Finally I found some time and motivation to start working on this fic again and now I am back with a new chapter.

I have no idea if anyone still reads this story, since I got no feedback or bew followers at all in these past week/months.

Well, here is the new chapter. Don't know when the next ones comes though.

Enjoy it.

And, as always, feedback in the form of a comment is very much appreciated by me and keeps my motivation up, thank you!

Chapter 8

Yondu wanted to put his plan into action the very next day.

Not that the boy felt so bored that he started a stupidity again…

Besides, it was time to familiarize him with their weapons, for Yondu wouldn't always be by his side and if the boy couldn't defend himself then...he didn't want to finish this thought.

And so he decided to lead Peter into the "belly" of the ship, where they kept most of their weapons. The little Terran didn't know this part of the Eclector yet and Yondu couldn't help but notice how the boy's eyes widened, as they entered the dark corridors.

Silently and with fear in his eyes, Peter followed the Centaurian, who was walking fast and he almost had to run to follow him. He stayed close to him and his eyes went back and forth, staring anxiously into every dark corner they passed. On the way, they met no one else, as if they were the only ones down here.

A thought that Peter didn't like, because down here it was scary and he couldn't help but think of all the horror movies he had secretly watched on television back then, when his mother had already slept soundly. The dark passageway in front of him reminded him of such a movie and he felt how his body started to tremble and he quickened his pace even more to keep up with Yondu and to be close to him, should anything happen.

"Why are we going down here? I know you also have weapons stores upstairs."

Yondu stopped and Peter almost ran into him, if he hadn't slowed down at the right moment. Slowly, the blue man turned around to face him with a stern look, that made the boy shudder.

"Because I ain't want ya to do anything stupid. Not that ya get bored again and ya think ya can break into one of our weapons depots after I showed ya where they are. And I know that ya would never go down here alone. That's why we're down here and not up there. Besides, none of the others needs to know that I teach you how to handle our weapons. And now come. It is not far anymore."

The pirate began to move again and Peter followed him, grumbling and with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Apparently, Yondu was still kinda angry at him for this ventilation duct thingy from yesterday...

After a few more minutes, the two finally reached the weapons depot and Peter was glad to get out of this sinister corridor. But when he saw the actual weapons depot, he didn't know if that was better. But the initial fear quickly turned to fascination, when he saw the many different weapons, hanging on the walls or lay on metal tables. He saw large, unwieldy weapons that even the strongest Ravager could only hold with both hands. He saw all sorts of different handguns. Here and there, knives in different shapes and sizes hung on the wall or lay around on the tables. Here and there he saw a belt with odd little orbs on it and he was tempted to reach his hand out and touch one of the orbs, but Yondu stopped him from doing so.

"Don't t touch these! Unless you want to explode."

Immediately Peter pulled his hand back and also stepped away from the table on which the belt was lying.

Booby traps...great...

He preferred to stand in the doorway, watching Yondu gather some smaller weapons together. As he turned around and came towards him again, Peter quickly backed out of the armory and watched the other silently, as he locked the door to the armory again.

"Come with me."

He led him to another room that was near the armory.

The room was big and dark. The neon light flickered slightly, giving the whole room an eerie atmosphere and Peter felt how goosebumps rose on his skin. And it didn't get better when Yondu closed the door behind him.

The Centaurian moved toward a metal table, dropped his weapons on it and then he took two chairs and motioned Peter to sit on one of them, which the boy did without hesitation. Yondu sat down next to him and looked at him sternly.

"Ya have to be aware that guns ain't toys and it's no fun killing anyone with them."

"And something like this coming from the mouth of a pirate..."

"Just because I'm a pirate doesn't mean that I enjoy killing others."

"I wouldn't be so sure about the rest of your crew."

"Most of my crew is scum from the galaxy, there's no doubt about that. But I'm not like that, Kraglin is not like that, Tullk is not and some others are not like that either. Just because we're pirates doesn't mean we're all sadistic bastards."

"But I learned something different on my home planet."

"You've never met a real pirate, just read yer weird books. This, Peter, is the real life and not one of your stories. And the real life can be mean and unfair, ya have to be aware of that. In order to survive in the galaxy, ya have to be smarter than yer enemies and ya have to learn how to handle weapons. That's why it's time for ya to learn that. And I think you're old enough for this lesson."

After Yondu had finished, he grabbed one of the smaller weapons and held it out to the boy so that he could look at it from all sides.

"This is one of our standard weapons. Easy to use and extremely helpful in an emergency case. Many Ravagers carry such a thing with them, hidden under their clothes, so that the enemy doesn't see them immediately."

Carefully, Peter took the gun and frowned thoughtfully.

