Luna "Joy" Sanders belongs to Flautist4Ever and I
Chapter 14
The Accuser tried to force herself to her feet, but fell over like she was in great pain. As the surviving Kree rallied around their leader, she let out a scream that almost made Luna jump out of her skin. "Bal-Dinn… he is lost to me." Her sobs almost made the Keyblade bearer feel sorry for her. "The Forge is destroyed… because of HIM!" Glaring at Star-Lord, she continued, "You have doomed my people to subjugation… damned my son to oblivion…"
"You made this happen, Hala." He told her.
Nodding, Lance added, "You should've accepted the choice your people made, but instead you gathered your troops so you could try to start a war."
"Silence! I want what is mine back. My Kree. My family!" Hala snarled at everyone. "We will fight you to our last…" She tried to get up, but fell forward again. One of her soldiers ran over to try and help her, but as soon as he touched her, he screamed in pain. Everyone watched as they saw a white mist surround his hand as he writhed in agony, unable to release her. The Accuser grabbed him and after a few seconds, he fell over. Mantis gasped while Yaiyo covered her mouth in horror and Luna paled at the sight.
The Kree soldier was dead.
"The Forge. She has absorbed its power." The bug lady told everyone.
That caused the leader of the Guardians to look at her. "What? How is that even possible?"
"Well, since she was on top of the item when it exploded, the energy of the Forge made a desperate move by transferring itself to a 'host' instead of being disposed of for good. Of course, Kree blood is in Survival Class Mutation." Lance theorized.
All of that went over Luna's head.
Hala looked at her own hands, which still had the white mist surrounding them, as if she was shocked by the recent development. She also found that now she had the strength to stand up as she gave a venomous glare at both teams. Everyone got ready for another fight when the chamber began to shake and the lights turned red around them. Chunks of stone began to fall from the ceiling while the part that had destroyed the Forge fell on the altar, smashing it to pieces. Everyone had to leap to the side as it fell towards where they used to be standing before toppling over into a crack that led deeper into the caves.
"We need to get out of here!" The Keyblade bearer cried out. As she started to run for the entrance, the teen saw the Kree warriors aiming their weapons at her despite the situation. Grabbing the raven-haired girl from behind, Jessica threw the two of them behind a fallen pillar where they were joined by Sir Raleigh, Mantis, Lance, and Quill, who carried Gamora in his arms.
"It would appear 'Run for your Life' won't ever be a priority for them." the rodent quipped.
Luna did catch a glimpse of one Kree fleeing the area, which she found unfair. "So what do we do now?"
"We may have to fight our way out of here," Lance said as he looked over.
Reaching for his comm, the leader of the Guardians called the rest of his team. "Hey, guys, a little help here!"
"What's the matter, Quill? Is the big, mean lady pickin' on you?" Climbing on Groot, the raccoon replaced the ammo in his bazooka and began firing at the Kree, taking some of them down while Hala went for cover. The tree created a shield from his arm while Rocket fired a special blast at the warriors who stayed and fought, knocking all of them over. "And stay down." However, the shrine's shaking got worse, causing Groot to lose his balance as he began falling backward.
With a laugh, Patrick kept blasting Kree after Kree with his cannon arms until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he saw the tree had extended his arms to get a hold of him and Drax in an attempt to stabilize himself. It didn't work as Groot fell over the edge, taking Rocket with him! As the grey alien was pulled away from the blue alien he was about to kill, he stabbed his knives into the ground trying to anchor himself while the bruiser did the same with his hands. Both efforts were in vain as the two of them were also pulled into the abyss!
"No!" Mantis gasped in horror upon seeing that.
Yaiyo and Eight tried to get to the others, but more stones fell from the ceiling and blocked their opening. The Kree soldiers took notice of them and began firing, forcing the mystic to throw a barrier up around them. The barrage kept pushing the two of them back until they fell over the edge as well!
"Yaiyo! Eight!" Jessica called after her friends while hiding behind her cover.
Luna noticed Hala's spear flying in the air again, and realized the Accuser must've gotten her glove back. The archaeologist saw it too, and was forced to abandon her cover before it would skewer her. "Why won't that thing stay down?" Even now, the teen found something to complain about. She heard a sharp gasp come from behind her, and turned to see the blue lady had grabbed a hold of Jessica's ankle and the white mist surrounded both Hala's hand and the blonde's ankle.
