Guardians Of The Galaxy

P1 : C17

"Vele?" Someone touched my arm and I jumped to my feet.

"Hey, what's gotten you all jumpy?" Rocket asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Nothing, I-um, need a moment..." I backed away from them and turned, heading back for the lake where I could breathe.

No one followed me, at least from what I knew no one did. Everything was quiet and open. From where I sat, leaning back against the darkened trunk of a tall tree, the water looked serene and gentle.

You think hiding from them will do you justice, child? Hiding does nothing for you, you don't benefit from any angle of this.

Get out of my head! Leave me alone! My head pounded, my eyes blurred.

I can't. I'm permanently bonded to your mind as you are to mine. I cannot just "leave" you alone, Vele. That isn't how this works.

Then how does this work? Why do you continue to provoke such agony upon me?

Well isn't it obvious? I am ensuring that you are distracted, that your focus is elsewhere. Though it is rather unlike a 'villain' to reveal their methods I will make an exception with you, since you are of course not that far off from joining me.

Joining you? I would never join you, Thanos. You cannot just expect me to willing hand myself over to you so I can be one of your many other child soldiers.

Who said anything about you being willing? I knew very well that you would reject joining me, so I am making it much simpler, Vele. You have no choice. You will be mine. You will join me. You cannot escape, for I see all.

His voice echoed in my ear, my head throbbed like never before. I felt like screaming, like throwing caution to the wind and just letting it all go. My fingers had dug into the ground, my nails now caked in dirt and grass. I lifted my hands, they were stiff and heavy, and I noticed red on my palms. Turning them over I saw they were bleeding. But red blood? It was the way I appeared then. Red was just a way form me to blend it nearly completely. It helped in hiding. But staring at it now was terrifying. My hands started to shake, no my entire body did.

Afraid of being alone, I made my way back to the others, my hands holding stiff and steady at my sides.

"Hey Vele's back-" Rocket started. Peter, Gamora, Drax and Groot stood quickly.

"What happened?" Peter's blue eyes were wide, full anxiety and more concern than I would prefer to see on him.

"I...I-I...um..." I do not why but I could not for anything to say. There was nothing that would come out of my mouth, nothing would leap from my tongue to their ears.

"Your hands..." Peter came over to me and gently lifted my hands so he could see. "Vele what happened? What's wrong? You have to tell me this time you can't say you're fine here because you are clearly not."

"Thanos...he wants...I cannot get away. He knows where I am, he will force me to join him." I looked up desperately into Peter's eyes. "Please, you must help me. I cannot face him alone, I cannot go with him." I turned to the others, "You are the only family I truly have left in the universe. Please. Help me."

Gamora walked over and unexpectedly pulled me from Peter and into her arms, hugging me so tight I could not breathe. "You are not alone, Vele. I see the pain in your eyes and I know Thanos is toying with you. My father is vain, a horrible creature bent on taking control over every living breathing thing in this universe. But I will not let him take you. I will not let him touch you. I will not let him take away the only family that has ever mattered to me." She stepped back, looking me straight in the eyes. "We are family. We are sisters. Biological or not we have to stick together in this time and fight because we know it's the only thing we can do to prove we're not puppets. Thanos is strong, Vele, but you are stronger. That man who calls himself your father is the dirt beneath our feet. I will help you break this chain he has you clamped to, we all will. I am not letting my sister fall under the weight of Thanos's illusion of power."