Chapter 7- The Fight

"Perhaps if we kill Ego, the tumor will go away." Drax stated. "How do we kill a celestial?"

Valkyrie starred in surprise at Drax. "I didn't even think of that Drax."

"There's a center to him." Peter stated. "His brain, his soul, whatever it is… some sort of protective shell."

Mantis looked around, panicked, as she answered, "It's in the caverns, below the surface."

Suddenly the blue lights slammed and encased the ship. Peter climbed up to the cockpit, "Yandu?"

Yandu responded with taking off but the energy grabbed hold of the ship and slammed it down to the ground. Valkyrie collapsed onto the floor at the impact while the others stumbled around and held onto the ship.

Valkyrie painfully army crawled her way to the ladder and up to the cockpit were Peter had taken the co-pilot seat next to Yandu. She made her way, sumbling as her world became dizzy and grabbed hold of Peter's chair for support.

Peter pressed some of the ships buttons before Yandu said, "Thrusters are out!"

"Guess I should be glad I was a skinny kid." Peter said, opening a compartment beneath the control panel to reveal a glowing yellow source. "Otherwise you'd have delivered me to this maniac."

Yandu turned to Peter, "You still reckon that's the reason I kept you around, you idiot?"

"That's what you told me, you old dufus." Peter snapped back, fixing some of the wires.

"Well, once I figured out what happened to them other kids I wasn't just going to hand you over."

"You said you were going to eat me."

"That was being funny!"

"Not to me!" Peter responded with a look of 'what the hell?'

"You people have issues." Rocket's voice floated up from below.

Peter stared at Rocket, "Well, of course I have issues." Peter looked up, startled at the yelling from outside the ship and saw a large version of ego, blue energy repairing his body. "That's my freakin father!" The ship beeped. "Thrusters are back up!" Peter yelled.

Peter drove the ship right threw the gigantic energy version of ego and it disappeared. The ship 'flew' out of the building and over the cliff. Then started to fall. Valkyrie slammed into Peter's chair with an loud groan. She clutched her head, "Peter." Her voice was soft, but forceful which got his attention and he turned around in concern, "He's angry. Very angry... Ahhh!"

"Just hold on." Peter pleaded. "Val, Please."

Yandu interrupted what Valkyrie was going to respond with to state, "We should be going up!"

"We can't!" Peter reminded Yandu, "Ego wants to eradicate the universe as we know it. He also put a tumor in my sister! The only chance she, and the universe, has is to kill him. Rocket!" The cracked canyon grew closer and closer.

"Got it!" Rocket yelled up to them. Red lasers cut into the rocks and the ship entered a tunnel, taking them closer to the center of the planet.

"Waho!" Peter yelled as they dove deeper, hitting into some of the rocks that were in their way.

Rocket worked the lasers so the ship didn't get that much damaged, "So, we're saving the galaxy again?" Rocket asked the team.

"And Valkyrie." Peter stated.

Valkyrie heard Rocket sigh and responded with, "Including Valkyrie."

"I guess so."

Valkyrie let out an indignant, but playful, "Hey!" and lightly hit Peter on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Peter overplayed the smack, rubbing his shoulder. "That hurt."

"Awesome! We're really going to be able to jack-up our prices if we're two time galaxy savers." Rocket stated.

"I seriously can't believe that's where you're mind goes. I mean, Val's over here dying!"

"It was just a random thought, man! I thought we were friends. Of course I care about the planets, and the buildings and all the animals on the planets." Rocket droned on.

"And the people." Peter coxed.

"Meh."

"Hey! Rocket!" Valkyrie protested.

"The crabby puppy is so cute." Mantis interjected, "He makes me want to die!"

"So, tell me why Ego wants you here?"

"He needs my genetic connection to the light to help destroy the universe. He tried to teach me to control the power. He tried Val as well, but she didn't want to do it."

"Good thing to." Valkyrie reckoned.

"So, could you?" Yandu asked.

"A little. I made a ball." Peter admitted.

Yandu looked at Peter like he was crazy. "A ball?"

"I thought as hard as I could. It was all that I could come up with."

"You thought? You think when I make this arrow fly I use my head?" The ship was squeezed and finally it burst through rocks and came out in the center of the planet. Blue light coming from around the rocks which stretched from a large circle.

"There." Valkyrie heard Mantis say from below, "That's Ego's core."

"That ore is thick, Rocket." Gamora stated.

"I got it covered."

"We must hurry." Mantis reminded the group. "It will not take Ego long to find us."

"We drill into the center and we kill him!" Peter commanded.

Rocket fiddled with a couple of buttons and then a large red lazor came out of the ship and started to drill into the core. "Keep her steady!" As soon as the lazor fired into the core, Valkyrie cried out in pain, collapsing to the grated floor of the ship.

"Val!" Peter yelled and started to get out of the seat to go to her.

Everything hurt like hell to Valkyrie but she got out, "Don't stop!"

"Captain?" Came a call from the comm.

"What is it Kraglin?"

"Heeey. Remember that Ayesha chick?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Uh…."

Yandu looked out the right window and saw the army of space ships coming at them. "Oh, hell." Peter yanked the ship away from the core and the drilling stopped, giving relief to the pain Valkyrie felt and she was able to pull herself upright again, but it wasn't enough to stop her being dizzy.

The spacecraft chased after them, firing as they went.

The ship tilted sideways and Valkyrie, not in a seatbelt, dropped against the windows with a painful landing.