"Hold on!" The Earth teen told the archaeologist as she ran over, brandishing her Keyblade. She swung Guardian's Lullaby at the Kree, who turned to face her with a growl. Even with her demonic appearance, Luna didn't hesitate to jab the tip of her weapon into the blue woman's shoulder, forcing her to release her grip on Jessica.
Scooching back from the crazy alien, the archaeologist asked, "Any ideas how we get out of this?"
"No." The Earth teen looked around while her new friend stood up. More of the remaining Kree were turning their attention towards them, and Hala was recovering from Luna's bravery. There had to be… wait. There was somewhere they could go. "I have an idea, but you're probably not going to like it."
"Why?"
"Because I don't like it!" With that said, Luna tackled Jessica and forced the two of them to the edge. Even though the initial push wasn't enough to send them over, the teen turned the fall into a roll, and was able to get the two of them to fall into the dark abyss. With the light from the shrine, she could see Rocket, Groot, Drax, Yaiyo, and Eight falling into what seemed to be a bottomless pit.
"This is your idea? We have no idea what's down there!"
"Can't be worse than what's up there!" Looking up, Luna and Jessica caught a glimpse of Mantis, Lance, Sir Raleigh, and Quill carrying Gamora as they seemed to follow her idea into jumping into the caves.
As he fell, the genius voiced his opinion. "This is a loony idea!"
"But it was either this or let the Kree kill us." The blonde told her friend.
"I don't know about you, but I feel I could use some music now." The leader of the Guardians said while he looked at his injured teammate, using his busted jet-boots to try and slow their descent.
"Me too!" The Earth teen agreed with him.
The archaeologist just stared at the two of them like she was about to lose her jaw. "SERIOUSLY?!" Jessica exclaimed in disbelief with an expression that made Luna think of an angry anime character. As they fell, some of them did look up to see the Accuser staring down at them. Despite the shrine falling to pieces around her, she seemed more furious that both teams had managed to escape her.
In her heart, Luna knew this wasn't over.
As they continued to fall into the darkness, the shrine faded from their view. Eventually, they came into contact with the ground roughly, and the air was filled with everyone's grunts and oofs. Joy felt someone break her fall, but it was still painful for her despite the cushioning.
"Ugh. That wasn't a comfortable landing at all." Sir Raleigh's voice echoed in the area.
Luna let out a groan, feeling extremely sore from the landing and the battle. "I think I landed on my hip, and someone else." She looked to see who it was, and was able to see who thanks to her eyes adjusting to the dark.
"You did not hurt me, Joyful Girl, and it will take more than a fall like that to end Drax the Destroyer." The grey alien told her from where he laid.
"Oops, sorry." The Earth teen apologized as she got off the Destroyer, who merely stood up and brushed himself off before collecting his knives.
"Brilliant idea. Pushing us into a chasm with who-knows-what at the bottom," Jessica grunted out while recovering from the fall and landing. "I know someone who would've come up with something a little braver, but much dumber."
"Just be glad I was able to soften our landing, otherwise we would've died just now," The mystic said.
Looking up the way they came, the genius of the Cassandra said, "At least we got away from the Kree. Man, we fell a long way. I can't even see the shrine anymore."
"Gamora!" Quill was checking on his teammate, who was coughing violently now. Everyone turned their attention to the two of them and became worried about the daughter of Thanos. She didn't look good, and her skin was starting to pale.
Looking at her friend, the green woman said, "I'm fine."
Approaching them, Yaiyo knelt while she looked over her wounds. "Hala's attack went deep. If we leave this untreated it could prove fatal."
"Can you heal her?" Luna asked her while she held her hip.
"Yes, but I must do it now." The mystic took a deep breath as she prepared her magic to heal the Guardian. Spreading her hands over the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy, a green light encompassed the latter's body as the spell got to work. While looking at her Yaiyo's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh."
"What? What is it?" The leader of the Guardians asked her.
The mystic wasn't sure how to answer when there were so many people around them. She found it quite unbelievable that Peter didn't know the condition Gamora was in, but wasn't sure if she should tell him. Knowing would change everything for the Guardians of the Galaxy, and there wasn't anything they could do about it now.
