Blackstar

When the aliens had landed, the world had been full of such hope. That was until they had emerged from their ships in full armour and equipped with vastly superior weaponry. Earth hadn't stood a chance. In a matter of hours, the invasion had begun. It seemed the aliens were searching for something, and they were willing to kill all those who got in their way.

And that was why Hanzo was barricading the door to his cafe, hoping to god the aliens would overlook such an insignificant place. Takeda was sat upon a table watching him. The poor child had almost been sick from nerves. Hanzo had made a promise to Kenshi that he would take care of Takeda, and that was what he intended to do.

Satisfied they were as safe as Hanzo could make them, he pulled away and headed over to Takeda. "We're safe for now." He tried to give the boy a reassuring smile, but from the face Takeda pulled he was sure it came out as more of a grimace.

"Do you think my dad will be okay?" Takeda asked. It was rare that Takeda really asked about Kenshi, it was clear he'd internalised a lot of feelings of abandonment when he'd been left with Hanzo. If he's asking about his dad, he must be in a pretty bad state.

"Yeah, your dad's a clever man, I'm sure he'll be okay," Hanzo lied. Truth was, he really did not know.

Before Hanzo could say anything more to reassure him, he could hear the march of feet outside. He held his breath, hoping they were just passing, but when he could see shadows between the boards he'd put up, he knew he wasn't so lucky.

He turned to Takeda, grabbing him and hauling him off the table, "go hide under the bar, do not come out unless I come to get you, okay?" Takeda nodded before scurry off behind the bar.

There were bangs against the boards, the wood started to snap and splinter in a matter of seconds. Hanzo wondered if there was anything he could use as a weapon. He considered grabbing a chair until the wood broke and revealed 3 large aliens in the doorway. Their weapons, some form of gun from the looks of it, pointed at him, and he had no choice but to hold his hands up in surrender. As the three entered, one made a beeline for him. Up close he could appreciate how tall they were. He wasn't a short man at 6'2", but these creatures were easily 8'.

The alien grabbed him by the shirt, hauling him off the floor and holding him in the air. He struggled slightly, terrified they were going to drop him or throw him into the wall. Instead the alien just held him up. As he watched the other two aliens start to trash the shop looking for something, he noticed there were actually 4 of them, him having missed the last one somehow.

Well, actually he could see how. The final alien was drastically smaller than the others, in fact, he looked shorter than Hanzo too. He had to have been 5'9" at most. As much as Hanzo wanted to wonder about the biology of these beings and what could lead to such a drastic difference, he decided now was not the time.

"What... what are you doing?" Hanzo asked, he wasn't sure these aliens knew English, or any other human language for that matter. The one holding him turned to the small one and said something. The language almost sounded like Mandarin Chinese but somehow wrong. The smaller one, who was staring with a confused frown at what looked like a tablet, briefly looked to his companion and answered.

The alien holding him snorted and turned back to Hanzo before growling, "where is the Kamidogu?"

"What?" Hanzo was throughly confused. "I- I have no idea what that is."

"Then why barricade yourself in here, if you are not hiding from us?" One of the other aliens demanded to know. Hanzo glanced around, the other two large ones were now gathering around him, while the smaller was more preoccupied by whatever was on the tablet.

"I- I was-"

"There's another life form here," the smaller alien interrupted, although he still looked rather perplexed.

The three stared at their smaller companion for a few seconds before one, the largest Hanzo now realised, barked at the other two "find it."

Hanzo was dropped to the floor. He wanted to scramble after the aliens now looking for Takeda but the largest one had his gun pointed at him. The smaller one walked over, pointing some strange devise at Hanzo. He flinched, believing it to be another weapon, instead there was a light that scanned him and he felt a strange tingling.

"Must you do that for every one we find, Tundra?" The large alien snarled.

The smaller alien, Tundra, looked at his companion with contempt, "I was tasked with studying the species physiology, and that is what I am going to do." Tundra turned back to his tablet instead. "I would appreciate if we could take this one alive."

Hanzo felt bile rise in the back of his throat, haunching his shoulders forward. The way Tundra spoke about him like he was some sort of experiment sickened him. He wanted to argue the fact he was a sentient being, but with the gun trained at his head and the fact Tundra clearly saw him as nothing but something to study stopped him. The larger alien mumbled something in that strange language again, earning another dirty look from Tundra.

Their attention was drawn away from each other, when a small screech was heard. Hanzo's heart dropped slightly. Takeda! He jumped to his feet only to be punched in the stomach by the large one. The two others returned, one holding Takeda against his chest, a gun pointed at his head.

"No!" Hanzo tried to get to his feet, only to be kicked in the back of the knee and forced to fall to the floor once more. "Please, don't hurt him."

Tundra ignored the plea, completely unmoved by the display, and instead just scanned Takeda as well.

"Tell us where the Kamidogu is and we won't hurt him," the large one told him, but all he could do was shake his head.

"Please I don't know what that is," he begged. He'd always believed himself to be too proud to beg, but clearly when his 8 year old charge was in danger, he was willing to do anything. "I barricaded the door to protect him, please."

"So you are just a coward," the alien sneered at him, before turning back to the one holding Takeda, "kill the chi-"

"Wait," Tundra interrupted. Somehow there was no relief in the action. But Hanzo still held onto some strange hope that maybe Tundra would request Takeda for study as well, if only because then they'd both be alive. "That child... he shares Takahashi's DNA."

