7 The Search For Gamora: Part 2

Plot: Loki and Nebula discover something disturbing...

Tone: Serious

Warning: This chapter starts with destructive alcohol usage. More details in the note at the end of this chapter. To sum it up, alcohol, or any other type of drug, is NOT a coping mechanism. DO NOT USE IT AS ONE.

Hours later, Loki found himself at a pub, ordering drink after drink to drown out any emotion he may have felt.

"I thought I might find you here…" A voice muttered.

Loki looked to see Nebula sitting down next to him. "Oh… hello Nebula..." Loki looked away, grabbing the glass of wine in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Loki drank the entire glass in one sip, smacking it back down on the table.

Nebula looked away awkwardly. "Look, about what happened-"

"Don't…" Loki's voice cracked. He cleared his throat, looking away as his nails dug into the wooden table. "Just don't… I don't want to talk about it. I don't even really want to think about it."

"And you really think this is going to help?" Nebula grunted, gesturing to the glass of wine.

Loki's eyes widened. "Not really…"

"Then why are you doing it?"

"I don't know..." Loki pushed the glass away, taking his locket in his hands and gazing at the picture. He pressed his hand against his thumping forehead.

"Did you get this from Tony?" Loki's head snapped off the table, his eyes wide. "The drinking habit."

"That's none of your business," Loki growled, snapping his locket shut and pouring another glass of wine. "And it's not a habit."

"Well, it will be if you keep this up." Nebula gestured to the now full glass of wine. Loki rolled his eyes. He reached toward the glass to take another sip only for Nebula to grab it. "Seriously, knock it off."

"Why?" Loki protested, reaching toward the glass. "It's just a little wine, it's not doing anything to me." Loki cringed as his forehead began thumping wildly, like a door slamming repeatedly in his mind. Groaning, he closed his eyes, resting his hand on his forehead.

"Are you sure about that?" Nebula asked, raising an eyebrow. Loki looked away, his fists clenching though he couldn't muster up a good enough reply. Nebula pushed the glass of wine away.

"Come on." She stood up, gesturing at Loki to follow her. "The sooner we get off this planet the better."

"Fine," Loki grunted, pushing himself out of his seat. He left a few slips of money on the counter before following Nebula out of the pub. His steps were awkward and uncoordinated. However, he refused to lean on Nebula, forcing himself to walk as straight as he could.

"I checked the market, they were all out." Loki skidded to a halt at the sound of a familiar voice. Nebula raised an eyebrow.

"I guess we're lucky Rigel was able to get that pile of uraltium, then." Concealing their presence, Loki looked around. Two people were standing in the alleyway, one was a purple-skinned woman and the other was a scaly skinned man. They were the same people from the cafe.

"Yeah," Vega replied, brushing strips of money in her hands. "And if everything is going as planned, we should have enough for the last of the loblium." The woman smirked. Loblium? Uraltium? Why do those sound familiar?

"How?" the scaly man asked, smiling as well.

"I'll tell you when we get to the base." The woman looked around, gazing right at Loki and Nebula without even noticing them. "Someone might hear us over here. Wouldn't want to spoil the plan, would we?"

"Fair enough," the scaly man replied with a shrug. He picked his bag up off the ground and threw it over his shoulder. The woman did the same. "Let's go." Loki stepped to the side as the two aliens dashed out of the alleyway, right past him and Nebula. Revealing their presence, Loki looked at Nebula.

"Uraltium and Loblium?" Loki repeated, his voice breathy.

"Those are the ingredients for… cluster bombs," Nebula explained, her eyes wide.

Loki's heart skipped a beat. "This whole system could be in danger if that's the case…"

"We have to follow them." Nebula dashed after them. Concealing their presence, Loki trailed after her, squinting and resting his hand on his forehead. The world around him was revolving. He struggled to run without falling over or hitting anything. Nebula skidded to a halt. Loki stopped next to her, gripping his pounding heart as he caught his breath.

"What happened?" Loki asked, looking around.

"I lost them…" Nebula grunted, her eyes narrowed. "Are you blind?"

"Dizzy," Loki answered with a shrug. "But, yes, basically the same thing."

Nebula pulled out her tracker, pressing a few buttons. "Hold on…" Loki looked down at the ground, his eyes wide. Quill's headphones and mp3 player laid on the ground, the former split into two pieces.

