Author's Note:

Hello everyone, and Happy Halloween! Here's the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen. As promised, I got it done before November started! But before we get into it, let's answer some reviews!

SuperSaiyanFever: Yeah, that line is about as forbidden to say as "that was easy." But it's Star-Lord, who always has had a bit of a swashbuckler style personality at times.

Shadowwolf12305: I did, and while I enjoyed part two a little more than the first part, I still find it unnecessary, as I'd much rather see them focus on finishing the main series rather than doing spinoffs that ultimately won't have much (if any) impact on the end of the show.

Blackmetalzane22: While the MCU stuff in here will be as limited as possible...I just had to make that reference. And you're right...no one messes with Yang's hair and doesn't get a severe beating.

Red Scorpion: Glad you liked the action! I can say there's still going to be some action left here, but it'll be more along the lines of wrap up action, as there's only one enemy left to fight: Talonar and the Raptors.

Thank you all for your continued support. Now, let's get back to the story.

The Milano—October 14th (Earth Time)

"Talk to me, Rocket," Gamora ordered. "Where the hell did they go?"

"If I knew that, we wouldn't still be here," Rocket snapped back, typing commands on the console.

"Figure it out, Rocket. The longer we delay here, the farther away the Raptors get with the Sun Shredder!"

The Milano shook as another volley of laser fire struck across its hull. "And could someone deal with the Raptors out there?!" Gamora shouted.

"Doing my best back here," Drax answered through the intercom.

"I am Groot!" Groot shouted.

Rocket gnashed his teeth in frustration. "Just get it done!" He pulled the Milano into a dive, flying past one of the Chitauri warship wreckages and spinning through a hold just large enough for the ship to fit through. The pursing Raptors followed close behind.

"Incoming from the front!" Gamora shouted as something glowing appeared, flying directly at them.

Rocket was about to fire the Milano's main guns, but stopped when he recognized who it was. "Wait—it's Ryder!"

Richard flew past the Milano, his hands blazing with power. The first of the pursuing Raptors didn't even have time to react before the hero blasted him through the chest, killing him instantly. The other two, seeing that they were clearly outmatched, turned to flee, but Richard cut them down like they were nothing.

"Ha ha!" Rocket cheered. "That's right!"

Nova flew back in front of the cockpit window, giving both Rocket and Gamora a nod. Suddenly, he seemed to see something nearby and flew off. Rocket didn't pay much attention to this; now that the threat was gone, he was busy trying to calculate where the Sun Shredder had gone.

With the Fraternity of Raptors in control of the weapon—and Rocket knew that they would, considering the Chitauri and the Brood were no match for them—they would no doubt use it to cause chaos throughout the galaxy. At least Titus' goals were easy to predict. Talonar and the Raptors, on the other hand? All they cared about was destruction—and they didn't care who or what they went against.

"Come on, Rocket," he thought. "If I were the Raptors, where would I go?"

"Milano, this is Nova," Richard's voice came through the comms. "That you in there, Quill?"

"Sorry to disappoint, Ryder," Rocket answered. "Quill was still on the Sun Shredder, along with Agent Venom and that kid."

"The kid's still there?"

"Assuming she's still alive, yeah."

"Oh, she's still alive."

"What makes you say that?" Rocket asked.

"Open the airlock and you'll see. Better get down here too. I think we have a lot to talk about."

Rocket jumped out of the pilot's chair, opening the airlock with the push of a button before heading down as instructed. When the inner door opened, Richard was there, holding, to Rocket's surprise, Titus by the back of the neck.

The villain had certainly seen better days. His gun arm had been completely smashed in, and he was covered in bruises and scorch marks. "The flarck did you find him?" Rocket asked, drawing his rifle and keeping it trained on him.

"Floating out in space. Apparently, Yang really did quite the number on him."

Rocket whistled. "The kid did all this?"

Titus scowled. "She got lucky. Next time, I'll tear her throat out."

"You're not going to be seeing anything other than the inside of a cell after this," Richard warned. "You're lucky that you can survive out in space, or you'd be dead now."

Titus growled. "If you want the Sun Shredder, you'll listen to me."

Rocket laughed. "And why would we listen to you?'

Titus snarled at him. "You think I was a part of that?! Talonar betrayed me, and I want payback. He took my weapon from me—I will make sure to end him."

"And how exactly can you help us?" Richard challenged. "We have a ship; you don't."

