S P A C E
Mantis has taken care of Aurora's wounds while Rocket provided her with backup equipment since hers was now useless and damaged trash. Aurora barely notices the moving figures around her as she only feels a hollow void inside her. Not even tears coat her cheeks anymore and the auburn-haired girl feels drained and empty, almost dead. The whole tragedy keeps flashing through her mind, over and over again and every time, it weakens her heart more and more. Her face is pale and her stomach twists when she thinks of how cruelly Loki died. How she couldn't help him.
"Hey..." Peter slowly approaches her again after having talked with Gamora. It's about time they handle the stranger. Sitting down next to her, he places his arm around his sister, pulling her against his chest one more time, to reassure her, or maybe himself, that she's safe now.
Aurora stays silent, still staring at the ground with a blank expression as if a ghost was sitting next to him. Yet, she leans into his chest and searches for the familiar sensation to fill the hole in her heart although Aurora is certain that there's always gonna be a void left.
"I love him... I'll always love him. I don't even know why I love him. He was such an ass when we first met. He lied to me, hid things from me. He didn't even trust me enough to tell me about his deal with Thanos. He never felt guilty when killing someone. He was so troubling sometimes, he could be so cruel, Peter. But... despite all his flaws, I still love him. He's never been cruel to me. He... he showed me a side that nobody else has seen. A side that was meant for me. And I guess... I just love who he was. With all of his flaws and facades."
"I know." Peter nods understanding against her head and the tears almost rise again when she thinks of everything they've been through.
"I can't even bury him, Peter. I can't say goodbye." She buries her head deeper into her brother's chest and her blue eyes burn, but they're too dry to produce any tears.
"We will fight Thanos, alright? We won't rest until there's justice for Loki, for everyone." Peter presses a comforting kiss on Aurora's forehead before he pulls back to look at her. "Can you focus? Can you stand up again?"
"Yes." She nods and swallows lightly, pulling herself together. Loki died, his death shouldn't be in vain. The fate of the universe is at stake. Besides, she's not the only one with this loss. She can grieve later when the time is not limited.
"Okay, good. We'll do this together, okay? First, tell us who that guy is." Peter points at the unconscious God of Thunder on the table, glancing back at her. He doesn't want Aurora to revive the whole trauma, so he plans to ask Thor. "We could need every information about Thanos. And to in order to get them, I first need to know if we can trust this guy over there."
Aurora nods weakly, looking over to the blonde muscular man. "That's Thor, Loki's brother and... King of Asgard. I trust him. He- he saved me back in there."
"We're gonna wake him up, okay?" Peter helps her up, so Aurora can sit down on a chair close to the table. It bothers her that Quill treats her like a fragile girl but it's not exactly wrong. The wounds are too fresh and she has no strength left to protest, so she swallows his gentle and cautious treatment. Sitting down, her eyes are attached to Thor. He has lost so much within such a short time. His father, his sister, his home, half of his people, his best friend and his brother. There's not much he can lose any more.
"So, guys, this dude is Loki's brother, Thor." Peter informs the others who are still staring at the God.
"He's not a dude. You're a dude. This? This is a man. A handsome, muscular man." Drax clarifies, mesmerized by Thor Odinson and the other Guardians seem to react in a similar way but Peter himself.
"I'm muscular." He defends himself and Rocket scoffs at this absurd statement.
"Who are you kidding, Quill? You're one sandwich away from fat."
"Yeah, right." Peter scrunches up his face in disbelief, scoffing and Drax agrees matter-of-factly.
"It's true, you have gained a little weight." He points towards the chin and stomach area, hinting that the growing amount there is visible. Peter's confidence crumbles now and he turns to Aurora, doubts written on his face.
"Is it true, Aurora?? You can be honest. Do you think I'm– " Peter neither gets to finish his sentence nor to receive an answer because Mantis cuts him off as she feels Thor's state.
"He is anxious. Angry. He feels tremendous loss and guilt." She shudders slightly, the pain almost overwhelming her.
"It's like a pirate had a baby with an angel." Drax comments with admiration and looks at Aurora. "Why didn't you date him instead?"
