Chapter Seven
Percy and Rocket crashed the pods back on Knowhere close to Drax and Groot. "Blasted idiot. They're all idiots!" Rocket groaned crawling out. Percy stumbled out and coughed, "Quill just got himself captured. None of this ever would have happened if you didn't try to single-handedly take on a frickin' army!"
"Not to mention we lost the orb," Percy said dizzily. He grabbed on to the side of the pod to steady himself.
Drax sighs, "You're right. I was a fool. All the anger, all the rage, was just to cover my loss." Percy's face dropped, he immediately understood how he acted when he thought he lost his mom he was irrational and ready to take on Hades himself he had actually taken on Ares himself.
"Oh boo-hoo-hoo "My wife and child are dead."" Rocket mocked him. Groot gaped and covered his mouth but Percy couldn't even glare; he also understood where Rocket was coming from. Drax did almost get them all killed. "I don't care if it's mean! Everybody's got dead people. It's no excuse to get everybody else dead along the way!"
Percy's face darkened, "yeah everyones got dead people, I got a whole lot. Enough to make my own cemetery. And what Drax did was one of the most idiotic things I could ever imagine but screaming is not gonna help Quill, Gamora or the universe!" Percy ironically screamed.
Rocket gave him a look and shook his head "Come on, Groot. Ronan has the stone. The only chance we got is to get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to live full lives before that whack-job ever gets there."
The demigod shook his head in disbelief, "Go ahead and run! My job is never done is it. I've got a stone to retrieve." Percy turned his mask on and turned towards the Milano. The ravagers would tear the two apart and Gamora was his best shot at actually retrieving the stone since her sister was the one who took it. So he had to save Quill and Gamora then get the stone. Easy right? He faced off against mother earth. He could do this at least that what he would tell himself so if he died he would go down swinging.
Groot stood, "I am Groot."
"Save them? How?"
"I am Groot."
"I know they're the only friends that we ever had, but there's an army of ravagers around them. And there's only two of us!"
Drax stood up shakily "Three."
"I am Groot," The tree pointed at Percy who was already halfway to Quill's ship.
Rocket groaned irritatedly his mind clearly working against his emotions. He started kicking the small patch of grass, "You're making me. beat... up grass!"
~~~
"I wish there was something better we could do then to shoot at a ravager ship."
"Do you got a better plan?"
"Not really my ex was more of the planning ahead person, I usually planned while I was getting my ass handed to me then flip it around," Percy looked out at the huge ravager ship.
As soon as they could make out the Ravager Captain, Yondu, in the window Rocket decided to intimidate them, "Attention, idiots. The lunatic on top of this craft is holding a Hadron Enforcer. It's a weapon of my own design. If you don't hand over our companions now, he's gonna tear your ship a new one. A very big new one!"
"Yeah he's not lying," Percy said into the comm with a smirk, "That probably one of the most dangerous weapons in the galaxy, never seen anything like it"
"I'm giving you to the count of five, 5, 4, 3...
"Rocket, Jackson, it's me, for God sakes! We figured it out! We're fine!"
"Oh hey, Quill. What's going on?"
~~~~
Once they got Quill and Gamora back on the ship they were not happy with the four. Quill told how the bases of his plan and the mood got even worse "You call that "figured it out"? We're gonna rob the guys who just beat us senseless!"
"You want to talk about senseless? How about trying to save us by blowing us up?"
"We were only gonna blow you up if they didn't turn you over!"
"And how on earth were they gonna turn us over when you only gave them a count of five?"
"Percy said he'd use one of his powers to shield you two he's got his own Problems with the ravagers." Percy did say that and he did not have force field powers but he figured since Rockets blast couldn't be that big he could pull together enough water particles in time to pull Gamora and Quill on to the Milano
Quill looked at the man who was sitting in midair playing with his pen who just shrugged.
Gamora took the opportunity to jump in and stop the arguing "What's important now is we get the Ravagers' army to help us save Xandar."
"So we can give the Stone to Yondu who's just gonna sell it to somebody even worse?"
"Is there even someone worse than Ronan, that you can think of?"
"We'll figure that part out later. Percy you said you know where we can hide it."
He shook his head, "I don't but my family does, I've seen them hide hundreds of dangerous artifacts over the years. If anyone can keep the power stone safe from Ronan and Thanos, it's them. Like I said they could send it back to Destructions void"
"Great so we just get the stone and bring it to them for safe keeping?" Gamora asked, he nodded, "we have to stop Ronan."
"How?" Rocket snapped
"I have a plan," Quill assured.
"You've got a plan?"
"Yes."
"First of all, you're copying me from when I said I had a plan."
Quill shook his head almost like he realized he was arguing with a raccoon. "No, I'm not. People say that all the time. It's not that unique of a thing to say."
Rocket ignored him "Secondly, I don't even believe you have a plan."
"I have part of a plan!"
"What percentage of a plan do you have?"
Gamora shot Drax down, "You don't get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere. Now that none of us are in immediate danger I can say, What the hell were you thinking?"
"I honestly agree with Gamora,"
"I just saved Quill."
"We've already established that you destroying the ship that I'm on is not saving me."
"When did we establish it?"