"Nebula look…" She looked up from her tracker, glancing at the headphones.

"Quill must've dropped them," Nebula murmured, picking them up. Loki took them, making them disappear with a flick of his hands.

"I doubt he would leave them behind on purpose." Anxiety rose within Loki. "He… he might be in trouble…"

Nebula's tracker began blinking. "I'll do a search for him." Nebula pressed a few buttons on the scanner, but it kept blinking at the same rate.

Loki's eyes widened. "He must be near Gamora's group."

"If he's near them he's not safe." Nebula jumped to her feet. "Let's go." She took off again, forcing Loki to dash after her. After a while, Nebula stopped again, this time in front of a large white building with a dome on top.

He squinted at the building. A sign with the words "private property" was plastered over the door. Nebula twisted the doorknob, but it didn't budge.

"Dammit," she muttered, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a gun, pointing it at the lock.

"Wait, stop!" Loki blocked the lock with his arm. Nebula took a step back, lowering her blaster. He gazed at the lock, conjuring up a key that fit the keyhole. Twisting the lock, he pushed the door open.

"Nice," Nebula replied, nodding to Loki as she stepped past him. Loki smiled and followed her inside, concealing their presence.

"Who goes there?!" a voice exclaimed from the warehouse. Loki and Nebula stiffened. An orange-skinned alien dashed toward the open door, pulling it closed.

"Nobody came in," they informed, glancing at the others. Several aliens were all clustered in one area of the building, their eyes wide.

"Was there anyone outside?" A purple alien asked. It was the same woman from the alley.

"I didn't see anyone," the orange alien replied.

"It was probably some kid playing a prank," Gamora replied with a shrug.

"How were they able to unlock the door then?!" The building fell silent. The purple woman pointed at a cluster of aliens. "Go check the perimeter." They nodded, throwing the door open and dashing out. Three of the aliens made their way toward the back of the room, opening another door and going down some stairs. Loki and Nebula trailed after them.

They glanced into the room, skidding to a halt in the middle of the stairs. Huge red bombs filled the room. Three of them covered each wall and they stretched as high as the ceiling. Loki's eyes widened. Definitely cluster bombs. They were clearly incomplete as several of the bombs had holes in them and a few aliens were hammering in new parts to seal them up. Smaller bombs were also scattered across the floor. Loki didn't know what they were but he knew they couldn't be good.

"We have to get off this planet." Loki turned, gripping his pounding heart.

"No." Nebula grabbed Loki's wrist. "They could blow up a whole system with those. The entire galaxy could be in danger. We have to stop them."

Loki let out a sigh, turning back and gazing at the bombs. "Then we'll have to destroy them... without exploding them."

"Hey!" a voice called from upstairs. There was a knock. "Open up!" Loki and Nebula made their way upstairs, gazing at the door.

"Who is it?" Vega asked, resting her ear on the door.

"It's Saiph," a voice called through the metal door. It was another person from the restaurant earlier that day. "You sent me out on that mission?"

"Alright." Vega unlocked the door. "Come in!" The door was pushed open. The blue alien from the restaurant entered the building, dragging something behind them. He kicked it into the building. It was a person, a bag covering their head. Their pale hands were still visible. Loki's eyes widened.

"Good job," Vega replied, stepping closer to the unconscious human. She ripped the bag off, revealing pale skin and short brown hair.

"Quill!" Nebula grabbed Loki before he could lunge forward.

"Loki?!" Quill gasped. Gasps filled the room. Everyone stared at Loki and Nebula with wide eyes. Shit...

"So someone did get in!" Before they could move, several aliens grabbed Loki and Nebula's arms, pinning them to their backs. They held them in place as they struggled.

"What's going on?!" Quill exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He was reaching for his bag, but it was gone.

"Not a bright one, is he?" Vega asked, pulling out a knife. Loki's heart skipped a beat. Vega grabbed Quill, resting the knife on his throat.

"Don't you dare!" Loki snarled, struggling against the aliens' grip.

They growled, pulling him back and making him and Nebula fall to their knees. Loki gazed up at Quill and Vega. The world in front of him still spun like a top and was too fuzzy to focus. He glared hard, trying to summon a dagger. It appeared, falling to the ground with a clank even as he focused all of his energy at it. I shouldn't have drunk all that wine...

