CT-5555 "Fives" was an ARC Trooper of the 501st Legion who came dangerously close to uncovering the truth behind the inhibitor chips implanted in the Republic's clone army.

In this alternate timeline, Fives survives his confrontation with Commander Fox.

After Fox shoots him, Fives is left dying from the catastrophic internal damage caused by the superheated blaster plasma. Before he can take his final breath, however, an unidentified person rushes to him, forces a small vial of strange crimson liquid into his mouth, and immediately flees.

The liquid is not ordinary blood.

It is Varkhyn vitae.

The Varkhyn are an extremely rare and poorly understood species whose unusual biology allows their blood-derived vitae to permanently alter the physiology of another living being. Someone who undergoes the transformation becomes what the Varkhyn call Bloodbound.

Fives is rushed to a medical facility on Coruscant. The doctors initially believe he is beyond saving, but his heart unexpectedly begins beating again. His body temperature drops, his metabolism changes, and his injuries begin healing at a rate that should be impossible.

The transformation also stops the accelerated aging programmed into his clone biology.

Fives has survived.

But he is no longer biologically the same.

Anakin Skywalker refuses to let the Republic simply take Fives away after what happened. Fives is placed under Jedi protection while the circumstances surrounding his survival are investigated.

Eventually, Fives tells Anakin and the Jedi everything he discovered about Tup, the inhibitor chips, and the conspiracy surrounding the clone army.

This time, they listen.

The Jedi investigate his claims and discover enough evidence to confirm that the inhibitor chips are capable of overriding the clones' free will. The information is quietly spread among the Jedi and clone commanders, and efforts begin to remove or disable the chips.

Palpatine's plan begins to unravel.

When the Chancellor eventually attempts to use Order 66, the Republic is no longer defenseless. The Jedi and clone army have already been warned, preventing the mass betrayal that would have occurred in the original timeline.

The Clone Wars continue, but the Republic is no longer blindly marching toward its destruction.

Meanwhile, Fives has another secret.

His transformation has made him Bloodbound.

He remains alive, conscious, and capable of living a normal life, but his body now requires blood as a biological nutrient. His senses are heightened, his healing is accelerated, and his aging has effectively stopped.

Fives refuses to become a monster.

He will not kill for blood.

He will not feed from someone without permission.

And he will never force the transformation onto another person.

Eventually, Fives establishes a hidden refuge beneath Coruscant. What begins as a small abandoned maintenance facility slowly becomes a safe haven for the growing number of Bloodbound who come under his protection.

Some are clones.

Some are civilians.

Some are soldiers.

Some were dying and willingly accepted the transformation.

Their numbers slowly increase.

They do not call themselves a coven.

They are simply the Bloodbound, a secret family living beneath the surface of the Republic while Fives continues helping the Jedi and his brothers expose the truth behind Darth Sidious.

To the official Republic records, CT-5555 should have died on Coruscant.

Instead, Fives survived long enough to change the fate of the entire galaxy.