Chapter 78: Guardians of the Key Part 1: Jailhouse Blues
A few days went by after Flim and Flam brought their Super Easy Cider Squeezy 6000 and tried to run the Apple Family out of business, which they failed to do as they tried to increase their machines power and double production, but all they did was destroy a lot of trees and make some of the worst cider anyone has ever made and tasted, nearly putting Lyra in the hospital after she drank it. Today however, Spyro was working on finishing his project for the girls, which wasn't much as he was just figuring out the kind of color he was going to use for each one, which was a bit tricky as he never really asked what their favorite colors were besides figuring out Applejacks favorite color. He then went to the park as Rainbow Dash had invited him to watch a new trick she was planning on showing to the Wonderbolts, finding that Rarity and Pinkie were there to watch her, Twilight walking up to them just as he had arrived.
"Hey guys." Twilight said.
"Hey Twilight." Spyro replied. "Came to watch Rainbow Dash?"
"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, looking up and saw the cyan Pegasus was flying around.
"Yeah, isn't she the most daring devil!?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I mean, the most devilish darer? I mean..."
"She's dazzling!" Rarity said.
"Oh, that's a good word!" Pinkie said. "She's dazzling!"
The four of them watched Rainbow Dash as she was flying around, doing twists and turns in the air, flying around and dong flips and spins, eveyrone watching her closely as their friend was flying around, performing the trick with easy, but caused Pinkie to twist her neck around as she watched Rainbow Dash, making Spyro fear for her health as her neck looked like a spring ready to bounce until she stopped, her body spinning around as her neck uncoiled itself while leaving her head in place, making her dizzy. However, they soon saw that Rainbow Dash was flying out of control, going way too fast for her to turn and maneuver properly. Spyro was about to rush out and catch her before she crashed, however, she suddenly crashed into the ground, everyone flinching as she landed on the ground hard, the cyan mare sprawled out on the ground, her leg twitching as she fell into unconsciousness.
"So much for dazzling." Pinkie said.
Spyro picked the unconscious pony up and took her to the hospital immediately, fearing she might be seriously hurt and got her to a doctor, who looked her over and got her to a room immediately, tending to her as his other friends arrived, worrying for the cyan Pegasus mare. After half an hour, a doctor came to get them, carrying an X-ray.
"How is she doc?" Spyro asked, worried for her.
"She's going to be fine your majesty." The doctor replied. "She's only sprained her wing, so she should be good to go after a few days of rest."
"Oh, thank goodness." Fluttershy said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Is it ok for us to see her?"
"Of course." He replied. "Right this way."
He took the group of friends to the room Rainbow Dash was staying in, walking in and finding she was coming to, groaning as she rubbed her head and saw her friends coming into her room and was about to get up, but then noticed her wings was bandaged up, a look of annoyance as she realized she was in the hospital.
"Hey there little lollipop." Spyro said. "How you doing?"
"Seriously!?" She asked, clearly annoyed. "I'm in the hospital! Why?"
"You had a bad crash." Twilight replied. "You hurt yourself, so Spyro brought you here to get you help."
"But why didn't you just heal me Spyro?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You could have healed me in no time."
"Sorry Dashie, I'm afraid you're going to need to let your body heal itself this time." Spyro replied. "I won't always be there to heal you guys up, you can't always rely on me to heal you all the time."
"Oh, how long do I need to lie here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"From what the doctor said, only a few days." Spyro replied.
"A few days!?" Rainbow Dash asked in pure horror. "You guys have got to get me out of here! I'll be climbing the wall out of boredom!"
"Oh, like a spider!" Pinkie said, turning to the doctor. "Did the crash give her super duper spider powers!?"
"Not unless she was bitten by a radioactive spider." Spyro answered for the doctor.
"The prince is right." The doctor said, turning away from Pinkie. "The crash didn't give her spider powers, nor healing powers like the prince here. She needs to remain here for a few days."
The doctor walked out and left the group alone in the room, Rainbow Dash groaning as she lied back down on the bed, covering her eyes with her hooves and rubbing them.
"A few days?" She asked. "Might as well be a few months, or a few years!"
"Oh, it's not that bad Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said.
"Ah bet the chow here is actually pretty good." Applejack said.
"And the hospital gown, they... match the curtains." Rarity said, giving a nervous smile as she tried to cheer her friend up.
"And look, you have a room mate!" Pinkie said, pulling the curtain back to reveal another pony in a full body cast, looking miserable.
"Oh poodoo!" Spyro exclaimed. "What happened to you? Did you get run over by a train?" Spyro's attempt to make his friend laugh was a failure, which he knew the joke was terrible as he was mentally beating himself up for it. A moment later, his bracers went off, letting everyone know he had a message from Master Yen Sid, so he pulled the cover back on the bracer and answered it. "Master Yen Sid, what can I do for you?"
"Spyro, I have gotten word from Sora that Maleficent has been spotted in the Marvel Universe." Yen Sid replied, everyone's instantly perking up. "She is going after something she calls the Power Stone and has her army of Heartless looking for it."
"Oh no." Spyro said, his stomach suddenly turning as he felt like he was going to be sick. "If she finds it... don't worry sir, I'm on it."