Thankfully, she didn't need to answer. "It's nothing." The green lady managed to get out.
"No, it's not," Mantis said. "The two of you could've been killed."
"Mantis!"
"Two of us? Mantis, I wasn't injured-" Quill started.
"She wasn't talking about you." Gamora's voice sounded like she was being forced to admit defeat. For some reason, she wouldn't look him in the eye as if she was ashamed of what she had to tell him.
"I knew it." Everyone looked at Patrick, who seemed to figure out what was wrong with the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy. When he noticed everyone's looks, he said, "Come on. Isn't it obvious? She's pregnant!" However, it just gained more confused expressions from all of them except Mantis.
Yaiyo then found the courage to speak. "He's right. I sense another aura coming from her that isn't her own." Her magic finished its work as the aura faded from around the green woman and she found the strength to sit up. There was no trace of a scar on her, and her clothes had been mended from where Hala sliced them.
Peter's jaw dropped at that. "What?"
"What?" Jessica's jaw almost dropped too.
"What?" Lance and Sir Raleigh gasped.
Rocket jumped up at that. "What?"
Luna's eyes bugged out at that. "WHAT?!" Gamora was pregnant? Now it was starting to make sense… those moments after leaving the training room when she looked like she was going to be sick. Her irritability with Rocket and Drax she overheard countless times on the Milano. The way Mantis acted around her. Why didn't she connect the dots sooner?
Looking at them, the tree asked, "I am Groot?"
"Good question, Groot. How did this happen?" Rocket translated.
Taking a deep breath, the daughter of Thanos asked, "Remember last month after our mission on D'bari V?"
"Yeah. You and I got really… drunk… oh." Quill realized what had happened. His eyes slowly bugged out as he stared off into space with shock. Then, without warning, he collapsed in front of everyone.
"Is he dead?" Drax asked.
Checking him with her powers, Mantis said, "He's alive. Just… unconscious. The storm of emotions that flooded him upon hearing the news was too much for him to process."
"Guess the news of fatherhood is too much for some to handle." The Earth teen shrugged. "But to think you were training me while expecting a child…"
Sighing, Gamora shook her head. "I figured that would be his first reaction. That's why I didn't want him to find out. And I knew how everyone else was going to be if they knew about my condition."
"No one can blame him. It's a natural thing to feel when a man realizes he's going to be a dad out of the blue." Lance noted.
Wincing as he got to his feet, probably because his landing wasn't the best, Rocket asked her, "You're seriously pregnant? Gamora, the Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy, the daughter of Thanos, a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, got laid?"
"As a matter of fact, what were you thinking?" The blonde inquired. "Nausea? Fatigue? Didn't you ever think about it when you took it upon yourself to train Luna?"
"I tried to stop her, but she insisted on doing it," Mantis admitted.
Getting to her feet, the green woman defended herself. "I'm not incapacitated just because I'm pregnant. She needed a teacher and Thanos wasn't going to wait eight more months."
With a frown, Jessica argued, "You will be incapacitated during your next period, and I'm sure in your father's eyes you already are. Something could've happened to you and your baby all this time, like when you nearly sacrificed yourself to save Luna. Right now, you need to choose someone else to teach her how to defend herself because you're in no condition to do so."
"You don't get to tell me what to do because of my baby. It's my business, not yours or anyone else's!" Gamora glared at her.
"Which is why you shouldn't involve Luna so much! Don't make her the reason in case something bad happens to your unborn child. She doesn't need to carry that guilt on her shoulders on top of being only half-human!"
"I'm right here!" The teen deadpanned as she glared at the two of them.
Nodding, the grey alien said, "It is true. She has not moved an inch since we landed." His words caused Rocket to face-palm, but he didn't bother to explain it to him.
Ignoring them, the archaeologist continued, "Until we get out of here, you better mind your own business before you both end up in a gamble that could cost you."
"Fine, but don't expect me to rescue your ass." The green lady huffed.
"Everyone stop!" The argument was stopped by Yaiyo's yell. "I can't handle this… after I was so foolish…" The mystic looked a bit ashamed of herself.
The mouse warrior raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You guys were right. I let the Forge blind me from the risks."