"Vega, what are you doing?" Gamora asked, taking a step out of the crowd.

"Getting what we need…" Vega glanced at Loki and Nebula. "You know, you two are actually just the two people I wanted to see." Vega paused to chuckle. "How convenient."

"What do you want with us?" Nebula growled, ceasing her struggle to glare at Vega.

"Your money." Vega shoved Quill into the wall, pressing the tip of her knife closer to his throat. His eyes were wide. "Give us enough, and we'll consider letting Stalker here go free. But if you refuse, well… You know how it goes."

Loki and Nebula met each other's gazes, their eyes wide.

"We can't give them money…" she murmured. "They'll use it to finish those bombs."

"But if we don't…" Loki glanced at Quill, struggling and shaking without a word of protest. He was gazing at Loki, his eyes desperate. Loki's eyes watered.

"Your call," Nebula sighed, her gaze faltering to the ground. Loki bit his lip, shaking as he weighed out the options…

"Let him go," Loki sighed, looking down at the ground. "I'll… I'll give you the money."

Vega smirked. "Excellent." She dropped Quill, letting him fall to the ground as she made her way toward Loki. His hands were freed as the others stepped back. Loki stood up. Avoiding Vega's gaze, he conjured up a stack of blue money, handing it to her. She chuckled darkly.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Vega turned away and stalked toward the door. "Lock them up."

"What?! That wasn't the deal!" Quill exclaimed, struggling against the aliens who grabbed him.

Vega turned around, snorting with laughter. "What, you thought I would just let you go free and report us to the police? How dumb do you think I am?" Two aliens grabbed Loki and Nebula, handcuffing them and dragging them down the stairs. Another alien did the same with Quill.

"Did you actually have a plan?" Quill muttered in Loki's ear.

"Yes, to save you," Loki murmured, through clenched teeth. "You're welcome."

"Oh, so now I have to thank you?! What, do I owe you?" Loki's eyes narrowed. "You know that they're building bombs to blow up this entire system, right?!"

"Yeah, we figured that out," Nebula growled, rolling her eyes. "How did you?"

"It was all they talked about while dragging me here," Quill grunted. "I wasn't unconscious that whole time!" The aliens stopped in front of a cell door, pulling it open and throwing the three Guardians inside. They slammed it in their face, locking it easily.

"What now?" Quill grunted, struggling within the handcuffs.

"We wait til' death."

"Loki, that's not funny," Nebula growled, glaring at him.

"Well I'm not joking!" he snapped, stomping his foot into the ground. The bombs outside vibrated on the ground. He looked away.

"I don't know what to do. All I know was that I couldn't watch another one of my friends die! Not when I could've stopped it!"

Quill's gaze softened. "Oh… Loki…" He stepped closer to him. Loki glared at him, his eyes pouring with tears. "I-I never apologized for earlier… about what I said-"

"It's fine," Loki grunted, clenching his teeth. "It's not like there isn't some truth to that."

"But I still shouldn't have said it, and…" Quill let out a sigh. "You were right… I should've let Gamora go. At least then we wouldn't be in this situation."

"It's nothing we can't get out of," Nebula replied, scooting forward as she struggled in the handcuffs.

"True," Loki replied with a shrug. He pulled against the handcuffs, his eyes wide when he heard a snap. His hands were free…

Quill's eyes widened. "Good god, how often do you get handcuffed drunk?!"

"Well, I admit I've never done the two simultaneously..." The aliens outside glanced at them, their eyes wide.

"Holy crap, should we do something?" one of them exclaimed, glancing at the others with wide eyes. Loki glared at them, his forehead throbbing as he influenced their minds.

"And risk them getting out?" A purple alien scoffed. "No way." Loki and the others let out sighs of relief. He summoned his dagger, slicing it through Nebula and Quill's handcuffs to free them as well.

"Nebula…" The three froze. Gamora was now standing with the others, gazing at her sister through the bars.

"Gamora…" Nebula murmured, grabbing the bars of the cell. "You can't possibly be going along with this…" Gamora looked at them, casting a sympathetic glance at Nebula before turning to the others.