Takahashi? Kenshi Takahashi? Hanzo's head was spinning, why did this invader from the stars know his friend?

"So?" The large alien questioned, clearly frustrated.

"So, Takahashi was the one who delivered the Kamidogu here," Tundra replied, looking at his companion like he was the stupidest thing in the galaxy. Hanzo, however, was stunned. What does he mean Kenshi brought whatever the fuck that thing is here? "If we take him alive, there may be a chance Takahashi will exchange the Kamidogu for him."

The larger alien looked like he was reluctant in considering it. However finally he bit out, "fine."

Hanzo felt a hand on the collar of his shirt, hauling him to his feet. Despite himself he began to struggle, trying to hit the alien that was holding him. A gun was pushed to his temple, and he stilled.

"Don't," Tundra warned. "I want him alive too."

The large alien snarled loudly in that strange language again, before snapping his attention to Tundra. Tundra just rolled his eyes, a leisurely walked over to Hanzo, grabbing his chin.

"Struggling will not help you, don't waste your time." Hanzo tried to pull away, but Tundra was deceptively strong for his size. "You can come willingly or not, it makes no difference. Sing hallelujah cause you can't change anything." Tundra's eyes flicked over to Takeda, cowering and trembling in the other aliens grip. For a brief moment, Hanzo could have sworn he saw some form of compassion shine in Tundra's eyes. "However, I am willing to compromise. If you come quietly and do not fight this, I will see to it that no harm shall come to the child while you both are within our custody."

"You don't have the authority to promise anything like that, Tundra," the large alien lowly growled, his eyes narrowing. Tundra looked positively unfazed by the display. "You are just a scientist, and it would serve you well to remember your place."

"And it would do well for you to remember yours," Tundra snapped in return, the large alien sharply inhaling in response. "Not only am I the fleet's head scientist, and so outrank you in every way..." Tundra let go of Hanzo's chin, instead getting in the other aliens face, or as best he could given the size difference. "But you forget that I am also the dearest consort of our crown prince." Tundra's tone was mocking, Hanzo watched as the larger alien balked and tried to fight back his rage. "And I'm sure my beloved would be very interested in knowing why you believe you're in a position to refuse my requests."

The larger alien's mouth twitched, looking like he was trying to think up some sort of retort. When nothing came, he just looked away instead. Satisfied he had made his authority in this situation clear, Tundra turned back to Hanzo.

"Well?"

Hanzo hesitated, looking over to where Takeda was still sobbing in terror, "will I be with him?"

Tundra looked over to Takeda again. "Given the state he's in, it would be preferable to keep you together." Tundra levelled Hanzo with a stare, "you would be both within my laboratory, but I would only be running tests on you. He will not be hurt."

Hanzo wasn't sure how much he believed it, but what other choice did he have? There was no way he'd win a fight against them, and if he were alive or not, they'd still take Takeda. At least this way, he stood chance of protecting Takeda from the worst of it.

"Okay," he breathed out, "okay, please just, please let me take him."

Tundra regarded him for a minute, before gesturing with his head at the alien holding Takeda. He seemed extremely pissed by the silent command, but regardless passed Takeda over to Hanzo. The kid immediately buried his face into Hanzo's clothes. All Hanzo could do was bounce him in his arms and try to whisper reassurances that it was okay, that he was there and they would be fine.

"Shall we?" Tundra softly said. It was a weirdly gentle tone from someone who was taking prisoners. Hanzo just nodded in reply.

Tundra almost smiled at him in response, pulling out a strange device with a button. As Tundra hit the button, the group was surrounded by a blinding light. Hanzo shielded his eyes. Once the light became more bearable, he reopened them, to find he was no longer in the cafe, but instead in a large white room with all sorts of equipment he had never seen before.

One of the Aliens nudged him, and eventually guided him towards a strange glass box, what he assumed would be his home for the foreseeable future. That was a thought, how long were they intending to keep him here? It seemed Takeda would be handed over to Kenshi for the whatever-the-fuck-it's-called. But what about him? It's a little late to think of that now, isn't it?

Both Takeda and himself were secured inside the box, and the three large aliens spared them both a glare before they turned and left the room. Only Tundra was left, and for now, he seemed distracted by something on one of the screens. Takeda thankfully began to settle, as Tundra finally finished what he was doing and approached the box.

"If you need hydration or feeding, please let me know." Tundra pressed his hand against the glass and lightly lent his weight against it. "It is preferable that you are healthy for my studies."

Oh, great. Just as Hanzo was beginning to think that maybe there was a slither of compassion in Tundra, he managed to prove him wrong. Hanzo's silence was deafening, as Tundra turned to walk away. Takeda shifted in his arms, and Hanzo remembered the questions he had.

"Wait," he called out. Tundra stopped and looked over to him. "One question. You know who Takeda's father is. How? You're the only alien species we've had contact with."

Tundra rubbed his wrist before saying "just because we are the first to make our presence know, does not mean we are the first to arrive on your planet."

If Hanzo wanted more clarification, it was clear he wasn't going to get it, as Tundra walked away and began to focus on his machinery again. Hanzo was trying to make sense of it. Is he... Is he suggesting Kenshi is an alien?

If and when Kenshi came to rescue Takeda, Hanzo had many questions for him.

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