Maia stretched her arms up as the soft, purple, stuffed flerken fell off the side of Gamora's bed. She yawned and pulled the purple comforter off of her. What was weird; her wound was still there, but it didn't hurt at all. She shrugged the thought off and as her bare feet hit the cold metal floor, Maia rubbed her eyes. She looked around and realized that she was still on the ship. The pillow and blankets that made up the makeshift bed Gamora had made for herself, were folded and set upon the dresser. She glanced them before walking out of the room, in search for Gamora.
Gamora was the only person Maia trusted. The other Guardians seemed...friendly, in a way, but there was something about the green woman that made her even more trustworthy. Maybe it was because she had treated her with such kindness ever since she boarded the Milano or maybe it was because she saved her life. However, Peter has done the same. So, what made Gamora so special? How could she not trust Peter just as much?
Rocket seemed pretty nice. However, he seemed grouchy all the time. Groot was adorable and the cutest little sapling ever, except he was still a baby. Drax hadn't paid much attention to her and it seemed like he didn't care too much about her presence.
The other question that was on her mind: what are the Guardians going to do with her? Were they going to let her stay or were they going to make her leave as soon as she healed? Time would only tell how long until that question would be answered.
Maia finally found her way to the common area, which was right below the cockpit. Nobody was around, which probably meant that they were hanging out on the level above her. It was uncharacteristically quiet. She came upon the metallic, coffin-shaped table that sat in the middle of the room. It was covered in scraps of metal and various types of tools and wires. Maia immediately became curious and started gathering certain materials.
The young girl started to build a hand-held rectangular device. It was only minutes before Drax starting complaining about the noise. Rocket walked into the common area, which meant he wasn't in the cockpit.
"SHUT THE HELL UP! IT AIN'T ME!" He yelled up to the muscular man. He glanced over at the table to see the young girl glued to her invention. The genetically modified raccoon scurried over to her side and ripped the tools out of her hands. "What the hell do you think you're doing with my krutakin' tools?!" Maia jumped, unaware of his presence and looked at him like a child being caught stealing a cookie.
"Listen kid, I'm telling ya', if you connect the red wire to the yellow wire, more sound will be produced." Rocket said, sitting next to the slightly shorter girl. Maia carefully did as he said. She tossed the pliers she was holding onto the table and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.
"What would happen if I added another piece of metal here?" The young girl asked, gesturing to a part of the rectangular object.
Rocket tapped his foot, thinking. "It shouldn't affect anything, but I'd probably use a thinner piece." Maia nodded and added a thin piece of metal to the device. "A few more tweaks and that thing will be good to go!"
"Thank you, Rockey!" Maia squealed, subconsciously hugging the raccoon. Rocket gently pushed her away with wide eyes.
"My name ain't Rockey! It's Rocket...and don't hug me!" Rocket started to walk out of the room before stopping. He turned his head around to see the young girl ducking her head. "Put my shit back the way it was when you're done...and you're welcome..." Maia softly smiled as she watched Rocket exit the room.
Maia had finally finished her invention as Peter descended down the stairs. "And...done!" She exclaimed to herself.
"Did Rocket say it was okay to use his tools?" Peter asked, startling the young girl.
"Um...no, I-I didn't." Peter scoffed in amusement. "B-but," She stuttered. "He saw me and looked like he got mad, but he helped me."
The man nodded his head and chuckled. "Nobody can really convince that dude to do anything at times." He curiously looked at the object behind Maia. "Watcha making?"
Maia looked at it as well. "Well...I call it a hand-held universal tuner." She presented nervously.
Peter picked it up gently and studied it. "What does it do?"
The little girl ripped the tuner out of his hands and turned a knob that was on the front of it. Peter kneeled in front of her. "Ever since I found out about Terran music, I wanted to know more. This is similar to the device I created to tune into different radio waves from Terra." She turned a different knob that controlled the volume. 'Ella se hace la bruta pa cotizar/Asi conmigo enfrente ella se hace la gata en celo contigo/Te cotorrea el oído pa tenerte en alta/Ella muere por ti, tu por mi es que matas.'
"That's a Spanish station." Peter said, chuckling. "Try finding one in English." Maia nodded and continued to turn the first knob. 'Des yeux qui font baisser les miens/Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche/Voilà le portrait sans retouche/De l'homme auquel j'appartiens.' Peter chuckled again. "I'm pretty sure that's french." Maia giggled turning the knob further. 'Isn't she lovely?/Isn't she wonderful?/Isn't she precious?' He held out a hand. "Wait, wait, wait."
"Is this it?!" Maia asked excitedly.
