Chapter 4- Knowhere
Valkyrie was now dressed in brown pants and a black top, though she still kept her uniform boots. Gamora had her change out of her Nova Prime guard uniform. Her reasoning was, "We're not going to get within a hundred kilometers of the place if you are dressed like that".
Valkyrie currently sat on a crate, arms crossed, glaring at Quill who was currently playing with a gun. Music was blaring from… somewhere and it was giving her a headache. Suddenly Rocket shouted from the cockpit, "Head's up! We're inbound."
Quill let his hand that held the blaster fall to the side and he looked at me, "Well, come on." Quill said, motioning up the stairs with his gun. "Don't think I'm going to leave you in here all alone."
Valkyrie rolled her eyes, stood up and walked up the steps, followed by Quill, who still had his gun in his hand. Once she reached the cockpit and stood behind the chair groot was sitting in, she gasped. They were flying towards a gigantic floating head with seemingly glowing eyes and mouth.
"Whao." Quill said standing in the middle of both chairs, also staring at the head.
Drax leaned on the robotic arm that was attached to Rocket's chair with one hand, "What is it?"
"It's called Knowhere." Gamora's voice said, coming from behind me. "The severed head of an ancient celestial being. Be wary headed in, rodent. There are no regulations whatsoever here." Gamora said, sitting down in the captain's chair, behind the entrance to below the ship.
Rocket flew the ship into an opening of one of the eyes.
As we made our way, walking, deeper into the head, Gamora begin to explain the head's presence, "Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers into mine the organic matter within the skull. Bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid. All rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy. It's dangerous and illegal work-"
"That's right." Valkyrie cut in with crossed arms as they walked along the street. Drax was walking close behind her, groot on her right and Gamora on her left. Rocket was in front of Groot and Quill was walking on Gamora's right.
"Suitable only for outlaws." Gamora continued without even acknowledging what Valkyrie said.
"Well, I come from a planet of outlaws." Quill said, and Valkyrie glanced to her right at Quill as he continued, "Billy the kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos."
"Sounds like a place I would like to visit." Drax said.
"You should." Quill responded with.
A group of kids ran through our group saying, "Excuse me!"
"Watch your wallets." Quill said as they asked for anything to eat.
"Can you spare any units?"
Valkyrie's heart ached to help these kids but due to her current situation, she didn't think Quill would like her helping them.
"Get out of here!" Quill scolded them with a series of small waves of his right hand. The children disappeared within the crowd, probably pickpocketing along the way.
We walked for a bit more to come to a place with people standing in the square before it's entrance. "Your buyer's in there?" Rocket asked.
Gamora looked back at Quill who was now a bit behind her, but was now next to Groot. "We are to wait here for his representative."
A bouncer throws a man from the establishment yelling, "Get out of here!" and the man on the ground groans.
"This is no respectful establishment." Drax said in an annoyed tone and Valkyrie nodded her head, agreeing with Drax, eyeing the place warily, "What do you expect us to do while we wait?"
Valkyrie shook her head in disgust at the game the patrons were playing. A group of rowdy and drunk patrons stood, shouting and yelling, around a long table that had a race going. She winced as the poor animal was swallowed whole by the other and swallowed down the bile in her throat.
"Girl, come on." Quill called. Valkyrie looked around to see him over, by the entrance to a balcony, next to Gamora. Quill seemed to sigh, she couldn't actually hear it over the noise of the club and jogged back to get her. "Honestly, I told you to stay with me. I'm not having you wander off. You, a single women, alone in a skull with no government or rules? With bounty hunters and drunkards everywhere? You wouldn't last a day."
They were out on the balcony now. Valkyrie rolled her eyes, "I didn't know you cared, Quill. I can take care of myself. I wasn't a prison Commander for the fun of it."
Quill sputtered, "I-I was j-just."
"Don't worry Quill." Gamora said, still facing out into open space. "I won't tell the rest of the group." Gamora's tone quickly went from teasing to serious in seconds, "And you," Valkyrie said, turning to face Valkyrie, "Should be careful of what you say around here." Before Valkyrie could say anything Gamora turned back to Quill, "My connection is making us wait." While she said that she was inspecting her weapon.
"It's just a negotiation tactic." Quill said, stepping up next to Gamora. Valkyrie leaned up against the outside of the wall, watching the two. "Trust me, this is my specialty. Where yours is more stab, stab. Those are my terms." Quill leaned his right side against the railing.
Gamora turned to look at Quill, "My father didn't stress diplomacy."
"Thanos?"
"He's not my father." Gamora snapped.
'Yes, that's it.' Valkyrie thought, 'Keep talking. It gives me more information to take back.'
"When Thanos took my home world he killed my parents in front of me." Valkyrie's eyes widened as Gamora told her story, "He tortured me. Turned me into a weapon. When he said he was going to destroy an entire planet for Ronan, I couldn't stand by and…."
By now Valkyrie was completely still and staring at Gamora. 'what she must have gone through… no. It doesn't stop the fact that she did those horrible things. At any time she could have said no but didn't.'
Changing the topic swiftly, Gamora reaches for the strange device on Quills belt, "Why would you risk your life for this?" Gamora took it off of Quills belt and held it. Valkyrie heard a soft click sound and wondered what it was.
"My mother gave it to me." Quill responded and Gamora looked up at him. "My mom liked sharing with me all the pop songs she loved growing up."
