A gluttural rumble erupted from the back of the captains throat as a barrel of a blaster hovered inches away from his now exposed head, heat radiating from the metal opening from recent use. He grunted when a robotic foot hit the back of his leg causing him to unwilling collapse to his knee, the sudden action making it impossible to maintain his weight. He struggled even as the binds were being placed on his wrists refusing to make it easy for the droids who had managed to capture some of torrent company and a small group of Cody's forces along with the commander himself. Cody and himself were separated from their fellow brothers by a small five foot gap between them. There was about ten of them. The plan had been to gather a small group and flank the enemy while the rest of the 212th and 501st lead by Skywalker and Kenobi kept the droids attention. Once they hit the Seppies, they were to slink back and rejoin the main force. It was supposed to be a diversion. Now they were situated in a room amongst the base of the Separatists, wrists bound behind their backs awaiting  their demise to walk through the door.

"Cody" Rex mumbled in a hushed tone. "They will kill, possibly torture our men or use us against our own forces. We need to do something now".

"I know, I know" the 212th commanding officer responded quietly. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking-"

"There's no time to-" Rex started cut off by the sound of the door opening to the room, the scraping of metal agaisnt the floor sounding. A looming figure filled the door frame, almost immedietly recognizable as the cyborg that plagued them since the beginning of the war. He was accompanied by three guards, distuguasable by their red eyes and the staff they held in their hands. They dispersed amongst the room to make sure there would be no resistance. "Great" The Captain muttered to himself, glancing over and catching the gaze of Fives, who seemed to be just as concerned about the situation as Rex felt.

"Clones" Grevious spat, cough racking his frame before he gathered himself. He then gave an amused chuckle "I have an idea. Let's play a game".

"Sorry. We don't play games with Separatists.  Especially not with tin cans like you" Fives stated eyes narrowing as he fixed his gaze onto the cyborg.

"I wasn't talking to you clone. I was talking to your commanding officers" Grevious says "Though you'll be next when I'm done." And with that he looked over at the commander decorated in orange and the captain in blue, their helmets removed by commando droids in preparation for this moment. "I've noticed your men seem to care about you. Kenobi and Skywalker included. Skywalker just can't seem to let things go. That's why I've already decided-" with that a clawed hand wrapped around the Rex's throat restricting airflow. "You'll be the first to die."

The 501st officer struggled, legs kicking out as he was hoisted above ground gasping for breath. He had no other means of escape, his hands tied and his vision blurring. He attempted to kick his assaulter, protests sounding from the group who accompianed him on the doomed expedition from the start, most notably from the Commander who was helpless but to watch and the ARC trooper who was several feel away. "Skywalker will walk right into this trap and Kenobi will follow. Now die knowing you lead to your Jedi's death". The grip around his throat tightened until the blonde's windpipe caved in. Grevious dropped the body to the floor, leaving the captain to wheeze

"No!" Fives yelled in disbelief, lunging forward only to be stopped by the grip of the magna guard nearest to him. He was held in place momentarily but Grevious motioned to let him go. Dodging the incoming tackle he tripped the impulsive ARC Trooper, one of the claws crashing down on the others back to keep him in place.  "Look at your captain" He chuckled taking delight in the others grief, forcing the other head to turn to stare at his dying brother.

"Rex!" Fives called, wanting to look away from the scene but unable to do so. Rex's head lulled to the side as he heard his name being called, his eyes holding the panic of a dying man. This struck something in the ARC trooper, whose eyes mirrored the captain's panic to a controlled degree. Rex had always struck him as invincible. A silly thought he knew but it just seemed so. Putting his own emotions aside he reached out to grasp the others shoulder. "Its okay brother. You're not alone."

Rex struggled for a minute or so seemingly more gathered, until he fell limp, the wheezing from his attempted breathing earlier no more.

"Sir the Republic has breeched our defenses and the base. Skywalker is leading the charge" One of the commando droids stated.

"Good" Grevious says removing his foot from the other. "Guards with me" The cyborg wheezed quickly exiting the room.

Cody was silent as they left his gaze trained on his best friends body. "Commander" one of the 212th troopers called. This snapped him from his thoughts as he looked over at the group.

"What do we do now?"

Despite his own turmoil Cody gave a sigh. "We have to move. Everyone up. We can come get Rex's body after we've regrouped with our forces".

With their orders the group got up although Fives lingered by his place at the Captain's side.

"Come on Fives" Cody called. Their hands were still bound but he was confident they could sneak around in the chaos. "I don't want to leave him either. But we don't have a choice. We have to get to safety. It's what he would've wanted"

Fives obeyed because he agreed. It was the most logical thing to do. A part of him didn't want to be in the room anymore. Maybe that's why Cody didn't want to stay either.
-------

They regrouped and the news spread. Despite being surrounded by others who shared his grief Fives felt alone.

First the Sarge, then Droidbait, Cutup, Hevy, Echo and now Rex. Who else was he going to lose?

A/N Question. Would you guys like me to leave the old text at the bottom for reference? I mean I think there's at least improvement in the flow of my writing and I don't know how to showcase that to readers. I changed the story quite a bit tbh- originally Rex got stabbed by lightsaber and had last words but I figured this was more brutal and jarring. Plus it's more realistic. I included the plan as to how they got stuck in the situation and Grevious being Grevious would delight in torturing them. Plus anywhere Skywalker goes Kenobi follows. He figured if he could get a rouse from Skywalker his emotions would best him and he coukd strike him down. Upon seeing his apprentice fall Kenobi would be more likely to do the same thing.