I'M BACK.

Tw: Threatening a child, references to death and injury, and... a character that I'm sure you all missed...

"So..." Kara trailed off uncertainly, glancing to Rex. "This is awkward."

His helmet turned to her before he lowly said, "You saying it's awkward makes it awkward."

Kara rolled her eyes and shifted so her pelvis bones didn't dig into the ground as much. "Okay well it's awkward."

He faced forwards again and sighed, the sound coming out roughly through the helmet. "Why don't we just put everything behind us."

Kara hummed in agreement, drumming her fingers along her thigh. "There isn't much to put behind."

"We dated for a while," Rex said, clearly not happy with her statement. "And I met your family."

"I hate them," Kara countered.

"And I was there for you during some rough times," he continued. 

"Okay that circus incident wasn't my fault."

Rex's finger twitched. "That's not the point. The point is I think it was a pretty big relationship. And it's awkward that now we're pretending like it never happened."

"So you admit it's awkward!" Kara exclaimed, casting an accusatory glare his way. "And yeah... I just..."

"I get you don't trust me," he began," but it's a big problem if you don't trust me if we're on a mission together."

Kara stood up and stretched, rolling out her shoulders. "It's fine. I've worked with Sith before. I'm used to it."

Rex slipped his helmet off, watching her back arch as she stretched. "We can't afford a screw up. Deserter clones are hard to come by. We can't risk anyone catching wind of him, or us trying to find him."

"Which is why it's very wise to send you, a deserter clone," Kara sarcastically said. She snickered briefly, tying her jacket around her waist. "Very discrete."

"Hey, I'm not a normal clone." Rex tapped his head, gesturing to his blonde hair. 

"Yes, you're so special." Kara's nose wrinkled as she looked back to the city, wiping the dirt off her pants. "Ready?"

Rex nodded, entering the ship. He returned without his helmet, and with a poncho draped over his armour. "Let's do this."

Kara stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

Rex blinked in surprise, spreading his arms and surveying himself. "What's wrong?"

"That's your disguise?" Kara demanded. "You've got to be kriffing with me. It doesn't hide your identify at all. I could spot you a mile away."

He huffed and pulled the hood over his head, casting shadows over his face. "Happy?"

Kara ran her tongue over her teeth before sighing. "It'll do. Let's get this over with."

Rex followed her into the city, trying to keep his face down to avoid anyone seeing him. Clones were fairly well-known across the galaxy after all. He still didn't understand what was wrong with his disguise. No one else had figured out who he was yet.

"Hey," Kara said, holding an arm out to prevent a child from running past. "Have you seen any suspicious men around here? Maybe someone keeping to themselves?"

"What are you doing?" Rex hissed into her ear, watching as the kid's eyes widened.

"M-Momma said not to talk to strangers," she whispered, pulling at her hair nervously. 

Kara crouched. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

Rex pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, knowing what was coming. "Kara-"

"Unless you don't tell us what we want to know," Kara finished, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

The little girl sobbed, snot dripping down her mouth. "T-There's a m-man living above t-the bakery! He l-looks like him!" She pointed to Rex.

"See?" Kara smirked. "I told you the disguise was stupid."

The child sprinted away, blubbering and crying. Rex groaned and rubbed at his face.

"So I guess we're going to the bakery?" Kara casually said, dusting her hands off. "Maybe I'll get a cookie while we're over there."

Rex gazed ahead and hummed. "Okay."

Kara led the way to the bakery after asking for directions, pushing her way through the crowd. They reached the bakery and found the set of stairs located in a back alleyway. They made their way upstairs before Rex knocked on the door and took a step back.

"Now be careful," he warned her. "Not all clones take desertion well. He could think we're here to arrest him."

They waited another minute before Kara rapped sharply on the door, harder than Rex had. It swung open under her touch, letting them into a dark room.

They exchanged glances before warily entering.

"Hello?" Rex called out. "Is anyone here?"

A single piano sat in the middle of the room, shined like it was brand new. Kara cocked her head at it, looking to Rex again.

"It's okay, we're here to help," Kara said, staring ahead to the bedroom door. She approached it before pushing it open, only to find an empty bed. She shook her head at Rex.

"I guess there's no one here." Rex sighed softly, shoulders slumping.

Kara studied his expression. "We can always find someone else. And I'm sure he's fine. He's probably smart enough to know to keep moving."

The door slammed shut behind them. They both tensed as hands slammed down on the keys, emoting a horrendous sound.

"Hello again. It's been a while."

Kara glared at the man sitting at the piano, immediately reaching for her blaster. "You-"

Rex held a hand out, stopping her from killing anyone until he could get some answers. "How are you alive?"

Coda shrugged, crossing one leg over the other. "I've always been tougher than I looked."

Kara tried to lunge at him, only for Rex to wrap his arms around her and pin her to his chest. She threw an elbow back and nearly hit him in the face with it. 

"I shot you in the back!" Rex grunted as Kara landed a kick to the back of his knee. He didn't wobble though, and remained upright.

Coda winced. "Yeah, and it hurt. But I played dead until you left, then I got help. I have a lot of friends."

"I find that hard to believe," Kara spat out, trying to claw her way out of Rex's grip.

"You have about three seconds until I let her go," Rex threatened, "so tell us why you're here."

Coda chuckled, playing a chord on the piano. "It's a long story, but I wanted to reunite family."

Rex's eyes narrowed. "We're no longer brothers."

"Oh, I wasn't taking about us." Coda's eyes slowly slid to Kara. "I was talking about a mother to her child."

Rex paled. "Excuse me?"

Kara froze. "I've never had a kid."

Coda grinned smugly. "The Kaminoans were always curious about how long they could go without another sample of Fett's DNA, you see. The watered down versions of clone DNA were becoming weaker and weaker."

"Yes we all know this," Rex interrupted. "Get to the point."

"So they figured the original, non-altered DNA would work best. Boba and Omega." Coda examined his nails as if he was bored.

"Omega is protected, and Boba is gone," Rex responded. His arms unwound from Kara, trusting her not to kill Coda while they still needed him to talk.

"Yes, but you were close enough. One of the first clones created, if I'm not mistaken." Coda's smile widened at the confused expression on Kara's face. "But they needed something purer. Something that wasn't a copy of a copy."

Kara frowned. "Get to the point."

"They mixed your DNA with his," Coda said to Kara, pointing at Rex. "You are an elite soldier, after all. It was a test to see if the result could be sold off to the Republic."

"That's... illegal, right?" Kara squeezed Rex's arm unsurely. "They can't just take my DNA. How did they even do that?"

"So wait." Rex rubbed at his temples, fighting a migraine. "There's a child out there with my DNA, and Kara's?"

A sinister grin split Coda's face again. "Uh-huh. And can you guess where she is right now?"

"I really don't want to," Rex replied.

"They were taken with some other projects to be worked on by the Empire. Some secret lab that I know the location of." Coda flexed his fingers before playing a simple scale.

"And why are you telling us this?" Kara suspiciously asked. 

"Because they have something I want." Coda gave them a pointed look. "And now you have a reason to go too. So we should work together to break in."

"We'll have to think about it." Rex nudged Kara. "But what is it you want?"

Coda laughed. "Nope. You don't get to know. I like having all the power." 

"Give us some time," Rex told him. "We'll think about it."

Coda gestured to the door. "You know where to find me."

As they left, Kara glowered at Coda. "I'm gonna kill you one day."

Coda chuckled. "Sure. But not while I still have something you want."