Titus flashed a grin. "But only I have the frequency for the tracker I put on Talonar."

"You put a tracker on him?" Rocket asked.

"I put a tracker on my entire crew. Did you really think I fully trusted them?"

"You apparently trusted Talonar enough to let him take control of the Sun Shredder."

"Rocket." Richard stifled a groan. "What's the frequency, Titus."

"Not so fast," Titus challenged. "I'll give you the frequency…but I want something in return."

"Let me guess—your freedom?" Rocket asked.

"And a chance to kill Talonar myself," Titus confirmed.

Rocket let out a frustrated groan. "Fine. You'll get your chance at revenge. Now, what's the frequency?"

Titus pulled out a small device from his belt. "This holds the tracking frequency. It'll lead you right to him."

Rocket took the device and moved to the war room, plugging it into the console. The information instantly appeared, showing the active signal of the tracker as it progressed further and further away from their current position.

"Well, well, well, you were actually telling the truth," Rocket commented.

Titus scowled. "I hope you have a plan to get us after them, raccoon."

Rocket smirked. "Yeah, I do. And here's step one." He turned around and fired an electrical shot from his rifle straight into Titus. He buckled and spasmed, falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Rocket!" Richard protested.

"What?" Rocket challenged. "He was gonna betray us anyway. Now, let's get the Milano underway."

Richard looked like he wanted to protest further, but apparently decided, correctly, that there were more important things to worry about. "Where are they going?" he asked. "Where are the Raptors taking the Sun Shredder?"

Rocket checked the tracker, quickly doing some calculations based on their current flight path. "Looks like Naro-Atzia. It'll only take them an hour to get there."

"There's no way they can charge up the Sun Shredder's weapon that fast," Richard pointed out. "And once word gets out about their weapon, the Kree will send a fleet to wipe them out. What's Robbie planning?"

Rocket thought about it for a moment. "He might be planning on harnessing the power of the Raptor ships to charge the main weapon. He can do that relatively quickly, before the Kree get there. And, if he has enough Raptors with enough raw materials, he could get the Sun Shredder's warp drive back to some sort of working capacity so he can get away again. With enough time and materials…he could get that flarcking thing back up to full power. Nothing would be able to stop him."

"What's the plan?" Richard asked.

Rocket grinned. "Luckily, the Milano's warp drive can get us there faster. It won't be by much—but it will at least give us a chance. And when they show up, we'll be ready for them."

The Sun Shredder—October 14th (Earth Time)

Talonar stood proudly within the control room of the Sun Shredder. The holes made from the Chitauri boarding ships had been hastily repaired by his forces before the jump to warp speed so the room would still be pressurized. Not that it mattered too much—all that mattered was getting control of the weapon.

Already, the Raptors that had boarded the station before the jump to warp speed were cleansing out all the opposing forces. Both the Chitauri and the Brood had to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. There could be no chance for anyone to stand in their way.

A Raptor flew up through the lift shaft, landing in front of him. "We have secured key parts of the station and removed the raccoon's explosives from the reactor. They will threaten us no longer."

"And the Guardians?" Talonar asked. "Are we certain they were all off the Sun Shredder when we went to warp."

The Raptor shook his head. "Unfortunately, we believe that three of them remain."

Talonar growled. "Find them. Find them…and end them."

The Raptor nodded and left. Talonar folded his hands behind his back completely confident in his Raptors' ability to eliminate whatever Guardians that remained.

Because if they couldn't do it…he would.

Yang wrenched her hand from the side of the shaft and stabbed the gauntlet blade a few feet above her, continuing to slowly climb her way back up the shaft.

She had been working her way up the lift for close to an hour now, trying to get back to the control room. That was the last place she had seen Richard, and while she knew he could probably take Talonar in a fight, she still wanted to be up there to provide assistance.

What worried her was the lack of communication. No one had said a word over the comms ever since her fight with Titus. Was it a malfunction in the comms? Were they being jammed? Or was there a far worse explanation to blame?

Yang pushed these thoughts from her head. She had to focus on getting back up to the control room. She would've used a few blasts from her gauntlets to launch her up faster, but she didn't know how many more Chitauri were left. She had to save her ammo for battle.

As she slowly climbed up another few feet, the lift door she was about to reach began to groan as someone began to force it open. She quickly wrenched her arm free from the wall and aimed her gauntlet up, ready to fire.

