sounded so timid, but Creed knew his worries weren't invalid. Chaos was older now, they could've moved him to another barrack. They might have even moved him from the main complex into a private complex if he was any kind of specialty trooper. Creed didn't have any other choice but to check and hope the kid was still in the same place.
Wherever that place was.
Creed dragged himself to the last door and glanced at the number, knowing he was completely and utterly lost. He had no idea where he was going, where he was supposed to be going, or even where he really was. The only thing he knew for sure was he needed to find Chaos before his broken body gave out entirely.
"Creed?"
Creed thought a moment, trying to pick out which voice that one was supposed to be. It didn't match any of the other's quite properly, and it sounded more...real.
Turning his head inquisitively, Creed squinted a little to make out a foggy figure standing several feet away. The figure paused, then began to move closer, speaking. It took a moment for the words to register through the ringing pain and whispering voices, but this time it was clearer and definitely real.
"What are you doing here? You should be in the medbay..."
Frowning, Creed thought it over, trying to make sense of his own actions. What was he doing here again? Should he be in the medbay? No, they were trying to kill him there. He had to escape. He'd come for--
"Chaos," he slurred bluntly. "I came l-looking for C-Chaos...g-gotta get out..." he mumbled, looking back down at the floor and putting a hand to his head. "Y-Yeah...that's it..."
"I think you need to go back..."
Creed's head snapped around and he snarled at the figure, starting a little. "No! I'm not going back, I-I'm g-getting C-Chaos and l-leaving...d-don't try to s-stop me," he growled.
The figure skittered back, then moved forward again before reaching for Creed's hand. Creed thought about pulling away but he was too tired and hurt for that so he just looked up and narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the figure's face.
"Creed...you look sick..."
Creed began to snarl again, but as he did his vision came slightly into focus and he caught sight of the other person's features. They were younger, definitely a clone, with a telltale shock of wild black hair. Creed dropped the snarl instantly, his eye's widening a little as suddenly his grip on the cadet's hand tightened.
"C-Chaos...we gotta g-go..." He stammered, staggering forward as he tried to tug his brother along with him. Chaos didn't move, though, and tugged back lightly on Creed's hand, looking up at his brother. Creed looked down and saw Chaos looked confused and slightly scared. That stopped Creed dead in his tracks and he turned back, limping a little as he knelt down so he could see eye to eye with Chaos.
"H-Hey, vod'ika...w-what's wrong?" he asked, squinting to try and see Chaos' face better. Chaos moved closer to him, touching his face and looking oddly concerned for a kid his age.
"You look really pale, and sick. I think you need to go back to the medbay," Chaos said.
Creed tried to give him a reassuring smile and shook his head. "I'm alright, v-vod'ika...j-just a little sore," he said, heavily downplaying the immense pain he was currently in. He didn't want to scare Chaos, but he could see his little brother was worried so he tried to take it easy.
"You're lying, Creed. You're sick," Chaos said more firmly this time, gripping Creed's shaking hand tighter and moving to look at the blood that had dried in streaks on Creed's arms. He frowned deeply, seeming to notice the marks where the IV's had been and wondering at the spatters of blood on Creed's face and clothing. "Did you run away?" he asked, looking back up into Creed's eyes.
It took a moment for Creed to recall. Oddly enough, the voices seemed to have gone for the moment, and he was having trouble remembering much of the past few hours. He knew he wasn't in the medbay, he knew he'd left, and he knew he was covered in blood. What had he done? Had he run away?
"I...I don't know," he said honestly after a minute. What was he doing here?
"You need to go back," Chaos said, gently tugging at Creed's hand to try and get him up. Creed followed, attempting to get to his feet before being reminded of the agony he was in as pain shot up his leg in his attempt to stand. He collapsed some, gasping. Chaos was instantly there, trying to support him some and Creed just gripped his hand's tight before sagging down a little, hanging his head.
"I-I can't get up..." he whispered, his voice laced with pain. His whole body hurt worse than ever and without the haze of a mission to dull it, it was crippling him.
"It's okay. I'm here for you. Take your time," Chaos said quietly, carefully offering support. Creed nodded and took a couple of breaths before attempting to stand again. He made it onto two feet, swaying dangerously as his eyes threatened to roll up into his head. He wasn't strong enough for this, but he had to push through.
