Btw here's a picture of Omega's new haircut she gets in this chapter. Just ignore the face because i found the picture off of pintrest.

Also I just found this horrible piece of fanart I just had to share with you guys.

What the frickety fuck is this shit!? Who the hell drew this? I mean the editing isn't bad but WHY

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Anyways please enjoy what will be one of the final chapters of this book.

Fives' pov
I spent all day in the kriffin medical ward since that's the only place we could get Omega a haircut. Well at least it's clean. Echo and I were waiting out in the hall for an hour now. Does it seriously take this long to cut off a few stands of hair? Besides Ahsoka and Rex called a meeting and attendance is mandatory in... half an hour ago. That was just cold. Especially since they were the one's who ordered us to take Omega to get her hair cut. I hate it when they use their military rank to order us to do something personal. Speaking of personal, I think Echo has his attention on someone else at the moment. I watched as he interacted with the front desk lady. Echo pointed to something behind the coumted that she let an ungodly laugh at, then quickly covered her mouth and said something back.

"Alright! Here she is..." The person who went into the small room with her walked out of the old, wooden door. Omega walking out after her.

"Wow Megs! It's so clean." Echo gushed at the new haircut. Not gonna lie though it was much better looking than her slightly curly split ends fr9m an hour ago. Her hair was getting to the point where you could see it out the bottom of her helmet. Now it was so cleanly cut, all edges and curls reached the tip of her helmet. It was a slight change but it made all the difference.

"Yeah yeah. Stop fangirling Echo. How do you feel about it Megs?" She hummed quietly in her own little world. A while ago she told me when she takes off the helmet it's like reentering a reality she gets to make. Wonder if that's still true.

"I feel like a new me." She replied with confidence that came with the change. Not that she didn't already have enough confidence as it is. Echo turned his head to the young lady from the front desk.

"I'm so sorry, we have to go now." I rolled my eyes qnd watched my twin get into it.

"Oh no that's okay. I hear General Tano is excited to deliver you the news to you!" My mouth fell open. Is this bitch serious right now!?

"Well great! We don't have to go to the meeting now that we know what it's about!" I was outraged and I imagine Ahsoka will be to when she finds out some random person spoiled her big surprise. So imagine my confusion when no one else was outraged about this with me.

"Fives. We already knew this." Echo said with that straight poker face I could never do. When I had an emotion no one had to take a wild guess. So my confusion was evident and no one did anything about it until I specifically asked for it.

"What?" Omegq rolled her eyes and put he rhand son her hips, the helmet in her right.

"Ahsoka told us she was promoted to the rank of General yesterday! You just weren't listening." Oh.

"Excuse you missie! I always listen." The entire room started laughing. Even the people I'd never met before chuckled. Was I that wrong? Nah of course not. I am always right.

"Hey! Miss Nurse lady! We just met, you don't have laughing privileges yet." I grabbed Echo and Omega by the wrist before dragging them out the exit door. Omega rolled her eyes and came willingly but Echo resisted and grabbed the wall, pulling himself back into the frame of the medical ward.

"I never caught your name!" Echo grunted as he fought to remain in eyesight of the woman. Classy.

"Celeste." Okay I don't dislike Celeste. But then again she did set me up for embarrassment which earns her a stained name in my opinion. And my opinion means everything to Echo.

"Real classy." I sniggered at Omega's snarky little comment. Echo scrunched his face and mocked her before rolling his eyes and walking ahead of us both. Omega scoffed and looked at me for an answer.

"Don't look at me! This is the first time a girl went for the other arc twin." Omega gaaped and brough a hand to her face. She kept sputtering and pointinf back and forth between the hallway where the woman was and Echo.

"What- It's his- are you saying-" I shushed her mouth with my pointer finger. I can't believe one of the moves out of Wrecker's cheesy holomovies actually worked.