"Holy shit! This is Stevie! I haven't heard any of his songs in decades!" The young girl's smile grew larger than ever and the twinkle in her eyes shined brighter than ever. Peter started laughing in amazement and stood up. He began to dance, forcing Maia to giggle. "Come on, Kid! Dance with me." He held out his hands and Maia cautiously grabbed them. Peter spun her around in circles as she continued to giggle. This moment lasted for several songs. Eventually, both Maia and Peter got tired and decided to take a break.
'You may say I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one/I hope someday you'll join us/And the world will be as one.' Gamora heard a familiar high pitched voice softly singing. She followed the beautiful melody to the common area.
Maia was cleaning up the mess she left on the table. 'Imagine no possessions/I wonder if you can/No need for greed or hunger/A brotherhood of man/Imagine all the people/Sharing all the world, you... ' The young girl continued to sing. Gamora quietly made her way into the room. ' You may say I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one/I hope someday you'll join us/And the world will live as one.'
"Maia?" The little girl jumped and quickly turned her head towards Gamora. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." The green woman slowly approached Maia and kneeled down in front of her. "You have such a beautiful voice."
"Thank you."
"Can you sing me a song?" Gamora asked with a small smile. Maia nodded and closed her eyes for a moment. She turned around and put the last of the supplies away before she started to sing.
'Meet me where the sunlight ends/Meet me where the truth never bends/Bring all that you're scared to defend.' Gamora's smile grew. 'And lay it down when you walk through my door/Throw all of it out on the floor/Your sorrow, your beauty, your war/I want it all, I want it all.' Maia giggled and accidentally snorted, causing her to laugh harder. She continued to sing. 'Bring your secrets, bring your scars/Bring your glory, all you are/Bring your daylight, bring your dark/Share your silence/And unpack your heart.' She stopped singing with a shy grin upon her face.
Gamora shook her head in amazement. "Where did you learn how to sing like that?"
Maia shrugged and blushed. "My Papa used to sing to me." She said shyly. Maia's sparkling eyes grew dim as tears started to flood in them. "And then he left." Gamora unconsciously placed her hands on the girl's tiny, but muscular arms. She removed them quickly after she realized she had put them there.
"Um...Drax is going to cook dinner. Maybe you'd like to help?" Maia wiped the tears off of her cheeks and ran off in search of the muscular man. Gamora watched her with sympathy filling her eyes. Little did she know that Peter was standing against the ladder of the cockpit.
When she saw him, she glared. "What do you want?"
Peter held up his hands in defense. "Listen, I didn't realize how special that stuffed flerken was to you."
"Why are you bringing this topic back up?" Gamora stood up and grabbed a data-pad off the table.
"I don't know." Peter said, scratching the back of his head.
"Don't pity me, Quill." Peter knew Gamora was pissed when she called him by his last name.
"I'm not pitying you. Listen, we've all been through a lot and I was an ass."
"You always are." She interrupted, glaring at him.
"True." Gamora took a seat on one of the chairs, while Peter hopped onto the edge of the table. They both sat there in silence: Gamora reading something on her data-pad and Peter cracking his knuckles. The green woman glared up at him. He looked back at her. "You don't talk much about your parents."
"Neither do you." Gamora said, looking back down, sighing.
"What's there to talk about? My mom, she...ya' know...and my dad, haven't met him. Don't know him. Don't know where he is." Peter leaned back on his hands. "My life story; what's yours?"
"I know. You told me and I already told you mine." Peter sat up and folded his hands.
"How about this? You tell me one good memory you have from your past. I'll tell you one of mine." Gamora looked at him, confused.
"Why is this so important to you?"
"You're my friend. I might be an ass, but I'll always listen. Sometimes, I've found it's better to think about the good times than the bad."
Gamora nodded. "Alright." She put her data-pad on the chair opposite of her. "When I was younger, before Thanos took my childhood away from me, my father also used to dance with me."
Peter smiled softly and scoffed. "I thought a warrior slash assassin doesn't dance." Gamora rolled her eyes. Peter cleared his throat. "Continue."
"I would always stand on his toes. He-" Gamora chuckled a little. "He always used to call me his little warrior. I was always the fighter. I was always so stubborn-"
"Nothing's changed with that." Peter chuckled. Gamora threw a scrap of metal at him. Peter dodged it. "Careful!"
"Trust me, if I wanted it to impale you, it would've." Gamora leaned back in her chair. "It's your turn."
Peter took a deep breath. "Surprisingly, I wasn't the most popular kid in school. I was actually beaten up a lot."
"You said these were good memories."
