Chapter 30

They landed the ship and went to go find Aguntasz as fast as they could. The salamander noticed the three approaching and said, "Oh boy, something bad must've happened for all three of you to be here."

"Nice to see you too, Aguntasz" dad chuckled, "but we're just here for information."

"Information for what?" he asked.

"We just need to know if an adult Kree and a baby has been here in recent years" Carol explained.

"That's an odd question" the salamander stated, "I get why you would want to know, Carol, but why do you pups want to know?"

James and Carol looked at each other and Carol said, "The baby is ours."

Aguntasz eyed the two and asked, "Are you guys joking? I thought James was married to that nice Vixy girl."

"Did you forget that the two of us were together before I married Vixy?" James questioned.

"Oh, that's right!" he exclaimed, "You two hooked up at Maverick's wedding. So, if the kid is yours, then why don't you know where it is?"

"I didn't know I had another kid until a few days ago" James stated.

"Why are you keeping important information from the father?" Aguntasz asked, looking at Carol.

"Yon-Rogg messed with my memory, so I didn't remember that I had a kid until a few months ago" she stated, "but Yon-Rogg said that he sent someone here with our daughter shortly after she was born, four years ago."

"Oh, I don't remember seeing anybody here with a baby" he said, "if I did, I didn't think anything strange about it."

"Wouldn't there be some records of people living here going back five years?" dad asked.

"I think there are" the salamander stated, "let's go see what we can find."

They arrived at a hi-tech building and one of the animals at the front desk stood saying, "Captain, what brings you to public records?"

"I need you to bring up the housing records of the past five years, please" he stated.

"Uh, okay sure" the animal replied, as the data loaded "may I ask what this is about?"

"Just need to see if there's any info on a new resident" Aguntasz stated.

"Alright, when do you want me to start?" he asked.

Aguntasz turned to Carol and asked, "What day was your daughter born?"

"Aki was born May 12th, 1991" she stated, "so I suggest starting with that day and go from there."

The group starred at the various names and records that were popping up. "Do you recognize anybody on this list so far?" James asked.

"Yeah, I recognize everyone on the list" the salamander stated, looking at the screen "Wait, stop!"

"What do you got?" James asked.

"This one right here" he stated, pointing at one name "Dann-Narn, that screams Kree to me."

"Wait, Dann-Narn?" Carol asked.

"You know him?" James questioned.

"Not him, her" she said, "I've seen her around Yon-Rogg a lot. After Minn-Erva, she was his left-hand woman."

"Do you remember seeing her when you had Aki?" dad asked.

"Actually, yeah" she exclaimed, "I remember she was standing next to Yon-Rogg when they came to check on me just before I gave birth. I thought she was dead."

"She must be the one Yon-Rogg sent off world to keep Aki away from you" James stated.

"She's a very capable warrior, so it would make sense that he'd trust her with this task" Carol stated.

"Sir, it says that she was only here for four months before leaving" the frog said.

"That's fine, at least we've got a name to search for" Carol stated.

"Do you have some contacts throughout the galaxy who might be able to find her?" James asked.

"I think I do" she said, taking a minute to think "would Corvus be able to track her down without Thanos knowing?"

"He might" James replied, "I can give him a call if you want."

"I think we should leave him as a last resort" dad suggested, "no need to risk Thanos tracking us down."

"Sir, I clicked on the record of the person in question and it looks like our security system got a video of her leaving" the frog pointed out.

"Play it!" Aguntasz exclaimed, "We might be able to get an idea of which direction she headed."

They watched as Dann-Narn carried a baby, in a makeshift baby basket, and climbed into an uncloaked ship. As the ship began to take off, they watched the ship disappear. "Shit!" Carol exclaimed, "We won't be able to tell which way she went."

"Don't all Kree ships have some way of being able to keep track of them?" James questioned, "Like Corvus knows how to track the Berserk."