"Yep. This is the first crush that has actually shown signs of intrest. It's new territory." I said extra slowly to rub it in. I guess it worked since Echo started walking faster. At his pace we'll all be at that meeting in no time. Unfortunately we were there too soon. Yeah we were still technically half an hour late and disrupted the entire gathering at the meeting as we entered, but on the bright side we looked awesome while doing it. Especially Megs with her new hair cut.

"Excuse me- sorry just got to get... over-" I shoved my hand up someone's forehead to balance myself as I wobbled up the small bleacher stairs to an open spot for three I saw next to Hunter. Once I was standing upright on someone's now broken foot I patted the random guys head and took a seat next to Hunter. Echo next to me and Omega next to him.

"Heh, he probably thought I was gay." I stopped laughing when I heard a pained cry below me. That's when I loiked down to see mt foot still rubbed into to some poor saps broken foot.

"Ooh... sorry bout that." Echo crunged as the guy popped his bone back into place by his right ankle. I winked at the man who sucked in a pained breath then turned away from me.

"He's not far off." Megs waved her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yep. Your a real charmer." Echo said. I rolled my eyes and shushed them.

"Alright ready guys? Watch this. I'm gonna listen to this meeting with no interruptions cqused at all. Starting-"

"Meeting dissmissed!" Bail Organa's voice rang out through the small sea of people.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me." The entire row laughed with me at the horrible timing. I'm aldeady in a bad mood. And it just got so much worse.

"Bad Batch please stay! Fives, Echo!" Ahsoka shouted over fhe noise of stomping feer and fhe congratulations she recieved from others. They really have got to be shitting me. Right? I mean the last thing I vandalized was on Alvoc-3 so isn't it a bit late for repercussions?

"Alright let's get this over with. She's probably telling us we have to leave anyway." My head jerked towards Echo's solemn expression.

"Why would you think that?" I motioned for Omega to run along without us with my head but she didn't take the hint.

"With the bad batch it's... I- you just can't stay in one place too long. Guess we always have to be on the move." I frowned at the better arc twin.

"Echo the bad batch is filled with great people... and Crosshair."

"I heard that." Out of nowhere I turned around to see Crosshair behind me just in time for him to kick me in the shin. Like I said. Great people. I tried to throw my shin guard at him after but he just side stepped and it hit someone completely different than my target.

"Fives!"

"Sorry." Ahsoka sighed. I climbed down the bleachers as she threw my armor back at me it hit my hand but I didn't catch it. Omega started laughing uncontrollably when I dived for it. Echo stifled his laughter as best he could but I heard that ugly belly laugh he let escape. Turns out the laughter was contagious. I sat down and stuck the shin gear back on my, well, shin. I was laughing on the ground with everybody else. However the woman standing above me was not amused.

"Fives." I tried my best not to flinch at her tone.

"Yes mom- ma'am?" Ahsoka's lip did that weird curly thing again that she always does when she's irritated or disgusted. Then she sniffed the air near her which was right above where I was seated. Once I stood to my feet next to her I tried to sniff what she was before.

"I don't smell anything." She groaned and turned her back to me.

"That's because your the smell, you di'kut." Oh god I hope I didnt leave any leftover food from my cafeteria raid last night. I looked in my pockets but i didn't see any mold, rot or smell a thing. But then I moved to my armpit qnd suddenly life made sense all the ssudden.

"Oops... well I guess that explains it." Everyone took a simultaneous large step away from me except Echo who just rolled his eyes at all the shenanigans.

"Can we please get bsck on track to why were here, please." Bail was just that awkward one in the room who's all business. Not the poor guys fault he was raised that way though. I'm just lucky I had Captain Snores-Alot and not Fox.

"Yes of course. I apologize for my men, sometimes they don't know when to be serious." She glared at me towards the end which subconsciously made me shrink in my spot around the war table. Rex leaned in toward me and whispered.

