"Quill, what are you talking about?" Rocket was practically shouting into the comm, and still no answer came. Only more sounds of blaster fire. "Quill!"
Worry erupted in Drax's chest, and he wasted no time in picking the rodent up and putting him on his shoulder, ignoring the yelp and the nip on his fingers.
"It appears that we must follow him."
"Great idea, Drax, I never would have thought of that myself! That'll take us straight to him except for the part where we don't know where the flarg he is!"
"He said that he was going to the bridge." The Kylosian was already running, Rocket's claws digging into the flesh of his shoulder as he turned a corner sharply. "We must follow his trail." The sounds of blaster fire on their comms ended abruptly then.
"And where's his trail?!" Rocket shrieked, "How are we supposed to know-?!"
They both grew quiet when a lilting voice came on over their communications channel, easily recognizable as the Collector himself. "Hello, little Guardians. I am assuming that you are here to take your friends back. It is truly a pity, since they fit so well into my collection."
"I'll show you fittin' well, ya krutackin'-" Rocket's mutters were hardly audible, and it seemed that all Drax could hear was Tivan's low tones.
"As a collector of rare specimens and artifacts, I do not like to see damage done to unique things. However, I believe that in this case, I shall have to make an exception."
"Of what do you speak, coward?" Drax growled, and Rocket's voice grew even louder.
"Don't you dare touch Groot, or I'll-"
"It is as I have said. I have no wish to harm either of the two specimens before me, though certainly your Star-Prince is not in the best condition, but I will have to do so if you plan on destroying my collection."
"I'll destroy more than that if you lay one pinky on Groot, you filthy piece of flarg." Rocket scowled. "And what did you do to Quill?!"
"Do not touch my friends, or I will destroy your collection and your ship before killing you as well!"
"Then it appears that we are at an impasse." Tivan's voice appeared to be smiling, and it infuriated the Kylosian, who could feel that Rocket's tail was twitching again. "If you both go back out into your ship right now, I will let your friends go. You may take them and leave."
"And if we don't go back to our ship?" Rocket asked, and Drax was glad that the ship's interference was keeping Gamora from hearing the conversation. He had no doubt that she would be very furious.
"Then say goodbye to the prince of Spartax."
The malice in the Collector's voice left no room for doubt that he wouldn't be capable of following through with his threat. Drax shared a look with the rodent on his shoulder, and Rocket shrugged, his eyes looking pained.
The rodent opened his mouth to speak, but never got the chance.
"You cannot choose?" Tivan appeared to be playing with them, and he chuckled dryly. "Then I will give you incentive. You have five seconds."
"I am Groot!" A distant shout could be heard, even as the Collector began to count.
"Five. … Four. …"
"Whoa- whoa stop!" Rocket was the one who spoke, his fur on end once again, though this time it was less noticeable since he was wearing his jumpsuit. "We'll go, okay? So stop the flarkin' countdown!"
"Three. … Two. …"
"Enough, Collector!" Drax growled it, feeling as though the words got stuck in his chest on their way out. He could not lose another family member in this way. "We will depart from your vessel!"
"Good." Tivan was smirking. Drax could hear the smug lilt, and it filled him with ire. "I will give you three minutes to do just that. … Starting now."
The Destroyer was already jogging, but he sped up at the last two words. He could hear the rodent spitting from his shoulder as he retrieved a breathing apparatus from his vial. "I'm gonna kill him."
"As will I." A little less than two minutes had passed when Drax saw the hole in the ship where he and Quill had entered. Neither of them elaborated on their statements, knowing intrinsically that they had each spoken quite honestly, and there was really no more to say.
Drax leapt out, activating his jetpack at the same time as Rocket. The Milano was waiting for them, no longer firing on the Collector's ship as it was when Drax had entered. Clearly Gamora knew something was going on.
"Drax, what happened in there?!" Gamora's voice hissed into their comms quite furiously as they neared the Milano, the airlock opening to allow them access.
