Luna "Joy" Sanders belongs to Flautist4Ever and I
Chapter 13
"I should've known better than to ask," Luna complained a few moments later from where she was positioned. Quill's idea had several of them on each other's shoulders to make a human pyramid covering the distance needed to hold the lens up. Even though this was the only way to finish activating the shrine, everyone working to hold up the item was not enjoying this.
Others were, though. "Raise it, everyone. You're almost there." Lance wasn't one of the people chosen for the tower, so he was helping direct from the ground. There was the slightest hint of a smile on his face, though.
"This is so embarrassing." Patrick groaned. "Such a mortifying tactic." He was seated on Drax's shoulders as he wasn't good on balance due to his form. Even so, he managed to help Peter, who was standing on his shoulders. The Destroyer didn't give any sign of weakness as he had to hold everyone else up.
"A little to the left…" Jessica was helping direct as well. "A little more… nope, too far. Move back to the right."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"No, she's right. Little to the right." Mantis also helped.
Luna did her best to keep herself balanced as she was held up by Quill, though it wasn't easy as she was also holding up Rocket. Her arms and legs were both complaining, and she was certain the leader of the Guardians' shoulders were in the same boat. "Ow! That's my face! Watch your paw!"
"This wasn't my idea!" The raccoon retorted as he concentrated on keeping his balance. The mouse warrior was the last person on this tower, so he had to hold the lens, which was incredibly heavy for him. There were some times when Rocket felt like he was the one holding the lens instead of Sir Raleigh.
With a grunt, the rodent turned it to the right. "This is rather cumbersome for my arms."
"Just don't drop it on any of us." The raccoon told him.
"I am Groot?"
"Yeah, just stand back Groot. I don't want this fallin' on ya."
"Rocket! Watch your paw!" Luna cringed as he adjusted himself on her shoulders again.
The people on the ground kept amusing themselves with this. "Move it to the left… no, to the right."
"Too far right. Come back to the left." Lance chimed in.
"Now you're just being mean." Patrick groaned.
Failing to hide a smile, the blonde archaeologist asked, "Why would you say that?"
Sir Raleigh, however, was able to adjust the lens just right so it reflected the light onto the altar. With all three streams focused on the pedestal the area shook as a large needle-like carving descended from the ceiling while several monuments lit up with a golden light. Again, Luna found herself wishing her phone battery wasn't dead so she could be getting a picture of this place.
As she looked at the altar, Mantis then turned back to the others. "It's done."
"That mean we can drop this?" Rocket wasn't able to get an answer as the lens slipped from the paws of the mouse and slammed on Drax's foot. With a cry, the grey alien toppled over, taking everyone else with him.
"WHOA!" The Earth teen cried out as she fell, then yelled in pain as she landed on Quill. The leader of the Guardians let out a sharp gasp as the girl forced the air out of him.
"GAH!" Patrick grunted in pain as he landed on the floor roughly. "Hey, what was the meaning of that?"
Holding up his paws Sir Raleigh defended himself. "It slipped out of my grip! I swear it was not my intention to drop it!"
Groaning as she sat up, Luna rubbed her back where she fell on the space adventurer. "Okay, I'm feeling that tomorrow."
"What will you be feeling tomorrow, and how can you know what you'll be feeling a day in advance?" Drax asked her.
Shaking his head, the raccoon promised, "These freakin' temples… I'm gonna take dynamite to all of 'em." His words earned him a glare from Jessica, and the expression she had on her face made him take a step back. "What was that for?"
"I don't know, but she looked like she was planning on turning you into a hat." The Keyblade bearer warned him as they approached the altar.
With a nod, the bruiser added, "Trust me. If you ever think such thoughts again, keep them to yourself."
Luna, however, began imagining Jessica wearing a raccoon-skin hat and began smiling at it. Before she could dwell on it for long, the bug lady brought their attention to the altar. "Now is the time to truly decide." As Quill approached her, she gestured to the pedestal. "Turn the Forge to the left to destroy it. Turn the Forge to the right to empower it and bring it to its full potential." From the look on her face, it was almost like she was worried he would choose the latter.
"Wait. His left or your left?" Rocket thought to ask her.
Thinking for a second, she answered, "I don't know."
"What?" Everyone asked.
"Let me see…"
"Wow. I can't believe that almost happened." For once the raccoon was smiling.
Mantis finally figured it out. "Ah. Turn it this way to destroy it, and-"
"Yeah, yeah. We get it. Turn it to the right, Pete." Rocket was getting eager about this while everyone began voicing their opinion on which way the altar should be turned.
