Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Universe 616

Knowhere

2025

Walking through the portal granted by the TemPad, Riku and Vanitas both felt a slight course of anxiety going through them. Though they were both pretty eager to help their friends on Knowhere, they were also pretty excited. Once they got through this latest little "problem," then they were going to be leaving Universe 616 once again, and making their trip to Quadratum once and for all, meaning they'd be finding Sora once again. Riku and Vanitas tried to quell their excitement over the idea that they'd be reuniting with their long-lost friend soon enough, but they brushed it aside as they finished walking through the portal.

Exiting the portal, Riku and Vanitas both looked around as it closed behind them. They observed their new surroundings, surprising both Keyblade Masters. Vanitas was a little impressed that the realm was much different than it had been when he first visited here with the Guardians when they were trying to sell the Collector the Orb. The ground was still mostly dirt, but the buildings were much taller and cleaner, and they were able to see lots of billboards and signs that displayed stuff that was being sold. In the distance, he could also see where some ships were docked, and he guessed that the Guardians' new vessel of flight was most likely stored, as well.

"Okay, so... fill me in on this place," Riku requested.

"Well, for starters, the entire world is the giant, severed head of a Celestial," Vanitas informed his friend. "It was hollowed out for its resources, and enough people did so to build up an actual atmosphere."

"We're in a gigantic head," Riku said. He nodded. "... Sure. Why not?"

Of course, he turned around and tried not to look too green at the idea. Vanitas couldn't really blame Riku, since the notion was pretty disgusting.

"Well, anyway..." Vanitas slowly said. "This place used to be the headquarters of a creepy-ass dude named the Collector, who was obsessed with obtaining all sorts of items throughout the galaxy, including the Infinity Stones. Of course, in the process, he also kept slaves and even kept creatures prisoners, like a Chitauri, or a creepy slug that was from the movie Slither. The Guardians at the time, who were just Peter, Gamora, Rocket, Drax, and Groot, the boys, and I met this asshole when we tried to sell him the Power Stone, but then we realized that he also had the Reality Stone. And one of his slaves killed herself grabbing the Power Stone, blowing the whole place up."

Riku grimaced at the story.

"I know," Vanitas agreed with his own grimace. "To this day, I still don't know whether she thought she could use the Stone, or if she was just trying to kill herself."

He sighed out before looking up.

"Anyway..." Vanitas continued. "When Thanos attacked here to get the Reality Stone, he killed the Collector, so the Guardians took over this place. They cleaned it up and really improved things."

"That's admirable," Riku said, nodding his head in appreciation. He looked around. "So, how do we know that the Guardians are in danger?"

All of a sudden, the sound of glass shattering and something smashing through walls echoed through the city, which got both Riku and Vanitas to quickly perk up. They turned in the direction of the noise, both of them quickly frowning.

"... It was just a hunch, but I think that noise signifies 'danger'," Vanitas quipped.

"That, or Rocket's blowing something up again," Riku pointed out.

Whatever the case, Riku and Vanitas shared a nod of their heads and turned to start running down the road in front of them.

Running through the city, they were able to hear the sound of people screaming in shock, and the continued sound of glass and metal breaking. Vanitas could sense shock through Peter Quill, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Groot, Kraglin, and many others. Though, worry filled him when he felt that shock, along with pain coming from Rocket. Vanitas grit his teeth as he continued running quickly with Riku, following the noises as they hurried through the expansive city around them.

"What the hell?" Nebula's voice echoed.

"That way," Riku said, pointing down the nearest street.

He and Vanitas turned and continued running down this new street, following the noise.

"Hey!" a voice echoed, getting louder by the second. "Where did you go, squirrel?"

"Does no one else really know that he's a raccoon?" Riku asked, already knowing that they were referring to Rocket. *1*

Vanitas just shrugged his shoulders as they continued running.

Eventually, though, they came out into another section of the city, their eyes narrowing as they looked up into the sky. Floating in front of one building, Nebula had on a rocket pack with thrusters attached to her back, allowing her to float up to roof level of one of the buildings. They couldn't see her too well from their position, they could make out how Nebula lifted up her left arm and pointed it at the roof, a blaster powering up in preparation.

"On the ground!" Nebula ordered.

They could hear a man yelling, and then faintly saw that man rise from the roof before Nebula blasted him, knocking him out of view, and apparently through a wall, if the sound of something crashing was any indication. Riku and Vanitas shared a look before looking at the rooftop once again, watching as Nebula floated down onto the rooftop to follow the man. The two Keyblade Masters moved forward a bit closer to the building, noticing numerous other people gathering around in confusion.

All of a sudden, they could hear the sound of power surging, and their eyes widened when they saw Nebula get tackled off the building. Riku and Vanitas both backed up with people from the gathered crowd, all of them watching as the other man tackled Nebula to the ground, both of them landing so hard that dirt was sent flying as the ground shook. People shouted and screamed at the sight, and a nearby peddler begged the man to stop as he stood up.

Riku and Vanitas both huffed as they looked at the man standing over Nebula, both of their eyes narrowing as they took in his appearance. He was around Riku's height, wearing a full set of golden armor with red accents that covered his body completely from the neck down. There were various ridges along the metal, and it looked incredibly intimidating. Along with the armor was a long, red cape that started at his shoulders and flowed down to his feet. Of course, his skin was a bright, golden color, with matching golden hair flowing from his head, and a small spot in the center of his forehead.

"Adam Warlock..." Vanitas muttered, his eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully as the man lifted up a fist.

Riku and Vanitas both huffed as Adam threw two punches, hitting Nebula in the stomach, and then the face, causing her mechanical body to get shifted around from each punch. They grimaced, and the rest of the crowd all yelled out as Adam grabbed Nebula, lifted her up, then threw her across the small city towards a shop, where she crashed through a window and part of the room.

Riku and Vanitas both hoped that Nebula would be okay given how most of her body was mechanical, before looking cautiously at Adam.

"Okay, we've gotta be careful," Riku suggested. "We need to fully think this through, and then..."

"Hey!" Vanitas shouted, marching forward with a frown. "Eyebrows Kid!" *2*

Adam frowned and turned on his feet, his gaze quickly narrowing on the ravenette.

"... Or we could do that," Riku remarked with a huff.

Just as Adam started to lift his arm to attack, Groot suddenly lunged down from above and tackled the man, whom both Riku and Vanitas guessed was from the Sovereign (those annoying dicks). Both Keyblade Masters were a little impressed with how much more buff Groot appeared to be as he wrapped all his arms around Adam, with vines extending from his tree body to help encase Adam's body.

Riku huffed at the sight, and Vanitas chuckled, very impressed with the living tree.

"I have missed you, Groot!" Vanitas declared, still smiling at the sight.

Riku huffed again before looking down, his eyes widening as Adam's feet started to glow with energy.

"Groot!" Riku shouted.

Vanitas's eyes widened before Adam suddenly took flight, launching himself into the air with Groot still wrapped around his body. Riku and Vanitas both huffed as they watched Adam continue to rise into the air with Groot, surging with energy in ways that damaged the living tree's body a bit more.

"V," Riku quickly said.

"I'm on it," Vanitas promised, nodding at his ally.

Light flashed around Vanitas's feet, making his boots reappear. He was quickly grateful that his armor was intact now that they were back home, and he quickly rose up into the air. Riku watched as the ravenette quickly flew after the still-rising Adam and Groot, all of them grimacing over the beams that Adam continued to shoot off to try and get Groot off. Vanitas continued to rise higher into the air, following the grappling duo quickly as Adam crashed through a few higher pieces of buildings as he tried to get Groot off. Vanitas huffed as he turned in the air and continued to follow them, grimacing slightly as Adam tore off each of Groot's limbs and tossed them aside.

Even with Groot being a tree, that was still pretty horrifying.

On the ground, Riku ran through the streets provided to him once again, trying to see if he could locate any of the other Guardians. People ran around in a frantic manner, which was completely understandable considering what just happened with that guy... "Adam," he heard Vanitas call him. While Riku thought this was a weird name for a person from the Sovereign, he brushed it aside as he hurried down another street, faintly hearing Mantis and Rocket's voices. Moving towards the sound, he eventually found a grated door closed in front of a large room.

Moving forward, Riku slid open the grated door and found a room that appeared to be an armory, with many weapons crates spread out along the ground, a few high-tech display cases on the walls, and two members of the Guardians team within. Mantis was in a set of green and black clothes, opening up a weapons case, and Rocket was wearing a simple set of pants as he ran over to her. Riku grimaced at the sight of Rocket's bare back, displaying various bits of metal sticking through to signify some kind of experimentation. Brushing that aside, Riku looked up to try and greet Mantis and Rocket.

"Hey, guys!" Riku announced, moving forward a bit more to make his presence known.

"Riku?" Rocket asked, frowning in surprise at the silver haired teen. "Where'd you come from?"

"Did you bring that maniac here?" Mantis asked with her own frown.

"No," Riku said, slightly offended. He shook his head. "V and I got here around the same time, though. We wanna help. He's already chasing after that guy and trying to help Groot."

"All right," Rocket said as he and Mantis grabbed weapons. "Get ready. This might get rough."

Riku nodded in agreement as he watched Mantis and Rocket continue preparing their weapons. Given just how powerful this Adam had revealed himself to be in the courtyard against Nebula, all three of them mentally prepared themselves for quite a fight.

Still flying quickly through the air, Vanitas hurried as fast as he could after Adam as he continued flying with Groot. The ravenette grimaced slightly as he watched the two of them crash into numerous more buildings before they dropped towards the ground. His eyes widened as he watched Adam land on his feet, then drop Groot's head, which wriggled around for a few moments, more branches sticking out of his neck and trying to reorient himself.

Vanitas inwardly thanked whatever deity was listening over how this was different from how Groot was destroyed in the battle of Xandar.

Floating down with his gauntlets, Vanitas huffed as he landed not far from Adam. The ravenette rolled his shoulders in preparation as Adam turned towards him and frowned.

"Vanitas Jordan..." Adam declared, his voice a slightly deep baritone. "A member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the old enemies of the Sovereign."

"So this is about the Sovereign again," Vanitas commented. He rolled his eyes. "You bastards really like to blow things out of proportion, huh?"

"I don't know what that means," Adam declared, a bit of energy growing around his hands. "But you are about to die with the rest of the Guardians."

"I liked you better in We're the Millers, Eyebrows Kid," Vanitas declared, frowning at the other man.

Of course, before things could go any further, a faint whistle echoed nearby, and an arrow then smacked Adam in the side of his face. Adam and Vanitas both looked around in confusion, though only Vanitas faintly saw Kraglin, dressed in a red jumpsuit and with his head shaved, along with the red fin attached to the center of his head to try and control it. Of course, Kraglin quickly hid behind the structure where he was hiding, not wanting to get caught considering the arrow hadn't hurt Adam.

'Eight years, he still hasn't figured that thing out?' Vanitas inwardly thought with a raised eyebrow.

"Who threw this thing at me?" Adam demanded. Kraglin obviously didn't come out of his hiding space, which left him unimpressed. "Baby."

"At least he got paid," Vanitas teased with a smile.

Adam just turned to glare at Vanitas, and let energy gather around himself. Vanitas lifted his Keyblade, but Adam was faster, flying to the ravenette and tackling him, dragging him through the city once again. Vanitas grunted from the attack, and tried ramming an elbow against Adam's back. Even with his enhanced strength, the ravenette didn't appear to do any damage as Adam dragged him through the city. Within moments, they crashed through a grated door, and Vanitas grunted as he rolled on the ground, landing right in front of Mantis, Riku, and Rocket.

Rocket turned towards the door just in time for Adam to point a hand at him and blast a surge of golden energy out, striking him and making him yell out as he was thrown across the floor. Mantis then lunged at Adam, but he caught her raised arm and bent it, causing the bones to crack and make her grunt in pain. Vanitas pushed up on his arms and knees and watched with Riku as Adam tossed Mantis aside, causing her to crash against a wall.

Summoning their Keyblades, Riku and Vanitas both sent beams flying out of the blades, striking Adam in the chest and knocking him back. Unfortunately, he managed to balance himself on his feet and stay standing firm. Riku and Vanitas both grimaced as they continued shooting the beams, trying desperately to knock the man back.

Luckily, another orb of energy flew out of nowhere and hit Adam in the head. The golden villain, Riku, and Vanitas all looked to the side and watched as Peter stepped out from behind a pillar, pointing his blasters at Adam and firing a few more times. Peter's continued fire joined Riku and Vanitas's beams, causing Adam to take steps back as he winced in pain from the impact. Peter, Riku, and Vanitas continued to attack, forcing Adam back through the door and outside.

Their attacks pushed Adam right in front of Drax. Drax grabbed Adam by the back of his shirt and lifted him up with a grunt.

"Pick on someone your own size," Drax taunted.

Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all watched as Drax punched Adam in the face, knocking him back so hard that he hit the ground and rolled a few times. Vanitas jumped to his feet and moved with Riku into the open doorway, watching as Drax marched over to Adam, leaned down, and grabbed him. The two of them nodded, both of them impressed as Drax turned in a circle and threw Adam through the air, sending him crashing into and destroying a raised sign in front of a wall, burning down his cape as he fell to the ground.

Riku and Vanitas moved forward to stand with Drax, the three of them watching as Adam slowly pushed himself up onto his knees and one hand as he glared at the group.

"Just like old times, huh, big guy?" Vanitas suggested to Drax.

"I missed you, you dumb children with weird hair," Drax told them, glaring back at Adam.

"Aside from the shirt, you have not changed," Riku commented, nodding at Drax's new state of dress. *3*

Brushing that aside, Drax, Riku, and Vanitas all charged forward at the same time Adam jumped up and rushed towards them. Of course, just as Drax started to throw a punch, Adam quickly rose up into flight, moving around the strongman and grabbing him by the neck. Of course, as Adam yelled out and lifted an arm up to punch, Vanitas rose up with his boots and used his own enhanced strength to grab the man's arm. Adam grunted and turned to glare at Vanitas.

"Only in a Marvel movie could Eustace Scrubb go head to head with Bautista," Vanitas remarked to the confused face of Adam. He smirked. "But he ain't exactly alone."

To prove this point, Riku then jumped up and swung his Keyblade, striking Adam in the head and forcing him to drop down through the air and land on his feet between Drax and Vanitas. Adam grunted before looking up again as Riku landed. Drax and Vanitas then both moved forward and started attacking Adam hand to hand together, throwing punches at the Sovereign man in an attempt to attack. Adam used his own hand to hand techniques to intercept each of their attacks, slowly pushing the group through the town and towards a courtyard.

Riku followed behind as Drax and Vanitas continued to fight with Adam, trying to find a good moment to strike with his Keyblade and not hit his friends. After a few moments, Adam shot a beam out of one of his hands, and Drax and Vanitas both ducked underneath. Luckily, Riku lifted his Keyblade just in time to block, deflecting the beam back and striking Adam in the chest, knocking him back with a grunt. Vanitas gave Riku a grateful thumbs up while Drax punched the Sovereign man in the face. Vanitas quickly turned, and his eyes widened when Drax restrained Adam's arms and pointed them to the sides as he shot more beams out, sending the energy flying into nearby walls.

Vanitas moved around one of the beams and hurried behind Adam as Drax yelled out in exertion from restraining his arms. While Drax continued to strain himself, Vanitas hurried behind Adam and wrapped an arm around the man's head, using his enhanced strength to apply pressure and try to choke him. Adam, Drax, and Vanitas all strained themselves, and Riku helped by hitting the Sovereign man in the face with his Keyblade in an attempt to attack. Unfortunately, Adam got smart and lowered his arms slightly before gathering energy within. The golden villain then swung his arms, releasing the energy in a manner that it exploded, sending Drax, Riku, and Vanitas all flying through the air.

Grunting as they landed on the ground, Riku and Vanitas both grabbed Potions that they used to heal themselves. Looking up, they blinked through whatever spots remained in their eyes as they watched Adam march over to where Drax lay and brush aside one of his arms. The two of them winced as Adam proceeded to punch Drax in the face, making the gathered crowd all whimper in shock. Luckily, the Potions finished healing Riku and Vanitas, and the two of them jumped to their feet.

Before Adam could punch Drax in the face again, Vanitas rushed in and grabbed his arm, using his enhanced strength to pull the golden villain back. Adam grunted in confusion while Riku summoned his Keyblade and struck twice, knocking him back a bit again. Riku and Vanitas both moved to stand together as Adam spiraled slightly before standing up straight. Luckily, in the peripheral, the two Keyblade Masters could see Nebula moving forward, marching towards Adam and making nanobots form a blade over her left hand.

Riku and Vanitas stood together as Adam turned towards them once again. Of course, just as Adam started to raise his arm to strike again, Nebula moved behind him and impaled him through his torso, restraining him in the spot as his eyes widened. Looking up woozily, Drax chuckled at the sight, while Riku and Vanitas just frowned in satisfaction at the wounded golden villain.

"... That hurts," Adam strained to get out.

"What a pity," Nebula taunted.

"Eat that, Kenny Miller," Vanitas added.

Nebula pulled the blade out of Adam's torso, and he turned and slumped to the side, landing on the ground next to Drax and making the gathered crowd all exclaim in shock. Riku and Vanitas huffed as they looked from the downed Adam and Drax, then looked up at Nebula.

"I see you guys are doing well," Vanitas remarked, nodding at his allies.

Now that their lives weren't in danger, Riku and Vanitas were able to see Drax and Nebula a bit better. Though they were slightly wounded from battle, they still appeared a bit more well put-together than they had been last time. Nebula had more blue spots on her head, and was currently wearing a tank top with bits of armor on the shoulders, her metal arms bare while framing her fingerless gloves, mixing well with her gray pants, utility belt, and boots. Drax, while his face was covered in blood, was dressed in his own tank top and dark pants, with the handles of his knives sticking out of the sheaths attached to his boots.

"No!" Mantis suddenly shouted, drawing everyone out of their thoughts.

Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all quickly turned towards the weapons locker, with Riku just now remembering that Rocket had been damaged by Adam just moments prior. The three of them quickly shared looks before they turned and ran down the dirt road to the weapons locker, hurrying inside and quickly narrowing their eyes to the center of the room.

Rocket lay with a Med-Pak over his chest, but it wasn't healing him. Instead, it was electrocuting him rapidly, damaging him so much that foam was coming out of his mouth. Mantis and Peter were crouched on either side of him, each of them looking at him in a frantic and very worried manner. While Mantis desperately tried to help him, Peter looked up at the other three and gestured to the still spasming Rocket.

"All I did was activate the Med-Paks!" Peter frantically told them.

"Get them off!" Nebula instructed as she, Riku, and Vanitas hurried closer. "Now!"

"We got magic; that should help!" Riku added.

As Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas got closer, they watched as Peter took the Med-Pak off of Rocket's chest, showing that the fur had been burned from the electric surging, but his wound had barely healed. Riku and Vanitas summoned their Keyblades, and they both cast Curaga, causing green light to surge around Rocket. Unfortunately, the most it did was restore his fur. His wound had already been cauterized due to the electrical surging, and the foam was still in Rocket's mouth, but he didn't wake up.

"Damn it!" Vanitas cursed. "Why are there limitations to healing magic!?" *4*

"Don't worry," Peter said, sliding his arms underneath the unconscious Rocket. "Whatever magic can't fix, we can fix in the Med Nay."

"All right, let's go!" Riku declared as Mantis and Peter stood, Peter still holding Rocket's body.

"The Med Bay was destroyed," Nebula told them. "But there's still one on the ship."

Everyone shared frantic nods of their heads as they moved to hurry out of the weapons locker. Peter continued to carry Rocket as he, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all rushed outside, hurrying out into the damaged city and hurrying together towards the ship. Kraglin, a woozy Drax, and Groot's severed head that crawled around on various twigs (which was strangely both adorable and creepy) moved with the group, with Kraglin briefly explaining that Adam had escaped, much to the group's brief disappointment.

"We'll find him and kick his ass later," Riku declared as they continued to move quickly. "Right now, we've gotta help Rocket!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

As he ran with the rest of the group through Knowhere, Vanitas grit his teeth and gripped his forehead as he felt a strange flash of images go through his head. Within those images, he was able to see a baby raccoon, a group of scientists including a Black man in a purple tech-suit, and a set of cages including an otter with robot arms, a walrus in a wheelchair, and a rabbit with large, mechanical spider legs underneath it. The animals all offered comfort to the baby raccoon, who was obviously Rocket, before the vision suddenly ended.

Still running, Vanitas frowned and looked at Rocket as Peter continued to carry him. There was no doubt in his mind that he had just seen flashes from Rocket's past, which the unconscious raccoon was most likely seeing in his wounded state. Worry coursed through Vanitas about what Rocket had been through, and he was sure it all had to do with that guy in the purple power suit.

He also sensed that this guy was called the High Evolutionary, but he brushed it aside as they reached the ship docks.

Peter (carrying Rocket), Drax, Mantis, Nebula, the still-growing Groot, Kraglin, and a dog in a spacesuit named Cosmo all led Riku and Vanitas towards where the Guardians' new ship was docked. Riku and Vanitas were a little impressed with the new ship, which was large, had multiple levels within, was shaped kind of like a dart, and had a blue and purple color scheme along the metal. Drax informed them that this ship was called the Bowie.

Despite the situation, Vanitas chuckled slightly.

"Alyssa Milano, Pat Benatar, David Bowie..." he slowly said before looking at Peter. "I like your tastes." *5*

Whatever the case, everyone hurried inside the ship, moving through the different levels so they could reach the Med Bay. While Kraglin and Cosmo stayed behind, Drax, Groot (the branches grown enough to give him a makeshift body), Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all hurried through the ship and into the Med Bay, laying Rocket down on the bed and hooking him up to the machines so they could scan him. A monitor was also placed over Rocket's chest so they could observe his insides. Nebula also hooked two wires from the machine to her head so she could give them the answers quicker.

Everyone was ready to see what was wrong with Rocket, but no one was expecting what Nebula told them.

"A kill switch?" Peter asked, shock in his voice.

"A device set to destruct if anyone goes poking around inside him," Nebula explained, her eyes orange from the connection. The device on Rocket's chest displayed his heart, and a red device resembling a scorpion attached to it. "Or even if we use the Med-Paks."

"That seems excessive," Riku commented, his eyes wide in surprise.

"But why would Rocket have a kill switch?" Peter asked.

"Apparently, someone considers him proprietary technology and sent that golden lunatic to get him," Nebula assessed.

"And whoever that someone is would probably rather let him die than let us keep him," Vanitas remarked. He huffed. "Talk about sharing problems."

"So, he'll die if we operate on him?" Mantis worriedly asked.

"And he'll die if we don't," Drax remarked, looking along the table.

"There has to be some way to bypass it," Peter declared.

"Yeah, we just gotta find it, then we'll fix him," Riku agreed with a nod of his head.

Groot nodded in agreement, his body shaking slightly as the branches grew at an accelerated rate.

"It looks like there's a passkey that could override the kill switch," Nebula assessed, looking at the device on Rocket's heart.

"So, we just gotta find the passkey, then we'll save him," Riku assessed with a nod of his head. "So, we just gotta find whoever it was that did this to Rocket."

"To do that, we're gonna have to find..." Vanitas slowly said. He looked at Rocket. "Well... Whoever it was that changed him from a normal raccoon to this angry guy that sounds like the dude from Alias."

"So, we just need to look," Mantis assessed before looking at Peter. "What do we know about where Rocket came from?"

"He won't talk about it," Peter admitted with a small, worried shake of his head.

"The most he ever said was drunk, angry rambling when we first landed on Knowhere," Vanitas added, grimacing at the memory.

"Much of the tech was developed by a company called Orgocorp," Nebula informed them, her eyes still orange. "And there's a code on all of it, 89P13."

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows, having a small flashback to when they had all been arrested on Xandar. The officers there referred to Rocket as "Subject 89P13." He brushed that aside, knowing that this wasn't the time for flashbacks.

"He's got maybe 48 hours," Nebula informed them.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully before turning around. Everyone watched as he started walking towards the door out of the Med Bay, and Mantis, Riku, and Vanitas all moved after him.

"Where are you going?" Nebula called after them.

"Orgocorp have to have records, right?" Peter asked as Drax and Nebula followed after them.

While Groot stayed in the Med Bay with Rocket, everyone else followed Peter down the hall and through the ship towards the cockpit.

"Maybe they'll have a way for us to override the kill switch and save Rocket," Peter assessed.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed, him and Riku both nodding in determination as they followed Peter down another hallway.

"They won't just give us that information," Mantis pointed out as she, Drax, and Nebula continued after the others.

"When has that ever stopped us?" Vanitas replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Not once," Riku added with a nod of his head.

"And that's why we're gonna break in," Peter added as they continued down the hall.

"We kill anyone who gets in our way!" Drax suddenly shouted.

"Not kill anyone," Peter corrected him as they all entered the cockpit.

"Kill a few people," Drax amended as he moved to a control panel and started pressing buttons.

"Kill no people," Peter corrected him as he worked at his own panel and pressed some buttons.

Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all nodded together as they moved to some of the chairs in front of the windshield of the cockpit.

"Kill one guy, one stupid guy who no one loves," Drax tried to amend one more time.

"Now you're just making it sad," Peter commented with a frown.

Whatever the case, Drax and Peter both moved forward together towards the chairs. Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all took place in various seats, though Riku and Vanitas both agreed not to do anything, since they weren't used to piloting something like this. Mantis worked at a set of controls and powered up the engine, as Drax and Peter took their own seats in front of controls. Riku and Vanitas then looked over and watched as Peter activated a panel, opening up a comlink to the docks, where Cosmo and Kraglin were still waiting.

"Kraglin, Cosmo, I need you to keep watch over Knowhere until we're back," Peter explained. "Couple of days, tops."

"Aye, Cap'n," Kraglin replied at the same time Cosmo said, "Aye, comrade."

Peter then powered down the transmission, and Riku frowned.

"Did that dog just talk?" he asked Vanitas.

"Oh, right," Vanitas said, frowning in realization. "Cosmo was a dog that was sent up by Russians in a spaceship back in the 80s or so. While everyone believed she died, really, she just ended up in Knowhere under the Collector's enslavement. Her exposure to the realm of space changed her and gave her an enhanced lifetime, a smarter mind, and telekinesis. Her spacesuit was modified much better, in a way that also allows her to speak."

"A talking dog with telekinesis," Riku slowly said. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the windshield in front of them. "Sure. Why not?"

Once again, Riku was just not going to question it.

'I kind of respect her being a girl here considering the dog she was based on was a girl in the first place,' Vanitas thought with a smile. 'That's a good adjustment from comic to movie.' *6*

Brushing this aside, Vanitas looked around, watching as Drax, Mantis, Peter, and Riku continued to work on various things in their seats, while Nebula worked at a nearby monitor.

"I located the coordinates for Orgocorp," Nebula announced. She looked over. "I think I have a contact near there. Maybe they can help us get in."

"Perfect!" Riku remarked with a nod of his head.

"Contact him," Peter instructed as he looked at a station next to his monitor. He activated his Zune, allowing rock music to start playing over the ship's speakers. "Let's go save our friend."

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

He respected that the music playing was Since You've Been Gone by Rainbow.

Whatever the case, Drax, Mantis, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all held onto their chairs, and Nebula started sending a message to her contact through her monitor as the ship slowly rose up into the air. Riku and Vanitas felt adrenaline coursing through them as the Bowie rose up from the ship dock, then started flying towards the massive eye that served as the exit from Knowhere. Everyone continued to hold on as the ship was piloted out of Knowhere, then through the first of many jump points that they would need to travel to Orgocorp.

Determination to help Rocket coursed through all of their veins as they continued their flight through the various jump points, all of them mentally preparing themselves for whatever they'd face at Orgocorp...

Chapter Text

The Bowie

Somewhere Between Jump Points

During the trip through the various jump points, the ship ended up in a form of autopilot, allowing the group to walk around and limber up, a way of getting ready for whatever they'd face at Orgocorp. Nebula stayed in the cockpit, reassuring the group while also contacting her ally that could most likely help them when they actually reached the corporation. Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all still hoped that her ally could prove to be helpful as they turned and started moving around the ship together with Drax and Nebula.

A quick check in the Med Bay confirmed that Groot was still watching over Rocket in his wounded state. Groot's body had finished growing back, which left Riku and Vanitas both a little surprised over how buff he was. An explanation from Drax and Mantis informed the two Keyblade Masters that Groot had apparently been inspired after Thor left, considering how buff he had gotten again during their two years of traveling together. Riku and Vanitas decided that was a good enough reason before nodding at the living tree, hoping for the best for Rocket.

The two Keyblade Masters then separated for a bit to make calls with their Gummiphones to check in on some of their allies, since it had been a while since they last saw them.

As Vanitas stepped away, he grimaced and grabbed his head as he got another vision. This one revealed a hangar in some world where Adam was being tended to by High Priestess Ayesha from the Sovereign. The High Evolutionary then marched in with his scientists, and Vanitas was a little intimidated by how it appeared that his face was stitched onto his suit. Though, he was a little amused when the High Evolutionary had to stand on a crate just to be eye level with Ayesha, and even more when Adam called him an "extraordinary phallus." Though, worry filled Vanitas when the High Evolutionary proceeded to use a telekinetic component in his suit to send him flying into a wall, and Ayesha begged the High Evolutionary to release Adam.

Worry continued to fill Vanitas as the High Evolutionary reprimanded Ayesha and tortured Adam for a few more moments. Ayesha apologized quietly and begged forgiveness. The High Evolutionary ordered her to find Rocket and return the raccoon to him, or he would destroy the Sovereign, which he apparently created. The High Evolutionary then released Adam and let him fall to the ground before leaving with his scientists, declaring that Rocket's cleverness was why he required him. The High Evolutionary declared that he needed Rocket's brain, and said that the Sovereign were a backup, because he knew where "they" were going.

The vision ended, and Vanitas huffed in a bit of surprise. The High Evolutionary... Yeah, he looked pretty intimidating. And that's even when remembering the Kangs that he had to fight just a few days prior. And it appeared that the High Evolutionary was onto them, since he was most likely on his way to Orgocorp, as well. Grimacing in a slight bit of fear, Vanitas knew there was one way to calm himself down.

Seeing his friends again.

So, he reached into his pocket. Tilting his head to the side in curiosity, Vanitas pulled out the TemPad. Getting an idea, the ravenette pressed a couple of buttons, specifying that he wanted to go to Radiant Garden. A blue portal appeared next to him, and Vanitas stuck his head inside.

Looking through the portal, Vanitas was surprised to see that it worked. The portal led out into Merlin's house, the usual base of operations for the Restoration Committee. The room was next to empty, with everyone appearing to be gone and most likely working on something. However, there were two individuals in the room, both of whom were people that Vanitas was happy to see.

Yuffie looked up from the bookshelf, her eyes widening in surprise from the sudden sight of her boyfriend's head sticking out of an electric portal. On her shoulder, Stitch was resting, remaining secure with his little paws, all while chewing the meat off of a large bone. Yuffie slowly started to smile at the sight of Vanitas, and Stitch was so happy that he dropped the bone.

"V!" Stitch excitedly said.

"You're back!" Yuffie happily exclaimed. She paused. "Again."

"Yeah," Vanitas confirmed with a nod of his head. He gestured to the side with his arm, which stuck through the portal slightly. "There are apparently a lot more means of traveling the Multiverse than we thought. And the most random of things keep happening."

"Well, you've got that right," Yuffie agreed, nodding her head as she walked around the bricked platform in the center of the room. "Leon's girlfriend arrived not too long ago."

"Seriously?" Vanitas asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah," Yuffie confirmed. She giggled in amusement at the look on her boyfriend's face. "What, are you surprised that she was still into him after so long?"

"No, I'm surprised 'cause I thought she was fake," Vanitas admitted.

Vanitas and Yuffie both laughed at that, while Stitch breathed in and out, growing more excited by the second.

"So, are you gonna be able to stay for a while?" Yuffie asked as Stitch took a few steps on her shoulder.

"Not exactly," Vanitas admitted. He lifted up an arm and pointed behind himself. "See, Riku and I have to help out..."

"V!" Stitch suddenly exclaimed.

All of a sudden, the little blue alien launched himself off of Yuffie's shoulder and tackled Vanitas through the electrical portal. Yuffie frowned at the sight before Vanitas and Stitch both vanished through the portal. Vanitas grunted as he landed on the ground, hitting a button that powered down the portal, closing it above them.

While the ravenette was surprised, Stitch just sat on his chest and gave him a big smile.

"V!" Stitch cheered, holding his hands above his heads again.

Vanitas groaned from the impact of landing before grabbing the blue alien and standing up straight. Once he was on his feet, Vanitas looked at where the portal had been as Stitch braced himself on his shoulder. After a few moments, the ravenette shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll see her again once this is over," Vanitas decided. "I'm gonna have to focus during this job, and seeing her again after all of this will be a good enough reward."

He looked at his shoulder, where Stitch giggled softly and gave him a big smile.

"... Eh, what the hey," Vanitas said, deciding to keep the blue alien around. He started walking down the hallway in front of them. "The author's neglected you since Endgame. Might as well keep you around a bit."

Stitch cheered and raised his hands above his head once again as he rode on Vanitas down the hallway. *1*

Reaching his own little section in the Bowie ship, Riku took out his Gummiphone and entered his contacts. Standing in the hallway out of the way of anybody moving through the ship, Riku looked at the screen of his Gummiphone, a little happy to be using something familiar like this again. Scrolling amongst the options for his contacts, he soon found the one that he wanted, and pressed the little green button to make the video call. It took a few moments, and Riku suddenly wondered just what she was doing, but soon enough, the call was answered.

Riku smiled when he saw Naminé's face framing her blonde hair on the screen, a surprised look on her face as she stood in the Twilight Town Sandlot wearing a jean jacket and a black and white striped shirt. Naminé appeared to be very surprised, but she smiled happily at the sight of Riku's face.

"Riku?" Naminé asked, her smile making his stomach do backflips. "I thought you guys had left for Quadratum again?"

"We did," Riku admitted. He paused. "Well, we left for what we thought was Quadratum, but found out that the power of waking is a little... unreliable without the help we used last time."

"What happened?" Naminé asked, furrowing her eyebrows in concern.

"We ended up in a lot of other universes," Riku admitted. He huffed. "We found one where Xehanort won and started his purge."

Naminé grimaced at the idea.

"Then there was one based off that show Stranger Things," Riku continued. He raised an eyebrow. "We should probably actually watch it, though."

Naminé raised her own thoughtful eyebrow.

"Then we ended up in a world where we got turned into anthropomorphic raccoons," Riku continued. "Then we met one of those other Spider-Men and dealt with a dream based demon that had been chasing us. Then we fought robots in an underground city with other versions of Sora, Roxas, Ventus, and V. Then we helped Cloud and his friends fight Sephiroth with a bunch of ninja. And we just got back from an organization that specializes in traveling between other uses. They gave us a device that allows us to travel easily between the universes, but we stopped here real quick to help some of our friends."

"Wow," Naminé said, amazement in her voice as she finished listening to Riku's story. "You and V have been through a lot."

"We really have," Riku admitted with a nod of his head.

He decided not to share that he had been briefly killed. That wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to worry Naminé with, especially not over the phone.

"Well, at least you're back, even if it's not for long," Naminé said. She smiled at her boyfriend. "I know that you're capable of fighting through anything, but... ever since I got a body of my own and learned more about emotions, I can't really help but worry every time you go into battle."

"I'm not gonna blame you for how you feel," Riku told her, smiling back. "Just shows that you care."

Naminé giggled slightly.

"Who's laughing like a baby?" Drax suddenly asked.

Riku and Naminé (through the phone) both turned and watched as Drax and Mantis slowly walked up behind the former, curious expressions on both their faces, with Drax holding onto his belt.

"Oh, uh..." Riku slowly said. He turned his phone so that Naminé could see the two Guardians. "Drax, Mantis, I think you both briefly met Naminé before."

"Yes, hi," Mantis said, smiling and waving at the phone.

Naminé smiled and waved back.

"Oh, yes, Naminé..." Drax slowly said. "The one you once had a wet dream about."

The smiles immediately faded from both Riku and Naminé's faces. While Naminé felt a strange mixture of surprise, shock (and slight happiness), Riku's heart plummeted into his stomach in nothing but pure embarrassment. Drax and Mantis just looked at Riku and his phone, both of them ignorant of just how bad the bombshell the former had just dropped was. After a few moments, Riku lifted his phone up again, but he kept it pointed to the side so he didn't have to face Naminé with his embarrassment.

"I'm gonna call you back," Riku slowly managed to get out.

Drax and Mantis both watched as Riku pressed the red button to end the call before breathing in and out.

"She seems nice," Mantis said with a smile.

"She's very tiny and skinny," Drax commented.

Riku slowly breathed in and out for a moment before sliding his phone back into his pocket.

Then, Riku yelled out and lunged at Drax, tackling the gray skinned man and causing them both to be sent down the hallway once again. Mantis gasped in shock before moving after the two, immediately noticing how Riku had started attacking Drax, and immediately being filled with worry for her two friends.

Of course, she was a bit more worried for Riku than Drax... *2*

Eventually, the ship came to a stop through the autopilot, and they parked it in the expansive void of space in front of their destination. The group ended up dispersing throughout the Bowie once again as they tried to make sense of their new location and what was going on. Nebula had spent the entire time in the cockpit managing things and contacting her ally, while Groot left Rocket in the Med Bay and sat in one of the chairs to observe their new location.

Of course, the sound of something being hit and people yelling echoed into the cockpit, which had her frown and look at the hallway behind her. Vanitas then rounded a corner and looked back at something. Stitch rested on his shoulder as they both watched what was happening with raised eyebrows.

"What's going on?" Nebula asked.

"I think Riku and Drax are trying to kill each other," Vanitas told her, watching as the two fought. "Of course, it's pretty one-sided."

"Very one-sided," Stitch agreed with a nod of his head.

"You stupid asshole!" Riku's voice echoed down the hallway.

"This is fun!" Drax shouted back in response. "It's like punching a baby!"

"Well, tell them to stop," Nebula instructed, looking at Vanitas. "We've arrived."

Vanitas and Stitch both turned to look in the cockpit, and to their relief, they could hear both Drax and Riku stop fighting, signifying that they had listened.

Walking into the cockpit and standing next to Nebula, Vanitas (and Stitch on his shoulder), both looked through the windshield with Groot and looked over the massive structure known as the Orgoscope, the headquarters of Orgocorp. The structure was a massive ship, with a circular component in the center and giant rings surrounding it, with an orange flesh-like substance around each of the massive rings. The fleshy substance spread out in all angles, and bunched up near the end of some of the rings, all while the central component included some bright lights.

"Holy shit..." Vanitas slowly said, surprise in his voice.

"Weird ship..." Stitch muttered with his eyebrows furrowed.

"It's bio-formed," Nebula explained, holding a button on her shirt to speak to the others. "Instead of being built, it's grown from living matter."

"Well, that's gross," Vanitas commented.

"Very," Nebula agreed, walking to another chair and looking at a monitor. "The structure is surrounded by three impenetrable plasmic security shields. It's not going to be easy to break into this place, Star-Lord."

She paused and looked at Vanitas.

"Also, who's the blue alien?" Nebula asked.

"Long story," Vanitas said. "I'm gonna go to the others."

Nebula and Groot just watched as Vanitas (and Stitch) disappeared from view through a teleport. Vanitas blinked slightly at his new surroundings before looking down the hallway, watching as a wincing Riku, Drax, and Mantis followed Peter down the hallway. Vanitas quickly followed them (while Stitch blinked slightly from the sudden teleport), moving after them into another section of inner engines.

"I was a professional thief, remember?" Peter reminded Nebula over the intercom as he led the way into the engine room. "I'll jam the signals one at a time."

Looking amongst his friends, Vanitas wasn't that surprised to see Riku with a black eye and clutching his side slightly, while Drax was completely unfazed from the fighting and was casually eating Zarg-Nuts from an open package.

"You didn't even hurt him in the slightest, did you?" Vanitas asked Riku.

"Not even a little bit," Riku admitted. He looked at the ravenette and frowned at the alien on his shoulder. "Stitch?"

"Long story," Vanitas told him.

Riku nodded at the ravenette and the blue alien as the three of them continued following Drax and Mantis. All of them moved after Peter as he walked to one of the closest engines and started working.

"She calls me Star-Lord when she's mad at me," Peter remarked, referring to Nebula while grabbing a panel on the engine.

"She's always mad," Mantis reminded him. She activated something on a control station to unlock the panel. "At everyone."

Peter opened the panel and placed it down while Mantis pressed a few buttons. Riku, Vanitas, and Stitch all watched, while Drax continued to eat his Zarg-Nuts.

"It's because I was drunk," Peter assessed. He sighed out as a component of the engine rose up, glowing with yellow light. "She's right." He reached down. "If I hadn't been drinking, maybe Rocket... I'm sorry."

"Hey, you had no idea that an asshole was gonna send golden Eyebrows Kid after you guys and attack us," Vanitas told Peter.

"What?" Peter asked, him and Mantis frowning as the two of them, Riku, and Stitch all looked at the ravenette.

"Right," Vanitas said, nodding in response. "I had a vision. After Eyebrows Kid, aka Adam, left Knowhere, he returned to his mother, that Ayesha chick from the Sovereign. The guy in charge of Orgocorp is called the High Evolutionary. He created the Sovereign and Adam, and he sent them after us to try and get Rocket for some reason. What makes it pretty freaky, though... Remember how strong Adam was when we fought him in Knowhere?"

Drax, Mantis, Peter, and Riku all nodded in confirmation, especially when remembering what happened to Groot and Nebula.

"Yeah, the High Evolutionary pinned him to a wall and made Ayesha beg for his mercy," Vanitas told them.

"And we're currently traveling to this guy, this... High Evolutionary's base to try and break inside to steal his information," Riku assessed.

"Yeah, pretty much," Vanitas confirmed with a nod of his head.

Drax just ate another Zarg-Nut, while Mantis, Peter, and Riku all grimaced in slight worry at the idea. Stitch just looked around in confusion.

"Well... That's troubling," Peter admitted. He slipped components together before sliding them into the engine. "But... We'll fight whoever we have to if we're gonna get Rocket the help he needs. We can't..."

He huffed, not wanting to finish that sentence.

"It's okay," Mantis assured him with a small smile. "He's your best friend."

"Second best friend," Drax corrected her, chewing on another Zarg-Nut.