The door was forced open, and Flash poked his head into the shaft. "Thought that was you, kid," he said, reaching down and grabbing Yang's arm, pulling her up onto solid ground.

"You okay, Yang?" Star-Lord asked.

"I'm fine," Yang answered. "What's going on? Is the Sun Shredder ready to blow?"

"Yeah…about that." Star-Lord rubbed the back of his head. "There've been a few complications."

"Oh yeah?"

"From the looks of things, Talonar had his own plans for the Sun Shredder. He brought his buddies from the Fraternity of Raptors in and wiped out all the Chitauri on the station."

"And the other Guardians?" Yang asked. "What about them? And Yondu?"

"They're on the Milano," Star-Lord explained. "Yondu took a hit to the side, but he'll be fine. However…the Raptors took the Sun Shredder to warp. They can't get to us until we reach our destination."

"So, in case you're keeping score, it's pretty much up to us three to stop them," Flash piped in. "Unless Titus is still lurking around somewhere."

"Nah, I threw him out an airlock," Yang explained.

Star-Lord tilted his head. "You took down Titus? Impressive."

Yang smirked, but then got serious again. "So, what's the plan here? How do we stop this thing?"

"I won't lie to you," Star-Lord warned. "It's not going to be easy. No doubt the Raptors have removed Rocket's bombs from the core. Not that those would've done any good at this point anyway—the detonation would still destroy whatever planet we're going to and everyone on it."

"What if we disable the weapon itself?" Flash asked. "Damage the cannon so it can't fire."

Star-Lord rubbed his chin. "Yeah, that could work."

"Why didn't we do that in the first place?" Yang asked. "That sounds a lot easier than blowing up the entire station."

"Because disabling the weapon was never going to be a permanent solution," Star-Lord told her. "With enough time, anyone could repair it. But if we can break the weapon, we can at least slow them down long enough for the rest of the Guardians to show up. Once they arrive, we can drive the Raptors off, regain control of the station, and make sure that it's gone for good."

"How do we break the weapon?" Flash asked.

Star-Lord activated a wrist device, showing a hologram of the layout of the Sun Shredder. "Two possible points of attack. First option is retaking the control room, where Talonar will probably be, along with most of his best warriors. We wreck the control room, they'll have to resort to other means to fire the weapon. The other option is getting to the cannon itself and smashing it to bits. But that has its own problems."

"What do you mean?" Yang questioned.

"The cannon itself is contained within a giant point room," Star-Lord explained, pulling it up on the layout. "When the cannon is ready to fire, the room opens up into space. The problem is that, with all that wide open space, there will sure to be dozens of Raptors in there—and with all of them able to fly, we'll be at a disadvantage."

"Not to mention we won't be able to do anything to the weapon with all those Raptors there," Flash added.

"So one person distracts the Raptors while the other takes care of the canon," Yang suggested.

"It'll be one hell of a fight for whoever's doing that," Star-Lord warned.

Yang shrugged. "I can handle it."

"You sure, kid?" Flash asked. "I know you took on Titus well enough, but these Raptors are on a completely different level."

"I know," Yang admitted. "But, I like a good challenge. And if I have to fall to make sure that this weapon can't hurt anyone, then so be it."

Star-Lord looked slightly impressed. "You got a good heart, Yang. If you're willing to go for it, I won't stop you." He turned to Flash. "Think you can break that cannon?"

"I'm no Rocket, but I can get the job done," Flash promised.

"Good. You two take the cannon room. I'll see about taking care of Talonar." Star-Lord pulled out his element guns. "It's not the best plan, but it's all we got."

"So, pretty much exactly like every other plan we've ever made," Flash noted.

Star-Lord smiled slightly. "And it always works out in the end. Good luck to you both." With that, he jumped into the lift, activating his rocket boots and starting to fly up the shaft towards the control room.

"Come on, kid," Flash said, hoisting his rifle. "We've got a job to do."

Star-Lord flew up into the control room, aiming his element guns at Talonar. "Surprise, asshole," he told him. "Hands where I can see them."

Talonar let out a laugh, turning around to face him. "You must be joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking right now?" Star-Lord asked.

Talonar's visor glowed. "No." He fired a laser at him, forcing the hero to fly to the side, where he fired a stream of fire that the villain easily flew past to avoid. He let out a laugh. "The famous Star-Lord," he mocked. "Do you really think that you can take me on? Not even your strongest warrior could put me down!"

Star-Lord flashed a confident smile, folding his helmet down. "Who said that Nova is our best fighter?"

