3rd Person POV
Once the process of destroying the planet Chrysinthea and safely dispersing the amount of Core energy that was meant to fully destroy the Orinix by Ash, JJ, and Ori, everyone on the ship who had escaped before the planet was destroyed kept watch on the small island where the cosmic willow tree was situated in the middle of the rubble of the planet as if waiting and hoping for some sign of life from the girls.
"They really did it…" Zaruk spoke up, breaking the silence, reforming their statement from earlier and Xay and Zaia were still tearing up from losing Ash and JJ just when it seemed like they wouldn't anymore.
"Hold up." Rocket used the tech screen in the window to zoom in on something that was rapidly moving away from the remains of the planet, "Looks like Kryjer's tryin' ta make a run for it!"
"Then let's go after him! He can't get away!" Xay urged banging a fist against the floor in anger and Rocket was about to agree with him when the lights on the ship began to flash red making him mutter,
"What the frick…?"
"Uhhh guys?" Everyone turned their attention to Zaiavira as she had a hand to the glass window while her other hand was cupped around her temple when she spoke again, a haunting tone in her voice, "Something weird is building up within the ship."
"She's right." Rocket had gone back up to the pilot's seat to fully access the ship's systems when he announced, "Somethin's givin' off a crap-ton o' energy, but we're a safe ways away.. for now…"
On the Daietian, Kryjer and the scant few of his men who had survived the planetary implosion were planning to make a quick getaway when the systems started warning about a build-up of energy in the ship's weapons system.
"What's going on?!" Kryjer demanded to know as his lieutenant was frantically trying to assess the damage the ship had taken as he announced,
"Kryjer, sir, something is happening with the collected Cores."
No sooner than he announced that the entire ship shook violently before slowing in its retreat, eventually coming to a full stop,
"What?!"
At that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar iridescent gemstone as it shone brightly before crumbling into sand-like particles as a stream of light flowed out, through the window and out into the vastness of space.
"NO!" Kryjer shouted when he realized what was happening; from all across the ship, souls were being freed from their concentrated prisons, leaving them as piles of dust as their spirits streaked out into the cosmos.
From afar, everyone gaped in awe at the countless streaks of multicolored lights that freed themselves from the ship, leaving it dark as they took whatever energy remained after their departure, leaving the Daietian powerless to run away.
"The ship's completely dead!" Rocket announced from where the scanners were reading no energy levels, spiritual, electricity, or otherwise, within the ship's systems before asking, "D'we leave'em here or what?"
"W-we can't just leave them here." Bruce tried to argue before Dylan questioned with a slight shrug,
"Eh can't we though?"
"It's not what they would've wanted…"
"I am Groot. I am Groot…" (Yeah.. JJ'd probably say somethin' like 'don' let'em off too easy, th' longer they wallow, the better…') Groot added, shrugging slightly before looking down at being reminded how his sister was gone.
"And Kryjer needs to pay for what he's done.. to them, to us, to our peoples…" Zaruk insisted.
"Lucky this outdated junk heap's got a comm system, I'll call the others, see where they're at with fixin' the ship." Rocket devised as he found a comm system and started trying to signal Knowhere.
While he worked on that, Zaiavira was giving Marin a scratch on her mandible before turning her head to face Xay as she felt a steady heatwave coming off of him.
"Xay?" She questioned as she heard Wickity chattering worriedly making Marin chitter back.
"She's not coming back, is she…?" Xay spoke dejectedly.
After a few seconds of thinking, Zaiavira whispered,
"I don't think so… but I'm still hoping…"
"Why did it have to be them?"
"They chose to save us… the best we can do to move forward is to keep doing what they would've wanted us to do and…" She trailed off looking to the window as Xay asked,
"'And' what?"
"You feel that?"
"Feel what?" He questioned looking out the window as well but spotting nothing but the vastness of space, the powerless ship, and the willow tree remaining in the center of the planet's remains.
"It feels like someone's coming this way…" Gora spoke up from where she was padding over to them with her antennae glowing, catching everyone else's attention.
*Pheeeew…*
Abruptly, a tiny sliver of iridescent light came through the window from the direction of the Daietian, slightly fading as though exhausted from its trip streaming in the direction where Groot was still holding onto Jabazi's body and the light flew down into his chest.
"I am Groot?" (What the heck?) Groot spoke as he laid Jabazi's body on the ground as the light in his Core got brighter before dimming back down.
"Haah!" Jabazi gasped awake, breathing heavily while still lying on the ground as everyone jumped in surprise.
"Jabazi?" Zaruk stepped forward into his view as he answered back in a deep voice with a slightly scholarly tone,
"Clan Leader Zaruk?"
Zaruk held a hand out to him and pulled him to his feet but kept a hand on his arm to steady him as he questioned,
"What in the 9 moons happened?"
"You don't remember anything that's happened to you?"
"The last thing I recall; I was in my study looking over my notes of Alculan metal utilization and some machinery designs meant to manipulate and harness Core energies I had discovered in the Great Repository's archives."
