The next day was marked by the girls waking up to the loud bang of the door being kicked open. Nebula immediately regretted opening her eyes. She was face to face with Corvus. The man loomed over her and she narrowed her eyes at him. Her expression hardened when they locked eyes.
A gasp of shock left Gamora's lips when she opened her eyes. Her fists flew up to defend herself, ready to strike Proxima if the woman moved any closer.
"There, there, girls," Proxima purred. "Don't tell me no food left you daft enough to believe training would not carry on."
"No ma'am," The girls said in unison, still on edge because of the adults' proximity. They got out of bed and stood at the edge of it with their heads bowed. Their clothes were not given back to them after how the day before ended so they were still in the uniforms from when they refused to fight.
"Gamora you will be training with Corvus. Nebula with myself," Proxima looked them over with a sour expression.
"Do not expect us to go easy on you after yesterday's blunder," Corvus added with a scowl. "Be grateful our Master values your lives more than we do. That is the only thing causing us to refrain from giving you a taste of us at our worst."
"We appreciate that sir," Nebula gave a sarcastic sigh and kept her gaze down, crying out when his claws dug into her chin and forced her to look into his eyes.
"Did I say you could talk?" He spat in her face. Nebula glowered at him.
"No sir," She stuck her chin up and stood taller, jaw clenching when his fingers dug in hard enough to draw blood.
"I could easily make your death look like an accident, little one," He dragged his claws down her chin. "Do not test me."
Nebula broke his gaze to take on a submissive stance, scowl still present when she looked down at the ground. He squeezed her chin once more than shoved her away from him. Nebula gave him the worst glare she could muster then took her place beside Gamora.
"Yet you couldn't show this attitude yesterday," Proxima tsked. The girls' heads lowered, their shoulders slumping slightly.
"Careful dear," Corvus chuckled. "It appears you may have brought up something they would prefer ignoring. I would hate to see you hurt their feelings this early on in the day."
"Remind me why I would care," Proxima hissed then narrowed her eyes at Nebula. "Now follow me. You have training to do."
Their training proved to be extra grueling on an empty stomach and Proxima was unforgiving when it came to any sort of error. Their time together ended with Nebula sore, bruised, and exhausted. She was supposed to clean herself up and prepare to face Thanos. The very act of walking into the lavatory left her feeling ready to drop.
Her stance changed when she became aware she was not the only one using the facility. A stall door opened from behind her and made her jump, eyes widening in her reflection in the mirror. She was in the middle of combing her fingers through her hair.
"Thank goodness it's just you," Gamora's voice came from behind her. She looked nearly twice as tired as she felt. "Have you reconsidered?" Nebula quirked a brow at Gamora's question.
"Do you mean fighting you?" Her face paled a little at the thought. "No. I've not. Have you?"
"No," Gamora shook her head. "They make it sound like Thanos wants us alive but I— I can't tell if that means he has plans for us or plans to kill us himself."
"I am not going to make it through the week if training stays as tough as today's was," Nebula sighed. "Suppose we give it two days?"
"What if Proxima brings out her staff again?" Gamora grimaced. "Or they call on Maw to force us into it or—" She was cut off by Nebula taking hold of her hand.
"Then we do it today," Nebula sighed. "It sounds like that's the only way we stand a chance."
"Right," Gamora's expression faltered. She chewed her lower lip. "Will we still be friends after this?"
"Of course," Nebula sighed. "We're the only ones that have each other's backs in this hell hole he expects us to call home."
Gamora stepped forward and pulled Nebula in for a hug. The two held onto each other until a throat cleared from somewhere behind them. The girls jumped away from each other and immediately placed their hands behind their backs.
"How charming," Proxima purred. "Should I tell Master the imbeciles have decided they are ready to fight each other?"
"No," The two said at the same time. Nebula took a step forward and narrowed her eyes at the woman.
"We can tell him ourselves," She scowled. "On the day we are ready to."
Proxima's reaction was shocking enough to send an unsuspecting Nebula soaring to the ground. The sound of fist meeting jaw echoed in the bathroom. Nebula rubbed the side of her face, glare deepening as she debated getting back to her feet.