"Everyone around me dies," Peter suddenly declared, despair on his face as he looked at the engine. "My mother, Yondu, Gamora."

'Why do half the people we know have Atlas complexes?' Vanitas thought to Riku, thinking about Peter Parker, Wanda Maximoff, and even Sora.

Riku just shrugged his shoulders back, just as confused.

"Gamora isn't dead," Mantis pointed out to Peter.

"She is to us," Drax pointed out, still chewing. He offered the bag to Peter. "You want a Zarg-Nut?"

"Thank you," Peter softly said, reaching into the bag for a snack.

'Technically, their Gamora is dead, right?' Riku thought, which Vanitas heard in his head. 'The Gamora that we still have is the one from the past that has no memory with these guys.'

'Exactly,' Vanitas thought back. 'But hearing that probably won't bring Quill any comfort.' *3*

While Mantis frowned at Drax for his words, Peter ate the offered Zarg-Nut before finishing mixing the components together. He then slid it into the engine part, which changed its light from yellow to green. While Drax continued eating his Zarg-Nuts, Mantis, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all nodded at the component while Peter grabbed his communicator.

"First shield set," he told Nebula.

Everyone held on as Groot and Nebula piloted the Bowie through the first of the barriers around the Orgosphere, causing the entire ship to shake for a moment before things calmed down. With that, the group then walked around another one of the engine components to work on activating the next shield.

"Peter," Mantis told the leader of the team.

"What?" Peter asked, grabbing another panel.

"You had family on Earth," Mantis told him as she unlocked the component. He opened the panel. "And you never wanted to go back to see them?"

"No, you're my sister," Peter told her, working on combining components again. "That's all the family I want or need."

"Wait, you guys are siblings?" Riku asked, him and Vanitas raising their eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah, Ego kidnapped her as a baby and never felt like telling me that little detail," Peter informed them as he continued working.

"I knew James Gunn was lying," Vanitas said, smiling in validation. *4*

"Besides, all that's really left on Earth is my grandpa," Peter pointed out. He nodded at Riku and Vanitas. "Those two helped me meet him again, but I didn't really take the time to get to know him, or anybody else there could be."

Riku and Vanitas both frowned, realizing that their friend hadn't used the help they gave him the last time they met. They wanted Peter to meet the rest of his family, not just his grandfather.

"And my grandpa was a pretty tough guy," Peter added as he finished combining components for the next shield.

"Still," Mantis said. "Don't you think he..."

She trailed off slightly.

"What?" Peter asked her.

"You were abducted by Ravagers the same day he lost his daughter," Mantis reminded her brother.

"Yeah, in the same day, he lost his entire family," Riku added, grimacing at the very idea.

"Oh, yeah, he was upset," Peter said, a blasé tone in his voice. "My mom died, he screamed in my face, he pushed me out of the room!"

"You were nine, and it was over 30 years ago," Vanitas reminded him. "Don't you think your memories might be a little mixed up?"

"Exactly," Mantis agreed with a nod of her head. "He was probably trying to protect you."

Drax just watched while eating more Zarg-Nuts.

"What are you even talking about?" Peter suddenly asked.

"What?" Mantis asked, her, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all frowning.

"I'm talking about the people in my life who died, you're talking about this?" Peter asked. He grabbed his communicator and spoke to Nebula. "Second shield set."

Over the speakers, Nebula counted down, and everyone held on as the ship shook once again as it traveled through the next shield around the Orgosphere. After a few moments, the shaking stopped, signifying that they were safely through the next shield, so the group went to activate their own next shield.

"I'm just saying..." Mantis slowly told her brother. "It's been two years since we were last on Earth, and you've never even gone to see if he's okay. He could still be alive."

Mantis then walked over to another control station while Peter worked to open the last panel to activate the shields they needed. Drax continued to eat his Zarg-Nuts, while Riku, Vanitas, and Stitch all continued to watch.

"My grandpa?" Peter asked as he worked on opening the panel. "He'd be, like, 90-something years old."

"So he could still be alive," Mantis pointed out, turning towards her brother.

"People on Earth die when they're, like, 50," Peter told her, holding a couple of components in his hands.

"They die when they're 50?" Mantis asked, shock in her voice.

"Not anymore," Vanitas told her. He looked at Peter. "Dude, you need to get your head out of the 1980s, already."

"Yeah, you'd actually be surprised by how much longer people are living nowadays," Riku added with a nod of his head.

"Well, some still die around 50 or something," Peter told them. "Something like that."

"What's even the point of being born?" Mantis hopelessly asked, not liking the very idea.

"Exactly!" Peter agreed, still working at a control panel.

Riku and Vanitas both groaned and covered their faces in embarrassment, while Stitch looked confused, and Drax continued eating Zarg-Nuts.

"Are you about to die?" Mantis worriedly asked her brother.

Peter looked at her. He was confused for a moment before frowning.

"I'm not 50!" Peter exclaimed, offense in his voice.

"You ain't in your 30s, anymore, either, Owen Grady," Vanitas told him as Mantis helplessly shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey," Peter said, frowning and pointing at the ravenette in warning.

Riku smirked slightly while the leader of the team continued working.

"The point is," Peter said. He combined the components and made the shield gear turn green. "I wasn't talking about any of this."

He closed the panel and grabbed the communicator.

"Third shield, set," Peter told Nebula.

Through the speakers, Nebula counted down again, and the entire ship shook slightly as it traveled through the third of the shields around the Orgoscope. Peter started towards the door that led out of the room, and Drax, Mantis, Riku, and Vanitas (with Stitch) all turned to follow him.

"Well, not everything is about what you are talking about," Mantis told her brother as he led the way out of the room. The group moved down the next hallway. "And I'm only saying you are upset because so many of the people you cared about have left you..."

Peter, Mantis, Riku, Vanitas and Stitch, and Drax all walked onto the elevator together, with Peter pressing buttons on the panel to activate it.

"... But you also left someone," Mantis told her brother. She looked at Drax and frowned. "And maybe I wanted a Zarg-Nut!"

"It's too late," Drax impassively told her as the elevator started to rise. "They're all gone."

Mantis looked down in disappointment. Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all raised an eyebrow as Drax blatantly pulled one final Zarg-Nut out of the bag and slipped it into his mouth right in front of them. Mantis glared at him angrily as he ate the final Zarg-Nut.

"Again, you have not changed," Riku commented.

All of a sudden, the entire ship shook, causing the lights to flicker above them. Drax, Mantis, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all looked up at the sight. In the cockpit, Groot and Nebula also looked around as blue electricity surged around all the walls as power surged and started to short-circuit. Drax, Mantis, Riku, and Stitch all looked around in worry, while Vanitas tried to use his powers to figure out what was happening, and Peter lifted his communicator to his mouth.

"Why didn't we go through?" Peter asked.

"We did," Nebula responded back. "It's not the shield."

Luckily, the elevator reached the top floor quickly, and the group was able to step out. Walking into the hallway connected to the cockpit, Drax, Mantis, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all looked into the room. They looked past Nebula and through the front windshield, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh, hell," Peter said.

"That's not good," Vanitas remarked.

Through the front windshield of the Bowie, they could see many Ravager ships floating in the air in front of them, the ships parked in a manner that shone a spotlight on this current ship. Floating amongst the various spacecrafts was Stakar Ogord, wearing a spacesuit that allowed him to float in front of the Bowie. The high-ranking Ravager had a deep frown on his face as he looked at them through the windshield of the ship.

"Ravagers," Peter assessed.

"Oh, I hope age has made him weaker than he was in Rocky," Vanitas remarked, shaking his head at Stakar.

All of a sudden, a nearby monitor came on, displaying a metal, cybernetic head with red and gray panels, and green eyes.

"Hey, guys, you're about to be boarded by the United Ravagers," Mainframe told them. "You can surrender and turn over any stuff worth anything and live..." A loud clang echoed against the wall behind them. "Or you can die. Totes up to you."

"I preferred you as Timmy Turner!" Vanitas snapped to Mainframe, pointing angrily at the monitor of her head.

The sound of something burning into existence echoed through the ship. Drax, Mantis, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all looked down the nearby hallways and watched as an orange portal similar to what the Sorcerers used appeared. A large, red skinned alien with a snake-like body named Krugarr then slid in, waving its arms to make more portals appear that allowed more Ravagers to enter the Bowie. The group grimaced at the sight of all the Ravagers, including a diamond skinned one named Martinex, and one who carried a furry creature called a Blurp.

"I also preferred him on Smallville," Vanitas commented, gesturing to Martinex. Despite the situation, he huffed and patted Riku on the arm. "At least now you get to meet Lex Luthor, eh, Zan?" *5*

Brushing that aside, Vanitas huffed as he, Drax, Mantis, Peter, Riku, and Stitch all watched as more and more Ravagers appeared from just about every corner of the ship. Some appeared down another hallway next to them, others appeared in walkways above them, and some even marched down the stairs. Vanitas grit his teeth over how every single Ravager carried a blaster, while Stitch growled in anger, and Riku flexed his hand, preparing to summon his Keyblade.

Drax tried to rush forward to attack, but Peter moved forward and caught him in the chest.

"Drax, no, no, no, Drax!" Peter frantically said to stop his friend. The Ravagers continued to surround them, with a female one mockingly blowing Drax a kiss. "Guys, it's me, Peter Quill, I'm one of you, remember?"

"I thought you left them to form the Guardians?" Riku asked, frantically looking at the gathered army around them.

"You're not helping, man!" Vanitas exclaimed, him and Stitch also frantically looking around.

"Hold on!" Nebula suddenly declared. She and Groot ran into the room onto part of the grated floor. "We have an appointment!"

"We have an appointment," Peter repeated.

"With who?" Martinex roughly demanded

"With Gamora," Nebula told him.

"With Gamora," Peter repeated, tilting his head to the side.

Riku, Peter, and Vanitas all frowned as they realized what Nebula just said, and the three of them quickly turned towards her.

"What?" Peter asked.

"You're early," a woman's voice suddenly called out.

Everyone turned towards the sound of the voice, watching as Ravagers were pushed aside and grunted. This revealed the Gamora, the one that Riku and Vanitas recognized as the one from 2014, stepping through.

This Gamora had the same green skin, markings on her face from Thanos, and black and pink hair, though it was much longer and more unkept than it had been when they last saw their Gamora. Of course, she also wore a leather garb that was just like all the other Ravagers around them, signifying that she was a member of their group. The look in her eyes was also much colder than either Riku or Vanitas had ever seen in their Gamora.

Nebula then raised her head and grunted at Gamora in greeting. Gamora, in turn, repeated the gesture by raising her head and letting out a deeper grunt.

Riku and Vanitas both huffed as they realized what was happening. They both remembered that Gamora had been hardened by her time serving as one of Thanos's lieutenants and carrying out all his goals, but she still hated him and wanted to get away. Being around the Guardians allowed her to lighten up and become a bit calmer and a bit more light-hearted. Being with the Ravagers, instead... Well, it appeared that this specific group didn't have the same effect on her.

Riku and Vanitas both looked at Peter, knowing that the only other human in this group had to be taking this badly. They both had a feeling that while he wanted to be reunited with Gamora, this wasn't going to be easy since this was most likely a very different Gamora. Peter proved this was correct by staring intently at Gamora.

Luckily, with the confirmation that they had an "appointment" with Gamora, the Ravagers were now here to actually help, rather than try to rob them.

The Ravagers all gathered with the Guardians in a room specifically designed with changing rooms inside. Stakar paced around with some of the other high-ranking Ravagers, while Gamora kept a stern eye on Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas. Orange jumpsuit-like uniforms were carried in the arms of the female Ravager who taunted Drax, and she started handing them out to members of the Guardians.

"What are these?" Drax asked, him and Nebula looking at the uniforms they held.

"Orgocorp uniforms," Stakar informed them. The remaining uniforms were passed to Mantis, Riku, Vanitas, Gamora, and Peter. "You're gonna have to wear these to move through the Orgo without attracting attention."

"Sorry, little buddy," Vanitas said, looking at Stitch on his shoulder. "You're gonna have to sit this part out."

Stitch whined in disappointment.

"This isn't my color," Drax said, holding up the uniform in his hands.

Everyone just looked over at Drax, with Stakar turning around and marching towards him.

"What did you say?" Stakar demanded.

"It clashes with my eyes," Drax replied, frowning back at the Ravager.

Many other Ravagers laughed at the interaction, with Krugarr using his sorcery to make the laughing emoji appear, and Martinex and Mainframe shared a look as they continued to laugh.

"Bautista vs. Stallone," Vanitas muttered. "Who will win?"

"Why do you never make sense?" Riku asked his friend.

"Put it on!" Stakar shouted/demanded from Drax.

While the Ravagers started to move backwards, Nebula marched to one of the changing rooms. Vanitas nodded at Stitch, who nodded back before jumping towards Groot, landing on his shoulder and looking at the humanoid tree.

"I am Groot," Groot told the blue alien.

"Stitch," Stitch introduced himself. He tilted his head. "Are you a tree?"

"I am Groot," Groot told him.

"Stitch," Stitch repeated.

"I am Groot," Groot repeated.

"Stitch!" Stitch repeated, holding up his arms.

Riku and Vanitas shook their heads at the sight, having a feeling that this would go on for a while.

Of course, they were able to overhear Peter softly demand from Nebula why she wouldn't say she was in contact with Gamora. Nebula just said that she didn't want him to freak out, and Peter's voice went high-pitched as he asked "how?" Nebula responded that it was like that, before she turned and entered one of the changing rooms. Peter reluctantly moved back to stand with Riku and Vanitas as Drax, Mantis, and Nebula changed together in the rooms first.

"Gamora, we are grateful for your help," Mantis told her, a diplomatic tone in her voice.

"Oh, I'm not doing this out of the kindness of my heart," Gamora replied, looking over her shoulder at the doors of the changing rooms. "I'm doing this for the hundred thousand units my sister promised."

The rest of the Ravagers laughed, and Vanitas sensed sadness coming from Groot. Vanitas grimaced, since the living tree had come to see Gamora as a mother figure, and it was hurting him to see her so cold. Riku just raised an eyebrow, surprised to see that living with the Ravagers had such a big change on their old friend. *6*

"So, you're a Ravager now?" Peter asked, trying and failing to sound casual as he moved to stand next to Gamora.

"Put on the uniform," Gamora told him, clearly trying to ignore him.

"Never pictured you as the Ravager type," Peter commented, looking at her intently.

"Who are you again?" Gamora asked, frowning at the man.

Riku and Vanitas both grimaced, knowing that was cold.

Gamora just scoffed at Peter, who looked down in disappointment.

"Orgocorp is in possession of some of the most advanced cybergenetic IP in the galaxy," Stakar declared. "So, they're heavily guarded by the deadly Orgosentries."

Vanitas closed his eyes and saw some of those Orgosentries, soldiers wearing suits in the same fleshy material carrying blasters as they floated around the outside of some of the massive rings of the Orcoscope.

"Now, I know you don't have documentation to dock," Stakar continued. "So you're gonna have to get in there on your own. Once in, Gamora is gonna lead you to the records, where maybe you can find the passkey to override the kill switch and help you save the hedgehog."

Riku closed his eyes and sighed out, amused that literally everyone in the galaxy apparently didn't know what a raccoon was.

"But if you get into trouble, we will not be able to bail you out," Stakar warned the group.

"Good to know, Rambo," Vanitas remarked with a nod of his head.

While Drax, Mantis, and Nebula continued to change in their rooms, Gamora, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all stayed ready to change into their own suits. The rest of the Ravagers continued to watch, while Groot carried Stitch on his shoulder out of the room. Groot walked with Stitch through the ship to the Med Bay, walking over to where Rocket was laying on the bed with a ventilator over his mouth to help him breathe. Groot and Stitch both tilted their heads to the side as they watched him continue to sleep, hoping that they'd be able to get him the help he needed to survive.

Both of them were ignorant of the memories flowing through Rocket's head, complete with horrible flashbacks to his time unintentionally helping the High Evolutionary...

Chapter Text

The Bowie

Space above the Orgoscope

Along with jumpsuits/uniforms similar to what the employees in the Orgoscope wore, the Ravagers also supplied the group of seven with spacesuits, specifically allowing them to make a jump from the Bowie to the space station below them. Given the high level of security due to the sentries on duty, they were going to have to actively jump from the Guardians' ship onto the massive space station below, with the suits provided to them guaranteed to help establish a safe passage. So, once Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas had all changed into the jumpsuits, they were also supplied with the spacesuits.

Eyebrows were raised at the bright colors of the jumpsuits, consisting of red, green, orange, purple, yellow, blue, and black.

"After we get out of this, we can play real-life Among Us," Vanitas quipped as they were supplied the spacesuits. "I think Drax will be the traitor." *1*

No one in the group knew what this meant (least of all Drax), but as per usual, they ignored his words and just accepted them as random words.

Whatever the case, the group proceeded to slide on the spacesuits. Peter had the yellow, Gamora had the blue, Riku had the purple, Vanitas had the black, Mantis had the orange, Drax had the orange, and Nebula had the green. With the suits secured, the seven of them moved to the blast door that would allow them to leave the ship, all of them standing ready to jump out and begin their descent through space and to the massive ship below them.

Riku and Vanitas wondered who put on the speakers again, which allowed In the Meantime by Spacehog to start playing.

Whatever the case, the blast doors opened in front of them, and the seven started their descent. Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all jumped together off the edge of the ship and started their descent through the void of space. They descended at a decently slow rate through the vacuum from the ship to the Orgoscope, though Riku and Vanitas were inwardly amused over how extra Mantis proceeded to be by flipping repeatedly during their descent. The seven of them continued to descend through the vacuum of space, falling towards the closest part of one of the massive, flesh-like rings of the immense space station.

"There," Gamora said over their suit intercoms, pointing to the fleshy ring. "That's the decompression chamber."

"Lock in," Peter instructed.

"How is that music still playing?" Riku asked with a frown.

"Are you really gonna complain?" Vanitas asked with a smirk. "I prefer Fall Out Boy, but this is a decent song."

Whatever the case, everyone followed the instructions. Peter went first, lifting up his right arm and activating a component attached to his suit. A red beam shot out of his suit and hooked onto the fleshy surface of the side of the ship, working to maintain a magnet between him and the ship. Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all followed his example and shot the components attached to their suits, following Peter's example and connecting themselves to the ship with a magnet.

With the magnets established, the tiny thrusters on the backs of their suits whirred to life in preparation.

"Go," Peter instructed.

The tiny thrusters activated, allowing the seven of them to be redirected towards the part of the ship they were magnetically connected to. Drax, Gamora, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all descended smoothly, while Mantis excitedly flipped a few more times during her own descent. The group all continued to float down before beginning their landing process, landing on their feet, but jumping up a few more times without gravity to try and brace themselves. Of course, Mantis proceeded to be extra by landing on her stomach, then rising up and flipping a few more times.

The group continued bouncing against the flesh-like ground of the side of the massive Orgocorp ship, though Mantis continued to flip through the vacuum of space above them a few more times.

"Activate gravity boots and gloves," Peter instructed.

He formed the example by pressing a button on one of his gloves and one of his boots, then dropped down to land with a smaller bounce on the spongy side of the ship. Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Riku all followed his example, though Mantis still flipped a few more times in the process. Vanitas was a little disappointed that the music ended from their landing, but he brushed it aside as he looked around with his allies.

The surface of this part of the ship was made up of a massive, spongy ground, though other components rose up in the distance that glowed with orange light in between the pulsating flesh. There were also large raises in the flesh in the distance that were reminiscent of a swollen bruise, though whatever was within was probably more disgusting. Littering the ground were even giant pieces of hair that stuck out in different intervals, each individual follicle at least half the height of Peter.

"I don't even wanna know what kind of hair that's from," Riku remarked, grimacing at the follicles in the distance.

"Neither do I," Peter agreed. He looked at Nebula. "Nebula, go."

Nebula nodded in understanding and held up her left arm, which was uncovered by the suit. Nanoparticles spread out from her arm, covering the limb completely and constructing a small welding torch. Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all watched as Nebula crouched down and started welding the torch through the fleshy surface, burning through it and slowly but surely opening a way inside for them.

Riku and Vanitas grimaced slightly at the orange liquid that floated out of the ship and through the vacuum of space as Nebula continued cutting through.

"So this ship's a Graboid?" Vanitas quipped, raising an eyebrow at the floating orange liquid.

As Nebula continued to burn through the side of the ship, Drax and Mantis just stood and watched, and Riku glanced over at Gamora and Peter. Gamora slowly crouched down onto one knee and rested a hand on the other. Peter then followed her example and crouched down onto one knee of his own, pointedly looking at Gamora next to him. Riku grimaced at the sight, knowing that the leader of the team was most likely hurting from this.

Vanitas followed his example and looked over at Peter and Gamora. He and Riku watched as Peter looked down at the different colored buttons on his suit, then pressed the blue one, the one that was the same color as Gamora's. Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows, sensing that the buttons actually had a different meaning than Peter thought.

"So, you really don't remember anything?" Peter remarked to Gamora, thinking the others couldn't hear him.

"Like what?" Gamora asked, lightly curious.

He slowly glanced towards the others, trying not to seem too obvious about what he wanted to ask.

"'Bout your time with us," Peter said.

They were both silent for a moment.

"... No," Gamora confirmed.

"Huh," Peter softly huffed. "We were..."

"We weren't anything," Gamora sternly replied.

"You and me..." Peter slowly said.

"That person was some alternate future version of me," Gamora reminded him. She looked at Peter firmly. "It wasn't me."

Peter just looked back at her, a calm look on his face, but clear desperation in his eyes.

"We loved each other," he told Gamora.

She leaned backwards in disbelief.

"I don't think so," Gamora told him.

She shook her head and looked up.

"I know you don't remember any of it," Peter told her. He paused and looked down. "You were everything to me."

They looked at each other, and Peter let out a sigh, sounding like he was close to tears.

"And I miss you... so much," Peter told Gamora. Even Gamora wasn't sure what to say to that. "And maybe... Maybe, if you open yourself up to it... There's a possibility..."

"I don't think so, Quinn," Gamora told him, a finality to her voice.

They were silent for another moment, which broke a small part of Peter's heart.

"... Quill," he slowly responded.

"Quill," Gamora repeated. There was a moment of silence where they looked at each other. "I don't think so."

"Well, what I'm trying to say..." Peter slowly said.

"Peter..." Mantis then said, drawing Gamora and Peter's attention. "You know this is an open line, right?"

Gamora was inwardly grateful since she didn't have to think up another set of words of denial, while Peter just jumped in surprise.

"What?" Peter asked.

"We're listening to everything you're saying," Mantis informed her brother.

"And it is painful," Drax added, nodding his head while holding his hands together.

"Yeah, we heard every last word between you two," Riku confirmed with an apologetic nod of his head.

"What is it with me and eves-dropping on all of your guys' moments?" Vanitas commented, looking at Gamora and Peter with his hands on his hips. "At least this time it really was an accident." *2*

"And you're just telling me now?" Peter demanded, a bit of offense in his voice.

"We were hoping it would stop on its own," Nebula admitted, still working on cutting through the ship below them.

"Yeah, moments like that tend to go on for a while," Vanitas informed the others. "Trust me, I know."

"But I switched it over to private!" Peter remarked, looking at the panel of buttons on his right forearm.

"What color button did you push?" Mantis asked.

"Blue, for the blue suit!" Peter replied, pointing at the different colored buttons.

"Yeah, that seems like a reasonable assumption," Vanitas admitted, with Riku nodding in agreement.

"Oh, no," Drax said, closing his eyes in secondhand embarrassment.

"Blue is the open line for everyone," Nebula told him, still working on cutting through the ship.

"Orange is for blue," Mantis added to her brother.

"What?" Peter demanded with a frown on his face.

"That is very misleading," Riku commented, looking at the different colored buttons.

"Black is for orange," Mantis explained, pointing to each of the buttons on the pad. "Yellow is for green, green is for red, red is for yellow, and purple is for black."

"No," Drax told her, while Peter closed his eyes in frustration. "Yellow is for yellow, green is for red, red is for green."

"I don't think so," Mantis replied with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Try it, then," Drax suggested.

While Gamora and Peter stayed on one knee, and Nebula continued sawing through the ship, Drax, Riku, and Vanitas all watched as Mantis pressed the yellow button on her suit.

"Hello!!!" Mantis shouted as loudly as she could.

Vanitas raised his eyebrows as he sensed how loud she was with his powers. Of course, Peter was the only one affected, as he lifted his hands up and placed them on the sides of his helmet, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as the feedback echoed loudly in his suit. Riku and Vanitas grimaced for their friend, while Drax just nodded while Mantis looked at him.

"You were right," Mantis told Drax, who looked vindicated.

"Yeah, that is really confusing," Vanitas remarked, raising an eyebrow at the different colored buttons.

"Exactly!" Peter demanded, looking at his team in frustration. "How the hell am I supposed to know all of that?"

"Seems intuitive," Drax replied, a blasé tone in his voice.

"No, it really doesn't," Riku confirmed with a shake of his head.

Peter and Vanitas both just gave Drax looks, silently agreeing with Riku, while Gamora just did her best to ignore them all.

"Can we get back to saving our friend?" Nebula angrily demanded, garnering the attention of everyone. She looked at Peter. "Get that jammer ready to change the shield."

Riku and Vanitas watched as Peter reached behind himself and grabbed a tool that was attached to his back. He lifted up the device, it beeped, and he lowered it in preparation.

Nebula then lifted up her arm, and the nanoparticles spread out from her arm, forming a flat surface that she attached to the oval shaped surface she burned through the side of the ship. The flat surface formed a magnet, and Nebula slowly lifted up her arm, slowly sliding out the piece she had burned through the fleshy surface. Nebula pulled the rest of the piece out, tossing it through the void and making more orange liquid fly out that Riku and Vanitas pointedly leaned away from.

Through the hole, they could faintly hear an alarm, and an orange shield through the hole. Peter then reached inside the hole and placed his tool against the wall, turning the shield a bright purple color.

The hole that Nebula burned through the side of the ship was large enough for them to enter the Orgoscope through, which she led the way through by using the suit to float down through the purple shield and enter the room below. Gamora moved to follow her sister, then Drax went next.

Sadly, due to his broad shoulders, he quickly found himself getting stuck.

"Why did we let him go next?" Riku asked, frowning at the sight.

Vanitas then closed his eyes, and huffed as he got an image in his mind. He cursed when he saw that the security in the Orgoscope had already detected that there was something wrong with the room they were breaking into, and she was contacting a group of Orgosentries, led by a man named Master Karja.

'Damn it...' Vanitas thought with a frown. 'Elizabeth Olsen. Jeff Goldblum. Nathan Fillion. How many actors do I love am I gonna have to fight in this part of the universe?'

With that, the ravenette pressed the blue button on his suit to ensure that he had an open link to everybody.

"Guys, we've gotta move quickly," Vanitas instructed. He looked at Mantis, Peter, and Riku. "I just saw that security knows about the breach in this room. We gotta hurry otherwise we're gonna end up in some unwanted trouble."

"Noted," Nebula replied through the comlink.

"Man, it is great that you have all your powers now," Peter commented to the ravenette.

"Right?" Vanitas agreed.

Whatever the case, the group started to move a bit more quickly. Within the ship, Gamora and Nebula grabbed Drax's shoulders and worked to help him wiggle through the hole in the side of the ship. Mantis, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all moved over and helped by pushing different parts of Drax's body to help him slide through. With the team's effort, they were able to slowly push him through more and more of the hole, and once his arms were through, he was able to float into the ship to join Gamora and Nebula in the room.

With Drax in the ship, the rest of the group quickly followed suit. Peter and Riku went next, while Mantis and Riku took up the rear given their thin shape (Mantis), and their shorter height (Vanitas). With everyone inside the ship, Peter floated to the hole in the ceiling and grabbed the component that he placed on the shield, taking it off and changing it back to orange.

While Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas continued to float above the ground, Peter pressed his feet to the wall and used it to launch himself across the room, where the security camera (which was an actual eye, disgustingly enough) was placed above the metal door. Vanitas grit his teeth and saw the woman at security scrolling through the many monitors, getting closer to the one for the very room they were in.

Knowing they had to be fast, Vanitas used his powers to help Peter float faster towards the security camera. He ignored how disgusting it was that it was an actual eye as he attached his tool to it, changing the camera's image to not include the Guardians.

"Again, your powers are awesome," Peter commented to Vanitas.

"Thanks," Vanitas replied. He looked around as they all continued floating. "Now how do we get back on the floor?" *3*

"I'm on it," Nebula informed him.

With that, she launched herself off of a different wall. While Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all continued to float through the air, Nebula flew with the lack of gravity across the room to the panel next to the door. Within seconds, Nebula reached the panel and pressed the button, activating the gravity and making them all fall to the ground.

While Drax, Gamora, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all landed on either their fronts, backs, or bottoms, Mantis fell onto her head, which was protected by the helmet, before falling onto her back.

Looking up, Vanitas let out a huff as he looked around the room to take in the sight. There were orange walls with ridges along the side, very reminiscent of some kind of bit of flesh. There were white linings all along the walls, leading to a white and gray floor, large white bins that lined the wall and had large lids, and a white door next to the panel. There were bright lights near the ceiling that allowed everyone to see, though the bright orange should have been enough to also ensure that they could see.

While everyone else started pushing themselves up, Vanitas grit his teeth as he got another vision, allowing him to see that Master Karja was informed by security that something was going on in this room, the "decompression chamber." He cursed as Master Karja responded to her, and he and the other Orgosentries started moving towards their location.

"Shit!" Vanitas exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "Security's on its way. We've gotta get out of these suits."

With that, everyone else jumped to their feet and frantically started to take off the suits. Drax and Riku took off their helmets while Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all started working on undoing the buckles attached to their chests.

"Hurry," Drax said with a huff.

Everyone quickly continued taking off the suits, with Vanitas grimacing as he got another vision of Master Karja on his way. While he found the orange suits with weird ridges along the surface that the Orgosentries wore to be pretty strange looking, the way the arms glowed, and the blasters some of them carried were certainly intimidating enough. With that in mind, Vanitas put a mental block on himself for a moment as he worked on getting the suits off with the others.

Gamora sat on a bench as she worked on taking off the rest of her suit, while Drax and Riku kicked off their suits, Nebula slipped off her own, Peter continued to struggle taking off his own suit, and Mantis and Vanitas finished taking off their suits before picking them up.

"Where do we put these?" Drax asked as he grabbed his suit.

"Yeah, there's not a lot of places to hide something in here," Vanitas agreed, looking around frantically.

Mantis held her own suit in her arms and looked around before her eyes landed on the large bin next to her.

"Here!" she announced before opening up the lid. "Hide them in this locker until we leave."

"Good idea," Riku replied as he lifted up his own suit.

Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows, now wondering how this room was a "decompression chamber."

Whatever the case, the group finished taking off all of the brightly colored spacesuits they had on, revealing the red-orange jumpsuits that the Ravagers had supplied them to blend in on the Orgoscope. The group hurried to the bin that Mantis had found and started stuffing their suits inside, moving frantically in a desperate attempt to hide the gear. Gamora and Vanitas looked over their shoulders as they heard footsteps echo from the other side of the door, signifying that the danger was really close.

"Hurry," Gamora told them.

Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all stuffed the spacesuits in the bin as best they could, cramming them inside and grabbing the lid. As they finished, the three panels of the door opened with a disgustingly slick noise, which the group tried their best to ignore. They slammed the lid of the bin shut and turned towards the door, doing their best to look inconspicuous as the Orgosentries marched inside.

The group all looked at the trio of Orgosentries now standing in front of them, seeing that they were all very different. All three of them were in the bulgy, ridgy, and strangely blobby armor that covered every part of their bodies except their heads, complete with glowing spots on their forearms that were raised in preparation to fight. Of course, of the three, closest Orgosentries, there was a bald man with orange skin, another bald man with pale skin and blue patterns with ridges in his cheeks, and Master Karja, who appeared to be human with just pale skin and short brown hair pushed up in a slight quiff.

'At least Nathan Fillion looks human this time,' Vanitas thought. 'Granted, the last time he was in one of these movies, he was just voicing that big blue alien who's nose Groot fucked up.' He grimaced. 'But why do I have to fight actual Nathan Fillion now?'

While Riku and Vanitas kept their hands ready to summon their Keyblades, Peter glanced to the side as an idea quickly came to him.

"What the hell was that, guys?" Peter demanded from the Orgosentries.

Drax, Gamora, Mantis, and Nebula kept even expressions on their faces as they looked at him, while Master Karja and the other Orgosentries frowned in confusion.

"What, are you kidding me?" Peter added.

"What?" Master Karja asked.

Peter glanced at a nearby window, and looked at the Orgosentries again.

"A neutro-quark just hit the satellite," Peter sternly told them, pointing at the ceiling. Riku and Vanitas looked up at the ceiling. "It's burning a hole in the wall."

He pointed at the hole they made, which Master Karja and the other Orgosentries looked at.

"And you geniuses, you just throw the door open without any proper precautionary procedure?" Peter sternly snapped to the Orgosentries.

Riku and Vanitas both inwardly huffed, both of them impressed with Peter. Though they all passed him off as an idiot (especially for screwing up his own plan on Titan and getting half the universe killed), he was actually pretty smart. *4*

"Yeah, come on, man!" Vanitas suddenly declared, putting up an act, as well.

"What happened to the safety procedures?" Riku added.

"What procedures, bros?" Master Karja rebutted, frowning as he took a step forward.

"Oh!" Mantis exclaimed as she stepped forward, joining the act. "You want us to read the manual for you, too, bro?" Master Karja stepped back from the way she yelled in his face and waved her arms. "You could have killed everyone in the wing!"

"Yeah, really, what happened to safety, man?" Vanitas asked, gesturing with his arms as Riku nodded in agreement.

"Exactly!" Drax snapped, joining the act. Master Karja looked at him in shock, while Nebula just raised an eyebrow. "You idiots! I'm angry, too!"

"Oh, no..." Nebula softly said, shaking her head at the strongman.

"I mean, can't you see these authentic mechanic uniforms that we're wearing on our bodies?" Drax added to the Orgosentries. "That blend in with some of our skin-tones better than others?"

"Excuse my friend," Peter then told Master Karja and the other Orgosentries. "He is the boss's nephew. He's a little..."

He pointed at his head and waved the finger in a circle, giving off the image of "crazy." Of course, behind Peter's back, Vanitas just mouthed to the Orgosentries "He's dumb."

"Oh," Master Karja said. He looked at Drax as the strongman crossed his arms. "Oh. Yeah, I..." He smirked and gestured to the pale skinned Orgosentry. "I got one of those, too."

Peter nodded his head as Master Karja gestured to the orange skinned one.

"I mean, this one?" he remarked. "This one, I love. I'm so proud." He looked at the orange skinned one. "You're doing great. So proud of you."

Peter just tilted his head to the side as Master Karja turned back towards him.

"But this one, I just..." Master Karja said, gesturing to the pale skinned one again. He looked back at this man and glared back at him before looking at Peter again. "Everything he does drives me crazy."

"Yeah..." Peter softly said.

"You'd prefer your coworkers at the LAPD, right, Nolan?" Vanitas added with a smirk.

"I thought you said something else," the pale skinned man softly said to Master Karja.

"Shut up," Master Karja snapped at the pale skinned man. He looked at Peter. "I swear I'm gonna throttle him."

Riku raised an eyebrow at the sight, now wondering how these guys worked so well together as Orgosentries.

"I'm gonna go to jail for murder," Master Karja remarked to Peter. "Really, I am."

Riku shook his head before glancing to the side. He did a double take, and his eyes widened as he looked out the window next to him, seeing the multi-colored spacesuits floating through the vacuum of space outside the ship. Worry immediately filled Riku, since this meant they wouldn't be able to get back to the ship the same way they had left. And the way Mantis gasped across the room had Riku sure that she had seen it, too.

"How'd you guys get here so fast?" Master Karja asked.

Riku kept an eye on him while stepping to the side, doing his best to cover the window from view with his body. He cautiously looked at Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas, trying to keep his fear from spiking too much when they were this close to guards.

"I'll be honest with you, we just happened in before it burned all the way through, thankfully," Peter told him.

"Yeah, we were as good as Kaylee on Serenity when it came to repairs," Vanitas confirmed with a nod of his head.

"Ah," Master Karja said, giving a small smile. "Good thing you were here."

Vanitas felt great joy over being smiled at by someone who looked like Nathan Fillion.

"All right, guys, wrap it up," Master Karja said, turning towards the other Orgosentries.

Relief filled Riku over the fact that the man hadn't turned in a manner that allowed Karja to see him covering the window. As the Orgosentries started leaving the room, Master Karja activated his comlink.

"Looks like we're all clear here," Master Karja told the others at security.

Drax, Gamora, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all watched the Orgosentries march out of the room, with Riku joining Mantis in panicking slightly over the spacesuits that were now out of their reach. Mantis let out a small choke before Master Karja and the Orgosentries left the room, and the door folded shut behind them.

"Oh, I should've done a Castle reference, too," Vanitas commented, which had Gamora raising an eyebrow.

"Our spacesuits!" Mantis shouted, pointing at the window behind Riku.

"Yeah, this is pretty bad, guys!" Riku added, his eyes wide as he pointed behind himself.

Riku got out of the way and looked through the window, watching as the spacesuits continued to float through the void of space. Drax, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all turned and marched over to the window and watched as the suits floated farther and farther out of their reach, while Gamora groaned in annoyance, just now realizing what had gone wrong.

"Aw, man!" Vanitas complained, gesturing to the sides with his arms. "There goes our real-life Among Us!"

"You threw them in the contamination bin," Gamora declared, reprimanding Mantis. She gestured to the bin. "It expels stuff into space the moment you shut the door."

"That would have been helpful information three minutes ago," Mantis replied, a look of guilt on her face.

"That's why it's called the decompression chamber," Vanitas said, looking up in realization.

"Damn it, Mantis, why don't you ever think?" Nebula shouted, marching towards the pale skinned alien. She glared at Vanitas. "And why didn't you share that this was the decompression chamber?"

"Are we pretending to be angry again?" Drax asked, moving next to Nebula in excitement. "Mantis, Vanitas, you assholes!"

"You're a dick," Riku commented.

"Hey, to be fair, nothing in this place looks anything remotely like what would belong in a decompression chamber," Vanitas told the others, moving to stand near Nebula again. "Besides, how was she supposed to know that those were contamination bins? I mean, does anyone in this room even know how to read braille?"

He gestured to the lineup of dots and lines on the side of the contamination bin.

"What's braille?" Gamora asked with a frown.

"Exactly!" Vanitas confirmed, holding his arms to the side. "Besides, after she got the idea, you were all just as eager to stuff the spacesuits in the bin." He looked at Mantis and gave her a reassuring look. "This wasn't your fault."

"Thank you, Vanitas," Mantis replied, her voice small but tinged with gratitude. *5*

"Guys, just focus for two seconds," Peter sternly declared, garnering attention. "We'll find another way out of here. Right now, we need to save Rocket's life."

"Yeah," Riku agreed with a nod of his head. He looked amongst the others. "Let's go find that passkey."

With that, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Vanitas all nodded in agreement, while Gamora just shrugged her shoulders in a sad form of indifference. The group all turned with Riku and Peter towards the door, which opened up and allowed them to walk out into the rest of the Orgosphere.

Moving out into the hallway together, the group was able to see that the hallways were similar to the room they had just left. They had the same design of orange, lined walls that had white lines leading from floor to ceiling, various little bumps with yellow light attached to the buttons, circular marks in the halls that could be walked through, and a gray floor that was a dull contrast to the rest of the room. Employees of the Orgosphere moved about at random, with many wearing white jumpsuits as they strolled around to fulfill different tasks. The people of the ship were all of different species, many having different colored skin, while others had different forms of protrusions in their bodies to help signify their status as aliens.

The group marched out of the decompression chamber and into the hallway, with Gamora leading the way, Mantis, Peter, and Vanitas behind her, and Drax, Riku, and Nebula taking up the rear.

"Nebula, Quinn, Vanitas, and I will get to the records and get the passkey," Gamora instructed to the rest of the group. Peter frowned at the mispronunciation of his name again. "Bug, Doofus, and Riku, access the spaceport through the elevator so Tree and the furry one can land and get us out of here."

"Smart move to keep one Keyblade Master per group," Vanitas remarked.

"Yeah, if something bad happens, that way we have at least one powerful weapon," Riku added.

"Why are they the only names you remember?" Drax asked Gamora.

As they continued down the hall, Peter bumped into another bald man with pale skin, and a metal device attached to his head. Vanitas glanced back, frowning over how he thought the man appeared to be familiar as he apologized to Peter and continued down the hallway. With the man gone, Peter just shrugged his shoulders and resumed walking with the rest of the group. Vanitas looked down the hallway after the man for another moment before resuming the walk with the rest of his allies.

Whatever the case, the group reached an impasse in the hallway, and Gamora instructed the others to go. Drax, Mantis, and Riku all walked down the adjacent hallway to the nearby elevator, with Riku nodding at the rest of the group. Vanitas nodded back as he, Gamora, Nebula, and Peter all watched the three of them open an elevator and step inside. Drax, Mantis, and Riku all stood in the elevator, and the rest of the group watched as the doors slid shut before it started sliding down. Separated from the others, Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all turned and started walking down the next hallway, all of them ready for whatever this place had in store for them.

The Bowie

Within the Guardians' ship, Groot and Stitch continued to watch over Rocket in the Med Bay for a little while. Of course, given that they needed the ship to be ready in case things went south in the Orgoscope (which, knowing their reputation, was a very strong possibility), the two of them had to leave the Med Bay and enter the cockpit together. Groot and Stitch left behind all the Ravagers (many of whom left), and stayed together in some seats in the cockpit, both of them staying ready to fly the ship at the slightest hint of danger.

Of course, while Groot remained in his chair and waited patiently, Stitch hopped up and down as he looked amongst the controls of the seats around them, amazed over how different this spaceship was from the previous ones he had piloted.

"I am Groot," Groot told him, a cautious tone in his voice.

"And I'm Stitch," Stitch told him. He laughed as he looked at the control panel. "This ship is more advanced than the last one I flew. What's this do?"

He pointed to a big red button labeled "Do Not Push."

"I am Groot," Groot informed him.

"And I'm Stitch," Stitch repeated. He pointed at a large set of handles on one of the control panels. "What's that do?"

"I am Groot," Groot repeated.