"The Collector is a furless piece of flarkin' krutack! That's what happened!" Rocket's anger was volatile, and Drax considered it fortunate that his small paws would not damage the ship if he began to hit things.
His gun, on the other hand …
"The Collector gave us three minutes to exit his vessel. If we had not acted accordingly, he was going to kill Quill." Drax took off his mask, tucking it under his arm, but left his jetpack on as he ran up the steps to the bridge.
"He stopped firing on me, and I assumed you were in control of the ship." Gamora was sitting at the front, and turned to look at him with hard eyes, obviously regretting her decision. The Destroyer had no doubt that if Quill survived his current predicament; Gamora was going to be furious with him. "Did you at least find Groot?"
"No!" Rocket stormed onto the bridge behind Drax, having divested himself of his own helmet as well. "Star-Dumb found 'im and then got 'imself caught!"
"The Collector told us that if we left the ship and his collection, destroying nothing, he would give us our missing friends." Drax elaborated, and Gamora's eyes narrowed. She never got the chance to voice whatever thought had just entered her mind, as the monitor before her buzzed with an incoming call.
It was from the Collector.
The rodent growled from beside Drax, and Gamora answered it quickly. Star-Lord's mask filled the screen before them, and the Destroyer immediately shouted as he moved forward.
"Quill!"
"Peter?" Gamora sounded confused, and the mask laughed dryly in response.
"I am not your foolish Peter Quill, no."
Drax could now see the shock of white hair that extended above the mask, and the figure backed away from the screen just a little.
"Groot!" Rocket leapt forward as the large Flora Colossus came into view behind the man who was now obviously the Collector, despite his appropriation of their Terran's helmet. Groot himself was in a large glass cylinder, his lengthy hands pressed up against it in a futile attempt to break through. "Groot, what did he do to ya?"
"I am Groot!" The tree was pointing at something out of their line of sight, and the Collector glanced downwards for a moment before deactivating the mask with another chuckle, his humor visible now.
"Whaddaya talkin' about-" Rocket began, but was cut off easily by their enemy.
"Ah, yes." Tivan reached down for something, and then proceeded to pull at it, frowning a little as whatever it was seemed to weigh him down. A moment later, he was pulling it up, and Gamora gasped when she recognized it as their leader, groaning as he was jerked to his feet by the hair.
Drax felt anger wash over him as he observed the Collector's satisfaction.
"Hi- hi guys!" Star-Lord offered them a wan smile that seemed far more genuine than that of the man who held him up.
"Aw, Pete- …" The rodent's voice softened for the first time since Drax had discovered him, and then he practically spat in pure ire. "What did you do?!"
"I have done nothing except apprehend someone who was not supposed to be here." The Collector didn't relinquish his hold on the Terran as he spoke, and Quill winced every time the hand pulled at his hair. "I assure you, he was already quite damaged when I found him attempting to blow up my ship."
"That krutacker was hiding on the bridge!" Rocket murmured as Gamora spoke forcefully, anger vibrating her voice.
"You promised that if they left the ship, you'd let Quill and Groot go."
"I never gave my word, no." The Collector appeared thoughtful, and he glanced back at Groot with longing. "And I paid many units to have such a unique specimen."
"We heard your words very clearly." Drax frowned, feeling his muscles trembling with anger.
"You said you'd let 'em go!" Rocket's voice was still furious, but there was a small underlying desperation as his tail began twitching once again.
"The other units were not for this one, but I think I will take him, even if he is damaged. I do not think there is another Terran-Spartoi hybrid in the galaxy." The Collector's sunken eyes flickered back to the screen, and his voice became even drier as he carefully intoned his next words. "Know this, Guardians. Should you attempt to attack me or retrieve your friends again, I will destroy them immediately."
"You are bluffing. Such a feat is not possible unless you are with them constantly!" Drax accused, and the Collector merely stared at him for a long moment, his gaze unreadable. Then he reached his free hand down, picking up something from off-screen.