"They do, but I'm not sure if it'll work with your ship" she stated.

"Couldn't hurt to try" dad said.

"Let's go see what we can do" she shrugged, "thank you for your help, Jasper."

The frog turned to her shocked, saying "I never told you my name."

"I know. You have a name plaque on your table here" she pointed out.

The four of them made their way back to the SC Berserk and Carol started the process to try tracking Dann-Narn's ship. "How long is this going to take?" James asked.

"I've got it all set up" she smiled, "we'll get an alarm once it locates her ship."

"And what's the range for this tracker?" James asked.

"A good couple galaxies" she stated.

"We should probably get some rest and let the ship refuel" dad suggested.

"Well, thanks for helping us, Aguntasz" James said, holding out his paw.

"Glad I could help" he smiled, shaking the paw "keep me updated. I hope you find your daughter."

As the three were resting, peacefully, a loud obnoxious alarm began to sound from the computer Carol had set up the scanner. James and Maverick walked out to the computer, with their paws covering their ears. "Where's Carol?" James asked, shouting.

"What did you say?" dad shouted, "We need to find Carol!"

Carol casually walked up to the computer and said, "Oh good, the scanner found Dann-Narn's ship."

"What?" dad and James shouted.

"Why are you guys shouting?" she asked, lowering the canines' paws.

"The alarm was super loud" the fox stated.

"I couldn't hear anything" she shrugged.

"Our hearing is much more sensitive than your human hearing" dad explained.

"Where's Dann-Narn's ship?" James asked.

"It says it's on a planet called Pondyke" she read, "looks like it's in the Fingerprint Star System."

"Oh, we've visited that Star System once before" dad said, "a mission on Tuter."

"Perfect!" she exclaimed, "That means you have an idea of how to get there."

"Great, let's go!" James said, entering the new coordinates "Next stop Pondyke."

They arrived at the planet two days later and stopped before entering the atmosphere. Carol exited the Berserk saying, "I'm gunna do some recon and be back."

"Okay, be careful, Carol" James responded.

A few minutes later Carol returned saying, "There's no sign of life anywhere on that planet. Does the sensor say she's still there?"

"Yeah, her ship is still here" dad stated, "maybe she has it cloaked."

"That would make sense" Carol stated, "shall we go see our daughter?"

"After you" James smiled.

They entered Pondyke's atmosphere and noticed it was nothing but swampy landscapes covering the whole planet. "Wow, I wonder why Dann-Narn would choose to settle here" dad stated.

"It makes sense to me" James replied, "I mean, who would want to come to a swamp infested planet?"

"It was definitely a strategic move" Carol stated.

They followed the directions the sensor took them. The closer they got the more the alarm sounded, until it sounded like the sensor was going to overload. "The ship must be close by" James stated, "the sensor's going haywire."

"Let me go check" Carol said, walking toward the exit.

The canines watched as Carol flew around and noticed her fly into something. "That must be Dann-Narn's ship" dad pointed out.

They quickly landed the Berserk, in a dry part of land, and rushed over to where Carol was. She knocked on the still invisible ship and the hatch opened up.

"I swear you're playing with fire you ugly, disgusting creature!" a large, muscular, blue-skinned woman shouted, appearing from the ship. She noticed James and Maverick standing in front of her. "You're not a Troglodyte."

"Hi, Dann-Narn" Carol said, floating down into view.

"Vers, how did you find… uh, what are you doing here?" the large Kree woman asked.

"I could ask you the same question" Carol said, "this certainly isn't where I would picture a dead Kree warrior to end up."

"I see your memories have come back" she said, eyeing the two canines "who are these two, your personal pets?"

"That's Maverick O'Donnell and James McCloud" Carol replied, "the two finest from Corneria and the adopted sons of Thanos."

"Enough mind games, Vers!" Dann-Narn shouted, "What are you doing here?"

"Do you remember what happened the day of May 12th, 1991?" Carol inquired.