"It's left, Peter. You want YOUR left." Gamora told him.
"I'm with her. It's the only way to prevent people from getting hurt by this thing." Jessica agreed with the daughter of Thanos.
"We need it to bring back the lost heroes to stop Tai," Yaiyo spoke a little more gently than the others who were for the Forge.
With a sigh, Luna said, "I don't think I can bring back my mother like this, but if you want to bring back your loved ones, that's your choice."
The leader of the Guardians, however, made his decision. "I'm sorry, but this thing is too powerful to exist. The galaxy won't be safe unless we keep it out of everyone's hands." With that, Quill turned the altar to the left, and the Earth teen noticed the lights in the chamber turned green.
Sighing in relief, the bug lady said, "Oh, thank you. Don't let go."
Rocket just stared at his leader thinking about what he said before his hands started shaking in anger. When she noticed, the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy said, "Rocket, I know you're upset, but-"
"You don't know anything about me, lady!" Rocket snapped while giving her a dirty look.
Folding his arms the grey alien added, "Perhaps she has never lost a loved one. She has only taken the loved ones of others."
"News flash: we all have lost people we loved, and if she didn't, who cares? The death of your family doesn't make you special." Patrick's words earned a glare from the Destroyer.
The mystic was clearly disappointed in the choice. "I can't believe you guys passed on this opportunity. We could've ended the struggle with Tai…"
"At what cost?" The archaeologist asked her friend.
Sir Raleigh took Jessica's side in this. "She's right. If we go around deciding who should live and who should die, we're saying we know better than the Great King."
"Can it, you krutackin' rodent!" The raccoon snapped at him.
"I am Groot!"
Looking at Quill, Mantis told him, "You can let go now." As he did, the Forge lifted up into the air while blue cracks began to form in it. Soon, it would be destroyed and the power lost to the galaxy.
"What about you, Joyful Girl?" Drax turned to her. "Are you not angry that the chance to see your mother and learn about your father has been denied you?"
"Don't drag her into this!" The green woman came to the teen's defense.
Luna looked down, unsure of what to say. "I… I already gave my opinion. What more can I say?"
"That you're angry with our fearless leader." The raccoon frowned.
Before the teen could answer him, the brains of the Cassandra crew noticed something. "Guys? I think we have uninvited guests." Lance's warning caused everyone to turn to the entrance where they saw a familiar group of blue aliens.
Rolling his eyes, the leader of the Guardians joked, "Oh, great. It's the return of the giant Smurfs."
"Those sarots are a pain in my rear." The bruiser of the Cassandra groaned.
With a smile, Hala said, "Thank you, Peter Quill. Archaeologist. Keyblade Bearer. I never-"
"Spare us your grateful manner, Hala. You're too late." Jessica interrupted the Accuser. "The Forge is being destroyed as we speak."
The blue woman frowned as she raised her spear. "No… you lie!"
"Refusal to acknowledge it won't alter the truth," Yaiyo said despite being disappointed about the choice to destroy the relic.
"I won't let you!" Hala clenched her fist before giving an order to her troops. "Destroy them!"
"Charge!" Drawing his laser swords, Sir Raleigh charged at the Kree who began firing at the teams. He managed to dodge the blasts before slicing the ankles of the blue aliens as he did before. Unfortunately, one managed to kick him back.
The Accuser's spear flew up into the air and prepared itself to stab someone. "I hate that thing," Luna mumbled to herself as she summoned her Keyblade. As it flew towards her, the teen used her training to flip over the weapon, which felt good to do. The Keyblade bearer swung her weapon at Hala, but the blue woman leaned back to avoid her attack. Before she could go on the offensive again, another soldier turned and began to fire at her.
The teen quickly flipped out of the way of the blaster shots, and as she did so Sir Raleigh sliced the arms of the shooter with his weapons. As the soldier cried out, Rocket blasted the warrior with his blaster, ending his life. As the body, fell a white mist flew out of his chest and entered the Forge, earning a double-take from Luna. Did they just see his soul get absorbed, or was that just his life energy?
"How do you like me now?" Quill asked as he flew around shooting Hala with his blasters. As the Accuser blocked his attacks with her arms, his jet-boots shorted out sending him crashing against the ground. "Ow. Right. Still fried from before."