"Kryjer must've taken you when he took those notes for his devices." Dylan predicted.
"Who?"
"Nekry Jero." Zaruk informed him and he rubbed a hand to the side of his head as he guessed,
"I sense I have missed quite a bit in however long I was rendered unconscious…"
"He's not the only one coming back…" Zaiavira spoke, her "view" not having left the window the whole time as she added with a bit of hope in her voice, "Something's happening at the tree…"
They all looked and sure enough the tree's leaves were glowing with a halo-ish effect while light streaks were traveling down the trunk to the crystal ring in the roots.
"Heh.. go figure..." Zaiavira grinned when she felt the presence returning.
In the Intermundium…
"Ugghh…"
"Hmmmm?"
Ash and JJ awoke to find themselves lying in water looking up at a sky of infinite stars with various colorful light streams streaking across their line of sight.
When they picked themselves back up, they saw they were back to wearing traditional Chrysinthean tunics in their respective colors.
"Isn't this the Soul Stone space place?" JJ questioned as she picked herself up from the puddle.
"This feels somewhat different I'm not sure why though…" Ash answered tentatively as she also stood up from the wet ground.
'Always so hesitant…' A voice sounded from around them, one familiar but they couldn't recall from where.
"Who's there?!" JJ demanded to know as she put her fists up before the voice spoke again,
'And you always so impulsive…' the voice gently laughed at the end of their sentence before Ash and JJ looked down to see ripples forming in the water surrounding their feet that started "pointing" behind them.
"Girls…"
They both spun around to see a woman they never thought they'd get to see in their lives again-
"Mom!" Ash cried out and practically threw herself at the woman, bringing her to her knees as she put an arm around her shoulders and gently pet her head before looking up to see JJ still standing away with a hesitant look as she tried to argue,
"N-no this has ta be a trick of some kind."
But one look at her mother's teary eyes and outstretched hand and her tough facade broke as she joined her sister in hugging her mother, all three crying.
"Oh my girls…" Lorinia's graceful voice choked up at seeing her daughters again and holding them in her arms as she gently placed kisses on their foreheads before saying, "I've waited so long to be reunited with you both again…"
"But I'm still kinda pissed at ya." JJ deadpanned a bit as she wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands.
"JJ!" Ash scolded her sister for her blatant honesty.
"It's OK, you both have every right to be…" Lorinia assured Ash before her face turned crestfallen as she explained, "It wasn't until I was killed did Ori reveal to me that I had taken the vision they gave me when I was younger too far out of proportion."
"What vision?"
"After you were both given to me by Ori, I saw our home being destroyed and I saw you two, fighting to prevent it. I thought it meant you two were destined to save it but it was just a possibility of what could happen."
"One that did happen…" JJ pointed out.
"But you faced it with your friends and families. I had seen you fighting alone when it was as far from it as possible."
"Yeah, our friends are pretty great…" JJ admitted with a slight blush as she thought of one particular friend.
"Our families gave us a lot of strength and support too." Ash added as she thought of her adoptive family and JJ's.
"So I've seen…" Lorinia looked to the sky where the streaks were and Ash and JJ realized they were the star trails that Ori had said they used to watch events and beings wherever they were left.
JJ looked back to her mom as she asked the question she'd been dying to ask her for a long time,
"Why'd you have to stay behind?"
"As a Protector, we had taken an oath to dedicate our lives to keeping our people safe from threats otherworldly or otherwise… but, even if I hadn't been one, I still would've given everything I had to protect you both," She held each of their hands in one of hers as she continued, "From the moment you were both gifted to me from the Orinix, you both became my whole world and I wanted, not only to protect you, but to raise you both to be strong enough to handle whatever challenges could come your way and you did."
"But we had to do it without you…" Ash spoke as she tightened her grip on her hand.
"Even through the darkest times in your life you both had held onto hope and it led you to your families and friends you now have." Lorinia reminded them before addressing each of them,
"Ash, how many times have you been 'extinguished' when you felt all hope was lost, only to be reminded by the people you love that there's still a chance to rise back up and fight for what's right?"
"Too many to count…" Ash admitted with a watery laugh.
"And JJ, you've opened yourself up to people when others in your position would've closed themselves off and you found others like you who 'don't fit in' with others yet find a way to connect with each other."
"Like my dad says 'ain't no things like us 'cept us' well not out loud in front of the others but I know he thinks it…" JJ gave a smirk that made Ash and Lorinia smile as well before Lorinia looked apologetic as she told them both,
"I'm so sorry I had to leave you both so soon, but, looking at you both now… I feel at peace knowing you both have continued living…" Lorinia smiled again at her daughters before their faces fell a bit with Ash saying and JJ adding,
"You mean had?"
"Yeah, I mean we're dead now, so…"
"About that…" Lorinia stood up with a smile and a hand still holding onto each of them as the light started shining from her Core and flowed down her arms to fuse with Ash and JJ's Core as her form began to wisp away into particles of light.