He ended the call and immediately Rainbow Dash shouted with pure joy, jumping up and landing in the bed again.
"Count me in!" Rainbow Dash said. "Anything is better than being stuck here."
"No Rainbow, you're sitting this one out." Spyro replied, the cyan Pegasus whimpering like a puppy. "This mission is far too dangerous, especially with the Power Stone in play."
"What's the Power Stone?" Rarity asked, instantly intrigued by it.
"It's a gem stone that holds pure cosmos power." Spyro answered. "Power so intense and dangerous that even holding it for a few seconds can kill you. If Maleficent gets her hands on it, we're all doomed. That is why I'm benching all of you on this one."
"WHAT!?" The girls shouted in unison.
"But why?" Twilight asked. "You always took us on your missions before."
"Not this time." Spyro replied. "The Power Stone is too dangerous and I'd rather not risk your girls safety this time." He then walked to them and gave them all a hug one at a time to show them he'll be alright. "Don't worry, I'll be ok. Might even bring back a souvenir or two." He then walked over to Rainbow Dash, who looked very upset, but he just hugged her and gave her a peck on the cheek, making her blush, but then hugged him back, closing her eyes as she felt comfort from him. "You just focus on getting better, you hear? I want to see you up and flying again when I get back."
"Well, alright." She said. "But you better bring a souvenir back for me and a story to tell. I wanna know everything that happened that we missed."
"You got it Dashie." Spyro said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before leaving the girls alone in the room.
As he walked out of the hospital, he went straight to the Gummi Garage and got his ship ready, the platform in the center opening up to reveal the Dragon's Crest was on it's way up, but a moment later he could sense a disturbance coming from behind him, turning to find that Rosy Hearts was walking up to the garage.
"Rosy, what are you doing here?" Spyro asked.
"I'm coming with you." She replied.
"Oh no you're not!" Spyro exclaimed. "None of you are coming along for this mission. It's too dangerous."
"Dad, I'm not a child." Rosy said, walking up to him. "I know you fear the Power Stones power and you're afraid of what it will do if they touch it. But you can't do this on your own. You need help."
"But Rosy, honey." Spyro said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. "It's way too dangerous, especially with the Power Stone in play. I know you can handle yourself, but this time I need to do this on my own."
"No dad, you won't be doing it on your own." Rosy said, hugging him. "Your friends are right, you are strongest when you're with your friends. You gain new powers and abilities from them as they gain powers from you. You are their anchor, and I bet they are yours. Please dad, I never got t be with you for very long before you disappeared. I know I can help, you can count on me."
He didn't want to take her with him on this mission, knowing this was a completely different experience for her as she probably wasn't outside of Equestria before, but she just reached her hoof over and held his, seeing the pleading look in her eyes as she looked up to him. Even though she was about as old as he was, he couldn't help but find her eyes cute as she pleaded with him, cracking a smile as he took in a deep breath and sighed.
"Very well then." Spyro said, making her smile. "I'll bring you along Rosy. Just listen to what I say and do exactly as I order, understand?"
"Yes dad!" She said, hugging him. "Thank you so much!"
She then ran into the ship to get ready for the mission while he shook his head, thinking to himself that she acted like a child for a moment as he went to the console to get everything ready for the journey. At the Golden Oaks Library, Spike was finishing up some sweeping right as Twilight came inside, walking past him and into her room as she went to look for something. Spike just shrugged his shoulders and went back to sweeping when he heard Twilight come back down with an old board game the two use to play when she wasn't busy studying.
"Uh Twilight, what are you doing with that old board game?" Spike asked.
"Oh, I'm going to take it to Rainbow Dash." Twilight replied. "She was complaining about not having anything to do at the hospital, so I wanted to give her something to do." She was about to leave when she noticed that Rosy Hearts wasn't in the library, making her curious about where she went. "Spike, have you seen Rosy anywhere?"
"I think she said she was going to talk with Spyro for a little bit." Spike replied. "Said something about asking him a question about something. Didn't really pay much attention to it as I was busy cleaning."
"Well, can you get her back please?" Twilight asked. "I need her help with reorganizing the science section of the library."
"You organized it like four times already!" Spike complained.
"Five actually." Twilight corrected. "Now hurry, those shelves aren't going to reorganize themselves."
"Ugh, fine!" Spike said, tossing the broom away as he went out the door.
He walked through town heading to Sweet Apple Acres when he came to the Gummi Garage, heading in to find the Dragon's Crest was out, but Spyro was no where to be seen, or Rosy Hearts for that matter. He then looked to Spyro's ship and thought she might be in there, so he walked into the ship to see if he could find her, looking around the ship as he only got to see it once when he first built it, but as he looked around, he was amazed by the size of it and how the rooms were constructed, wondering around the ship until he smell to the next room and found, to his delight, a room full of different kinds of gems from rubies and diamonds, to sapphires and more.
"Oh, I think I've died and gone to heaven." Spike said to himself, walking into the room as the door shut. "I'm sure he won't mind if I snack on a few of his gems. What could go wrong?"