Dann-Narn starred at Carol in terror, with a few beads of sweat dripping down her face. "It wasn't my idea, it was Yon-Rogg's" she explained.

"Where is our daughter?" James interrupted.

"Our?" Dann-Narn asked, "Vers, you screwed around with a fox? What Kree guys weren't good enough for you, so you fooled around with a literal animal?"

Carol rolled her eyes and flew up into Dann-Narn's face saying, "Quit stalling! Give us Aki and no one has to get hurt."

"As if any of you knows what it takes to be a loving and caring parent" Dann-Narn stated, "I was the one who took care of her when she was sick and changed her diapers."

"You're not her real mother!" James shouted, "I have a one-year-old son so I know exactly what it takes to father a child."

"So, you think you'll be able to give an equal amount of attention to both of your children?" Dann-Narn questioned.

"He won't have to worry about that" Carol stated, "because we'll give enough attention to both Aki and Fox."

"I'm still not handing over my little Aki to a couple of people who took four years to want to take responsibility and become parents" Dann-Narn stated.

James and Carol glanced at each other and nodded. One of Carol's fists began glowing and she punched Dann-Narn so hard, she went flying and crashed into part of the ship. "You two go look for Aki, I'll hold her off" Carol commanded.

Dad and James ran onto the ship and started looking in various rooms that this large Kree ship had. They decided to split up to cover more ground and met in a cross path. "Any luck with finding her?" dad asked.

"Nothing yet, you?" James said.

"No, she has to be here somewhere" dad said, "there's a few rooms we haven't checked yet."

They continued checking more rooms and James opened a door, seeing a bed with stuffed animals. He continued in, calmly approaching the bed. He saw someone laying underneath the covers, between all the stuffed animals. He gently placed a paw on the being and he felt the body slowly moving up and down from breathing. James shook the body, causing it to wake up. "Mommy?" came a small, feminine, childlike voice "Where's mommy?"

"Mommy's okay she's in the main entrance of the ship, sweetie" James stated, quietly "tell me, dear, do you know where your daddy is?"

She shook her head "I don't even know who my daddy is" she stated.

Maverick walked in saying "Good, you found her. Grab her and let's go."

She sat up, looking at James with horror. "Mommy!" she shouted.

Carol and Dann-Narn rushed in and said, "Don't worry Honey, I'm here."

Aki ran over to Dann-Narn, hugging her. "Mommy why are these people trying to take me?" she asked.

"Don't worry Honey, these bad people won't take you anywhere" she said, glaring at the others.

"Dann-Narn, tell her the truth!" Carol demanded, "Tell her that I am her mother."

"Do you know what kind of trauma that could have on her?" Dann-Narn asked.

"About as much as having your childhood memories be erased from your head for six years" Carol stated, "oh no wait, that's what happened to me."

Aki lifted her head from Dann-Narn's chest asking, "What is that lady talking about?"

Dann-Narn sighed and sat on the bed with Aki. "Aki, honey, this is going to be tough to understand at your age" she began, "I'm not your real mommy. She is."

Carol smiled awkwardly and waved at the little girl. Aki looked back and forth from the blue-skinned, black-hair woman and the blond, pale-skinned woman. "Are both of you my mommies?" she asked.

"No, sweetie" Dann-Narn said, "it's just her. Your daddy is here too."

Aki looked at the two canines "Are either of them my daddy?" she asked.

"That would be me" James said, stepping forward.

As he stepped forward, Aki finally noticed James' face. "So, my daddy is a puppy?" she questioned.

"A foxy" Carol corrected.

"Now she knows the truth" Dann-Narn stated, "what are you going to do now?"

"Well, we can take you back to Hala" Carol stated, "but other than that, we haven't really talked about where she'll live."

"I can't go back to Hala" she stated, "everyone thinks I'm dead. I'd be better off living some place the Kree won't find me."

