"All occupants, take cover! Knowhere is… ALIVE!"
From the decaying hull of the massive Celestial, strange, luminescent tendrils surged forth, twisting and writhing like mechanical serpents. They ensnared not only the Protectors but also the Pykes, Hondo, and his raucous pirate crew, pulling them into a chaotic swirl of energy and confusion.
"Okay, this is absolutely ridiculous!" Peter exclaimed, struggling against the tendrils' tight grip, his heart racing as the metallic arms threatened to pull him under. "Cosmo?!"
With a subtle shimmer, Cosmo focused his psychic abilities, channeling his energy to break free. His form shimmered as he landed deftly on the ground, glancing back with determination. Using his telekinetic powers, he freed Peter before targeting the tendril that ensnared Kate. He shot a taser web that crackled with electricity, the essence of energy erupting around them in a dazzling display, allowing Kate to drop to safety.
"What the heck is going on?" Peter gasped, looking at Cosmo, panic etched across his features.
"Cosmo wish he knew," Cosmo replied, his brow furrowing as Hondo landed beside them after breaking free. "Attempted to gaze into Knowhere's mind, but nobody home."
"What?" Peter shouted, suddenly feeling another tendril lash out, making him leap aside just in time. He raced toward the stands, urgency lacing his every movement. "We need to free the others!"
"The Pykes?" Kate inquired, her bow ready, scanning the battlefield.
"Do whatever you want," Peter replied, determination hardening his expression. "We need to bring Knowhere back under control and get the hell out of here!"
Kyle, ever resourceful, activated his Whistling Birds—miniature projectiles that fit snugly in the chamber of his Mandalorian armor gauntlet. They zipped through the air like a swarm of furious bees, striking tendril after tendril and freeing him, Amber, and Cheep in a flurry of chaos. Rex was the last to break free, firing his blasters with precision, and they regrouped amidst the turmoil.
"So, what's something like this worth to the right people?" Hondo mused, eyeing The Collector, who clutched a gleaming box containing the Infinity Stone, its surface glinting ominously.
"Seriously, Hondo?" Peter shot back, using his web-slinging abilities to latch onto the container, pulling it closer even as the others engaged in a fierce battle with the Pykes.
"So, if nobody's in the head, what's making this head come to life?" Rex questioned, rallying his blasters against the approaching Pykes.
"If I had to make a guess, it's the energy radiating from the Infinity Gem you possess," Tivan replied, hardly peeking out from behind cover, his eyes darting nervously. "Whatever power this stone holds, it likely correlates with the other three in this realm."
"What are they?" Kate asked, resolutely not letting her guard down, her fingers steady on her bowstring.
"Strength. Energy. Nemesis. Ego." Tivan explained, flinching as blaster fire whizzed past him.
"Four?" Peter echoed with surprise, his brow knits in confusion. "Why are there only four?"
"Different reality, different rules," Kate surmised, launching an arrow that exploded brilliantly upon impact, sending debris flying. "So which one does this one represent?"
"Considering that the Strength Stone's properties enhance the power of those who can wield it..." Tivan said, his voice a mix of reverence and caution.
"So, it's Strength," Peter digested, trying to connect the dots. "But what does that have to do with the dead Celestial reawakening?"
"Living or dead, it amplifies power," Tivan elucidated, his expression grave. "Only the worthy can harness such strength and survive."
"And you mentioned that Celestials have used these Stones as weapons before," Rex recalled, eyes narrowing as he took in the unfolding chaos.
"So, as long as that Stone is here, Knowhere is alive?" Amber asked, narrowly dodging a barrage of blaster fire.
"Then let's just get it out of here!" Kyle shouted, unleashing a volley at the Pykes, desperation fueling his every move.
"If only it were that simple!" Peter yelled, twisting through the air to avoid further assaults. "We need to get back to the Stellar! Cheep, can you—"
Before he could finish, a tremendous explosion erupted, tendrils carelessly colliding with a fuel station. Debris rained down like lethal confetti as Peter and Kate were launched through the air, separated from their friends. The Pykes surged forward, seizing the two of them along with the coveted Infinity Gem, their laughter mingled with the sound of chaos.