As the door closed behind him, Spyro and Rosy walked down the hall and past the door Spike went through, explaining everything as she felt through the Force all the different rooms and items around her, awestruck at it all until she felt a disturbance in the room Spike was in, turning her head to look at it.
"Dad, what's in this room?" Rosy asked.
"Oh, that room houses all my magical crystals." Spyro answered. "It has everything from Fire Rubies, Frosty Sapphires, Gale-force Diamonds, the works. They're basically used for explosives, grenades you could say. But don't worry, they're in secure containers that keeps them from falling off and blowing up. And in the rare occurrence one does fall out of its container, the room is reinforced with a special titanium alloy that contains the explosion, minimizing the damage to only that room and the containers and windows are blast proof, nothing will shatter that glass."
The two of them then left the room behind, not realizing that the baby dragon was looking at all the different crystals, eyeing them hungrily as she tried to decide which one he was going to take out and eat first. In the cockpit, Spyro sat in the pilots seat while Rosy took the seat next to his, activating the engines and taking the ship out of the garage and into the sky, flying above the worlds atmosphere as he started to change into his human form again, the blind unicorn mare sensing the change through the Force as she took in a deep breath, turning her head to face him.
"Twilight told me that when you went on missions outside of Equestria, you change into your original form." Rosy said, catching his attention. "She told me about all your guys adventures outside of Equestria and how amazing it was to visit new world." She then returned her gaze to the dome, though she couldn't see the stars, she smiled to herself as if she could. "I always wanted to see the night sky, but never got the chance. Tell me dad, are the stars beautiful?"
"They are Rosy." Spyro said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "They are." The computer then locked onto the coordinates of the world they were heading to, removing his hand as he got ready to steer the ship. "Buckle up Rosy. This is going to be a bumpy ride."
The engines then charged up and soon, it projected itself into slip space, passing through a tunnel of colors and light on their way to make sure the Power Stone was kept safe and sound. In the crystal room, Spike had found a big and juicy looking Fire Ruby crystal and was trying to get it out, finally succeeding to open the case and grab it, hopping down and to the door when he looked out the port hole in the wall, finding himself in Slip Space, running over and pressing his face against the glass as he looked out in shock.
"Oh no!" Spike said. "I'm... I'm not on Equestria anymore! Oh, Spyro and Twilight are going to kill me if they find out." He was about to panic when he looked down at the Fire Ruby, his stomach growling, letting him know he was hungry as he licked his lips. "Well, maybe I can stay in here until we get back. He won't know I'm in here. Plus, I got plenty of gems to eat, so, it's not so bad."
He then raised the crystal up and opened his mouth, ready to eat the large crystal. In the cockpit, Spyro was setting the ship to auto pilot as he knew the world they were heading to would take a while to get to, so he wanted to take Rosy to someplace where she can entertain herself as they made their way to where the Power Stone was when they heard an explosion, rocking the ship and throwing them to the ground, Spyro landing face first into the ground while his daughter fell on top of him, her hoof jammed into his back as he yelled out in pain, making Rosy get off him as she looked very worried.
"I am so sorry dad!" Rosy said. "Are you ok!?"
"Yeah, I'll be ok." Spyro replied, cracking his back as he felt his chaos energy heal him. "AIVA, did something hit us?"
"Negative sir." AIVA replied. "The explosion came from the Crystal Munitions room. One of the crystals has caused an explosion. Damage to hull not detected. Internal damage not detected. All systems are functioning properly."
"I thought you said those crystals were secure?" Rosy asked.
"They are." Spyro replied. "I checked them before leaving. I think we have ourselves a stowaway."
Both he and Rosy walked out of the cockpit and headed towards the room where the crystals were being kept, arriving at they heard what sounded like coughing, so they opened the room and the ships air filters immediately sucked all the smoke into the shafts and to their surprise, they saw Spike on the ground, covered in soot as his eyes rolled in opposite directions before he shook his head, fixing his vision enough to see Rosy and Spyro, but was in complete shock when he saw him.
"Spyro?" Spike asked. "Is that you?"
"It's me Spike." Spyro replied. "Now what are you doing in room carrying some of my explosives?"
"Explosives!?" Spike shouted, running up sand knocking Spyro over as he hid behind Rosy.
"Dad, you ok?" Rosy asked.
"Dad?" Spike asked, Rosy face smacking herself for calling Spyro his dad. "Spyro, what's she talking about?"
"Ugh, this is going to be a long trip." Spyro said, getting up. "Might as well come clean, but you must swear not to tell the others, understand?"
"Not even Twilight?" Spike asked.
"Spike!" Spur exclaimed.
"Ok, ok, I promise." Spike said, holding his hands up.
"Good." Spyro said. "Now let's head to the cockpit. We'll talk along the way."
Elsewhere, on the planet of Morag, a ship was setting down and the pilot of out, walking through what appeared to be a waste land while it was raining, trudging through the harsh rain until he reached a place that looked like it was once a city, pulling out a small device and activating it to create a holographic projection of all that was on the planet, people, animals, buildings, the whole thing, so as to find out where his quarry was, finding a powerful energy signature inside the largest ruin. So he trudged through the rain again, following the path way to the building, passing by multiple holograms on his way to the building and once he got there, he walked in and removed his helmet, looking around at the ruined structure before putting on some headphones and turning what appeared to be an old fashioned Walkman, used to play music back in the late 80s. He turned the music on and listened to the song 'Come and Get Your Love!,' dancing to the tune while kicking a few rat like creatures, using one for a microphone as he sang to the tune all the way to what looked like a set of stone doors, carefully inspecting it until he opened the door, revealing that in the end of the room was a metal sphere in what appeared to be a force field.