"Watch your tone," The woman stood over her. The size difference between them was far more terrifying now that Nebula was truly at a disadvantage. "Now get up and wipe that look off your face. Thanos expects you and Gamora to be on your best behavior. May I suggest softening him up by apologizing for having been the most disappointing part of his day yesterday?"
"No thank you," Nebula shook her head and scrambled away from the kick that was aimed at her. Proxima gave her a look of disgust then took the lead out of the room. The girls exchanged uneasy looks then followed her into the throne room, promptly taking on their submissive stances.
"Gamora, Nebula," Thanos scowled at the girls from his throne. "I do hope today proves to be more fulfilling than yesterday's blunder." He looked impressed when neither one answered him. "It appears as though you took your studies seriously despite having missed several meals since yesterday."
As if on cue, Nebula's stomach rumbled. The child clenched her jaw and bit down hard on her lips to keep the sound from drawing attention to herself.
"Now have you made a decision on how our evening will be ending?" He chose not to comment when the girls shifted to exchange uneasy glances with each other.
"Yes Sir," Nebula nodded. Neither girl looked happy knowing the words that would follow after.
"We plan to fight," Gamora whispered, repeating herself in a louder tone when Nebula elbowed her in the side.
"Wonderful," The Titan smirked. "Corvus, I presume you have their weapons at the ready?"
"Of course, Master," Corvus nodded and opened his jacket, pulling the three blades from an inner pocket. He offered them to the two then took a step in between them. "On my count girls."
Gamora and Nebula took on their positions, each eyeing the other with a sorrowful expression before they forced the look away and took on one that was far more unreadable.
"Three, two," He gave a pause to see if either girl moved early, knowing Proxima was keeping an eye out for any errors. "One."
The two lunged for each other, knives clinking together as they took on their first round of combat against a living being. They were a blur of blue and green, striving to get an upper hand in the uneventful game of failing to hit the other. Nebula was the first to spot an opening for an attack, swiping left and sending Gamora's knife clattering to the ground. Having disarmed her weapon left an opening to wound her but Nebula didn't, merely kicking the dual-ended blade somewhere behind her.
Gamora gave a groan of annoyance then shifted to a more defensive stance, her guard up while she kept watch over Nebula's attack order. She pressed forward, getting her opponent to move back, then did a barrel roll. A few strides were needed to retrieve her weapon.
The girls carried on with the echoing sounds of knife against knife, Gamora turned on Nebula when the blue girl swung one of her blades higher than necessary. There was a loud gasp then Gamora had hold of it. She tilted her head to the side as if to ask what sort of move that was and wrestled it out of Nebula's hand.
Nebula was not about to be bested. She advanced on her sister, not expecting the younger girl to knock her to the ground in the process. Gamora straddled over Nebula, effectively pinning her beneath her. She brought her own blade to Nebula's neck and took the other blade from her hand, silently praying that Thanos would say the battle could end. He didn't say a word so the girls stared blankly at each other. Their eyes communicated their next plan of action while the rest of their facial expressions kept a determined look.
Nebula growled and flipped so she was on top of Gamora. Their knives were abandoned at their sides as the two opted for the more childish options of punching, kicking, and hair-pulling. Thanos watched with a slightly bemused expression. Proxima and Corvus merely looked concerned at how quickly the tactics they were drilling into the girls' heads were forgotten.
The two continued, rolling across the throne room's floor until Gamora got hold of Nebula's hand. The older girl had been aiming to yank her hair out. She opted for biting down on the blue girl's hand.
"That's not fair," Nebula cried out. Gamora took her shock as an opening to pin her down and wrap her hands around her neck. "They never said anything about biting."
"I do believe I just won, sis," Gamora smirked and held her down, counting to seven in her head.
"Unconventional tactics have given Gamora the winning title of this fight," Thanos did not look at either girl, eyes narrowing at Proxima instead. "I believe this is a sign you should be playing with their strengths instead of trying to exhaust them by exploiting their weaknesses. They abandoned their blades the first chance they got."
No one said anything after that. Gamora removed herself from Nebula and gave her an apologetic look, teeth digging into her lower lip when Nebula staggered to her feet.
"The winner will dine with me this evening," Thanos left his throne to stand behind Gamora. He glared down at Nebula and rested his hand on Gamora's head. "You will not be eating or sleeping until after you beat the practice bot. Proxima will program it while Corvus goes over every mistake you made. You will be drilled until he no longer considers them as errors." He paused and looked down at Gamora. "Come, daughter. I will have the kitchen create a feast in your honor."