"You don't mean that!" Rocket couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I'm sorry…" Yaiyo murmured, "I couldn't see beyond my desperation, my fear. I erred by seeking powers my hands were not meant to have. It's probably for the best that it is gone now."
"Are you serious?"
The grey alien was not so understanding. "I could've had my family returned to me instead of turning that monster into another monster."
"Exactly. Now we got more problems to deal with thanks to Quill's stupid decision." Rocket glared at his leader who was still passed out.
"You heard what the lady said. Now back off." Patrick warned him.
"Perhaps you don't know what it is like to lose a loved one, like her." The Destroyer's words made Jessica and Lance stiffen up as they looked at each other with worried expressions.
The bruiser then exploded. "Listen to me, runestone freak! I had a mother and father with thirteen siblings until the day the fourteenth child was born. Then the narcissistic grubock of a cousin murdered my parents! After he did it to his own, my aunt and uncle, just because of his lame philosophy and the power of my uncle's business! He turned all of us into orphans like we were nothing. I tried to help us get by, but I lost my job a few years later and became one of the world's most wanted men no thanks to his father figure. Sometimes it's like I've lost my mind by causing breakdowns in society and joining in criminal activities, which scared my younger brother who betrayed us and joined the ones who ruined us! So don't you dare tell me I don't know what it's like to lose a loved one, because I do know!" His voice echoed through the caves as he finished.
Luna and the Guardians felt sorry for him. Even Drax. It sounded like he went through more than anyone else should've. His friends developed a sudden interest in their shoes as they tried to avoid meeting his eyes.
Finally, the Earth teen found the courage to speak. "Look, Drax, I know you're upset the Forge was destroyed. I admit there was a part of me that wanted to use it, but the fact remains that the thing is gone now, and nothing can change that. Right now, we need to find a way out of here so we can stop Hala from hurting anyone else the way you and Patrick were hurt. I can see you both care about your families, and I don't believe either of you wants to see others lose their loved ones the way you lost yours. Can you agree on that much so we can focus on getting out of here and away from whatever is down here?"
"Oh, come on. What could be worse than a walking life-draining sponge?" The mouse warrior quipped before everyone heard a rumbling sound. It didn't sound like the caves, but like something large and ticked off. Every inch of Luna's being felt the urge to get as far away from whatever made that sound as possible.
"... I am Groot."
"Yeah, that didn't sound good at all." Rocket agreed.
Placing a hand on her baton, the blonde cautioned, "Everyone stay sharp."
"We should wake Quill before we proceed onwards." The grey alien looked at their unconscious leader.
"I dunno, maybe we should just drag him around a bit," The raccoon snarked.
The bug lady, however, knelt and placed a hand on his head. "Wake."
With a gasp, the leader of the Guardians sat up. "Oh, guys, I had the strangest dream that Gamora was… it wasn't a dream, was it?" As he gazed upon the expressions on everyone's faces, he got his answer. "Oh, my god, it wasn't a dream."
"Of course it wasn't. Your lady friend thought she could fool someone who has thirteen siblings, but she wasn't even close." Patrick noted while checking his metal arms for any damage from the fall.
The teen just stared at him incredulously. Did his parents have that many kids?
"Never mind. We need to find a way out of here." Gamora reminded everyone.
Turning to Yaiyo, Luna asked, "Can you use a spell to get us out?"
"No. I used too much magic getting us to the planet, saving us from the fall, and to find the Forge." The mystic answered. "I don't have enough to get us out of this situation. Just enough to battle and heal."
"Great. Just great. Can things get any worse?" Rocket complained while everyone resumed looking for a way out.
That was when the rodent noticed a hole in the wall that had a faint blue glow within. "Hey, check this out. It might be a way out of this pit."
"Raleigh, we have no idea what's in there," Lance tried to warn his friend as he climbed up to the hole. As the mouse took a look, he was greeted by a strange creature that came out of the opening. It was like a worm with a rocky shell that caused Sir Raleigh to fall over backward, and as it left the hole, everyone saw it had a string of blue lights running down its back. It kept tittering while it looked at the two teams.
The raccoon let out a cry when he saw the animal. "Kill it! Kill it with bullets!"
"Don't tell me you're afraid of that little guy." The green lady teased her teammate.