Rocket rolls his eyes at him and Gamora smacks Drax's head for the unnecessary question since the topic is still sensitive. Aurora only half glares at Drax in silence. She knows that she would have spared herself a lot of trouble if she had fallen in love with Thor but she just couldn't even picture that. It's Loki. It's always been Loki.
"Wow, this is a real wake-up call for me." Peter realizes, unaware of Drax's comment due to his insecurity. "Okay, I'm going to get a Bowflex. I'm going to commit, I'm going to get some dumbbells."
"You know you can't eat dumbbells, right?" Rocket raises a brow in the air while Gamora bows down, her hand roaming over Thor's arm.
"It's like his muscles are made of Cotati metal fibers..."
"Stop massaging his muscles." Peter's voice is tense and laced with jealousy, his stare serious and strict. Gamora drops Thor's arm with a huff and remains silent. Nodding at Mantis, he gives the command. "Wake him up."
She places her hand on Thor's forehead. "Wake."
The God of Thunder gasps violently and awakes, standing up and reacting alarmed, almost panicked. The Guardians pull out their weapons, prepared to attack if necessary while Aurora only stands up carefully. Thor's heart races with anger and pain and utter confusion, his blue eyes staring at his saviors.
"Who the hell are you guys?" He asks them before a familiar voice breaks his puzzled state.
"Thor..." Aurora mumbles with a heavy tone and the blonde man turns in her direction, relief written over his face that she's alive and there's someone he knows. Yet, she doesn't know what to say and just walks towards him. Placing her arms around his broad and muscular waist, Aurora pulls him into a hug, knowing that he needs it after everything they've been through. While the others stay silent, Thor first remains stiff and a bit overstrained with the gesture until he returns it like a broken man. Words cannot express their feelings about the cruel event and they just show it with actions.
I'm sorry.
***
After a lot of explanations and a long talk, the situation has become less hostile and more hospitable. Thor has gotten a blanket and even a bowl of soup to recover and rest for a while as he has been telling the Guardians of the Galaxy about Thanos' dreadful mission. Aurora has been sitting by his side the whole time to support him. They are the only ones in the whole universe who cared about Loki, both understand each other's pain.
"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal: To bring balance to the Universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre." Gamora's glance is severe, her words are heavy and mark the burden of her traumatic past.
"Including my own." Drax adds in an uncharacteristically vulnerable voice.
"If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, like this." She demonstrates the snap and Aurora frowns. If he was that known, why didn't people like the Nova Corps stop him?
"You seem to know a great deal about Thanos." Thor notices with a suspicious tone and Gamora's face falters.
Drax explains bluntly, "Gamora... is the daughter of Thanos."
The God of Thunder's voice rises, sounding almost threatening. "Your father killed my brother."
He stands up and walks straight towards her without hesitation, Drax and Peter mentally prepare themselves to defend her although they are aware what she is capable of. While Aurora stays on the chair, knowing Thor's big heart well enough, her brother resolves the problem before it arises. "Oh, boy. Stepfather. Technically, she hates him as much as you do."
Thor takes a deep breath, his hand is now placed on Gamora's shoulder as a sympathetic gesture, something Peter isn't fond of at all. Jealousy is written all over his face as Thor expresses his sympathy. "Families can be tough. Look. Before my father died, he told me I had a half-sister that he imprisoned in Hel. Then she returned home, and stabbed me in the eye, so I had to kill her. It's life, isn't it, I guess. Goes round and round and... I feel your pain."
"Hela was a real bitch. Can't believe I fought her like ten hours ago." Aurora mutters and only Rocket hears her comment which makes him smirk.
"I feel your pain as well. I mean it's not a competition, but I've been through a lot. My father killed my mother, then I had to kill my father. And that was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister, sorry Aurora." Peter glances at her and she just shrugs it off while Rocket rolls his eyes. "Plus, I came out of it with both of my eyes."
Yet, Thor hasn't listened to a single word and stares at the spoon in his hand. A weapon, that is what he is in need of now. A weapon to kill Thanos. "I need a hammer, not a spoon."