"And I'm Stitch," Stitch repeated again with a small sigh. He looked at the Zune on Peter's control panel. "What's that do?"

"I am Groot," Groot told him, a smile spreading across his face.

Before Stitch could repeat his own words again, growing even more annoyed, Groot then pressed a button to power up the Zune. Stitch watched as Groot selected one of the many songs within, which ended up being Elvis Presley's Hound Dog.

"Woohoo!" Stitch cheered, excitedly holding his arms up. "Elvis!"

Groot laughed as Stitch jumped off the chair and started dancing, jumping and bouncing around while waving his arms happily. While the little blue alien continued to dance, Groot stood up and joined him, waving his arms and legs as he worked on dancing with him. Though they both made sure to keep an eye on the consoles and listen in case the others contacted them, Groot and Stitch continued to dance happily to Hound Dog, both of them laughing as they kept happily bouncing around.

"I left Radiant Garden for a bit," Stitch happily but slowly told Groot as they continued dancing. Groot just listened to him, even though he didn't know where (or what) Radiant Garden was. "Landed on a world called Hawaii, met a really good friend who listened to Elvis. She introduced me to the idea of Ohana, and the music of Elvis. This music rocks!"

"I am Groot!" Groot shouted, waving his arms as he danced in another way.

"I am Stitch!" Stitch replied, holding his arms up in excitement.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked, surprise in his voice as he looked at the blue alien.

Stitch gasped in realization.

"I am Stitch?" Stitch asked, excitement in his voice.

"I am Groot," Groot confirmed with a nod of his head.

Stitch laughed and lifted his arms up.

"I am Stitch!" he happily shouted.

"I am Groot!" Groot excitedly agreed, waving his arms once again.

The two laughed together, and Stitch jumped up. Groot caught him in both arms, and the two of them smiled as they hugged. Groot and Stitch both laughed happily as they continued to dance to Elvis's Hound Dog, both of them having become quick friends over their love of the music and dancing. *6*

Chapter Text

Orgocorp

Deep within the Orgoscope, the trio of Drax, Mantis, and Riku continued to ride in the elevator that they had found, riding in the seed shaped, golden structure through the various levels of the massive space station down to the lower levels. The three of them continued to ride in the elevator, with Mantis complaining about how angry Gamora and Nebula had been due to the mix-up in the decompression chamber. Riku could understand, since he agreed the sisters had been a little much, but he and Drax stayed silent, knowing that their friend needed to vent.

Within moments, though, the elevator door slid open, revealing an absolutely gigantic white room that stretched out so high that they couldn't see a ceiling. Just like the rest of the ship, massive white tendrils rose up higher through the air, while raised walkways littered the room above them, and other tendrils that were reminiscent of large plants rose up in different intervals. People walked around the massive room, wearing all sorts of different outfits, including some white, blue, and black garbs, other mechanic outfits, and even other forms of riot gear. Luckily, there didn't appear to be any other Orgosentries around, which brought Riku some relief.

As the door to the elevator opened, Mantis marched out to lead the way, with Drax and Riku following her as she continued ranting about their allies.

"Not my fault I don't know anything if no one ever tells me," Mantis continued as they walked across the massive, white room.

Looking around the gigantic room with people mulling around near walls, other tendrils, and even on top of the walkways, Riku inwardly wondered if they were in some kind of cafeteria. He brushed it aside as he, Drax, and Mantis walked together towards a podium where a bald man in black riot gear with pale, scaly skin, and black lines on top of his head was standing. There was a small gate next to the podium, providing a small barrier between this section of the room from the other.

"I didn't even wanna come here," Mantis added to her allies.

"Well, V and I came to help, so we're happy to do some extra heavy lifting," Riku said with a shrug of his shoulders.

The three of them stood together in front of the podium, where the guard frowned in an authoritative manner.

"I'm gonna need to see your..." the guard started to say.

Mantis just reached over and placed her hand on his own hand, which allowed her to touch his skin thanks to his fingerless gloves. The guard paused as Mantis's antennae glowed, signifying her using her powers.

"You're hopelessly in love..." Mantis slowly told the guard, influencing his mind. She then nodded at Drax. "With him."

"What?" Riku asked.

"Oh, no," Drax softly said, looking down in disappointment.

The guard looked at Drax, and a smile spread across his face.

"Hey," the guard said, leaning casually against the podium.

"Hey," Drax replied, ignoring eye contact.

"How you doin' today?" the guard asked, still smiling.

"I'm all right," Drax said with a sigh.

He looked at Mantis, who just smiled at him. Riku smiled at the sight, before covering his hand to try and restrain his laughter.

"What was... What was your name again?" the guard asked Drax.

"Drax the Destroyer," Drax answered as Mantis looked down and tried not to laugh.

"Oh..." the guard swooned. Mantis and Riku both snorted as their laughter overtook them. "That is such a lovely name."

"Oh," Drax softly said.

"I'll get the door for you," the guard told them.

He pressed a button on his podium, causing the small gate to open up. Mantis and Riku both continued to smile as Drax slowly started to lead the way through the open gate.

"I'll be here when you come back out, okay?" the guard told Drax, still smiling at him.

"Sure," Drax replied.

He sighed in frustration as he walked down a small staircase with Mantis and Riku.

"Every single time," Drax complained, frowning at Mantis. *1*

"This has happened before?" Riku asked, laughing once again.

"Numerous times," Mantis admitted with another giggle.

"My name is Bletelsnort," the guard called after them.

Mantis and Riku laughed once again, while Drax let out another annoyed sigh.

The three of them proceeded through this next part of the massive, white room, looking around to see their new surroundings. This room had all sorts of other tendrils set up around them, along with lots of white benches spread out along the ground, and even a raised, white structure shaped like a brain with lots of golden tubes attached to it, and some liquid spilling out onto something. Other species were moving out to fulfill more tasks, which included a man with gray skin sitting on a bench and eating what looked like a rat on a kebab stick.

"Welcome to Orgocorp headquarters," a woman announced from a nearby screen. "For over 300 years, Orgocorp has been producing cybernetic implants and genetic upgrades across the universe, under the watchful eye of the High Evolutionary."

Still walking through this section of the massive room, Drax, Mantis, and Riku all looked up at the screen together, allowing them to see this High Evolutionary standing amongst many other species. Remembering what Vanitas said earlier, Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows inquisitively as he looked at the image of an African American man in a high-tech purple suit that covered everything below his neck. While his neck and face looked human, Riku was a little unnerved that the High Evolutionary's face appeared to be some kind of flap, with the back of his head the same purple construct as the rest of his suit.

Riku was a little unnerved by the look of the High Evolutionary, but he frowned in determination, sure that they could take him out together if they ran into him.

Of course, Drax, Mantis, and Riku were unaware that they were being monitored by the security operatives, who recognized them due to the description sent by the High Evolutionary himself...

In a different part of the massive space station, Gamora had continued to lead the way, with Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas following behind her as they moved through the massive, orange and white hallways. They made their way through a couple of twists and turns in the massive ship before finding a room that was close to what they needed. Peering around the corner, they were able to see a receptionist's chamber with a glowing, golden desk with a computer attached to it. A woman with pink skin, short chopped hair, and wearing a white outfit typed on the computer, working on some kind of assignment.

Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas peeked around the corner at where the woman continued to do her work before gathering together again.

"That manager should have access to the records," Gamora informed the others, keeping her eyes on the woman. Peter and Vanitas glanced at the woman again. "If the passkey is here, she can get it for us."

"Sounds reasonable, yeah," Vanitas agreed, nodding his head before glancing back at Nebula.

"All right," Peter said before smiling confidently. "I'll handle this one."

"How?" Gamora asked.

"Pure Star Lord charm," Peter told her, still smiling. Nebula and Vanitas just raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm excited for you that you get to see this again for the first time."

"If it helps, her name is Ura," Vanitas told him.

Peter nodded at the ravenette, and Gamora gave an unamused half smile as he walked around her and the tendril to enter the room more clearly. Gamora shared a look with Nebula while Vanitas watched Peter walk towards the desk, brushing his hair to try and make it look better.

"I give him thirty seconds before he strikes out," Vanitas admitted to Nebula.

"I give him ten," Nebula added.

Vanitas paused as he sensed a strong sense of emotions for Peter flowing through Nebula. He was surprised because they felt... romantic?

'She has a crush on Quill?' Vanitas thought, trying to quell his surprise. *2*

Whatever the case, Vanitas shook his head and looked to the side, choosing not to focus on Gamora and Nebula as they waited for Peter to "do his thing." Of course, given the unkept nature of his hair and his beard, Vanitas wasn't completely sure that he would succeed. Still, Vanitas used his powers to mentally watch as Peter walked up to the desk, cleared his throat, and gave Ura a pleasant smile as he introduced himself as "Patrick Swayze." Though Vanitas smiled at the alias, he cringed over saying that "the way you smile to yourself when you think nobody is looking makes my every day a bit brighter."

Vanitas did agree that it sounded charming, but it also sounded really creepy to say to someone you've just met.

Opening his eyes, Vanitas then blinked in surprise when he saw that Gamora was gone.

"We need your hand," Gamora demanded. "And it's your choice whether it's on your body or not."

Vanitas shared a look of surprise with Nebula, then looked into the adjacent room. Peter was staring at Gamora in shock as she pointed a blaster at Ura's face in warning, who's eyes were also wide.

"What are you doing?" Peter demanded as Nebula and Vanitas walked into the room.

"She was never gonna fall for that," Gamora snapped.

As Nebula and Vanitas walked over to join the others, Gamora grabbed Ura by her shoulder and slammed her into the desk, making her grunt.

"Dude, she was totally into me, man!" Peter exclaimed, gesturing to the restrained Ura.

"I kind of thought you were a douchebag," Ura admitted, both shocked and confused by what was happening.

"Oh, come on," Peter complained, pretty disappointed.

"Pro tip," Vanitas said, pointing at Peter's head. "Brush your hair next time, and say something that doesn't come off as creepy. That line was good, but when it's the first thing you say to a girl, you sound like a stalker."

"Really?" Peter asked, surprise in his voice.

"I know nothing about relationships, but even I agree there," Nebula confirmed with a nod of her head.

"We need a file," Gamora demanded to Ura, keeping the blaster pointed at the receptionist.

Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all shook their heads to get serious again as they looked at the restrained Ura.

"What file?" Ura nervously asked.

"89P13," Nebula told her. "Could that be something?"

"No," Ura admitted.

"Then your use to us is over," Gamora declared, gritting her teeth and clicking the gun.

Vanitas frowned as he sensed Ura was filled with terror. So, he held up a hand and used his telekinesis, pulling the blaster out of Gamora's hand. Gamora's eyes widened in confusion, and she frowned at Vanitas as he caught the gun.

"Yeah, you'll get this back when you don't try and kill another innocent person," Vanitas reprimanded as Ura looked up and sighed in relief.

"You really think I need a weapon to kill her!?" Gamora snapped, keeping a hand on Ura's shoulder.

"Th-The number, it sounds like a species tag," Ura stammered out, garnering the group's attention.

While Vanitas kept the gun in his hand, Nebula and Peter watched as Gamora lifted up Ura so that she was standing.

"Show us!" Gamora snapped.

Ura frantically nodded her head in understanding, fear still shining in her eyes as she turned around and started walking behind a wall behind her. Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas all moved after her, with Gamora staying close enough to threaten the receptionist, even without the gun.

"Yeah, I definitely preferred our old Gamora," Vanitas muttered to Peter and Nebula.

Peter grimaced in agreement, while Nebula shrugged her shoulders in indifference.

Deeper within the ship, Drax, Mantis, and Riku continued through the part of the massive white room, ignoring the words from the speakers above them as the woman explained that everything was towards the High Evolutionary's goal of creating a "perfect utopia." Of course, looking across the massive room, they were able to see a gigantic, circular port in the wall that a ship was currently flying through. Drax assessed that this was the spaceport, and Mantis and Riku both nodded their heads in agreement. As they kept walking, though, Riku couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows, feeling like they were being watched.

Behind the receptionist's area, Ura led Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas to another panel in front of a massive wall filled with tiny screens. The group watched as Ura placed her hand on a squishy yellow panel, bringing the system to life and causing all the screens to start flickering on. Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas looked amongst all the screens, amazement filling them as the screens and devices shifted and activated under Ura's control.

"Whoa," Nebula said.

"What is all this?" Gamora asked.

"Species patented over the years using Orgocorp tech," Ura explained. "Every species Orgocorp has created has its own digital file."

"That's a hell of a lot of species," Vanitas remarked, stepping to the edge of the platform.

This allowed him to see just how massive the wall with all the screens was. The wall itself was circular, stretching from one side of the massive room to the other, and reached up so high and so low that none of them could see the end of them. Vanitas huffed at the sight of all the screens, amazed that Orgocorp and the High Evolutionary were so efficient.

The ravenette brushed it aside as Gamora directed Ura towards another part of the console, staying ready to strike as the receptionist continued working to search for what they needed. Nebula and Vanitas just watched, while Peter leaned in to try and make things a bit better for their hostage.

"I'm so sorry about this," Peter told Ura as she kept working. He gestured with a hand. "Listen to me, this is not the kind of thing we do."

"Oh, please!" Gamora snapped, looking over her shoulder angrily at Peter. "Stop it with the subtle jabs!"

"Old you would've never done this," Peter rebutted as Gamora scoffed and looked at Ura again. "You had a purpose higher than yourself. A calling to help people."

"You really did," Vanitas confirmed as Gamora just muttered to herself in disbelief. He gestured to Peter. "You were a very good person who even once reprimanded this guy for being too much of a coward."

"Yeah, it's why you left Thanos and formed the Guardians," Peter added.

"Except I didn't form the Guardians," Gamora rebutted, turning to frown at Peter again. "And I barely left Thanos. Whoever it was that you were in love with... It wasn't me."

Vanitas now felt sympathy for Peter once again, because it certainly had to be hard for him to see the woman he loved doing nothing but claim that she was the exact opposite of what he knew of her.

"It sounds more like her," Gamora then snapped, gesturing to Nebula while turning back towards Ura.

"Her?" Peter exclaimed at the same time Nebula went, "What?"

Vanitas smirked over how shocked both of them appeared to be at this declaration.

"That's ridiculous!" Peter exclaimed at the same time Nebula requested, "Do not bring me into this."

"Don't even..." Peter slowly said, laughing as he looked at Nebula.

Nebula let out a forceful laugh as Peter slowly looked at her. Vanitas smirked as he suddenly sensed affection growing within Peter towards Nebula as he continued to stare at her. Nebula noticed this quickly, and since Vanitas sensed both confusion and excitement in her, he wasn't surprised when she waved a hand at him.

"Knock it off!" Nebula snapped.

"What?" Peter asked, stepping back in surprise.

"Don't look at me like a lost puppy needing a soft place to lie down," Nebula demanded, crossing her arms as she looked away.

"I didn't say anything!" Peter exclaimed in defense.

Vanitas continued to smirk as Nebula kept looking to the side, and Peter slowly looked away from her.

"... I just never noticed how black your eyes were," Peter admitted, a bit of affection in his voice.

Gamora raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder, while Nebula just frowned at Peter.

"They were replaced by my father... as a method of torture," Nebula reminded him.

"He... He picked a pretty set," Peter slowly said.

"Hey, can you blame the guy?" Vanitas asked Nebula, gesturing to Peter. "I've been into you since I first saw you in that policewoman's outfit on Doctor Who." *3*

All of a sudden, Ura finished typing something, and looked up at the numerous screens above them.

"There," she said, garnering the attention of Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas. They watched as a circular item stopped, then was slowly moved down towards their level. "That's the file for 89P13."

The group continued to watch as the orb was moved down closer to their level before being placed in a yellow, see through tube that was connected to the console. They continued to watch as the orb rolled down the tube, and Gamora told them "Head's up," a couple of times before the orb reached their level. They watched as the orb rolled out of the tube and into a small duct of liquid attached to the console.

"Ugh," Gamora said.

"Okay," Peter slowly said.

He stepped between Gamora and Ura and reached into the bucket, grabbing the sphere and lifting it up. He and Vanitas both furrowed their eyebrows at the sight of it.

"Well... The rest of this place has been weird as hell," Vanitas remarked. "I guess it only makes sense that this would be what would hold what we need to help Rocket."

All of a sudden, an alarm started blaring above them, causing the entire room to become bathed in a flashing red light. Gamora gasped as she, Nebula, Peter, Ura, and Vanitas all looked up in shock.

"Shit," Vanitas said. He looked at Nebula and Peter. "They know we're here."

They all huffed before looking around in despair.

Within the ship port, Drax, Mantis, and Riku continued to walk around for a bit before the sound of engines roaring rang out. Looking up, the three of them looked up and watched as Orgosentries in full armor floated with the thrusters attached to their suits and pointed their forearms at the trio in preparation to fire. People got out of the way, and Drax, Mantis, and Riku all turned in a circle and watched as more Orgosentries appeared, along with the people in black riot gear carrying high-tech blasters. Riku cursed and prepared to summon his Keyblade while Mantis let out a small exclamation of despair.

Within the record vault, Gamora snatched the gun back from Vanitas, then grabbed Ura to lead her back towards the receptionist's desk. Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all moved after Gamora as she continued to guide their hostage, the alarm still blaring behind them. Of course, as they walked, Vanitas prepared to summon his Keyblade as he heard more Orgosentries moving down nearby hallways in their direction. Of course, given the open nature of the "walls," they were able to see the soldiers in riot gear moving through the hall and aim their blasters in preparation.

Gamora grit her teeth in frustration, while Nebula and Peter looked around with a huff, Ura kept her hands raised in surrender, and Vanitas grit his teeth.

Within the ship port, Drax, Mantis, and Riku turned on their feet once again as they watched the Orgosentries stand or float ready all around them. The Orgosentries got closer and closer, as did the people in riot gear with the blasters. While the Orgosentries kept their arms raised in preparation to blast, Master Karja floated down and joined the other Orgosentries in warning. Drax, Mantis, and Riku all frantically looked around at the gathered soldiers all around them.

"Stand down!" Master Karja ordered.

"Drax, we should make a run for it," Mantis suggested.

"Or we could fight," Drax said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Bad idea," Riku replied. "We're hopelessly outnumbered."

"That's never stopped him before," Mantis informed him. "We need to run."

"Fight," Drax rebutted.

"Run!" Mantis repeated.

"Fight!" Drax repeated eagerly.

"Take 'em!" Master Karja shouted.

Mantis groaned in annoyance. While Riku held his arm out and summoned his Keyblade, Mantis jumped up in a spin and kicked Master Karja in the head, sending him flying across the room and knocking him into a few other Orgosentries. Drax grabbed another soldier and threw him towards another one, sending both sprawling to the ground. A soldier moved in and tried to attack, but Riku caught his strike with his Keyblade before hitting him in the face, knocking him aside before blasting Blizzaga at another Orgosentry.

Drax, Mantis, and Riku all huffed as they prepared for another set of attacks.

Within the receptionist area, Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all frantically looked around as they stood in the central area with Ura, all while the Orgosentries filled the two see-through hallways on either side of them.

"What are we gonna do?" Nebula asked.

The soldiers all cocked their blasters in preparation and pointed them at the group.

"I got a plan," Gamora told them.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"It's helpful, right?" Vanitas asked.

"All of you, come with me..." a soldier started to demand.

Of course, just as he started to enter the room, Gamora quickly shot him in the chest and knocked him to the ground, much to the shock of another nearby soldier with an orange head and green hair. Gamora then wrapped an arm around Ura and pointed her blaster at the woman's head. Though Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas were all shocked, Nebula still got ready by using nanoparticles to make another blaster appear over her left arm, and Vanitas summoned his Keyblade.

"Everybody, lower your weapons, or I blow this woman's brains out!" Gamora bellowed in warning.

"That's the plan?" Peter demanded in shock.

"That's a shit plan!" Vanitas snapped in agreement.

The two of them let out huffs as they frantically looked at the rest of the Orgosentries around them.

In the ship dock, Riku blocked the strike from another Orgosentry, then swung his Keyblade to strike him in the head, knocking him aside. Another Orgosentry tried to attack him again, but Riku quickly leaned backwards to dodge, retaliated with another swing of his Keyblade, then grunted as he blasted aside the soldier with another blast of Blizzaga. During his fighting, Riku was able to overhear Mantis using her abilities to manipulate the minds of other soldiers, making one think he was a cat, another start dancing, and a third one get sent into a violent rage and start shooting other Orgosentries. *4*

Riku was impressed with Mantis, but brushed it aside as he blocked another blast from a man with a blaster.

In the receptionist area, Nebula, Peter (who had pulled out a blaster), and Vanitas all continued to stand ready, while Gamora kept Ura restrained with a gun pointed at her head. The rest of the Orgosentries were still ready to fire, but Ura was filled with terror by the threat Gamora had used against her.

"Lower your weapons!" Ura shouted desperately.

The Orgosentries all shared looks, but they slowly lowered their blasters, agreeing to listen in an attempt to protect the hostage. They slowly lowered their blasters, though they kept them ready to attack, just in case.

"Let's kill that one that looks like a carrot to show we mean business," Gamora snapped, nodding at the Orgosentry while slowly stepping back.

That specific Orgosentry suddenly felt self-conscious about his appearance.

"You... You don't look like a carrot," Vanitas told him with a nervous chuckle, obviously lying.

"God!" Peter exclaimed as the group slowly backed together towards a nearby elevator. "Past Gamora's just mean!"

"She was always like that," Nebula replied, keeping her blaster-arm ready. "And yet, I was the bad guy."

"To be fair, Ruby Roundhouse, you did try to kill us two stories in a row," Vanitas informed her. "I still love you, though, even with the blue skin."

"I still don't understand what you're saying," Nebula replied as they continued backing towards the elevator. She looked at Gamora. "But we are not killing anyone!"

"Back off!" Gamora snapped to another guard.

The Orgosentries kept back, but they did still move after the group as they continued to back towards the elevator. Gamora, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas continued to move with the restrained Ura towards the elevator, and while the guards kept trying to follow them, they still kept a good distance away to ensure that Gamora didn't pull the trigger.

As they got closer to the entrance to the elevator, Nebula grabbed her communicator to contact Groot and Stitch.

"Groot, you and the furry one bring the Bowie to us," Nebula instructed as Peter and Gamora moved into the elevator with Ura. "Now."

Vanitas then swung his Keyblade at the controls outside the elevator, breaking them and ensuring that the guards wouldn't be able to stop or follow them. Nebula and Vanitas then stepped into the elevator with Gamora, Peter, and Ura together, just as the doors started closing.

"Peace out, pricks," Vanitas said, shooting the guards a peace sign just as the doors closed.

An awkward silence then filled the elevator as everyone rode within down towards the lower levels with the ship dock. Ura nervously took a few steps as Gamora kept a hand on her while also pointing the gun at her. Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade, Nebula changed her arm back to normal and held her hands together, and Peter just breathed in and out nervously. As they rode, Peter decided to try and offer their hostage some reassurance once again.

"I'm so sorry about this, Ura," Peter told her.

"Oh, please!" Gamora complained.

"We're here to save the life of our friend, that is all," Peter explained.

"It was supposed to be 'in and out, no problems'," Vanitas added with a nod of his head. He raised an eyebrow. "So we should have known that everything would have turned to shit."

"Yeah..." Peter softly agreed. He nodded at Gamora. "We paid her to help us get in and out. You'd think that'd mean, 'Oh, I'm gonna help you do it in a way that no one knows it's happening'." Gamora frowned back as Peter looked at Ura again. "But no, what she means is, 'I'm gonna shoot people. Threaten people's lives'."

"Shut up!" Gamora snapped angrily.

Vanitas just raised an eyebrow over the way the two of them bickered, while Nebula just ignored them completely.

"And I know you're probably asking, why would I trust her?" Peter continued to Ura, nodding at Gamora again. "Well, that's a good question. The answer is, we used to be in love." Gamora just rolled her eyes, while Ura remained silent. "Yeah. She was my girlfriend, only she doesn't remember it, because it wasn't her. Because her dad threw her off a magic cliff and she died, and then I lost my temper and nearly destroyed half the universe."

He tossed the orb up and caught it.

"Then she came back, out of the past," Peter continued. He looked at Gamora. "And there she is. Everyone else who died in the past stayed dead, not her. Why? Was it the magic cliff? I don't know. I'm not some freaking Infinity Stone scientist. Just some dumbass Earth dude who met a girl, fell in love..." Gamora frowned at him again. "That girl died, and then came back a total dick."

There was a moment of silence before Ura looked at Nebula and Vanitas.

"He left out some important information..." Nebula informed her. She tilted her head to the side. "But... That is the gist of it."

"Sorry you got pulled into his full therapy rant," Vanitas informed Ura. He paused and looked back at Peter. "Also, you did get half the universe killed." *5*

"That's debatable," Peter told him.

Gamora just glared at Peter again before grabbing Ura by the back of the neck as the elevator reached the ground floor. The doors slid open, and the group hurried outside, into the same massive white room that served as the ship dock, the same room that Drax, Mantis, and Riku were currently fighting all the other Orgosentries.

Peter made sure his blaster was set to Stun as he fired at the nearest Orgosentries, hitting one man in the orange armor, and two in riot gear. Nebula moved out with Gamora (still restraining Ura), while Vanitas waved his hands, grunting as he used his telekinesis to blast aside two other Orgosentries. Another Orgosentry moved in and tried to point its blaster, but Vanitas grabbed the weapon, pulled it down, then pushed it up and smacked the soldier in the face with it. The ravenette followed that up with a kick to the stomach so strong that the Orgosentry was sent flying.

"Get to the security hub!" Nebula instructed, changing her left arm into the blaster as Peter shot another nearby Orgosentry.

"Okay!" Gamora shouted, keeping Ura in a headlock with her blaster pointed at her head.

Nebula turned in a circle, blasting her own stun shots at the nearest Orgosentries and knocking down ones in riot gear, and the floating ones in the orange armor. Vanitas used his telekinesis to snatch a floating man in the heavy armor, then grunted as he swung down, using the man as a bowling ball to knock down many other Orgosentries in the riot gear.

On the other side of the room, Drax grunted as he tossed aside two Orgosentries, one in riot gear and one in the full armor. Two others in full armor tried to charge at him, but Drax threw one aside before kicking another one to the ground. Riku then jumped in and raised his Keyblade in defense as another set of Orgosentries tried to fire at them. Deflecting the blasts, Riku then grunted as he swung his Keyblade, blasting Firaga at the closest guards and knocking them aside.

On the other side of the room, Gamora continued to drag Ura towards the room with clear yellow walls that served as the security hub, with people that had yellow skin in white outfits all gathered around the various monitors. Peter and Vanitas both hurried after her, both of them wanting to make sure that their old ally didn't try and kill anyone else.

"Everybody, down on the floor, or we blow your brains out!" Gamora warned as she, Peter, and Vanitas entered the room.

Luckily, the people inside the room all listened, jumping to their feet and holding their hands up in surrender. Peter and Vanitas looked back and watched as the door slid shut behind them, all while the head security woman moved out and tried to talk things down. Of course, Gamora just shot her in the leg and made her fall to the ground, shocking the rest of the room. A man hurried over to the woman and crouched by her side as she let out a very loud scream of pain.

"Damn!" Vanitas remarked, furrowing his eyebrows in sympathy.

"Oh, come on!" Peter exclaimed as Gamora released Ura, but kept her gun pointed at her. "Would you please stop doing that?"

"Yeah, as unbelievable as it might be, some people here might be innocent," Vanitas added as Ura kept her hands raised in surrender.

The ravenette grimaced in sympathy as the other guard dragged the woman to a corner of the room, all while the woman let out another loud scream of pain.

The Bowie

Within the ship, after Nebula's instructions over the comlink, Groot and Stitch hurried out of the Med Bay once again and moved to enter the cockpit as fast as they could. The two of them moved inside and took their places in two of the main control seats. To try and help things go faster, Stitch grunted and let his extra two arms come out as he and Groot went to work. The Zune started playing Reasons by Earth, Wind, and Fire as they worked on piloting the ship together, moving out of its stasis and flying directly towards the large, central section of the Orgoscope.

Orgocorp

Within the dock bay, the group was still doing all they could to fight off the Orgosentries all around them.

Drax headbutted another Orgosentry before tossing two of the soldiers aside. He threw one man in the heavy armor towards a group of soldiers in riot gear, then the other one towards the large white pod that was spewing out the yellow liquid. With the soldiers out of the way, Drax raised his arms over his head and started to cheer in excitement. Of course, Master Karja had recovered and was behind him. Master Karja called for Drax's attention, and the strongman turned around just in time to see the man pointing a large blaster at him.

Master Karja fired the blaster, hitting Drax in the chest and sending him flying. The strongman crashed through numerous columns before landing roughly in a section of plants, and Mantis and Riku looked towards him in shock. Riku dismissed his Keyblade, and he and Mantis started running towards where he had landed as fast as he could, knowing that he needed help.

"... Run," Drax said through his groans of pain, finally agreeing that Mantis's plan was the right one.

Mantis and Riku both ran the rest of the way towards the area with the plants, and the two of them hurried to where Drax was laying. They both swore and felt fear over the large burn mark on his chest, which burned through part of the shirt and caused him clear severe damage. The Orgosentries all proceeded to march towards where the group was, all of them keeping their blasters raised in preparation, as Mantis and Riku slowly pulled Drax up. The two of them grunted as they pulled Drax out of the section of plants, and Mantis looked up just in time to watch as Master Karja floated towards them, still carrying the blaster.

Riku looked back and watched as Master Karja continued to try and follow them. He grit his teeth and let Mantis carry the burden (making her groans louder), and summoned his Keyblade as Master Karja raised the blaster again. Riku cast a barrier around himself as Master Karja fired again, but the blast hit the barrier with so much force that it exploded and knocked him back into Drax, causing them both to fall to the ground.

Mantis yelled out and tried to crouch towards both Drax and Riku to grab them, but the way Drax was wounded, and the way that Riku appeared to be woozy from the blast made it clear it would be difficult. Nebula tried running towards them, but another Orgosentry blasted her with energy from its gauntlet, making her yell out and fall to the ground as electricity surged through and damaged her.

Within the security hub, Peter and Vanitas both overheard the commotion and moved to the see-through doors once again. The two of them were filled with shock as they saw Riku trying to reach for his Keyblade or a Potion, Mantis yelling as she tried to get Drax to his feet, and Nebula on her hands and knees, coughing out some synthetic blood. Master Karja kept his blaster raised and ordered them all to get on the ground and show their hands. While Drax was still badly wounded, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all complied and slowly lifted their hands. *6*

"Shit," Vanitas said with his teeth grit. He looked at Peter. "What do we do?"

Peter slowly nodded for a moment before looking at the ravenette.

"I've got an idea," he declared. Vanitas watched as he moved over to Ura. "Ura. Please listen to me. We need to get out of here with this, to save my best friend's life."

Peter held the orb up in his hand to show her specifically while Gamora cautiously looked out the nearby window.

"If you could get us into the system of those sentries out there," Peter slowly said, pointing out the window. "They are good people, like you, I'm certain of it. And if I just had an opportunity to speak to them..."

"They're corporate shills, you idiot," Gamora snapped, pointing her gun at some of the security sentries in warning. "They're not gonna listen to you."

"People always said the same thing about the Doctor, but he always had some good words," Vanitas told her.

He didn't say anything, because he sensed what Peter's real plan was, and he really wanted to see it happen.

"Exactly, they will listen if I speak to them from the heart," Peter agreed, looking right at Gamora. Gamora tilted her head in disbelief while Peter looked at Ura again. "Ura... Please."

A tense silence filled the room as Ura looked at Peter. Of course, the way that he held his hands together with the orb in his palms, and the pleading look in his eyes soon won her over. Vanitas sensed that she was compelled to listen, and relief filled him when Ura moved over to another station of monitors, sat down in front of them, and activated it.

"Hey!" Bletelsnort suddenly shouted. While Ura worked on the monitors, Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas all watched as that guard and other Orgosentries moved towards the room and pointed their blasters in preparation. "Come out now!"

"I'm sorry, but we're not interested in hearing from Jehovah's witnesses right now!" Vanitas called back to the soldiers. "Maybe come back in a couple of hours, after we eat dinner?"

The guards all proceeded to start firing at the hub doors and windows, showing that they didn't appreciate Vanitas's sense of humor. The hostages all lowered their heads and covered their necks, and Gamora shouted over the windows cracking from the blasts. Peter and Vanitas were surprised, but they managed to stay on their feet pretty well as the laser blasts continued to hit the windows around the security hub.

After a few moments, though, Ura perked up and looked at the group as she finished working through things.

"You are in," Ura explained as she stood up. She stepped aside as Peter took her place in the chair. "Tell them your truth."

"Yeah, I'm not that big of an idiot," Peter told her as he started typing at the monitors. "I just needed to get into the system."

"Sorry for the lies," Vanitas admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. He laughed awkwardly as Ura's eyes widened. "This... This just ain't your day. For what it's worth, I think you were a decent Ratcatcher 2 in The Suicide Squad."

Vanitas then watched as Peter continued working at the system, hacking into the thrusters on the Orgosentries' big suits and reworking them. The ravenette glanced to the side and watched as Master Karja shoved Mantis to another side of the ship dock. While Ura just looked around frantically, and Gamora and Vanitas looked through the glass of the room cautiously.

Luckily, Peter finished his work just in time, and implemented those controls on all the Orgosentries. The group then watched as all the soldiers in the bulging orange armor suddenly started rising up, all of them yelling out as the thrusters of their suit were taken out of their control and forcing them around at random. They all watched as the Orgosentries all started screaming, rising through various parts of the ship dock and crashing into walls, pillars, and even other Orgosentries.

Vanitas laughed in amusement before patting Peter on the shoulder.

"And everyone calls you stupid," Vanitas remarked.

While Ura watched the soldiers fly around in shock, Peter nodded at Vanitas, stood up, and tossed the orb up to catch it once again.

"Told you she was into me," Peter boasted to Gamora.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Vanitas replied with a raised eyebrow.

Whatever the case, Gamora just tilted her head to the side in annoyance as she watched Peter and Vanitas walk to the doors of the security hub. Ura just watched the group leave in shock.

The three of them then walked out of the security hub and moved over to help the others. Gamora and Mantis lifted up Drax and helped him walk, Peter did the same with Nebula, and Vanitas did the same with Riku. The Orgosentries in the orange suits all yelled out as they continued flying around the room at random, all of them crashing into different areas. The beams of the white structure broke behind them and splashed in a yellow puddle, and Vanitas laughed as he watched the rest of the chaos in the room.

Looking up, he then watched as Master Karja came into view.

"If it's any consolation, I loved you in The Rookie!" Vanitas called to the flying man. "And Castle. And Firefly!"

Walking further through the ship dock, the group then watched as the Bowie entered the room. Of course, given that there were only two people flying it, the massive ship proceeded to fly through the blast shield, then crashed through the raised staircase, and part of the ground as it roughly slid into the ship. The Bowie crashed through more of the ground before slowly coming to a stop as Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas continued walking towards it.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked over the comlink.

"Yeah... That looked cool," Nebula informed him, partially to feed his ego.

"Stick with cars, though, Dom," Vanitas quipped with a smirk. *7*

Whatever the case, the group all made their way to the Bowie and entered through one of the side ports. While Drax, Nebula, and Riku were taken to the Med Bay, Peter and Vanitas moved to the cockpit and joined Groot and Stitch at the controls. The four of them piloted the ship out of the ship dock and the Orgoscope, with the shields around the Bowie protecting them from blaster fire from other Orgosentries. Victory filled the group as they continued flying away from the Orgoscope and the danger, knowing that they had succeeded in getting what they needed.

Now they just wished it really could help Rocket...

Chapter Text

The Bowie

Within the ship, everyone waited until they were a good enough distance away from Orgocorp and the High Evolutionary's thugs before they parked in the void of space so they could patch up. Once they were sure they were far enough away, the group all gathered within the Med Bay, and used Med-Paks to help Drax and Nebula, while Riku just cast Curaga on himself. Groot, Mantis, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas were all happy to see that their friends were okay, while Gamora just nodded at her sister, not finding it in herself to care about the others.

With everyone getting healed from the attacks they experienced within the Orgoscorpe, they gathered around where Rocket was still lying unconscious on the bed in the Med Bay, the mask over his nose that continued to help him breathe. Peter then handed Nebula the orb that they had stolen, and she activated it, bringing up a holographic image of a recorded situation. Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all joined the two of them in watching the memory play out in front of them, all of them hoping that this would give them the information needed to help Rocket.

Sadly, the orb didn't have the passkey.

What it did have was much, much worse.

Rocket's past.

Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all watched as two scientists, (including the one Peter bumped into at Orgocorp named Theel), worked under the High Evolutionary's directions to skin a baby Rocket, tear apart his body, and place cybernetic enhancements inside, including a voice box that allowed speak, and a robotic skeleton that allowed him to move like a human. The worst part was when they cut open his brain to make enhancements within that allowed him to think like a human, as well.

The group was all horrified, but they all reacted in their own ways.

Gamora and Nebula both tried to keep impassive looks on their faces, but Nebula inwardly grimaced in sympathy. Drax, Groot, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all slowly breathed in and out in shock at the sight, their hearts breaking over the trauma that their good friend went through. Shock and sympathy grew in Stitch's eyes, having flashbacks to his own form of creation through crazy experimentation. Of course, the entire time they watched, Mantis could not stop crying, frequently wiping her cheeks due to how many tears fell.

"Why did he never tell us about any of this?" Mantis asked, her voice broken due to despair.

"Technically, he..." Vanitas slowly said. He gulped. "He did."

He softly shook his head and looked amongst the others, specifically Peter, Gamora, Drax, and Groot.

"When we first arrived on Knowhere," Vanitas reminded them. "Back when him, Drax, and Donnie all got drunk during the Orloni fights. His exact words were... 'I didn't ask to get made. I didn't ask to be torn apart, and put back together, over and over and turned into some... some little monster'. He wasn't just screaming in a drunken rage; he was being literal." *1*

"Jesus," Riku said, shaking his head with wide eyes.

"Sadly, the High Evolutionary probably sees himself as exactly that," Vanitas remarked with a shake of his own head.

"This is worse than what Thanos did to me," Nebula declared, synthetic tears in her cybernetic eyes.

Gamora just looked down, silently agreeing with her sister.

"Well, what about the passkey?" Peter asked, looking at Nebula. He nodded at the very twisted memory still playing in front of them. "Is it in there?"

"Yeah, there oughta be something good in this fucked up blast from the past," Vanitas remarked, with Riku nodding in agreement.

Nebula pressed a few buttons on the orb and changed the holographic image. Instead of the memory of what Rocket went through, dozens of lines of writing started to appear and be presented to the group. Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all watched the lines continue to appear, each of them waiting to see any kind of new development.

"...No," Nebula sadly admitted. "But a file was removed today. Downloaded and deleted, a million characters in length."

"That's a long message," Riku commented.

"The biometrics say it was this man," Nebula continued. Peter and Vanitas's eyes narrowed when they saw the bald man's face once again, presented much more clearly. "Recorder B2H6."

"I saw this guy outside of records today," Peter exclaimed, pointing right at the image.

"And I saw his fat ass in one of Rocket's memories," Vanitas added. He looked at Riku. "This prick was one of the bastards that helped him tear Rocket apart."

"Hmm," Groot hummed, glaring at the image of the man.

Stitch followed his example by frowning, baring his teeth, and growling at the image.

"Looks like one of the High Evolutionary's recorders," Gamora assessed, leaning forward to look at the image better.

"The... The High Evolutionary," Mantis said, just now processing all the words. She looked at Peter. "The founder of Orgocorp?"

"Orgocorp is just a way to fund his experiments that lie outside intergalactic laws," Gamora informed them. "He's created whole societies. Xeronians, the Ani-Men, the Sovereign."

"The Sovereign?" Drax asked, surprise in his voice.

"V told us about that earlier," Riku reminded him.

"I wasn't listening; I was eating Zarg-Nuts," Drax admitted.

Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all rolled their eyes, as this was exactly what they expected from Drax.

"Corners of the universe consider him God," Gamora emphasized to the group about the High Evolutionary.

"Well, we've killed more than a few gods in our time," Vanitas remarked, with Riku nodding in agreement.

Mantis then turned around and moved over to another console.

"I am Groot," Groot then declared.

"Yes," Nebula confirmed, with Peter and Vanitas nodding in agreement.

"Yes, what?" Gamora asked, looking at her sister in confusion. "That he's Groot?"

"He said maybe this man downloaded the passkey into the computer on his head," Nebula informed her sister.

"Huh?" Gamora asked, frowning at Groot in surprise.

"That's another one of the things that you missed with you not knowing these guys," Vanitas informed her.

"Yeah," Stitch agreed, nodding his head even though he didn't know what was going on.

"That could store the passkey," Nebula informed them, shifting the image.

The image of Theel turned, and the device attached to his head was covered in a yellow outline.

"If we find him, we save Rocket," Peter declared, determination in his voice.

"Hell, yeah," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

"The High Evolutionary's coordinates," Mantis then declared.

Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all turned towards her, seeing her sitting in front of another console. On the console was a map of the universe, showing a few circles that represented planets, and a few lines that connected those planets in a pathway. Riku and Vanitas's eyes narrowed at one specific circle that had a large outline around it, signifying that it was the planet they needed.

"Put the coordinates in the Nav," Peter instructed as Nebula powered down the orb.

Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all nodded in determination, while Gamora's eyes just widened in shocked confusion. She watched as Nebula moved past her, then started down the hallway towards the cockpit.

"Wait a minute," Gamora tried saying, but Nebula ignored her as she continued down the hallway.

Drax, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas then started marching after Nebula. Gamora started following them, grabbing Peter's arm to try and stop him.

"Are you kidding me?" Gamora demanded, but Peter took his arm back.

Drax, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas continued down the hallway that led deeper in the ship, and Gamora kept moving next to them to try and talk some sense into the group.

"What he wants is that gutted badger in the Med-Bay," Gamora exclaimed, referencing the High Evolutionary. "And you're gonna bring it straight to him?"

"Yes, we are," Vanitas confirmed, him and Riku nodding in confirmation.

"It's most certainly a trap," Gamora exclaimed as they marched down the hall to the cockpit.

"A trap isn't a trap if you know the trap is trying to trap you," Peter replied, marching in determination. "It's a face-off."

"I barely understood that, but I agree," Riku replied with a nod of his head.

