Hello and welcome to chapter 4! Special thanks to 'PrincessShotgun' for not one, but two reviews! Although I did feel bad when I read your first one knowing what was in store for you in the next chapter!
As always, reviews and feedback are always greatly appreciated.
Pain was all Hana could feel as she slowly awoke, battling in and out of consciousness, her head thumping. Her body felt as though it was contorted into an uncomfortable position, perhaps slung over someone's shoulder, as her vision wavered in and out of focus. Her chest, shoulder and ribcage were all in agonising pain, the dust and dirt grinding uncomfortably into the open burns. She was fairly certain one of her ribs was broken or at the very least cracked, and her entire body either ached or stung from the various cuts and scrapes.
It took her a moment to realise that she was indeed being carried, on the shoulder of the purple Icejin, and judging by the surroundings they were most certainly on a ship of some kind. She watched as his tail swept from side to side as he walked, and placed her palms on his back, trying to push herself upwards only for her shaky arms to buckle beneath her.
"So you're finally awake then?" the purple being questioned, as she felt him turn his head ever so slightly in her direction, not that he'd be able to see her expression. Eyes narrowed she ignored him and tried to push herself up again drawing a sigh from the Icejin.
"Your stubborn, I'll give you that" he sighed as he dropped her from his shoulder, letting her drop haphazardly to the floor with a thud. Grimacing as she pushed herself up on her hands, Hana turned to glower at the Icejin who scoffed at her expression and grasped the underside of her uninjured arm pulling her to her feet.
Taking a moment to get her bearings Hana realised that she was indeed on a ship as suspected, in a vacant corridor. Turning to look out of the window that stretched along side them her breath caught in her throat. They were in the ship she had broken into with Jungo and Zee, and if the dark view outside was anything to go by, it had taken off. Moving to the glass and pressing her hands and face against it Hana stared down at the planet she had once called home.
It looked just as bad from far away, if not worse. The haphazard steel and rust colouring of the city sticking out against the vast expanse of dry, dusty desert. The long stretching plain of sand raising up to a jagged mountain range a few miles away from the planets main city.
They clearly hadn't taken off very long ago, if the ships slow speed and relatively close proximity to the planet was anything to go by, but the fact that they were no longer on the ground and out of the atmosphere meant that pretty much any option of escape was all but lost. Hana was pulled from her thoughts when she felt a strong hand on her elbow, pulling her back in the direction they had previously been walking in.
"My father still wishes to speak with you and your friend," the Icejin continued as he pulled her impatiently along the corridor.
"Zee? Zee's here?" Hana questioned, her voice panicked before her knees suddenly buckled beneath her, sending her falling back to the ground on her hands and knees. The Icejin paused along side her, but made no move to help her back up.
"If Zee is your four armed friend then yes, he's here. Now get up, its best not to keep my father waiting any longer, for you or your friends sake" the Icejin advised as he continued walking, leaving Hana to pull herself back to her feet, using the nearby wall for support with one arm, as she clutched at her injured side with the other.
They continued through the sterile looking corridors, Hana setting a much slower pace than the Icejin wanted judging by his huffs of irritation, until they finally approached a set of large double doors.
Glancing once at Hana the Icejin gripped her elbow again tightly "my father is not a patient man. If you and your friend want to live, I strongly suggest you don't pull the same stunt you did in the garage". Giving her no chance to retort he pushed the large double doors open and dragged her into the large throne room by her arm.
Zee was already there sat on his knees, head down, covered in a multitude of injuries in front of an Icejin far larger than the one she was with. It was hard to tell exactly how tall he was given that he was sat in a large throne, leaning lazily to one side, his head rested on his hand, but he must have been easily seven foot tall, at least.
Hana was dumped on the ground next to her friend, and was about to complain at the ill treatment but immediately thought better of it, deciding instead to glance at Zee who remained staring dead ahead at Cold.
Much like the Icejn to her right the one in front of her was also purple but a much lighter, almost lavender like shade. Unlike the other Icejin, he didn't appear to have an exoskeleton on his chest, and instead wore an armour set similar to what she had already seen, but predominantly in navy and white.
Hana didn't have time to observe the other beings in rest of the room before Zee twitched his head to the side to look at her. His face was bloody and bruised, and he looked as awful as she felt. She had no doubt given his expression that she must look pretty terrible too.
Her attention was quickly redirected when King Cold cleared his throat. "Well, well, it would appear that you gave young Cooler here quite the challenge in retrieving you" his eyes were fixed on Hana, whose own were downcast, starting at a random spot on the floor in front of her.