"Peter!" Gamora cried out while she was fighting off another Kree. Once he was felled, she turned to head towards him only for another soldier to block her path. With a growl, she attacked him with a ferocity she hadn't used since her time under the Mad Titan's influence. Luna noticed another Kree preparing to fire on the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy, and she attacked that soldier to protect her teacher.
As he struggled to get up, the leader of the Guardians saw Hala approaching him with a smile on her face. Making a gesture with her hands, she directed her weapon to fly straight at Quill, who yelped in fear. However, instead of being impaled, the tip of Hala's spear hovered an inch away from his face thanks to the quick reflexes of Drax, who had caught the weapon. "Perish to the depths, Blue Demon!" The grey alien yelled as he attempted to whack the Accuser with her weapon, only to be dragged into the air by it thanks to a motion she made with her hand. He held on to the spear while he observed the battle going on below him.
Stabbing another Kree soldier, Gamora turned to the others while the blue alien's life force was absorbed by the Eternity Forge. She was relieved to see Luna holding her own against the attackers as the Earth teen sliced through the weapon of one of the blue aliens. The warrior was shocked to see his weapon get destroyed before resorting to using his fists against the girl. Luna's eyes widened as she ducked to avoid the blow, then leaned quickly to the side to avoid another punch.
She then jabbed him a couple of times with her Keyblade before he let out a cry. It took a few seconds for Luna to realize he was being shocked. As the Kree collapsed, the teen saw the blonde standing there with one of her batons extended. Luna gave a grateful look to the archaeologist before they noticed Drax was still holding on to Hala's weapon. "You think he knows he can just let go?" Jessica asked before returning her focus to the battle.
As if on cue, the grey alien released his grip on the spear and fell to the ground. Giving a boisterous laugh, he delivered a punch to Hala that she had no time to prepare for, and her golden helmet was sent flying off. The Accuser growled in pain as she attempted to recover, only for Drax to tackle her sending the two of them crashing on top of Quill.
Taking cover behind a fallen pillar, Lance fired at a Kree with his blaster. The young genius took a look at Hala who was struggling with the Destroyer, and at that moment figured out how she was controlling her weapon. "Rocket! Get the remote!" He called out to the raccoon who was blasting another Kree.
"What remote?" The technician of the Guardians turned and looked at the Accuser's hand. "Oh, that one." Running over to her, he managed to slip a glove off her hand, which caused the out-of-control spear to fall to the ground. "Well, ain't that something?" He grinned before running off with the remote. Temporarily distracted by his teammate's action, Drax was surprised when Hala forced him off her, which caused Quill to gasp for breath.
Patrick punched a Kree warrior with his metal fists before turning one arm into a cannon and blasting the soldier away. "Hmph, infirm." He dismissed the soldier before turning to another and repeating the process.
Jessica used the Light Whip spell to wrap around another warrior's feet before using it to break their balance. Just as the warrior was about to fall down, Luna whacked it in the face with her Keyblade. As the blue alien fell to the ground, Gamora finished him off by stabbing him with her sword, sending his life force into the Forge. "We make a great team," Joy smiled at the other two.
"Not with her." The archaeologist and green lady said in unison, causing them to glare at each other.
"Oh, come on you two-" But she was interrupted when four more warriors surrounded the two hardened females, forcing them to back each other up. The teen attempted to move in and help them, but another Kree soldier began firing at her, forcing her to focus on him.
The blonde got an idea as she made a plan. "Have you seen one of my father's holo-movies, Up and Dive?" Jessica asked as she slowly placed her batons back on her belt.
"No." The green woman raised an eyebrow, unsure about what the archaeologist was scheming.
"Never heard of brain-busting, then?"
The Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy finally got the hint as to what Jessica was planning. Throwing her sword up into the air as a distraction, she seized Jessica's wrists and swung her around. Before the soldiers could react, each of them got their faces kicked by the blonde. As the Kree held their faces, Gamora released the archaeologist so she could catch her weapon. As soon as it was back in her hand, she sliced through all four of them, sending their life forces into the relic.
Luna had managed to get close enough to the one that was shooting at her, and had sliced his weapon in half. When she saw Gamora and Jessica working together, she ended up distracting herself long enough for the Kree to tackle her. "Hala wants you dead, but the Mad Titan still wants that bounty."
"He's going to be disappointed." She growled as she jabbed him in the side of his head with her weapon. As he released her Luna thought that he was vulnerable enough to… no. Even in the middle of a battle, she couldn't bring herself to kill another. The teen knew this was a life-or-death situation, but it still felt wrong to her. She didn't have to make that choice as the Kree was blasted in the back by Patrick.