"Mom, what are you doing?!" Ash cried out trying to pull away and stop the process but Lorinia kept a firmly gentle grip on her hand as she told them,
"I believe it was said once how when a parent says they'd give their life to protect their children, they mean it…"
Ash and JJ started crying again but their tears hovered off their cheeks leaving them dry as Lorinia assured them,
"Don't cry girls, this way I'll always be a part of you both… whether you like it or not…" Smirking a bit at JJ toward the end as she chuckled and snarked gently,
"I see I got some of my sass from you…"
"And even though you were both expected to be soldiers, you became warriors, protecting your homes and the people in them not because you were commanded or compelled to but because your love for them guided you… and I hope that that love continues to drive you, push you forward, let you grow into the young women I know you both are…"
Those were her final words as the last of her form dissipated into light particles leaving Ash and JJ hovering in the air before a beam of light shone around them that reminded JJ of the Bifrost and they were taken upwards.
Looking back to where their mother had been before they saw the outlines of several people they each recognized who had been lost in battle or killed smiling at them before giving small waves as they fully blasted off into the stars.
Back at the Kosmowilwe (Cosmic Willow)
"Eh ya sure 'bout this kid?" Rocket questioned as he finished piloting the ship closer to the tree while narrowly avoiding planetary remains.
"I'm sure…"
"I'm going." Gora spoke in Rocket's mind as she entwined a spine around his wrist and he nodded before saying out loud to the others,
"I'll go check it out."
"Well I'm coming too." Bruce insisted with Groot adding,
"I Am Groot!" (Me too!)
"No one else." Zaiavira told the others before anyone else could insist on going, raising her eyebrow slightly in Xay's direction and he begrudgingly agreed to stay behind.
As the quad team went down to the launch bay where an antique-looking drop ship was located, Bruce was about to make a bee-line for it when Rocket stopped him with a,
"Air's safe ta breath, plus gravity's not 100% there."
"So?" Bruce questioned not sure what Rocket was getting at before he opened the launch bay door and jumped out with Gora in tow, Groot and Bruce ran over to look over the edge and see that Rocket and Gora were fine, hopping toward the tree on the pieces of debris in slow falls.
The two of them looked at each other before Groot shrugged and made a running start, shouting,
"I am Groooot!" (Cannonbaaaal!)
As he jumped off the ship and started hopping after Rocket and Gora since they made it to the tree and were just waiting on the two of them.
"Oh man…" Bruce looked down and took a few deep breaths before steeling himself and taking a slow running start to jump off the ramp.
"Wooo-aaah!" He managed to land on a large piece of debris but was almost thrown off balance by how it wobbled on impact.
"OK Banner, you've flown an alien spaceship and fought a giant alien Venus flytrap plant, you can handle a little hop across from floating stones where a single misstep could lead to you falling into the crushing void of space… right?" Bruce started trying to assure himself and only ended up making himself more nervous but he kept hopping across toward the tree with the hope of his adoptive daughter coming back pushing him forward.
Once Groot and Bruce caught up with Rocket and Groot under the willow tree, they gazed around at the gently swaying branches and glowing leaves
"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" Bruce questioned and Gora attached a spine to his and Groot's wrists to speak to them all,
"I'm not sure but I can sense the girls nearby…"
"WAAAH!"
Their attention was caught by the cries of a baby.. or rather two… as they looked behind the tree and were frozen by what they saw.
There in the roots of the tree lay two swaddled babies, one wrapped in a reddish-orange blanket while the other was in a yellow and light bluish-purple, and they could see their large eyes open to reveal coppery bronze and purple and blue swirled eyes. Next to them lay Ash and JJ's satchels with JJ's goggles peeking out of hers while Ash's pendant hung out from hers.
"Ash?" Bruce questioned while Rocket, Groot, and Gora questioned at the same time.
"JJ?"
…
…
…
AN- Why must summer end so quickly?! :' (
This story is almost done so my plan for the last chapter of this story is to work on it and hopefully get it posted sometime this week since it's my last week of work before my annual week-long trip to see my dad in Mexico next week and then rest for a few days before I have to travel back up to school before classes start on the 21st.
Other than that, I'm still trying to find a good script for the GOTG Vol. 3 segment for JJ so I can get started on that as soon as possible especially since the movie gets released on Disney+ this Wednesday and I'll rewatch it to finalize how JJ could be involved in it.
However, if I can't find one within the first few weeks of school starting, I was wondering if you all would be interested in reading a Helluva Boss fanfic with my OC Ally Ayden since I've become a tad bit obsessed with the fandom and already have a couple of episode moments written out or if I should just make a book of OC Mini Moments? I just want to have something current to work on so I have something fun to work on between classes and work and family drama. Let me know in the comments or DM me suggestions of what you'd be interested in reading ^^
Til the next chapter, Bye!