"Vega wanted you to join her," she informed, gesturing down the hall. "I'll keep an eye on the prisoners."

"Really?" the orange alien asked, tilting his head to the side. "She wanted one person to guard them?" Loki glared at the aliens.

"Eh." The grey scaly alien shrugged. "They're in a cell, what are they gonna do?" The aliens walked away, going upstairs, apart from the one orange alien.

"I don't trust this…" The orange alien muttered, folding his arms. "Vega wouldn't be so careless."

"You don't trust her judgement, Rigel?" Gamora asked, raising an eyebrow.

The orange alien took a step closer. "I don't trust you." He threw a punch at her, nearly hitting her before Gamora slipped out of the way. Pulling out a knife, she shoved it into the alien's stomach. His eyes widened. Gamora kicked him over, pulling the bloodied knife out. Blood poured from the man's mouth.

"Traitor," he gasped, struggling on the ground.

Gamora's gaze darkened. "Yes, I am." Lifting her knife, she shoved it into the man's chest, right where his heart was. His eyes glazed and his breathing halted. Putting her knife away, Gamora unlocked and pulled the door open. The three were too stunned to move.

"Well?" Gamora gestured to them. "Aren't you going to help me with these bombs?"

"Y-yes…" It was Loki who spoke. "Thank you."

Quill grunted, "Even though we were already in the process of escaping ourselves."

"You wouldn't have gotten far," Gamora replied, turning and gazing at the bombs. "I'll lock the door to buy us some time." She dashed toward the stairs. Loki gazed at Gamora suspiciously. Why would she do this? Is this a trick of some sort?

"Gamora!" Nebula called, reaching out to her. Gamora stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Why are you doing this?"

"Well, I couldn't let them hurt my sister, could I?" Gamora replied, smiling at Nebula. Loki glanced at the blue cyborg. She looked completely stunned, her eyes wide and jaw dropped. Gamora dashed up the stairs.

"Come on!" Loki called, dashing toward one of the incomplete bombs. "Let's take care of these!" Quill and Nebula ran toward the bombs, tearing them off piece by piece.

"This is gonna take forever," Quill grunted, tossing the metal aside. Loki nodded, grunting as he tore the incomplete bomb open.

"It'll take longer if you complain," Nebula replied, ripping the metal to shreds and throwing it aside.

"Gamora!" a faint voice exclaimed. "Open the door now!" Gamora came dashing down the stairs.

"They're coming," she announced, skidding to a halt in front of Nebula. "We'll have to fight them off."

"While disassembling the bombs?!" Quill exclaimed, kicking a piece of metal aside. "They'll blow us up!"

"Well, what other choice do we have?!" Gamora snapped, her fists clenched. Loki held his hand out toward one of the complete bombs. It blazed like a fire.

"I've got it!" Summoning the casket, Loki took a step back and fired at the bomb, slowly encasing it in ice. The others gazed at the frozen bomb. "It won't destroy them, but it will deactivate them for now."

Gamora glanced at the bomb. "It won't work as a permanent solution." Wood splintered as the door upstairs was broken open. "But I suppose it's our best option." Nebula and Gamora whipped around, pulling out weapons while Loki turned and shot ice at the second bomb. Quill glanced at Loki.

"I need a weapon!" he called, gesturing to him. Loki stopped. Summoning a gun, he tossed it at Quill, which he caught easily in one hand. The door upstairs was kicked down. A cluster of aliens skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, letting out gasps.

"The prisoners have escaped!" one of the exclaimed, pointing at Nebula and Quill.

"Gamora, what are you doing?!"

"Saving my sister," Gamora growled, aiming her gun at her former friends. "You should've thought about that."

"Traitor!" Gunfire filled the room. Quill weaved back and forth through the gunfire, shooting whenever he got the chance. Nebula lunged forward. She sliced her enemies to shreds, spraying blood everywhere. Gamora stabbed her former friends repeatedly, glaring coldly at them even as they demanded why she had betrayed. Loki struggled to focus on freezing all the bombs.

Something sharp plunged into his shoulder. Loki let out a grunt. Turning around, he shot whoever stabbed him with the casket, freezing them instantly. Grabbing his knife, he sliced the frozen form to pieces. His forehead throbbed.