There were no voices reminding him of that this time, though, just himself. It was a strange feeling, but he didn't feel the normal emptiness that usually accompanied it this time. He had Chaos and that was enough. He didn't need the voices.
"Let's get you back," Chaos said, gently guiding Creed down the hall. Creed staggered after him and Chaos helped him out, supporting him, letting him rest, and guiding him carefully. He managed to get Creed back to the front of the medbay where a couple of medics quickly rushed to grab Creed. They looked less concerned and more frightened, though, as one of them quickly grabbed Chaos away from Creed and the other's got him back from Chaos. Creed started at that, trying to jerk free so he could get to Chaos.
"No, let me see my brother!" he yelled, but one of the medics grabbed his arm and pulled it back rather sharply, causing Creed to recoil in pain as they tried to get him back onto a stretcher. They got him down and though he fought it, they were stronger than him in his weak state and soon had his arms restrained as they tried to sedate him. Creed writhed and squirmed away but one of the medics got the needle into his arm and quickly injected it's contents. Creed resisted for several more minutes before the drowsiness hit him and he was pulled back under into the painlessness of sleep.
Hours passed before he woke up again, halfway fighting his way out of the fog of sedation and back into the painful reality of being awake. It was a bit of a shock to wake up in so much pain, but as he gasped he reminded himself that meant he was still alive.
Even so, he barely felt alive.
Cracking his eyes carefully, he coughed and gasped a little, surveying the room as his vision began to clear. There were two medic looking people by the door, only they were in armor with weapons. Creed wondered why, but before he could devise a potential answer, his gaze as distracted by the boy moving over to the bed.
"C-Chaos..." he croaked softly, attempting to move towards the boy. Chaos cracked a worried smile and sat beside him so he wouldn't have to move.
"Hey," he said. "How do you feel?"
Creed offered a weak smile to cover up the pain but eventually gave up, knowing Chaos could see through it. "N-Not good..." he whispered after a long moment.
"They say you hurt a lot of people and probably hurt yourself worse in the process. They said you have to rest," Chaos said.
Creed nodded weakly and reached for Chaos hand, wishing he had the strength to sit up so he could hold Chaos. He wanted to keep the younger clone close, a strong sense of protectiveness seeming to kick in. Whatever it was it was keeping the voices at bay and it was definitely strange, but Creed didn't think it was bad.
Chaos took his hand and shifted closer to curl up next to Creed and Creed weakly wrapped one arm around him, brushing lightly through Chaos' hair. "I-I missed you v-vod'ika..." he murmured softly. "I-I'm sorry I-I left..."
Chaos rested his head against Creed's hand, his eyes closed quietly as he relaxed some. He lightly wrapped his arms around Creed, though, careful not to hurt him. "It's okay...I missed you too."
Creed nodded and ignored the pain as he pulled Chaos tight into his side. He looked up at the ceiling some, thinking over this warm strong feeling in his chest. He'd felt this before, but not the same way. He'd felt this safe in Haze's arms, and in Specter and Skate's. Only then he'd been the one clinging to them, desperate to be comforted. Now he was the one comforting and it felt just as good. Whatever it was also kept the voices at bay, protecting him from them through it's strange power.
Creed looked quietly down at Chaos as he watched him relax and start to fall asleep.
My brother's were there for me when I needed them. I have to be here for Chaos. They might have only been in my life for a few years, but they were there when they needed to be. They're gone now, I know that. I can't bring them back, but I can do what they did for me.
Creed laid his head to the side, a sense of calm settling in his broken body and mind as he gently pulled Chaos close and let the cadet sleep, threading his fingers through the boy's wild hair still.
Haze, Specter, Skate, Dawn, Tadem, all of you...thank you. Creed let his eyes flicker upward some, thinking back to one of the last things Haze had told him all those years ago when they'd been sitting outside on the roof, watching the stars closely and talking about the future. I'll look for you all in the stars, but I won't let myself be lost to the void.
Once more his gaze returned to Chaos. You all loved me and cared for me. You were the best brother's I could've ever asked for, but now it's my turn to be the ori'vod. Chaos needs me.
He wrapped Chaos up protectively and made sure to keep him warm and safe, silently making a vow to himself, to his brother's and to Chaos there in that moment. A promise his brother's had all made to him. A promise it was time he made on his own.
"My vod'ika."