Chapter Text
By Dani Tsubasa
Ayesha looked startled when her guards entered the lobby carrying the only female member of the Guardians of the Galaxy they knew. The zehoberi was in handcuffs and looked confused and furious, and most curious, she looked at them as if she didn't know them. Ayesha couldn't understand how the only one in her opinion who had any judgment and respect among all of them could try to invade their kingdom for whatever it was.
“What is this about?”
“She invaded our surroundings,” a guard replied. “She was taken by surprise by the unmanned ships when we saw her on the cameras.”
The queen looked seriously at the zehoberi who looked her back without even blinking.
“I see that one of you saved me the trouble of looking for and exterminating you. What I don't understand is why you, the only one who seems to have any sense among that band of creatures without education and intelligence, tried to invade and plunder our premises, again.”
“I don't know what you're talking about,” Gamora spoke coolly in a defiant tone.
Ayesha stood up, at first not saying and doing anything.
“Make sure this isn't a trap. She fights very well and is very skilled to be contained so easily. The others may be hiding, waiting for some distraction from us,” she finally said.
Some guards left the throne room and spread out across the palace. Gamora looked in the direction they went, having no idea what the golden woman was talking about or what could have happened in the past. She had no more purpose or nowhere to go, all she needed now was the resources to get enough units to find a place to live as far away as possible. Her ship had stopped working right on this planet. And she was willing to negotiate for work or for pieces that were still of use, before being attacked, contained and arrested without explanation. But after reflecting on the words of the woman in front of her, Gamora drew some conclusions, remembering everything that Nebula had told her. Was the woman referring to the Guardians of the Galaxy? Had they stolen the kingdom in the past? Nebula didn't have time to give her so many details, including this one.
“Madam, the strangest thing is that... She seemed to be unfamiliar with our facilities. When we asked if she wanted to steal the anulax batteries, she said she didn't know what we were talking about and that it didn't interest her.”
Ayesha looked deeply at the woman. The brown eyes didn't look at her as the last time, they seemed lost, despite the ferocity they tried to demonstrate. And she wondered if the mass extinction event that took place years ago and the sudden return of the missing had anything to do with it. Gamora didn't really remember them. There was no way to speculate what had happened to the others and why she was alone, but this only made her want to hunt them down more than before, she was just hoping that all the confusion generated by the return of the missing would stabilize in her kingdom, especially now that he was ready. She could sentence Gamora to death here and now, but it would be too easy. She wanted to end everyone together, and if possible, make her remember what happened first.
“Madam...” one of the guards said. “She has a ship. Or had. Something went wrong and she fell some distance from the palace. That's how we found her. She said she was interested in negotiating for work, or for the ship.”
Ayesha was silent as she reflected.
“Fate always gives us what we deserve sooner or later... We have bigger interests than that. Take her to one of our most fortified cells, in the same prison block where we left her sister the last time they were here. It's the sensible thing to do now.”
Gamora tried to fight, as she normally would. Ayesha smiled when she saw her being taken forcibly towards the same prison where Nebula had been locked up, and more questions exploded in her head. What would Nebula have done to stop there and be arrested?
“Madam, what do you intend to do?” Her young assistant asked quietly as she approached.
“This I'll resolve soon. We should talk to him about it. She's the first target he'll meet.”
******
Adam was outside the palace, next to the giant container of anulax batteries, watching the countless stars in the night sky. His creator's footsteps reached his ears, and he turned to face her when she approached.
“Very attentive as always, this is good - Ayesha smiled - I hope you are well remembered of everything we talked about, because tonight you'll meet your first target. We'll not eliminate her yet. For some reason she lost her memory, and I would like her to recover it before our sentence.”
“Are the Guardians of the Galaxy here?” The golden man's beautiful voice asked.
“Only one of them. The only one who seems to have any notion about anything, before losing her memory. Even without a memory she doesn't trust us, but you are good at talking to people. I want you to talk to her, find out if she remember anything, and especially, where the others are. They may be after her, if she saw them she must know where they are. Or it could be a trap.”
“Yes, madam.”
******
Gamora was sitting on the cold floor of her cell, leaning against the wall and for now just wanting to rest and then find a way to escape during the night. In addition to everything that had happened on Earth, and the immense confusion her mind was on now, all she didn't need was a prison. She looked at the empty cells outside and it wasn't difficult to imagine the sad reason why they were empty. Perhaps yours would soon be too, or at least that seemed to be what the Sovereigns expected.