Yang peeked around the corner. As Star-Lord had told them, the cannon room was a large room that ended in a point at the far edge, with the cannon barrel itself positioned in the center high off the ground. The room was also filled with dozens of Raptors, all of whom were either on the floor or hovering in the air, clearly making repairs to the cannon.

"They're getting it ready to fire," she reported to Flash. "From the looks of things, they've been working on it ever since they landed here."

"Means they've probably fixed most of the major damage there, if there even was any," Flash theorized. "Our destination must be close to where we started." He paused. "How many Raptors are in there?"

Yang peeked out again. "Looks like at least thirty."

"You sure you can take them all alone?"

Yang smiled. "We're about to find out. You sure you can take care of that cannon?"

"Of course," Flash answered. "I can get up there easily enough. But once I start dismantling the cannon, they might hear me. You're going to need to keep their attention for a while—preferably with something loud and distracting."

"Loud and distracting?" Yang asked, an idea coming to her head. "I think I have just the thing."

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not. You just get going. I've got this."

Flash nodded. "Good luck." He headed off around the corner. Yang, meanwhile, opened the slot in her gauntlet and pulled out her MP3 player. She quickly cycled through multiple songs, trying to pick the right one that would be best to draw all the Raptors to her. Eventually, she found a song that she knew would be the perfect fit. She then connected the MP3 player back into the gauntlet.

"Now, let's see if these sonic cannons can do as much damage as Rocket claims," Yang muttered, pushing the play button and sealing the slot again. Instantly, "Welcome to the Jungle" began blaring through her gauntlets.

The instant the music started playing, every Raptor in the room turned around to face her. Yang confidently strode into the room, a daring smirk on her face. As the Raptors stared at her in confusion, she pounded her fists together and got into a fighting stance.

"Who's first?" she asked.

The Raptors all gave each other looks. Then one flew directly at her, extending the wings on his arms to slice into her. Yang threw a punch directly into his chest. The extra "BOOM" from the sonic cannons that Rocket built into her gauntlets sent the warrior flying back into the far wall so fast that Yang barely even realized what had happened.

She stared down at her gauntlets, still blaring out the rock music. "Sweet."

The Raptors surged, firing lasers and flying directly at her. Yang fired twin shots into the ground, blasting her into the air. As the Raptors flew up to pursue her, she fired two more rocket rounds down at them, blasting the first two back down to the ground. The rest of the Raptors flew past them, flying directly up into Yang and smashing into her.

The force of the impact knocked her clear into the ceiling. When she hit, Yang saw the strange yellow field around her body flicker again. For some reason, her instinct told her that this wasn't a good thing.

As gravity kicked in and she fell back towards the flying Raptors, she extended her blade gauntlets and fired a shot behind her that propelled her down faster. The moment she reached them, she brought her gauntlets forward and slashed the swarm aside, falling right through them before firing another shot to slow her descent and land safely on the ground.

She looked back up to see the Raptors flying back down towards her. Notably, her weapons didn't seem to have done much damage to them. But, at least she was keeping their attention away from Flash, who she spotted out of the corner of her eye slinking down to the barrel of the massive cannon, beginning to cut through it quietly and precisely.

"Come on, Flash," she thought, readying herself for another bout. "I can't keep them occupied all day."

Star-Lord sent a vortex of wind at Talonar, who dodged effortless and sent a laser back at him, which knocked him into the wall.

"You never stood a chance against me, Star-Lord!" Talonar mocked. "And now…the reign of the Raptors shall begin!"

The Sun Shredder rocked as the Raptor ships that were towing it came out of warp speed. Out of the control room window Star-Lord could see the planet that they had been traveling to. He vaguely remembered that this world was called Naro-Atzia.

Talonar activated his comm. "All Raptor ships, begin the power transfer to the Sun Shredder! Begin weapon activation sequence and target the sun! It is time that the galaxy learns that WE are the one to be feared! Not the Kree! Not the Annihilation Wave! Us! The Fraternity of Raptors!"

Star-Lord got back to his feet. "If you think you're going to wipe out this system, you've got another thing coming."

Talonar turned back to face him. "And you think you can stop me on your own, Guardian?" he challenged. "I think not."

Star-Lord twirled his element guns again. "Buddy, you're up against the freaking Guardians of the Galaxy. You're not walking out of this one in one piece."