"A face-off is a trap if you're facing off against a guy a thousand times more powerful than you," Gamora exclaimed as they moved into the cockpit.

Peter and Drax both moved to monitors and started working on them to map out their trip to the High Evolutionary's world.

"That's never stopped us before," Vanitas replied.

"Yeah, we did a good enough job against Thanos," Riku reminded her.

"You don't seem to understand," Gamora exclaimed. She looked back at Drax. "Do you know who the High Evolutionary is?"

"Yeah, he's some dickhead who dissected my best friend," Peter replied, swiping through information and garnering Gamora's attention.

"Second best," Drax replied.

"Stop doing that," Riku told the man.

"The High Evolutionary isn't someone you wanna think about messing with," Gamora told the group.

"You said the same thing about Thanos," Vanitas remarked. "And we did a decent job there."

"And we won't think about it when we do it," Drax agreed, turning from the screen he marched towards another seat.

"So let's go kick some ass," Riku agreed.

He moved over to a seat, seeing that Groot and Stitch had caught up. Groot took place in one seat, and Stitch climbed up onto the back, using his hands to hold onto both the tree's head and the back of the seat. Riku smirked as Stitch growled in determination before he moved to his own seat.

Gamora placed her hands on her hips in frustration as Nebula continued working at her own station, and Vanitas stood near another chair with his arms crossed.

"You know what? I don't care!" Gamora declared in frustration. "Just drop me off with the Ravagers, and you go do whatever it is that you wanna do."

"We don't have time for this," Nebula replied, walking past her sister to another console.

"Yeah, we're gonna need to hurry if we wanna catch this Theel asshole before he leaves," Vanitas agreed as Nebula entered the cockpit.

"I'm not asking you," Gamora snapped at the others, glaring at her sister angrily. "Drop me off with my people now!"

"'Your people'?" Peter asked, frowning in surprise at her. Nebula started towards another console. "The Ravagers aren't your people. I'm a damn Ravager. You aren't."

"Again, different Gamora, man," Vanitas reminded him as he continued standing next to the chair.

"Listen, I know you were always looking for a family," Peter said, walking towards Gamora and trying to give her a calm look. "Okay? But my Gamora, the one I loved, she didn't find it with a group of criminals. She found it with us." He gestured to the others. "People who care about you."

He pointed right at Gamora, who Vanitas sensed was barely listening to him.

"I know that's who you still are," Peter said, pointing right at her. "Somewhere inside of you..."

Gamora just growled in annoyance and placed her hands on Peter's chest, throwing him across the room and causing him to crash into a few monitors and break them before falling to the ground. Drax, Mantis, Riku, and Vanitas all looked back in surprise as Gamora marched over to the downed Peter. Vanitas grimaced as he sensed a pure mixture of rage and annoyance within the green woman.

"What are you so afraid of in yourself that I need to be something for you?" Gamora angrily demanded as Peter slowly stood up. "I don't give a shit about your Gamora. Life made me me!" *2*

She tried to throw another punch, but before she could actually hit Peter, Nebula caught her sister's arm with her own robotic hand. Gamora and Peter both looked at her in surprise, with a hint of betrayal in Gamora's.

"I have a few upgrades courtesy of that 'gutted badger in the Med-Bay'," Nebula sarcastically informed her sister. She lowered Gamora's arm as Peter moved to the side. "And we are not risking his life to make yours more convenient."

"I'm family," Gamora snapped, getting into Nebula's face.

"So is he," Nebula stoically replied as Gamora angrily breathed in.

Vanitas and Riku both nodded in agreement, even with Riku not having the best feelings towards Rocket. Still, Vanitas wasn't that surprised to sense anger still coursing through Gamora as she looked at Nebula. Gamora just looked at Peter before looking at her sister again.

"Screw you," she snapped. She turned and started walking towards the exit hallway, frowning amongst everyone else. "Screw all of you."

Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all watched as Gamora marched out of the cockpit and down the hall into the deeper levels of the ship.

"She was mean," Stitch commented.

"Very, yeah," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

A very awkward silence then filled the group within the cockpit. Of course, as they remained within, a yellow jump portal appeared in front of the Bowie in space. Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all looked through the windshield and watched as the ship flew towards the jump point. Everyone all held on as they started flying through the jump points, beginning their flight towards their next destination.

They were on their way to the High Evolutionary's world.

The Orgoscope

Sadly, the group were still being pursued by the High Evolutionary's forces, who had already begun another form of interrogation.

Ayesha and Adam from the Sovereign had arrived, and they worked with Master Karja, who apprehended the Ravager who carried a Blurp with him. Master Karja threw the Ravager into a chair in an interrogation room, and Ayesha and Adam both listened as the man explained that he had found the Ravager near one of the shields, pirating supply ships. The Blurp jumped on the ground as Ayesha thanked Master Karja, who thanked her for her donation to the Orgosentry retirement fund. Ayesha then asked the Ravager where Gamora was, and the Ravager sternly replied that she wasn't getting anything from him.

Ayesha just smirked before turning towards Adam, who was placing his hands on pillars like a curious child. Adam quickly turned around at Ayesha's request, and she instructed him to show that they meant business.

A tense silence filled the room as Master Karja, another security operative (who impassively ate a rat), and the Blurp all looked at the Ravager. Ayesha kept her head tilted in a taunting manner at the Ravager, and Adam shrugged his shoulders in indifference before pointing a hand at the hostage. Energy charged up on Adam's hand, and then a beam shot out, completely engulfing the Ravager and making him scream in pain. Master Karja's eyes widened in shock, and the other security operative stopped eating as the energy engulfed more of the Ravager.

After a few moments, Adam stopped shooting the energy and looked around with a pleased look on his face.

The Ravager had been burned beyond recognition, with the top half of his body reduced to a charred skeleton, and one of the arms broke off and fell to the ground.

Ayesha huffed and groaned as she looked at Adam, who frowned in confusion. Ayesha snapped at him that she didn't mean to disintegrate the Ravager. Adam was confused and asked what more business they could have shown him. Ayesha snapped that the Ravager wasn't any use of them, and Adam gestured to the Blurp, saying to "Question the man's friend." The Blurp crawled over to the dead Ravager's body and sadly placed a hand on his head. Ayesha snapped that the Blurp was just an animal, and Adam was upset to see how sad the Blurp looked.

"I really don't enjoy how it's making me feel, actually," Adam admitted with a hand on his stomach.

The security operative laughed and pointed at Adam, while Master Karja commented to Ayesha, "Your friend's a moron." *3*

While Ayesha was frustrated, she looked to the side as a communicator on the dead Ravager's belt suddenly came to life, with Gamora's voice coming through, requesting someone to speak to her from the Outpost. Adam, Master Karja, and the security operative all watched as Ayesha took the communicator from the Ravager's corpse and spoke to Gamora, pretending to be another Ravager. Gamora explained that she needed to be picked up, and was sending a location-link from the Bowie.

The Bowie

During their travel from their hidden spot to the High Evolutionary's world, the group decided that it was time to change into their official suits, which they took turns doing so in the changing rooms once again. Groot and Stitch continued to keep watch over the ship as they flew since they were the only two that didn't need to change into clothes (and they didn't have clothes that fit them). The group all took their own places to change into their outfits, getting into some new gear that was both practical, and looked pretty badass.

Riku and Vanitas both took their time to change out of the orange jumpsuits and instead into their black leather gear, complete with the pants and the jackets, both of which had been freshly repaired from after the last adventures they had been on. Luckily, a simple restoration spell that Vanitas knew ensured that there were no blood stains (or other stains), and that there were no holes from all the attacks they had endured during their battles.

Of course, to Riku and Vanitas's surprise, the Guardians all also had their own suits. Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and even Rocket all had suits that were matching, but were clear uniforms for the Guardians. The outfits were all more or less the same, with blue shirts and pants complete with red linings, black utility belts around the waist, black boots and gloves, black elbow guards, and orange sigils similar to that of the Ravager logo in the center of the chest. Of course, given the kinds of weapons they had, Peter had his blasters attached to his belts, while Drax still had his knives sticking out of his boots.

"It only took seven movies and nine years for you to get a comic accurate suit, eh?" Vanitas remarked to Peter when they saw the suits. He raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Critics can say what they want about recent Marvel, but at least we're finally getting comic accurate outfits."

Whatever the case, everyone continued to hold on as the ship flew through the jump points to the High Evolutionary's world. Peter stood in the upper part of the cockpit overlooking their travel through the vacuum of space, while Groot and Riku sat in chairs in the base level, both of them watching over their trek through the stairs. Stitch then hopped on Vanitas's shoulder and laughed before they turned towards the exit of the cockpit.

Nebula was still changing, so Vanitas (carrying Stitch) walked with Drax and Mantis down the hallway to the elevator that led up to the higher level. The three of them took a quick ride up the elevator and walked down the hallway to the upper walkway of the cockpit, where Peter stood with his hands on the railings, his earbuds in as he listened to a song on his Zune. Vanitas felt sympathy for Peter once again given that the leader of the Guardians was once again feeling a wave of depression over the status of things with this Gamora, barely even paying attention to the rest of the flight.

Vanitas was a little amazed by the sight of the vortex passing around them as they continued to travel, with blue, purple, white, and gray colors passing around the ship as they continued through the void. Stitch also smiled at the sight, though they quickly brushed it off when they heard Mantis talking to Drax.

"You need to say to him exactly what I told you to say," Mantis instructed to Drax.

"Why don't you just say it?" Drax asked her, annoyance in his voice.

"No one ever listens to me," Mantis reminded him.

"That is sadly true, yeah, Laser from Thunder Force," Vanitas admitted with his head tilted to the side.

Whatever the case, Mantis placed her hands on Drax's back and grunted as she pushed him down the rest of the hall. Vanitas helped by placing his hands on Drax's back and pushed with her, while Stitch just watched with an eyebrow raised. Together, Mantis and Vanitas pushed Drax into the cockpit, and he stumbled slightly as he stepped over next to Peter. Vanitas shushed Stitch as he and Mantis moved around the upper walkway and hid behind a column.

Drax gave Mantis and Vanitas (and a curious Stitch) a helpless look before standing next to Peter. Mantis, Stitch, and Vanitas all watched as Drax cleared his throat, getting Peter's attention. They continued to watch as Peter took out his Zune and stopped the music before looking at Drax.

'Twenty bucks he screws this up,' Vanitas mentally told Mantis.

'I'm not gonna take that bet,' Mantis thought back. 'Even I know he's more than likely to mess up.'

Vanitas just smirked in amusement as they continued to watch their friends.

"Quill..." Drax slowly said. "Life is a pond, and you've spent your entire life leaping from woman to woman, as if they're lily pads upon this great pond."

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. So far, Drax was doing all right in this metaphor (especially when remembering Peter's past with women before they formed the Guardians).

"Perhaps, what you need to do, Quill... is learn to swim," Drax told a confused Peter.

Mantis and Vanitas both smiled, impressed that Drax managed to actually give good advice (even if he had been instructed on what to do and say). Stitch just looked from side to side, still pretty confused.

'Maybe I should have taken that bet,' Mantis thought.

'Too late, Layla and Kayla,' Vanitas mentally replied, still smirking. *4*

"... That actually made sense," Peter admitted to Drax.

"Yes, it made sense," Drax confirmed with a smile.

"No, I mean, that's sort of an analogy," Peter slowly said, frowning as Drax continued to smile. "And I didn't know that you were capable of that type of thought."

The smile vanished from Drax's face, and Vanitas's eyes widened as he sensed offense coming from the strongman, meaning that he was about to screw everything up.

"I know lots of analogies, Quill," Drax told the leader of the Guardians. "Analogies, metaphors, et cetera."

Mantis frantically waved her hands to try and stop him. Vanitas and a confused Stitch both joined her, but Drax just looked at them before looking at Peter again.

"For instance..." Drax slowly said. Vanitas was morbidly curious about what was about to happen. "Gamora's head is like a lily pad because it is green." Peter tilted his head slightly. "Analogy. And also stupid-looking and flappy."

"Flappy?" Peter asked, frowning in confusion.

"Because her skin is made of a leaf," Drax continued. "Metaphor."

"Is it?" Peter asked, still frowning.

"Yesterday, I made a poop shaped like a fish," Drax continued. Mantis covered her face in annoyance, and Stitch and Vanitas both smirked in amusement. "Even my butt is capable of making an analogy."

Peter just softly nodded his head before turning and looking to the side. This allowed him to see Mantis with her hands on her head in frustration, and Stitch and Vanitas both smirking, not even trying to hide their amusement. Peter just softly nodded his head at the others before looking at Drax again.

"Oh," he softly said.

All of a sudden, an alarm rang out through the ship, specifically coming from the Med Bay. Vanitas perked up, and he and Peter moved across the walkway before they started jogging down the hallway in front of them. Stitch yelled out as he repeatedly bounced around from the running as Peter and Vanitas moved as fast as they could. The two of them hurried down the stairs, then down the next set of hallways to reach the Med Bay.

Within the Med Bay, they found Nebula standing next to the bed, watching as Rocket convulsed dangerously on the spot. The monitor nearby flashed a red light, displaying an outline of Rocket's body and giving an update of his status. Worry filled Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas at the sight as they hurried to the other side of the bed.

"What happened?" Peter frantically asked.

"The fluid is in his lungs," Nebula informed them.

"Here, I got this," Vanitas said, holding up one hand. "If I concentrate, maybe I can redirect the fluid out of his lungs with my telekinesis."

"Have you ever done that before?" Peter asked.

"Not once," Vanitas admitted. "But I once kept an entire city afloat for a bit when I didn't have full control of my powers. It's as good a try as any."

"Good enough for me," Nebula said. She nodded at Vanitas. "Go."

Vanitas nodded at Peter and Nebula before lifting up his hands. He breathed in and out and closed his eyes, concentrating with his telekinesis as best he could. Stitch muttered slightly as he watched Vanitas keep his hands lifted, moving them in a couple of different directions as he tried to help the unconscious Rocket.

Of course, as he worked with his eyes closed, Vanitas grunted as he got another vision, showing him another aspect of Rocket's history. This allowed him to see more of his friends, the otter named Lylla, the walrus named Teefs, and the rabbit named Floor.

... Given their status as practical newborns, Vanitas wasn't going to judge them for the names they chose for themselves.

Anyway, in the vision, Vanitas was able to see a slightly older Rocket called for by a frantic High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary woke up Rocket where he slept with Floor, and the frantic man moved through the cells and eventually found the one with the animal he was searching for. Theel tried to calm the High Evolutionary down, but the scientist ignored him and another recorder as he found Rocket's cell. The High Evolutionary gave Rocket a very creepy smile that he probably thought was pleasing, briefly whispering an apology before frantically leaning against the cell door and saying hello.

The High Evolutionary then pried open the cell, grabbed Rocket, and pretty much dragged him through the ship to another chamber. More animals were carried into the room, and the High Evolutionary demanded to know how Rocket knew about the "microseminoproteins." A rabbit was placed into one cell, and a monkey in the other. Under the High Evolutionary's control, the recorders activated the dial and put them through a form of transformation, causing them to grow at an accelerated rate. The High Evolutionary demanded from Rocket what happened in the cells, and asked how he knew.

The High Evolutionary then proceeded to shout-demand how Rocket knew, screaming that he made Rocket, so he needed to know how Rocket knew. He needed to know because the system that they had discussed worked.

And it really did. In the cells, the animals had finished their transformation, making them all around the height of normal humans and looking around with knowledge similar to that of humans. Rocket was amazed at the sight of human-like animals (or Humanimals), something that he had helped the High Evolutionary develop. The High Evolutionary explained that the creatures were peaceful and didn't have the rage that they usually got when this happened, making Rocket even happier. The High Evolutionary declared that the Humanimals would inhabit the new world, and Rocket happily asked if they were going to the new world.

At Rocket's mention of "we," the High Evolutionary blinked rapidly in surprise before asking if he really meant "we." The High Evolutionary then crawled over to Rocket, commenting that he "looked cobbled together by fat-fingered children." Rocket was heartbroken as the High Evolutionary asked how he could be a part of his perfect species. The High Evolutionary even declared that Rocket was a mistake, something that they could learn from and apply to the creatures that "truly mattered." The High Evolutionary informed him that Batch 89 was never meant for the new world.

"You could figure out the complex workings of cytoplasmic filtration systems, but you couldn't figure out that?" the High Evolutionary coldly taunted.

The demented scientist then placed his hands on Rocket's head and decreed that he would like to study his brain more. Rocket was left in shock as the High Evolutionary stood up, declaring that Rocket was to be prepared for surgery to have his brain removed. When asked about the rest of Batch 89 (Lylla, Teefs, and Floor), the High Evolutionary said to incinerate them, looking at the woman who asked like she was an idiot.  *5*

Vanitas gasped as he came out of the vision, breathing in and out in surprise as he continued to wave his hands. Peter, Nebula, and Stitch all frowned in confusion, though Vanitas's powers appeared to work, because in his unconscious state, Rocket coughed twice, and blue liquid came out, signifying that his lungs had been cleared out. Nebula wiped off the raccoon with a rag, while Peter and Stitch patted Vanitas in a victorious manner.

"I prefer you with your powers, man," Peter told him.

"Yeah, so do I," Vanitas admitted, still a little shocked by what he had just seen.

"The liquid's free, but he's still dying," Nebula informed them grimly. "We need that passkey. We don't have long."

"If we're lucky, then we've got long enough," Vanitas told her.

"Hopefully," Stitch agreed with a nod of his head.

All of a sudden, the coms came to life above them.

"We've arrived," Mantis informed them.

Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all shared determined nods of their heads. The three of them and Stitch all nodded at Rocket to say goodbye to him before turning and moving together towards the exit of the Med Bay. Vanitas was still pretty surprised by what he had witnessed in the flashback, but he decided that he would use it as motivation. The High Evolutionary had killed many innocent creatures and put countless others through the worst trauma ever, especially to one creature that he really enjoyed.

Every villain had their day of reckoning, and Vanitas and the others would make sure that the High Evolutionary got his...

Chapter Text

The Bowie

Moving through the spaceship, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas hurried through the hallways with Stitch as they left Rocket in the Med Bay and entered the cockpit to join the rest of the team. While Gamora was who knows where, Drax met up with them again and joined them in walking into the cockpit, where Groot, Mantis, and Riku were sitting in chairs, operating necessary mechanics to control the rest of their trip to the new world. While Drax moved into another chair to join the three of them in their descent, Nebula, Peter, and Vanitas all stood in front of the doorway, the three of them watching with Stitch as the planet slowly came into view.

Through the bright green lights coursing around them, the group was able to see a world that looked almost exactly like Earth appear in front of them, something that made all of them frown in surprise.

"What the fuck?" Vanitas asked, furrowing his eyebrows at the sight.

"That looks just like... home," Peter slowly said.

"I don't understand," Riku slowly said. "The High Evolutionary made a copy of Earth?"

Vanitas closed his eyes and used his powers to sense what this Earth was like. After five seconds of images presented to him of this world, he rapidly blinked in surprise before raising an eyebrow and looking up at the world in front of them.

"Not... exactly..." Vanitas slowly said. "Y... You guys are gonna have to see this..."

Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Stitch all raised a curious eyebrow, but they held on as they continued their descent down to Counter-Earth.

Flying the Bowie down through space, the group piloted the ship down through the atmosphere of the planet and towards New York. While Drax, Groot, Mantis, and Riku continued to pilot the ship, Nebula, Peter, Vanitas, and Stitch all stepped forward and watched as the world came up below them. The group all watched as a massive ocean appeared along the surface before New York came in view.

Of course, everyone's eyes narrowed when they saw the Statue of Liberty.

Instead of a woman in a dress with a book and a torch, it was a giant statue of the High Evolutionary with a monkey in his arm.

"Okay, so this guy's clearly got a God complex," Riku remarked.

"With what Gamora said, it's not that big a surprise," Vanitas admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. *1*

"This place is like a replica of Earth," Peter commented. He shook his head. "It makes no sense."

"Atmosphere is habitable," Nebula said, reading through the schematics from the console. "Gravity's Xandar minus one."

"So, again, just like Earth," Vanitas assessed.

The group then piloted the ship towards a suburban area, their eyebrows furrowing as they looked over the people within. Vanitas remembered what he had sensed earlier about the Humanimals, as it appeared that the High Evolutionary fulfilled his goal with that. They were able to see a warthog-woman pushing a stroller with a warthog baby within, a panda-man mowing his lawn, and a woman with a bat-like head tending to her garden.

The group pushed down their complete shock over this whole situation as they descended towards the surface, extending the landing gear of the ship and parking it over two houses and a street (showing just how big the ship was). The exit ramp extended down, and the group slowly made their way out. As dozens of Humanimals gathered in the street and watched the ship land in amazement, everyone slowly made their way down to the exit ramp, and started walking down, looking around in amazement.

Peter and Vanitas led the way down the stairs, with Stitch still holding onto the ravenette's shoulder as they moved out of the ship. Mantis, Riku, and Nebula moved after them, and Groot and Drax took up the rear, all eight of them observing the entirety of the Humanimals in front of them. All of them kept even expressions on their faces, but they were still amazed by sights including a little girl with a rat head, a sheep in a lawyer's suit, and a bird mailman.

"Hello," Peter said, trying to speak in a diplomatic manner. "We mean you no harm."

"We're a little confused about this place," Vanitas slowly explained. "But we're not here to hurt you."

Stitch hopped off of Vanitas's shoulder and looked around with Riku, curiosity on their faces as they looked around.

While the crowd all murmured in confusion, the Rat-girl tossed her dodgeball forward, which rolled across the road towards where the group stood. Drax stepped forward and took the dodgeball as the girl giggled. Riku and Vanitas were immediately worried by what the strongman might do, but before they could say anything, Drax threw the ball as hard as he could, hitting the girl in the head and knocking her to the ground, shocking the gathered crowd.

"You idiot!" Riku complained, which got even Stitch to frown.

The sheep in the lawyer's clothes suddenly started shouting in a language that Vanitas sensed was called Orbose, and the other Humanimals started reaching down for rocks on the ground.

"Listen to me," Peter said, a placating tone in his voice. "He was just trying to throw back her ball."

"He just happens to be an idiot who doesn't know his own strength," Vanitas added.

Sadly, the Humanimals ignored their words and threw rocks, making Peter and Vanitas both grunt as they were hit in their heads. Drax laughed at the sight before another rock hit him in the head.

"Hey!" Drax shouted, grabbing his head.

The crowd of Humanimals all continued to shout at them and keep throwing rocks, which Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all tried to dodge with minimal success. Stitch ended up being extra, and repeatedly jumped up, catching rocks in his mouth and chewing them like they were candy.

"Come on!" Peter exclaimed. "There's no reason..."

Of course, the rocks hitting them made him grunt once again. A resident Humanimal even moved behind Mantis and swung a baseball bat, hitting her and knocking her down slightly.

"Hey, hey!" Peter exclaimed in defense of his sister.

"I don't think they speak English!" Vanitas exclaimed, using his telekinesis to redirect a few rocks. "Or understand it that well."

"I'm not complaining!" Stitch declared. He jumped up, caught two more rocks in his mouth, and chewed and swallowed them. "I like the snack!"

"Groot, full Kaiju!" Nebula exclaimed to the humanoid tree as she blocked more rocks.

"Not full Kaiju!" Peter rebutted.

Of course, Groot just ignored Peter's declarations and started increasing in size, the wooden plates of his body separating as his branches started increasing in size, making him bigger by the second. Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all watched in surprise as all the Humanimals started stepping backwards in a mixture of shock and terror.

"I... am... Groot!" Groot shouted, his voice getting deeper as he grew to twice his size, his face distorting to look monstrous.

"No, not Kaiju!" Peter tried to exclaim.

Riku and Vanitas both looked around, quickly seeing that Groot wasn't listening, and it still had the effect that Nebula wanted, scaring away all the Humanimals. The residents of the neighborhood all started frantically turning and running away, with some tripping and falling into the road, landing roughly and scraping themselves up. While Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, and Stitch couldn't find themselves to care, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all grimaced, knowing that this was a mistake since these people were innocent.

"Groot, down!" Peter shouted. "There's no reason to be afraid."

Groot just stuck his tongue out and growled in a threatening way, looking from side to side to continue trying to look dangerous.

"Get down, Groot!" Peter shouted, pointing at the humanoid tree as the street cleared up.

"Yeah, you've done enough, man!" Riku added, gesturing with his arms.

"Everybody, it's okay," Peter said, still trying to calm the people down. "It's okay."

Peter and Vanitas both looked around, their eyes narrowing to just a few feet away, where a bat-headed woman had tripped on the curb, scraping her knee and wincing in pain. The two of them shared a look before moving over to the wounded bat woman, trying to show good faith by helping her.

"Hey," Peter said, holding up a hand as the woman grit her teeth in pain. "Hey, hi. We're not here to harm you."

"We just wanna talk," Vanitas added.

Peter and Vanitas stepped closer to the woman, who exclaimed in fear while crawling backwards slightly. Of course, Peter just reached into his belt and pulled out a small rag, holding it up to offer to her.

"See?" Peter said, holding up the rag. "For your knee."

"Scraped knees always suck, yeah," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

The woman looked up at Peter and Vanitas, but she slowly took the rag, with Vanitas sensing that she was getting the general message.

"We just need to save our friend," Peter told the bat woman.

Vanitas nodded his head in confirmation as the bat woman continued to stare at the group. While Groot slowly retreated down to a normal size, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Stitch all inwardly hoped with Peter and Vanitas that these people would at least be able to help them partially in their quest...

Of course, the team was unaware of a Sovereign ship flying directly towards Counter-Earth, with Adam and Ayesha flying towards it with the Blurp that Adam wanted to keep. Ayesha claimed that the Blurp didn't belong with them, and Adam declared that he would train it in the ways of the Sovereign. When the Blurp licked itself, Adam amended that he would train it not to do that. Ayesha declared that it was blasphemy to have the creature with them, and ordered Adam to kill it. Adam declared that he was the Warlock, and he was done with being ordered around.

Of course, Ayesha then perked up as she saw Counter-Earth coming up in front of them. While Adam continued to watch the Blurp, Ayesha declared that Gamora was here, as was Rocket, and to save themselves, they needed to bring Rocket to the High Evolutionary before his own people could. She grabbed the controls and flew them down a bit faster.

On Counter-Earth, the bat woman had used Peter's offered rag to wipe off her knee, and she climbed to her feet. She then guided him, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas to her house, opening the door and leading the way inside. They could faintly see bat-headed children of hers playing in a room, but she spoke with them in Orbese before shutting the door, no doubt telling them to stay in the room. The bat woman then gestured to another living room, and the team slowly entered her house, listening as she and her husband spoke in Orbese to each other, as well.

Looking around, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas were still amazed by how similar the house looked to one on Earth. The furniture was nice, there were pictures of the bat couple at a wedding on one mantle, and there was a dining table nearby. The bat couple continued to speak in Orbese, before the husband turned off a radio in the kitchen. While Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Stitch all checked out some of the knickknacks around them (with Riku having flashbacks to his grandparents' house), Drax moved over to one of the couches, while the bat woman gestured to the dining room table. *2*

"Yeah, yeah, sit," Peter agreed, pulling up a chair next to the table. "Let's sit. Okay."

"This place strangely reminds me of home," Vanitas admitted as Mantis, Nebula, and Riku turned away from the knickknacks.

While Groot observed pictures on the walls of the bat family, the woman marched over to a window, where many other Humanimals were looking through in curiosity. Vanitas shot them a peace sign before the bat woman closed the blinds, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku sat around the dining room table, while Drax groaned as he lay down completely on the couch with a leather bag in his hands.

"I am Groot," Groot told him with a frown.

"It's not rude," Drax replied with his own frown. "It's what it's here for."

"No, it isn't," Stitch replied, sitting on Nebula's shoulder and frowning at him.

"Drax, sit up!" Nebula snapped. Drax groaned and acquiesced, slowly sitting up on the couch. "Idiot."

"It wouldn't kill you to be civilized at least once," Riku informed him, with Vanitas nodding in agreement.

"You don't know that," Drax replied, frowning at the two Keyblade Masters.

"Thank you," Peter said, him and Vanitas holding their hands together and giving the bat woman grateful looks.

"We respect your hospitality," Vanitas added.

The bat woman replied in Orbese before sitting down between Peter and Vanitas. Her husband then walked in with a tray carrying cans of drink, and cups of water to pour them inside.

"Thank you," Peter loudly told the bat man as he started passing out cans and cups.

"You're very generous hosts," Riku added, with Vanitas nodding in agreement.

The bat woman spoke Orbese again.

"Our friend..." Peter then loudly and slowly explained, gesturing with his hands. "He's dying. Uh..."

He looked at Nebula, who let nanoparticles extend on her hand, creating a small projector. This brought up a holographic image of Rocket laying on the table in the Med Bay, the ventilator still over his mouth to help him breathe. The bat woman leaned forward to look at the image better.

"We love our friend," Peter explained, still gesturing with his hands. "But he is dying."

The vampire woman still looked confused, so Mantis tilted her head to the side and imitated choking.

"That's not dying," Nebula informed her. Stitch raised an eyebrow at Nebula. "That's already dead. They'll think he's already dead."

"They'll think we're here on a quest for revenge," Drax added, laying on the couch and already half asleep.

"Drax, sit up," Nebula sternly instructed.

"That's what it's here for!" Drax replied, gesturing with his arms again.

"Drax, it isn't," Peter told him. "It's made for people to sit shoulder to shoulder right next to each other." Groot and Riku both shook their heads at Drax's display. "Get your boots off her pillows."

"I find it hard to believe..." Drax exclaimed, waving his arms and legs dramatically as he sat up again. "... it doesn't have multiple purposes!"

"The only people who sleep on couches are homeless people or husbands on the verge of divorce," Vanitas told him with a frown.

"That was weirdly specific," Riku commented, with Stitch frowning slightly.

"I'm sorry," Peter told the bat woman. Groot walked around the table again as the bat man stood behind his wife. "My friend... is a dumbass."

Mantis stuck her tongue out and made a face again.

"That's the same as your dying," Nebula informed her.

"Why do you criticize everything?" Mantis complained, frowning at the cybernetic woman.

"Well, why is it oblong then?" Drax asked, gesturing to the sides of the couch on either side of him.

"It was a totally different sound," Mantis snapped at Nebula.

"It was the same noise," Stitch replied with a shake of his head.

"See, he agrees with me," Nebula added, gesturing to the blue alien. "It wasn't the same." She grunted and stuck out her tongue. "Dying." She grunted and stuck out her tongue again. "Dumbass. See? It's the same."

"All right, guys!" Peter exclaimed, gesturing with his hands with a frown. "Can I proceed, please, to try to save our friend?"

During this, Drax closed his eyes and slowly leaned over again, trying to lay down once again. Vanitas just sighed and waved a hand, not even looking at Drax as he used his telekinesis to sit the strongman up once again, making him blink in surprise.

"I think this house is haunted!" Drax exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"That was V, you moron," Riku replied, sighing out in annoyance.

"Yeah, stay awake Leonard, you need to traumatize those poor bastards in the cabin," Vanitas added, still not looking at Drax.

"Thank you for keeping him up, V," Peter told the ravenette. He looked at the confused-looking bat couple. "I understand that none of this makes any sense to you right now." He continued gesturing with his arms. "We need your help in finding a man." *3*

He looked down, then reached for a pen and notepad on the table.

"Uh, I'm gonna..." Peter slowly said. "I'm gonna draw. I'm gonna draw the man that we're looking for."

Riku and Vanitas both raised an eyebrow, wondering if Peter remembered that they had ways of showing exact images of Theel and the High Evolutionary. But they decided not to say anything for now, since they wanted to see where he was going with the drawing.

Whatever the case, Peter went to work on drawing, so Mantis, Nebula, and Stitch reached down and opened their offered cans of drink, pouring the blue sodas in the offered cups they were provided. Groot continued to step around the room doing random things, like straightening a picture of a dog on the wall.

"You see the thing on her head?" Peter asked, gesturing to the metal plate on Nebula's head.

Mantis, Nebula, and Stitch all sipped their sodas.

"That is delightful," Nebula praised.

Riku and Vanitas shared looks before opening their own cans of soda.

"He has a thing like this..." Peter said as he continued drawing. "There you go."

Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Stitch, Riku, Vanitas, and the bat couple watched as Peter finished drawing on the pad before lifting it up. Riku and Vanitas both almost choked on their sodas as they laughed at the picture that Peter drew, which was a poor image of Theel with a circular head, a rounded body, a very simple face, a tiny arm, and a metal plate on his head. Riku and Vanitas then inwardly wondered if Peter's drawing skills never evolved past that of an eight year old as he held the picture up to the bat couple.

"Have you seen this man?" Peter asked.

The bat couple was understandably confused, though Drax and Mantis both perked up, both of them impressed.

"That's very good," Mantis complimented her brother.

"Can I have that later to hang in my apartment, please?" Drax asked, pointing to the paper.

"Yeah?" Peter asked, smiling at his friends. "Thank you."

'How have these two not hooked up once?' Vanitas mentally asked, raising an eyebrow and looking between Drax and Mantis.

'They're both so equally ignorant of feelings that they don't even realize it,' Riku thought back.

'I'm hungry,' Stitch thought. 'Are there any more rocks?'

Riku and Vanitas furrowed their ehebrows at the blue alien.

"Mowtio," the bat woman then said, pointing at the picture.

"His name..." Peter said, excitement in his eyes as he pointed at the picture he drew. "His name is 'Mowtio'?"

"Eo, eo," the bat woman replied as Nebula and Riku sipped their sodas again. "Uh..."

She stood up and marched over to the window with the closed blinds. Peter and Vanitas both stood up as she pushed aside the blinds, then yelled in Orbese at the crowd to get them to move out of the way. The crowd muttered in offense as they stepped back from the window. Peter and Vanitas walked over to the window and watched as the bat woman pointed at something out in the distance, with had their eyebrows furrowing.

"Mowtios-ek lolo," the bat woman explained, pointing at the tall structure.

Peter and Vanitas narrowed their eyebrows, taking in the structure in the distance. It had the appearance of a massive pyramid, though even from this distance, they could see that it had a darker color scheme of purple, black, and red, giving it an appearance similar to that of a volcano. Vanitas huffed at the sight, while Peter looked at the woman as she held up a hand and tapped each individual finger with her other hand.

"Many mowtios," Peter assessed.

"Guards," Vanitas assessed.

"Oh," the bat woman confirmed with a nod.

"There?" Peter asked, pointing at the pyramid in the distance.

"Oh," the bat woman repeated.

"At the pyramid?" Peter added, waving his hand to make a triangle.

"Oh," the bat woman repeated again, still smiling and nodding.

Peter then looked to the side, his eyes narrowing on a blue car in the driveway next to the house. Vanitas huffed and nodded his head, already agreeing that this would be their ride to the pyramid.

"Is that your car in the driveway?" Peter asked the bat woman.

"Oh," the bat woman repeated again, looking between him and the car.

"Eo," the bat man said, sighing out while rubbing the back of his head.

"We'll bring it back with half a tank of gas," Vanitas promised with a smile.

Whatever the case, the bat woman agreed to hand over her keys to the car, and Peter and Vanitas thanked her. They also thanked the family for their hospitality before the two of them, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Stitch hurried to the house, opened the door, and hurried outside again. The crowd of Humanimals once again scattered in shock as the group moved outside.

"Drax, stay here with Rocket," Peter instructed as he, Groot, and Vanitas jogged around the car together. "Watch him. That's who they're coming for."

"I wanna come," Drax replied, him, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku moving to the other side of the car.

"No," Peter replied, moving to the driver's side door. "Mantis, watch Drax."

"Don't let him do anything stupid," Vanitas added.

Mantis gave a small frown over also being left behind.

"We've gotta divide and conquer, guys," Riku added, nodding at the two. "We can't risk the High Evolutionary getting Rocket. You guys play your part, and we'll play ours."

"Groot, you know what to do with these," Peter said, handing his blasters to the living tree.

Groot nodded his head as he gripped the blasters.

Stitch then crawled on all four of his paws to climb up onto the roof of the car. He nodded at the group as he sat on the roof, securing himself pretty well. Riku and Vanitas nodded at the blue alien, impressed with how well he could stay up.

Whatever the case, the group worked on climbing inside the car. While Drax and Mantis stood to the side in disappointment, Riku, Groot, and Peter all opened their doors of the car, climbing inside. While Riku, Groot, and Vanitas got in the back seats, Peter got in the Driver's seat, while Mantis stepped up to the front passenger's seat and reached for the door. Of course, she repeatedly grunted as she just kept pulling, trying and failing to actually open the door.

"Push down on it," Peter instructed.

"What?" Nebula asked.

"Push it down," Peter told her.

"Yeah, this is an older model, so you gotta do things differently," Vanitas added.

"I am pushing down on it," Nebula said, pushing on the door handle.

"Push the button," Peter added.

Drax, Groot, Mantis, Peter, Riku, Stitch, Vanitas, and even the bat woman all just watched and frowned as Nebula continued to struggle with opening the door. She slowly reached up and placed her other hand on the circle of the lock, still trying and failing to open the door.

"It looks like you're pushing the keyhole," Peter observed.

"Yeah, that's the wrong one," Riku added.

"The what?" Nebula asked.

"There's a button under the handle," Peter exclaimed, gesturing with his hands. "Press that in."

Nebula let out a small huff as she reached down, pressing the button underneath the handle, making it click.

"Okay," she said with a sigh. "Now what?"

"Open the fucking door," Peter exclaimed, annoyance in his voice.

"Finally!" Vanitas exclaimed, gesturing with his hands. He looked at Groot and Riku. "It took fifteen years, but they finally let someone other than me say it in one of these things!" *4*

Everyone ignored Vanitas (as per usual) as Nebula opened the door, which swung slightly on its hinges. She growled in annoyance as she climbed into the front Passenger's seat.

"That is a stupid design," she remarked to Peter. She pulled the door shut. "And your instructions were very unclear."

"I'm still happy someone else here finally said 'fuck'," Vanitas admitted with a smile.

"Let's get that passkey and save our friend," Peter declared, frowning in determination.

While Drax and Mantis watched from next to the car, Groot, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all continued to frown in determination as they started the car, and Peter started driving.

Of course, people then got out of the way as Peter went too fast down the driveway, hitting a few trash cans and knocking them into the road. Nebula grunted from the sudden stop as he slammed on the breaks. Nebula slowly turned to frown at Peter as he adjusted the gears, while Vanitas, Groot, and Riku all huffed in the back seat, and Stitch cheered slightly on the roof.

"I was eight years old when I left Earth, okay?" Peter exclaimed in response. "Why would I know any more about driving one of these things than you do? I don't see you volunteering."

"Uh, Riku and I know how to drive," Vanitas said, holding up a hand as Riku nodded in agreement.

"You want one of us to drive?" Nebula asked Peter.

"No," Peter sternly replied.

"One of us will drive," Nebula offered.

"I don't want one of you to drive," Peter told them. "I got this."

"Everyone put on your seat belts," Vanitas remarked, looking at the others.

Though they went through worse frequently, Nebula, Riku, and Groot all listened and slipped on their seat belts. The engine roared slightly as the car rocked back and forth as Peter slowly drove them into the street. Stitch continued to cheer on top of the roof, which the rest of the group had mixed feelings about, since it was just encouraging Peter. Still, Groot, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all continued to inwardly prepare themselves, knowing that they were most likely going directly into a battle with whatever the pyramid was.

Within the Bowie, Gamora sat in one of the pilot chairs in the cockpit. Having changed back into her Ravager outfit, she drank a soda as she watched the car driving on the road. Gamora furrowed her eyebrows slightly as she watched it rock back and forth before driving over another lawn, with Stitch laughing in excitement on the roof. She just watched in indifference as the car drove over the other lawn before driving into another road, beginning their trek towards the High Evolutionary's complex.

Brushing this aside, Gamora moved over to the Med Bay, listening slightly to the Zune playing Alice Cooper's I'm Always Chasing Rainbows. Curious, she knocked on the top of another can of drink as she walked into the Med Bay and looked over the wounded and unconscious Rocket. Given that he was unconscious, she commented that Rocket must be a really loyal pet if the others were willing to do all of this for him. Gamora sat down next to the bed and watched as he breathed with the help of the tube before picking up the Zune. She pressed a button, and the music came much more loudly over the speakers, surprising her.

Brushing that aside, she went deeper into the ship and found an old, worn out backpack that belonged to Peter. Curious, Gamora took the bag into another room and started going through its contents, frowning at the contents of various cards of 80s TV icons, an action figure, and a report card. Of course, then she found a picture of a young Peter with his mom and grandfather, something that actually gave her a moment of pause.

Meanwhile, the group within the car continued through the streets of Counter-Earth, moving out of the residential area and into a city street as they continued their trek to the pyramid structure, which Vanitas sensed was called Arête Laboratories. Along the way, they all got to see what the world of Counter-Earth really was like, and got their first clue from a billboard with a turtle man and a rabbit man advertising a television.

Of course, as they drove through the city street, Groot, Mantis, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all furrowed their eyebrows as they looked at the residents. The streets were pretty dirty, with lots of graffiti placed up, very reminiscent of some of the worst parts of New York. They also saw a pig woman trying to sleep on a bus bench, an octopus man selling drugs in an alleyway to bug people, and a rat man beating up a hedgehog man in a parking lot, repeatedly swinging a bat at him.

"Somehow, he looked less menacing in Prey," Vanitas commented, looking back at the octopus man. *5*

Riding on the roof of the car, Stitch pulled out one of his blasters and shot the rat man in the shoulder, wanting to try and help someone in some way.

"This is the perfect society?" Nebula asked as she, Riku, and Groot all frowned at the dysfunctional people around them.

"Well, I guess Humanimals are still partially human," Riku pointed out. "So, they've still got the basic functions of humans, even their bad habits."

"That, they do," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

Of course, as they continued driving, Vanitas then grasped his head as he felt another vision coming. He huffed as he realized he was seeing things between Rocket and his old friends once again.

Theel forced Rocket through the ship and back towards the cages that Lylla, Teefs, and Floor were resting inside. Other animals cried in the distance as Theel used a keycard to open the gate, and a shocked Rocket slowly walked inside, though Theel smacked him to throw him within. Theel closed and locked the gate behind him before turning and leaving. Rocket was still shocked by what he had learned from the High Evolutionary, and when Teefs asked if he was okay, he looked up and watched as Theel smacked another cage to quiet another animal before leaving.