Heavy steps, although calm and cautious, echoed in the corridor, it was a man, and considerably larger than the pattern she had seen in others when she arrived, even among the guards. They had taken out her sword and small arms, but it wouldn't be difficult to kill him with her bare hands if necessary. She retreated a little to the bottom of the cell, preparing to react. But the golden eyes that looked at her this time were completely different from everyone else. No coldness, anger, pride, arrogance or even hatred as she saw it in Ayesha's eyes. His gaze was calm, gentle and she would risk saying that even kind. Gamora stared deeply at him for falsehood, and began to think that the Earth had affected her more than expected when she found none.
The man was big and strong, which reminded her of the last one she had seen like that, at least the last one that caught her eye when she fled Earth at the end of the battle. Peter Quill. He accidentally activated old danger triggers in her mind, and she hit him, she thought he was stupid. But the look on his face when he was on the ground hit her, he was really hurt by her attitude, his green eyes were filled with a pain so deep that Gamora regretted it, despite not having helped him up. And it wasn't the pain of the blow she had given him, his soul was in pieces. And she wanted to understand that so badly, but nothing else made enough sense for her to stay and find out, not even Nebula's friendship.
“My name is Adam,” the newcomer said, placing the bench he carried in front of the cell and sitting down.
His voice was soft and beautiful, though no less masculine for that reason. His wavy hair was combed to the side, falling over his right eye. His clothes were a mixture of gold and navy blue, and seemed to indicate a certain level of importance.
“You don't seem to remember how you met us a few years ago.”
Gamora remained silent, hoping to extract whatever information she could before speaking. She had already been reckless enough in a single day.
“But it also seems that you do not remember your companions,” he continued. “Do you know where they are now?”
She reflected. The Guardians of the Galaxy weren't bad, they helped to end Thanos after all. Nebula described them as silly, idiotic and clumsy, but they were some of the kindest and most trusted people she had ever met. She also told her how secretly she was grateful to their leader for keeping her away from Thanos, and told her quickly about how Peter welcomed her into the crew and the ship and cared for her and loved her more than anything else, even if now she felt nothing back. She wouldn't give them away for anything.
Adam sighed, seeming to give up the topic about the Guardians and still looking at her with the same kindness as before.
“A very strange thing happened a few years ago. I wasn't here yet, but I was told it was terrifying. People started to disappear, literally turning to dust. We discovered years ago that living beings are made of the same material as star dust, not only here, but also those of other planets. I wondered if they were stars again, but I looked at several photos and star maps, and there didn't seem to be more stars in the sky than before.”
Gamora was touched by his innocence, and surprised that an adult thought that way. Sovereigns were indeed very peculiar, or that was a foolish trap he expected her to fall into. However, the entire universe had been affected by Thanos, and it made sense that the Sovereigns were on the list.
“I've heard a lot of sad stories about it since I was born. I also had strange dreams about a sunny place full of people I don't know, including some sovereigns. I never imagined that there were so many different ones out there. I've never been very far from our planet. I don't know if they were dreams or memories, but I think I would remember it well if they were real. And one day, suddenly, everyone came back out of nowhere. And the number of people on the planet has doubled, which has caused a lot of disorder. Fortunately we are managing to organize everyone again, faster than on other planets as far as we know. Do you remember anything about it where you were?”
Gamora remained silent for a few seconds, assessing her possibilities and deciding to join his game. She wouldn't achieve anything if she remained silent forever.
“Thanos. He was always a psychopath obsessed with destroying half the life of the entire universe. Fortunately, a group of people managed to reverse this, although some damage has remained irreparable.”
“Including your memory?”
Gamora took note when he returned to the initial topic of the conversation, but she decided to take the risk to continue.
“There was a war against Thanos. He was killed on Earth. I was the only one he took there that came out alive. But I don't have the memories lived with the Guardians you're looking for. I was told that Thanos took me from them and killed me in Vormir. But... I'm not the same person who was here as you said.”
Adam thought... He might still be inexperienced about a lot of simple knowledge, but the complexes the Sovereign made him study. Something very unlikely occurred to him. He had read about it, but no one had ever been able to do it. The only one capable of time travel would be the last of the magicians. Adam didn't know his name, but he was known as Doctor Strange. From what he had read about him, he was a man of integrity, he would never take someone wicked to start a war anywhere. Then somehow someone else had found a way to do it, perhaps trying to reverse the deaths caused by Thanos. And it had worked. Maybe Gamora hadn't suffered memory damage, just...