Tivan held it up to them carefully–his other hand jerking their leader a little to keep him on his feet when he began to sag–showing that it was a small silver device with two points coming out of the same side.
"I do not bluff." Was all he said before ruthlessly stabbing it into the back of the human's neck.
"Holy flarg what the- unnh!" Quill choked off his own words, breathing hard as sweat beaded on his now colorless face, his entire body sagging into the Collector. "… krutackin' …"
"Peter!" Gamora leaned forward, as though she was going to attempt reaching through the screen to help their leader.
"I am Groot!" The Flora Colossus was trying earnestly to break the glass of his prison as Rocket hissed ferociously.
"What was that?! What did you do?!"
The Collector ignored them; merely letting go of the Terran's hair, and Star-Lord slumped immediately to the floor with a muttered,
"Hell-"
Tivan picked up another device, similar to the first but for its larger size, walking back towards the glass cylinder where Groot was still pounding.
"Don't you dare! Don't you dare touch him!" Rocket was still hissing, nearing the screen to beg while Gamora practically shouted.
"Leave Groot alone!"
Drax felt a helpless feeling well up inside of him. Illogical, and yet reminiscent to what he had endured when he had watched his wife and daughter die. No words would stop it, and he did not beg as he had the first time, a dull acceptance flooding him as he realized that he had failed his family once again.
"Take it." The Collector said it in a clinical way, as though the team's shouts and Quill's groans weren't there. As though he were merely offering Groot a gift. He had put the silver object into a small compartment, and it slid to the other side of the glass so that the Flora Colossus could pick it up. "Pick it up and inject it, or I'll kill the Star-Prince."
A small remote was in the Collector's hand, and he raised it with the threat. "I am Groot." Groot said, looking over at the screen, where Rocket was still spitting.
"Don't … don't touch it, Groot … dude …" Star-Lord's fingers entered the screen, his hand wrapping around the edge of the desk where the monitor must have resided on the other side. The Terran's digits were white with the effort that it took as he pulled himself to his feet. "Tivan, leave 'im … leave 'im alone …"
Gamora and Rocket had grown silent, no doubt each torn between Groot and Quill. If Groot did nothing, Quill would die, but if Groot took it, he would be in the same position as the human.
Whatever Groot was going to decide, he took too long, since the Collector calmly pressed the button, and Star-Lord dropped to the floor with a scream.
"I am Groot!"
Groot picked up the small device immediately, crushing it into his hand, and then let out a roar of his own as he clutched his wrist in clear pain, falling to his knees in his prison. Tivan let go of the remote, and Quill's screams ended in tandem with Groot's.
"What have you done?" Drax felt that it was worse than the collars that his friends had been made to wear originally, and his feeling of helplessness doubled.
"I made these after I bought two of the Guardians of the Galaxy," Tivan shrugged, stepping over what was presumably Quill's body as he neared the screen. "I correctly assumed that the rest of you would come for your friends, and I will not have you destroying my collection again." He looked sadly at Rocket, whose teeth were bared. "My only regret is that I did not finish my creation in time to use it on you."
"I am going to kill you, and it's going to be very slow." Gamora seethed, and the Collector chuckled.
"As soon as you attempt such a feat, I will press this button until they are nothing but shells of their former selves."
Drax didn't ask what he meant by the metaphor, knowing from Tivan's tone of voice that it was something horrible.
The Destroyer could do nothing to stop it, however, and he felt grief begin to overtake him. First Hovat and Kamaria, and now Quill and Groot.
Drax had failed again.
I regret nothing.
Tee-hee! I didn't mean to leave it at a cliffhanger, but the chapter was getting WAY too long! So here ya go!
(Please don't kill me before I can resolve this thing. Drax has to go all BAMF at the end, remember? This is his fic!) ...
(Actually, they're all kinda Bad-A in this. So yeah.)
I love you guys, and I promise that the more comments I receive, the COOLER the next chapter will be. ... No bribery?
Just ... tell me what you think. I'm workin' on gettin' the next one up.
Ta til' next time!
-Al