The group leaves the bar and follows the pink-skinned woman in silence until Peter breaks it by walking over to Gamora and whispering in her ear.
"Who is she? Is she your 'connection' that we've been waiting for?" he asks, looking in front of them.
Gamora nods. "Yes. Or rather his assistant I assume."
They enter the large building and Sarah's eyes widen. The whole place is full of glass cases and many of the cases are filled with exotic looking plants and animals and other creatures. Living creatures! She looked around at the cases, scared at what she saw.
"Okay, this not creepy at all." She heard Rocket mutter beside her. She smiled at him and turned to the woman, when she began talking to again.
In an airy and distant sounding voice, she said "We house the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics, and species of all manner.
Sarah saw Rocket glaring and snarling at a dog from Terra.
"C'mon. Quit growling at it." She said softly grabbing his shoulder and pulling him along.
"Hey, he growled at me first." Rocket protested as they continued walking. She giggled and shook her head, walking slightly ahead and he smiled softly at her, and grabbed her hand as they walked with the others.
"I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, the collector."
The man turns to them, looking over his glasses and walk over to Gamora.
"Oh, my dear Gamora. How wonderful to meet in the flesh." He says in the airy and distant voice, his assistant used. He took Gamora's hand and kisses it.
The collector looks over to the rest of the group and notices Groot. "What is that thing there?"
"I am Groot." He answers. The Collector slowly walks over to him, his eyes moving over him and looked up to meet his face.
"I never thought I'd meet a Groot. Sir, you must allow me to pay you now, so that I may own your carcass. At the moment of your death, of course." He said very serious.
'What the hell is wrong with this guy?' Sarah thought looking at the man in front of them.
"I am Groot." Groot responded, shrugging his shoulders.
Rocket snorted and frowned at Groot. "Why, so he could turn you into a frickin' chair?"
The Collector smirked at Groot." That's your pet?"
"His what?!" Rocket screamed, furious and reached for his gun while the Collector chuckled at his response. Sarah puts a hand on his shoulder and he backed down. Gamora stepped in, looking annoyed.
"Tivan, we have been halfway around the galaxy, retrieving this orb."
"Very well, then." The Collector says sighing. "Let us see what you brought."
Gamora looks at Sarah and she nods, taking the orb out of her pocket and handed it to the Collector. He takes it from her and walks over to a table near them and places the orb on the table, in between a sort of machine on it. He looked at the group and a small grew on his face.
"Oh my new friends. Before creation itself, there were six singularities." Screens popped up around them, images popping up on the screens. The machine the orb was between began to open it as the Collector continues to talk. "Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated. Infinity stones. These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe."
He pulls out a video of a planet getting destroyed, Sarah stated at this in disbelieve. This is what Ronan wanted?.
Peter looked scared, muttering "There's a little pee coming out of me right now." his eyes never coming off the screen.
When the video ends, a picture of a group of people in a circle holding hands appeared on the screen.
"Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy among themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it." The Collector said. The machine finally finished opening the orb and a small purple stone appeared.
The Collector gazed at it in wonder. "Beautiful." He said, his hands shaking from so much emotion. "Beyond compare."
Rocket rolled his eyes." Blah, blah, blah. we're all very fascinated, whitey." He said mocking the Collector's hands. "But we'd like to get paid."
Sarah sent the Collector an apologetic look and he nodded. "How would you like to be paid?"
"What do you think fancy pants? Units!"
"Very well, then."
The Collector walks over to a desk and opens a drawer under it. He pulls out the money, but looks back up and sees his assistant moving ever more closer to the stone. She was entranced by the site of it and reached for it.
"Carina. Stand back." The Collector ordered her. She looked at him, a look of pure hatred on her face and screamed.
"I will no longer be your slave!"
"No!" he yelled, but was too slow and she grabbed the stone. The moment, she grabbed it, the stone triggered an explosion, the stone consuming her and then went to destroy the building. Groot grabbed Rocket and Sarah, running out of the building as it finally exploded.
Sarah grabbed her head as she stood up. Her body hurt and looked back at the now destroyed building. She looks around and finally finds Rocket and Groot and walks over them.
"Are you guys alright?" she asks them. Groot nods and Rocket nods as well.
"Yeah. Are you? Nothing broken?" He asked her, pointlessly trying to hide the worry in his voice. She smiles at him, and shook her head, "Good", and they smile at each other.
Gamora and Peter suddenly walk out of the Collector's place.
"How could I think Tivan could contain whatever was within the orb?" She yells
Rocket sees the orb in Gamora's hand and his eyes widen.
"Why do you still have it for?" he asks pulling at the fur on his face.
Peter looks at him and glares. "Well, what are we gonna do, leave it there?"
"I can't believe Sarah had that in her pocket!" Rocket yells. That was in the ship, he was in! The ship Sarah was in! No way, would he let that thing back on it.
Peter glared some more. "At she is safe right!"
Sarah walked up to them. "What are you going to do with it? Give it to Nova Corps?."
Rocket spoke in disbelief. "Are you kidding? We're wanted by the Nova Corps!. You know that! Just give it to Ronan!"
"Why would we give it to Ronan? So, he can destroy the galaxy?" Peter questioned.
"What are you, some Saint all of a sudden? What has the galaxy ever done for you?" Rocket sneered at him, "Why would you wanna save it?"
"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!" Peter yelled
Gamora stepped in and turned Peter to her. "Peter, listen to me. We cannot allow the stone to fall in Ronan's hands. We have to go back to your ship and deliver it to Nova."
"Right, right, okay. I think you're right." Peter answered her. "Or we could give it to somebody who's not going to arrest us, who's really nice for a whole lot of money." At the sound of the word money, Gamora face went to one of anger and she shook her head at him. But Peter went on talking. "I think it's a really balance between both of your points of view.
"You're despicable." Gamora spat.
"Dishonorable. Faithless!" Gamora yelled and turned to walk away, but she stops at the site of Ronan's ships arriving.
"Oh no." She mutters under her breath. The four of them turned to look at the cause of her reaction and their jaws dropped.
"At last! I shall meet my foe and destroy him." Drax screamed at the ships coming to land on the ground, laughing like a mad man.
"You called Ronan?!" Peter yelled in shock.
"Quill!"
They turn to where they heard the scream and see Yondu Udonta and his men turn up as well, walking quickly towards Peter. "Don't you move, boy!"
Peter and Gamora run off, the other three running after them.
Yondu sees them running and screams "Don't you move!" while he pushes the people in his way. "Get out of the way!"
At the same time, Ronan stepped off his ship and Drax waited for him, the knives in his hands raised in the air.
"Ronan the Accuser!"
Ronan walks up to him. "You are the one to send the message?"
Drax glared at him, trembling in anger and hate. "You killed my wife. You killed my daughter!"
The five others finds mining pods and go to board them.
"What do you think you're doing?" Rocket asked as Sarah climbed up to him.
"Are you going to be, Ok?" Sarah asked worriedly at him.
"Yeah, I am going to be fine, now stay here with Groot." He said to her, giving her a long kiss, before taking off.
Sarah then sees Drax knocked on the ground, and rushes over to him. She puts her hands on his shoulder, and before she could say anything, Drax thinking she was Ronan, whirled around, and punched her in the chest, knocking her into a wall, her head hitting cement and her vision instantly goes black.