Rex, Kyle, and Amber were still working on the tendrils when they suddenly stopped. They watched as everything went back to normal before anyone could figure out what was going on. Cheep came out from the rubble, his droid legs sparking as he bleeped and whistled at the crew.
"Hey, at least you are in one piece," Amber said, deactivating her lightsaber. "Sadly."
"What happened?" Rex asked Cosmo.
Cosmo walked forward, his paws leaving small prints as he sniffed. "Cosmo had to guess, Infinity Gem too far to bring Knowhere to life."
"What?" Kyle asks.
"And they have made off with your comrades," Cosmo warned them.
"What?!" Rex asked. "Then we gotta get going and save them."
"Da," Cosmo said.
"How did Hondo get his hands on that?" Amber wonders.
"We'll ask him when we see him again," Rex stated.
"Hondo is small potato." Cosmo reminded them. "We see what that stone could do to a dead Celestial head. Imagine what stone could do to the universe!"
"It could empower anyone," Tivan said in shock. "Give them the power of life."
"Or in the wrong hands, the power of death," Rex stated.
"Can't get much worse than Maul," Kyle sighed, remembering what the Sith Lord did to Mandalore. "We need to get back to the Stellar Sentinal and get them back."
"Ship will not be necessary," Cosmo tells them. "Cosmo knows what you say... shortcut."
Cosmo brought them to his watchtower which began to turn into some sort of elevator as they headed upward into the head of Knowhere.
"What is this place?" Rex asks, looking around.
"Original settlement. From early days of Knowhere." Cosmo explained. "Before Tivan Group come."
"An original mining facility?" Amber asked in curiosity.
"Da. Now abandon," Cosmo said. "Mostly."
"Mostly?" Kyle repeated.
"And highly restricted," Cosmo continued.
That was when they looked out to what looked like some sort of small mining colony. Up ahead was some locked door, and they began to be led towards a strange sight up ahead.
"This is quite strange," Rex commented, looking at the sights.
"Welcome to Continuum Cortex," Cosmo said as he led them towards what looked like the inside matter of someone's brain, but more high-tech. "Is best way to reach your friends and rescue them."
"Cheep is right," Kyle said. How can you track them when they're likely in Hyperspace by now?"
"Continuum Cortex is nexus point to anywhere in universe," Cosmo said. "Cosmo bring you to ship. Alert when you locate our comrades," He then mentally floated over some wristbands and placed them on the heroes. "Once you find them, signal Cosmo. Cosmo will retrieve." They all looked towards Cosmo in confusion. "Because Cosmo is retriever!" He said, only getting the others to look confused. "Retriever is breed of Earth-dog."
"Uh, none of us understand this," Kyle said.
"Joke not funny if Cosmo explain," Cosmo sighed. "Any questions?"
"Uh..." Kyle pointed ahead. "Yeah, how do we get there?"
That was when some strange doorway opened, revealing to be hidden behind the brain. There was some strange triangle that appeared to be glowing, followed by a giant transparent hand reaching out and stopping itself underneath the platform they were standing on.
"What the-?!"
"What is this?"
Cheep bleeped in shock.
"Not to freat. Trans-dimensional hand is part of the Continuum Cortex." Cosmo explained.
"That only raised more questions than answers," Kyle said.
"Climb aboard. Comrades await," Cosmo cautioned, his voice echoing with urgency.
Without hesitation, everyone stepped onto the transparent hand and was dragged into the radiant triangle left behind by Cosmo who stayed behind. They gasped and instinctively shielded their eyes from the blinding light that enveloped them.
"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is," a voice resonated through the space, rich with wisdom and mystery.
"Did anyone else hear that?" Amber exclaimed, her brows furrowing in confusion. "That sounded just like... Master Yoda!"
"What in the galaxy is this place?" Kyle queried, his voice laced with awe and curiosity as he peered into the shimmering expanse around them.
"A conduit through which the entire Force of the universe flows," a soft, ethereal voice replied, creating an atmosphere thick with reverence.
"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter," another voice whispered, evoking a sense of profound understanding.