“You came from another reality. Or some time in the past before everything you've lived through.”
She was silent at first, fearing she had said more than was safe. The man outside was smart, and that could bring her down. But all she had to do was continue and see where this conversation would go.
“That's why you don't remember. You never really were here. It came by accident,” Adam answered for her.
“I don't think that it makes a difference in what they intend to do to me,” she said.
“They want to kill the Guardians of the Galaxy, but I read a lot about them. They don't look like bad people. I found out that one of them has a compulsion to steal things he doesn't need, he has a record of it on Kylin. It must have been him who tried to steal our batteries. I talked about it with our queen, but she seems obsessed with revenge. And I can feel your soul, you are confused and terrified, but you aren't a bad person.”
Gamora looked at him curiously at the revelation. He could feel souls...
“You’re a Sovereign, you shouldn't have any feelings, how could you feel souls?”
“I'm not sure. But I feel in you an energy very similar to something I already know. I can try to help you. I don't know if they would release you, but I don't think it would be right to execute you.”
“I don't need your pity, I don't even know you.”
“My name is Adam Warlock. They say that they created me as a better version of everything that the Sovereigns have already done, and for great purposes. But I always thought that the universe has more to offer than just being born to serve a single purpose. Now you know more about me.”
“That energy you speak... What is it?”
“I'm not sure. But I think you know, and it's something that makes you sad.”
Gamora had no more doubts. He was talking about the Soul Stone. How could the Sovereigns have gained access to this? Even more during the impact caused by Thanos? She had never seen the jewel, but from the stories she knew, she imagined how it should work.
“If you let me feel, maybe I know how to help you, ”Adam told her, kneeling in front of her and extending his hand through the bars of the cell.”
“Why would I trust you?”
“Because now I'm the only one willing to help you on an entire planet of people who consider you an enemy.”
Gamora thought as she sat closer to him, still not holding his hand. Thanos was dead and she had nothing for her outside. There were people waiting for her, but she saw no point in following them. There wasn't much to lose. First she had lost everything in her life, which now lost the only meaning left with Thanos' death, which was to stop him.
“I can feel you here, and somewhere far away. I can hear screams and tears of despair and sadness.”
Gamora was startled when she realized that Adam had grabbed her wrist without her consent, and that his golden eyes had been filled with golden light, which reminded her instantly of the woman they called Captain Marvel on Earth.
“What you...?!”
Before she finished her sentence, the light increased, becoming so strong that it was impossible to see anything else. Gamora must have passed out for some time, because when she woke up she felt like she was waking up from a dream. The cell of the Sovereigns was gone, and she was standing in an endless ocean. It was orange and shallow, the entire sky was also filled with orange light. Someone was crying in the distance, and the voice was very familiar. Gamora was amazed at how long she took to recognize her own voice, and the completely meaningless situation that was going on.
“I said I could hear someone crying.”
She winced in shock when she heard Adam's voice beside her, his eyes had returned to normal.
“What place is this?! What kind of hallucinogen do you and your people use?!”
“None. And I think we're a long way from there now. The energy I told you about, it brought us here. I'm not sure if this is really happening, or if it's just a dream, but this place is very familiar. I'm sure I've been here before,” he said walking towards the crying person.
Gamora had no choice but to follow him, managing to better define who he was as they approached. Perhaps only her improvements were responsible for preventing her brain from being short-circuited at that time. She saw herself standing before them. She was wearing different clothes, but it was her.
“They shouldn't have died.”
“Who...?” She asked slowly still in shock. “There’s no one else here.”
“I feel another life inside it.”
Gamora was speechless, she felt her temperature fluctuate and her heart was racing. Was she pregnant?! Had she died pregnant?! She immediately connected the dots and thought about what Nebula told her about Peter Quill, and realized that they had gone even further than her sister had time to clarify. Had she been involved with him to that extent? Family, and a son? Was that what Thanos had taken from her? She felt her blood boil as she hated the Titan once more, no matter how much she didn't want to live with the Guardians now. And finally she managed to believe everything that Nebula told her about the Earthman, because she would never, ever, give herself up to someone like that if she didn't trust him with her life.
“Why are we here?” She asked Adam.
“I wanted to know what that energy was, and it brought us here.”
The crying woman looked up to see them when they finally came to stand beside her. How long has she been crying alone? Had the five years that Nebula reported passed had been the same for her?