"Just wait for it. The morning before my mom died, I went to school and these kids were torturing this Earth animal. It was called a frog. They're like slimy and yeah..." Peter cleared his throat. "Anyways, these kids killed it with a stick and I got pissed and beat the shit out of them. I mean I got a black eye, but afterwards I felt like I did something good. Maybe, beating the shit outta those guys wasn't the smartest idea, but I'm Peter frickin' Quill. What'd you expect?"
Gamora smiled a little. "Nothing less." Peter returned the gesture.
Maia finally found Drax in the galley that was located next to the bathroom. It consisted of a stove, a small counter and a compact refrigerator. The muscular man was cutting up some sort of space vegetable that looked like purple carrots and threw it into a pot of bubbling liquid.
The young girl, who could barely reach the counter, stood on her toes. Drax looked over at the girl, whose nose was barely over the countertop. She stood there in silence. "I am making my popular stew that everyone loves." He said with a small smile.
"Nobody likes it!" Rocket shouted up from the engine room that was in the same hallway, opposite of the kitchen. The man rolled his eyes and sighed.
Drax grabbed a stool, which was originally created for Rocket, and placed it near the stove. "Come, child. Tell me, do you know how to stir properly?" Maia shrugged and stood on the stool. She grabbed the wooden spoon that was in the pot and started stirring it, quickly. Drax grabbed her hand and guided her to stir the liquid in a smooth, gentle motion. "Like that."
Drax continued to chop up several other ingredients. "Tell me, how old are you?"
"Five." Maia replied, not looking up from the pot.
"My daughter was only a year younger than you when I had taught her how to cook. She was quite horrible, but I knew she would improve in time. Unfortunately, she never lived to that day." Maia's eyes filled with remorse.
"I'm sorry."
Drax sighed as he added more ingredients. "You remind me very much of her." Maia looked down at the pot, smiling softly.
After dinner, the Guardians gathered in the common area. Maia was standing in front of Groot, whose pot was placed on top of the table and Rocket, Drax, and Peter were watching them converse.
"Hi, Grootie!"
"I am Groot." Maia giggled and continued to chat with the small sapling.
Gamora stood next to Peter. "She's lost. She has no where to go. Peter, I don't know if leaving her with Nova is a good idea." She whispered.
All of the Guardians whipped their heads around towards the woman. "Gamora, we can't take care of a kid."
"Plus, Nova will take care of her." Rocket added.
"What about Groot? He's an infantilized tree and we're doing a pretty damn good job taking care of him." Gamora countered.
"As much as I have grown fond of the young girl, Peter is correct; we cannot take care of her." The woman scoffed at Drax's words and crossed her arms.
"Gamora, it's been almost three weeks: two of which she was unconscious." Gamora rolled her eyes at her leader.
"You guys can't be serious."
"She's too young. She can't take care of herself and she's not old enough to be a Guardian."
"Peter, since when has there been an age requirement for being a Guardian? Groot is technically younger than her and he's a Guardian."
"It's common sense, Gamora! You aren't thinking straight. That little kid, makes you blind!" Peter threw his hands up in exasperation. "And Groot-Groot can regenerate himself. Maia can't."
"We keep her here, she's in danger." Rocket added.
"She's in danger no matter where she is. She already knows how to fight and I can train her to be even better. It doesn't matter if she's with us or with Nova. She'll always be in danger. At least, if she's with us, she'll feel safe." Gamora pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Hello, where's Gamora?" Rocket asked sarcastically.
Gamora ignored his question. "Peter, listen to me."
The man gazed into her brown eyes. Something about the way Gamora looked at him at that moment, made him realize how much that girl meant to her, whether she admitted it or not. To be completely honest, Peter also felt a strange connection to the young girl as if she had the power to make people feel those connections.
As Peter snapped out of his thoughts, he realized that his crew was staring at him. He turned to Rocket and Drax. "What if she becomes an apprentice?" Gamora asked. Peter turned his attention back to her.
"As in Sword in the Stone, we're her mentors, apprentice?"
"I don't know what the hell the Sword in the Stone is, but yes." Gamora clarified.
"I-I don't know, Gamora. We should all really think about this." Peter suggested looking away from her.
"That is the first thing you've said that wasn't completely idiotic..." Rocket said with big eyes.
Peter rolled his own and left the room.
Next Chapter: While still contemplating on whether or not Maia should become the Guardians' personal apprentice, the team lands on Xandar to get the young girl new clothes. Not too long into their trip, the Guardians get asked to meet with Nova Prime, who meets Maia for the first time, offering the Guardians something that will complicate their decision even more so.