As the blinding light gradually subsided, they adjusted their vision and scanned their surroundings. The realm they found themselves in was both surreal and enchanting, lined with seemingly endless pathways that twisted and turned like cosmic veins, leading to glowing circles pulsating at their ends.
"You'll soon discover how little you truly know," a voice echoed, teasing the depths of their awareness.
"Where are those voices coming from?" Kyle asked, his eyes darting around the expansive space as he remained on the floating hand, his heart racing in anticipation.
"It feels like they're coming from... everywhere?" Rex chimed in, shock written across his features. "Some of them sound familiar..."
"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose," another voice instructed, resonating with a calm depth.
"He's an Avenger!" someone interjected, the laughter contrasting sharply with the otherwise serious atmosphere.
"...The son of Anakin Skywalker," yet another voice stated, carrying with it a weight of destiny.
"I forged this armor with my family," a voice cautioned gently, urging them to reflect on their inner struggles.
"That... is what Conquerors do!" a fearful voice added, filled with anger.
"Cal Kestis!" shouted an unexpected voice, cutting through the mist of uncertainty.
"Who are you?! Why did you free me?!" came a startled response, filled with bewilderment and urgency.
"The Force is what grants a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things, surrounding us and penetrating us, binding the galaxy together," the all-encompassing voice explained, resonating with the very essence of cosmic truth.
"Is this place... connected to the Force?" Amber whispered, her hand reaching out as if she could grasp the myriad voices swirling around her. She closed her eyes, allowing her senses to delve deeper into the vibrant tableau unfolding in her mind. "I see someone... I see people..."
In a flurry of images, she caught glimpses of Spider-Man engaged in an intense battle aside from a fierce raven-haired ally wielding a yellow lightsaber. "Some of them feel... familiar," she murmured, her brow furrowing in concentration.
Then, another vision struck her: a female Mandalorian, guns blazing, fighting valiantly against swarming Stormtroopers, with a black-suited Spider-Man at her side, moving with precision and agility.
"Others... I don't recognize," she added, a sense of urgency in her voice.
There was another vision of Spider-Man alongside what looked to be a Nightsister.
"This is all... strange," Amber whispered.
Cheep bleeped inquisitively, its mechanical voice translating into a silent question that hung heavily in the air: 'What is this place?'
"I think... this place exists outside of time," Amber took a guess as she peered into the cosmos. "And space. Those voices are from these other worlds."
"Other worlds?" Rex asks.
"Hang on, guys, I think this is our stop!" Kyle said, gesturing to a triangle vortex they were coming up towards.
Back with Peter and Kate, the two were sprung up within a forcefield, keeping them from using their skills or gear to escape. And the Pykes were smart enough to take their gear and keep it out of their reach. They had jumped into Hyperspace, giving no real faith that they would be able to be rescued by their friends.
"Maul, we have recovered the package from Hondo," The leader Pyke said, showing off the container holding the Infinity Gem. "We are on rendezvous to your location now."
"Excellent," Maul said when he noticed the prisoners. "What... are they doing here?"
"We captured them on our escape," The Pyke said. "We thought that you would have some questions for them. As such their knowledge of the weapon."
"Bring them to me," Maul said, closing off the connection.
"Ha, like we will tell you anything," Kate scoffed when she heard that.
"Oh, you will," The Pyke said as he approached a small canister and pulled out a baby Mind Flayer. "This will ensure that you tell us all we want to know."
"What's that?" Peter asked in confusion. "Looks like a squid. Are you gonna make us sushi? Or whatever it is that fancy eat."
"Calamari," Kate said, reminding Peter she was rich on Earth.
"Oh, sure," Peter shrugged.
"This is a Mind Flayer." The Pyke said, slamming the creature against Kate, causing her to scream.
"Hey!" Peter screamed, trying to move his hands, but the hologram was keeping him still. "What are you doing?! Maul wants her alive!"
"And she will be. But how long she lasts as well as what remains of her is up to you," The Pyke stated as Kate struggled to shake the creature off her. "It is beginning to probe her mind. Changing around memories, bringing out the worst memories she has to the surface... most people break. How long do you think she will last?"
Kate screamed out as she felt the pain of when the Chitauri first invaded Earth, the battles in the Clone Wars, and Order 66 all over. She couldn't fight the pain and was giving in to the pain.