"And you, Star-Lord, won't be walking out of here at all!" Talonar sped forward, wings primed for the kill.

Alarms began blaring inside the weapon room as Yang hit the wall hard, grunting with pain. "What the hell is that?!" she yelled.

That was when the floor under her feet began to move. "Uh oh," she said, quickly realizing what was about to happen. Thinking quickly, she reached a hand up and activated her helmet, sealing it around her face just as the room opened, sucking her out into space.

She tumbled as her momentum carried her further and further away from the weapon. She could only watch as the pointed room slowly folded open, exposing the cannon. She could barely make out Flash, still trying to work his way through the weapon. Unfortunately, a few of the Raptors had finally noticed him now that Yang was gone and were coming at him. The rest of the Raptors were flying directly at her, the vacuum of space doing nothing to slow them down.

Yang desperately twisted her arms behind her and fired twin shots to stop flying away. This propelled her back towards the Raptors. All of them shots lasers from their visors at her. She tried to spin to avoid getting hit, but it was no use. The lasers hit her in the chest and shot her directly into a nearby asteroid.

The instant she hit, she saw the yellow energy flicker and die around her body. She somehow knew that this was really bad; that she was now exposed to getting seriously hurt or killed.

She shrugged off the throbbing in her back and pushed off the asteroid, flying back towards the Raptors, who all readied themselves for her approach. But she was slow, very slow. She aimed her gauntlets ahead, ready to shoot her way through them—

Suddenly, large volleys of laser fire ripped through the Raptors, tearing them to shreds in seconds. Yang had to shield her eyes from the blasts as she continued floating back the way she had come.

The Milano soon flew by, coming to a stop in front of her. "You okay, kid?" Rocket's voice came through the comms.

"A little banged up, but I'm okay," Yang answered. "Where'd you guys come from?"

"Long story." This came from Richard, who flew around from the side of the Milano to float in front of Yang. "What's the situation?"

"Flash is trying to break the Sun Shredder's cannon," Yang explained. "And Star-Lord went to the control room to confront Talonar."

Richard nodded. "Rocket, help Flash and make sure he doesn't blow up the entire solar system. I'll take care of the Raptor ships."

"What do you want me to do?" Yang asked.

Richard smiled at her. "I've got an idea."

Flash fired another volley of rounds at the Raptors closing in on his position. "Days like this make me miss the war," he thought as Raptor lasers struck all around him.

The cannon was slowly charging up—this much he knew. If he didn't break it soon, it would fire on Naro-Atzia's sun and wipe out everyone in the solar system.

With one hand, he fired another few shots on the Raptors. With the other, he continued cutting through the cannon barrel. Even at this pace, it would take over an hour to get through it—far too long. There had to be a faster way to get through without risking a supernova-like explosion.

"Flash, break off!" Rocket's voice came through the comms.

"Rocket?" Flash asked, looking around and seeing the Milano hovering right in front of the cannon. The remaining Raptors saw it too, and instantly realized what was about to happen.

"I said move, ya flarcking moron!" The ship fired a missile directly at the cannon.

Flash cursed and leaped away, using a tendril unraveling from his symbiote to grapple to the side. He swung around and directed himself straight for the Milano just as the missile hit the barrel of the cannon.

The cannon was enveloped in crackling blue energy as the charging barrel slowly shut down, becoming powerless. Flash grappled to the Milano's hull and hung off it, watching the cannon power off. "An EMP?" he questioned. "Why didn't we just do that to begin with?"

"Because we wanted to destroy the flarcking thing while it was still in a place where the explosion wouldn't vaporize planets!" Rocket shouted back. "Now where's Quill?"

"If everything's going to plan," Flash answered. "He's with Talonar."

Star-Lord fired his next volley of fireballs directly at Talonar before flying in, dealing a few flying kicks and punches. None of these seemed to be doing anything to the villain's armor, though they were forcing him back slightly.

"Enough!" Talonar smashed his arms into Star-Lord's jaw, sending him sprawling. "This? This is the legendary Star-Lord?" He let out a laugh. "You call yourself one of the galaxy's greatest heroes, but you're nothing more than a weak willed, arrogant Terran."

As Star-Lord crawled to his feet, he saw something just outside of the control room window. He let out a chuckle, getting back to his feet. "Yeah, you're right, Talonar," he said. "I'm just a Terran. But we Terrans are very resilient. And I have something that you don't have."

Talonar stepped towards him. "And what's that?"