Smiling to himself, he took out a small device and put it on the ground, activating it and creating a magnetic force that pulled the sphere into the barrier, the wall of light trying to keep the sphere inside the force field, but it eventually flew out of the field and onto the magnet, the field disappearing as he picked it up, smirking as he turned around, only to see three men in Kree armor pointing their weapons at him and making him raise his hands.
"Drop the sphere!" The leader said. "Drop it now!"
"Ok, ok, no problem." The scavenger said, dropping the sphere as the two soldiers kept their weapons trained on him.
The leader walker over and picked the sphere up, glaring at the man as he wondered how he found it.
"How do you know about this?" The leader asked.
"Hey, I don't even know about it man." The scavenger replied. "I'm a junker, ok? I was just checking the place out."
"You don't look like a junker." The leader said. "You're wearing avenger armor!"
"It's just an outfit man." The scavenger replied, the soldier poking him with his weapon. "Ninja Turtle, you better stop poking me."
"WHAT IS YOUR NAME!?" The leader demanded.
"Peter Quill, alright?" He replied. "Just chill out!"
"Bring him!" The leader said. "Ronan will have questions for you."
"Wait, there's another name you may know me by." Peter said, making them stop to hear him. "Star Lord." The soldiers all looked confused, never hearing that name before as he looked around, disappointed they never heard of him. "Seriously? None of you heard of me? The legendary outlaw?"
"Never heard of you." The leader replied.
"Ok, forget this." Peter said.
He then kicked the light that he had placed on the ground behind him, shattering it near the two soldiers as it disintegrated them, catching the leader off guard as he pulled his twin blaster pistols out of the jacket, smoking the leader and knocking him to the ground before putting the pistols away and picking up the sphere, laughing to himself. However, his victory was short lived as the leader got up and looked furious, getting his weapon out and firing it, but Peter ducked, trying to dodge it like he was in the matrix, but fell to the ground, getting his helmet on as the wall collapsed behind him. The Kree leader tried to shoot him again, but Quill used his rocket boots and managed to fly out of the room and into the open, getting up and running away to get to his ship while the leader came after him, firing plasma bolts at him until he reached his ship, finding there were more of the enemy soldiers there, ready to intercept him, but he just threw the magnet at their feet and activated it, all the soldiers being pulled into it as their weapons were made of metal, giving him the chance to get to his ship and jump in through the window and got into his pilot seat.
The Kree soldiers then got a heavy cannon set up and were ready to fire it, but the ship was too fast, dodging the first shot and flying away as they fired more shots, infuriating them as Peter laughed, having gotten away from his aggressors as he flew his ship as far away as he could, putting some distance between him and them. Back at the Dragon's Crest, Spyro and Rosy were explaining to Spike how Rosy was actually Spyro's and Applejack's adopted daughter, how she came back into the past to make sure something bad didn't happen, and how they were heading to another world to make sure Maleficent wouldn't get the Power Stone.
"Well, i must say, my day just got a whole lot weirder." Spike said. "I mean, Rosy is your daughter this entire time, and you never told us?"
"It was difficult for me not to tell him." Rosy replied. "But when I did, I was relieved."
"But then she called Applejack mom and we had to tell her." Spyro added. "Trust me, nothing with me is normal."
"I'll say it isn't." Spike said. "So, what's so special about this Power Stone anyway?"
"The Power Stone is one of the six Infinity Stones." Spyro answered. "Six extremely powerful gems that holds the power of the six aspects of the universe; Reality, Soul, Mind, Time, Space, and Power. The Power Stone is very powerful as it uses it's power to give the user enhanced strength and godly power, but only those with great and immense power can hold the Power Stone without dying to its energy as it can literally tear you apart, destroying you."
"Wait, if only powerful individuals can hold it, can you hold it?" Spike asked.
"Possibly." Spyro replied. "But I'd rather not take that chance." The computer then went off, letting them know they had arrived at their destination. "Ah we're here. Buckle up kids, coming out of Slip Space can be nasty."
A minute later, they came out of the tunnel of lights and colors, seeing a world covered in storm clouds and wastelands, Spike standing up to have a better look at the abandoned planet.
"Wow." Spike said.
"What? What do you see?" Rosy asked.
"It... it looks like a dead planet." Spike said.
"That Spike, is Morag." Spyro answered. "This is where the Power Stone is hidden at. All we're going to do is relocate it somewhere else so Maleficent can't find it."
A moment later, they saw a ship with blue and orange coloration fly past them, Spyro and Spike following it as they saw it flying away from the world, jumping away and leaving them all alone. A minute later, Kree ships flew out, though they were much farther away and didn't see them as they jumped away.
"Who was that?" Spike asked.
"I have an idea of who that was." Spyro answered, turning the ship around. "And if I'm right, he has the Power Stone."