"What? Mjölnir is destroyed. Where do you want to get a new hammer?" Aurora lifts a brow as the blond God walks to the panel, attempting to fiddle with the machinery.
"Got a plan." He briefly pays attention to her question. "How do I open this thing? Is there some sort of a four-digit code maybe? Maybe a birth date or something..."
"Eh, what are you doing?" Rocket asks, not really fond of whatever Thor is trying.
"Taking your pod. Aurora, can you help me?" Thor asks her with a soft tone and she nods, getting up. She would do anything to help him avenging Loki.
"No, you're not!" Peter's suddenly deep voice echoes through the ship and for some reasons, he uses an accent now. Aurora frowns at his oddly dominant tone, her hands sinking from the panel to stare at her brother. "You'll not be taking our pod today, sir."
"Uh, Quill, are you making your voice deeper?" Rocket scrunches up his face in confusion.
"No." He answers quickly but Drax contradicts Peter's word.
"You are. You're imitating the God-man. It's weird."
"No, I'm not." Peter repeats his statement but Mantis points accusingly at him, gasping in shock.
"He just did it again!"
"Puberty hit him really late, apparently." Aurora apologizes for her brother's behavior to Thor.
"This is my voice!" Quill claims and Thor's patience is at the end of his tether. The muscular God of Thunder steps towards Peter, his strong movement making the deck tremble until they're face to face.
"Are you mocking me?" Thor asks in an intimidating tone, something that Aurora hasn't heard a lot of times throughout their friendship.
"Are you mocking me?" Peter remains calm and confident, annoying the God of Thunder.
"Stop it, you just did it again."
"He's trying to copy me." Before their bickering can start and heat up to a fight due to Peter's arrogance, Aurora smacks Peter's head from behind to end the immature argument and Gamora's yell quietens them. "Ow! Aurora!"
"Enough!" The green woman glares at the two boys, shooting Aurora a grateful look for intervening and stopping Peter's idiotic acting. "We need to stop Thanos. Which means we need to find out where he's going next."
"Knowhere." Thor immediately informs them and Aurora raises a brow in the air. How can he know that?
"He must be going somewhere." Mantis interjects confused and Peter clarifies the location.
"No. Knowhere? It's a place. We've been there. It sucks." Peter catches how Thor goes to their fridge and grabs their provisions. "Excuse me, that's our food."
"Not anymore." Thor pipes up carelessly and he hands Aurora a bag. She actually isn't hungry at all, but she appreciates his gesture and just takes it.
"Thor... Why would he go to Knowhere?" Gamora sighs and Thor shrugs.
"Because for years, the Reality Stone has been safely stored there with a man we call the Collector." The revealed information makes Aurora scoff and Thor shoots her a questioning look.
"Thor, the Collector is just like the Grandmaster, they both just do what benefits them. I can't believe he has an Infinity Stone, oh God." A hand runs down her face and Peter agrees.
"If it's with the Collector, then it's not safe. Only an idiot would give that man a stone."
"Or a Genius." Thor shrugs, eyeing the food.
This still doesn't convince her. "How do you know he's not going for one of the other stones?"
"There's six stones out there. Thanos already has the Power Stone because he stole it last week, when he decimated Xandar. He stole the Space Stone from me when he destroyed my ship and slaughtered half my people. The Time and Mind Stones are safe on Earth. They're with the Avengers." He simply reasons and Aurora's heart drops to her toes. Xandar got attacked? What about Denarian Dey? The children Loki and she saved years ago?
Peter narrows his eyes, "The Avengers?"
"They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes."
"Like Kevin Bacon?" Mantis questions and he shrugs.
"He may be on the team. I don't know. Haven't been there in a while. As for the Soul Stone, no one's ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can't get it. Therefore, he's going to Knowhere. Hence, he'll be getting the Reality Stone. You're welcome." He sounds almost proud of his conclusion, packing his new gained belongings.
"Then we have to go to Knowhere now." Gamora decides but Thor disagrees. There's just one place he needs to go to now for Thanos' end.
"Wrong. Where we have to go is Nidavellir."
A/N- I arrived safely in America and I'm doing fairly well :)
I decided to post once a week sometimes and will soon start to update twice a week most of the times.