"How does it work?"

"It is actually quite simple…"

Yondu explained how to use this weapon and how to disassemble it to clean it and how to wear it on his body. To show this to the boy, he took a small leather belt from one of the hooks attached to the wall and put it around his hips. Then he hooked in the handgun on the side of his hip.

"That's how ya wear them. This way, ya can quickly get to them in an emergency case and ya can stow them away just as quickly, because ya just have to hook them in here and you'll have yer hands free again."

"That's pretty cool. How do you fire them?"

"That, kid, is another lesson for later. First of all, ya show me what ya have just learned. If you want to carry such a weapon, then ya have to know it inside out, and it also includes being able to look after it and reassemble it after you have cleaned it. Come on. Show me how that works."

This task wasn't very easy and here and there Yondu had to help him, but the Centaurian couldn't help but be surprised how fast the little Terran learned. Within a few minutes, he managed to disassemble and reassemble the weapon. Of course he made minor mistakes from time to time, but that wasn't really bad, and whenever Yondu showed him how to do it right, the boy memorized it. Yondu had him disassemble and reassemble the weapon several times. Until Peter could do it without making any mistakes anymore.

"Very good, kid. Looks like we got a true natural talent here."

Peter blushed with so much praise.

"Thanks..." he murmured, still slightly embarrassed and he returned the gun and belt to Yondu, who grinned and put them back onto the metallic table. Then he reached for a small knife and held it out to the boy, so he could look at this weapon closely and he couldn't help raising a brow in question.

"What?" the older man asked.

"Why do you use knives?"

"Why do we use knives? Because even the best weapons in the galaxy can break or have flaws when it matters. And sometimes you'll be dealing with enemies that are so fast that ya don't get the slightest chance of loading yer weapon. A simple knife can save yer life then."

Again he pulled out some kind of belt, which he tied around the boy's thigh this time. On the belt was a small leather bag attached, in which the knife could be stowed.

"That way ya can quickly grab the knife in an emergency case. Of course ya can also wear it on yer hip, or on yer upper body, if ya want that. The main thing is that ya can grab it fast enough."

"Do you wear something like that with you too?"

The Ravager grinned.

"I carry something much better with me," he said and as he spoke, he flipped his coat back a little to show Peter the Yaka arrow he always carried with him.

"I don't need knives, kid. A whistle is enough and all my enemies are history within seconds."

"Come on, Yondu. Not even you can react that fast."

"Oh no? Shall I prove the contrary to ya?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. Try to pull the knife out of the holster. As fast as you can."

The boy looked at him seriously and as fast as he could, he reached for the knife that was still in the leather halter that hung around his thigh, but he didn't even get the chance to touch the handle of the knife, when Yondu already whistled. The arrow shot into the direction of his face so fast that it nearly blew Peter off his chair and he quickly grabbed the back of the chair to not fall to the ground and a soft shriek escaped him, as the Yaka arrow stopped just millimeters from his throat and hovered in the air in front of him.

"And you're dead, Petey."

The dark words made the boy shudder and only slowly did he seem to regain his composure. Only when Yondu whistled again and when the deadly arrow disappeared from his throat, he dared to move again and sit back straight on the chair. His heart was still racing in his chest, beating so hard against his ribs so that he was afraid they might break under the weight and he felt his body tremble slightly.

When he turned his eyes to the Ravager, Yondu saw the fear in them, but to his surprise, said fear quickly changed into something else, giving way to a very different expression.

"Wow...that was so cool!"

Yes, the words confused Yondu, because so far no one had ever said such a thing to him.

Okay, how could they? He had never spared one of them yet...

"Could I control the arrow as well?"

This question tore Yondu from his thoughts and he blinked several times, before realizing what the boy had just asked him.

"What?"

"Can I control the arrow as well?"

The boy seemed to be serious with this question.

For a moment, the pirate seemed to wonder if this was possible, because no one had ever asked him such a weird question before.

"Hmm, I'm not sure if that would be so easy. Ya would need a head fin to control the arrow."

"A what?"

"A head fin. The thing I wear on my head."

To show Peter what he meant, he bent his head down so far, that the boy had a good view of the fin and Peter couldn't restrain his curiosity, stretched out his hand and touched it.

"Is this thing connected to your brain?" he wanted to know and his eyes lit up with excitement, as he looked at the red fin from all sides. He had never been able to do that before.

"Yes, it is. Why do you ask?"

The kid shuddered and pulled his hand away.

"So that means you have to implant something into my brain so I can control your arrow?"

Yondu grinned and his eyes took on an eerie sparkle.

"Aye."

"Then I don't want to be able to control the arrow anymore."