"Alright!" Peter screamed. "Get that off of her and I will do what you want!"
"If you lie..." The Pyke yanked the creature off of Kate, causing her to pant as her eyes were bloodshot as she panted from the pain the Mind Flayer caused. "She dies!"
"Peter... don't..." Kate whimpered.
Peter remembered what the Collector did and they closed the forcefield, giving him access to his hands. Peter then redid the unlocking mechanism that opened the box. The Pyke saw the box open and the Infinity Gem was inside.
"At last..." The Pyke said, pushing a button causing a shock to go through the two prisoners. "Now I can make this hurt!"
That was when an explosion went off and they looked over to see Kyle and Rex standing in the explosion. Kyle was tossing a thermal detonator in his hands as he chuckled.
"And you just got that wall fixed!" Kyle mocked, tossing a thermal detonator, causing another explosion.
The forcefield holding the two dropped, allowing Kate and Peter to free themselves, fighting the Pykes as they rushed towards their gear. Peter grabbed his web-shooters, wrapping them around his wrists and Kate grabbed her quiver and bow. She shot out an arrow, which split off and shot the Pykes.
Rex slammed the leader of the Pykes against the wall.
"Tell your boss when he is man enough to face us himself, we will be waiting!" Kyle said as he then shot the leader with his blaster set to stun. "Let's go!"
"Wait, where are Aber and Cheep?" Peter asked as he shot a web to latch onto the box holding the Infinity Gem.
"Dealing with the Hyperdrive so we can escape!" Rex answered as they ran into the hallway.
"Does that mean you have a good plan of escape?" Kate asked.
"We have a plan!" Kyle said, running away from the Pykes.
Amber and Cheep reached the hyperspace core and saw the large room filled with Pykes and guessed this was the Hyperdrive room.
"That must be the Hyperdrive." Amber guessed. "I never really got the chance to see one up close."
Cheep grunted, getting her attention.
"What? You have a plan?" Amber asked, listening to him. "I'm the bait?"
Cheep bleeped in confirmation.
Amer looked off and nodded. "Okay, I'll draw them away. They ignore droids most of the time anyway."
Amber quickly sneaked her way around waiting for a moment to make herself known. She snuck her way over to the controls and was about to reach out with the Force when she was spotted while hiding behind one of the barriers.
"Hold it! We've got an intruder."
Amber drew her lightsaber and leaped off the ledge. "Come and get me!"
Cheep then strolled into the room. Amber watched the Pyke troops begin to open fire on her, getting Amber to block them using her lightsaber.
Cheep made his way to a terminal and plugged himself into the system. That was when he began to mess with the room, turning off gravity in the area and causing the entire place to begin floating.
"They've shut off gravity!"
"Was this part of the plan?!" Amber asked. "You never told me this was part of the plan!"
Cheep then continued to mess with the systems before finally preparing to turn the gravity back on.
"Whoa! Don't you dare! Don't you do it! Not yet!" Amber cried.
Then gravity was turned back on, causing everyone to fall and slam into the platforms.
"OW!" Ezra cried as Cheepr rolled over her fingers. "You better have sabotaged it."
Cheep grunted as he rolled off.
The others began to feel the entire ship was shaking, causing them to freak out. The ship was beginning to shake as the Hyperdrive was beginning to fail. It was causing the entire ship to fall out of super speed and stop in dead space.
"Was that part of the plan?!" Kate asks.
"More or less," Kyle said as he tossed them the bracelets Cosmo handed out. "Put these on!" He then tried to contact Cosmo. "Come on, you drooling creature!" He tapped the comms. "Come in!"
A Pyke then aimed a weapon, causing them to look over and see some sort of rocket launcher. "Oh, crap." They all said.
The Pyke shot the missile, causing them to jump out of the way and watch as the missile hit the wall. This caused an air suction to drag them off into space, grasping one large breath of air.
"Cosmo is retrieving. Please do not be dead." Cosmo was hard at work, trying to summon them back.
When the Continuum Vortex was reactivated, Amber and Cheep rushed through, followed by Kyle, Kate, Rex, and Peter to fall through, letting in a deep breath after dealing with space.