Star-Lord grinned. "Backup."

"Brace yourself!" Richard yelled as he threw Yang directly at the control room window. Yang pounded her fists together, activating whatever enhanced strength she had apparently been building up throughout her fight with the Raptors before extending her arms forward and activating the blades.

Talonar turned towards the control room window just as Yang smashed through it. The rush of air spilling out into space did nothing to slow her down as she rammed her blades through Talonar, slamming him into the wall. The villain let out a bellow of pain.

"Move!" Star-Lord ordered. Yang pulled her blades free and jumped aside, allowing him to move in with his element guns. He sprayed a thick layer of ice over Talonar, freezing him to the wall.

The villain let out a roar of fury that was quickly being muffled as the room lost pressure. He struggled to free himself, but Star-Lord kept the ice going, keeping him stuck.

"And that's game over," Star-Lord announced through the comms. "We got Talonar. Guardians, report in."

"We shorted out the cannon with an EMP," Rocket announced. "It won't be firing anytime soon."

"The Raptor ships are pulling out," Richard added. "The ones that are still intact, that is. I managed to take out three of them. They really messed up by transferring most of their power to the Sun Shredder. And with Talonar captured, the rest of the Raptors will either flee or surrender. It's over."

"How do we take care of the Sun Shredder now?" Flash asked. "I don't think the Milano can tow it back to where we found it, and repairing the warp drive is going to be risky, especially if the Chitauri try to come back for it."

"We let the Nova Corp take it from here," Richard decided. "We'll stick around until they can show up, then let them take it from here—and hand over our prisoners."

"Sounds like a plan," Star-Lord agreed. He turned to Yang. "Good work today, kid. Go get some rest."

"You sure?" Yang asked. "I can still help out."

"You've done plenty, Yang. Get some rest. You've certainly earned it."

Yang nodded. "Fine." She turned around and paused. "Uh…how am I supposed to get back to the ship?"

Star-Lord chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Mind bringing the ship in for a pickup, Rocket?"

The Milano—October 15th (Earth Time)

Yang hadn't realized how exhausted she was from all the fighting until she had collapsed back in her bed back on the ship. Almost the minute her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

For once, her dreams weren't filled with nightmares or images of the silver-eyed girl. In fact, her dreams were almost peaceful. She would've slept in further if she hadn't been woken up by Rocket.

"Get up, kid," he told her. "Quill wants to see you in the Ready Room."

Yang let out a yawn, sitting up and stretching her arms. "How come?" she asked.

"Just go see him, kid." Rocket walked off, leaving Yang alone. She took a moment to ready herself, then headed off to the Ready Room, finding both Star-Lord and a bandaged Yondu there.

"You hurt too much?" Yang asked him.

"I've had worse, Miss Xiao Long," Yondu replied.

"What's this about?" Yang asked. "What happened with the Sun Shredder."

"The Nova Corp showed up and took possession of the station and Titus' crew," Star-Lord explained. "They'll take care of the Sun Shredder's destruction, and Titus and his crew will be locked up in the Kyln."

"Wait—Titus is alive? I thought I threw him out the airlock."

"Unfortunately, Titus can't survive in the vacuum of space," Yondu told her. "But we got him in the end. And now we're heading back to Knowhere. I have to get back to my bar."

Yang nodded. "So…I guess I should start saying goodbye."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Yang." Star-Lord leaned against the wall. "First, I have to admit—you did far better out there than any of us expected. You held your own against forces that would've wiped out any normal soldier in seconds. You've got talent, kid. There's no denying that."

"Where are you going with this?" Yang asked.

"While you were sleeping, we took a vote, and, well…we want you on the team."

Yang blinked in surprise. "You…want me to join the Guardians?"

"We do. We all do. The vote was unanimous. You've more than proven yourself to be a fierce fighter and a true hero. So, if you want to, you can stay with us and help save more lives around the galaxy."

Yang looked at Yondu. "You okayed this?" she asked.

"I did," Yondu answered. "While I have enjoyed your employment, Miss Xiao Long, I believe that this is a better path for you. You are a warrior—one that thrives on conflict. I've seen you come alive even more these past two days than I've ever seen you from the moment you walked into my bar. The Guardians are the perfect group for you to join. And by traveling the galaxy, you might be able to find your home or a way to restore your memories."

Yang looked back between Yondu and Star-Lord. "You really mean that?"

