First off, let me just say thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, faved, and followed my story! I greatly appreciate all of your support!
With that said, greetings humans! Arcelskye here with next installment of my poorly named GotG fic (if anyone has suggestions for a title please let me know)! Here is chapter two!
"Hello, little sister."
His words, those three simple words, hung suspended in the silence that had settled over the room.
No one spoke. What was any of them supposed to say?
Peter was dumbfounded, and Gamora's emotions were conflicted.
How was he alive? Where had he been? How did he escape?
It was Peter who broke the silence. "Who are you, space cowboy?"
The red eyed man tilted his head. "I know not of this 'space cowboy' you speak of."
Peter heaved an exasperated sigh. "Why do all you aliens take things so literally? It's an expression. Does the word metaphor not exist in your vocabulary?"
He would've said more, but a hand covered his mouth. It was Gamora's hand, a warning in her gaze.
Peter understood her message well enough.
Don't screw around with this guy.
Her hand moved away as she looked at the screen.
"What do you want, Aroreus?"
Aroreus smiled at her. "It's good to see you alive and well, sister. It's been years since we last spoke."
Gamora rolled her eyes. "Enough of the idle pleasantries, brother." She placed emphasis on the word "brother", as if the word left a bitter taste on her tongue. "I'll ask you again. What do you want?"
Her hands were shaking, but she clenched them into tight fists.
"I never knew you had such an impatient streak." He said, sounding genuinely surprised, before his face then grew serious. "I am in need of your assistance, Gamora. Yours and the 'Guardians'."
Gamora gave him an incredilous look. "What makes you think that I would help you? You could be leading us to a trap! You're trying to play us right into Thanos' hand!"
At the name "Thanos" Peter was instantly on alert. If what Gamora had said was true, then he definitely couldn't trust this Aroreus guy.
Aroreus' eyes narrowed at Gamora. "Have you forgotten the events of five years ago?" He asked, his tone cold.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter thought he saw Gamora flinch, almost as if she'd been hit.
"What happened five years ago doesn't change anything," Gamora said. "And it doesn't change what you did to me the day we met."
"Woah, back up. Just what in the hell are you two talking about?" Peter asked, his gaze swapping back and forth between the two of them.
Aroreus fixed a sharp glare on Peter. "Are you the one they call... Star Prince?"
Peter dragged his hand down his face. "Star Lord. It's Star Lord."
Aroreus shrugged. "I fail to see a difference."
"Well, there is a difference."
"I care not."
"Well, ya should."
"But I do not."
"You should."
Aroreus rolled his eyes. "I do not care."
"Would both of you stop? You are bickering like children," Gamora snapped.
"He started it," Peter muttered.
"Just say whatever it is you want of us," Gamora ignored Peter's comment, focusing her attention on Aroreus.
"Very well. After you defected, dear sister, Thanos sent me to retrieve a certain... object for him. Things, however, went awry."
Peter and Gamora listened intently, neither daring to interrupt. They were too curious- if Thanos was indeed up to something, then they needed all the information they could get.
"When I made it to the coordinates that he described,I found myself on Furostium, my..." he shook his head. "It's an abandoned planet in the far reaches of the galaxy. Most don't even know it exists. Several millenia ago, it lost its ability to sustain life, and it's entire population was wiped out in a single night. Or so the story goes."
"How could an entire civilization disappear overnight? You would need something with tremendous power-" she stopped, the answer obvious.
Aroreus nodded, seeming to understand her conclusion. "If you were assuming it to be an Infinity Stone, you would be right... and also wrong."
"Wait, what? Is it an Infinity Stone or not?" Peter questioned.
"It is, like the Infinity Stones, an ancient power source almost as old as the galaxy itself. While it's power isn't quite on par with that of the Infinity Stones, it is still capable of mass destruction.
"However, it was flawed. The Furostium people attempted to manipulate the object, attempting to turn it into an Infinity Stone. I'm sure you can guess the result."