"I'm too drunk for this shit," he grunted, reaching for the casket. The room was full of aliens, some still struggling to get past Quill, Nebula, and Gamora though many dashed toward Loki. He raised the casket, firing ice at them. One of them lunged at him, slamming a sword into his shoulder. Loki shoved the casket into their stomach. The alien let out a yowl. They jerked around as if they were being electrocuted as their skin was tainted dark blue. Grunting, Loki flung them backward. They flopped to the ground like a fish out of water, crying out in pain as their skin burned with blue marks.

"Woah!" Quill gasped, jumping toward Loki. "You're right! That thing is crazy!" The two stood back to back, Quill firing at the aliens as they approached while Loki turned his attention to freezing the bombs. Something shined out of the corner of his eye. One of the aliens was holding a shiny pole, reaching for one of the smaller bombs.

"NO!" Loki lunged at the alien, shooting ice at them. They glanced at him, eyes wide before the ice encased them.

"Don't let them get to the bombs!" Quill called, shooting at another alien who was charging toward them.

"There's too many of them!" Nebula called, stabbing an alien and kicking them over. Several others dashed past her. They were all racing down the stairs, outnumbering the Guardians tremendously. Loki had barely finished freezing one wall of bombs. He looked around, firing the casket at anyone who came within a few feet of the bombs.

"Someone has to get the police!" Quill replied, wrestling with an alien.

"No!" Vega appeared at the top of the stairs, holding up two swords. "No one is leaving this basement!"

Quill jumped to Gamora's side, who immediately stepped away. "Gamora, you know this city the best. Go find the police, we can't handle this on our own." Gamora's eyes narrowed.

"He's right!" Nebula called, slicing an alien's neck and struggling against several others. "We're badly outnumbered! Go get help!" She shoved the aliens away and lunged to stand beside her sister. "I'll help you get past Vega."

"Alright…" Gamora nodded. The two dashed up the stairs toward Vega. She swung her swords at them, forcing them to duck and weave out of the way. Nebula grabbed Vega's arm. She dropped her sword, and before she could move, Gamora rammed her head into her former friend's face. Then she grabbed Vega's sword.

"Out of our way," Gamora growled, pointing the sword at her face. A few aliens dashed up the staircase. Ducking under Vega's arm, Gamora sliced the sword across her skin and leaped behind her up the stairs. Nebula kicked Vega to the ground in front of the others.

"Traitor!" Vega exclaimed, pointing at Gamora. "You were my friend! I trusted you!" Gamora stopped. She glanced at Vega over her shoulder.

"I trusted you," she replied, her eyes cold. "And you messed with my sister." Nebula blinked, gazing at her. Before anyone could say anything, Gamora turned and dashed out of the building. Vega yowled, swinging her sword at Nebula. It slashed across her metallic chest, but Nebula didn't budge. She lunged at Vega.

Quill rushed to Loki's side as the two were backed up against a wall of bombs. Loki aimed the casket at them. Closing his eyes and concentrating hard, Loki fired at everyone in the room. He opened his eyes. Several aliens were now encased in ice though many of them remained largely unfrozen, just with blue burn marks. Loki let out a grunt.

"Hey, it still helped," Quill replied, patting his shoulder. "Keep freezing the bombs." Loki nodded, turning around and beginning the third wall of bombs. Quill pressed his back against Loki's.

Vega shoved Nebula into the wall, shoving her sword into her stomach. Growling, Nebula reached for her. She grabbed Vega's neck, clamping it tight in her hand. Vega's eyes widened. Nebula stood up straight, using both her hands to strangle Vega as she struggled and gagged in pain. Eyes narrowed, Vega kicked against Nebula. The cyborg flinched. Her grip loosened only for a moment but it was just enough for Vega to get back on her feet and kick Nebula to the ground. She struggled to her feet, breathing harshly. Grabbing her knife, Nebula jumped forward and thrust her knife into Vega's chest. Her eyes widened. Nebula grabbed her by the neck, throwing her down the stairs.

"Police! Police!" a voice upstairs called. Footsteps echoed down the stairs as several figures all wearing identical uniforms rushed into the basement. "Hands in the air!"

Loki froze, flicking away the casket. Quill went to stand beside him as the two raised their hands into the air. Nebula did the same. The aliens all froze as well, backing into a corner shivering like frightened children.