With Theel gone, Rocket reached to his chest and started grabbing the pieces of a remote he had stolen. Floor asked if they were playing as Rocket went around the cage and grabbed other pieces that had fallen through the floor grate. Lylla asked what he was doing, and he informed them that the High Evolutionary wasn't going to set them free. While putting together a device, he explained that they were all going to be killed in the morning, but he was gonna fix it. Lylla, Floor, and Teeths all watched as he finished putting together a key, which he declared he would use to get them all free.

Teefs admitted that he wasn't sure if it was wise, though Floor was excited. Rocket explained that down the hall were some ships, and that he could pilot one if they could get to it. He promised that they would all be okay, but he waited for Lylla's blessing before moving over to the door. Apprehensive, Rocket used his key, which caused the door to spark before swinging open. Lylla, Teefs, and Floor all cheered him on as he left the cage, and crawled over to the door of the other cage to open it up, as well. Lylla immediately stepped out of the cage, and she and Rocket shared a hug.

Sadly, just as Lylla started to declare how good it felt to be free, a shot rang out, and she stopped talking.

Floor and Teefs both gasped in shock, and Rocket's heart broke as Lylla slowly placed a hand on her chest before falling to the ground, revealing the High Evolutionary standing down the hall with a blaster in his hand, signifying that he had been the one to shoot Lylla. Rocket stood in shock as the High Evolutionary admitted that he imagined Rocket would do something like this, then instructed him back into the cage. Rocket ignored him, and just breathed in and out in shock as he looked down at Lylla. She slowly said "Sky" before the life slipped from her.

Rocket just looked at her before opening his mouth and screaming, closing his eyes as he wailed in despair. Floor and Teefs slowly moved forward in shock as Rocket started screaming again. Floor tried to shout to Rocket, saying they needed to escape, while the High Evolutionary got into contact with guards over his intercom. Rocket continued to scream, Floor continued to try and get his attention, but Teefs was frozen in shock. Rocket continued to scream and wail over Lylla's death as the High Evolutionary finished giving his instructions to security.

Of course, the High Evolutionary decided to be even more of an asshole by mimicking Rocket's wailing, moving his head around in an exaggerated manner before looking at Rocket, declaring that he had won the crying contest. Rage then quickly built within Rocket as he grit his teeth and glared up at the High Evolutionary. When the High Evolutionary got close enough, Rocket lunged at the man, adrenaline allowing him to tackle the man to the ground. The High Evolutionary exclaimed in shock as Rocket started slashing his claws, cutting his face and tearing at some of the flesh.

While Rocket continued attacking the High Evolutionary, Teefs got over his shock and started to join Floor in shouting for the raccoon's attention. The High Evolutionary screamed in pain from the scratches before the sound of guards appearing nearby rang out. Rocket then lunged down and grabbed the dropped blaster as three guards appeared in the adjacent room and started firing their own blasters. Fueled by rage, Rocket dodged their attacks and repeatedly fired at the guards, hitting them all and killing them quickly.

With the guards dead, Rocket dropped his blaster, turned around, and grabbed the key he had created. Of course, horror then filled him when he then saw Floor and Teefs on the ground, holes in their chests to signify that they had been shot. His heart somehow managed to break even more when he realized that all his friends were dead, so he missed that the High Evolutionary's foot twitched, signifying that he was still alive.

Desperation filling him, Rocket then turned and started scampering away as fast as he could. He moved through the hallway of the ship and reached the hangar, where guards repeatedly tried to shoot him down. Dodging all their blasts, Rocket reached a ship, climbed inside the cockpit, and quickly powered it up. More guards tried to shoot him down, but he managed to control the ship enough to (unevenly) fly it out of the hangar, escaping Arête laboratories and flying up into the sky to enter the vacuum of space. Rocket panted in exhaustion and did everything he could to ignore thinking about what he just went through as he continued to fly the ship away from Counter-Earth.

Vanitas gasped as he came out of the vision, placing his hand on his chest as he breathed in and out. Groot, Nebula, and Riku all looked at the ravenette, while Peter glanced at him through the rearview mirror, but kept his eyes on the road. Despair and understanding for Rocket filled Vanitas as a sad expression appeared on his face, making it clear to the others that he had seen something bad.

"What's wrong?" Nebula asked.

"What'd you see?" Riku asked.

"That the High Evolutionary is a major asshole," Vanitas informed the others. He huffed as he looked up. "This sick fuck declared to Rocket that he and his friends wouldn't be going to his 'perfect world.' He decreed that Rocket's brain was to be studied, but his only three friends were to be burned. So, Rocket tried to mount an escape for them. But as they were doing it, the High Evolutionary had all of Rocket's friends gunned down in front of him."

Groot, Nebula, Peter, and Riku's eyes all widened in shock at this declaration. Just like Vanitas, they all now felt sorrow for Rocket, while feeling as if they understood him a bit better.

As they watched Arête Laboratories getting closer and closer, Vanitas furrowed his eyebrows in further determination. Not only was he even more ready to save their friend, but he was even more determined to take down the High Evolutionary. For everything he did, this sick bastard deserved everything that was coming to him... *6*

Chapter Text

Counter-Earth

Arête Laboratories

The rest of the car ride through the streets and roads of Counter-Earth was a tense one for the group of Groot, Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas as they rode within the car, and Stitch sat on top of it. Vanitas's latest revelation stuck with them all (except Stitch, since he was on top of the car and hadn't heard a single word), which had them all feeling much more sympathy towards the wounded Rocket. Of course, all five of them all also now felt a renewed sense of anger towards the High Evolutionary, all of them ready to cause the man even more damage than they initially did thanks to his role in harming Rocket so badly.

"Now I wish Drax was here," Vanitas declared with his teeth grit. "I would love to have him here so we could go through his original plan of killing anyone who gets in our way."

Groot, Nebula, Peter, and Riku said nothing, but they all frowned and nodded their heads in agreement, all of them ready to cause as much damage as possible to their latest enemy.

Eventually, the roads changed and directed them towards a set of waterfalls, with the street they drove down going onto a bridge that was directly in between two of those waterfalls. In front of them was the massive, red and black, pyramid shape of the laboratory, stationed within a ground that looked strangely uneven, and hundreds of parked cars stationed in the road on either side, signifying a lot of employees. Peter drove the car towards an entrance with a security bar lowered in front of it, separating them from the massive, diamond shaped courtyard with a water fixture, and water sprouts spraying the liquid up into the air.

Of course, as they slowed the car towards a stop, Groot, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas's eyes all narrowed as they saw people at the security gate, consisting of one humanoid, and two mechanic animals, including a giant pig with weapons for arms, and a large, falcon-like beast with similar mechanics along its body (Vanitas sensed they were called War Pig and War Falcon). The humanoid guards just marched around as they pulled the car to a stop.

"Here we go," Peter declared.

"Let's go kick some ass," Riku declared.

"Kill some ass," Vanitas corrected him with a frown.

"I am Groot," Groot agreed.

Whatever the case, they all started opening the doors and climbing out of the car. Peter and Nebula climbed out of the front, while Groot, Riku, and Vanitas climbed out of the back, with Stitch hopping off of the car hood and onto Vanitas's shoulder. Stitch held on as they all closed the doors and turned towards the security gate.

"We're here to see..." Peter started to say.

"The High Evolutionary is expecting you," War Falcon told them as they walked together to the gate.

While Vanitas and Riku both wondered how the falcon said that without lips, Nebula just looked at Peter.

"Which means it is a trap," Nebula told him.

"It's a face-off," Peter corrected her.

"Either way, we're marching in," Vanitas added with a shrug of his shoulders.

"She stays here," War Falcon ordered, gesturing to Nebula.

"Why?" Nebula asked with a frown.

"Policy against weaponry, and your arm is a gun," War Falcon said, gesturing to Nebula's arm covered in nanobots.

War Pig then pointed her own metal arm at Peter, activating a scanner that was swung up and down to analyze his body.

"He's clean," War Pig declared. She then waved around Vanitas for a moment. "So's this one."

"Thanks, Judy," Vanitas replied. "Probably not the comeback you wanted for one of these, though." *1*

While Stitch hummed in confusion, Vanitas looked at Riku.

"Stay out here with Nebula and watch out for the others," Vanitas told his fellow Master. "We might need you guys to make an effort in case things go wrong."

"Gotcha," Riku promised with a nod of her head.

Nebula looked at Riku before looking at Peter again.

"Hey," Nebula said.

Vanitas paused for a moment when he sensed different shades of concern for Peter coursing through Nebula.

"It'll be okay," Peter promised her.

Vanitas brushed aside what he sensed before he nodded at Nebula and Riku again. With that, Stitch stayed on Vanitas's shoulder as the ravenette, Peter, and Groot followed the two mechanical animals through the security gate and to the front entrance of Arête Laboratories.

Vanitas swore he heard really dramatic music in his head as he walked with Peter, Stitch, and Groot through the halls and corridors of Arête Laboratories. War Falcon guided them up sets of stairs and through other parts of the massive lab, passing by lots of soldiers and scientists with all sorts of different types of mechanical enhancements in their bodies. Vanitas inwardly wondered how many of them were voluntary, but he brushed it aside as he continued with Peter, Stitch, and Groot through the massive lab.

Eventually, they moved down a large hallway with red, metal walls, and War Falcon directed them inside. This room had a large, circular throne with lots of connections and devices connecting to the ceiling, and a large, open window across from it overlooking the city in the distance. Stitch held onto Vanitas's shoulder as he, Peter, and Groot marched together into what appeared to be a large throne room. Other workers were marching around at random, while in the center of the room, the High Evolutionary sat on the throne. Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all glared at the High Evolutionary as they moved into the room together, while the psychotic scientist just held up one finger to request that they wait.

Vanitas somehow hated him even more than he already did.

Residential Area

Standing outside of where the Bowie was parked, Drax and Mantis were occupying their time in different ways. The many Humanimals watched them in intrigue as Mantis blew into a wind spinner to spin the circular component, and Drax stared out at Arête Laboratories in the distance. The sound of a motorcycle engine roaring from down the street echoed to his ears, and he turned around. While Mantis continued to blow and make the spinner spin, Drax waited as the motorcycle turned a corner and moved down the road. Once it was close enough, Drax lifted up an arm, knocking the driver off the motorcycle with a yelp and making the bike slide on the ground.

Mantis and the rest of the Humanimals all exclaimed in shock, and Mantis demanded to know what Drax was doing. He marched towards the bike and declared that he had a bad feeling about things. Mantis argued that Peter told them to stay here, and Drax said it was his fault because he should know by now that he never did anything that anyone ever tells him. While Drax lifted the motorcycle to even ground, Mantis told him that they needed to protect Rocket. Drax agreed as he climbed onto the motorcycle, telling her to hop on so they could go back to the ship. Mantis asked if they were going to the ship just down the street, and he smiled and promised her "Yeah."

Though she was skeptical, Mantis climbed onto the back of the bike and held onto Drax to go along with the ride. Of course, expectedly, Drax started driving down the road out of the residential area, away from the Bowie and towards Arête Laboratories. Mantis held on, and shouted at Drax to stop being a jerk.

Arête Laboratories

Within the throne room of the High Evolutionary, Groot, Peter, and Vanitas (with Stitch on his shoulder), all continued to stand near the throne, while guards and technicians all stood at different areas, and the High Evolutionary himself continued to sit at his throne and type something into a device. Groot, Vanitas, and Stitch all continued to glare at the High Evolutionary, while Peter sighed out in annoyance. Peter then glanced to the side, and Vanitas followed his gaze to a couple of technicians across the room.

Their eyes narrowed when they saw Theel, the man who had the passkey they needed to save Rocket in his head.

"You!" Peter shouted. Theel and the other technician both looked up. "Hey, yeah, you!"

Vanitas shook his head as he and Groot followed Peter as he started marching across the throne room. Stitch held on, while the guards just watched with raised eyebrows, the other technician stepped out of the way, and Theel's eyes went wide in growing fear. Vanitas inwardly hoped this guy was peeing himself as they continued marching up to the technician.

"I take it the passkey, it's in that thing on your head," Peter declared to Theel.

"We'll offer you a deal," Vanitas told Theel with a frown. "Give it to us without any problems, and we'll think about not breaking your arms and legs."

"I would advise against aggression," the High Evolutionary suggested.

Groot, Vanitas, and Stitch all turned to see that the man in purple power armor had stood up and was looking at them.

"Oh," Peter said, turning around in annoyance. "Got time for me now?"

"I hope you know I preferred you in that one and only episode of Doctor Who," Vanitas told him. "You were a minor lawful evil, and you easily got overshadowed by Human Crowley, but I preferred That You to This You."

Stitch just blinked in confusion.

"Your friend once took advantage," the High Evolutionary declared as he slowly marched down the steps of the throne with a small, sadistic smile on his face. "I learn my lessons. I aim some small part of my mental capacity back in my own direction, and now, gravity itself serves my whims."

He held his arms out to the sides as he walked towards the group. Vanitas then remembered seeing the High Evolutionary throw Adam into a wall, and inwardly grimaced. He now wondered whether the man had done that himself, or with his power suit.

Of course, the group was unaware that one of the technicians across the room had turned and activated a communicator, contacting War Pig outside.

Outside

Staying together just outside the security gate, Nebula sat on the hood of the car, while Riku leaned against it with his arms crossed. War Pig stood to the side, before she suddenly raised her head up. Nebula and Riku then narrowed their eyes as they watched thrusters on her back light up, and War Pig suddenly rose into the air. Nebula and Riku both straightened up and frowned as they watched War Pig fly away.

"What the hell?" Riku muttered. He shook his head. "I don't think this is what they meant when they say 'when pigs fly'." *2*

Throne Room

Peter, Vanitas, Groot, and Stitch all continued to glare at the High Evolutionary as the man marched along the room, all while the technicians and guards all continued to stand about and do various things.

"You must find Counter-Earth familiar," the High Evolutionary remarked, a smile on his face as he marched towards a nearby window.

"Counter-Earth?" Peter asked.

"Not a very original name," Vanitas commented. "You couldn't have gone with 'High Evolution' or something?"

"Oh, I visited the planet you two are from many years ago," the High Evolutionary said, gesturing to Peter and Vanitas as he got closer to the window.

"Earth hasn't been my planet in a long time," Peter argued.

"And there are a lot of Earths in the universe, so you're gonna have to be more specific," Vanitas added.

Stitch just hummed and remembered his own trip to Earth. He smiled at the memory of the friends he made there.

"Your people had... wonderful spirit," the High Evolutionary said, giving them a smile that was somehow just as creepy as the rest of him.

"Mm," Peter hummed, tilting his head at the evil scientist.

"The art and music and literature were some of the finest in the universe," the High Evolutionary admitted, still walking along the window.

"Did you make your own version of Fall Out Boy and Green Day?" Vanitas asked, admittedly really curious.

"And Elvis?" Stitch asked, also raising his head in intrigue.

"I don't know who any of those are," the High Evolutionary admitted, frowning at the two.

Vanitas and Stitch both frowned at the mad scientist, each of them deciding that he was uneducated of real culture.

"But, I believed that Earth would be a fabulous place, were it not for the ignorance and bigotry," the High Evolutionary declared, standing next to Theel and looking out the window.

Vanitas could begrudgingly admit to understanding that point of view.

"Okay," Peter then loudly declared, glancing to the side as he was already fed up.

"It inspired me to create Counter-Earth," the High Evolutionary continued, walking along the length of the window.

"I don't care," Peter declared, closing his eyes in irritation.

"All of the good and none of the bad," the High Evolutionary continued, smiling in a triumphant manner.

"Dude, the audience and I have heard the Bad Guy monologue, like, thirty times at this point," Vanitas declared, groaning in irritation. "It's really old, and really repetitive by now, man."

"Exactly," Peter agreed. He, Groot, Stitch, and Vanitas all watched as the High Evolutionary marched towards them. "I don't need another speech by some impotent wackjob whose mother didn't love him rationalizing why he needs to conquer the universe."

The High Evolutionary had a small glare as he looked at Peter while marching past Groot, but a bit of joy then appeared in his eyes.

"I'm not trying to conquer the universe," the High Evolutionary corrected Peter, an air of superiority in his voice. "I'm perfecting it."

Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and even Groot all rolled their eyes at the High Evolutionary's arrogance.

Bowie

Within the Bowie, Gamora was sitting on the toilet, humming a song that she had heard earlier that she admittedly enjoyed. Of course, when an alarm started to blare, she was confused, but finished her business quickly. Gamora walked out of the hallway and into the central chamber of the ship, then her eyes narrowed when she saw the large War Pig walking out of the infirmary, carrying the unconscious Rocket in her hands. Gamora pulled a blaster out and pointed it at War Pig, instructing her to "drop the badger." War Pig unceremoniously dropped Rocket to the ground, ignited her thrusters, and flew into Gamora, tackling her down the hallway and pushing her into the wall with a grunt.

Arête Laboratories

Throne Room

Things were still tense as Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all continued to glare at the High Evolutionary, while the rest of the guards and technicians were spread out throughout the large room. Theel nervously stood nearby, knowing that he was most likely the one in the most danger given that he had the passkey in the device on his head, while the other technicians and guards stayed ready.

"I just want the passkey," Peter told the High Evolutionary.

"Then bring me 89P13," the High Evolutionary countered, a sadistic smile still on his face.

"Not happening, dipshit," Vanitas declared with a shake of his head.

"No," Stitch agreed with a shake of his own head.

"I am Groot," Groot added.

The High Evolutionary just frowned in confusion and looked amongst the quartet.

"He says, 'Suck my...'" Peter started to translate.

"Why are you so angry?" the High Evolutionary asked, genuinely confused.

"Because I know what you did to our friend," Peter told the mad scientist.

"I saw every tiny detail through visions, you sick bastard," Vanitas added, shaking his head in disgust.

"Anything I've done..." the High Evolutionary growled. He marched up and put his face in Peter's. "I've done for the betterment of the universe."

"Newsflash, Einstein," Peter replied. "Better universes generally don't include a bunch of octopuses selling meth to guys with cockroach heads."

"Again, somehow that dude looked less menacing as a Predator," Vanitas commented. He shook his head. "But they also don't include rats beating hedgehogs to death in alleyways."

"... They do not," the High Evolutionary slowly agreed, a look of disappointment in his eyes. He then turned and looked out the window behind them. "Which is why, as I've done many times before..."

The High Evolutionary then walked past Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot, all of them frowning in confusion as they watched the mad scientist march towards the window to look over the city in the distance.

"I'm going to have to raze it all, and start again," the High Evolutionary declared.

"What?" Peter asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

"'Raze it all'?" Vanitas demanded, sharing a concerned look with Stitch.

He still remembered the clarification of what 'raze' meant from the fifth Percy Jackson book, and he was now incredibly worried. *3*

Bowie

Within the hallway, Gamora gasped and breathed heavily as she pushed through her pain as best she could. Slowly pushing herself up, Gamora then watched as War Pig walked down the stairs, picked up Rocket again, and started around the circular walkway towards an exit of the ship, announcing over the intercom that she had obtained the raccoon. Gamora growled in anger as she pushed herself up.

Arête Laboratories

The technician who had instructed War Pig to grab Rocket then announced to the High Evolutionary that they were in possession of the wounded raccoon. The High Evolutionary just stared out into the distance and softly nodded his head. To the surprise of Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot, the entire ship then started rumbling, getting them all to look down in confusion, while Vanitas exclaimed, "What the hell?"

Outside the massive laboratory, Nebula and Riku stood together, each of them with their arms crossed in concern. All of a sudden, the ground started shaking, and the two of them turned around. Nebula and Riku's eyes narrowed as they saw that the entire structure of Arête Laboratories slowly started to rise up into the air, showing that the massive structure was a spaceship that was slowly but surely rising higher up into the air.

"What the hell?" Riku demanded with a frown.

Bowie

In front of the exit to the ship, War Pig lifted Rocket up and slung him onto her shoulder. Of course, Gamora then jumped up onto War Pig's back and stabbed her in the shoulder, making her scream in pain. War Pig spun around and dropped Rocket, though when Gamora tried to stab her again, she lifted up her mechanical arm to block it. War Pig then grabbed Gamora, slammed her into the ground, and lifted her arms up to strike.

Of course, War Pig then stopped as she looked through the open port of the ship, seeing Adam Warlock flying towards the Bowie with the Blurp underneath his arm. Gamora was suddenly a little grateful to Adam as he tackled War Pig, carrying her through the ship and ramming her against a wall near the cockpit.

Arête Laboratories

Outside

"Oh, my God," Nebula said.

"Holy crap," Riku said with a shake of his head.

They both continued to watch as the massive ship started to rise up into the air. The full force of the ship rising caused many, many cracks to spread along the concrete of the ground, while waves of water were launched in other directions. Nebula and Riku's eyes widened more by the second as the ship continued to rise up, showing that it was much bigger than either of them had expected. The pyramid shape that they had initially seen at first appeared to be one part of the ship, with its massive shape rising higher and breaking apart more of the ground by the second, causing the massive bridge to swing side to side.

Throne Room

Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot were all surprised as they looked through the window, the realization setting in that the massive building was really a spaceship. Their eyes narrowed as they watched the ground get farther and farther away, while the guards and technicians all just continued their business as if this was normal, and the High Evolutionary slowly walked away. While Vanitas sensed a new surge of triumph and arrogance in the High Evolutionary, Groot looked over at Peter.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked.

"Kill 'em all," Peter confirmed.

"I'm in," Vanitas declared, him and Stitch both turning and frowning.

Of course, as he moved to walk out of the room, the High Evolutionary just glanced back at them and waved his arm. Just like Vanitas had seen in his vision with Adam, energy surged from the man's power suit and flew into the quartet. Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all grunted as they were rammed into the ground and forced against the surface, all of them struggling a bit to stand up.

Bowie

In the hallway next to the cockpit, Adam instructed the Blurp to stay, but the creature continued to pace around happily. Adam sternly told it to stay, and when the Blurp whined in sadness, Adam asked if it wanted him to leave it with his mother, who would fillet it. Gamora watched from her position on the ground next to the raised exit port, her eyes quickly narrowing on the unconscious Rocket next to her, while War Pig also slowly stood up. War Pig asked what the attack had been for since they were working for the same boss, and Adam said he needed the credit to save his civilization, then asked War Pig to be a "good creepy... thing, and back off."

War Pig responded by roaring in anger, igniting her thrusters, and trying to fly into Adam. Adam just grabbed her head with both hands, twisted, and pulled it off. War Pig's body fell to the ground with a thud as he looked at her head. The Blurp just tilted its head to the side as Adam tucked War Pig's head underneath his arm, then turned around. His eyes narrowed when he looked at the hallway to the exit port, seeing it empty of both Gamora and Rocket. He quickly jogged across the ship and stood in front of the open raised port, not noticing that Gamora had escaped with Rocket and was currently running towards the entrance ramp, all while the residents of the neighborhood started running around frantically.

Standing at the open port, Adam's eyes narrowed as he looked through the residential area. He looked into the distance as Arête Laboratories continued to rise higher in the air, which caught the attention of many citizens in the street. To Adam's surprise, an explosion then burst through the ground, the blast engulfing many of the Humanimals and killing them (hopefully) instantly. While Adam watched in shock, Gamora ran across the ground, coming to a stop with Rocket under her arm as more explosions rang out along the road. She turned in a circle, gasping in horror as more and more explosions burst, engulfing more Humanimals and killing them all, even cowering and fear-filled families. *4*

Letting out another gasp, Gamora hurried to the entrance ramp and hurried inside the Bowie, moving as quickly and stealthily as she could to reach the infirmary. At the raised open port, as Adam looked across the growing destruction, his thoughts turned to his mother Ayesha.

Within moments, Gamora reached the level of the cockpit, where she found the Blurp so scared that he peed on the floor. Of course, then the explosions outside grew worse, throwing the ship aside and sending them both flying through the shaking ship.

Adam, meanwhile, had abandoned the ship and was flying through the residential area as quickly as he could, ignoring the explosions all around them as he moved towards his mother's ship. Within moments, he soon came into view of the ship, and flew towards it a bit more quickly as the explosions continued. Ayesha stood at the open port and looked at the approaching Adam as he called for her. Unfortunately, another large blast then engulfed her ship, growing so large that it threw Adam back through the air and knocked him unconscious.

Arête Laboratories

Outside

Out in the street on the bridge, Nebula and Riku both watched in shock as the massive ship of a lab continued to rise up into the air, destroying most of the ground around itself and the cars in the marking lot. Nebula and Riku both stood near the open security gate, their eyes narrowing as the ship continued to rise into the air, and explosions burst all along the city as far as they could see, killing who knew how many people.

"What the hell is going on?" Riku exclaimed in shock.

"I don't know," Nebula admitted as they watched another explosion engulf another building. "And in this case, I really don't like not knowing."

Riku huffed in understanding while Nebula turned and activated her communicator while nervously pacing.

"Mantis and Drax, come in," Nebula requested. "Mantis? Drax?"

"Uh, hey," Drax replied over the comms.

Riku turned towards Nebula, then he frowned as he looked past her as she continued to nervously pace.

"I need you to bring the ship here now!" Nebula ordered the other two as the lab continued to rise, breaking even more ground and road.

"Well, we can't do that exactly because... we're not at the ship," Drax replied.

"Then where the hell are..." Nebula started to demand to know.

Riku grasped her shoulder to stop her, and pointed down the road. Nebula and Riku both sighed out when they saw Drax and Mantis standing together in front of the security gate, right in front of a motorcycle. Drax lowered his arm from his communicator, while Mantis looked very annoyed and pointed right at Drax, not hesitating to throw the strongman under the bus. Nebula and Riku both groaned over how stupid Drax could be, while more explosions engulfed buildings in the city in the distance.

"Why didn't you just use your powers to alter his mind and get him to climb back in the ship?" Riku asked Mantis.

"I... Didn't think of that," Mantis sighed out, annoyed about everything now.

Bowie

In the hallway outside the raised port, Gamora slowly groaned in pain as she started to push herself up, with the still-unconscious Rocket and the now-unconscious Blurp laying behind her. Slowly pushing herself up, her eyes narrowed when she saw a charred and burned Adam just inside the port, slowly raising a hand up. Gamora then got up in preparation and grabbed the handle of her retractable sword. Of course, Adam then slumped forward, falling to the ground and losing consciousness. She huffed as she put away her blade, then moved to secure the others.

Arête Laboratories

Outside

Standing in front of the security gate, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all looked around in growing worry as more and more explosions engulfed the city as the massive ship of a laboratory continued to rise up. While Drax and Mantis looked around in a manner that had increasing fear, Nebula and Riku's eyes narrowed on the ship of a lab, knowing that they needed to hurry inside to both escape, and rescue the others. With that, Nebula and Riku nodded their heads in agreement before they started running across the partially destroyed courtyard, with Drax and Mantis recovering and hurrying after the two.

"Nebula, come in," Gamora's voice then came over Nebula's communicator.

"Gamora!" Nebula shouted as she and the others continued to run. The remaining ground cracked and broke as they moved across it. "Take off now! Get yourself and Rocket off the planet."

"We'll figure something out, just get out of here!" Riku added as they kept running.

Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all huffed as they charged across the breaking ground towards the still-rising ship of a lab.

Throne Room

Within the throne room, the High Evolutionary and a couple of scientists had started to leave through one of the exits, so his hold of gravity on Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot had stopped. Slowly pushing themselves up, Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all huffed, with all of their eyes narrowing as they watched the ship continue to rise, and more explosions spread along the city below them. The guards and scientists all stood together to surround the group, while Theel decided to be a dick and laugh at them in a cocky manner.

"It's amusing, really," Theel taunted Peter with a big smile. "How stupid are you, hmm? It was so obviously a trap."

"It's not a trap," Peter replied. "It's a face-off."

"Okay, they're basically the same thing at this point, but whatever," Vanitas replied as Groot stood up.

"Now kill them all," Peter instructed Groot.

"Stitch," Vanitas said. He gave the little blue alien a look. "Go nuts."

Groot and Stitch both nodded. While Theel was confused, Groot opened up his wooden chest, and dropped a circular grenade within his palm. Stitch also started retching and coughing, before letting out a grunt. Theel screeched in terror like a little girl as he realized that Groot was holding a grenade that he activated, and Stitch coughed up his blasters, which he caught in his hands.

"Aloha, idiots," Stitch taunted as he pointed his blasters. *5*

Groot then threw the grenade, which landed near one part of the room. The grenade exploded, causing a large blast that forced scientists and guards alike to the ground. The High Evolutionary and his other technician even paused as ceiling debris started falling down, forming gigantic piles that sealed off the exits to the room.

While smoke covered most of the room and made the scientists and guards all start coughing, Groot slowly lifted up his arms, opening up more parts of his wooden body to make more arms pop out, and bring out more and more hidden blasters. Within moments, Groot was armed with eight guns, and he held out Peter's two blasters. Peter quickly grabbed his guns, while Stitch aimed his blasters, and Vanitas covered his hands with balls of fire, knowing that flames were more lethal than his Keyblade.

The rest of the room had started to recover, with guards and scientists all standing up, and the guards pointing their own blasters in preparation.

The team all quickly went to work. Groot fired his blasters at guards and scientists alike, while Peter quickly shot down a guard in front of himself, then crouched down next to Groot and shot another scientist nearby. Stitch jumped up onto Vanitas's shoulder to give himself a better vantage point as he fired at the guards and scientists, while Vanitas lifted his hands. The ravenette threw a ball of fire at a scientist, engulfing him completely, then used another ball of fire to absorb the blast as a guard tried shooting him, then threw that ball mixed with the blast back at her.

The four of them worked in quick tandem, with Vanitas pushing down earlier concerns about killing as he worked with the others to take down everyone in the room. Groot continued to fire all eight of his blasters, while Peter mixed in his own shots, occasionally pointing his guns around the living tree. Stitch let out a maniacal laugh as he fired more blasts at the guards, and Vanitas grunted as he used fireballs as both weapons and shields against their enemies.

The group continued to work on shooting down their opponents in the damaged room, with Peter even rolling on the ground to shoot another guard, and Groot using many branches to guard the man from return fire. One guard was either really brave or really stupid, as he tried charging at the group. Vanitas enveloped the man in fire completely, and Stitch shot him six times. Peter, Vanitas (with Stitch), and Groot then all stood back to back to back, all of them still shooting their own projectiles and taking down security and scientists alike.

"I AM GRO~O~OOT!!!" Groot bellowed as they continued shooting.

"You said it, man!" Vanitas exclaimed as he absorbed another laser and threw it back.

He was always a little surprised by how much more destruction came about when hanging out with the Guardians, in comparison to hanging out with the other Avengers.

Bowie

Gamora had been very confused on how to operate the ship, though she managed to flick a switch and turn everything on. She was very surprised when another song started playing loudly from the speakers, but she brushed it aside as she got to work.

Arête Laboratories

Outside

Moving as quickly as they could, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all panted as they ran towards the still-rising ship across the ground as it continued to break and shatter. Debris and boulders continued to fall down from the sky, slamming into the ground and making things even more difficult for them. Within moments, the quartet was starting to reach the edge of the broken land, and the ship started to rise over it completely. Reaching the edge, Nebula, Riku, Drax, and Mantis all yelled out as they jumped from the broken rock ground towards the very bottom of the massive ship.

Luckily, just at the bottom of the gigantic ship was a single dock that included a small platform next to a closed, metal door. Nebula and Riku grunted as they landed on the floor of the platform, while Drax and Mantis grabbed onto the ledge. While Drax pulled himself up easily, Mantis struggled a bit due to the curved nature of the ground. Mantis exclaimed in worry, so Nebula moved over and helped her up. Riku huffed as he looked around, wondering what they were supposed to do now.

Throne Room

Outside the throne room, the High Evolutionary shared a look with the technician that was with him. Pure annoyance was on the mad scientist's face, and he started waving his hands, using his powers over gravity to start clearing the way back into the throne room.

Inside the throne room, Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all huffed, all of them having succeeded in killing everyone else in the room. Dead bodies filled the room as far as the eye could see, which Vanitas felt a small twinge of guilt over, now wondering how many of these people could have been innocent. He brushed it aside as Groot dropped all his guns, and Stitch and Peter looked at the ground nearby, where a whimpering Theel had curled up into a fetal position out of sheer terror. Vanitas rolled his eyes at how the scientist's attitude had changed in two minutes (admittedly for very good reason), while Peter pointed his gun at Theel in anger.

"No! Don't!" Theel quickly begged. "Don't! No, no, no! No, please! Please, spare me!" He slowly pushed himself up onto his knees. "Please, spare me, please."

Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all frowned at Theel, but Peter slowly lowered his blaster, though it was more for the fact that they needed the information in the scientist's head. Still, Theel was filled with relief and started pushing himself up a bit more.

"Thank you," Theel exclaimed in gratitude. "Thank you. Thank..."

"That'd be premature," Peter told him.

"Huh?" Theel asked.

Vanitas narrowed his eyes when he realized that Theel was standing in front of the completely shattered window, and he could sense what Peter was thinking.

'Oh, he's definitely crazy,' Vanitas thought. 'But I kinda love it.'

Theel then begged for forgiveness again as Peter charged forward, growling as he tackled the scientist out the open window. Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all continued to watch as Peter and Theel plummeted towards the exploding planet, with Theel screaming in terror the whole time.

"Whoa!" Stitch exclaimed before swallowing his guns again. "He's crazy, even for me!" *6*

"Yeah, but I can't help but love it," Vanitas admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

All of a sudden, metal broke and clanged from the side exit, and Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot quickly turned around. Their eyes narrowed as they saw the metal get thrown aside from the covered exit, and the High Evolutionary and his scientist stepped through. The High Evolutionary glared at the trio, who all shared looks.

"Fuck it," Vanitas said.

With that, Groot and Vanitas turned and ran towards the open window. While another dead body slid out of the open window, Groot and Vanitas jumped out, with Stitch jumping off of the ravenette's shoulder. Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all dropped through the air, moving after Peter and the screaming Theel as they all plummeted towards the ground.

In the throne room, the High Evolutionary just tilted his head as the scientist looked at him.

"Quite a novel escape plan, jumping headfirst into an exploding planet," the High Evolutionary commented.

He and his scientist just turned and moved to leave the throne room before they left Counter-Earth's atmosphere.

Outside of the ship, Theel continued to scream and cry in terror as Peter held onto him as they both continued to plummet towards the ground. Peter pointedly turned them around so that Theel would be the one to land as they fell further towards the ground far below them, while Vanitas, Groot, and Stitch all followed behind them. Vanitas and Stitch had their arms out in spread eagle position given that they were used to this, while Groot moved down and grabbed Peter's back. Many twigs then spread out from Groot's back and formed into wings, allowing him to glide through the air. Vanitas laughed as he redirected himself, using his powers to help direct Stitch as they moved through the air with Peter, Groot, and the captive Theel.

At the lowest platform outside of the ship, Nebula, Riku, Drax, and Mantis all grunted as they pressed themselves against the wall, with Nebula trying to open the door in front of them.

"Why are we doing this?" Mantis asked over the howling winds.

"Quill, Groot, Vanitas, and Stitch are inside," Nebula shouted back.

Of course, the group of Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot then flew by, with Theel screaming even more as they continued to fall. While Drax, Mantis, and Nebula continued to try and open the door, Riku frowned in confusion and looked around.

"We have to get them out," Nebula emphasized to the group.

Drax then moved past Nebula and grabbed the sides of the doors with both hands. Riku grunted and held on as best he could, deciding to try and help given his Keyblade. He summoned Braveheart and held on desperately as he worked with Drax, Mantis, and Nebula to try and get inside the ship.

Bowie

While the music continued to play from the speakers, Gamora held onto the controls and piloted the ship as best she could. Given that she had little experience with this, Gamora strained as she was thrown in the seat, while the whole ship crashed through roofs and trees, while also spinning in circles as she tried desperately to control it. Gamora continued to strain and yell as she flew the ship to the best of her abilities

The group of Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot continued to drop through the air, with the captive Theel still screaming and blubbering in terror. Their descent soon took them into a massive, grass field, where they decided would be where they landed. With Groot controlling the descent of himself, Peter, and the still screaming Theel, Vanitas used his powers to stop things for himself and Stitch when they were only a little high above the ground. Stitch and Vanitas both then dropped to the ground and landed in rolls before they started jogging after the others.

Vanitas kind of understood when Groot and Peter dropped in a way that rammed Theel into the ground hard, which either knocked him unconscious or killed him. Either way, they ended up tearing through the ground a bit more, dragging Theel along the way and most likely finishing him off. Within seconds, they had landed in a nearby creek, which Peter pointedly held the man underneath to make sure he was dead. Vanitas thought it was a bit overkill, but he brushed it aside as he and Stitch ran together towards the creek.

While more explosions echoed through the ground nearby, Stitch and Vanitas caught up just as Peter used a knife to start cutting off the attachment on Theel's head. Groot raised his arms in worry over the explosions, while Stitch climbed up onto Vanitas's shoulders, and the ravenette grimaced over the way Peter sawed through Theel's head. Of course, all four of them then looked up as they saw the Bowie in the distance, crashing into the ground before flying through and tearing up most of the ground as it moved towards the creek.

"Whoever's in the cockpit, activate the break," Peter instructed into the communicator.

"Like... now," Vanitas emphasized as the ship got closer.

"The steering mechanism is stuck!" Gamora exclaimed through the communicator.

"Well, pull harder!" Peter shouted back.

While he resumed work in sawing through Theel's head, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all watched cautiously as the Bowie continued to tear through more and more ground as it got closer. Vanitas was tempted to do a Yoda with his telekinesis before Peter tore the component out of Theel's head. He instructed them to run, so they all turned around. Peter, Vanitas (with Stitch), and Groot all turned around and started running as the Bowie tore up more ground, including the creek. Luckily, Gamora managed to raise the ship up, narrowly missing Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot.

All four of them fell to the ground as the Bowie slowly slid to a stop, being parked just right above them. While Gamora sighed in relief in the cockpit, Peter, Vanitas, Stitch, and Groot all huffed in relief and took a moment to lay on the ground.

"No Anakin Skywalker, but it'll do," Vanitas commented.

The ravenette then took out a Mega-Potion and threw it up, causing green light to flash around himself, Peter, Stitch, and Groot. The others were grateful for this, as they knew they needed to escape Counter-Earth before they were enveloped in the explosions destroying the planet...

Chapter Text

Arête Laboratories

On the entrance platform at the very bottom of the massive spaceship, the quartet of Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku were all still desperately trying to open up the door that led inside the ship, as their situation grew more dire by the second. The massive ship had continued to rise higher and higher through the atmosphere of Counter-Earth, allowing the quartet to see the full scale of the destruction below as the surface was filled with flames, charred ground, and uninhabitable atmosphere as everything was destroyed. Though Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku were all horrified to see how callously the High Evolutionary treated his planet and the species on it, they were a little too preoccupied to mourn.

The four of them were all frantically moving about, trying to get inside the ship. Riku had tried to open the door with his Keyblade, but the metal nature appeared to be immune to that function of the magical weapon. He grunted as he moved to stand near Mantis, while Drax desperately worked to try and pull the doors open, and Nebula rammed her fingers against buttons on a panel next to the door. While Drax and Nebula continued to work, Mantis and Riku both gasped and tried to get air as they moved even higher through Counter-Earth, slowly but surely leaving the planet's atmosphere as it burned. Drax also groaned as he started losing breath, as well.

"It's hard to breathe," Mantis declared.

"Very... Very hard," Riku huffed as he tried to get his breath.

Nebula looked over from where she desperately pressed buttons on the panel. Mantis and Riku lifted up their hands, and they felt their breaths get slower as they lost more air, and frost started to spread around their hands, showing that they were entering the void of space. Nebula continued to work desperately, but she also gasped and tried to catch her breath as they lost more and more atmosphere.

"We are entering space," Mantis urgently announced as she realized what was happening.

"This is..." Riku huffed as Drax looked over. "Getting bad."

Mantis and Riku then panted as they moved over to the door and held onto the wall to keep themselves on their feet. Growing more desperate, Drax then pulled back and repeatedly rammed himself against the metal door, putting all his effort into opening it. Drax grunted as he rammed himself against the door over and over again before it finally broke, falling inward and allowing Drax to pass through the blast shield into the ship. Mantis groaned as she fell in after him, both of them finding a slight form of relief over the air filling their lungs.

Riku huffed before grabbing Nebula's arm and pulling her through the purple force field. The two of them fell to the ground with Drax and Mantis, and all four of them breathed in and out in relief as the force field turned orange behind them, completely sealing them off from space. All four of them breathed in and out in relief, a warmth filling their lungs to replace the coolness of almost running out of oxygen. Of course, looking up, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku's eyes all narrowed as they took in the dark corridor in front of them.

Nebula then lifted up her silver arm, with the nanotechnology surging to form a flashlight. Riku also reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flashlight, lifting it up and turning it on with Nebula. All four sets of eyes narrowed as they saw four gigantic cages filled with small children, all of whom had skin that was in shades of yellow and orange, silver or blue hair, and were all dressed in simple outfits of light gray clothes similar to hospital gowns.

"Joob Joob?" a girl asked as she held onto the bars of the cage.

"Oh, piss off," Nebula commented in surprise.

"What the hell?" Riku asked in confusion.

Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all felt utter confusion as they continued looking over the cages and all the restrained children inside, none of them knowing what this meant.

Bowie

On Counter-Earth, after climbing back into the ship, the remaining members of the group all moved as quickly as they could to get things ready before the explosions completely enveloped the planet below them. While Groot and Stitch went off into the infirmary to watch over Rocket, Peter and Vanitas hurried inside the cockpit and took over in the main seats. Gamora was more than happy to pass off the duties of flying the ship to the two humans, since they had more experience in flying this particular ship (Vanitas had only done it once so far, but Gamora still trusted his skills).

Peter and Vanitas ended up having to move fast, given the explosions that were still spreading across the surface of Counter-Earth. Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas were all inwardly still horrified that the High Evolutionary had resorted to blowing up an entire world of his own creations just because they weren't "perfect," but they brushed it aside as Peter and Vanitas continued to fly. Gamora held onto the back of a chair as Peter and Vanitas guided the ship over the surface of the planet, all of them watching as they passed by many more exploding buildings as they flew over the city, trying not to think about how many Humanimals were dying below them.