With a chuckle, Drax added, "Yes. On my planet tunnel worms are filthy creatures. They eat only rocks and dirt. I have tried this for myself - it was incredibly destructive to my digestive system. I have ruined many toilets."
"Dude, too much information." The Earth teen deadpanned.
"It seemed like an appropriate amount of information."
Jessica looked disgusted as she held her baton. "A worm-like creature… I hate worms."
"Because they're horrible?" The Keyblade bearer asked.
"No, because they eat book pages." The archaeologist's remark made the girl sweatdrop.
Approaching it, Quill noted, "Looks friendly enough, I guess."
Mantis quickly used her powers on it as her antennae lit up. "It… is!" Kneeling in front of it, she continued, "It's okay. It doesn't want to harm us. It's just… curious."
"Curious about how we taste, probably." Rocket insisted.
As the worm scooped up a rock, Gamora looked at it. "Is it chewing through that stone?"
"Better that than us. Gettin' chewed to death is Top 5 on my All-Time Fears List."
"You have a list of fears?" Sir Raleigh asked Rocket.
"Hey, the galaxy is a dangerous place. Yeah, I have a list of ways I don't wanna go!"
Luna just grimaced a bit at the sight. "Well, if it's friendly… that's good enough for me, I guess." She grumbled. She was not used to a giant space worm. She just hoped it wasn't toxic or anything.
The leader of the Guardians just fed it a rock, which it seemed to like.
The mouse warrior looked at the others. "So why does it light up like that?"
"It's a bioluminescence," Lance answered his question. "It must live without exposure to sunlight, so it's evolved to make its own light."
"Probably how this thing communicates. Or draws in its unwitting Quill-sized prey." The raccoon continued to be pessimistic.
The bug lady used her powers again. "It wants to stay with us."
"What? Seriously?"
"Look at it. It's harmless."
The bruiser just shook his head. "Just wait until that thing becomes an adult."
"How do you know it'll get bigger?" The Earth teen asked.
"I don't, but probably best to assume the worst."
"Maybe we should give it a name." Quill then suggested. "You know, like a pet."
Walking up to it, the grey alien declared, "I am excellent at naming things. I shall call it… Blue."
"A little on the nose, don't you think?" Luna smiled at him.
"How can its color be on its nose?"
"Never mind."
Looking up, Mantis said, "I'd call it… Hungry." The Earth teen immediately thought of the worm with the Seven Dwarfs because of the name. "What is-" the bug lady used her powers on the girl and giggled too. "I get it now. Very funny."
"Its name should be 'Obviously a Death Trap' because that's what it is!" Rocket snapped at them.
Nodding, the cyborg said, "I agree. That thing is a wild animal, and where I'm from wild animals are dangerous. They'd tear us apart as soon as we left the safety of our cities."
The Most Dangerous Woman in the Galaxy spoke up. "That's not any good."
"I know. It was a nightmare." Jessica agreed.
"No. That it's hungry."
"The creature is just a tiny nothing. It poses no threat to us." Drax said. "I am constantly hungry, and have rarely injured you all."
Luna then voiced her concerns. "But you're not poisonous. That thing could be."
The leader of the Guardians then came up with a name. "How about… Bowie?"
"What is a Bowie?" The grey alien asked him.
"Bowie is a musician we treat like a space god on Earth."
Treated like a space god, Luna thought. Until he died. Oh, realizing Mantis could easily read her thoughts, she tried to think of her not wanting to give the bad news to him. The bug lady gave her a thumbs up to tell her she wouldn't say anything.
"I do not see how that is better than Blue. The creature is blue!" Drax said right as the worm turned red. "Bowie is fine."
"You like that, Bowie?" Quill asked. The creature perked up at that, taking a shine to his new name already.
Rolling his eyes, Rocket said, "Great. Now the Guardians' got a mascot."
"I am Groot?"
"I'm the co-pilot! I ain't no mascot!"
"You're also a sharpshooter, technician, and weapons master," Luna added, hoping that would cheer him up. The raccoon was silent for a moment after hearing the compliments from the teen.
With that, the worm turned and began eating through the wall. "Would you look at that? Bowie rocks." The leader of the Guardians joked. "I told you so. He's finding us a way out of here." In a few seconds, the wall collapsed, revealing a tunnel that led into the unknown.