'Passed tense. She must be gone.' Valkyrie thought.
"I happened to have it on me when I was… the day that she…you know, when I left Earth." Quill said softly.
"What do you do with it?" Gamora asked, she seemed genuinely curious while Valkyrie was thinking of where she heard of Earth before.
"Do? Nothing. You listen to it. Or you can dance." Quill said, putting the device back onto his belt.
"I'm a warrior and an assassin. I do not dance."
Quill nodded his head a bit, as if not quite believing her, "Really? Well, on my planet there's a legend about people like you."
'Oh God.' Valkyrie thought and rolled her eyes. 'Quill is actually flirting with Gamora.'
"It's called, footloose." Quill continued. "And in it, a great hero named Kevin Bacon teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their buts that dancing, its the greatest thing there is." Valkyrie rolled her eyes.
"Who put the sticks up their buts?" Gamora asked.
"No. That's just a…." Quill trailed off.
Valkyrie tried to hide her laughter but failed as both Gamora and Quill turned and glared at her. Valkyrie froze and said quickly, "Sorry."
Gamora turned back to Quill, "That is cruel."
"It's just a phrase... people use." Quill takes the headphones off from around his neck and slowly puts them on Gamora.
Valkyrie turned away from the flirting, not able to stand it anymore. She hated relationships, why else would she worked at the Klyn for the Nova Corps as a commander? It was hard to keep relationships going half a universe away.
"The melody is pleasant!" Gamora shouted at Quill, making Valkyrie jump. They stared at eachother for a couple seconds, Quill getting closer and closer until Gamora shouted, "NO!" She took out her blade and held it under Quills neck.
Valkyrie froze, not sure weather to break the fight up or not.
"OW! What the hell?!" Quill yelled.
"I know who you are, Peter Quill and I am NOT some starry-eyed waif here to succumb to your… your pelvic sorcery!"
At that Valkyrie snorted and muttered, "Pelvic sorcery."
"That is not what is happening here." Quill said hoarsely, being choked by how hard Gamora was pressing her blade against his throat. Gamora let Quill go just as he stares into the window. Valkyrie turned around to see Groot being thrown against the table and Drax hurtling himself at Groot, tackling him and both of them tumbling across the long table and over to the floor.
"No." Quill groans. He looks to Gamora, "Keep an eye on our prisoner." Then he rushes into the club after taking back his headphones from Gamora.
Gamora rolled her eyes, "Well, come on. Let's go bail the boys out of trouble."
Valkyrie was startled by the almost… pleasant tone Gamora was taking with her, "You know who I am." Gamora nodded. Valkyrie took a deep breath, "Why didn't you say who I was to the rest of the group?"
"Honestly, I don't care who you are, just that you will be getting us money."
Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, "The Nova Corps won't stand for this, Gamora."
"I don't think they're in any position to be making the demands." Gamora shot back. "Come on." Gamora grabbed her arm and dragged Valkyrie back into the club.
Gamora ran to Drax and pulled him away from pummeling Groot. Now she had one hand on Valkyrie's arm and one holding Drax back. "Stop it!" Gamora yelled at Drax. Quill stood, hands up, looking at Rocket who had his gun out.
"Whao, waho, what are you doing?" Quill asked.
Drax growled and tried moving forward but Gamora forced him back, "This vermin speaks of affairs he knows nothing about!"
"That is true!" Rocket shouted.
"He has no respect!" Drax continued.
"That is also true!"
Quill put both hands out, trying to defuse this as quickly as possible, "Hold on! Hold on!"
"Keep calling me vermin, tough guy!" Rocket yelled, "You just wanna laugh at me like everyone else!"
"Rocket, you're drunk. All right? No one's laughing at you."
"He thinks I'm some stupid thing! He does! Well, I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to get torn apart and put back together over and over and turned into some… some little monster!"
Quill sighed, "Rocket, no one's calling you a monster."
Rocket threw up a finger and pointed it at Drax. "He called me vermin! She called me rodent! Let's see if you can laugh after five or six shots to your frickin' face!" Rocket yelled and brang up his gun and pointed it at Drax.
Gamora got in front of Drax, letting go of Valkyrie, while Qull stepped in front of Rocket.
'Well this is good. Perhaps they'll all kill each other and then I can start to make my way back home.' Valkyrie thought.
"No, no, no, no no!" Quill stammers. "Four billion units! Rocket! Come on, man. Hey! Suck it up for one more, lousy night and you're rich."
Rocket is silent for a moment then turns disengages his gun. "Fine. But I can't promise when this is all over I'm not going to kill every last one of you jerks."
Valkyrie swallowed and stepped back away from Rocket.
Quill seemed to agree with her, "See! That's why none of you have any friends! Five seconds after you meet somebody, you're already trying to kill them!"
"We have traveled, halfway across the quadrant." Drax said angrily, "And Ronan is no closer to being dead." Drax turned around and stomped off.
"Drax!" Quill called after him.
"Let him go." Gamora said, staring after him and then turned back to the group, "We don't need him."
A door opened to reveal a pink humanoid with a white dress that came to above her knees and metal wrist bracelets. Her brown hair was up and her hands held together in front of her stomach, She stepped forward saying, "Milady Gamora. I'm here to fetch you for my master." Then she stepped back in a bow and held out a hand in a sweeping motion.
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