"So, are we going after him?" Spike asked.
"Of course we are." Spyro answered. "I'm not leaving the Power Stone in the hands of a ravager. AIVA, lock int he coordinates for the planet Xandar."
"Affirmative sir." AIVA replied.
The two shuttles flew to an empty star system were a massive Kree warship was waiting, the shuttles landing and the leader getting off the vessel as he made his way to the throne room, there Ronan was sitting, waiting for him after completing a blood sacrifice and next to him were two women, Gatorade and Nebula, daughters of Thanos. The leader walked up and bowed, looking up to Ronan as he awaited his report.
"Master, I apologize." The leader said. "I failed to get the orb."
"And why, pray tell, have you failed to acquire it Korath?" Ronan asked.
"A thief took it." Korath replied. "Calls himself Star Lord. However, my spies tell me that he has made an agreement to broker a deal with an intermediary known as the Broker."
"I made an agreement with Thanos to retrieve the orb and deliver it to him so he can destroy Xandar." Ronan said. "Nebula, go to Xandar and retrieve the orb."
"It will be my pleasure." Nebula said.
"It will be your doom." Gamers said, stopping her sister. "If this happens again, you will be facing our father without his prize."
And we can;t have that, now can we?" A woman's voice said.
Everyone turned in the direction of where the voice came from, watching as Maleficent appeared from the darkness along with Pete, walking towards them as Korath, Nebula, and Gamora got ready to fight.
"Who are you?" Ronan asked. "How did you get past my men?"
"My name is Maleficent." She replied. "And how I got past your men is none of your concern."
"It is my concern." Ronan said. "Guards, destroy her."
A few of Ronans men approached Maleficent, aiming their weapons at her, but she waved her hand and immediately multiple Strafers appeared, blasting the enemy soldiers, turning them into shadows as their hearts were consumed by darkness.
"Seems your men aren't what I believed them to be." She said. "Now, if you're done, I have a proposition for you."
"We don't make deals with the likes of you!" Ronan replied. "Begone before I destroy you myself."
"Very well." Maleficent said. "If you don't want my help getting the orb back, then I'll have to collect it myself."
Maleficent conjured a corridor into darkness and disappeared into it, the Heartless following close behind as they disappeared into the void, leaving Ronan alone with his warriors.
"Ronan, if she seeks the orb, I shall retrieve it before she has the chance to." Nebula said.
"And risk loosing it?" Gamora asked. "You saw how her creatures destroyed those soldiers, you will fail. Ronan, I know Xandar better than anyone else, allow me to retrieve the orb."
"I was given the task!" Nebula said. "Ronan gave me-"
"Enough!" Ronan shouted, walking to Gamora. "You will go to Xandar and you will retrieve the orb. Failure is not an option. Do I make myself clear?"
Gamora bowed to Ronan and immediately walked away from her thrown, heading for the hangars where her ship was waiting for her. Above the planet of Xandar, a gateway opened and out of it, the Dragon's Crest flew out of the gateway, the trio arriving at the planet, Spike gazing in amazement at the planet.
"Welcome to Xandar." Spyro announced. "The capital of the entire Nova Corp empire."
"It's beautiful." Spike said.
"It is, isn't it?" Spyro asked. "This is the capital of the Nova Corp empire, one of the strongest empires out there. This is a world of peace and light."
"So, when are we going down there?" Spike asked.
"Rosy and I are going down there." Spyro replied, annoying Spike. "You're staying up here in the ship."
"Aw come on!" Spike said. "At least let me go on another planet once."
"Unless you have a Keyblade Spike, forget it." Spyro replied. "I know I made exceptions before, but this time I'm protecting my friends. Rosy, we're heading down to find the ravager who took the Power Stone. Stay close and try not to wonder off. It's easy to get lost in this place."
"Sure thing dad." Rosy replied.
"Meanwhile, I'm stuck up here with nothing to do." Spike said, pouting in his seat.
"Don't say that Spike." Spyro replied. "There's a home theater room on this ship, this way you can watch whatever you want. Think of this like a vacation you desperately needed, no work, no responsibilities, just lying back and relaxing."
"Well, when you put it that way..." Spike said.
He then hopped down form his chair and ran out the cockpit, following the signs that will guide him to the theater room so he can have some alone time, the two of them shaking their heads as they got up from their seats and got to the middle of the room, which Spyro raised his Keyblade and allowed the magic to cover them, disappearing in a flash of light and appearing in the middle of a town square, drawing a few eyes before everyone went about their business.
"One good thing about worlds with multiple species, you don't need to disguise yourself." Spyro said. "Right, now where's that ravager?"
"Well, what would someone who first stole an item do?" Rosy asked.
"Sell it." Spyro answered. "And if I'm right, he'll be-"
"The catwalk." Rosy said, pointing up.
Spyro looked up and saw with his own eyes Peter Quill, who was talking to a woman before leaving her.
"Nice one honey." Spyro said, patting her head, which she seemed to enjoy. "Come on, let's get going."
