Chapter 2

The next morning I was awakened by the sound of a horn. I was startled so much that I fell off my bed. My door swung open with one of the Sakaaran soldiers standing in the opening and stood above me shouting "Come on you lazy piece of slime! Move it!"

I got to my feet in a hurry and ran out of my room. "I don't know where I'm going!" I exclaimed.

"The cafeteria, young pup" he stated, "you're getting breakfast then Corvus will come get you for your first day of training."

I sat at a table with Gamora and asked, "So, are things usually this intense?"

"Every morning" she said, "don't worry, you'll get use to it and be ahead of schedule before long."

I groaned and yawned, "This is gunna suck."

"You're just going to have to suck it up, newbie" she said, chuckling.

"How'd you sleep, Wolf?" Corvus asked, sitting down next to me.

"I had a few nightmares last night" I replied.

"If you'd like, you can talk to me about them" he offered, "I'm more than capable of keeping a secret around here."

I turned to Gamora "What about you?" I asked.

"What about me?" she replied.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked.

"Probably better than you can, pup" she smirked, "now tell us, what were some of these nightmares about?"

"They were all about my mom dying" I explained, "it's like my head just replays that moment non-stop."

Corvus nodded his head, "That makes sense. It's a very traumatic moment in your life."

"Don't feel bad" Gamora stated, "I have the same kind of nightmares."

"Do they wake you up throughout the night?" I asked.

"Every night since August 26th" she explained, "that's when Thanos invaded my home world and killed my parents in front of me."

"How do you keep it from distracting you the following morning?" I asked.

"I don't see it as a distraction" she stated, "every night I have similar dreams and every morning I use them as motivation to keep myself going."

"Interesting" Corvus stated, "you're using the past to fuel your future."

"Precisely!" Gamora exclaimed, turning to me "It might take some time, but I think you'll be able to do the same."

"Do what?" I asked, "Use my pain as a weapon?"

"Not necessarily, but I guess if that's how you view it, yeah" she stated, "if anything, it'll be more of a way to help you stay alive here."

"Well, we can work on that another time" Corvus said, turning to me "it's time for us to begin your training."

"Good luck!" Gamora shouted, as we walked away "You'll need it."

The two of us went to the gym close by and Corvus had instructed me to do a few exercises, I was only able to get a few reps in each before I would collapse. "Well" Corvus exhaled, "you're not in the greatest shape, but I shouldn't have expected too much from a ten-year-old."

I sat on the ground, feeling exhausted, and said "I guess I would've thought you'd expect me to be like the chosen one, given who my father is."

"Of course not, Wolf" Corvus shook his head, "I don't expect Maverick or James wanted to have you go through this kind of training."

"Nope, I had a fairly relaxed life" I explained, "at least I thought I did. Even with Thanos attacking us often."

"Well, I'm sure you have some raw, natural fighting talent somewhere in your genes" Corvus pointed out, "just remember, you are beginning at a younger age than when your father and Uncle James did. Just keep at it and you might just turn out to be a better warrior than your old man."

"I just want to survive long enough to be able to escape like they did" I stated.

"That might be tougher to do" Corvus replied, "James and Maverick were able to escape because they worked together."

"Well, maybe Gamora and I will be able to find a way to escape" I suggested.

"You'll have plenty of time to work on your escape plan" Corvus smiled, "in the meantime, we need to get you in shape so you'll be able to escape."

I got up from the ground saying, "Great! Let's get back to training!"

"Slow your roll, Pup" Corvus stated, "we just had your first workout, so I could gauge how much work we have to do."

"How long do you need for us to do more training?" I asked.

"I'm not sure" Corvus admitted, "I've never worked with someone who was basically starting at ground zero. When I was training your dad and James, they had at least one year of training at the Academy under their belts. Plus, there were five of us being hands-on while training them to be two of the deadliest warriors in the galaxy."

"Then what should I do in the meantime?" I asked, "If I go anywhere without you, I'm worried someone here will berate me."

"That's a fair assumption" he nodded, "what do you want to do exactly?"

"I'm not sure" I stated, "maybe I should take the time to do something that'll strengthen my mind."

"Like learning battle strategies and other things of that nature?" Corvus questioned.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, "After all, if I'm training to join Thanos' army, shouldn't I be learning battle strategies, as well as the physicality of fighting?"

"Good point" the large, pale being nodded, "come on, kid, let's go see what we can do for that."