Thanos did not look at Nebula while leaving. She kept her head down and bit her lip, feeling nervous now that it was just her and Corvus and Proxima. Her hands were behind her back, fingers nervously toying with the ribbon around her right wrist. She hadn't enjoyed the day spent with Proxima. Knowing she now had to spend her night with two of her least favorite beings on the ship left her wanting to sob.
Silence was the only reasonable option she had. It was that or risking running her mouth and truly upsetting the adults. She could feel their eyes on her and was well aware of their whispers.
"You got cocky," Corvus addressed her with a frown, the look growing when she didn't look up at him. "You can look at me." He added and shook his head, continuing when their eyes met. "We can get this done before sunrise if you are willing to cooperate. The bot, however…" He glared at his wife. "Let's just say it will exploit every weakness up until you decided rolling on the ground like a child was better than being a warrior."
Nebula pressed her tongue against her cheek and nodded. She was far too anxious for tossing in a sarcastic remark. Corvus' usual tone of voice was replaced with something softer — as though he pitied her for being in the new situation. She would have preferred how he mocked her since that would have meant he didn't view her differently.
He was surprisingly patient when it came to training and actually took time to make sure she got her arm and foot placements right. The toughest part proved to be fixing her knife swings. She was exhausted by the time it was Proxima's turn to take over.
"Could I please get something to drink?" She grimaced. The expression grew when the adults shook their heads.
"You heard our Master," Proxima sneered. "No necessities until we are through with you. The bot is ready for you now. Do us all a favor and defeat it on your first shot."
The first three attempts at fighting backfired and left Nebula panting in an attempt to regain control of her breathing.
"You can do better than that, girl," Proxima scowled. Nebula could not stop the angry tears that sprung from her eyes. She was tired, hungry, and far more bruised than she had ever been before in her life. The purple marks were all over her arms.
"I know," The words came out in a sob, the young girl bit her lip to keep from hiccoughing.
"Should we allow her to take a break?" Corvus cast at a sideways glance at his wife. Thanos would not approve if he heard the child broke down. The outburst was appropriate though since they were approaching the point where she was risking starting the next morning off with a useless amount of sleep before being forced to join Gamora in training.
"I don't want one," Nebula sniffled before Proxima got the chance to say something. "I need one more chance."
"Fine," Proxima shrugged. Neither of the adults expected that stubborn of an answer so they were a little impressed with her. "This is the last chance you have before you cut into being guaranteed a decent amount of rest before training in the morning."
Nebula merely nodded and got back to her feet, the two daggers tightly grasped in her hands. She ended the attack with somehow decapitating the robot, gaping when the head dropped to the ground.
"Well done," Proxima tilted her head, curiously eyeing the girl. "Master will be pleased to hear about this result."
"It was an accident," Nebula mumbled. She didn't want them to expect her to do it on a living creature.
"And that is something Master does not need to know," The woman snapped and gripped Nebula's shoulder. She snickered when the young girl could not shake out of her grasp.
"He cares more about successes than failures. Referring to your work as the result of an accident will only lead to his calling you worthless. You have come this far. Do not give him a reason to question why he saved your life."
Nebula shuddered and nodded, feeling ready to burst into tears now that she stopped moving.
"Proxima let her go to bed," Corvus sighed. "She needs to be well-rested for the morning. I refuse to work with her if our keeping her any longer results in her sniveling like an infant."
Eight months followed after the first time Gamora beat Nebula. Their lives were full of intense training and harsh punishments that shaped the girls into capable warriors that were suitable for joining the adults on the field. They were fitted with armor and given strict instructions to do as they were told and to stay out of the way for a mission Ebony Maw was leading.
Gamora was overjoyed to be allowed off the ship. Nebula was merely happy to have a task Gamora couldn't beat her at. Their having to work together meant Thanos couldn't bring her to the brink of tears by reminding her how worthless her failures made her to him.
The task was simple. They were entrusted with smooth-talking a councilman of a small planet Thanos was interested in handing everything over smoothly. Ebony Maw's forces would be nearby if a struggle ensued. It was believed that the youths' innocent looks would be enough to avoid a full skirmish.