"I can't make any promises that we'll be able to find the answers you're looking for," Star-Lord admitted. "But it's certainly possible."

Yang considered her options. She enjoyed Yondu's company, working at the bar and punching people out the door that caused trouble. But…she couldn't explain why, but she had gotten such a thrill from fighting against the Chitauri, the Brood, and the Raptors aboard the Sun Shredder. Like that was what she was meant to do—save lives.

"Well," she said after a moment. "I do like the uniform."

Star-Lord smiled and held out a hand. "Then, I guess all I have to say is this: welcome to the Guardians of the Galaxy."

As Yang shook his hand, she caught a glimpse of something standing in the doorway. It was the silver-eyed girl. But instead of looking threatening, the girl looked calm and peaceful. She gave her a warm smile, her red cloak flowing behind her.

Yang blinked, and the girl was gone once more. But for once, Yang didn't feel fear or confusion. For once, she felt at peace.

"Whoever you are," she thought, "I'm going to find you. And then…maybe then I'll finally know who I am."

Elsewhere

The crowd roared as a single spotlight shown down on the arena. A second later, a man in a red suit and sunglasses stepped into the light. With a grin, he picked up a microphone and began to speak.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he boomed. "Welcome, once again, to the greatest fighting event in the galaxy, right here on Sakaar! I am your Ringmaster, here to announce the fights! But first, let's give our thanks to the man that makes these fights possible! A man that took what was left of Sakaar after the rebellion and made it into the thrilling world of power and fortune it is today! Put your hands together for…En Dwi Gast, the Grandmaster!"

The crowd roared as the VIP box lit up, revealing a blue skinned man with white hair. He gave a curt nod to the audience before nodding back at the Ringmaster.

"As you all know, in this arena, there are no rules—only bloodshed!" he went on. "Now, let's start the day's events off right with a fight to the bitter end! Are you ready?!"

The crowd cheered with anticipation. "Then let's get it on!" The arena lit up further as the Ringmaster's podium rose higher up.

He pointed towards one large door at the end of the arena, which began to rise. "First, he's got more bite than bark, and that bite can crush solid steel—please welcome Gnar the Chomper!"

The crowd roared as a huge, gray skinned alien marched in, holding a large metal mace. He let out a battle cry, jeering the crowd on.

"And now, let's meet his opponent!" The door on the other side of the arena began to open. "No one thought much of her when she first arrived, but she has been dominating the pits ever since! Please welcome…Pyrrha Nikos!"

The crowd roared as Pyrrha stepped out into the light. She ignored the crowd as she had been doing for the past month. She carried with her, as always, Miló and Akoúo̱.

She focused instead on her opponent, who gnashed his teeth at her. "Here we go again," she thought, getting into a fighting stance, pointing Miló's tip at him.

"Two enter the arena, but will either leave alive?!" The Ringmaster shouted. "It's time to find out! Get ready for some carnage!"

The crowd roared as a bell sounded. The Ringmaster grinned, throwing his hand him. "Let the match begin!"

And thus we conclude the Sun Shredder arc, probably one of my favorite arcs to write so far. And while Yang still hasn't recovered her memories, at least she has a chance to run into the others now that she's joined up with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

A lot of fun things to talk about. I wanted to do a song for Yang's battle with the Raptors, but "Welcome to the Jungle" wasn't the only option I was considering. Both "Crazy Train" and "Holding Out For A Hero" were also up for consideration. And who knows-maybe I'll use them down the stretch one day.

Also, for those of you wondering, yes, Titus can survive in space. And his survival here does mean that he might make another appearance later on in the story.

And now, we move on to our next arc-Pyrrha on Sakaar! For those of you wondering why it's the Grandmaster running things here rather than the Red King, I'll say this: at this point in this particular Marvel universe, events similar to that of Planet Hulk have happened, and this will be discussed a little in the next chapter. But I can safely say right now that the Red King himself is dead, which is why Grandmaster is in charge. But this won't be MCU Grandmaster-this is going to be a Grandmaster that's actually dangerous. Honestly, now that I think about it, both Grandmaster and the Collector were kind of lame in the MCU despite them traditionally being some of the most powerful beings in the galaxy.

As for when the next chapter will come out, well...that's hard to say, really. I'll be tied up a lot in November with working on my novel for NaNoWriMo. But I will try to get work done on it when I get the chance. But the latest you'll have to wait for the next chapter is probably early December. We'll see.

But anywho, that's all from me! Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.