The Ravager laughed and shook his head, as he put the arrow back into the leather bag that was attached to his belt. He still wore that grin on his face as he raised his head again and looked at Peter.

"It's not that bad. Come here."

Peter didn't really know if he should trust him, especially when he grinned at him like that. He knew Yondu long enough now and knew that he was always planning something, but what kind of miserable pirate would he be if he was scared of his own Captain?

Although...many pirates in the books he had read on Earth had also been scared of their Captain...

But before he could change his mind, Yondu grabbed him, took his head in a headlock and pressed the knuckles of his other hand into his head and gave him a noogie.

"We just have to make a small cut here and we can implant you a head fin as well. Wouldn't that be something, Petey?" he teased, not stopping with the noogie, which Peter commented with a laugh. He tried to free himself from his strong grip and at the same time to push his hand away from his head, but he just couldn't make it, because he wasn't strong enough.

"Yondu, stop it! That hurts!"

"Make me!"

Instead of answering, Peter bumped his elbow not very gently into his stomach, which surprised Yondu so much that he let go of the boy, who, still giggling, rescued himself behind his chair and brushing his now tussled hair out of his eyes.

"And you call me unfair? That was unfair, kid. Damn unfair!" the Ravager grumbled, as he rubbed the sore spot on his stomach, where Peter had just hit him. Still, his lips twisted into a toothy grin again.

"But what kind of pirates we would be, if we were to fight fairly?"

Peter chuckled.

"No really good pirates, right?"

"Damn right, Petey. We would be miserable pirates!" Yondu answered and he stood up from his chair. As he passed the Terran, he ruffled his hair again, smiled at the sound of Peter's giggles and then moved slowly toward a metal cupboard.

Peter watched him curiously, but didn't dare to follow him, in fear he would get another noogie from him.

"Come on, Petey. I have a little surprise for ya here."

Ah yes, a surprise.

Peter was well acquainted with Yondu's "surprises".

But still...he was curious and something in the Ravager's voice told him he was serious, so he slowly walked up to him, trying to peer into the closet, but couldn't see anything, because Yondu was standing right in front of it and thus blocked his view.

When he turned back around, Peter raised an eyebrow questioningly, as he saw how Yondu was hiding something behind his back and grinning at him again.

He had considered his next words well and yes, he thought Peter was ready.

"How about we two look out for some adventures in the galaxy? Just you and me. What do you say, Petey?"

It took Peter a moment to understand the spoken words.

Was Yondu really serious?

"For real?"

"Yes, kid. Ya showed me today that ya know how to handle our weapons, so we can move on to Phase Two of the practice lesson. That doesn't work here, on the ship. For that we have to look for a planet where we won't be disturbed."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I can't let ya try out the guns here and risk ya shooting a hole into mah ship, right?"

An excited sparkled appeared in Peter's eyes and this time his heartbeat quickened with joy.

"Are you serious? I'm allowed to leave the ship?"

"If ya think you are ready for that..."

"Yes! Yes I am!"

The captain's grin widened and without further comments, he pulled out a bundle of clothes behind his back and threw it to Peter, who picked up the bundle out of pure reflex. He eyed it curiously and as he unfolded it, he could hardly believe his eyes, because he held the typical Ravager clothes in his hands. A pair of dark red pants and a long sleeved shirt and then exactly in his size.

And something in him told him that Yondu had planned the whole thing, because why else would he have stored those clothes right here?

"Are they really for me?"

"Well, for whom else? Yer clothes look weird and are impractical. Besides, ya want to be one of us, right? So dress like one of us!"

Peter could hardly believe it.

Often he had annoyed Yondu that he too wanted to wear the typical Ravager clothes, but over and over again the Centaurian had told him that he was not ready for that yet and that he had to show him first, that he was ready to wear the Ravagers' clothes.

Apparently he was ready now...but...something was missing.

"Where is the coat?"

And Yondu couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.

"I knew ya would ask me that question, boy," he grinned.

"Ya won't get the coat until ya become a full member of the Ravagers. Not earlier."

"What do I have to do for that?"

"Oh, you'll know that when the time comes. But that time is still far away. First of all, ya will show me how well ya can handle our weapons. Come on, let's go upstairs again. You change yer clothes and I'll get one of our ships ready."

"What? You mean...we will be flying to a planet today?"

"Aye. Unless you are too scared and want to stay here..."

That was a clear provocation, Peter knew that, but he ignored it, grabbed Yondu's hand instead and dragged him back to the door.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

And Yondu could only laugh and shake his head, as he followed the boy and only a little later they had stepped out of the door and disappeared in the dark corridor...