Meanwhile, Rocket was trying to get to safety to work with the glove. He had tried to go to Lance, but the genius had drawn the attention of a lot of Kree soldiers, forcing him into battle. Some fired at the raccoon, only for their lives to be ended by Sir Raleigh. While their spirits entered the Eternity Forge, the Guardian shouted at the mouse before climbing one of the monuments. Once he was at the top, he felt relatively safe from the battle while he looked over his prize. "Intriguing." Rocket smiled while a Kree tried to sneak up on him from behind. That alien ended up getting a face full of a blast from the raccoon's bazooka. "Will you let me have a minute? Sheesh. Now, where was I?" As he played around with the glove, the spear reactivated and began to fly around. "Well, that was surprisingly easy."
Believing he had gained mastery over the weapon, Rocket decided to use it to help his friends and allies. Looking down, he saw that Groot, Mantis, Yaiyo, and Eight were in a bit of trouble as the Kree were advancing on them.
"Hang on, guys. I've got this!" Pressing a button on the glove's wrist, the raccoon expected the spear to fly at the blue aliens. However, his plans backfired as the weapon turned and aimed at him instead! With a cry, Rocket rolled out of the way while the spear continued to fly around out of control until it took a chunk out of the monument. With a rumble, the stone pillar began to crumble and slide towards the others, taking the raccoon with it. "Aw, crap."
As soon as he saw the danger they were in, Groot extended his arms to try and stop the stone. If he had been an adult, he probably could've held it, but as he was currently a teen by his people's reckoning the best he could do was slow it down. "I am Groot!"
"Come on, Groot. You got this." Rocket tried to encourage his friend.
Eight then activated his extensions and turned to help Groot hold up the stone pillar and keep it from crushing them. Mantis fought off the Kree using the combat techniques she had learned from her people when she learned about the Eternity Forge. She moved pretty quickly on the battlefield, kicking one Kree in the gut before striking another with her fist. A third tried to punch her, but the bug lady calmly grabbed his wrist as her antennae tips lit up. His expression changed from a serious one to a whimper before he began bawling his eyes out. "I am sorry to have made you sad." She apologized before kicking another Kree that had tried to sneak up on her in the head.
Two more warriors were frozen by Yaiyo's spell before she turned her attention to the raccoon. "Don't be reckless with that thing! You know Kree toys are a hassle!"
"It's not like I did it on purpose! These things have a bit of a learning curve." Rocket defended himself.
"Come here and let me check it! I know some of the basics of Kree technology." Lance had finally cleared enough space so it was safe around him. There were still a couple of Kree soldiers firing at him, but the broken pillar was clearer than it had been before. With an eye-roll, the raccoon hurried over to where the genius was.
As Luna knocked out another opponent, she turned to see Gamora and Jessica finish off their opponents. "Girl power! Am I right?" She pumped her fist into the air.
Raising an eyebrow, the blonde asked, "What?"
At that moment, the green lady turned to see Hala slam Quill into the ground before turning to the altar. "No!" Rushing forward, she swung her blade at the Accuser and managed to slice her in the leg. Ducking to avoid a punch from the blue woman, she then flipped over her opponent and sliced her across the face while the Earth teen hurried over to help her teacher.
While Lance was working on harnessing the power to control Hala's spear from her glove, Rocket kept blasting the Kree until he ran out of ammo. "Terrific."
"Here, take this. I'm not much of a marksman, so it's better off in your hands. Or paws." The genius offered the raccoon his blaster. Accepting it, Rocket used it to continue shooting the warriors that were bearing down on them.
The Earth teen leaped forward and swung her Keyblade at Hala before she could focus on her. Slicing at one of her legs, the raven-haired girl caused the Accuser to kneel in pain while Gamora moved to finish her off. Before she could deliver the death blow, the blue woman reacted by kicking the green lady in the legs, causing the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy to fall over. Getting up, Hala managed to grab onto Luna's Keyblade as she attempted to attack the Accuser again.
The Kree then sent a strong kick into Luna's gut that caused the teen to fly backward, but she managed to retain the girl's weapon. She attempted to use the Keyblade to slice Jessica who was attacking with her batons, but Guardian's Lullaby vanished from her grip and reappeared in the hands of the teen. "What?" She asked while the blonde jabbed her batons into her gut and jumped up to kick the Kree in the chin. Hala grunted in pain before she was shocked by the archaeologist. Despite the pain, the Accuser managed to grab hold of one of the batons and withstood the electricity long enough to grasp Jessica by the throat. "I've had enough of you! I'll make you one of the sacrifices to restore the Kree Empire, archaeologist!"