Gamora emerged from the crowd of police. "They made the bombs," she informed, pointing at the cluster of aliens. "The other three are with me." The police closed in on the aliens, giving them nowhere to run as they took their weapons away and began handcuffing them.

"Why are the bombs all frozen?" an officer asked, pointing at them.

"I did that," Loki answered, raising his hand. "So they wouldn't explode."

"You did what you could," the officer replied, dipping her head. "Thank you, but we can take it from here." Loki nodded in return, gripping his pounding heart.

There was a slash. Everyone turned around. Vega was in the corner of the room, gripping her bleeding wounds and smirking. A small red bomb rolled toward them, its fuse lit.

"NO!" Quill lunged at the bomb, wrapping himself around it.

"QUILL DON-" The bomb went off, throwing everyone into the air. The ceiling blasted away, throwing pieces of rubble everywhere and revealing the sky. Loki landed against the wall with a grunt.

"Quill?!" Loki looked around wildly, gripping his pounding heart as he searched for Quill. His heart skipped a beat. "Oh my god!" Loki rushed toward Quill. He laid on the ground, his skin red and black from the cinch marks. "QUILL!"

"Quill!" Nebula and Gamora dashed behind him.

"QUILL, WAKE UP!" Loki's eyes welled with tears as he took Quill in his shaking arms. "I can't lose you too, please!"

"Dude…" Quill's eyes strained open, and a cheeky smile formed on his lips. "I'm fine." Loki caught his breath, heaving a huge sigh of relief as tears fell down his cheeks.

"He won't be for long," Gamora replied, standing up. "We have to get him to the hospital."

"Did anyone else survive that?" Nebula asked, looking around.

"We did!" A shaking hand raised from the ground. One of the officers from earlier struggled to their feet, helping their fellow officers stand.

"Backup, we need backup," One of them murmured into their headpiece. "Bomb went off at the warehouse. Many dead, several injured."

"Please believe that it was not our intention to trap you there," Loki replied, scooping Quill into his arms as he gazed at the police officers.

"We believe you," one of the officers replied.

"Alright," The officer put their headpiece aside. "Reinforcements are on the way. They'll get your friend to the hospital." They gestured to Quill.

Loki was sitting in a chair in the hospital, reading the report of the 'Explosion at the Warehouse.' It explained that many people, including Vega, had died in the explosion but the ones that had survived had been taken into custody and the bombs were properly disposed of. Meanwhile, Loki, Gamora, Quill, and Nebula had been taken to the hospital. They hadn't had to pay any sort of fee, in fact, they were given money as a reward for their heroism. It was quite nice to be praised in this way. Is this how Thor felt? Loki clenched his jaw, casting a glance at Quill, who laid nearby in the hospital bed. Patches of his skin were red and swollen.

"Quill…" The man responded by opening his eyes. "Never scare me like that again," Loki growled, glaring at his friend.

"Look, I'm sorry," Quill sighed, grunting as he sat up. "There was no time to defuse the bomb and I didn't know if you guys could survive that explosion."

"How did you know you could?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm half celestial. You know what that is right?"

"Yes, Mantis was raised by one."

Quill nodded. "Yeah, that was my dad, Ego." Loki smiled as he remembered Quill's prior description of his father, as an 'evil all-powerful planet God that tried to destroy the world.' It all made sense now…

"Well, anyways… Gamora, Rocket, Drax, and I once held the Power stone for quite a while. So I figured I'd be fine…" He grunted again. "Didn't think I'd end up hospitalized… But I'll be fine."

"You'd better be," Loki replied, smiling playfully.

Quill snorted with laughter. "Yeah…" He glanced at Loki, his gaze was suddenly serious. "Hey… Loki. Can you do me a favour?"

"What is it?" Loki asked, standing up.

"Can you, um…" Quill looked away. "Ask Gamora to come in here… I uh… wanted to talk to her."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Okay…" He turned and made his way out of the hospital room, toward Nebula and Gamora's room right across the hall.

"Hello…" Loki knocked on the door.

The door opened, revealing Nebula. "Loki, what do you want?"

"Is Gamora with you? Quill wanted to talk to her."