"Don't take it personally. She's extra moody lately. Pregnant brain and all that." Rex was just trying to mqke me feel better. But still I knew that wasn't the whole truth. I know the amount of stress Ahsoka is under lately. She just finished her first trimester, she basically co-runs this entire base with Bail all day. Kix spends most of his time in the medical bay now that Ahsoka's here which Echo may or may not be getting a little jealous about soon but we'll get to that when we get to it. Wolffe has been personally supervising more field missions lately as well.

"No mission today. Were here to talk about something much more serious." Ugh I hate that word. Serious. I haven't been serious since I learned how to talk.

"And what would that be?" Tech asked across from me. Rex smirked beside me though. Not gonna lie it's creepy as hell.

"The future of this rebellion." Bail stepped forward into his spotlight at the front. Everybody watched him mesmerized by the words of someone who isn't a realist.

"Everyday we grow. Not just in ranks, but in ammunition, pilots, ships, people. If continue on like this it'll be never ending volunteers. Those volunteers are unprepared for this war we are preparing to rage against the Empire and untrainrd in combat. They all have hope and spirit, but I hate to admit that'll only get one so far." He paused in his speech to glance at Omega. I know that face he's making. That's the face of man who's in trouble and stuck way over his head he wasn't ready for and now about to ask for help. I should know, this is my natural face afterall.

"I want both your squads to train our new recruits in your pristine fighting techniques." There it is. Feels good to hear but it won't feel good to do.

"That's not an order by the way! Just a request that I'm really hoping you'll take." I guess that would make people feel a little more at ease. I'm not most people though. It's obvious were backed in a corner. If we say no he won't give us any mission and maybe even make us leave if were not useful then we'd be right back to square one wandering around the galaxy.

"Why do you believe we would be the best candidates for this honor you are offering to bestow upon us?" Tech asked Bail directly.

"Think about it. A squad of elite soldiers, two arc troopers, Captain Rex and two jedi. The Empire wouldn't stand a chance against you or the new recruits." He does have a point there. Echo and I are pretty awesome. That's the only thing I'm taking away from this rant.

"With all due respect sir, we haven't even decided if we want to be a permanent part of this rebellion yet." Ahsoka frowned at Hunter's remark about not wanting to stay. I must agree with him though. We already fought one war against a weak opponent that we had the upper hand against. How can anyone fight a losing war against the strongest oppenent in the galaxy with just a few volunfeers and a couple of puny fighter jets.

"Well then you better decide quickly. No sense in you all staying here doing nothing." And with that Bail Organa left the room. Before the door shut though he spun on his heal to give me one last look. Or at least I thought he was giving me the look but qhen Rex gave Bail a subtle nod if made me a little suspicious. What are they up to and how dare they scheme whatever they're up to without me!

"That's all we have time for today. Same time tomorrow?" The mass in the room nodded simultaneously before heading out the automatic doors. I shared a glance with Echo as everybody exited except Rex and Ahsoka.

"Do you think she's okay?" Echo asked right before a soft sob was heard behind us.

"Yeah she's clearly dandy back there." He rolled his eyes at the sarcasm.

"Do you think she wants to join? The rebellion, I mean." I looked behind my back to glance at Ahsoka to see if Rex was still consoling the crying Ahsoka, but instead all I foumd were Ahsoka's eyes that seemed to be extra vibrant today.

"Fives. Can I speak to you privately for a second please." I groaned and stopped trying to hide my peaking from them. Not that I was hiding it well in the first place.

"Sure thing, General." Echo tapped my shoulder and mouthed good luck to me before sending a two finger salute to Ahsoka and Rex. Once the doors whizzed shut I started walkung back to Ahsoka and Rex.

"Apologies for... I don't know. Whatever I did this time." Ahsoka chuckled and Rex just smiled softly, probably remembering some of the epic scream sessions the entire old base had to deal with.

"You didn't do anything Fives. I just..." she looked at Rex for a split second. I've never felt more of a third wheel than I did in that split second.

"I wanted to inform you of the corner I'm backed in." She was picking her words very carefully.

"Go on." She sucked in a sharp breath. Rex put both his hands on hers.