"Right, well, I've been living with Skrulls lately" Carol explained, "trying to help find them a new home to live. If you'd like, you're welcome to join us there."

"You live with Skrulls?" Dann-Narn asked, "How can you casually live with our enemies?"

"I'm guessing that's a no, Carol" James stated, "if you don't like those options, there are a few planets that are pretty off-the-grid in the Lylat System."

"That might work" she stated, "it would be nice to live some place where I don't have to worry about being attacked by any Troglodytes."

"What is a Troglodyte?" dad asked, "That's what you thought we were when you opened your ship."

"A Troglodyte is a dumb, ugly-looking reptilian humanoid" she explained, "though they're dumb, they have enough brute strength that, if provoked, could rip us apart."

"Well, we better get out of here before they come looking for a fight" James stated, walking toward the door.

Dann-Narn carried Aki to the main entrance of the ship and asked, "Where are we going exactly?"

"I was thinking Papetoon would be a great place" James answered, "it's a very well-hidden society that could keep you hidden from Yon-Rogg."

"James are you sure about bringing her to Papetoon?" dad asked.

"I am" he replied, "I feel like she honestly wants to be hidden from the world."

"Okay, as long as you think she won't call Yon-Rogg and put them on everyone's radar" dad pointed out.

"I don't think she will" James stated, "plus I'm considering moving there with Fox."

"You're still on that?" dad asked, "I thought you were staying on Corneria."

"That's what Vixy wanted" James said, "I've wanted to move to Papetoon since we first visited. Now that Vixy is gone I can get off Corneria."

"Great!" Dann-Narn stated, "Send me the coordinates and I'll meet you there."

"Aki and I will come with you, so you have some more time together" Carol smiled.

Dad and James led the way to Papetoon and landed close by the cave that goes to Arksall. "What the hell, fox!" Dann-Narn shouted, "Why did you think I would want to live on a desert planet?"

"The civilization is below the surface" James explained, "that's why I had us land by this cave."

The group walked through the cave, following the signs pointing the way to Arksall. When they go to the opening that shows the city, Dann-Narn said, "Holy crap! This looks like a really nice place."

"Let's go see if we can find you a place you can move into immediately" James said, "I've been away from my son far too long."

After they had gotten Dann-Narn settled, Carol asked, "Since you're basically stranded here, can I take your ship?"

She sighed, "I guess I no longer have any use of it, so I don't see why not."

"Thank you, I'll make sure to take care of it" Carol smiled, "I promise I'll bring Aki to visit often."

"Thank you guys for getting me off that swamp planet" Dann-Narn stated, "and Vers, I'm sorry for having taken Aki from you. A mother should always be there to see her child grow up."

"It's not your fault, you were just following orders" Carol replied, "also call me Carol."

The two women hugged, then Aki hugged Dann-Narn saying, "Thank you for taking care of me. I know you're not my mommy, but I'll remember you as one anyway."

"Oh, sweetie, I might not be your mommy, but I can be your auntie" she said, hugging the small child "I love you so much!"

While the four of them were heading back to the ships, Carol and James made sure to make arrangements to see each other and most importantly, Aki. They agreed that because James would be moving to Papetoon, that they'd see each other whenever Carol came to visit Dann-Narn. "Well, you two take care of each other" Carol said, hugging the canines.

"You stay safe too, Carol" James said, turning his attention to Aki "you've got someone who's going to need you."

The two ships flew off in separate directions and dad said, "So, how long do you think it'll take for you to move?"

"I'm not sure, but I just feel like I don't have anything keeping me tied to Corneria anymore" James explained.

"You have our parents, our friends, Lana, Wolf" dad listed, "most importantly, you have me."

"You're right, Mav" James stated, "and I'll always love you. I just want to get away from it all, especially since we're not in the army anymore."

"I'll miss you, bud" dad stated.

"You won't have to miss me that much" James stated, "we'll still be in the Lylat System."