The two of them looked around for the nearest set of stairs, finding them a few feet away and walked up the steps, though a few people looked at Rosy, mostly little girls, they kept on walking, ignoring them as they watched Peter walk through the crowd, passing by them without any kind of issue until he entered a building, the two of them stopping on the railing and leaning on it while Rosy just sat down.
"So, what now?" Rosy asked.
"Now, we wait." Spyro answered. "If he still has the orb, we'll take it. If not, we're gonna have to steal it from the buyer."
"Is that such a good idea?" Rosy asked. "Won;t we get into trouble dad?"
"We'll be in even more trouble if Maleficent get's that stone." Spyro said, watching the door when he caught sight of Gamora. "Oh great, Gamora."
"Who?" Rosy asked. "She's one of Thanos's daughters." Spyro answered. "A galactic war criminal that has committed mass genocide of multiple populations, killing half of each population, no matter their gender or their age."
"That's horrible." Rosy said.
"That's the ideals of a sick mind." Spyro replied.
He watched the building for a minute before Peter was pushed out of the building and the buyer locked the door in front of him, angering Peter.
"Hey we had a deal bro!" Peter shouted, noticing Gamora.
"Here we go." Spyro said, patting his daughter's head. "He still has the orb. Get ready for a fight."
"Why fight?" Rosy asked.
"Gamora is after the orb just like we are." Spyro answered. "There's a fair chance that they'll start fighting over the orb."
Though he couldn't hear their conversation, he watched as Gamora approached as Peter talked to her, when she suddenly snagged the orb and kicked Peter in the gut, causing him to stagger as she ran away with her prize. Spyro and Rosy then ran after her right as Peter threw some futuristic bolos at her, wrapping around her legs and causing her to trip as she ran. Peter then ran after her and jumped to tackle her, but she just kicked him in the gut, sending him flying into the air and falling to the ground as they fought over the orb, which Spyro managed to snag and run away, getting both of them to look at him.
"Thank you!" Spyro shouted, running away.
"HEY!" Gamora shouted, getting up, but was then tackled by a raccoon.
The Raccoon was wearing an orange space jumper with the sleeves removed and a few weapons on his person while a massive tree came over and opened a bag, spreading it's branches out to restrain her and put her in the bag.
"Not her you idiot, him!" The raccoon said. "Learn genders."
"Hey, get back here!" Peter shouted, running after Spyro.
Spyro was running as fast as he could, looking back to see that Peter was right behind him while Rosy was next to him, smiling as he nodded his head for her to take her Keyblade out and engage when a knife came out of nowhere and nailed him in the hand, making him yelp as he dropped the orb, the spherical object rolling underneath the railing and onto the ground below them. Spyro removed the knife from his hand and saw the green light healing his wounds already as both he and Rosy leapt over the side of the railing, but Gamora had already gotten the orb and was running, both Spyro and Rosy going after her when Peter leapt over the side and tackled her, trying to pin her to the ground, but she just rolled them both over and put her knee to his throat, trying to choke him.
"You should have learned Terran." Gamora said.
"Yeah, not my strong suit." Peter said.
He then snagged the orb and put one of his rocket repulsers on her back facing sideways, pressing the button and sending her flying away, crashing to the ground. Peter then got up, but was then caught by the tree, who was smiling as he managed to catch their quarry and looked out the raccoon, which he rolled his eyes.
"Stop smiling you idiot." The raccoon said. "You're supposed to be a professional."
"Strike Raid!" Spyro shouted. The tree and raccoon looked to their right as saw Spyro throw his Keyblade, slashing the tree across the chest as he dropped the bag, the prince engaging the walking plant creature right as Peter got out of the bag. "Get the orb!" Peter looked to his right and saw the blind unicorn heading his way, so he got his pistols out and hit her with an electrical bolt, stunning her and making her scream in agony. "ROSY!"
Spyro quickly cut the trees arms off before using a gust of wind to make it fly backwards into the stairs, running to his daughter and found she was ok, but then looked to Peter as he was running and went after him, but a ball of electricity was sent after him and nailed him in the back and created a kind of restraint that paralyzed him and knocked him down. Spyro then turned around and saw that the raccoon had fired the ball and was laughing to himself, enjoying the perfect shot.
"Nice shot." Spyro said, walking towards Peter, but then heard the weapon power up again, turning to see it was pointed at him.
"Sorry pal, that's our quarry." The raccoon said. "Get your own."
"Look, I'm not after whatever kind of bounty he has on him." Spyro said. "He stole a metal orb and I'm just wanting to take it back."
"Wait, that's it?" The talking trash bandit asked. "Well why didn't you say so?" He they both heard whimpering and looked to the massive tree, finding he was kicking his severed arm and looked at the raccoon. "Stop whining Groot, they'll grow back."
A moment later, the three of them were then caught in beams of light, suspended in the air as multiple Nova Corp ships arrived and had their weapons trained on them.
"Subject: 89P13, drop the weapon!" The Nova Corp pilot said.
"Ah crap." The raccoon said, dropping the cannon.
"By the authority of the Nova Corp, you are under arrest!" The pilot said.
"Ah Karabast." Spyro said. They then used the same beams and picked both Gamora and an unconscious Rosy hearts up, being rough with her as they did. "Hey, be careful with her you block heads! If she so much as receives a scratch, I'll tear your arms and legs off and shove them down your throat and rear!"