"Why aren't you firing the lazors!" Valkyrie yelled down to Rocket.

"They blew out the generator!" Rocket responded. "I think I packed a small detonator."

"A detonator is worthless without explosives!" Nebula pointed out.

"Well, we got these." Rocket said as Peter helped Valkyrie down the steps to see Rocket holding the batteries from the Sovereign.

"Is that thing strong enough to kill Ego?" Val asked.

"If it is," Rocket said as he rapped cords around a device, "It'll cause a chain reaction throughout his entire nervous system."

"Meaning what?" Peter shouted.

"The entire planet will explode." Rocket explained. "We'll have to get out of here fast. I rigged a timer."

"I'm coming with you." Valkyrie stated.

Peter shook his head, "No. Stay here with Yandu.

"But-"

"Val. You're dying."

Valkyrie grimace, "Even more reason to fight."

Peter pressed his lips together, "Fine. Let's go." They raced out of the hole on the side of the ship, jumping out of the ship. Their thrusters on their boots helped guide them closer to the core, dodging gun fire from the Sovereign's fighters. They made it to a hole and rolled onto the ground, coming to a stop.

Peter helped Valkyrie into a standing position while Rocket turned on a flashlight. "The metal's too thick. For the bomb to work, we'd actually need to place it on Ego's core. And our fat buts ain't gonna fit through those tiny holes."

"Well…." Peter said, looking down. Valkyrie followed his eyesight to see that Baby Groot had followed them and was playing with a leaf.

Rocket looked up, blinking, "That's a terrible idea."

"Which is the only kind of idea we have left."

Rocket let out a long groan and picked up Baby Groot and placed him on his shoulder and walked to the nearest hole. "Unbelievable." Then mockingly in a high pitch voice, "Rocket do this. Rocket do that." Rocket jumped through the whole.

Peter looked to Valkyrie. "Val, you're pale. Are you sure I can't talk you out of fighting?"

Valkyrie shook her head and then regretted it as a wave of dizziness swept over her. 'Okay, so no sharp movements.' "Not a chance." She responded. "I will not die sitting out of a battle."

Peter grabbed the sides of her shoulders, "You're not gonna die. I won't let you."

Valkyrie smiled a watery smile, "Peter. Don't make promises you can't keep. I won't go down without a fight. Together?"

Peter gave a tight smile, "Together." They hugged then Valkyrie drew her two guns along with Peter. "Let's do this." They lept out of the hole and into the battle, firing at the Sovereign's ships and dodging the lazors.

"Alright. First you flick this switch, then this switch. That activates it." Rocket's voice carried outside too were Valkyrie and Peter were fighting.

Breathless, Valkyrie commented to Peter, "Nothing good can come out of teaching Baby Groot to blow something up."

"It's the only choice we have." Peter corrected himself, "You have to survive this."

"That activates it. Then you push this button." Rocket said slowly so Baby Groot could understand, "Which will give you five minutes to get out of there. Now, whatever you do, don't push this button because that will set off the bomb immediately and we'll all be dead. Now, repeat back what I just said."

"I am Groot."

"Uh-hu."

"I am Groot."

"That's right."

"I am Groot."

"No!" Rocket yelled, "That's the button that will kill everyone."

"Try again."

"I am Groot."

"Mm-hmmm."

"I am Groot."

"Uh-huh."

"I am Groot."

They heard Rocket's frustrated "No!" Coming from inside the core. "That's exactly what you just said! How is that even possible?!" Which button is the button to push? Point to it."

"NO!"

"Hey!" Peter called through a series of cracks where they could see Rocket kneeling in front of the bomb and Baby Groot. "You're making him nervous!"

Rocket responded with, "Shut up and get me some tape! Does anyone have any tape out there? I want to put some tape over the death button."

"I don't have any tape. Let me check." Peter yelled back and flew over to were Valkyrie was keeping the Sovereign off of Peter while he was talking to Rocket. "Val! Have any tape?"

"Tape? No." Valkyrie said, destroying another ship.

"Darn it. Yo! Yandu, do you have any- ah!" A ship bumped into Peter as he flew around asking for tape, "Do you have any tape! Gamora? Do you have any tape?

"What?!" Gamora yelled back.

" Tape! Ah, nevermind. Ow! Drax! Do you have any tape?"

"Will Scotch Tape work?" Drax asked.

"Yes! Scotch Tape would work!"

"I don't have any Scotch Tape."

Frustrated Peter yelled, "Then why did you ask me if Scotch Tape would work if you don't have any?" Peter flew back to the hole were he could talk to Rocket and Valkyrie watched his back, fighting becoming harder and harder as the pain increased. "Nobody has any tape!" Peter reported.

"Not a single person has tape?" Rocket yelled back.

"Nope!"

"Did you ask Nebula?"

Peter looked around and lied, "Yes!"

"Are you sure?" Rocket asked in a tone that said he didn't believe him.

"I asked Yandu and she was sitting right next to him."

"I knew you were lying!"

"You have priceless batteries and an atomic bomb in your bag!" Peter responded with, "If anybody is gonna have tape, it's you!"

"That's exactly my point! I have to do everything!

"You are wasting a lot of time here!" Peter shot back.

Then Valkyrie heard a loud "Weeeee!" from Baby Groot which grew softer and softer as it continued. "Well, shit. That's not good." Valkyrie stated.

Rocket sighed in exasperation, "We're all going to die."