"Like three seconds ago!" Quill snapped.
"I wasn't listening. I was thinking of something else."
Gamora groaned and turned away briefly, Percy wondered how he went from being the relatively smart idiot to possibly one of the only two sane people in the room. He wondered how his companions just got even weirder. He went from Demigods, Gods, and Satyrs, to a green assassin, an idiot thief from Terra, a gray and red killer, a jacked up Raccoon and a talking tree.
"She's right. You don't get an opinion. What percentage?"
"I don't know. Twelve percent."
Percy's eyes widened, "Twelve percent?" he asked in disbelief.
Rocket burst out laughing, "that's a fake laugh."
"It's real!"
"Totally fake."
"That is the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life - because that is not a plan."
Gamora chimed in slightly disappointed, "It's barely a concept."
"You're taking their side?"
"I am Groot."
"So what, If it's better than 11%? What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
"Thank you, Groot. Thank you." He patted the tree man on the shoulder "See? Groot's the only one of you who has a clue." Percy looked on amused as Groot ate a leaf off his shoulder. Quill saw this as well and shook his head turning away. Quill shook his head and sighed "Guys." His voice was already cracking with emotions, "Come on. Yondu is gonna be here in two seconds. He expects to hear this big plan of ours. I need your help. I look around at us. You know what I see? Losers." Everyone gives him a look, "I mean, like, folks who have lost stuff. And we have. Man, we have. All of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And, usually, life takes more than it gives. But not today. Today, it's given us something. It has given us a chance."
Drax looked up at him "To do what?"
"To give a shit. For once. Not run away. I, for one, am not gonna stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives."
Still looking down, Rocket says "But, Quill, stopping Ronan, it's impossible. You're asking us to die."
Quill's shoulders slumped, "Yeah, I guess I am." He turned away, placing his face in his hands. He was actually realizing the weight of the situation for the first time.
"Quill," Gamora gained his attention. "I have lived most my life surrounded by my enemies. I will be grateful to die among my friends," She said Standing.
Images of Manhattan Flash though Percy's head, Images of The pit, of Beckandorf, Selina, Ethan, Luke, and Leo. He places his feet on the floor, "I'm with you Quill," He turned and looked at Percy, "I would be dishonoring the friends I have lost and the family I left to not fight in their names to not fight for them. I've sacrificed more than half my life, my mental and physical being, my ability to live just to keep Terra safe. Why wouldn't I give my life for the galaxy, huh?" he smiled wryly. The smile highlighted to the others just how young Percy was, he was younger then the rest of them and was never given the chance to just be a kid. Stolen from his life much too early and forced into a never ending battle and still he chose to stand tall and bear the weight again. That's when Quill knew; Percy wasn't the problem, the gods had to have been scared of him. He was a boy much like him but given a much bigger battle and he survived. He was younger then all of them but more scared then most of them as well.
If this young man could bear to look death in the face, why not the rest of them, "You are an honorable man, Quill." Drax stood. "I will fight beside you. And in the end, I will see my wife and daughter again."
"I am Groot."
They all looked to Rocket, "What the hell. I don't got that long a lifespan, anyway." He stood up on the box he was sitting on, "Now I'm standing. Y'all happy? We're all standing up now. Bunch of jackasses, standing in a circle," Percy laughed a bit.
He pulled riptide out of his pocket and uncapped it and looked out at the universe realizing that this was finally the end of the line. Death was finally upon him just like it had been many times before. He could only hope that the pain would be worth it this time. He had sacrificed himself so many times to the gods just for them to be ungrateful and kill him. Only for Terran to be filled with monsters and Vile people who continuously harm their planet. But there were so many innocent people out in the universe who deserved a chance. What was one more tragedy in the blades histroy.
~~~
"The stone reacts to anything organic. The bigger the target, the bigger the power surge," Gamora announced to the assembled ravagers.
"All Ronan's got to do is touch the Stone to the planet's surface and zap. All plants, animals, Nova Corps," Quill continued.
Percy then took the reins, "Everything will die. So Ronan does not make the surface," his voice commanded attention.
"Rocket will lead a team to blow a hole in the Dark Aster's starboard hull. Then, our craft and Yondu's will enter."
"Won't there be hundreds of Sakaaran soldiers inside?" A ravager, Kraglin, asked.
"I think of Sakaarans as paper people," Drax told him. He grinned, punching Drax in the arm only for the man to glare at him and scare him into submission.
"Once they know we're on board, Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on deck. Which I can disable by dismantling the power source," Gamora nodded.
"We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use the Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan." Quill added.
Percy smirked "once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the Stone. Use these devices to contain it," he said, handing spherical devices to the ravagers. "If you touch it, it will kill you," He said with no lack of certainty.
"I'll contact one of the Nova officers who arrested us. Hopefully, they'll believe we're there to help," Quill Announced referring to Dey.
"There's one more thing we need to complete the plan. That guy's eye." The man's eyes widened as he looked down at the raccoon.
Percy grabbed Rocket's snout, "No! No, we don't. No, we don't need that guy's eye," Quill added.
He hit Percy away "No, seriously, I need it! It's important to me."
He said, trying to contain his laughter.
Published: Sep 27, 2021
Updated: May 1, 2023