"You guys okay?" Amber asks.
"No!" They exclaimed.
"At least we still got this," Peter sighed, seeing he was holding the box containing the Infinity Gem. "But the question is... what do we do with it?"
Cosmo brought everyone back up to his Watchtower where they were beginning to calm down while also plotting their next move. They had the Infinity Gem, but Maul would likely keep coming after it.
"We could throw it into a Black Hole," Kate offered.
"We don't know what that would do to the universe," Peter said in fear. "It could do nothing, or destroy everything."
"I vote to not do that," Amber said.
"What if we took it somewhere?" Kyle asks. "Went somewhere that we could trust."
"And do you have anywhere in mind?" Kate asks. "We're hated by half of the galaxy, and the other half sees us as outlaws."
"And we can't trust the people who we entrust the Stone to not use it on others," Peter said with a groan.
"Give it to the Empire to stay out of Maul's hands, Palpatine will surely use it on the galaxy," Rex stated.
"Why don't we just keep it on the Stellar Sentinal?" Kyle offered.
"You saw what that thing did to the dead corpse of a god," Kate shot down that idea. "Imagine if someone accidentally opened it on the ship."
"And we don't know what that thing could do to one of us," Peter stated. "We need to get it somewhere nobody would dare to go."
That was when they heard alarms going off, getting them to look toward Cosmo. "Cosmo, what is happening?"
"Cosmo locate ships outside of Knowhere," Cosmo warned them, showing that they were being attacked by a ship that looked like a knife. "It is called Vermillion. Crimson Dawn ship."
"Maul," Kate snarled.
"How did he find us?" Rex wonders.
That was when a large hologram of Maul appeared out of nowhere. "I understand there has been a request for me to stop hiding behind lackeys and show my face."
Everyone looked towards Kyle with angered looks.
"Oh, right," Kyle suddenly remembered the Pykes knew about nowhere. "That's on me. My bad."
"I demand the relic, now!" Maul demanded the residents of Knowhere. "I demand the CryptoCube now or Knowhere, and all of its inhabitants, will face certain annihilation."
"Okay, I just have to think of a way out of this," Peter said.
"You have thirty seconds," Maul warned.
"We're fucked," Kate said.
"Just give him the box," Kyle said. "Would he even know how to open it?"
"We don't want to take the risk," Rex stated.
Cheep bleeped, saying he didn't want to be blown up on Knowhere.
"Good point, Cosmo not want all of Knowhere to blow up either," Cosmo agreed.
"Well, it's not like we can move all of Knowhere." Amber scoffed.
Cosmo then barked, getting their attention. "Actually..."
"You can move a giant dead-head?" Peter asks.
"Is possible," Cosmo promises. "But Cosmo requires time."
They then watched several ships coming in to land. Crimson Dawn's troops marched off from the ships with Maul marching off right behind them. He smiled as he watched the people of Knowhere panic and run in terror while others stayed to fight and attacked to defend Knowhere.
"Cosmo, do your thing!" Peter said.
"Kate, you get to the ship while Rex, and I are going to keep them distracted," Peter said, tossing the container with the Infinity Gem inside.
"What do we do?" Kyle asks as he gestures to himself and Amber.
"Hold them off," Peter said, rushing over towards mining pods. "We'll make sure they don't follow."
"Is running really the plan?" Rex asks. "Because we've tried that."
"Only to get to the Stellar Sentinal," Peter explained the plan. "Once there, you take off."
Cheep rolled over, saying he wanted to help.
"Really?" Peter asked. "Fine, take one of them, and help me keep them off of Kate." He then handed her the container. "You think you can do this?"
"Fate of the galaxy at stake?" Kate scoffed as she took the canister. "That's when we do our best work."
Peter smiled as she jumped into the vehicle and then started to take off. Peter then rushed to his own pod followed by Rex while Cheep bleeped and took off on his own, the three of them flying off. Maul marched off his ship and watched the pods flying off.
"Follow them!" Maul demanded his men.