Gamora grunted as Peter and Vanitas made a hard turn with the ship, directing them away from a set of exploding buildings. The explosions got much bigger below them, with some even engulfing the ship completely. Luckily, Rocket had made the ship explosion proof, so they were able to fly through the smoke and flames and break through the surface of Counter-Earth. While the rest of the planet exploded below them, the ship flew into the vacuum of space, with Peter and Vanitas putting them in a quick form of autopilot since they needed to hurry to save Rocket.

"What kind of monster slaughters a civilization?" Gamora exclaimed, disgust in her voice.

"Well, your adopted daddy had no problem with it," Vanitas remarked as they started undoing their seatbelts. "I told Thanos how his 'kill half of all life' plan eventually resulted in the total extinction of your own people, and he just brushed it aside saying they deserved it 'cause they were weak." *1*

"Oh, every day, I wish I had the courage to cut that son of a bitch's head off," Gamora declared, growling and looking up at the ceiling.

"If you ever meet Thor, you can thank him for doing it," Vanitas replied as they jumped to their feet.

Everyone brushed this off as they moved towards the exit of the cockpit. Peter and Vanitas ran quickly since they needed to get to the infirmary to help Rocket, while Gamora hurried after them.

"Where are Mantis and Drax?" Peter asked as they hurried down the hall.

"And Riku and Nebula?" Vanitas urgently added.

"I don't know!" Gamora exclaimed as she hurried after the boys.

"My powers aren't telling me much, but I can at least sense they're all still alive," Vanitas admitted to Peter. He huffed as they moved down the circular walkway. "Let's make sure Rocket stays that way, too!"

Peter nodded in agreement as he, Vanitas, and Gamora hurried into the infirmary together. They all rushed in to where Groot and Stitch stood over Rocket as he was strapped down on the medical bed. Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas all rushed to the bed together, and Peter handed Gamora a component so she could help. While Groot and Stitch watched in concern, Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas all started working to heal Rocket, knowing that they could do it now that they had the passkey to bypass the self-destruct sequence.

Arête Laboratories

Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku had all pushed themselves up to their feet and were overlooking things. While Nebula and Riku stepped forward in shock to overlook the many cages of restrained children (and turn on the lights, illuminating all the cages and children within much better), Drax brushed his chest, while Mantis stepped forward in curiosity. Nebula and Riku eventually lowered their flashlights as the shock of the situation started to fade.

"Ha!" Drax boasted as he and Mantis walked over to Nebula and Riku. "You're lucky I was able to knock down that door..."

Of course, Riku wasn't surprised in the slightest when Nebula marched up to Drax and pushed him.

"Rocket and Gamora are probably dead because of you!" Nebula shouted at the strongman.

"I didn't know," Drax said, frowning slightly.

"To be fair, how were any of us gonna know that was gonna happen to Counter-Earth?" Riku pointed out.

Of course, Nebula (expectedly) ignored Riku and continued to snap at Drax.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Nebula demanded from him. "When are you gonna stop using the excuse of being some big, dumb clown for contributing nothing, and the rest of us having to carry your slack!"

She hit Drax in the chest again and pushed him back. As he stepped back, Mantis and Riku then moved in front of Nebula, with Riku wanting to calm her down, while Mantis was angry for Drax.

"Don't push him!" Mantis snapped. "You don't have the right to push him."

"Nebula..." Riku started to say in an attempt to calm her down.

"And you!" Nebula snapped to Mantis, once again ignoring Riku. "You're no better. The only thing we can count on you for is when someone shows weakness, you'll be right there to support it."

"Nebula!" Riku exclaimed a bit more sternly. "We're all trapped, and we're all in danger. Fighting isn't gonna help us get out of here and find the others!"

"Don't try to defend me, Riku," Mantis requested, frowning right at Nebula. "Because I don't care. I know you need to find fault in everyone else to make yourself feel okay, so find it in me."

"Oh, go to hell, Mant!" Nebula snapped, waving her head around.

"But you don't have the right to push him!" Mantis shouted at Nebula. Riku raised his eyebrows, surprised to see so much fire from the insect-like woman. "It's not his fault he's stupid."

Riku inwardly smirked in amusement, while Drax opened his mouth and looked at Mantis.

"He's a liability," Nebula countered.

"He makes us laugh, and he loves us," Mantis argued, her eyebrows lowering as she looked close to tears. "How is that a liability?" Drax opened his mouth again as Mantis got mad again. "All you care about is intelligence and... and competence."

"Not sure I appreciate this defense," Drax commented.

"Well, she has a point," Riku admitted. "Sora proved it more than once. No matter how strong or smart someone may be, it's the strength of their heart that makes them a good person."

"Exactly," Mantis agreed, still looking at Nebula. "Drax has sadness, but he's the only one of you who doesn't hate himself." Nebula shifted her lower lip. "So I don't care if he's stupid."

"You think I'm stupid?" Drax softly asked.

Mantis then looked at Drax, and Riku was surprised by the pure affection he saw in her eyes as she looked at the strongman.

"Yes," Mantis confirmed.

Drax looked down in disappointment, while Riku raised an eyebrow, once again wondering how these two hadn't gotten together romantically. *2*

Whatever the case, Mantis then placed a hand on Drax's cheek.

"Forget," she instructed.

There was a small glow on her antenna, then Drax lifted his head and let out a boastful laugh.

"You're lucky I was able to knock down that door with my incredible strength," he declared, walking past the others towards the cages of captive children.

Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all watched as Drax moved over the closest of the cages and looked over the door. Riku just sighed and shook his head while Nebula tried activating her communicator.

"Quill?" Nebula said into the communicator. Mantis and Riku watched as Drax broke the lock of one of the doors, allowing the children to be able to leave. "Quill? Quill, are you there?"

Drax opened the door, and some of the children started walking out. Mantis and Riku both walked forward together to look through the bars.

"Joob joob..." the girl started to repeat, before she continued to speak in Orbose.

Mantis and Riku raised their eyebrows before the former looked over at Nebula.

"That language is not in my translator," Mantis admitted.

"Of course it isn't," Riku sighed out.

Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all sighed out together while Drax held open the cage door, allowing more and more children to leave the cage and move out into the darkened chamber. The group had no idea where they were, or what was going on, but they really needed to figure it all out...

Bowie

Within the infirmary, everyone was still hard at work in keeping Rocket alive. Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas combined the components they had in an attempt to help the raccoon, while Groot and Stitch both stood watched in worry. Groot helped Gamora connect the device from Theel's head to a wire that secured itself to Rocket's chest, then she raised it up and attached it to a metal pole. With soot on their faces, Peter and Vanitas both connected wires and injected Rocket with needles that would help keep him alive, while Groot helped by connecting other wires. Stitch just hummed in worry while looking from the group to the unconscious raccoon.

"Okay, here we go," Peter whispered.

"We're keeping you alive, you little bastard," Vanitas added as they continued working.

Rocket continued to lay on the bed, his ears twitching slightly in his sleep as he continued to lay. With a breathing tube over his face and many needles connecting to his body, the raccoon remained unconscious. However, Vanitas felt great concern when he blinked and sensed Rocket's consciousness in a pure white room that was reminiscent of the cages he had been restrained in at Arête Laboratories, with his three old friends slowly moving over to meet with him.

Vanitas huffed as he blinked and came out of that vision.

"Shit!" Vanitas exclaimed. He urgently looked between Groot and Peter. "He's dyin' and beginning to cross over!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Peter declared.

With that, they resumed their work at a quicker pace, with Groot moving around Gamora and the bed to Peter and Vanitas's side to help. Groot grasped Rocket's hand, while Gamora, Peter, and Vanitas remained close to Rocket's head. Stitch whined in concern and leaned forward with his eyes narrowed. The group continued to work as quickly as they could, with Vanitas sensing that Rocket was getting closer and closer to death.

"Okay," Peter muttered. "All right, Rocket. Go."

Vanitas turned and watched with Gamora, Groot, Peter, and Stitch, as information appeared on the screen, and the device that came from Theel's head trilled as more and more lines of information showed along the electronic screen. Rocket breathed shakily through his breathing mask, his body growing weaker by the second given how damaged he was. Vanitas cursed and hoped that this would work.

As the group watched, the device let out an even faster trill, while Rocket continued to wheeze through his breathing mask. Gamora just raised her eyebrows in intrigue, while Groot, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all felt hope course through them.

"Okay, okay," Peter said. "Okay, here we go."

"That's the passkey, right?" Vanitas asked.

Gamora stepped over to the screen and looked along the surface. She pointed at the screen and looked at the many lines, her eyes narrowing slightly as she read the information.

"This isn't right," Gamora told them.

"No, no, no, it's good," Peter said, a bit of desperation in his voice. "It's gonna work. It's working."

"It's the passkey to help him, right?" Vanitas asked, concern in his voice.

"It is, but it needs to be faster," Gamora told them.

"Shit," Vanitas swore again.

He and Stitch both looked down at the unconscious Rocket as he continued to wheeze. Vanitas then grunted as his eyes glazed over, and he felt another vision coming on.

Within the earliest traces of the afterlife, as he started to pass over, Rocket stood in a pair of pants, looking out into the distance as a familiar figure appeared through the wave of light. Through that white, he was able to faintly see Lylla for the first time in years. He immediately cried at the sight of her as she walked up to him and greeted him with a small smile.

Rocket grasped his face to try and contain his sobs as he apologized to Lylla. He continued to cry, but Lylla just continued to smile at him. Rocket cried that he had let her down and gotten her and everyone else killed. But Lylla slowly reached up and gently grasped his arm with her metallic hand, telling him that they were right. Lylla told him that the sky is beautiful and it's forever, and she's been flying with their friends. Lylla then turned, and Rocket followed her gaze to look down the hallway full of light. Floor and Teefs laughed and waved at him, and through his sobs, Rocket smiled and waved back at them.

Rocket then asked if he could come, and when Lylla confirmed he could, he sighed out in acceptance. *3*

Vanitas huffed as he came out of his vision, urgently appearing on his face. Of course, he didn't need to say anything to Gamora, Groot, Peter, and Stitch, because Rocket suddenly lurched up and gasped, before groaning and leaning back on the bed. Everyone then looked up at the monitor above them as it started flatlining, the screen turning red as it displayed the full schematics of the raccoon's body. All five of their eyes narrowed before they looked at Rocket together.

"Shit, man!" Vanitas exclaimed.

"No, no, no, no," Peter desperately said, grasping the back of Rocket's head. "No!"

"Rocket!" Vanitas exclaimed.

Pure worry appeared in Groot and Stitch's eyes, while Gamora placed a hand on the raccoon's shoulder. Peter placed his hands against Rocket's chest to try and do CPR, while Stitch muttered in worry.

"Come on," Peter desperately exclaimed.

Vanitas let out another huff as worry grew in his eyes. Inwardly, he was very torn, because he didn't want Rocket to die so that he could stay with them, but he had just seen in his visions that the raccoon was ready to enter the afterlife and be reunited with the first friends he had ever gained during the High Evolutionary's torture. Vanitas gulped, legitimately not sure what to do.

Though, as the monitor continued to flatline, and Rocket still didn't breathe as Peter kept trying to do CPR, Vanitas felt sorrow when he realized that the decision was probably out of his hands now.

"Come on!" Peter exclaimed desperately.

"Quill," Gamora softly said.

Despite the fact that she didn't have the memories of the time she spent with the Guardians, Gamora sniffed and wiped her nose in sadness. Groot slowly lifted his hands as he felt his heart break, Stitch whined in sadness and looked down, and Vanitas felt tears grow in his eyes. He softly shook his head in despair, while Peter just grasped Rocket while his own face contorted in pure despair.

"No!" Peter shouted, still holding onto Rocket. "No~o~o!!!"

Vanitas just closed his eyes in sadness once again, before Peter suddenly started undoing the wires attached to Rocket's chest.

"Quill," Gamora said.

"No!" Peter snapped as he continued undoing the wires.

"Quill," Gamora repeated while Groot and Stitch shared a sorrow-filled look.

"I am not gonna lose him," Peter told her.

"Peter..." Vanitas slowly started to say.

"He's gone," Gamora diplomatically told Peter.

"I'm not letting him go!" Peter shouted.

Vanitas slowly looked down at Rocket, then softly nodded his head. He agreed with Peter's mentality, and held out his hand to summon Star Seeker. While Peter placed a hand to Rocket's chest, Vanitas waved his Keyblade to cast Curaga, causing green light to flash around the raccoon.

"Keep giving him CPR," Vanitas told Peter. "I'll see what spamming this spell will do."

"Okay," Peter told Vanitas with a nod of his head.

Tony had been too badly damaged for Curaga to work at the time. Rocket wasn't as bad, so that meant that it had to work. Under Vanitas's watch, they weren't going to lose anyone else.

With that, Peter kept pressing his hand against Rocket's chest in a desperate attempt to keep the CPR going, while Vanitas grit his teeth and cast Curaga again, knowing that he was going to have to really drain his strength to keep this spell going as long as he needed it. While Gamora just stood to the side and softly shook her head, seeing their attempts as desperate and most likely wouldn't work, Groot and Stitch both hoped that the two humans would be successful.

Of course, as he cast Curaga again, Vanitas grunted as his eyes glazed over once again.

In the afterlife, Rocket continued to smile as he looked at Teefs and Floor in the distance, then turned to look at Lylla in front of him. He looked up at Teefs and Floor and started to walk towards them, ready to finally be reunited with his dearly departed friends. Of course, Lylla then placed a hand on Rocket's chest to stop him, telling him that it wasn't his time yet because he still had a purpose. Rocket's breath just shuddered as he asked what purpose since the High Evolutionary had made them for nothing, just for experiments to be thrown away.

Lylla then placed her hands on Rocket's arms, telling him that there were hands that made them, but there were also the hands that guided the hands. She then leaned up, and she and Rocket rubbed their snouts together affectionately.

(Vanitas was weirdly happy that he wasn't about to see them kiss).

Lylla then stepped forward and hugged Rocket, calling him her "beloved raccoon," and telling him that the story had been his all along, but he just hadn't known it. Rocket hugged her back, happy to be with her once again.

Of course, when he stepped back, Vanitas wasn't surprised in the slightest when he said, "I'm not a raccoon."  *4*

Rocket then grunted as he was suddenly pulled back, thrown through the floor, and back into his body.

To the immense relief of Groot, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas, and the surprise of Gamora, Rocket suddenly jumped up in the bed and started gasping, his eyes finally opening while he shakily breathed while still filled with pain. Vanitas huffed and shared looks with Peter and Stitch, while Gamora quickly turned to grab a Med-Pak. Vanitas dismissed his Keyblade as he, Peter, Groot, and Stitch watched as the screen trilled, showing that the passkey was activating at a quicker pace, much more than it had originally been before, so it was actually working.

"The passkey's going through," Peter declared.

"And he's awake!" Vanitas happily added as Gamora opened up the container to the Med-Pak.

While Rocket wheezed on the bed, Gamora took out the Med-Pak and uncurled it. She wrapped it around Rocket's chest so it could work on healing his burns, while Peter, Vanitas, Groot, and Stitch all watched the raccoon in relief. Stitch cheered happily, while Peter, Vanitas, and Groot all sobbed happily. They watched as Rocket wheezed and coughed into his mask before Peter took the mask off, allowing the raccoon to breathe easily again as the Med-Pak healed him. The Med-Pak was removed, and Rocket coughed and huffed before looking at the others.

"Quill?" Rocket shakily asked, his voice weak. "V? Blue... creature I don't know?"

Peter, Vanitas, and Groot all continued to sob in relief before they helped Rocket sit up. Peter wrapped his arms around the raccoon, and Vanitas and Groot moved over to hug him, as well. While Rocket breathed shakily as he felt himself still healing, Stitch lifted up his arms and let out a very happy cheer, relieved that they had succeeded. Gamora stayed to the side and looked down, feeling a little awkward. Though, with what little she had seen about the group, and the stories she had heard, she also couldn't help but smile for them.

Stitch let out another happy cheer while Groot extended out a wooden tentacle to hold onto them all again.

"Never letting go of you again, ya little bastard," Vanitas told the raccoon.

"Good..." Rocket coughed out with a small cough. He wheezed slightly while looking up at the others. "Where's Nebula?"

He wheezed once again as Groot, Vanitas, and Peter all stood up again. Peter sniffled slightly before shaking his head.

"We have no idea," Peter admitted. He looked at Vanitas. "But she's alive, right?"

"Yeah," Vanitas promised with a nod of his head. He looked at Rocket. "I have no idea where she, Drax, Mantis, and Riku are, but I can sense that they're still alive."

"Well, we might have a clue on their location," Rocket said, a woozy tone in his voice. He pointed at a nearby wall. "Her code is on the comm behind you."

Gamora, Groot, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all raised their heads in realization at that. All of them then turned to look at the wall opposite of the medical bed, and their eyes narrowed as they looked at a small screen, seeing orange and white light showing in patterns that the Guardians all recognized. Vanitas and Stitch shared a hopeful look, while Peter lifted a hand and placed it to the communicator on his chest.

"What?" Peter asked. "Nebula?"

"Where are you?" Nebula demanded over the comms.

"Oh, thank fuck," Vanitas said, closing his eyes in relief. "I was only, like, 50% sure that I was right."

"Nebula, where are you?" Peter asked.

He, Groot, and Vanitas walked along the length of the bed with Gamora, while Rocket scooted over and sat at the edge, coughing slightly over his still-wounded state. Stitch then climbed down and stood on the bed, looking amongst the others in intrigue.

"We're here to get you out of here," Nebula replied.

"Out of where?" Peter asked as he, Groot, and Vanitas walked in front of the medical bed.

"The High Evolutionary's ship," Nebula answered.

"No, we got off the ship," Peter told her.

"Yeah, we got out of there and escaped in the Bowie," Vanitas added.

"You what?" Nebula exclaimed in surprise.

"Wait, where are you?" Peter suddenly asked.

"On the ship!" Nebula emphasized.

"With a bunch of children that used to be captives," Riku then added.

"Children?" Vanitas asked, frowning in confusion.

"On the ship?" Peter asked in surprise.

"I didn't lie," Nebula told him.

"Why are you on the ship?" Peter demanded as Vanitas and Rocket shared a look.

"To save you, obviously," Nebula replied.

"Plus, we didn't have a lot of options on where to go with the planet exploding," Riku added.

"That's a fair point," Vanitas admitted.

Rocket then raised an eyebrow and looked at Stitch, just now wondering what all he had missed.

"No, I told you to go back," Peter then emphasized to Nebula, while Groot walked after him. "You gotta know by now I always figure out an incredibly clever way to get out of a fix."

"You jumped out a window without any way of flying," Vanitas reminded the leader of the Guardians. "That's not exactly 'incredibly clever'."

Rocket just continued sitting on his bed, while Gamora stood to the side, Stitch watched in intrigue, and Groot and Vanitas walked after the still-pacing Peter as he continued the conversation over the comms with Nebula.

Arête Laboratories

The quartet of Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku were still in the lowest level, where they were now gathered with the many children that they released and were speaking Orbose. While Nebula and Riku paced around while trying to speak with the others over the intercom, Drax stood amongst a group of the children and smiled while repeatedly giving them high-fives, and Mantis stood next to the open cage door with another child. Riku couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Drax, finally believing that the man used to be a dad, while he walked with Nebula.

"Tell him I said hi," Drax said as he grasped more kids' hands.

"Really?" Nebula asked, annoyance in her voice as a kid grasped her hand.

"Tell him we're coming to save him," Drax added as he continued playing with the kids.

"You never listen to anything, do you?" Riku asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No, I don't, dumb child," Drax confirmed as he continued playing with the kids.

"Pay attention or play with the kids," Nebula told him. "One or the other."

Bowie

"'Play with the kids'?" Gamora asked, frowning with her hands on her hips.

"Riku did mention children," Vanitas told her. He grimaced. "Well, the High Evolutionary just committed genocide, and has committed countless different variations of animal cruelty, so why wouldn't he be against childhood torture?"

Gamora, Groot, Stitch, and Vanitas all grimaced, as did Mantis, Nebula, and Riku on the other end, while Rocket continued to wonder just what he had missed.

"I didn't hear, how did you get out?" Mantis then asked.

"That's not really important," Peter said, most definitely trying to save face.

"He did something dumb," Vanitas said.

"V," Peter said, frowning in offense.

"I am Groot," Groot then said, leaning over to speak into the intercom.

"Jumping a thousand feet to your death without a parachute is a clever way of getting out of a fix?" Mantis demanded, shock in her voice.

Peter just sighed out, annoyed that the truth had gotten out.

"You're all just makin' up stuff that he's saying, right?" Gamora asked with a small frown.

"When you spend enough time around him, you begin to learn the language," Vanitas told her. "Really, it's almost like you're hearing the guy speak perfect English."

"He cusses a lot!" Stitch cheerfully added.

"Yeah, and in my family, that's perfect English," Vanitas replied with a smirk.

"The important thing is, we're all okay," Rocket declared from where he sat.

Arête Laboratories

When Rocket's voice echoed through the communicator and reached their ears, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all immediately stopped what they were doing. Pure relief coursed through all four of them as they looked at Nebula as she stopped pacing. She gasped in relief as a girl grabbed her arm and happily jumped up and down. Riku closed his eyes and sighed out in relief while Nebula let out another shaky breath.

"Rocket?" she shakily asked.

"Yeah, he's here," Peter promised.

"He's a little burned, but he's fine and he's up again," Vanitas added.

Nebula shuttered in pure relief and placed her hand over her mouth to try and control her sobs. Riku smiled in relief and shared looks with Drax and Mantis, while Nebula sobbed in relief as the many children grasped her while still trying to play. *5*

"Rocket, we love you very much, and we're happy you're alive," Mantis said into the communicator, deciding to be the one to speak for them all.

"... Well, that makes you the idiots, then," Rocket said, his voice shaking to emphasize that he was close to tears, too.

"She can take it back from me, then, you dick," Riku replied with a smile.

"Ah, Riku..." Rocket shakily said, letting out a small chuckle. "I missed you, but you're a dick, too."

Riku smirked and shook his head before sharing looks with Drax and Mantis again.

"He's right about that," the High Evolutionary suddenly declared.

Bowie

At the sound of the High Evolutionary's voice, everyone in the infirmary perked up and gasped in surprise. Gamora, Groot, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all tensed up, while Rocket looked up and gasped, horror filling him as he heard the voice of his tormenter again after so long.

Arête Laboratories

Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all quickly turned as they heard the sound of the children all starting to scream in terror. Through the crowd of the captive children, they could see the High Evolutionary walking through them all, his hands behind his back as War Falcon marched behind him. The children all continued to scream in terror at the sight of the mad scientist and his monstrous guard, while Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku tensed up again.

"Back in your cages!" the High Evolutionary shouted.

With the order, the children all moved as fast as they could to either move into the cages or hide. The children moving ended up clearing the way for the High Evolutionary and War Falcon to march up to Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku. Riku flexed his hand in preparation to summon Braveheart, but the High Evolutionary was faster and sent the quartet flying. All four of them grunted as they crashed into the ground so hard that they all lost consciousness.

Bowie

Within the infirmary, the group all tensed up as they heard the sound of energy surging and people grunting, with Groot, Peter, Vanitas, and Stitch quickly realizing that the High Evolutionary had to have gotten them with his powers over gravity. The four of them, Gamora, and Rocket all shared worried looks, before Peter patted his communicator in worry.

"Nebula?" Peter asked. He patted the communicator again. "Nebula, come in!"

"Riku?" Vanitas added as he, Groot, and Gamora walked closer in concern. "Mantis? Anybody answer the damn thing!"

After a few moments, the communicator chirped to life, signifying that it was activated again. Sadly, the last person they wanted to hear from responded through the comms.

"So, you'd like to joust, would you?" the High Evolutionary taunted.

Peter, Vanitas, and Groot all shared frowns, while Gamora raised her eyebrows, Stitch growled, and Rocket looked amongst his friends in worry.

"Oh, we'd like to do much more than that," Vanitas growled in anger.

"Go to hell, you sick son of a bitch," Peter added. "You killed all of those people."

"As I will your friends," the High Evolutionary added. "I'm sending you the coordinates. They will die unless you bring me what is mine!"

"You know, I have a habit of not listening to whiny, little bitches like you," Vanitas replied with a frown.

"Yeah," Peter agreed with a frown. "Screw you, you stretch-faced, Robocop-looking, Skeletor wannabe, purple nurple piece of..."

Gamora and Vanitas both raised their eyebrows, admittedly impressed with how rage-filled Peter was becoming. Of course, he was interrupted by the sound of static coming from the comms, signifying that they had been cut off from the High Evolutionary.

"... He hung up," Peter informed them.

Groot, Vanitas, Stitch, and Rocket all just looked at him, while Gamora softly nodded her head.

"You think?" she softly asked.

Vanitas bit his cheek to stop himself from laughing when he sensed that Gamora was a little turned on. *6*

Knowhere

Kraglin and Cosmo were currently sitting together at a circular table in one of the bars at Knowhere, sitting with numerous people, including Howard the Duck, as they played poker. Cosmo explained that in 1966, the Soviets put her in a rocket knowing full well that she would never return and would die, but that even the Soviets wouldn't call her a bad dog. Everyone groaned, and Howard the Duck asked if she would let Kraglin's earlier comments go already. Grindlemop then asked Kraglin to please take it back, and Kraglin replied that he can't take it back if she is a bad dog. The table all groaned again, while Cosmo complained that it never stops hurting and sobbed.

Of course, Peter then finally spoke through the communicator, and Kraglin spoke into it. Peter explained that they needed to save Nebula, Mantis, Drax, and Riku, and they needed their help. Kraglin asked if he really meant him, and Vanitas confirmed that they were talking about him.

"We need you to do something cool," Vanitas emphasized with a smile, though Kraglin couldn't see it.

Arête Laboratories

Deeper within the spaceship, the High Evolutionary was gathered with some of his other scientists as they continued watching over the development of some of their latest inventions, the children that spoke Orbose. The two children happily played a game that tested their development and knowledge, both of them completely unaware of the real danger they were in because of the High Evolutionary. Of course, the High Evolutionary himself then marched into the room, reprimanding his scientist for losing Rocket, though she defended that it had been the Hellspawn (War Pig) who had Rocket.

She tried to continue, but the High Evolutionary shouted in her face to chastise her, emphasizing how much he hated the word, "but." He then turned and looked over the children as they played, before the technician suggested they go directly to the new colony and not engage in "unnecessary conflict." The High Evolutionary gestured to the children and explained that they could rewire a carbinetrix core in under two minutes, and asked what it was. She answered it was Rote Memorization, and the High Evolutionary repeated her words before shouting that after hundreds of years, they only had one creation who knew true invention: Rocket.

Pure insanity was in the High Evolutionary's eyes as he explained that while Rocket was "putrid in every other way," he had that. The technician quietly replied, "yes," while the High Evolutionary once again emphasized that they needed Rocket's brain to transfer his smarts into the children before they move to the new colony. The High Evolutionary shouted that nothing else mattered, emphasizing his pure insanity, which even had the technician and the other guards and employees uncertain and distrusting of the man.

Though he knew that the Guardians were on their way, the High Evolutionary really had no idea what he was in for when they arrived...

Chapter Text

Arête Laboratories

Deep within the massive spaceship that doubled as a gigantic laboratory, the quartet of Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku had been forced down the many halls and corridors that the ship held within its walls. The High Evolutionary clearly had plans to use them as hostages against the others to get Rocket, but they could tell that he wasn't above killing them in the process. With that, the four of them were dragged forcefully to an elongated tube that led down towards a prison level, and Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku were all dropped through the tunnel and fell towards the hard ground.

All four of them fell at a different pace through the tunnel and landed pretty hard on a slightly curved floor. Nebula fell first, grunting as she landed on her stomach. Drax went after her, grunting as he landed on his back and looked up at the ceiling. Riku fell next, landing on his side and letting out a small wince as he rolled himself. Mantis was last, dropping through the tunnel and landing on her head, grunting before falling onto her back. Riku winced and wondered how landing on such a hard ground like that on her head didn't kill her.

Whatever the case, all four of them groaned slightly as they started to push themselves up and take in the room. Above them was the exit from the tunnel, which was in a triangular shape that influenced the rest of the room. As stated, the ground was circular, while the walls were shaped in a manner to make the rest of the room triangular, just like the port above them. Of course, for each of these walls, there were bars that allowed them to see into small halls just outside of their own prison. Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all continued to wince as they slowly pushed themselves up.

"Seriously... How did that not kill you?" Riku couldn't help but ask Mantis. "You fell, like, thirty feet onto a hard ground and landed right on your head."

Of course, before Mantis could actually answer Riku, a nearby door opened, which had all four of them narrowing their eyes. Of course, then in one of the rooms adjacent to their prison, they were able to watch as a group of the captive children walked in, including the girl who spoke to them frequently. Nebula gasped, pushed herself up to her knees, and looked around.

"How did they get down here?" Mantis couldn't help but to ask.

"Kids are resourceful," Riku reminded her. He shrugged his shoulders. "Sora saved all worlds from darkness when he was 14, and V became a Keyblade master at 13."

The kids all started pressing their arms and faces to the bars, while the girl who frequently spoke repeated, "Joob joob."

Riku huffed as he and Nebula started pushing themselves to their feet.

"Peter will be trying to get to the spaceport," Mantis informed them all.

"And knowing V, the two of them will bring about the dogs of war with them," Riku added, rolling his shoulder to brush off some leftover pain.

"I'm not sure where they'll get the dogs..." Mantis slowly said. "But we can't let the children get caught in the crossfire."

While Drax stood up, as well, Nebula looked amongst all the children, pointing sternly at the one who spoke the most.

"You!" Nebula shouted. She marched up to the children, scaring many of them. "We need you to let all the other children on board know to stay away from the starboard walls."

While Mantis slowly stood up, Riku, Nebula, and Drax all watched as the children just shared confused looks.

"Joob joob?" another girl asked.

"They know three freaking words, and two of them are 'joob'," Nebula complained, looking at Mantis in irritation.

"I guess the High Evolutionary doesn't believe in speech therapy," Riku commented.

"Joob joob," another child said.

"No!" Nebula shouted, scaring the children again. "Listen to me!" She gestured to the one who had spoken the most. "You need to talk to the other children..." Next to her, Mantis then gestured with her hands, putting a show on for the children, which had Riku raising an eyebrow. "All of them here, and tell them to stay away from the freaking..."

Nebula noticed Mantis's actions, and quickly looked at her.

"What the hell are you doing, Mantis?" Nebula demanded.

"Explaining it, dickhead!" Mantis shouted back.

Riku groaned and covered his face in embarrassment.

At that, all the children immediately started crying. Riku blinked in surprise as he, Mantis, Nebula, and Drax watched as all the children continued to cry and sob from the outburst.

"Joob joob eo!" the main girl sobbed, which got Nebula to gulp in fear while Mantis opened her mouth in embarrassment. "Joob joob eo!"

"... Neither of you should have children," Riku told Mantis and Nebula.

"I agree with the spiky haired idiot," Drax declared. "You're scaring them."

The children continued to cry as Drax then suddenly stepped forward. Nebula and Riku both stepped out of the way as Drax moved in front of the cage and looked at the group of children.

"Hello, dumb idiots," Drax greeted them, which got them all to stop crying. He leaned forward to look at the main girl. "I had a little girl like you. You know what she used to like? She liked when I made monkey noises."

The children all muttered in confusion, while Riku raised an eyebrow and looked at Drax.

"Beep," Drax said. He moved his head around. "Beep, beep. Beep."

He then started clucking and quacking, lifting his head up and waving his hands, which got the children to all start laughing. Riku raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Mantis and Nebula.

"How is that a monkey?" Mantis asked.

"Beats me," Nebula replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"His planet, they probably have a different interpretation of a monkey," Riku commented.

Whatever the case, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all continued to watch as Drax continued putting on a show for the kids. He continued to beep and make weird noises while slowly moving his arms and legs in a manner pretending to be robotic. Drax moved about in front of the cage, moving his arms and legs while quacking robotically, gesturing with his hands and making the children all continue to laugh. Riku couldn't help but give a small shake of his head, once again thinking that he could actually believe that Drax used to be a dad. *1*

Mantis, Nebula, and Riku were all surprised, but they were all also happy that Drax's little display had stopped all the children from crying. They continued to laugh as Drax pretended to be a duck/robot, lifting his arm up and tapping his head while saying, "Boop." He then moved in front of the others and pressed his hand to Nebula's head with another "Boop." He then did it to Mantis, and she started laughing with the kids. Drax then stepped up to Riku and did the same action to him, and Riku couldn't help but give a small smile and shake of his head.

The children all continued to laugh and started imitating Drax, lifting up their arms and waving them in a robotic manner while muttering in their language.

To Mantis, Nebula, and Riku's further surprise, Drax then leaned forward and started speaking to all the children in Orbose. The children all listened intently, and the main girl nodded her head before replying in Orbose. Drax replied to her, and the girl smiled before turning to the others, all of them saying "Joob joob," to each other even more as they started moving away from the bars. They continued to repeat these words as they turned and started moving down the hallway once again to leave behind the cells, with Mantis and Riku awkwardly waving goodbye to them.

"They're gonna tell the other kids to stay away from the starboard wall," Drax told them.

"Why didn't you tell us you knew their language this whole time?" Nebula demanded, sighing in annoyance.

"Why didn't you ask?" Drax asked.

"How were we supposed to know to ask that question?" Riku asked as Nebula tilted her head at the strongman. "Seriously, how many questions do you think exist in the universe?"

"... Seventeen," Drax said.

While Mantis tilted her head to the side in understanding, Nebula and Riku both just sighed out.

Bowie

Within the expansive spaceship, everyone was currently gathered within the locker room-like area to help them all finish getting ready for their attack against Arête Laboratories and the High Evolutionary. Peter and Vanitas had cleaned up all the dirt and soot that had been on them, while Gamora got her gear ready, Groot fixed up something nearby, and Rocket sat in a seat and started getting dressed in his own suit with a flame on the chest. Stitch was also given a utility belt to wear so that he could carry his blasters much more easily, rather than having to keep swallowing and coughing them up again.

"That can not be good for your digestive system," Rocket commented as Stitch coughed his blasters out.

Gamora, Peter, and even Groot all grimaced in agreement.

"You'd be surprised," Vanitas remarked to the raccoon.

Vanitas nodded his head as he looked amongst his allies, all of them preparing themselves for their attack on Arête Laboratories and the High Evolutionary. Just from what they had seen from War Pig, they all had a feeling that they were in for quite the battle. Vanitas inwardly huffed as Rocket finished putting on one of his boots.

"This could be futile, Quill," Rocket remarked, grunting as he pushed himself to his feet. "He's too powerful."

"Well, everyone said the same thing about Thanos, and we killed him," Vanitas reminded the raccoon.

"And if we can't kill him, then at least we'll die trying," Peter declared, leading the way out of the locker room.

Gamora, Groot, Stitch, and Vanitas all followed him, with Rocket quickly moving to catch up with them.

"What is 'dying trying' gonna accomplish?" Rocket asked.

"It'll at least lead to an epic, climactic battle," Vanitas pointed out.

"I'm up for battle!" Stitch cheerfully said.

"Or we can just give him the badger?" Gamora suggested, gesturing to Rocket as they moved around the circular walkway.

"Our thing is dying trying," Rocket then sternly declared, gesturing with his hand.

"I am Groot," Groot agreed as he and Rocket stopped next to the hallway to the cockpit.

"I know who you are already!" Gamora complained.

Groot had a sad look in his eyes as he and Rocket then turned and moved down a staircase, allowing them to move towards the ports where smaller ships were hidden underneath the cockpit. The two of them went down the stairs, while Gamora, Peter, Vanitas, and Stitch all moved towards the cockpit together.

"Luckily, you're surprisingly adept at flying ships," Vanitas told Stitch. "You think you know enough to help us fly this thing?"

"I think so," Stitch confirmed with a smile. He huffed in excitement. "Is there a hyperdrive function?"

Vanitas smirked and softly shook his head. Stitch never did change. *2*

"Feel free to stay behind in the cargo area," Peter offered to Gamora as they moved into the cockpit.

"Yeah, you made it clear that you didn't wanna be part of our fight," Vanitas added as he and Stitch moved after the two.

"I'm not leaving my sister with that jackass," Gamora sternly declared. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a picture that she handed to Peter. "This you?"

As they entered the cockpit, Peter took the picture, and Vanitas raised his eyebrows when he saw that it was a polaroid of a young Peter with his mom and grandfather.

"Fell out of your bag," Gamora replied, which Vanitas sensed was a lie.

Whatever the case, Gamora moved over to one of the chairs they needed for piloting the ship. Peter stared at the polaroid for a moment before he, Vanitas, and Stitch all moved together to other seats and started to get things ready. Groot and Rocket were also in their speeders and were working on getting those ready, while Peter placed the polaroid down in his console as he got into gear. Vanitas nodded amongst the others while Peter activated his Zune, which started playing This is the Day by The The.

A jump point burned into existence in front of the ship, and Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all shared looks. Stitch then giggled and pressed a button, which made a klaxon start blaring, which had everyone jump and look around. Of course, Stitch then giggled and pressed the button to turn it off.

'Oh, he so did that on purpose,' Vanitas thought with a smirk.

Whatever the case, everyone held on as they piloted the ship together through the jump point. Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all piloted the ship into another section of the void of space, flying the ship in front of the massive spaceship of Arête Laboratories. Everyone looked up at the massive, cube shaped ship for a moment, before Peter then uncovered a lever that he grabbed and twisted. With that, components then opened up in the sides of the cockpit, causing the two speeders to extend out, the ones that Groot and Rocket were sitting in the cockpits of, at the same time their cockpit disconnected from the rest of the Bowie.

While Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas piloted the cockpit together away from the Bowie, Groot and Rocket piloted their smaller speeders. The three ships continued forward together, going at an even enough pace.

"Wait..." Peter slowly said. He looked between the speeders that Groot and Rocket were flying. "Wait."

Vanitas smirked when he sensed that Rocket was singing along with the music.

Looking up, Vanitas also sensed the High Evolutionary standing in a room that was higher in his ship, specifically in one that allowed him to look down at the ship. He commented to the others in the room with him that one could almost admire the team's pluck.

Of course, within the trio of smaller ships, Gamora, Groot, Peter, Stitch, Rocket, and Vanitas all then watched as a jump point appeared in the void of space right behind Arête Laboratories. The guards and the High Evolutionary all turned and watched in shock as something massive forced the jump point to become much larger. While Gamora was shocked and amazed, Groot, Peter, Stitch, Rocket, and Vanitas all watched in pride as the entire celestial skull that was Knowhere burst through the jump point and slowly came into existence on the other side of Arête Laboratories. There were massive thrusters on the back of the giant skull that allowed it to fly, and the right eye that served as the entrance was sealed to offer protection for the people within. *3*

Vanitas laughed when he sensed Kraglin joking "Howdy there, you freakin' creep," in the pilot's seat.

Within Arête Laboratories, the High Evolutionary shouted at his guards and operatives to get the ship out of the way as Knowhere was piloted closer thanks to the massive thrusters on the back. While Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, and Stitch worked to pilot their ships, Vanitas used his powers to watch visions as Kraglin and another guy in the cockpit of Knowhere activated components, which extended a massive barrel from within the left eye. Vanitas was also able to see within the ship as groups of children all directed each other, getting away from the walls.

Within moments, the group piloting Knowhere fired the massive blaster in the eye, shooting a projectile that caused a massive explosion which breached through the walls of the spaceport. Debris fell from the broken ship and floated through the void of space below the massive laboratory. Deep inside, while many children in the ship were shocked and a little worried, Vanitas was able to see one girl by the name of Phyla smiling and giggling in excitement.

'No wonder that kid ends up joining the team in the mid-credits scene,' Vanitas thought with a laugh.

Vanitas was able to sense that the blast from Knowhere succeeded at keeping Arête from being able to move anywhere, so the High Evolutionary shouted at them to "release the Hellspawn." A technician tried to protest against this, but the High Evolutionary shouted at them to release the Hellspawn, kill everyone in Knowhere, and bring him Rocket. While Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, and Stitch continued to pilot the ships, Vanitas let out a grimace, not sure he liked the idea of these "Hellspawn."

"Um..." Vanitas slowly said. He pressed a button to open a comlink to Rocket's ship. "Rocket. When you were being held captive by this asshole, were you able to hear what the 'Hellspawn' were?"

"No, that wasn't something that I was involved in," Rocket replied. "Why?"

"A vision I saw," Vanitas answered.

Groot, Peter, Rocket, and Stitch all grimaced in concern, while Gamora just raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

They were all unaware that Adam had woken up in the infirmary back in the Bowie. Restrained to the medical bed with all sorts of metal restraints, while the Blurp sat on his chest, Adam blinked and looked around in confusion. Of course, the number of restraints and chains had little to no effect. Adam grit his teeth and started breaking through the chains and clamps, all of which broke and snapped under his strength with little difficulty.

Within the three ships they had, Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all waited until the time was right, waiting patiently for an update from Knowhere before they made the right move. Luckily, within seconds, they could hear Kraglin's voice over the intercom.

"Spaceport wide open, Cap'n, but that old missile's all we had," Kraglin informed them.

"You did good!" Vanitas replied. "You really followed through with my suggestion of doing something awesome."

"Rocket, Groot, go, go!" Peter instructed over the intercom. "Get inside that spaceport."

With that, the group all started piloting their ships towards the massive ship of Arête Laboratories. Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all worked at the controls of their miniature spacecrafts and piloted throughout the void of space, then through the debris that had fallen from the massive broken ship. One of the ships grazed against a large piece of debris, but they continued flying together towards the massive ship. Of course, as they got closer to the ship, their eyes all narrowed when they saw waves of individuals flying out of Arête Laboratories, moving at a quick pace thanks to thrusters they appeared to have.

"What the hell?" Rocket asked.

Everyone's eyes widened as they flew closer to the ship, seeing that the flying creatures were all some kind of animal/robotic hybrid, almost like War Pig and War Falcon. These ones had thrusters, and there were hundreds or thousands of them all flowing out of the bottom of the massive lab/ship. Worry filled them all as the waves of robotic animals continued to fly out and roar in anger.

"... I think that's the Hellspawn," Peter remarked.

"Ya think?" Vanitas nervously asked.

Waves of Hellspawn crashed into Rocket's ship and sent it spiraling to the side. Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all worked at piloting their own ship, shooting at the Hellspawn as best as they could while navigating towards the massive ship of Arête. As they continued to fly, Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas's eyes all then narrowed when they saw an individual flying amongst the Hellspawn, leaving behind a golden trail of light. Peter and Vanitas groaned as they realized who it had to be.