They were then taken to a detainment center where they were then processed as their information was taken down, getting their names and information before being transported to someplace they called the Kyln, which was a prison in the middle of a field of asteroids, a massive structure on a massive asteroid.
"Look, I get Nova Corp is trying to uphold the law and all, but the guards here are corrupt and cruel." The raccoon said as they walked down the hall. "Which is in fact not my problem because I'm not going to be here long."
"Nor myself and Rosy." Spyro said, looking back to his daughter.
"I've escaped twenty-two prisons, this won't be any different." The raccoon said. "Your lucky the broad, the Terran, and the horse were there to save you, otherwise me and Groot would be handing you over to Yondu and collecting out reward, leaving him and his ravager to do whatever they wanted."
"Well, I had a lot of people try to kill me." Peter said. "I'm not about to be brought down by a tree and a talking raccoon."
"What's a raccoon?" The raccoon asked.
"That's what you are you dumb rodent." Rosy said.
"Hey, don't make me rip you apart back there glue factory!" The raccoon said.
"Threaten her again, and I'll kill you and make you into a hat." Spyro said, his eyes turning Sith.
The gates opened and the six of them walked through the gates, being escorted by the guards on their way to the prison block.
"So, this orb has a real ark of the covenant sort of vibe to it." Peter said. "Mind telling me what it is?"
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"Who cares?" Peter asked. "What is it?"
"I have no words for an honor less thief." Gamora replied.
"Besides, it's way beyond your comprehension to understand." Spyro added.
"Oh, that's rich coming from the daughter of a genocidal maniac." The raccoon said. "Everyone knows who you are honey."
"Yeah, we know who you are." Peter said, immediately turning to Groot. "Who is she?"
"I am Groot." Groot replied.
"Yeah, you said that." Peter said, looking to Spyro.
"She's Gamora." Spyro replied. "Daughter of Thanos, the most wanted being in the universe, wanted for the needless genocide of Celestia knows how many species out in the universe. Kills half of the species race no matter their gender or their age, he even has his men kill children as well."
Peter then looked to Gamora, who was in complete at bearing that as she looked away, sensing that she was appalled by her adopted father's actions.
"I wasn't retrieving the orb for Ronan." Gamora said. "I was betraying him. I was going to sell the orb to a third party that I made a deal with."
The doors opened and then they walked through an area where their belongings wee being searched, which Spyro saw that one of the guards was examining Peters stuff and found his Walkman, looking it over as they entered.
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"Well that's just as fascinating like the last 89 times you said it." Peter said. "What is wrong with this tree here?"
"Well he don't know how to speak so good like you and I." The raccoon replied. "His vocabulary is limited to 'I am Groot.' Exclusively in that order."
"Well that's going to wear out really fast." Peter said, looking over and saw the guard putting the earphones on. "Hey, put that away!" He then got through the gate, only aggravating the guards. "Take those headphones off, those are mine! Those headphones belong in impound, that tape and that player is mine!"
The guard didn't listen as he got out a metal stick and immediately hit him with it, releasing volts of electricity into the Peter and making him yell in pain as he got tased, the others watching as he got electrocuted repeatedly until they took him out of the room and into a place where they each got blasted by some orange liquid one at a time until it was Spyro's turn, being stripped of his clothing and then blasted by the liquid himself. He was then thrown into the next room and there were yellow prison uniforms, so he found one that would fit him and put the suit on before being escorted to the prison block, where he was given a blanket while Rosy was given a suit they had made for her.
"You ok Rosy?" Spyro asked.
"Nothing that a few months of therapy won't fix." Rosy replied. "Those guards were really rough, especially with forcing me into this banana suit."
Suddenly, people started to throw some stuff, which Spyro caught a can and tossed it away, looking up to see a lot of angry prisoners yelling and throwing stuff at them.
"See, she has a reputation." The raccoon said. "Most of the prisoners here have lost family due to Ronan and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."
"But, the guards will protect her, right?" Peter asked.
"Did you hear what the raccoon said earlier?" Spyro asked.
"I'm not a raccoon!" He replied. "Names Rocket and you better remember that pal!"
"Sure, whatever." Spyro replied. "Rocket said that the guards here are cruel and corrupt, so they'd rather make a quick buck and let these prisoners kill her rather than protect her."
"He's right." Rocket said. "They're just here to stop us. They don't care what we do to each other."
Hearing that, Spyro reached down and put his hand on Rosy's head, making sure he was near her at all times as some of the prisoners were eyeing them, mostly they were eyeing Rosy as they walked.
"Whatever nightmares the future holds, are dreams compared to what's behind them." Gamora said.
They then ran into a big blue guy who was eyeing Peter hungrily.
"Check out the new meat." He said. "I'm gonna lather you up and turn you into jelly." He then looked over to Rosy and Spyro, eyeing the pony as he smiled. "Maybe even have a little fun before I do so."
Groot then walked over and before Spyro could do anything, used his branches and put them through his nose, making him yell out in agony while the other prisoners just watched, Spyro keeping Rosy close as Groot made the prisoner scream.