"What does he want?" Gamora asked, appearing behind Nebula.

"He didn't say…" Loki answered, taking a step back. "Just that he wanted to talk to you."

Gamora let out a sigh. "Okay…" She closed the door behind her, strutting toward Quill's room. Loki stood just outside.

"Gamora…" Quill sighed, unable to meet her gaze.

"Don't ask me to join your stupid group," Gamora growled, folding her arms.

"I wasn't going to say that. What I wanted to say was…" Quill paused to sigh. "I'm sorry. I… I should've cared more about what you wanted. You're not the Gamora I knew. You may act the same and look the same but you don't have her memories." Gamora raised an eyebrow. "So… I'm sorry for giving you so much trouble. I'll leave you alone."

"Actually…" Gamora's gaze softened slightly. "I do want to get off this planet. Can I hitch a ride with you guys?"

Quill blinked, his eyes widening. "Oh… sure."

"Well… see you later." Gamora turned and left. Loki stepped inside, unsurprised to see Quill smiling like a lovesick fool.

"Don't do anything weird," Loki replied, his gaze stern even as he smiled.

"I wasn't going to!" Quill exclaimed, folding his arms.

Loki chuckled, sitting back down in his seat. "Hey… about leaving the planet… Are you sure you'll be in good enough shape tomorrow?"

"Probably not," Quill grunted, gazing at his uncovered skin. "But I really want to get back to the others. We've already been here for a few days."

"They'll be suspicious either way when we return with Gamora," Loki replied, standing up. "Take your time and get better. We'll wait as long as you need."

Quill let out a sigh, though he smiled. "Okay."

It was several days later when Quill was finally able to walk again, though he still limped slightly and allowed Loki to drive the ship back home, following the Benatar's tracker they had taken with them. Once they landed back on the ship, they couldn't even step out of the pod without being greeted by the other Guardians.

"Where the hell were you guys?!" Rocket exclaimed, throwing his arms out. "What kind of supply run takes a week?"

"A fake one," Nebula replied, stepping out of the way to reveal Gamora. The other Guardians' eyes widened.

"I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed, stepping closer to Gamora. She flicked her hand to dismiss him.

"You went looking for Gamora without the rest of us?" Drax asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Without even telling us?!" Rocket added, his teeth bared in a snarl.

"Well… not all of us…" Mantis murmured, her gaze fixed on the ground.

"You told her?!" Quill snapped, glaring at Loki.

"You didn't tell us?!" Rocket exclaimed at the same time as Quill. "Why?! We wanted to find her, too!" Loki and Nebula turned to Quill, waiting for him to speak.

Quill let out a sigh. "I didn't know you did. Okay? I'm sorry. Look, it doesn't matter. She's here now and doesn't remember us." He walked past the others, still limping.

"You're hurt!" Mantis exclaimed, her eyes wide. Quill glanced at her. "What did you do?!" Quill didn't answer.

"I can tell you all about it," Loki replied, stepping to her side and gesturing to her. The two walked through the hall side by side as the other Guardians greeted Gamora.

"Welcome aboard, a-hole," Rocket greeted with a wave.

"I am Groot," Groot replied, smiling as he looked at Gamora.

"Welcome… again…" Drax added.

"Thanks," Gamora muttered, looking away awkwardly. She stayed by her sister's side as the two walked away from the crowd.

(Important note: I don't normally do this but I feel like I should discuss something in regards to this chapter: the alcohol usage. First of all, I do not condone underage drinking, please abide by the alcohol rules of whatever country you live in. Loki is old enough to drink, basically everywhere but Asgard. However, I do not condone what he does here. Alcohol or drug usage is NOT a coping mechanism, and should never be treated as such. Loki may not be addicted to alcohol, but he still turned to it in order to numb his emotional pain which is destructive and borderline self-harm! Why am I specifically calling out this moment and not other moments where he drinks? (ex: Limits of Mischief, and later in this story) Because honestly, casual drinking is just something adults do. I can't really be mad at people for that as long as they're old enough and are taking the proper precautions. The moment in this chapter is not taking those precautions, it's destructive behaviour, and if Nebula hadn't come in and stopped him, Loki could have developed an addiction or had an overdose. If you or anyone you know are struggling with an addiction, please seek rehab or call for help.)