"Aw, come on!" Peter complained as Adam flew directly towards him, the Blurp squealing nervously in his arm.

"I know he's a himbo, but doesn't he learn anything?" Vanitas complained.

Adam proceeded to show that he didn't by flying directly to their ship. Vanitas tried waving a hand to use his telekinesis, but Adam was too fast. The ultimate Sovereign proceeded to crash through the front windshield of the ship, skidding across the ground and crashing into the wall that covered what used to be the exit. Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all yelled out as they tried to hold on, but the windshield shattering completely sent everything into disarray. The four of them held onto various controls as they were sent spiraling towards Arête Laboratories, all of them uncertain of their survival.

Under the High Evolutionary's directions, the waves of Hellspawn also flew through the void of space towards Knowhere. The massive army of mechanical beasts proceeded to fly across the surface of Knowhere, where some of them grabbed onto a tiny hole in the center of the massive forehead. They then grasped the hole and pushed the sides, causing a massive crack to appear that would allow them to enter. The waves of Hellspawn all screeched and roared as they flew into Knowhere, getting the many people inside the city to all whimper and exclaim in fear.

Cosmo informed Kraglin that they had been infiltrated, and he quickly left the cockpit, leaving others to work on piloting Knowhere. Kraglin hurried out to enter the city within Knowhere again, knowing that he needed to help.

In the control station of Arête, the High Evolutionary instructed his workers to open the pit. The female technician tried to argue that they would lose their bargaining power in doing this, but the High Evolutionary ignored her and repeated his order.

In the pit, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all continued to stand on the slightly rounded floor in the triangular shaped room. Of course, their eyes all then narrowed when components activated in the floor, and it started to lower. Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all watched as they reached a new level, before the walls suddenly rose from around them, rising back up to the even ground above the quartet. They all then looked around, seeing that they were now standing in the center of a massive, dark room, and that they couldn't see anything within.

There was a tense silence as Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all cautiously looked around, as they could tell from the sound of breathing that they weren't alone in the room.

Nebula lifted her mechanical arm, and Riku pulled out his flashlight again. The both of them turned on the devices, which allowed light to fill the room.

Riku immediately wanted to turn the light off when he saw a massive monster, similar to a giant octopus, but with a large, open mouth with many rows of teeth similar to a shark in front of Nebula. The creature, called an Abilisk, roared at Nebula, before she quickly turned. Riku turned with her and redirected the light, and they all swore when they saw that there was another Abilisk right next to Mantis. The two of them also redirected their light a bit more, showing that there was a third one right in front of Drax. *4*

"Abilisks!" Nebula shouted.

"Shit!" Riku exclaimed.

The Abilisk in front of Drax opened its mouth and roared, sending a wave of rainbow-covered energy flying into the strongman. Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all got out of the way, while Drax grunted as he was thrown aside by the wave of energy. Riku summoned his Keyblade, though he and Nebula both ended up getting engulfed in the blast by the Abilisk, and they were all knocked aside.

Of course, the High Evolutionary was unaware of just how much damage the attack from Knowhere had damaged the ship. Between the attack from the missile, aided by the Abilisk's energy, there were now explosions so massive that they were spreading throughout the ship, many of which were even growing so massive that they spread along the surface of the cube-shaped ship. In the main control room, the technicians and guards looked over a projection of the massive ship, horror growing in them as they witnessed the explosions spreading across outside of the ship.

Within the chamber with the Abilisks, Drax, Nebula, and Riku all grunted as they were thrown aside by some of the explosions, but the three of them managed to recover and quickly regroup with the running Mantis as fiery debris was sent across the room. Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all huffed, with burn marks now fresh across most of their suits (Nebula had the most, thanks to the explosion she ended up next to), but they all quickly turned towards the wall across from them, which now had a massive hole that would allow them to exit.

"This way!" Drax shouted.

"Run!" Riku added.

All four of them all panted as they charged across the room towards the hole. Sadly, before they could get anywhere close enough, an Abilisk jumped out of nowhere and landed on the ground right between them and the hole. Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all huffed as they looked up at the beast, worry coursing through them at the sight of it. The four of them turned and started running away from the Abilisk as it tried biting at them. Of course, within moments, they soon found themselves in front of another of the Abilisks, which roared in their faces again.

Drax huffed as they all turned and started running away from the second Abilisk. Sadly, within seconds, they came across the third Abilisk, which roared in their faces again. Riku quickly summoned Braveheart as he, Drax, Mantis, and Nebula all stood together, grouping together tight as the massive monsters continued to move towards them. Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all pressed themselves against each other tightly as the Abilisks continued to close in, all of them still roaring loudly as they got closer by the second.

Within Knowhere, the Hellspawn were all moving together throughout the skyline of the city, all of them roaring and doing whatever they could to cause mayhem. War Falcon had even broken a nearby large structure off a rooftop, which fell towards the ground and nearly crushed a family. Everyone screamed in fear and started running, while Kraglin and another soldier rushed out. The soldier fired an assault rifle at the flying Hellspawn, while Kraglin looked up at the flying waves of Hellspawn. Kraglin ran out into the road, looking up into the air as he tried to figure out what to do.

In his own ship, Rocket grunted over the way that his ship was effectively swarmed by the Hellspawn. One of the Hellspawn rammed its mechanical fist repeatedly against the glass of the windshield before shattering it. Rocket then moved his head out of the way of the Hellspawn's arm as it kept trying to grab him.

Of course, Rocket then got an idea from many years prior, and redirected his ship towards the massive ship of Arête. He slammed his ship against the surface, scraping across the metal in a manner that crushed and killed the Hellspawn on his ship. He spun his ship and repeated this process against another wall, clearing away all the Hellspawn. Moments later, Rocket huffed as he cleared his ship, then looked towards the ship carrying Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas as it continued to spiral.

Without the front windshield, everything was in complete disarray as they were sent spiraling thanks to Adam's attack. Vanitas repeatedly cursed "Damn you, eyebrows kid!" as they were sent spinning towards the massive ship of Arête. Gamora held onto her seat, Adam and his Blurp were still at the closed port that was the doorway, while Vanitas had summoned his gauntlets and boots to grab a worried Stitch. Stitch screeched in displeasure, while Peter climbed across the ship towards another side panel.

Within the ship, they all managed to push themselves to their feet, with Peter still working at the nearby panel to try and control things. Vanitas and Gamora had both gotten to their feet, and Vanitas was holding Stitch to his chest to make sure the blue alien didn't get lost in the pandemonium, while Gamora looked worriedly at Peter. Of course, Adam then yelled in anger as he marched across the ship. Gamora then reached down, grabbed the Blurp, and lifted it up, holding the alien to her chest while raising her shortened sword and holding the blade to its throat.

"One more step and this weird thing gets it!" Gamora shouted at Adam.

While the Blurp exclaimed in displeasure, Adam quickly held up a hand to try and stop Gamora.

"Don't be rash," Adam requested.

"She's already threatened or shot, like, three or four people in this story, Eyebrows Kid," Vanitas told Adam as Stitch waved at the Blurp. "She's not above hurting people."

The Blurp let out a small whine, while Peter grabbed a lever and lifted it up.

This allowed the ship to rise slightly, and the top of it crashed against the top of a large hole in the side of the spaceport, sending them all flying throughout the room once again. Gamora held onto a broken part of the ceiling as the ship proceeded to crash into the spaceport, sliding along the ground dangerously in a manner that reminded Vanitas of their attack on Ronan's ship. Worry coursing through them as things got worse, Peter and Vanitas decided to make decisions for the benefit of their group.

Peter then charged forward and tackled Gamora out of the open, broken windshield, and Vanitas turned and jumped out after them with Stitch in his arms. The group all grunted as they skid across the ground, landing across the spaceport ground unevenly. Peter and Gamora landed roughly with the Blurp, while Vanitas huffed as he landed with Stitch. The five of them all huffed, while the damaged ship slid across the ground and crashed against a nearby wall, causing a small blast as the sides were then enveloped in fire.

Looking up, Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas all breathed in and out with the Blurp as they looked across the spaceport. Their eyes narrowed slightly when they saw Adam still inside the ship, now trapped underneath some of the many bits of debris covering his stomach and legs.

"What were you programming?" Gamora asked as they watched Adam continue to struggle.

"A self-destruction code," Peter told her.

"The ship has one of those?" Vanitas asked as he and Stitch huffed.

His question was answered seconds later when the ship then exploded, the blast of which completely enveloped it in flames and sent pieces of debris flying once again.

"... Now I'm glad you didn't activate that," Vanitas told Stitch.

"Me, too," Stitch agreed.

Whatever the case, Peter and Gamora breathed in and out, then they slowly turned and smiled at each other. Vanitas huffed as he sensed two things: Adam was still alive, and Gamora actually felt tiny strands of affection towards Peter now. *5*

It was probably too much to hope for a full reconciliation, but this was still something good.

The sound of engines roaring drew the group's attention back towards the front of the spaceport. Gamora, Peter, Stitch, Vanitas, and the Blurp all looked towards the front of the spaceport and watched as the two other ships crashed against the ground, sliding to a stop as Groot and Rocket parked them, with a blast shield now in place of Rocket's windshield. Though they had done a less than stellar job of piloting the ships, Groot and Rocket had succeeded in reuniting with Gamora, Peter, Stitch, and Vanitas.

Now they just needed to find the others, save people, and get the hell out of there.

Within the Pit, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku continued to stand back to back to back to back as they cautiously looked at all the Abilisks. Riku huffed as he held his Keyblade in his hand, inwardly wondering if Dark Barrage or Dark Aura would be enough against three creatures this massive. Of course, as the Abilisks continued to roar and get closer by the second, Riku wasn't sure his attacks would be enough against them. He continued to stand with Drax, Mantis, and Nebula, all of them inwardly debating on what they were going to do.

Seconds later, Mantis then grasped Drax and Nebula's arms to push them away as she got an idea.

"What are you doing?" Nebula demanded.

Mantis ignored her as she pushed her and Drax out of the way. Riku grit his teeth, and the top of his Keyblade glowed slightly with blue light as he got ready to blast with Dark Barrage. An Abilisk continued to roar as Mantis slowly stepped up to the massive creature with a calm look on her face.

"It's okay," Mantis told the creature.

"Mantis, stop!" Nebula insisted.

"Yeah, that thing is dangerous!" Riku added.

To emphasize this point, the Abilisk roared loudly twice, brushing the hair of both Mantis and Riku.

"They eat batteries, not people," Mantis told her allies as the Abilisks continued to roar. "Maybe they are just scared of what we are gonna do to them."

Riku just furrowed his eyebrows as Mantis stepped up to the Abilisk. The massive creature opened its mouth and roared loudly once again, blowing a large gust of air into Mantis. Of course, as Drax, Nebula, and Riku all watched, Mantis just slowly lifted up her hands in a placating manner.

"We're not gonna hurt you," Mantis calmly told the creature. "Everything is gonna be okay."

To the surprise of Drax, Nebula, and Riku, the Abilisk slowly slid backwards as Mantis continued to walk towards it, confirming that it was probably afraid of her. Of course, Mantis continued to walk up to the massive creature, then slowly reached up and placed a hand against the bottom of its lip. Her antenna glowed slightly as she slowly leaned in, placing her hands against the Abilisk's lower lip, then leaning forward to give it a small hug. The Abilisk let out a small moan of affection at her touch, its eyes clearing up as it started to purr.

Riku dismissed his Keyblade as he, Drax, and Nebula all shared looks of amazement, just as the other two Abilisks lowered themselves on the ground and stopped roaring, signifying that they were calm, too.

Riku then looked over at Mantis and huffed, amazed with her actions in calming down the massive creatures. *6*

Within Knowhere, Kraglin stood in the center of a road as he looked up into the sky, watching as the Hellspawn continued to fly around and cause destruction, breaking apart buildings and grabbing at people however they could. People ran and fell to the ground in terror as they tried to escape. Trying to figure out what to do, Kraglin then pulled out the arrow that was powered by the fin on his head, remembering how it was supposed to work. Despite his failure from before, Kraglin took a moment to close his eyes and concentrate, drowning out the people running for their lives nearby.

Of course, Kraglin then heard Yondu's voice in his head, telling him to use his heart. Opening his eyes, Kraglin then looked up and saw Yondu standing nearby in the road, patting his chest to emphasize the heart. Yondu then slowly smiled at Kraglin, and Kraglin once again felt the happiness that he usually got when seeing his Captain. Of course, when a person nearby ran in front of Kraglin, Yondu disappeared, but seeing his Captain invigorated him.

While people cowered in terror in the streets, Kraglin lifted up the arrow and let out a whistle, which got it to slowly raise up. Kraglin let out a rhythmic whistle, which drew attention from many of the Hellspawn nearby. As the Hellspawn started flying towards Kraglin, he whistled once again, using the fin on his head to direct the arrow through the air. Just like Yondu before him, under Kraglin's direction, the arrow flew through the air, going through the chest of one Hellspawn, then the arm of another one. Kraglin continued to whistle, sending the arrow through the air and through the torsos of many more Hellspawn, killing them quickly.

The bodies of Hellspawn dropped through the air and crashed to the ground as they all died due to Kraglin's arrow piercing their bodies. Kraglin continued to whistle, which proceeded to kill more and more of the Hellspawn. Of course, after moments, the sky was clear, except for the charging War Falcon. Kraglin sent the arrow flying towards War Falcon, but the cybernetic bird got out of the way, sending the arrow crashing into a nearby wall. Kraglin whistled to try and get it out, but War Falcon just let out a roar and turned to fly towards him again.

Cosmo then rushed out and stood in front of Kraglin, growling in anger at War Falcon. The cybernetic bird just grit its teeth at her and laughed, before Cosmo activated her telekinesis. As Kraglin, the rest of Knowhere, and even War Falcon watched, two giant pieces of concrete from the walls rose up and floated up onto either side of War Falcon. War Falcon grunted, completely perplexed, while Kraglin declared that Cosmo was a good dog. War Falcon tried charging at them, but Cosmo slammed the giant pieces of concrete together, crushing War Falcon between them and killing him.

Cosmo then turned and jumped up repeatedly to lick Kraglin's face, using her device to exclaim that she knew he thought she was a good dog. Kraglin was uncomfortable, but he chuckled and told her to get off. *7*

Within Arête's control station, muffled explosions echoed throughout the massive ship, reaching the ears of the workers in there. The technician and the other guards all exclaimed in worry, deciding that they had had enough. The female technician told the High Evolutionary that they needed to retreat because the ship was going down. Their Controller at the main control station even added that the spaceport had intruders, signifying that the Guardians had arrived. The High Evolutionary ordered the guards to go and see if one of them was Rocket.

The guards started to leave, but they stopped when the technician told the High Evolutionary that he had an irrational obsession with Rocket. She exclaimed that he had to stop, "For God's sake." The High Evolutionary then shouted that there was no God, and it's why he had to step in. He then turned to look out through the window again, and the technician realized she had no other choice. She pulled out a gun and slowly pointed it at the High Evolutionary, who slowly turned around. All the guards in the room all slowly also took out their guns, pointed them at the High Evolutionary, and activated them, showing that they had changed sides, as well.

The technician then told the Controller that she was taking control of the Arête. She told it to disengage all the damaged sectors of the ship and retreat. Of course, the High Evolutionary just screamed in rage and gestured with his hands, using his control of gravity to send a wave through the room. The massive blast blew out all the windows, destroyed everything, and killed everyone in the room, leaving it a broken, destroyed space with nothing left. While blast shields covered the destroyed windows, the High Evolutionary just stepped into the center of the room and breathed in and out, realizing that he was now left on his own.

Activating the speaker system, the High Evolutionary declared to the entire ship that they had intruders, and told them all to go to the starboard spaceport. He ordered them to bring him Rocket and kill the rest. Fueled by his obsession, the High Evolutionary just growled in preparation for what would be coming next.

Chapter Text

Arête Laboratories

Deep within the hangar of the massive ship, the group of Guardians spread out and started to get ready. Given the High Evolutionary's declaration that echoed through the speakers above them, they knew that there would most likely be little time before security guards and Hellspawn alike came to kill them. So, while the damaged ships continued to burn in flames spread across the room, the group of Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all started preparing themselves. While Groot walked over, Rocket carried a gun in his arm, Stitch prepared his blasters, Vanitas summoned his Keyblade, the Blurp even walked over, and Gamora got her sword ready, Peter got his Zune ready.

Vanitas smirked when he sensed Beastie Boys' No Sleep Till Brooklyn started playing.

"I'm a Fall Out Boy man from Manhattan, but they're still good," Vanitas admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

Peter's music continued to play over his earbuds as he, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all gathered together across from a nearby hallway entrance, all of them ignoring the surging flames on other sides of the room.

"We go in there, we get Mantis, Nebula, Drax, and Riku," Peter instructed, pointing at the doorway to the open, white hall. Rocket and Stitch looked at the entrance. "We move in, we get 'em, we get out."

"Sounds like a plan," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

All of a sudden, a loud thud rang out, and everyone tensed up. As the room shook, everyone turned towards a back wall, with Peter, Stitch, and Rocket pointing their guns, Groot extending his fingers into claws, the Blurp tensing up, Gamora extending out her sword, and Vanitas stepping into his battle stance with his Keyblade. They all tensed up a bit more as the wall suddenly dented from something crashing into it from the other side.

Of course, to the surprise of Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, and even the Blurp, the wall shattered, revealing a trio of roaring Abilisks that shattered the walls with their massive tentacles. While Peter and Stitch raised their blasters while Vanitas lifted his Keyblade, their eyes all narrowed. As the Abilisks continued to slide through the massive hole, roaring along the way, the group was able to see that their friends were riding on top of the monsters. Mantis was on one, Drax was on another, and Nebula and Riku were on the third. Mantis whooped in excitement as the Abilisks continued to move deeper into the hangar, coming to a stop right in front of the others.

Gamora, Groot, Peter, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, and the Blurp were all surprised, before Vanitas let out a huff.

"2022, they've got Boba Fett riding a Rancor around Tatooine," Vanitas commented as he looked at Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku atop the Abilisks. "2023, they give us this. Disney really seems to love having their characters ride around on giant, monstrous beasts."

Whatever the case, as the Abilisks came to a stop, the group started to slide off their heads. Mantis, Nebula, and Riku easily slid off the monsters and landed on the ground, while Drax grunted as he fell over the side and hit the floor hard. Whatever the case, Mantis smiled and looked at the others.

"Did that look cool?" Mantis asked.

"Very," Stitch confirmed with a nod of his head.

"... Okay, new game plan," Peter declared. He turned and started marching along the hangar. "We get the hell out of here now."

Drax, Mantis, Nebula, and Riku all moved towards them, specifically so they could stop Peter from leaving.

"There are thousands of creatures on the ship," Nebula told him.

"Many of them are children," Mantis added as Peter stopped and turned towards them.

"And we need to be good joob joob," Drax added.

"Huh?" Peter asked, him and Vanitas frowning in confusion.

"It means friends," Drax told them.

"It's a whole thing, but we still can't leave the children there," Riku emphasized.

"We're not going to," Vanitas agreed with a nod of his head.

"If we wanna live, we have to leave now," Gamora then declared. She looked amongst the group, while Rocket turned and looked at the hallway across from them. "This whole rig is gonna go down any second."

"Then we've definitely gotta move if we're gonna help them," Riku declared.

"Exactly," Nebula agreed. "They will all die if we don't help them."

Vanitas nodded his head before frowning and looking at Rocket. The raccoon was looking at the hallway across the hangar while having flashbacks to his time here under the High Evolutionary's testing. Vanitas grimaced as he sensed how Rocket's flashbacks included his restrained state while being experimented on, his time dancing and laying with his friends in their cages, the High Evolutionary's betrayal, their deaths at the scientist's hand, then his own escape within his stolen ship. While Rocket stared out at the hall, Stitch hummed in concern before the raccoon gripped his blaster.

"I'm done runnin'," Rocket then declared.

With that, he lifted up his blaster and cocked it in preparation.

"Yeah!" Stitch declared before lifting his own guns.

With that, Rocket and Stitch both started walking towards the hallway entrance. Groot noticed them and turned to start walking after them. Small nods of the head spread amongst the group as Nebula turned to follow them, followed by Peter. Mantis then shared a look with Drax, and they started walking after the others, as well. Gamora sighed out from where she stood, while Riku and Vanitas nodded their heads before the former summoned Braveheart.

"Sometimes, you don't need a plan," Vanitas remarked to Gamora. "Just go in and kick some ass."

"That's admittedly still a pretty good plan," Riku added.

With that, the two of them turned and started walking after the others. Gamora watched as they all marched towards the hallway entrance, then groaned and rolled her eyes before she slowly started moving after them. Mantis smirked in preparation as the Blurp moved with the rest of the group, wanting to help in some way. *1*

Vanitas almost felt like they were walking in slow motion as he, Peter, Drax, Rocket, Stitch, Riku, Groot, Nebula, and Mantis all marched across the burning hangar, with Gamora reluctantly following them while the Blurp ran after them. The group all moved together towards the closed metal door that served as the entrance to the hall, and Drax pushed through his friends since he knew this was his cue. Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, and the Blurp all prepared themselves as Drax grabbed the sides of the doors and pushed them open with grunts and snaps.

Within the hall, no one was surprised to see the High Evolutionary's forces spread out along the ground, with Hellspawn and guards in black outfits spread out almost shoulder to shoulder. Within moments, the doors were open, and Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, and the Blurp all moved forward to face the hallway of enemies together.

A couple of guards tried firing their guns, but Drax dodged a blast before charging at another guard, Vanitas caught some blasts with his telekinesis and sent them towards Hellspawn, and Riku grunted as he blasted Dark Firaga. The group all moved forward together, with Stitch and Peter shooting their blasters, Groot restraining a guard against the wall, Gamora shooting her own gun, and Vanitas throwing his Keyblade at another Hellspawn. Nebula converted her nano-arm into a blaster that she fired at guards, while Vanitas caught his Keyblade, then kicked a nearby guard between his legs. Mantis rushed in and did a jumping spin kick, knocking aside another guard as Rocket and Stitch shot their guns together.

While Mantis landed in front of another Hellspawn, Rocket shot it in the head, while Riku rushed in and performed a combo attack against another Hellspawn with Braveheart. Groot extended his arm even more and knocked aside some Hellspawn before jabbing his branch-arm through the mouth of another one, causing twigs to extend out and stab it many times from within. Gamora and Drax both rushed in, with Gamora cutting off that Hellspawn's legs with her blade, while Drax tackled another guard across the ground. Nebula then rushed in and blasted another guard with her nano-arm, while Riku and Vanitas both attacked with their Keyblades.

Peter, Rocket, and Stitch all continued to fire their guns, while Groot slowly pulled his arm back. Mantis then used the arm as a pole to launch herself forward, land on a guard's shoulders, then did a backflip that sent him flying. While Gamora, Nebula, Drax, and Riku continued to attack guards and Hellspawn, Groot restrained another Hellspawn (after it stabbed him, which did nothing), allowing Rocket and Stitch to both jump up on its body and shoot it in its head. Rocket then climbed up onto Groot's shoulders, then rushed across his friend's extended arm to shoot at more Hellspawn. Rocket then jumped up and yelled out as he fired at another opponent, while Stitch laughed wickedly as he fired at guards and Hellspawn alike.

Rocket landed on the ground and dodged a few more guards before shooting them. Drax then rushed in and tackled another guard, while Riku entered his Formchange Soul Shift, attacking with combos that had endings similar to Maelstrom and Barrage. While Riku built up his energy while attacking, Nebula blasted more enemies with her nano-arm, Drax wrestled another guard, and Gamora slashed her sword at more Hellspawn, further down the hall, the rest of the team continued to fight in their own manners. Peter blasted another guard while Groot knocked aside another Hellspawn, Mantis fought another guard, Stitch continued to shoot his blasters, and Vanitas kicked aside another guard. *2*

Peter then moved forward and pushed another guard aside before planting a device on the man's bottom. The guard exclaimed as he moved further down the hallway, before Vanitas jumped up and kicked the man in his chest. While Groot and Mantis tossed aside the guards they were fighting, Vanitas used his telekinesis to throw another guard's blaster fire back, and Peter threw another device at another guard. A Hellspawn then rushed in, but Peter rolled to dodge its blade swing, shooting another Hellspawn as he rolled on the ground. Vanitas grunted as he swung his Keyblade, decapitating the Hellspawn, as he and the others tried to move forward. 

Peter rolled on the ground to dodge more attacks before throwing a device at another guard to take them down. Nebula fired another blaster of her own, before Vanitas rushed in and swung his Keyblade at another Hellspawn. Nebula shot another guard, while Drax pushed a Hellspawn into a wall and started punching it. The three guards that Peter had stuck devices on all yelled out and started charging forward, but Peter activated his devices, causing electricity to surge amongst them all and make them fall to the ground. Vanitas threw a fireball at another guard to take him down, while Groot extended his arm and swung a Hellspawn around wildly.

Peter and Nebula then rotated amongst each other to face new opponents, with Peter attacking another guard while Nebula grabbed a Hellspawn to fight it. Rocket crawled on the ground between them all, while another Hellspawn punched Nebula, causing her mechanical body to shift and crack, but she quickly started being restored. Groot extended his arm and restrained the second Hellspawn, allowing Riku to impale it with Braveheart before stepping back and rising slightly in preparation. Nebula pushed the Hellspawn and restrained it against the wall and shot its head, blowing it up, while Riku started Dark Aura, sliding around and attacking guards and Hellspawn alike.

Vanitas blasted another ball of fire at another guard, while Drax jumped up and kicked another Hellspawn to take it down. As the rest of the team moved across the room, Drax took out his knife and stabbed another guard, knocking it into a wall, before grabbing a nearby Hellspawn and throwing it to the ground. He then threw his knife into the guard's leg to pin it, while the Blurp climbed up onto him, chattering as it ran amongst all the chaos. Drax then curb-stomped a Hellspawn, lifted it and threw it onto the ground, then ripped part of its body out.

Riku and Vanitas both used their Keyblades to attack guards and Hellspawn, knocking them each aside. Gamora then used her own sword to do the same, using the shortened version to knock aside a guard, then extending it slightly to attack Hellspawn. She knocked aside another guard, but then a Hellspawn roared and knocked her into a nearby wall. Peter then shot it in the back, while Drax tackled another guard, Rocket and Stitch climbed onto two other guards and caused them mayhem, and Gamora dodged the Hellspawn's massive tentacle. She rushed along in front of the Hellspawn and slashed through it strongly with her sword in multiple areas, cutting its body down to pieces.

Within moments, the entire hallway was filled with the dead bodies of guards and Hellspawn, leaving only the team of Guardians left within. Gamora slowly stood up and panted with Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas. The Blurp also climbed up onto the mutilated carcass of one of the Hellspawn, chittering slightly as it looked around. Gamora then huffed as she turned and looked around.

"... That was awesome," Vanitas declared with a nod of his head.

"Messed up," Riku remarked with yellow blood from Hellspawn on the front of his jacket. "... But, yeah, pretty awesome."

With that, everyone put away their weapons as they regrouped once again. Within seconds, Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, and the Blurp were all moving together down the hallway, leaving behind the massive wave of carcasses they had formed as they moved deeper through the ship, knowing that they needed to save all the captives.

"There's a big hole up in the deck," Peter informed the rest of the team. "If we can connect that to Knowhere, we can lead the survivors to safety."

"Nebs, Stitch, and I will pilot the ship," Rocket declared as they reached an impasse in the hall. "You guys save all the higher life forms."

"Good luck, guys," Vanitas declared as they started turning down the different hallways. "Let's make sure we don't all die!"

With that, they split up and started running down the different halls. Rocket, Nebula, and Stitch all moved quickly down one hall, and Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Peter, Riku, Vanitas, and the Blurp moved down the other towards the prison cells where they knew the survivors (particularly the children) would all be. Everyone moved as quickly as they could since they knew the ship didn't have much time.

They were right. More and more explosions spread along the surface of the ship from the outside, damaging it even more and sending more debris flying through the void of space. The ship lost its integrity ore by the second, becoming more unstable as the explosions progressively made everything worse.

Within the cells, where all the children were still restrained, the girl Phyla tried to reassure all the ones in the cells by speaking in Orbose, but they were all still worried. Of course, seconds later, Drax appeared next to her, and calmly told her, "Hello, moron." Phyla smiled at the sight of him, before he, Gamora, and Vanitas all started working to get the kids out. Drax broke open the locks to release the cages, while Gamora climbed up the ladders and shouted at the kids to follow her. Vanitas alternated between breaking the locks with his bare hands, and using his Keyblade to undo them magically.

"You kids are about to have the ride of your lives!" Vanitas encouraged the kids.

Drax, Gamora, and Vanitas moved amongst the kids to continue opening the cages, encouraging them to keep running.

One of the Star Children joined Groot and Riku in directing and encouraging the kids to keep running down the hallways they were using.

"Domo! Domo!" the girl encouraged.

"I am Groot!" Groot added.

"You heard him, this way!" Riku translated for the living tree.

The girl then paused and felt fear coursing through her when she looked at the open doorway between Groot and Riku, her eyes narrowing when she saw Adam stumble out. With his shirt in ruins, revealing his golden chest, Adam closed his hands into fists, yelling out as energy surged around them. Groot and Riku both jumped and turned towards him, with Riku summoning his Keyblade quickly.

"How the hell are you still alive!?" Riku exclaimed.

Instead of answering, Adam just stared at them before falling forward. The energy disappeared as he fell to the ground and lost consciousness. While the children in the hallway disappeared as they continued running, Riku, Groot, and the girl all looked at the unconscious Adam, all of them already knowing what they were going to do.

In the cages, Mantis joined the others in undoing the locks to free all the captive children and creatures. She was a little horrified when she opened a cage to find a creature called a Lambshank, but she still directed it towards the way out. Lambshank thanked her, and she nervously lied, saying that she wasn't screaming because of it, saying that he looked really cool. *3*

Higher up in the ship, Vanitas had broken off with Peter, since they knew they needed to secure their exit. The two of them moved up through the damaged ship to an area with walls similar to that of the throne room, avoiding all the rubble as they came up to an area with a giant hole. Of course, three guards (a black woman, a white man, and an unknown alien with green skin and black eyes) quickly perked up with their blasters, which had Peter and Vanitas both raising their hands in surrender.

"Kill us if you want, but then good luck gettin' out of here," Peter told the guards.

"We're securing a way out, and we're willing to extend the offer to you guys," Vanitas added.

The three guards were silent before slowly lowering their blasters. With that, Peter and Vanitas jogged across the room towards the blast shield covering the massive hole, while the guards did have a small debate about trusting them. Vanitas was a little happy that they decided to listen to logic.

"We got a space big enough to get through," Peter said into the intercom. "But we gotta find out if we can change it to a permeable shield."

"It's gonna take a hell of a lot of rewiring," Vanitas commented.

Peter and Vanitas both huffed as they got to work.

Reaching the control center, Nebula, Rocket, and Stitch were all surprised to see that the room was an empty, barren husk filled with debris of all shapes and sizes thanks to the High Evolutionary's earlier blast with his energy. Rocket remarked that he couldn't fly the ship since the flight controls were all messed up, and Stitch hummed and nodded his head in agreement. Nebula slowly walked towards where there were many wires and gears sticking up through the floor, declaring that she would do it. She told Rocket and Stitch to go help the others, but requested a communicator device.

While Rocket and Stitch turned and charged down the stairs, Nebula activated the communicator, telling Kraglin that she would pilot from this side. Kraglin declared that they were "Kragula," while he piloted Knowhere closer to the damaged ship. Nebula let the nano-bots in her arm extend into wires that went down into the open gears, which she used to control the ship. Nebula piloted the massive ship of Arête towards the massive eye port of Knowhere as Kraglin continued to pilot the massive celestial head closer and closer to the burning ship.

At the port in Knowhere, Cosmo watched as the massive ship of Arête got closer, knowing that she was going to have to use her telekinesis to help. Though, she and many others were still a little worried when they saw how many explosions were spreading along the surface of the massive ship.

As they ran together down the ship stairs, Stitch also looked at Rocket.

"By the way..." Stitch slowly told Rocket. "I'm not what I was initially meant to be, either. I was created to be the most destructive creature imaginable, with the only directive to destroy everything I touch."

"Oh, really?" Rocket asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "I wouldn't have expected that from a creature like you."

"That was part of the plan," Stitch added. "Cute and fluffy so people underestimate me. Then, I was to go nuts and destroy as much as possible."

"Huh," Rocket remarked as they continued down the stairs. "Gotta admit, that's actually pretty smart."

"Yeah," Stitch agreed. He smiled. "But bein' around V and his friends showed me how strong friendship was. I got a new purpose thanks to the hope they gave me for friendship, then I found a new home on Radiant Garden and the people there."

"That's nice," Rocket admitted.

He gave a small smile, realizing that he was pretty similar with his own history, being made into something bad, but changing his destiny while also gaining some great friends and an amazing home along the way.

"Then I spent a couple of weeks on an Earth," Stitch added. He laughed. "And I learned how great Elvis is!"

Rocket laughed as they continued to run down the stairs. He could admit that Elvis was one of his favorite Earth musicians, as well. *4*

At the raised room, Peter and Vanitas continued to work as quickly as they could with rewiring the device within the wall, both of them working to change the blast shield covering the hole into something they could walk through. The trio of guards stood behind Peter and Vanitas as they continued to work, with Vanitas trying to cheat with his mental abilities, though it was surprisingly difficult. Moments later, they heard Gamora's voice yelling, and looked over their shoulder just in time to see Gamora lead the waves of children into the room, along with Drax, Riku, and Mantis, while Groot walked next to them with the unconscious Adam in his arms. A couple of scientists had even changed sides and joined the group to escape, which was logical since they all wanted to live.

"Well, I hope that explosion didn't singe off his eyebrows," Vanitas remarked as he and Peter looked over the group. "He can't be Eyebrows Kid without his eyebrows."

Gamora then quickly had to stop Groot and all the children as they stood in front of the blast shield. Vanitas could sense that on the other side of the blast shield, at the port within the eye of Knowhere, a woman exclaimed in shock at the sight of the Star children.

Everything everywhere shook as Arête and Knowhere both continued to move into place under Nebula and Kraglin's control. The two ships broke slightly as they continued to brace themselves against each other, moving into position to ensure that the ground the group stood under within Arête would be level with the ground of the port in Knowhere. The children all exclaimed in surprise, while Mantis, Drax, Gamora, Riku, and Groot all shared looks, and Vanitas grit his teeth as he and Peter stayed at the open panel.

"Okay, Cosmo, stitch it up!" Peter instructed to the telekinetic dog on the other side. "It needs to be airtight for the kids to make it across."

"You get it, girl!" Vanitas cheered on the dog.

"Locking up, Kapitan," Cosmo replied over her electronic device.

Under Nebula and Kraglin's control, the two ships then braced against each other, both of them shaking badly due to the impact of them connecting. The children shook, the scientists all tried to keep themselves on their feet, and Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Peter, and Vanitas all grunted as they stayed up. Vanitas could sense that Cosmo had activated her telekinesis and was currently keeping the two ships together, growling in effort along the way.

"She's got it!" Vanitas exclaimed. He looked at Peter. "Show us why you're a Master Builder, Emmet!"

With that, Peter connected the last of the wires, which caused the blast shield to start to hum. It changed from a bright yellow to a bright purple color, meaning that it was capable of walking through now. The children all started cheering, and the people in the port all leaned forward and offered their hands to help.

"Go, now, go!" Peter encouraged the kids.

"You'll be safe!" Vanitas added.

With that, the children all started moving through the force field. The people in the port of Knowhere picked them up one at a time together, helping bring them from the two ships much more easily. Mantis and Riku helped by picking up children and handing them to the people of Knowhere, making the transition a bit better, as well. 

"One by one, one by one!" Gamora instructed.

The children were transported between the two ships, then excitedly ran towards a nearby doorway in the port. Vanitas helped by using his telekinesis to lift a few children (making them laugh even more), while Groot marched onto the port and slowly placed the still unconscious Adam down on the ground.

"Locking in and heading down," Nebula then exclaimed over the intercom with great strain in her voice to signify that she was under a lot of pressure.

The group continued to work as quickly as they could to get the children from Arête to Knowhere. Mantis and Drax moved off the ship and helped direct their efforts, while Groot placed Adam down. Vanitas watched and stayed wary as Adam slowly pushed himself up, asking why Groot saved him when he tried to kill them. Groot said his usual words, and Drax translated that he said, "Everyone deserves a second chance." Vanitas just hoped that Adam would listen as they continued getting the children off of the massive ship.

Cosmo then let out a small, exhausted whine, and dropped slightly. All the remaining people in Arête (especially the children) all screamed as the ground suddenly shifted, and Vanitas grunted as he used his own telekinesis to try and help things. Mantis helped by moving over to Cosmo and using her powers to get the dog to believe that she was really strong. Vanitas huffed before he and Peter looked towards the hallway, where they saw Nebula carrying another child on her back while directing many others.

"Where's Rocket?" Peter asked, frowning in concern.

"And Stitch?" Vanitas added, worry in his eyes.

Nebula turned around, a confused and worried look in her cybernetic eyes.

Within another part of the ship, Rocket and Stitch were currently helping some of the remaining children, each of them telling the kids "Domo," as they guided them down a hall next to them. Once all the children were moving down the hall, Stitch turned and started after them on all fours. Rocket started to move after them, but he stopped when he looked into the room in front of him, seeing that it was full of the cages of restrained animals and enhanced animals. Stitch stopped and turned around when he saw Rocket going into the room, then frowned before moving after him.

Moving after Rocket, Stitch followed him into the room filled with animal cages, whining in displeasure at the sight of all the animals around them in cages, many of whom whined in displeasure. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes, birds, parrots, monkeys, and many animals that Stitch couldn't even identify. Stitch whined in sadness, while Rocket was silent, remembering how he had been one of these many creatures. The two of them slowly walked further into the room, both of them overlooking all the cages before coming across a raised cage filled with baby raccoons.

The raccoons chirped and chattered at the sight of Rocket and Stitch, and the former paused as he looked right at them. Rocket then pulled out the master key he had put together so many years ago, and used it to unlock the cage. Rocket and Stitch looked over all the baby raccoons, who chirped nervously before slowly moving forward. While Stitch swooned at the sight of the baby raccoons, Rocket looked up at a metal plate on the cage door, seeing a lot of technical information displayed about the animals, like how they had come from North America, their Kingdom, Phylum, Genus, Species, and even their Common Name of raccoon.

Tears filled Rocket's eyes as he finally realized what he was and where he had come from. Stitch continued to swoon at the baby raccoons, while Rocket slowly leaned forward to overlook them all. The baby raccoons all looked at him curiously, before a couple placed their paws on Rocket's snout. Overcome with feelings, Rocket immediately started grabbing the raccoons and started placing them on his chest, securing them all along his arms, shoulders, and even the gun on his back. Stitch smiled and nodded his head in understanding.

"They're your Ohana," Stitch assessed, nodding his head in understanding. "Your family."

"Yeah..." Rocket confirmed, sniffing as his voice cracked. "Yeah, they are. And I'm not leaving them here." *5*

With that, he turned and started to walk away with the raccoons in his arms. He dropped one, then reached down to pick the baby back up. Of course, as he stood up, Rocket and Stitch looked around, their eyes narrowing as they looked over all the other trapped animals. The two of them were overcome with emotion as they looked over the many cages, realizing that they couldn't leave them, either.

The moment was promptly ruined by the yelling of a madman.

"You!" the High Evolutionary shouted. Rocket dropped the many baby raccoons, and he and Stitch looked up to watch as the High Evolutionary marched into the room, glaring right at them. "You thought you could escape me!"

Stitch and Rocket both reached for their blasters, but the High Evolutionary waved his hand, activating his powers and making them rise up into the air and slam into the ceiling. The two of them then yelled out as the High Evolutionary swung another arm, sending them flying into an adjacent room, where they both crashed into a raised component on the ceiling. Rocket and Stitch both yelled out as they were electrocuted, then dropped to the ground with more grunts.

"You think you have some worth in and of yourself, without me?" the High Evolutionary bellowed, marching into the room as Rocket and Stitch grunted and started pushing themselves up. "No!" He used his suit to throw both creatures into another nearby wall, where they both grunted. "You're an abomination! You and that other blue creature! Nothing more than steps on my path, you freakish little monsters!"

Rocket and Stitch both yelled out as the High Evolutionary used his powers to send them both crashing into the ceiling.

"How dare you think you are more, 8. 9. P! 1! 3!!!" the High Evolutionary bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Rocket and Stitch both grunted before slowly moving their arms to their legs. The High Evolutionary frowned as Rocket activated the component in his boot, and Stitch did the same thing at his belt. The both of them then dropped through the air, powering down the man's suit as they flipped and landed on their feet. The High Evolutionary's eyes were wide as the two little creatures reached for their blasters.

"The name's Rocket," Rocket declared, pointing his blaster right at the High Evolutionary, cocking it in preparation. "Rocket Raccoon." *6*

"And I'm Stitch," Stitch added.

With that, Rocket and Stitch both fired their blasters, the lasers firing out of their guns and hitting the High Evolutionary in the chest, causing a small explosion that sent him flying and crashing on the ground. The High Evolutionary shouted in anger and pushed himself up, showing that there was now a gash in the chest of his suit. The mad scientist yelled out and started rushing forward as Stitch and Rocket raised their guns once again.

Of course, Groot and Drax then rushed into the room together through nearby doors, and Groot extended the branches of his arm to grab the High Evolutionary and push him back. Drax then grabbed the mad scientist and lifted him up. The High Evolutionary yelled out as Drax slammed him into the ground as everyone else started rushing in. Drax pulled a component off the back of the High Evolutionary's suit, then punched him in the face so hard he was sent flying. Peter and Riku rushed in, with Peter firing a blast from his gun, and Riku blasting Dark Firaga. Both blasts hit the High Evolutionary in the air as Mantis jumped up and kicked the man in the head with both feet.

