an. I just powered through writing the next like 5 chapters for this and i'm so excited to get back into writing this more! I'm itching to write the next book for this and can't wait to set up where I'm taking this in the next few chapters :) let me know what you guys think in the reviews, also what did you guys think of the Endgame spot aired during the superbowl? I cannot wait to see Tony and Nebula teamed up!
Chapter 11: I really wanna be with You
The next morning Drax found himself being the only one out of the Guardians to seem to be in a decent mood. Could it be from Mantis working her magic on him the night before? Knocking him out on the couch and leaving him there overnight seemed to be the only reason they could think of. He felt well rest, worry free, and eager to see this planet Peter Quill's father called his own. He tried to share his excitement with Gamora, who stood with her arms crossed again her chest with a bitter look on her face.
She didn't get much sleep the night prior; she stood up for most up replaying her confrontation with the young Asgardian. She really didn't think she did anything wrong, she was just the only one with a cool head and was making sure they all stood alert. Gamora understood how important this could be for Peter but this could also not fare well for them. The look on Peter's face that morning when he and Skadi joined them again in the living area of the ship for breakfast confirmed Gamora's fear of him no longer siding with her on this. He must've asked Skadi what Mantis had been talking about last night. Skadi had told him, Gamora knew. The tension between the three lingered even as they arrived on Ego's planet; even the beautiful, royal red planet, spinning in front of an enormous yellow sun couldn't cut the tension between them.
The ship landed and the Guardians followed Ego and Mantis off of the ship, ready to breathe air that wasn't artificial. The moment their feet touched the landing pad they were all rendered speechless. There were to many trees a high as skyscrapers to count. They were all different colors; bright greens, crisps reds, and shining yellows. The grass was the lushest any of them had ever seen, each silently wishing they brought Groot so he could see this; he would have fallen in love with this place.
Eager to show them his home, Ego ushered them forward onto the floating tram that emerged from the landing pad. The tram glided onward, slowly as if to allow them to soak up the sights around them. A large lake and river with waterfalls pouring into them revealed itself to them, Ego making note that he remembered Peter's mom love of going camping and swimming in the lakes.
"I can't believe you have your own planet." Peter stated, eyes wide.
"Well I mean it's no larger than your earth's moon." Ego shrugged at his son, turning to look at him proudly.
"Humility; I like it. I too, am extraordinarily humble." Drax's deep voice rang out.
Skadi couldn't help but chuckle at Drax as he spoke. He was the last person in the world who could call himself humble. Just saying that he was extraordinarily humble showed proved that he wasn't. She rolled her eyes at the Destroyer as he seemed amused that she laughed at him; she was still mad. The pair became distracted though by the sudden appearance of colorful bubble like clumps that floated by them. Drax was the first to reach out and poke one, being unafraid of the unfamiliar thing. He let out a loud laugh as it burst into a dozen more little bubbles at his touch.
The blonde turned to Peter, wanting to see his reaction to them but smiled softly to herself when she saw him staring forward in childlike amazement as a large palace approached them from atop a mountain. Skadi felt a pang of familiarity when it caught her attention; it looked as if she'd seen something like it before but yet at the same time it was like nothing she could ever remember.
When they reached the palace moments later, Ego led them towards the towering doors, frowning the moment Gamora began talking. She quickly snapped them all out of their awestruck appearances, not giving up in the least bit to remind them to not completely fall into Ego's spell.
"You have your own planet and can destroy two dozen spaceships without a space suit. What are you, exactly?" She questioned, ignoring the glares sent to her from Skadi and Peter.
Ego smiled at them, silently telling them he didn't mind her question. He smiled widely at her, "I'm what they call a Celestial, sweetheart."
The four Guardians halted, unsure if they heard him correctly. Peter snapped out of his daze as well, turning to Gamora in full seriousness. "A Celestial? Like a…God?"
"Small 'g' son. At least on the days I'm feeling as humble as Drax." Ego laughed before walking up the stairs.