Then he sensed something coming when Kyle shot off a blast, causing Maul to dodge the blast, looking towards the Mandalorian who kept his blasters raised, and the Jedi Padawan who drew her lightsaber. Maul seemed to laugh when he saw the two and decided to mess with them as he stood there and his men were fighting around them.
The Jedi Padawan and Mandalorian looked at one another before looking back at Maul. "Do you really wish to fight the likes of me?" Maul asked them with a laugh. "I will make it a merciful death."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Amber said, preparing to fight.
Maul then drew his lightsaber, raising it alongside his body before activating both ends of the blades. He then spun it around, waiting to see what their first move was going to be. Amber quickly moved into a stance where she clutched the lightsaber to her left and held it with both hands. She started to shake a little, feeling terrified going against an old Sith Lord. But she wasn't going at it alone, she was fighting alongside a Mandalorian—the only people who were trained and skilled enough to fight and even kill Jedi.
Amber ran off towards the Sith Lord while Kyle began to open fire on Maul. Maul blocked the strikes from the blaster and then rushed towards Amber, swinging his lightsaber as she did the same. They turned the lightsabers at one another, and then the two mashed, the two weapons clashing together as sparks were flying between the blades.
Cosmo reached the Continuum Cortex and began to try and use his powers to teleport Knowhere far from this place. He was in charge of the safety of Knowhere and wanted to try and save the place that he called home.
Kate flew off with Peter, Rex, and Cheep as they were flying off across Knowhere, trying to make their way to the Stellar Sentinal while the small pods with the Crimson Dawn people tried to shoot them down.
"The artifact is in the farthest pod, don't let it get away!" One of them said.
Kate was flying through the area of Knowhere when she was shot, the ship getting hit by the shockwave and crashing into the buildings, sending debris falling downward. "Pete, I don't think we're going to make it. These ships have no defenses, shielding, or weapons."
"Cheep, Rex, we've gotta get these guys off of Kate!" Peter told their droid.
Cheep bleeped, piloting the ship around the blasts coming from the Crimson Dawn pods chasing them.
"How do you suppose we do that?" Rex questioned.
"These pods are industrial grade, built to probe the head of a Celestial," Peter told the droid.
Cheep bleeped back, reminding Peter they are no good against plasma blasts.
"That's not what I am saying, you little war criminal," Peter said, trying to get the idea through the droid.
Cheep, the poor droid, seemed to have frozen for a good second, trying to ponder what he meant. Cheep spun his head around, finally understanding as he pushed the controls at full force towards a Crimson Dawn pod off to his side. He rammed the pod, completely destroying it within impact. The pod crashed into another, causing it to spin out of control and crash into the streets of Knowhere.
"Oh, now I'm getting it!" Rex chuckled, going full throttle as he rammed one from behind, then did a quick dive to smash another one. He laughed as he spun the ship to avoid the blaster fire. "Come get some!"
Cheep spun out of control, getting the droid to get his pod back in control as he cheered, spinning his head around with bleeps of pride. Another came charging at Cheep's pod, shooting at him, but Cheep quickly maneuvered the blasts and flew straight at the pod, destroying it again on impact.
Amber raced in, swinging her lightsaber to strike Maul, who quickly blocked her pathetic strikes. Maul has battled full-on Jedi Masters. To him, Amber was merely a child in more ways than the literal fact she was a child going against a Sith Lord.
"I was hoping for a challenge from the last of the Jedi Order." Maul scoffed, swinging his blade, causing Amber to go on a defensive maneuver as she was backed into a small alleyway surrounded by cargo containers. "But I guess it is the might of all Jedi. All they do is fall."
Amber grew angry at that comment and quickly charged at him. Maul didn't even break a sweat as he blocked her strike, turning off half of his lightsaber, followed by him pushing against her blade, sending Amber skidding backward. Maul then swung at her, but Amber only managed to back off fast enough that the end of the blade grazed against her skin, causing her to scream and back off, seeing that the blade left a wound on her cheek. A scar that goes down from her eye to her neck. She winced as she clutched her hand against the wound.