"Earlier today, right before the meeting, I had a discussion with Bail. Everyone knows I've been offered the rank of General if we decide to stay but what they don't know is I also decided we'll stay." Blinking. What a basic thing to do yeg right now I couldn't bring myself to. Fear that id I close my eyes she'll show the sign I need to know if she's kidding or not. After a solid minute of her unwavering expression I got my answer.

"What do you mean we'll stay? Like forever? Like until death forever?" Jeez I expected a luagh but instead got a single nod. And a frown! Oh sweet peaches she has a kriffing frown on her face.

"Yes Fives. I told him that we would be permanently joining the cause which is why he was so pushy today. Everyday we spend here without confirming our loyalty is anofher day people lose a little bit of trust in us." Based off the non shit-taking faces of both Rex and Ahsoka ir was a legitimate guess to say they weren't fooling around today. It was odd seeing them so serious. Her more so than him.

"I see what your saying. I know the role of General must've been tempting and you've always wanted it, but..." Ahsoka wasn't the only one being careful with words.

"But?"

"But are you absolutely sure joining with anyone or anything is the right call. I mean don't get me wrong most people love ot here but the Bad Batch has gotten used to being lone wolves. I doubt they'd be too keen on joining any group no matter what the cause is."

"And that's our problem. Half of the group wants to stay and the other doesn't." I didn't need her to spell it out for me. It was obvious that Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair weren't thrilled about being near this many people. On the other hand Ahsoka, Omega, Rex and I absolutely adore it here. Only one person was undecided qnd he could shift the whole vote. Wherever Echo goes, that's where I'll follow. But if he doesn't even know where he wants to be than how could I possibly follow someone staying still?

"I see. And what do you want me to do about it? Or more specifically, why am I the one you chose to tell this to?" Ahsoka was very clearly still unsure about whatever she was trying to tell me so it made sense when Rex stepped in for her.

"Everyone knows you Fives. People know you as the class clown, the average funny guy. To other people tou are one big walking joke. Now I respect tou Fives and so does the resr of our little family. However, no one else does. To those people your only here to provide comedic relief." Rex was rambling. I let him go on though. What he was saying was... scary? Was I afraid of what others thought of me or that what others thought of me is true.

"I am more than just a book of jokes. I have some serious sass game too."

"Fives." Rex growled in his fatherly warning tone. Jeez poor Teagan.

"Right. Sorry. Is it true though? That's what peolple see me as? A joke?" Ahsoka and Rex shared a solemn glance before directing their heads back to me and hanging them down low.

"They don't know you like we do. Haven't seen you in action yet either." Ahsoka said to try and make me feel better.

"Yeah they'll understand you real soon buddy. We just need to get you more involved here. Which is why - hear us out - we got you a tour guide. Or more like a rebel guide." Rex actually made me feel worse. My whole face crinkled and scrunched as I visibly cringed at their fake enthusiasm.

"Alright so let me get this straight. Your thought process is that if Echo wants to stay the rest of the batch will, and if I seriously show I want to stay then Echo will want to stay. And you think this tour guide dude- or dudette, will help five me a new perspective about this rebellion that will make me nore serious because you think if the normal funny guy says something serious people will listen. Correct?" It was obvious Rex got lost there at the end but Ahsoka nodded excitedly. At least someone here is a good actor.

"Exactly! Don't worry Fives we found the most charismatic, funny person we could. He actually remimds me a lot of you." I sighed as Rex and Ahsoka started walking me out the door. Each person grabbed each side of my shoulders and started forcefully walking me out.

"Mhm. Sure. As if there's another Fives-a-like somewhere. What's this persons name?" Ahsoka sent me a soft smile.

"He's one of Bail's new recruits. His name is Kes Dameron."

Earlier that day

Ahsoka's pov
"Not only would you be in charge of your squad, but any soldier in the entire rebellion would follow your command." Literally this is so random. One second were talking about potholes and mysteries abour our ild common friends and next thing