"Let's make one thing clear here!" Rocket shouted. "This one here, he's our booty! You want him, you go through us! Or should I say, we go through you!"
Groot then dropped the prisoner, who was whimpering and crying in pain as the two of them walked over him as they went to their cells, which there weren't very many of and most of them were filled with a lot of prisoners. He did manage to find a couple of cells that were empty and went to one of them, taking a seat in it while Rosy sat in the other, both of the doors closing as they claimed their rooms for while they were there, knowing they won't be there long. As night came, Spyro was asleep and felt a disturbance through the Force, sensing that something was wrong and waking up right as Rosy did, looking around until they saw what appeared to be Gamora being taken away by some of the prisoners, getting out of their cells right as Peter and Rocket came out, walking behind them. They followed the prisoners until they saw them enter the shower room, about to enter, but the guard stopped them, putting his hand on Spyro.
"And where do you think you're going?" The guard asked.
"Well, we're following them." Peter replied.
"Sorry, this is a private event." The guard said. "Go back to your cells or-"
"We know where we're going." Spyro said, waving his hand, putting the guard in a trance.
"You know where you're going." The guard repeated, confusing the ravager.
"You want to go back to your station and go to sleep." Spyro suggested, waving his hand again.
"I want to go back to my station and go to sleep." The guard repeated.
The guard then went back to his station and closed his eyes and after a few moments, he fell asleep, surprising Peter as they walked to the shower.
"How did you do that?" Peter asked.
"The power of the Force can manipulate the weak minded." Spyro replied.
"Where were you when I needed to convince that jeweler to give me his entire stock last month?" Rocket asked.
The four of them then walked into the shower and saw that the prisoners had given a knife to a big gray guy covered in red markings as he was getting ready to kill her.
"You know why they call me the Drax the Destroyer?" Drax asked.
"He slayed dozens of Ronan's minions." One of the prisoners replied.
"Ronan murdered my wife, Ovett." Drax continued. "And my daughter, Chimeria. He slaughtered them where they stood, and he laughed!" The four companions flinched a bit as he yelled, sensing he anger and rage coming from him. "Her life is not yours to take. He killed my family, I shall kill one of his in return."
One of the prisoners nodded and handed a knife to Drax, getting ready to kill Gamora when the green lady fought back, disarming two of them and knocking them down before putting a knife to the prisoners neck and to Drax's neck, hoping to defend herself and talk to them.
"I am no family to Ronan." Gamora said. "Or Thanos." She then took the weapons away from their necks and dropped them, backing away and believing she had defused the situation. "I am your only hope at stopping him."
But Drax ignored her, grabbing her by the neck and pinning her against the wall with the knife pointed at her.
"Your words mean nothing to me!" Drax shouted.
Before he could deliver the killing blow, Spyro reached out and pulled the knife out of his hand, making everyone still standing look in his direction as he grabbed the knife. Another prisoner ran at him to attack, but Rosy used her magic and picked him up, slamming him on the ground before tossing him away as she called her Keyblade, using her magic to hold it and surprising everyone as she did so.
"That's enough." Spyro said.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Peter said, getting between him and Drax. "If killing Ronan is your sole purpose, then killing her isn't a good idea at this time."
"Aren't you two not the men this wench attempted to kill?" Drax asked.
"Well I mean she's hardly the first woman to try and do that to me." Peter said. "There was one smoking-hot girl who stabbed me with a fork who didn't like me skipping out on her at sunrise. And there was this one Kree girl who caught me with this skinny little Oscar Berrion who worked at Nova records, trying to get information. Ever seen an Oscar Berrion? Tentacles and needles for teeth, you think I'm interested in that, then..."
He looked around and saw the disturbed looks on everyone's face, even Rosy's as he was explaining how he was nearly murdered by some girls he dated and the tentacled alien he went out with if it was only to get information.
"What the buck is wrong with you?" Rosy asked.
"Look, the point is, she betrayed Ronan, and he's coming back for her." Peter said. "And when he does, that when you..."
He then dragged his finger across his own throat, trying to indicate that he kills Ronan, which Drax didn't get at all.
"Why would I put my finger on his throat?" Drax asked.
"Ignore him, he's an idiot." Spyro said, Peter glaring at him. "It's the universal meaning that you kill him. Look, Ronan will be coming back for the traitor, and when he does, that's when you can kill him."
Spyro then tossed the knife back to Drax, who caught it and looked between Gamora and Spyro, thinking about it for a moment before releasing Gamora, who was gasping for air as Drax dropped her, looking at the knife.
"I like your knife." Drax said. "I'm keeping it."
Drax then left the sower room, leaving everyone alone as the other prisoner left the room, so Spyro walked over and extended his hand to Gamora, who looked up at him in rage, but took his hand and was helped up by the prince, taking her hand away from him after she was back on her feet.
"I didn't need your help back there." Gamora said.
"Looked to me like you did." Spyro said, looking to Rosy and nodding his head, letting her know to put the weapon away. "Besides, I think we're on the same side."
"How are we on the same side here?" Gamora asked.
"Because we both don't want Ronan or Thanos to get the orb." Spyro replied, getting her attention as she looked at him in curiosity. "Let's talk."