Maul chuckled as he saw how tired Amber was beginning to grow from their fight, and how little might that Maul had to use. That was when blaster fire came down, causing Maul to spin and block the blasts that would have hit him. Kyle stood with his Mandalorian armor glistening as he saw Amber was injured and jumped in to fight. Using small blades up his gauntlet, he shot them toward Maul, causing the ex-Sith Lord to duck and dodge the strike. Kyle shot at him with a grappling hook that ended up wrapping around his mechanical legs.
Maul quickly used his saber to cut the rope with ease, still blocking the attacks from Kyle's blaster. When Kyle got close enough, Maul used that to his advantage, grabbing Kyle by the arm and raising him up. He then went to piece through his armor, but Amber quickly got up and blocked the attack as quickly as she could. Her open wound let the blood drip down her face as she struggled to hold Maul back.
"Get away from him!" Amber demanded Maul, anger spread across her face.
"Still standing, are we?" Maul asked sarcastically, seemingly not caring. He then quickly tossed Kyle aside to continue his fight with Amber. "Not for long..."
Back in the air, Peter was flying around when he got an idea, attacking one of the Crimson Dawn pods. Using the mechanical arms to rip open the roof of the pod, he ejected the person inside.
"Sorry, gotta take that!" Peter then watched Kate fly past, quickly shooting the pods down as they came past as many as he could. "Cosmo, you still out there? We need you to hurry."
Cosmo was running around the Continuum Cortex, working fast to try and get the coordinates for Knowhere to safely move it. "Cosmo working as fast as he can, Peter Parker. Just a few more time."
"We don't have more time!" Rex cried, flying to try and help Kate.
Kate was slammed against the edge of the skull of Knowhere, seeing that there was no way to get to the Stellar Sentinal. She needed to figure out what to do. She then looked up at the giant eyehole, leading to the emptiness of space.
"Peter, I can't make it to the Stellar, I gotta get out of here!"
"What?!" Peter began to panic as the pod he took over fell apart. He released it flew in the Knowhere pod and chased Kate outside. "Kate, you can't! These pods weren't made to withstand that kind of pressure!"
Amber and Maul continued to fight through the streets of Knowhere, Maul kicking up the sand using his saber, causing Amber to flinch and groan from it reaching her eyes. She raised her saber to block the attack, even though she was blinded. Amber quickly wiped her eyes, whipping the blood from her cheek and spreading it across her face in the process.
Amber kept pushing her blade against Maul's, fear spreading across her face as she saw that Maul was higher than her level of Mastery. She was still an Apprentice, he was a Sith Lord, the fact she lasted this long showed how easy he was taking it on her.
"You have potential," Maul commented on Amber's fear and anger he could sense. "But you waste your talents on the Jedi's dead code."
"Better wasting it than be like you," Amber snarled, swinging her lightsaber again.
Maul blocked her attacks, taking a few steps back, giving Amber some ground. But then Maul went for the attack, causing Amber to take a few steps backward. When they reached a cliffside, Maul kicked her in the stomach, causing Amber to fall, crashing into the ground a few feet down from where they were fighting. Amber groaned, falling caused her to lose her grip on her lightsaber and lose it.
Kate flew outside of Knowhere to try and get some distance between her and the Crimson Dawn pods, but she didn't make it far before one got a hit on her engines, causing the pod to begin alerting Kate she was losing pressure. Rex and Peter flew out of Knowhere to chase her while Cheep quickly stopped as he knew the pod wouldn't survive.
"Kate, you gotta move! Now!" Rex tried to get her out of there. "Kat-"
Before he could finish, the pod exploded, causing Peter to freeze in shock and horror. Cheep froze when they saw Kate's pod explode and whimpered. Her body floated in the emptiness of space while the Crimson Dawn pod flew over, using a mechanical arm to reach out and take the container with the Infinity Gem inside.
Amber crawled her way to her lightsaber and reached out to grab it using the Force. But that didn't work out as Maul marched his way over and stepped on her hand. Letting out a cry of pain, Amber looked up to the Sith Lord. Maul grabbed her and dragged Amber over towards a vat that was draining the brain matter of the dead Celestial. Maul lifted Amber and tossed her into the vat, letting her body sink before his ship returned.
"Sir, we have it," A Pyke said, showing the container.
Maul smiled as he marched towards the ship, using the Force to yank Amber's lightsaber to his grasp as he took it as a trophy. "The others?"