Things had gone well until the man foolishly put his hand on Gamora. Nebula was the first to snap. She lurched forward to shove the man and looked alarmed when he did not let go. Gamora gave a guttural snarl of "do not touch me" then tugged the gray man by the arm.
He was quickly flipped over, the two girls wincing at the crack that echoed when he landed on his back. Nebula kicked him in the side for good measure, looking alarmed when he did not cry out in pain. A slow clapping sound came from behind them. They turned on their heels to face the source.
"Well done girls," Ebony Maw smirked. The children stood up straight, bowed their heads, and placed their arms behind their backs. They shook a little from thinking about the harm they caused.
"But he isn't moving," Nebula whispered and inched closer to Gamora.
"Precisely," Ebony nodded and approached the gray man on the ground, bending down to remove his jacket and place it on himself. "I no longer need to have my men dispose of him since you did that for them. Consider yourselves dismissed so the real fun can begin. Our Master will find you once my mission is complete. You have five minutes to get to the ship. I would hurry unless you want to witness the slaughter."
"No thank you, sir," Gamora gasped. The two gave a curtsy then ran off. They doubted they could stomach witnessing others meet the same fate their original families had. Nebula and Gamora returned to the spacecraft mere seconds before the screaming began. They busied themselves in their bedroom and surrounded themselves with books, welcoming the distraction until their father's henchman informed them Thanos was ready to see them. The books lay forgotten on their beds as they stood up and looked each other over.
"Your braid is undone," Nebula murmured. "Do you want me to fix it?" Gamora gave her a small smile and nodded. Nebula stood behind her and braided her hair, lightly tugging on it once she tied it in place. "Perfect," She sighed. "Now how does mine look?"
"Fix your fringe," Gamora cocked her head to the side, giggling softly when Nebula made it worse. "No — Here," She shook her head and moved Nebula's fringe aside, trailing her fingers through it to untangle it. "Like that. Now we can go."
The girls cautiously entered the throne room. Their faces paled upon discovering they were alone with Thanos. He sat in his throne and paid little interest in the girls until they were kneeling on the top step that led to where he perched. Their heads were level with his boots.
"I hate this place," Gamora said through gritted teeth. Nebula cast a look of concern at her, growing visibly shocked when Thanos chuckled.
"I know little one," He smirked. "But you don't need to visit here as often after today."
Nebula and Gamora gasped and looked up at their father. Their eyes were wide, silently questioning what he meant.
"An acquaintance of mine has agreed to take you under his wing for a two-year-long training program. I will check in periodically so that does not mean either of you are free of my rules and repercussions." He narrowed his eyes at Nebula and continued when she looked away from him. "You will be working under Ronan the Accuser. He will aid in training you to become the fiercest women in the galaxy."
Nebula bit her lip to keep from talking. She had a scar from the last time he kicked her for speaking out of turn.
"I expect you to be on your best behavior," The titan frowned. "Any failures will embarrass me and will result in far more serious punishments than either of you have received. Am I understood?"
"Yes father," Gamora nodded then elbowed Nebula when she didn't say anything.
"Of course, dad," Nebula gave a sarcastic sigh and locked eyes with him, glaring slightly.
"Do not test my patience," He scowled. "Now go eat. We leave in the morning."
Training under Ronan made the year and a half spent under Proxima and Corvus' command seem like a dream. They were constantly training and were given limited hours of shuteye. The most comfort they had came from consoling each other. They often shared a bed and hummed themselves to sleep. Gamora was the only being that seemed to care about Nebula so she kept close to her.
Their relationship was growing stressed by the number of times they were pitted against each other. Nebula still took comfort in the way Gamora was able to soothe her and stop her from crying each night.
Nearly two years passed with few incidents past Gamora's constant winning streak and Nebula growing bitter since the punishments grew more severe each time. Each loss meant more training and Ronan and Thanos seemed to take pleasure in seeing just how much they could get away with before she seemed ready to snap at them. There was one training in particular that proved Nebula and Gamora were in over their heads.
Ronan found a planet and designed it to explore every strength and weakness the girls showed. They were left alone on it and each given their weapons of choice along with the knowledge that they would not be leaving until one beat the other.