Mantis nodded at them to follow Ego, unpassed by their stunned and warry looks. Ego sauntered in front of them all walking through the enormous open doors towards what appeared to be a huge ball room. On both sides of the tall detailed walls, dioramas lined them. Peter eyed them curiously, noting that figures were placed in them as Ego opened them up with a snap of his fingers.
"This form you see before you is only an extension of who I really am." Ego spoke, bringing them to the first diorama. "I don't know where I came from or how I exactly came to be." All of the dioramas around them looked as if they were coming to life as Ego continued his story. In the first, a shimmering brain floated in space.
"The first thing I can remember is flickering, adrift in the cosmos; utterly and completely" The brain then began to absorb cosmic dust and rocks from space into itself, feeding on them and growing bigger. "I fed on the matter around me; growing smarter, stronger. I formed a body to protect myself from the elements."
Ego moved them along stopping at the next station. The brain was now covered by a shell of rock, growing into a planet. The beautiful landscaped and structures they all had just seen forming. "I built from there, layer by layer, the very planet you walk on today. I built the mountains, rivers, placed all the trees. Everything."
"How did you end up on Earth?" Peter asked, his voice soft and eyes staring at the planet growing and changing.
"I wanted more than a pretty place to live. I desired…meaning." Ego placed a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder, looking at him in the eye. He gave his son's shoulder a tight squeeze before continuing onto the next diorama. "There must be some life out there besides just me, I thought, and I set myself the task of finding it."
The brain began to grow a skeletal body, all the insides and flesh of a human being slowly forming afterwards. "I created what I imagined biological life might be like, down to the minutest detail."
"Did you make a penis?" Drax blurted out, cutting off Ego mid-speech.
"Dude!" Peter gapped, whipping his head around to glare at him. Peter shared a look of disgust with Skadi, as she stared speechless at the grey man.
"What's wrong with you?" Gamora chastised, holding back the urge to smack him upside the head.
"What?" Drax squinted. "If he is a planet, how did he make a baby with your mother? He would smoosh her!"
"I don't need to hear about how my parents, you know…" Peter motioned for Drax to stop but the Destroyer kept going, wanting his questioned answered.
"Why? My father would tell me the story of impregnating my mother every winter solstice." Drax took in their repulsed reactions and huffed. "Intimacy is a natural thing Peter. Maybe this is why you and Skadi have been unable to-,"
"Drax!" Skadi and Peter both screamed at the same time. Skadi stepped forward covering his mouth with her hands.
"I will freeze your lips closed if you finish that sentence." She let go of him seconds later, nervously brushing her hair to rest behind her ears.
"You two have hang-ups." Drax muttered, crossing his arms against his chest.
"Yes, Drax, I've got a penis and it's not half bad." Ego laughed, wanting to appease everyone and end the conversion. He ignored his son and the girls' grimace as Drax shouted out in victory. "I've also got pain receptors, a digestive system, and all the accompanying junk. I wanted to experience what it truly meant to be human as I set out amongst the stars. I visited thousands of planets over thousands of years, one barren husk after the next until I found what I sought: Life. I was not alone in this universe after all."
"When did you meet my mother?" Peter finally asked, stepping forward.
"Not long after." Ego gave a somewhat sad frown, turning towards the last set of dioramas. They showed himself and Meredith kissing, and then Ego with his hand on Meredith's pregnant belly. "It was with Meredith that I experienced love for the first time. I called her my river lily. And from that love came you Peter.
"You have to believe me," Ego's eyes shifted quickly to Gamora, as if pleading with his son to listen to him over her. "I searched for you for so long. When I heard a man from earth held an Infinity Stone in his hands and lived, I knew you must be the son of the woman I loved."
Quill noticed Ego's eyes trailing behind him, knowing he was looking at Gamora. Peter frowned; he wanted to believe him but he couldn't quite let himself. "If you loved her why did you leave?"