"They have all been dealt with," The Pyke said as they took off, flying into the stars.
When he was sure that they were far enough away, Kyle came out of hiding and rushed off towards the vat and dived into it, swimming his way down to save Amber.
"Destroy this place," Maul demanded.
The Vermillion began opening fire on Knowhere. The entire place began to shake, buildings falling over, people screaming and running in fear. Cosmo whimpered as he rushed around, using all four of his paws to run around the Continuum Cortex to activate the systems.
"Cosmo has done it!" Cosmo cheered, and the entire place began to hum with life.
Then a glowing blue aurora illuminated from Knowhere, and in a blink of an eye, Knowhere vanished from sight. Maul seemed surprised by this development but shrugged it off and walked off his pod into the Vermillion. Not soon after that, the ship jumped into Hyperspace.
Kate was left floating in the dead space. Peter saw she was still alive, but surviving in dead space for long wasn't going to work in her favor. He knew Jedi and a few Clones who survived a few minutes in space, but she wasn't going to last long. And as far as she saw, there was no chance they could save her. The Stellar was too far away, and by the time they made it back, she would be long dead.
"Come on, sir, we got to find a spaceport," Rex warned Peter, seeing Knowhere was gone. "With Knowhere gone, it's a matter of time before we lose these pods."
Peter didn't move, still looking at Kate as he tried to come up with a plan.
"Peter?" Rex called.
Peter froze and finally, he got an idea. Opening his comms channel to any ships nearby he knew someone he couldn't trust would be near. "Hondo? Hondo! I know you are out there."
"Sir?" Rex called.
"My coordinates are scrambled into this broadcast," Peter kept on, reaching to activate the disoriented Spider-Man space mask. "Come and get me..."
Peter then opened his pod, crawling his way around as he used the pod to leap off and glide over to save Kate. "Peter, what are you doing!?" Rex cried, not wanting to lose another friend. "Sir, get back in your pod. You are going to die!"
Peter then reached over and removed his mask.
"You'll die in seconds!" Rex cried.
Peter still didn't listen as he placed the mask on Kate, allowing her to take in a deep breath of air. Peter smiled and was happy to see that he managed to save her, even if it meant risking his life. That was when a Corona-class armed frigate starship came flying over, followed by a few starships surrounding them.
Then a tractor beam activated, dragging Peter and Kate towards the Corona-class armed frigate while Rex was dragged in as well. When they made it inside, they dropped down, Peter this time taking in a gasp of air.
"Peter?" Kate was shocked to see him. "What happened...? I thought... I thought I..."
"You were going to..." Peter nodded, tears swelling as he saw she was okay. "But I couldn't let that happen. I lost too many people. I couldn't lose you when I could do something."
Kate smiled and was surprised to see how far Peter went to save her. "Thank you..." She reached over and caressed his face. But then the reality of the situation jumped back into her mind. "Wait, what happened to the Gem?"
Peter froze when he remembered what happened. "Oh, uh... they got the Gem."
"What?!" Kate asks in terror.
That was when the doorway opened, and a handful of Hondo's men entered the room with their weapons raised. Rex groaned as he jumped out of the pod and raised his hands. Hondo then marched ahead of his crew and chuckled.
"Well, well... look at this." Hondo laughed as his men cocked their blasters. "Our fortune changed for the better, men!"
Maul held the container with the Infinity Gem in his hands as he sat down and clutched it tightly. He squeezed it as hard as he could until the container finally exploded. Using the Force, Maul floated the Infinity Gem in the air and braced himself for the pain he was about to endure. Clapping his hands around the Infinity Gem, Maul felt a massive wave of energy surge through him. He screamed as the Infinity Gem began to consume him.
His body mass increased, and his muscles began to expand. His connection to the Force grew tremendously as he started to calm down. The power finally flowed within him, and when he looked down, he noticed the Gem was now literally in the palm of his hand. He chuckled as he opened his eyes, which were now glowing blue like the Gem itself. The power finally flowed through him without pain.
"Now all who stood in my way... will fall," Maul promised.
And his first stop was the place that started it all: Mandalore.