An hour passed of the girls recklessly targeting each other. Nebula earned a rush of pride from having finally broken the stupid finger Gamora always balanced her blade on and Gamora used that as an excuse to be unforgiving when it came to her next route of attack. They were dueling on the highest cliff the planet provided and were evenly matched in the beginning. Grunts of frustration and annoyed screams filled the air. They were breathless as they struggled to one-up the other.
Gamora found her moment and delivered a hard kick to Nebula's stomach. She sent her tumbling down the side of a cliff. Her breath caught in the back of her throat when a thud was the only noise that followed. There were no screams or grunts of pain. No cursing or threats of doing something worse to her. It was enough to numb Gamora to a point of timidly approaching the side of the cliff. The pain in her index finger was forgotten when she caught a glimpse of her sister.
Nebula lay on the ground a good amount of space from the bottom of the cliff. She landed on a rock that dug into her spine and left her body contorted in an unnatural way. Her face was turning purple from lack of air.
"Quit playing," Gamora whimpered when Nebula did not get up. She moved closer and screamed when she spotted the blood trickling out of her head.
"Ronan," Her voice came out in a mix between a scream and a sob. "We need the healer or—" She took a steadying breath. "Someone quick."
She tried to hold back tears since her father and Ronan agreed empathy was a weakness that could easily be exploited. It was hard to do so when no one came at first.
Thanos had lied when he said he would be giving Nebula an injection of the healing gene that was supposed to prevent incidents like this from occurring. Nebula was meant to take a trial of it and the biotech would watch the results and adapt it to make the injection better for Gamora. He had not used that phrasing with her when first bringing it up. His failure to mention it again left Gamora assuming Nebula had taken it.
Thanos and Ronan appeared behind Gamora, both glaring over the scene in front of them before making their presence known. They made her jump by clearing their throats.
"Father," She gulped when Thanos bent down to look Nebula over, catching the shallow beating of the girl's heart.
"A shame," Thanos whispered then stood up. "She is still alive. Gamora, you have proven your sister is due for a lesson only cybernetic enhancements can provide. It will be several hours before I allow you to see her again so I suggest you keep yourself busy."
The young girl nodded, not needing to be told twice to get out of the area. She heard a sigh from behind her and paused, watching Ronan gingerly pick up Nebula from over her shoulder. The older girl was nearly purple, her black hair matted down from the blood oozing out of her scalp. She grimaced and picked up her pace, needing a long shower to rid herself of the idea of accidentally killing her sister.
Nebula felt dizzy when she awoke. Her vision was blurry and she could barely understand what was being said around her. She couldn't recognize any of the voices and was aware that she was strapped down to a cot. Her fingers shifted in an attempt to tug the tube that was running into her wrist out.
The device beeped and something shoved her so she was firmly pushed back against the cot. Her neck didn't touch the pillow beneath her, making her aware of the helmet strapped to her head.
"Master, she is awake," A voice nervously announced. "Should I sedate her again?"
"Not this time," Thanos' voice made her whimper. "It is about time we let the waif know what damage she did to herself."
He grew quiet after that, waiting for the child to become fully coherent. She tried closing her eyes but no peace could be found among the whirring machinery sounds that filled the room.
"Open your eyes, girl," Nebula flinched when Thanos' hand closed around her throat. She was too weak to push him off, her eyes wide open once he released her from his grasp. "You should be grateful I found you after Gamora abandoned you at the bottom of the cliff. You almost bled out from your injuries. The wire you tried ripping out is replenishing what you lost as well as enhancing your genetic coding. That way we avoid something as simple as breaking a rib going catastrophically the next time this happens."
She merely nodded, inhaling sharply every now and then. Breathing hurt and she felt like she was going to be sick.
"We removed your ribs," Thanos sneered, giving a moment for the child to comprehend what was said. He did not continue until she gained the nerve to look down at herself. There was an incision mark that went down her side. The skin was discolored and did not match her complexion.
"To save you," He continued. "They have been replaced with low quality cybernetic material since it won't grow as you age. I will consider replacing them with something of higher quality the day you prove I was not wrong in making the decision to allow you to live."
"And my head?" Nebula's words slurred when she spoke. She could barely keep track of what was being said.