"Come on, come on!" Lance struggled to get the glove to work, and finally figured it out. "Yes!" As much as he didn't want to, he knew that if he didn't act, Hala would kill his friend. Pressing a button, he caused the spear to fly at the Accuser in an attempt to end her life. However, to his and Jessica's shock, she caught the weapon with her free hand. "Oh, come on!"
The blonde struggled to free herself from Hala's grip, but it was no use as she could feel herself passing out from a lack of air. "Let her go!" She heard Luna order as she faintly caught a glimpse of the teen running at the Accuser with her Keyblade raised. She ended up getting backhanded by the blue woman in her attempted rescue.
As she crashed against the ground, Joy was surprised to see Hala toss the archaeologist aside as she turned her spear towards the teen. Swinging the weapon around, the Keyblade bearer was barely able to parry her blow. Luna did her best to strike back, but the Accuser had more experience than the girl did as she seemed to know her every move before the raven-haired teen did. Forcing herself to call on all of her training, she ended up locking blades with Hala and did her best to push her opponent back.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Kree leader sent the teen flying backward against the hard floor. As she tried to recover, Luna saw the blue lady approach her with a look of triumph on her face. As she raised her spear, the teen saw in Hala's eyes that she no longer cared about what the Mad Titan wanted. To her, the girl was more useful in providing her life energy to power the Eternity Forge and give life back to a Kree warrior. Once she had it, she would use the armies she planned to resurrect to go to war against General Realm, the forces of Thanos, and all who would dare oppose the Kree Empire.
While Luna attempted to scootch away from her foe, Hala brought her spear down to end the girl's life.
"No!" In a split second, Gamora leaped in front of her student which resulted in her being struck down instead! Cries came from both the teen and Star-Lord as the latter hurried over to the green woman, who now had a large cut across her face and chest. "D-don't worry about me. Stop Hala." Her words came too late as the Accuser stepped up to the altar.
"The Eternity Forge is mine!" Hala declared as she seized it. Despite warnings from everyone to not touch the relic, she ignored all voices as she began to use the artifact. "Bal-Dinn, my son! Come back to me!" To everyone's surprise, a light appeared above the Forge as it began to take a humanoid form. It then manifested as a young, bald, blue-skinned man. As soon as she saw him, Hala's eyes filled with tears, and for a moment, Luna didn't see her as a monster, but a mother who just wanted her son back.
The one she brought back was also moved to tears. "Mother…" he said as the two of them held out their arms to embrace each other. Unfortunately, the Eternity Forge, which had been slowly cracking this entire time, suddenly got a massive split that seemed to end its power. Bal-Dinn's joy turned to pain as he let out a scream before he began to disappear into nothing again.
Eyes widening in horror, Hala said, "No…" before she stood upon the altar and wrapped her arms around her son in an attempt to keep him with her. Her efforts proved to be in vain as he vanished before her eyes, causing tears to pour down the Accuser's face. The Earth teen couldn't help but feel sorry for the blue woman, but before anything could be done the Eternity Forge finally broke apart. Hala was engulfed in a flash of blue light while everyone else was blasted back from a shockwave.
"It's done. The Eternity Forge… is no more." Mantis declared once she got to her feet while everyone looked at the fragments of the destroyed relic.
"Hope you're happy, Quill." Rocket frowned at Peter, who was focused on Gamora.
"I can't help but feel we just did a favor for the General." Sir Raleigh muttered to himself.
Looking at everyone, Jessica told them, "We had to destroy it. If we didn't Hala, would've been using that thing to bring back her forces as we speak."
"But what about the ones we lost?" The raccoon asked her. Before anyone could respond, one of the bodies began to move. It took a moment for everyone to realize it was Hala, but she wasn't the same as she was before the explosion. She looked burned, charred, and countless scars covered her exposed skin. The scariest thing was each scar was glowing with a ghostly blue light.
Eyes widening, Quill whispered, "Oh, no."
"You took everything from me." The Kree Accuser said in a spooky, distorted voice. "I will destroy you and all that you love!" When she looked at them, everyone could see her eyes also had that same glow that her scars had, and made her seem demonic now.
With a gulp, Rocket said, "We're flarged."
"... crap." Luna squeaked.