Gamora stepped forward. "If what you say is true, then a weapon with the capabilities of an Infinity Stone the is flawed is out there, then we must retrieve-"
"And that is why I've contacted you," Aroreus cut in.
"Yeah, but why us? You just want it for Thanos right?" Peter quipped.
Aroreus blinked. "Do you ever shut up?"
"Haha, no. I'm just a talkative person. Anyway, you still haven't told us what went wrong when you went to retrieve it."
Gamora approached the panel, resting her hands on her hips. "Peter is right. What went wrong? What aren't you telling us?"
Aroreus sighed. "I... couldn't get to it."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean there is a protective barrier surrounding it, one that I am unable to pass through and unable to break." He closed his eyes. "I do not have the power to do much within Furostium's atmosphere. My powers were drained upon my arrival, and have steadily decreased since."
"A toxic atmosphere? And you want us to go there? You must be out of your mind!" Peter said incredilously.
"I do not think it will harm you. It only affected me because..." his words trailed off. "That's all I can disclose for now. Will you accept my request?"
"How do we know we can trust you?" Gamora countered.
"You can't." He had a sad look in his eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "But you don't have a choice. You are the Guardians of the Galaxy, are you not?"
"We are," Peter responded. "But this isn't what we do. We don't go around helping a potential enemy get their hands on some ancient super weapon and who may or may not betray us. Not to be a negative Nancy, but we ain't helping you."
"Who is this Nancy you speak of?" Both Aroreus and Gamora asked.
"Expression! There is no Nancy!"
"I will never understand you mortals," Aroreus sighed.
Peter approached the panel. "Well, I think this conversation is over." He moved to end the video feed, but was stopped when Gamora grabbed his hand.
"Wait," she said.
"Mora?" His brown eyes met her dark ones.
She let go of his hand, not breaking his gaze. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this."
"Do what? Gamora!" Peter exclaimed, grabbing her arm. Gamora saw something flicker in his gaze- fear?
No, she must have imagined it.
She swallowed hard. Even if it was Peter, she could not let him sway her decision. This was something she had to do, whether he approved or not.
"Aroreus. What are the coordinates?" She demanded.
"You aren't seriously going to help this guy?!" Peter exclaimed, his expression striken.
"We'll meet at Knowhere in eighteen hundred hours. I eagerly await your arrival," Aroreus said. With that, he ended the transmission.
"What the hell are you thinking?! You know just as well as I do that we can't trust him, not if he's connected to Thanos!" Peter shouted.
"Then does that mean you cannot trust me?!" Gamora retorted. "I'm as much a child of Thanos as he is, whether I want to be or not!"
Peter back pedaled. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way-"
"But that is exactly how it came across! Peter, not long ago I was a tool, a weapon at Thanos' disposal. Who is to say he still does not hold sway over me?" Her voice softened. "I know you only want what you think is best for me and the others, but I have to confront Aroreus. I have to face my past."
Peter held a stubborn gaze a moment more before sighing in defeat. "I can tell that there's no changing your mind. But I'm going with you."
"I can't ask you to do that-"
"Well, I'm not giving you a choice. We're a team. There's no reason you have to do this on your own."
Gamora smiled slightly. "You are an idiot."
Peter smiled back. "In the words of Rocket, we're all idiots."
"Shouldn't we tell the others about this?"
Peter scratched his head. "Yeah, we should. And I'm not looking forward to that conversation."
Deciding to take the risk, Peter stepped closer to Gamora and wrapped his arms around her.
"Peter? What are you doing?" She asked quietly, but made no attempt to push him away.
"I'm giving you a hug." He answered, burying the side of his face in her hair. "Just go with it, okay?"
He felt her nod, and was surprised when she wrapped her arms around him as well.
"I promise, I won't leave your side," he muttered.
Gamora's grip tightened. "I'll hold you to that."
They stayed that way, locked in each other's embrace. Gamora felt at ease, in a way that she had never experienced with anyone else before.
She felt like she was home.