"Blunt force trauma left your skull shattered and caused minor damage to your brain. We fixed that by removing the top of your skull and replacing it with cybernetics. Your brain needed to be rewired to prevent your body from rejecting it. I plan to go back in to add a few enhancements at a later date."
"No," The word made Nebula's throat hurt. She hoped the whole thing was a dream — that she was merely passed out at the bottom of the cliff and this was some sort of unconscious nightmare.
"No?" Thanos smirked. "Little chit, I fear you don't get a choice in any of this. I would start beating Gamora in combat if I were you. It is because of her that you are here." He paused and carefully looked Nebula over. "Every loss will result in my taking away another piece of you and replacing it with cybernetics. Perhaps you will prove to be more of use to me as a cyborg than when you were simply a Luphomoid. Now, don't you dare breathe a word of this to your sister. I will make sure it is the last thing you do."
"You don't have my permission," Nebula whimpered. "I-I refuse to let you —" Her thought was cut off by Thanos slamming his fist down by her head. Nebula paled and shook.
"You don't get a say in any of this," Thanos growled. "I may reconsider if you beat your sister in combat but the odds do not appear to be in your favor. Your options are accepting that I plan to continue working on you or death. I would carefully consider those." Thanos paused to give Nebula a chance to speak up. He smirked when the child did not say anything.
"You have chosen well, little one." Nebula shuddered at his choice in words. "I will give you a few days of rest for your compliance. Need I remind you that you aren't to breathe a word about our conversation to your sister?" Nebula shook her head and bit down on her lower lip to keep it from quivering.
"Good girl," Thanos purred and held up the IV chord that was attached to her forearm, slowly allowing a purple-colored liquid to drain into it while he spoke. "You may tell Gamora your skull shattered beyond repair and had to be replaced when she asks what happened to your hair. Now sleep well, little one." Nebula barely registered what he said since the warmth from whatever was used to sedate her knocked her out.
Nebula drifted in and out of consciousness for several days. Her memory was full of brief flashes of light and the beeping of the machine that was keeping track of her vitals. She was moved back to the room she and Gamora shared at some point during her last night in the infirmary.
She awoke to a very loud gasp early that morning and winced in pain when she opened her eyes. Her head felt too heavy to hold up on her own, eyelids drooping until she took a moment to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. Shifting to sit up proved to be a bad idea since her chest pressed against the rough texture of the cybernetic material that replaced her ribs.
"Nebula," She refused to look in the direction of Gamora's voice. The wound from Thanos having claimed he found her abandoned and bleeding out on the cliffside was still too fresh.
"You — I-I…" Gamora wanted to apologize but Ronan and Thanos spent far too much time insisting that she and Nebula show no compassion or remorse. "How are you feeling?" The question came out weakly while she looked Nebula over.
Nebula's long black hair was gone. Her head was bald minus a piece of dark blue metal that appeared to hold the top of her skull in place. She didn't answer Gamora and closed her eyes. Gamora paled and chewed her lip.
"Your hair is … What did they do to you?" Nebula's eyes flew open at that remark. She held her breath and forced her body to sit upright. Glaring at Gamora proved to be useless since she barely had the strength to pull an effective look off.
"My skull shattered from the impact of my fall," She admitted through gritted teeth. "They saved my life and my brain by replacing it with cybernetic material. Did Ronan say when we are expected to fight each other again?"
"No," Gamora shook her head. "I have training today. I assume you will be expected there now that you are awake."
"Wonderful," Nebula bit out and scowled at her sister. A wince escaped when she got off her bed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to assess the damage that was done to me." She didn't throw another look in Gamora's direction and wandered into the bathroom. Nebula almost cried when she saw her reflection for the first time since the accident.
Her coloring was off and she had no hair. The raven and azure streaks that coated her head were the features she prided most in. Their absence left her stomach feeling incredibly unsettled. She lifted her shirt up over her head then gave a muffled sob at what she saw. It looked as though the healer hadn't tried to stitch her stomach up properly. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and allowed tears to fall, mourning what she lost.
"Maybe I am as worthless as he says," She mumbled to herself and slipped her shirt back on. Nebula could only hope Thanos would not make a ginormous production about having saved her. There was no way she could possibly thank him for having shattered the little self-esteem she had left.