"Well I guess that settles which one he is then, he's Cooler" she thought to herself, before snapping her eyes up when King Cold cleared his throat again.
"Young lady, it is standard courtesy to look at someone when they are talking to you" his words were simple enough, but the glint in his eye was enough to tell her that dire consequences would follow should she not heed his words.
"Your little theft could have caused us quite the inconvenience if you and your little friends hadn't been detected.." he glanced between Hana and Zee before frowning slightly, looking behind them towards Cooler.
"Was there not three of them?" He questioned the younger Icejin who stepped forward, bringing him just about into Hana's peripheral vision. She could see his tail shift from back me side of him to the other, just as she had seen back in the workshop.
"Indeed there was father, the third was killed during the retrieval"
Hana felt a stab of guilt in her chest as the image of Jungo flashed in her mind. He'd been so scared, so defenseless, and they'd failed him. The poor kid didn't deserve what he got. She had no doubt he'd been given very little option by Bogart but to steal those batteries. At least she and Zee had volunteered themselves.
King Cold tutted, but didn't seem overly fussed about Jungo's fate, deciding to continue.
"Typically, I'd have had you both executed for your treachery already. Lucky for you however, I don't like to let good talent go to waste" he stood from his throne, his unimaginable height made even more so thanks to their position on the floor.
Hana allowed herself a quick glance at Zee, who returned the same gesture before returning their attention back to Cold, who was now stood before them.
"Dr Jaeger," Cold turned to what appeared to be a half cyborg hybrid in a white lab coat "what do their readings state?"
The metal man stepped forward, slowed by a noticeable limp as he drew a pad like device out in front of him, surveying the writing on his screen.
"The Talvek is of average strength for his species" the Dr waved a hand in the direction of Zee before lowering his notes to survey Hana, "it's hard to tell with the Extrasensory, as their Ki can't be read by scouters" he continued to survey her in what appeared to be fascination. "However, they are known for being a weak race, so I would suggest she's well above average sire." He bowed hastily and stepped back as Cold turned to survey Hana once again.
"Yes. I supposed you must be if you gave Cooler a run for his money." He lifted a hand to stoke his chin in thought "tell me girl, have you had any formal combat training"
"No. Sir." She added the last word hastily following a look from Cold. "I'm mainly self taught. Anything else I've picked up from living on the streets"
"Interesting.." Cold mused as he continued to stroke his chin, glancing briefly at Cooler before turning with a swish of his cloak and returning to his throne.
"Then, girl. I have an offer for you, for both of you" his eyes flitted back to Zee before resting back on Hana. "You swear your allegiance to me, and join my forces... and I don't kill you both where you are right now."
Hana felt her body stiffen as her face paled. Work for the Cold family? He couldn't be serious? They were two random scrappers who had tried, and pretty much failed to steal a bunch of batteries, what possible use could they be in the Cold army?
An amused chuckle escaped from Cold's black lips but he didn't shift from his position.
"Of course" he assured "you both join our forces, and you both get to live. Of course we'll have to separate you initially to make sure there's no... silliness. But if you prove yourselves there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to serve together in the future, my reports would suggest you make a good team."
Without even so much as a pause, Zee nodded, refusing to look at Hana and keeping his eyes locked on the King of the Icejin. "If you can guarantee she doesn't get hurt" he gave a sideways nod to Hana "then we agree."
Hana stared at him, wide eyed. He couldn't be serious, could he? There was no way in hell the Cold's could be trusted, and whilst she hadn't worked it out yet, she was sure there was far more to this 'deal' than was being let on.
"Fabulous" Cold trilled as he clapped his hands together, "the Talvek, Zee, was it? Will be assigned to Cold squad two. The Extrasensory would benefit with some focused training, you will be assigned to Prince Cooler."
Hana jumped as she heard a 'thwack' as Coolers tail slapped the ground beside her. "What?" Cooler hissed, clearly annoyed "I don't have time to babysit a little girl father, why can she not join one of Friezers units?"
That dangerous glint flashed across Colds eyes as he locked eyes with his son. "This is not open to negotiation Cooler. The Sensory will be assigned to you, and you will be responsible for her. My word is final."
Hana didn't need to look to know that Cooler was staring daggers at her, as she stubbornly kept her eyes focused dead ahead. Why was he glaring at her anyway? She didn't like it any more than he did, but evidently from the smug look plastering the face of King Cold, there was nothing either of them could do about it.