Her eyes widened and she was as amazed as her younger version. What had Thanos done?! The only explanation for this is that he had managed to travel back in time and kill her again. She recognized the clothes she was wearing, she was younger. Had Thanos destroyed her past? Who was the Golden Man? How had a Sovereign become a victim of the Soul Stone?
“What happened?” She asked as best as she could with a voice stunned by crying. “Where did you come from, and why?” She asked her younger version. “What else did he do?”
“Exactly what he told us, but they managed to reverse what he did. Although not everything,” she shortened the story, not wanting her to cry any more or think she had died in vain.
Gamora looked at her younger version, immediately noticing and remembering how much she was afraid of people before she ran away.
“Didn’t you meet him, did you?”
“Not as you expect,” she replied. “I'm sorry.”
A few more silent tears streamed down her face, and Gamora couldn't explain how strange the situation was, but the young Gamora knew exactly what she was thinking.
“You haven’t lost your future. Changes in time don’t occur as almost everyone thought.”
“There is no point in preserving my future if I’m no longer in it. Who are you?” She asked Adam.
“I was raised by the Sovereigns as a weapon of vengeance against the Guardians of the Galaxy, but we never found them. I told my queen that it was probably the fault of the strange animal that accompanied them, and that we don't have to kill them all, but she didn't listen.”
The two newcomers exchanged a look at the older woman's growing confusion.
“Look... A lot has happened on Earth. Thanos is dead. And his entire army. I was the only one spared.”
“What epoch are you from?”
“2014. We were on a normal and terrible day like any other else when we discovered the existence of a second Nebula, from 2023. Thanos kidnapped her and exchanged the two so that ours would sabotage the plans to undo the snap. But yours told me everything that would have happened if I hadn't been interrupted before running away that day, at least everything she had time to tell me. It's a very long story, but we won.”
Gamora took a deep breath, not bothering to contain her tears, and took the younger woman's hand. Both could have passed out with the immense amount of information that suddenly appeared in their memories when the memories merged. She wept for everything that happened after Thanos killed her, for the mad Titan's army turning to dust, for Peter's wounded look on the floor before the younger woman who was now before her, for the confusion and loneliness she felt when she decided to leave Earth at the end of the battle, for the destruction caused on Earth, by the man for whom everyone knelt, even Peter, who couldn't say whether or not he was alive.
The youngest felt her eyes sting, and let the tears fall for what she felt. At first it was fear. Love, affection, friendship, care, the purest passion of the man she attacked on Earth, all coming at once after a life of pain was terrifying, but each memory that came from everything she didn't live touched her heart more and more, and suddenly she wished she had been wrapped up in his arms so many times, had received all the affection that he dedicated to her every day, had lived every moment of joy with the other Guardians, had seen Groot grow and treated her as a mother, and even being cared for by Peter as the most precious thing in the world on the probable night they conceived a child. Her heart sped up with emotion when she felt the baby's life hit her with even more force than the memories she saw. The two pressed their foreheads together and wept together.
“He loves us more than his own life.”
“I know... Now I know.”
None of them cared about explanations at the time, or why Adam had joined them there, but it was the first moment of peace and comfort they had had in years. Adam took them both by the arm so softly that they took too long to notice the golden light taking everything around again. Gamora didn't know what was going on, but her only fear was the baby. She thought she would carry him forever in the Soul Stone, and she didn't mind doing it, but all she wanted was for whatever was going on not to take him from her.
The ground beneath her feet disappeared, everything went dark, the gentle ocean breeze stopped blowing, and she was alone now. She forced her eyes to open, feeling the tears still running down her face. Was she in a cell?! Where?! And why?! Her vision was blurred, but she could see some things. The golden man opened the lock and was suddenly kneeling beside her on the floor. He picked her up and stood with her, laying her on what must have been a prison stone bench. Gamora wanted to protest, she wanted to get away from him, she wanted explanations, she wanted to make sure her baby was okay, she wanted Peter! She put her hands on her stomach even though her short gestation time didn't make it possible to notice anything, and she never wanted so much to have Mantis around to tell her what was going on inside her.
“What... Did you do? What...”
“Keep calm. I won’t hurt you. Your body needs to adjust.”
“Who are you? Where did she go?”
“I'm Adam Warlock. We can talk later. Take a rest. You need.”
Gamora struggled with fatigue, but her body won, and Adam was the last thing she saw.