As Mantis landed on her feet, the High Evolutionary was flung through the air, then Nebula fired a blast from her nano-arm. Nebula's blast struck the High Evolutionary and sent him flying even more, and Vanitas used his telekinesis to catch the mad scientist. Giving the man complete karma, Vanitas grunted as he lifted his arm and slammed the High Evolutionary into a wall, then the ceiling, and ended things by slamming him into the ground hard. The High Evolutionary managed to stand up, showing that a flap of skin on his head had disconnected, before Gamora grabbed the man and stabbed him in the stomach. The High Evolutionary gasped from the stab before Gamora grasped his face and pulled her sword out, dropping it to the ground.

The High Evolutionary gasped shakily as Gamora continued to hold him up. Gamora then slowly lifted her hand up and grabbed the flap of skin, which she slowly started to tear off. Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all slowly walked forward, disgust filling all of their faces as Gamora finished taking the High Evolutionary's face off. One the skin was removed, the High Evolutionary dropped down onto the ground as Gamora continued holding the flap of skin.

"Well... That's disgusting," Vanitas commented.

"His face came off!" Drax declared.

"It's a mask," Rocket informed him, he and Stitch pointing their guns at the downed High Evolutionary in warning.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Riku exclaimed, frowning at the downed High Evolutionary.

Vanitas was inwardly happy that Riku had finally said, "Fuck," but as he looked at the High Evolutionary, he understood completely. Without the mask on, they were able to see that his entire head was skinned, with red, raw flesh revealed to them all. His right eyelid was missing, revealing that the eye was bloodshot, his entire nose was gone, reduced to the bone of the skull, and large chunks of his cheeks were gone, showing his teeth and even more bits of his skull. Everyone inwardly wondered how this guy was still alive as they looked down at his severely damaged head. *7*

"Look what you did to me," the High Evolutionary growled to Rocket. "For what? All I wanted to do... was to make things... perfect."

"You didn't wanna make things perfect," Rocket told his former tormentor. "You just hated things the way they are."

"And now you're as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside," Vanitas added.

"And that's... Pretty ugly," Riku remarked with a small nod of his head.

"Kill him," Drax then told Rocket.

Rocket and Stitch both just looked down at the High Evolutionary, each of them still pointing blasters right at him. The mad scientist gulped, a twinge of fear coursing through him as he stared down the barrels of the guns. But, as Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, and Vanitas all watched, Rocket and Stitch both lowered their blasters, taking them away from the High Evolutionary to show that they were sparing him.

"Why?" Drax asked.

"Because I'm a freaking Guardian of the Galaxy," Rocket declared.

Riku and Vanitas both gave small nods of their heads, both of them a little impressed with the raccoon's change of attitude.

All of a sudden, an explosion burst from the corner of the room, getting everyone to jump and look to the side.

"We have to get outta here now," Gamora declared urgently.

"Yeah, I think it's time for us to run like hell," Vanitas agreed as he, Riku, and Nebula started to move backwards with Gamora.

"We have to save them," Rocket then declared.

"All of them," Stitch added.

"We've got all the kids on board," Peter frantically promised.

"No, Pete," Rocket said, insistence in his voice as some of the ceiling broke and fell behind him and Stitch. "The rest of them."

Riku and Vanitas turned and looked into the nearby room, seeing the many cages of restrained animals trapped within. The two of them shared a look, then nodded their heads in agreement.

Saving a lot of animals was a new one, but they could do it.

It took a few minutes, but they managed to open up all the cells, and start leading all the captive animals through the ship. As the rest of the people at the port of Knowhere finished getting the rest of the children off the ship, they looked up in amazement as the team of Guardians guided all the animals towards them. The animals covered all the different options, consisting of dogs, red pandas, a couple of penguins, birds of all shapes and sizes, hyenas, donkeys, pigs, monkeys, all the baby raccoons, lemurs, and every other animal imaginable.

While the rest of the group on Knowhere was amazed, the team continued to run towards them. Groot, Gamora, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas helped guide and carry many of the animals, while Drax carried the unconscious body of the High Evolutionary. They all moved as quickly as they could to the edge of the ship, then joined the effort in helping the animals cross between ships, just like they had the children. This had mixed results, as a lemur ended up frantically scratching a screaming woman's face, and a man commented that he thought they were just doing the higher life forms. Peter thought they were, too, but they decided to help even more.

"Just 'cause they're not intelligent doesn't mean they deserve to die," Vanitas remarked as he hopped off of Arête.

While Drax carried the High Evolutionary over, and Riku, Mantis, Nebula, Gamora, and Peter helped all the other animals cross, Vanitas used his telekinesis to help even more animals cross. Letting out a huff, and hearing how much Cosmo was struggling, Vanitas then waved his hand and helped the dog by taking control of the massive ship with his telekinesis. Cosmo sagged slightly due to the assistance, but they both grit their teeth and felt pain over the exertion of holding up so massive of a ship.

"I'd like to request that you guys hurry!" Vanitas shouted to his friends.

"I agree with comrade Jordan!" Cosmo shouted through her voice box.

Surprisingly, a wall even burst, and the Abilisks from earlier popped out and landed amongst the sea of animals. Mantis encouraged them all to go, doing it gently at first, before screaming it at the top of her lungs.

"I cannot hold much..." Cosmo managed to get out with great strain in her voice.

More animals hurried past her, including a tiny turtle.

"Hurry!" Vanitas shouted, feeling great pain from the effort of keeping a ship so massive restrained with his powers. He squeezed his left eye shut. "I'm goin' blind!"

The massive ship of Arête continued to explode, sending more and more debris through the void of space. The explosions caused the ship to rise up slightly, even tearing apart some of Cosmo and Vanitas's control. The rest of the animals ran as fast as they could towards the port, with Mantis, Riku, Nebula, and Rocket carrying as many as they could while Peter ran quickly after them, all of them hurrying across the dirty ground towards the port of Knowhere.

"Hurry!!!" Vanitas bellowed, feeling the pain spreading through more of his body begin to knock him out.

Within moments, the rest of the animals all jumped between the two ships, and Riku, Rocket, Nebula, and Mantis all jumped across to join them. Peter, however, dropped his Zune, and turned to run down the platform to grab it once again. While everyone else landed together in the port, Peter grabbed his Zune and ran as quickly as he could to catch up. Sadly, he couldn't make it before the strain was too much for both Cosmo and Vanitas. The dog and the ravenette both groaned before their eyes rolled into the backs of their heads as they lost consciousness, both of them dropping to the ground and unintentionally releasing their hold on Arête.

Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Rocket, and Stitch all turned towards the still-exploding Arête, their eyes widening as they saw Peter running as quickly as he could across the surface.

"Quill!" Drax bellowed to the leader of the team. "Hurry!"

"Run!" Riku shouted.

The team and everyone in the port watched in growing fear as Peter then dropped through a broken section of ground into a lower level. Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Rocket, and Stitch all stood next to the unconscious Cosmo and Vanitas, all of them looking worriedly for Peter before they could faintly make him out in a fire-covered lower section. They were faintly able to see as Peter grabbed a cable connected to a tube and ran as quickly as he could to the edge of the ship. They continued to watch as Peter jumped from the ship into the void of space, just barely evading the flames of the explosion from within. Peter floated in space for a moment before releasing his tube, which shot out a spurt of air that sent him flying through the void.

Worry filled Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Rocket, and Stitch as they watched Peter floating through the void of space that had grown between Knowhere and the exploding Arête, his Zune in his hand as the spurt of air sent him towards their port. Sadly, there was still too much debris in his way, and he ended up stopping nearly halfway, stuck floating in the void and staring helplessly at the port that was too far. Horror filled the group as they stared at the floating Peter, knowing that he was losing oxygen quickly.

"Pete~e~r!" Mantis shouted in horror.

Drax and Rocket's eyes were wide in terror as they watched Peter continue to float in the void, with frost slowly starting to spread across his body. Riku huffed and summoned his Keyblade. Knowing that he couldn't do anything with just his blade, Riku looked down at the unconscious forms of Cosmo and Vanitas before casting Curaga. Green light surged around the two, but sadly, they didn't wake up immediately.

"Damn it!" Riku shouted, worry filling him as he and the others watched frost start to form around Peter's face.

Groot let out a loud yell/sob as he ran to the edge of the platform and lifted his arms. The branches started to extend, stretching out into the void of space as they desperately tried to reach Peter. Sadly, the second they entered the void of space, the branches were covered in ice and started shattering, preventing them from going any further. Everyone yelled in despair as they realized that there was nothing they could do.

Vanitas slowly blinked as he started to come to. He groaned in exhaustion before pushing himself up. His eyes widened, and he gasped in horror as he looked out at the floating Peter in space, watching as his cheeks inflated from him using up the rest of his air.

To the amazement of Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, and everyone else on the platform, they were able to see an individual right next to Peter, pointing his fingers at one of Peter's in a manner reminiscent of that one painting of God meeting man. They watched in amazement as Adam flew up to Peter and grasped his wrist. Adam pulled Peter in and wrapped his arms around the frozen man to secure him before they started flying together towards Knowhere. While the rest of Arête was engulfed in explosions, Adam flew himself and Peter towards Knowhere, where they both crashed and landed roughly on the ground of the port in front of the gathered crowd.

"Thank God for Eyebrows Kid!" Vanitas exclaimed with relief in his voice.

While Adam slowly stood up, Drax, Gamora, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all rushed as quickly as they could to the downed Peter, with Riku ready to cast another wave of Curaga if needed.

"Peter!" Nebula exclaimed, her voice shuddering as she pushed Peter onto his back.

As Drax, Gamora, Groot, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas stood over him, Mantis and Nebula both crouched down to look over Peter. The frost had vanished from his face, though there was still a mild bloat to his cheeks and neck, and his left eye was swollen shut. To the group's immense relief, Peter's right eye was open, and he slowly blinked as he looked up at the others.

"Did that... look... cool?" Peter strained out.

Mantis and Nebula smiled as they let out small, tearful chuckles, while Drax, Groot, Rocket, Stitch, Riku, and Vanitas all smiled in relief.

"... Never do that again, you stupid bastard," Vanitas requested, shaking his head with a smile.

"Come on," Nebula said, smiling at Peter.

Gamora just placed her hands on her hips in frustration and annoyance as Nebula and Mantis both grabbed Peter's arms. They pulled him up into a sitting position with grunts, and Peter slowly breathed in and out in relief as his sister hugged him. Groot, Rocket, Nebula, Drax, Stitch, Vanitas, and Riku all crouched down and crawled in to help join in the group hug, all of them wrapping their arms around each other while holding onto Peter in relief of his survival. A few of the nearby residents in the port moved over to join in the hug, and the Blurp even hopped up onto someone's back to join in.

Cosmo also woke up and rushed over to Peter, licking his face in relief, to his amusement. Vanitas laughed and pet Cosmo on the head, before leaning in to continue with the hug.

Adam wasn't sure what to do, but he felt like he should join in. So, even though he didn't know what a hug was, he walked over to where the others were standing, placed a hand on the back of two of the residents, then leaned in to join the hug. Riku and Vanitas both laughed over how the man looked utterly confused, with Vanitas having a small flashback to that Voldemort scene in Deathly Hollows Pt. 2. *8*

While Gamora got down onto one knee and watched with an amused smile, the group of Cosmo, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Riku, Rocket, Stitch, Vanitas, the residents, the Blurp, and Adam all continued to hug Peter, all of them relieved that he had managed to get through this alive. A sense of accomplishment also coursed through them all over their victory over the High Evolutionary, and that they had saved so many innocent lives...

Chapter Text

Knowhere

Everything was calm within the giant celestial head now that the massive war against the High Evolutionary and his forces had been taken down. The Star children and the formerly captive animals all still appeared to be in a state of shock over what happened, but the gathered crowds of residents were working on helping the accumulation. Sunlight beamed down from the open port in the left eye, allowing light to spread down into the city, while many residents tried to ignore the rubble filling the streets from the attacks. Still, a strange calmness had filled everything, while the Bowie had even been retrieved, with plans on rebuilding the cockpit already in place.

The Guardians were all gathered about in different manners throughout the city, all of them trying to help however they could. Riku and Vanitas took some time to promise that things would be okay before they took off the leather jackets of their suits, leaving themselves in just short sleeved shirts and the leather pants. Kraglin and Cosmo went about to assure the new residents that things would be okay, Adam sat on a bench with a blanket covering his bare torso, the High Evolutionary had been placed in a cell nearby, and Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Riku, Rocket, and Stitch were moving about with the other people of Knowhere, chatting amongst each other about what just happened.

Kraglin even gave water to people, including Adam. Adam shared his name, and Kraglin told him that he needed "something metal" for a hero name. Adam said that he liked just his own name, which Kraglin said sucked on its own. Adam just raised an eyebrow, but he continued to drink his water. Food was passed out to the newcomers, children and scientists alike, by people at vendors. The woman who had been cut by a lemur smiled as she handed packages of food to nearby people. Said lemur was sitting at the counter, and as he watched people take food, it chattered as it tried offering the piece of food it had just been eating to someone else.

Gamora had already made a call to the Ravagers to get them to come and pick her up at Knowhere, and was waiting for them while standing on one of the raised walkways, resting her forearms on the railing. Vanitas stood underneath that platform, sensing as Groot walked up to her. Through his language, Groot nervously informed her that the Ravagers had arrived, and Gamora thanked him as she turned towards the living tree, pausing as she realized she could understand him now. Groot stayed nervous as he told Gamora that it was a pleasure working with her, and Gamora smiled as she returned the gesture, patting him on the arm as she walked past him to leave.

Vanitas softly nodded his head as he felt a new wave of sympathy for Groot. The Guardians had all become very close to each other over the years of their original team up, to the point that the original Gamora had become like a mother to Groot when he was a baby. Vanitas could sense that Groot was all right, but there was still a part of him that missed the mother-figure he had in Gamora. Nodding his head in sympathy, Vanitas hoped that Groot would be okay before he moved up a set of stairs in curiosity.

Riku and Vanitas both ended up moving towards the dock, where they knew that Gamora would be heading to join the Ravagers once again. The two Keyblade Masters watched from the doorway as Gamora walked towards where the Ravager ship was, with Martinex standing ready and greeting her after talking with Peter. Martinex stood on the ramp with Mainframe floating next to him as Peter and Gamora looked at each other, now feeling a bit more comfortable with each other, but Vanitas sensed that it wasn't to the level they used to have. Vanitas grimaced, not sure if they really would get back to that level ever again.

Gamora seemed to confirm this as she reminded Peter that she still wasn't what he wanted her to be. Peter understood this, with Vanitas sensing acceptance in him as he reassured Gamora. Riku gave a small grimace, rationalizing that at least she wasn't kicking Peter in the nuts twice again, like she had when she first met him during the Battle for Earth. Riku was pulled out of these thoughts as Peter told Gamora that who she is wasn't so bad. She smiled at him before pausing, then walking past him and stopping once again. Nebula joined Riku and Vanitas in watching as Gamora looked down, avoiding facing Peter as she remarked, "I bet we were fun."

Peter had a mixture of sadness, but acceptance in his eyes as he confirmed that they were. There was a moment of silence, where Vanitas sensed that a little part of Gamora actually wished for the life her previous self had, but she brushed it aside. Nebula then walked up to her sister, and the two of them shared another head-raise with grunts before Gamora went up the ramp. Nebula, Peter, Riku, and Vanitas all watched together as Gamora stepped into the ship with Mainframe and Martinex, all of them disappearing into the ship together once again.

Riku and Vanitas gave a small nod of their heads, accepting that this was the life that this new version of Gamora had chosen, and they hoped the best for her.

"I just hope they stop beating the shit out of people so often," Vanitas commented.

"They're Ravagers; you know that's not gonna happen," Riku replied.

They were both drawn out of their thoughts by Peter telling Nebula that he needed to talk with everybody. *1*

Minutes later, the Guardians were all gathered in one of the buildings, one that served as a bit of a cantina. Everyone stood together within the room, gathered in a bit of a circle as they all listened to what Peter had to say. Rocket was sitting on a bar stool, which allowed him to be a bit more level with the others, while Stitch sat on Vanitas's shoulder as he stood next to Riku, and Nebula, Groot, Drax, Mantis, and Peter formed the rest of the circle. They all stood together and listened as Peter explained what he wanted to do, yet surprise still filled many of them.

"... So, you're gonna leave?" Rocket asked, surprise and a bit of sadness in his voice.

"My mother died in front of me when I was eight years old, and I have been running ever since," Peter told them. Rocket still frowned in sadness, while Riku and Vanitas both gave small nods of understanding. "I'm gonna need to take some time..." He looked at Mantis. "And learn how to swim."

Mantis, Riku, and Vanitas all gave small smiles, all of them remembering the earlier conversation in the Bowie engine levels, and all of them approving that Peter was willing to work to improve himself.

"Whatever you gotta do, Andy Dwyer," Vanitas remarked with a nod of his head.

'Hopefully that includes other voice work outside of Garfield and Mario,' the ravenette then thought.

"I, as well," Mantis then declared, surprising much of the group.

Drax and Nebula both looked at her in surprise, while Riku and Vanitas just raised their eyebrows.

"I love you all," Mantis told the group. "I do." Groot softly nodded his head. "But my whole life I did whatever Ego wanted, and then I did whatever the Guardians wanted. I need to go out and discover what I want."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Riku praised with a small nod of his head.

"I'll come with you," Drax immediately offered to Mantis.

"No, Drax," Mantis argued. "That's the whole point."

"But you need someone to protect you," Drax pointed out.

Vanitas gave a small smile. He sensed that Drax was both lying and being truthful at the same time. He did believe that Mantis needed some kind of protection, but he was also using this as an excuse because he didn't want to be apart from her.

"I don't," Mantis argued.

"Not in a bad way," Drax continued. "Just because of your incredible weakness."

"You should not be a therapist," Riku commented to Drax.

"Yeah, you'd suck ass at it," Vanitas agreed.

"You would!" Mantis agreed, frowning at Drax. "Oh, my God, you're so frustrating!"

"Drax," Nebula said, smiling at the strongman and getting his attention. "I need you here. We're building a new society. I need all the support I can get for those children out there. Today... I saw who you are. You weren't born to be a destroyer." Drax just blinked at her. "You were born to be a dad."

"Despite your... many problems..." Riku slowly said to Drax. "You are pretty good as a dad."

"Just pick and choose which of your movies to show them," Vanitas added to Drax. "Stuber and My Spy are probably all right, but you might wanna hold off on Army of the Dead, Dune, and that movie that just came out with the people behind the original Resident Evil movies."

Drax just took in their words and gave a small smile at the idea of being a dad again.

Vanitas looked up and smiled as he thought about Milla Jovovich, which had Stitch and Riku raising an eyebrow.

"So, you'll lead the Guardians, then?" Rocket said as he looked at Nebula, half asking and half hoping.

"No," Nebula told him with a small shake of her head. "I'm gonna lead the city, make it the type of home I never had."

"That's another admirable goal," Riku remarked, with Peter nodding his head in agreement.

"Hey, at least you've got more old stuff that's suitable for kids thanks to Jumanji and Spies in Disguise," Vanitas remarked with a smile. "Though, ease them into stuff like Oculus, Dual, and... as much as I love it, even Doctor Who."

"Okay, I've been meaning to ask for years, but do you ever understand just what he's saying?" Nebula asked, gesturing to Vanitas while looking at Riku.

"I've learned to tune him out until he says something important," Riku admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

Vanitas gave a mock offended look and flipped both of his allies the bird, which got Stitch to giggle.

"So, that's it?" Rocket demanded, upset over losing so many allies at once. He looked amongst them all in despair. "The group's over?"

"No," Peter confirmed, garnering attention again. "Well, the Galaxy still needs its Guardians." Rocket looked right at him. "And you will make a better leader than I ever was... Cap'n."

Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all looked down at the surprised look on Rocket's face. Though they hadn't thought the best of him just a few days ago, now that they knew more about Rocket, seen what all he had been through, and also seen how he had changed... they could admit that they could see it work. Rocket still just looked up in total shock as Peter lifted an arm and pressed it to his chest in a salute.

Mantis followed his example by looking at Rocket and patting her chest in a salute. Drax followed their example by patting his chest, as did Stitch, Riku, and Vanitas. Nebula did the same thing, much to Rocket's continued shock, while Groot smiled and finished with his own salute. Groot then looked around at the rest of the group.

"I love you guys," Groot told them all. *2*

Riku and Vanitas both smiled, and Stitch laughed before smiling, as well.

Lowering his arm for a moment, Vanitas let out a huff before looking around at the Guardians.

"But, before you guys do go..." Vanitas slowly said. He looked amongst Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket. "You guys need to remember... All of you guys have your own little backgrounds, with your own histories, and your own little problems. All of you guys went through unknown kinds of horror and managed to survive, but you still lost a lot along the way. But, then you found each other, and you managed to form this group. You guys might have lost a lot, but in coming together, you guys regained something amazing: fantastic friendships, and one of the best families ever."

He looked amongst Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket.

"No matter where you go, or what life does to you... You guys have a family again," Vanitas told them. "Whether you guys go days, weeks, months, or even a year or two without seeing each other... don't lose that family. Take it from me... Stay connected with each other somehow. Keep that family strong, no matter wherever you guys are in the whole damn Galaxy."

Everyone was silent as they processed Vanitas's words. No doubt Drax, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, and Rocket were all deciding on how they would do just that, while Riku and Stitch both nodded in understanding, both of them knowing how important family was to the two of them, as well.

All of a sudden, Drax looked down and started sobbing, apparently having become overcome with emotion.

"Drax?" Mantis asked. "Are you crying?"

"No!" Drax immediately snapped as he looked at her. "I'm just sweating through my eyes!"

"No, you're crying," Peter said, a small smile on his face.

"Well... it happens sometimes!" Drax snapped as he continued to sob.

After a few moments, Drax let out another sob before suddenly moving over to Riku and Vanitas. The two teens were surprised before Drax suddenly grabbed the both of them and pulled them in for a strong hug. Riku and Vanitas both grunted over the pain from Drax's strength, while Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Peter, Rocket, and even Stitch all just raised their eyebrows in surprise.

"I love you, you dumb, spiky headed idiots!" Drax shouted, sobbing as he continued to hold onto Riku and Vanitas.

The two Keyblade Masters leaned their heads back and shared a look, then shrugged their shoulders as they continued to accept Drax's bone-crushing hug. *3*

Some time later, things were calmer in Knowhere as everyone continued to recover from what happened and the new group of survivors and animals within the city. Drax, Groot, Mantis, and Nebula continued to help the new residents, while Peter had already said his goodbyes and was packing up his stuff. Cosmo and Kraglin were helping the process, which included giving food and new supplies to the Star children (including a happy Phyla), and all the animals. At the moment, Riku, Vanitas, and Stitch were together with Rocket, all of them sitting together on a set of stairs overlooking everything.

Nearby, little kits (baby raccoons) were scurrying about, chittering happily, while Rocket looked at the Zune in his hands. Before he finished packing up his gear, Peter had given it to Rocket with a note saying, "I went back and got this for you, Pete." Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas all softly nodded their heads as they looked at Rocket together.

"He wouldn't give this position to you if he didn't trust you," Riku reassured the raccoon.

"And he definitely wouldn't have given you his Zune if he didn't trust you," Vanitas added.

"Trust!" Stitch emphasized.

"Yeah..." Rocket agreed with a small chuckle. He took the note off the Zune and looked at the playlists, divided amongst the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. "Yeah."

"If it helps..." Vanitas slowly told the raccoon. "We can put in a request to Merlin and Chip and Dale. Get you guys Gummiphones made."

"Those things have a mixture of technology and magic," Riku added. "You can call or text each other no matter what side of the galaxy you're on."

"Yeah, you guys can stay connected a bit better," Vanitas emphasized.

"We could even talk!" Stitch added happily.

"I appreciate it," Rocket told him. He smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, I'd like one of those. As long as I get to give my own request for the color scheme."

"That's a fair point," Vanitas admitted. He shared a look with Riku. "Not everyone is okay with the gold and blue design."

Riku raised an eyebrow and nodded in agreement.

Rocket, meanwhile, looked down at the Zune and decided that they could use some music. So, he selected the playlist labeled 2000s. He scrolled for a moment before choosing Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine. The song started playing over the speakers throughout the city, which got everyone to slowly look up in surprise. The Star children all looked up from the food granted to them, smiles appearing on their faces at the happy tunes. Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all smiled as they looked up and listened to the music as it continued to play, knowing that it was doing its effect of making people a bit happier.

All of the residents of Knowhere all looked up and smiled as they listened, including the Star children, and Adam even looked up from where he sat with the blanket around himself. Nebula looked around with a small frown from where she stood with Phyla and the other children, while Groot handed containers of food to a couple of children before he stood and started gesturing with his arms in a dance. The children with him all slowly started smiling, happiness filling them all as they watched him continue to dance. Riku, Rocket, Stitch, and Vanitas all gave small chuckles, nodding happily at the sight.

"Gotta have him dancing in every single one of these things," Vanitas remarked happily.

As the music continued to play, Rocket stood up and stepped down onto the ground, dance-walking over to Groot. The two of them continued to dance together, which only made the gathered crowd all the more happy. Stitch cheered happily, while Riku and Vanitas stood up and shared looks.

"One more happy moment?" Vanitas asked.

"One more happy moment," Riku confirmed with a nod of his head.

"With our ladies!" Vanitas then declared.

With that, he took out the TemPad from earlier and activated it. A light blue portal appeared next to them, and Vanitas reached inside, grabbing someone and pulling them through. To Riku, Stitch, and Vanitas's surprise, Cid's head ended up poking out of the portal from Vanitas's dragging.

"What the hell?" Cid exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh," Vanitas said. "Sorry, Cid."

Cid then grunted in surprise as Vanitas pushed him back through the portal. The ravenette reached inside again, and pulled a surprised Yuffie out. Of course, at the sight of Vanitas, Yuffie smiled as the ravenette pressed the buttons to close the portal.

"Hey, what's going on?" Yuffie happily asked.

"We just stopped a crazy asshole and saved a bunch of people, so we're having a party to celebrate," Vanitas emphasized as he opened another blue portal.

"Well... That's as good a reason as ever to throw a party," Yuffie remarked, bopping her head along to the music.

Riku and Stitch both laughed in agreement as Vanitas reached into the new portal. To Riku's happiness, Naminé was pulled through the portal, wearing a striped tank top, shorts that went down to her knees, and numerous, brightly colored bracelets. Naminé huffed in surprise, but she smiled at the sight of Riku.

"What's going on?" Naminé asked as the electric portal closed behind her.

"We're dancin', baby!" Vanitas declared.

He and Yuffie grasped each others' arms and hurried over to where Rocket and Groot were still dancing while everyone watched. Stitch laughed and moved over to join them on all fours, while Naminé and Riku shared a look and laughed.

"I don't really know how to dance," Naminé admitted.

"Neither do I," Riku admitted. They grasped each others' arms. "Let's find out together."

With that, Naminé and Riku both moved forward with laughs and joined the others.

Across the town, Drax stood in an open archway staring forlornly down an open road, where Mantis was standing. Drax fought down every single urge to start crying again as they stared at each other before slowly lifting an arm up to wave. Mantis lifted up her arm to wave back, giving a small smile in return. Drax continued to resist the urge to cry as Mantis looked up, let out a small trill, and turned to start walking down the road. The Abilisks all started moving after her, climbing down the walls and the road to follow her on her new path. Tears were in Drax's eyes, but he pushed down the urge to cry as best he could.

Back at the Ravagers, Gamora had also rejoined the rest of the group that consisted of her new family, sharing happy cheers with the crowd, including Mainframe, Martinex, and Krugarr. Stakar came out of a room, and he and Gamora shared smiles and hugs as they were reunited, with Stakar welcoming her home. Gamora shared happy greetings with the others, which included noogies with one man, and a group hug that was started by Krugarr.

Within the street in the middle of Knowhere, the music continued to play as the crowd continued to cheer. Everyone was jumping and cheering, especially the children as the groups continued to dance. Groot and Rocket continued to dance wildly next to each other, and Stitch joined them with his own moves, including various jumps and flips. Vanitas and Yuffie grasped each others' arms as they proceeded to dance in their own way, doing some moves that they had learned through their own means on their adventures. Naminé and Riku also danced with each other, a bit more nervously than most of the others, but still happy to share the moment together.

Nearby, Phyla and some of the dancing and cheering children had even grasped Nebula's arms and got her to join in the swaying. In the face of so many happy children, Nebula started letting her shields down and actually smiled genuinely. She swayed with the children, smiling and laughing with them as they all proceeded to dance within the dirt road. Nebula let out some of the most genuine laughs of her life as she continued dancing.

Cosmo was also moving frantically through the road in her own interpretation of a dance. The Blurp moved towards her, as did Stitch. Cosmo, Stitch, and the Blurp all proceeded to dance crazily in their own manners, all of them feeling a new level of glee.

From his position where he sat against a wall with a blanket around himself, Adam gave a small smile, feeling a strange sort of calm that he had never felt before now.

Rocket took a small moment to return to the cell that he had placed the High Evolutionary within. With a blanket around himself, the High Evolutionary was grateful that they had at least given him his mask back. He secured it on his head as best as he could while Rocket activated the cage, ensuring that there were lasers within the glass windows to discourage him from wanting to escape. The High Evolutionary just stared Rocket down as he turned and left to rejoin the party again. *4*

Another reunion was taking place back on Earth. Having returned to Missouri with a bag on his back, Peter walked through the neighborhood that Riku and Vanitas had helped him find so long ago, walking through the street before eventually reaching the right address. He knocked on the front door, and an African American woman answered that he didn't recognize. Peter started to guess that he was at the wrong house, but then said he was looking for Jason Quill. The woman, his grandmother, smiled and led Peter through the house, where he was a little surprised to see so many framed pictures of himself as a child and his mother.

Peter's grandmother then led him to an open set of patio doors to the backyard, where he found his grandfather sitting at a table just outside reading a newspaper. As Jason and Peter both looked at each other, a wave of emotions coursed through them, and Jason took off his glasses before pushing himself to his feet. He slowly moved around the table and wrapped his arms around Peter, hugging him while crying in pure happiness. Peter fought back his own tears as he greeted his grandfather, both of them relishing in the long-awaited reunion.

Within the streets of Knowhere, Phyla and another of the Star children had grasped Drax's arms and excitedly pulled him through the crowd. Though he was still sad about Mantis, he smiled at the children. Within moments, they had stopped together in the road, and many of the children started jumping happily around Drax. After a few moments, Drax then joined them, jumping up and down with nearby residents while letting out a loud laugh. The crowds of residents joined in and all jumped and laughed happily. Everyone cheered and laughed as they continued jumping and laughing to the music.

"Yes! Yes! Yeah! Yeah!" Drax bellowed happily.

"Whoo!" Vanitas cheered as he and Yuffie spun and laughed.

"Whahaaah!" Naminé happily exclaimed as Riku lifted her and spun her.

Everyone continued to laugh and cheer as they danced happily in the streets.

Cosmo let out a loud, happy howl.

"Yeah!" Kraglin shouted.

"Yeah!" Nebula shouted with her arms up over her head.

"Woohooo!!!" Stitch screamed, jumping high up into the air with his arms up.

Groot roared as he continued to dance happily. Phyla shouted in excitement, while Rocket, Vanitas, and Riku all whooped happily. The two teens took a moment to stop dancing with Naminé and Yuffie to pat Rocket happily on the shoulder, showing that everything would be okay.

The Guardians had won again, and though they were separated, they would always be together. *5*

Things had quieted down once again in Knowhere, though some music continued to play through the speakers, allowing everyone to still be happy as they enjoyed the rest of the evening together. Riku and Vanitas had danced with Naminé, Yuffie, and the rest of the crowds to nearly the point of exhaustion, until they ended up needing Potions and Hi-Potions afterwards. Things were calm enough that Riku and Vanitas knew it was time for them to leave, so they started saying another wave of goodbyes to Cosmo, Drax, Groot, Kraglin, Nebula, and Rocket, promising that they would all see each other again soon.

Riku and Vanitas ended up gathering in an empty apartment with Naminé, Stitch, and Yuffie. Riku and Vanitas changed out of their suits and back into normal clothes before sharing a wave of goodbye hugs with Naminé, Stitch, and Yuffie.

"Be careful in Quadratum, okay?" Naminé requested, looking at Riku in worry.

"I will," Riku told her. "I promise."

"You kick some serious ass and get Sora back," Yuffie told Vanitas with a smile.

"I will," Vanitas said with a smile. "I promise."

Riku and Naminé raised an eyebrow over how Vanitas had blatantly copied the former, but they brushed it aside.

Whatever the case, the two couples shared long, heartfelt kisses before they started getting ready to separate. Stitch climbed up onto Yuffie's shoulder and waved goodbye to the two Keyblade Masters sadly. Riku and Vanitas both waved back before the latter lifted up the TemPad. One at a time, Vanitas opened blue portals that would lead back to Twilight Town and Radiant Garden, and the two women nodded and waved at their boyfriends. Naminé disappeared through one portal, and Yuffie and Stitch vanished through the other one before they vanished completely.

"Coming back was a good idea," Riku relented with a nod of his head. He looked at Vanitas. "I missed her, and seeing her again reminded me more of why we need to fight. Not only do we need to get Sora back, but we've also gotta get ready for battling the Council of Kang and whatever other threats are in the Multiverse."

"You got that right," Vanitas agreed. He huffed. "If it helps, I also gave a device that shares images through recorded messages. I recorded a long message for her to give the others the next time they're all together."

He let out a sigh before sharing a look with Riku.

"The others can't be in the dark, anymore," Vanitas told him. "After what happened to us, they need to start getting ready for Kang and the Seven Darknesses."

"Okay," Riku said, nodding his head in understanding. He paused. "Um... What all did you share in the message?"

"Well, the basics," Vanitas admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Seven Darknesses, four that might have escaped the datascape and three of them are in the Council of Kang, the Council on their own and the army they had. I shared how we discovered the stadium, our attempt to escape and getting captured, then our rescue by the TVA, how you died during our escape..."

"Oh, shit..." Riku said, closing his eyes in despair.

"What?" Vanitas asked, frowning in confusion.

"I might have... not shared some of what happened out there with Naminé," Riku slowly admitted.

Vanitas's frown deepened as he thought a bit closer about what had gotten Riku to swear. He shook his head in realization.

"... You didn't tell Naminé that you got killed by one of the Kangs and we had to bring you back to life?" Vanitas demanded.

"It didn't come up in conversation!" Riku exclaimed in his defense.

"And you say Sora's dumb," Vanitas commented, still giving a small frown. "Even I tell Yuffie when I die and come back to life."

Riku just closed his eyes and sighed out, already knowing there was nothing he could say in his defense.

"Look..." he slowly said. He huffed. "Could we just resume our mission and begin our trip to Quadratum?"

"Sure," Vanitas confirmed as he took out the TemPad. "But that doesn't change that Naminé's definitely gonna kill you when you see her again."

"I'll keep that in mind," Riku promised.

Whatever the case, Vanitas flipped through the settings and information in the TemPad. Scrolling through universes, he found a section labeled "Fictional Worlds," then selected the tab for "Quadratum." With the push of a button, a golden, square shaped portal appeared next to them, and Riku and Vanitas both looked at it. The two Keyblade Masters both breathed in and out for a moment, anxiety coursing through them as they inwardly prepared themselves.

"Mission to the Unknown," Vanitas declared. "Not just an underrated Doctor Who episode from almost 60 years ago."

Brushing that aside, Riku and Vanitas both looked at each other, furrowed their eyebrows, and nodded their heads in determination. Having stocked up on fresh cases of Items thanks to a Moogle in town, the two Keyblade Masters marched forward, both of them once again internally preparing themselves for whatever they would face in Quadratum. Walking through the portal together, Riku and Vanitas marched together through the passageway between realities, with the golden, electric pathway disappearing behind them and leaving the apartment empty once again.

They had no idea what they were going to experience in Quadratum, but Riku and Vanitas were ready for whatever they encountered as long as they found Sora in the end. *6*

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord

Haley Joel Osment as Vanitas Jordan

Zoe Saldaña as Gamora

David Gallagher as Riku Boreanas

Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Pom Klementieff as Mantis

Featuring Vin Diesel as Groot

Bradley Cooper as Rocket

Chris Sanders as Stitch

Will Poulter as Adam Warlock

Sean Gunn as Kraglin

Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary

Linda Cardellini as Lylla

Nathan Fillion as Master Karja

Maria Bakalova as Cosmo

With Meaghan Martin as Naminé

With Suzie Yeung as Yuffie Kisaragi

And Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord

Guardians of the Galaxy & The Keybearers Vol. 3

Sometime later, on a desert planet, Rocket sat in a circle with his new group of Guardians, while Groot was laying in the ground in a way to act as camouflage, while the Blurp rested on top of him. All of them were in their uniforms as they sat in a circle, near a group of pink-skinned people who had asked for their help. Rocket looked amongst his newest recruits, asking them their favorite musical acts. Phyla thought for a moment before answering Britney Spears and Korn. Rocket praised her for her choices, while Kraglin chose Garth Brooks. Cosmo declared that The Carpenters don't have a single bad song, while Adam answered Adrian Belew, both his solo work, and what he did with King Crimson.

Adam asked Rocket what his favorite was, and Rocket chose one that he said was kind of special. Come and Get Your Love by Red Bone started playing from the Zune, which got the Blurp to perk up. Adam, Cosmo, and Phyla both smiled and started bopping to the music, while Kraglin laughed and clapped his hands. Of course, nearby, the pink-skinned people all exclaimed in terror as they stared out across the desert, hearing a screeching echo through the air. While the residents all started running for their lives, Adam, Cosmo, Kraglin, Phyla, Rocket, and the Blurp all looked in the direction of the screeches, with Rocket assessing that "they" were here.

Kraglin then stood up, a bit of cockiness in his voice as he offered to take care of things by himself. Rocket declared that it would go faster if they all went together. He pat the large tree that Groot was pretending to be. The Blurp jumped off of Groot as he uncurled himself and pushed himself to his feet, showing that he had gone through another growth spurt, one that now made him twice as tall as anyone else on the team. Numerous creatures resembling hyenas charged across the desert towards them, letting out angry screeches along the way.

Phyla asked if the others ever felt sad for the creatures as her eye glowed purple, signifying she was getting ready to use her powers. Rocket gripped his gun as he confirmed that he did, but the townspeople couldn't protect themselves. Cosmo declared that they were waiting for his word, and after a moment of staring down the creatures, Rocket smiled and said, "Word." As Come and Get Your Love continued to play, Groot, Kraglin, Adam, Rocket, Cosmo, Phyla, and the Blurp all charged forward together, ready to fulfill their duties and be the new Guardians of the Galaxy.

On Earth, Peter sat at the dinner table with Jason one morning, with Peter eating a bowl of cereal while Jason read the newspaper. Pointedly ignoring the section of the newspaper describing Kevin Bacon sharing his experience of being abducted by aliens (knowing his friends were responsible for it), Peter shared that he was okay with helping their neighbor mow her lawn, he just wondered why her son didn't help and would just sit and watch her do it. Jason requested that he didn't get him started, and Peter admitted that now he really wanted to know the reason. They shared small smiles as Peter continued eating his cereal while Jason continued reading his newspaper.

Moments later, a knock came from the front door, which had Peter looking up. Jason and Peter shared a look before moving across the dining room to the entrance hall, and opening the door. He raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Drax, Groot, Nebula, Adam, Rocket, and the Blurp on the other side of the door, with many of them giving him smiles.

"Hey, Pete," Rocket said, giving Peter a small smile while wearing a long sleeve shirt, pants, and a scarf. "Nice to see you're holdin' up well here on Earth."

"Yeah... Things are adjusting, but I'm doing okay," Peter said.

"It's good to see you again," Drax said, wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants. "It's been so long."

"It's been five days," Nebula told him, frowning while wearing a turtleneck and jeans.

"I am Groot," Groot emphasized, crouching down slightly so he was level with them.

"Uh..." Peter said. He looked over at Jason, who had taken off his glasses in shock. "Grandpa, these are my friends. The other Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Holy sassafras!" Jason exclaimed.

"Hello," Adam said, waving a hand at the old man while dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. He looked at Peter as the Blurp squirmed in his arms. "We are apparently here for a shower of a baby?"

"It's called a baby shower," Nebula reminded Adam. She looked at Peter. "The ones that we met on Earth known as Wanda and Vision, the ones that we have weird sitcoms of, they are celebrating the eventual birth of their twin children, and they invited us."

"Oh, yeah..." Peter said, furrowing his eyebrows in remembrance. He reached to a nearby counter and picked up a letter. "I got one of those, too. I was just thinking about how I was gonna get there."

"Well, now you've got us," Rocket told him, smiling up at him. "Nice little way of getting together again, eh?"

"Yeah..." Peter said, smiling at the idea. "Yeah, it'd be nice to see you guys again. And see all the other Avengers in a setting outside of danger."

"That's great!" Drax declared. He lifted up his arms in excitement. "Now, let us go to this shower of babies!"

Adam nodded his head in agreement, while the Blurp gave a small, excited screech.

"Guys, it's not for another two days," Peter told them. "You're a... a little early."

"Oh," Nebula said.

"I am Groot," Groot told them.

"Well, how were we supposed to know how days work on Earth?" Nebula asked.

"If it helps, I'll show you around the city," Peter offered. He held his hands to the side. "Let you guys see how different Earth is from how it was when I left. I know it was quite the shock for me."

"I would enjoy that," Adam admitted. He shrugged his shoulders. "I have no frame of reference, so I'd like to see what this planet is like."

"Kraglin, Cosmo, and Phyla are watching over things as Guardians while we're gone," Rocket added. He shrugged his shoulders. "Might as well get a feel for Earth."

"I am Groot," Groot agreed with a nod of his head.

"Okay," Peter said. He looked over his shoulder at Jason before grabbing a jacket. "I'll be back in a little bit, grandpa. Then I'll get to the lawn."

"Oh, take your time, son," Jason promised with a wave of his hand.

Peter smiled and nodded while slipping his jacket on. Adam, Drax, Groot, Nebula, Rocket, and even the Blurp all waved to Jason as Peter moved through the front door to join them outside. He shut the door behind him, separating himself and the others from his grandfather. Sitting alone, Jason just chuckled to himself before he resumed reading his newspaper.

"My little boy's good friends with a bunch of aliens and the Avengers," Jason commented. He turned the paper around, and narrowed his eyes as he read some of Kevin Bacon's alien abduction experience. "... And the aliens kidnapped Kevin Bacon for him for Christmas?"

Despite the situation, Jason couldn't help but chuckle again as he started reading the exposé, wanting to know a bit more about the friends his grandson had.

The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return