Chapter 6: Here Without You

The group of 8 that came out of the wormhole surprised all the others for a moment but went they noticed that 7 of them were members of the Nova Corps, they all relaxed.

'So all 3 powers hunting for these guys have gathered,' was pretty much the shared thought.

Virgil did not care for any of the others though. With his targets in his sight, he began to fly toward the ship that Star-Lord and the others were on. But as he approached the ship, there was a flash of light before a large part of Virgil's clothes were burned.

Virgil turned around and saw that it was one of the unaffiliated vessels that had opened fire at him.

Several lances made of energy appeared around Virgil. These were constructed instantly by using chakra's nature transformation to create fire and electricity's raw energy forms before constantly compressing them into such shapes. And due to their unique origin and not being true fire or lightning, both were able to remain in the void of space without dispersing.

Virgil launched one of these lances with a thought. The speed of the lance was so fast that the vessel had no chance to avoid it or put additional power into their shields.

The elemental weapon went straight through the bridge of the ship before passing through a few more walls and layers before it reached the center of the ship before it detonated. The blast was so large and sudden that it burned and destroyed the ship in the initial blast, not even giving a chance for any of the systems or munitions on the ship to explode as well.

Seeing the ship was destroyed in an instant without being able to offer a defense, the other hunters that also wanted to interfere stopped in their tracks. They had just witnessed a person take an attack from one of the cannons on an Alset-96 before destroying it in a single move.

Virgil not only did that in a moment but he also had 8 other lances around his body that were each ready to be fired at the next ship that made a foolish move.

Seeing no one else had dared to attack him, Virgil swiftly flew toward the cargo ship in the middle of all the others. Even an idiot could tell that the 5 fugitives were aboard. He flew towards the rear of the ship before he tore a hole in it and forced his way inside.

Right after Virgil landed his feet in the ship, he was greeted with a blade that was covered in energy on his neck. The sword was held by a beautiful woman with green skin and white markings around her eyes.

'Gamora. She attack the moment I landed. Smart of her. But also very dumb.'

Virgil ignored the blade and looked at the woman in front of him for a moment. He then delivered a swift punch to her gut and sent the woman flying across the cargo bay and into the wall.

Once he made sure that she was taken care of, Virgil was going to continue through the ship but the other prey he was looking for had appeared before him. Both Star-Lord and Rocket were armed with blasters while Drax had a pair of knives. Groot was the only one unarmed.

"Surrender now and I won't have to hurt you as I did to her," Virgil stated emotionlessly to the group. They were nothing more than targets in his eyes.

"I am Groot," Groot said.

"I plan to bring you before the Nova Corps to pay for your crime and bring the item to the Kree. That way I can collect two bounties at once."

"Ha. So that means you can't kill us. If all 4 of us take him on together, we can kill this guy with no trouble," Star-Lord said to the others.

And they truly had no other choice. Each of them was a mercenary and criminal before. They were used to beatings and bruises. If their life was guaranteed, these guys were not willing to go down without a fight. So they all attacked.

And they were all defeated in moments.

Virgil was not a Superhuman or Urban Tier level being like the 5 fugitives. Even just using the passive strength his nanites had granted them after years of rebuilding and sculpting his body to perfection, Virgil was at the very least a Planet Tier being that the 4 in front of him had no hopes of matching.

After taking care of the 4 effortlessly, Virgil searched Star-Lord's boy until he found the item matching the description given to him by the Kree and Ravagers. A small metallic safe in the shape of an orb.

With everything settled, Virgil put the guardians in a bubble of air before flying out of the ship and toward the Nova Corps members.

"Here are your fugitives. All of them have been captured alive and are ready for you to imprison them at any time," Virgil said.

The Centurion ordered the others to check the physical condition of the group. Even if he believed in Virgil, he had to put on the act in front of the other hunters and powers to demonstrate the authority of the Nova Corps.

Virgil also knew this and did not care. Once the other Novas confirmed that all 5 were alive and in stable conditions, only then did the Centurion pass a chip to Virgil.

"This can be taken back to any Hunters Guild location. It is the symbol of a Centurion of the Nova Corps and should carry enough authority to get your claim in these bounties. If that does not work, you can come to Xandar to personally collect your reward," Centurion Zeonad said.

Virgil took the chip and nodded. The Novas surrounded the fugitives in a barrier of their unique energy before flying toward the auction house where they would rest and wait for a transport ship to come so that they could safely bring the fugitives back to Xandar to stand trial for their crimes.

Virgil then flew over toward the Kree warship that had 17 markings on it. This signified that the person on the ship had the authority of what was equivalent to a general. This was a ship of an Accuser. Each of the Kree was tense when they saw Virgil approaching them.

Virgil flew in front of the bridge before taking out the item that the Kree had wanted back. When they saw that Virgil was attempting to return the item, they had all relaxed.

Virgil then flew around the side of the craft until he reached an entrance port on the side that was opened up for him. Once Virgil made it inside, he was greeted with several figures. Each of them was armed but had their weapons holstered. They knew that they could not stop Virgil from doing anything but still wanted to show Virgil they were no pushovers.

The most impressive of the group was a large Kree male that stood almost 3 meters tall. He wore standard accuser armor and had a large war hammer slung on his back.

"Greetings, Sage the Hunter. I am Ronan the Accuser. I believe that you have an item that belongs to our empire," the large Kree known as Ronan said.

Virgil did not say anything in response. He pulled out the orb and passed it over to Ronan without saying anything unnecessary. Unlike most who would be offended by someone so quiet, Ronan was actually pleased to meet a person that was so direct.

In return for the orb, Virgil had been given a chip of a different design than the one the Centurion had given him but also one that pretty much had the same function. It was the symbol of an Accuser and would allow Virgil to collect his bounty in most Hunters Guild without much trouble.

Virgil left the ship and opened up a wormhole in space once he was clear of the others. With everything in order, Virgil was about to head to the nearest system to collect both of his bounites when the alarm he had set months ago went off.

Hearing the song that played, Virgil's eyes sunk as the inner darkness and depression he had been suppressing had resurfaced.

A hundred days have made me older

Since the last time that I saw your pretty face

A thousand lies have made me colder

And I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles that separate

Disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you, baby

But you're still on my lonely mind

I think about you, baby

And I dream about you all the time

Hearing the familiar lyrics, Virgil laughed despite his heart breaking with every word. Every word in the lyrics was true and how he felt about her. And now, it was time to visit her once more.

Virgil changed to wormholes destination from Pertaliut-6 to the Sol System. Virgil flew through and hovered above the familiar blue planet. With a sad smile on his face, Virgil greeted the planet that held his heart in its core.

"Your beauty captured the eyes of my darling, Neptune. Thank you for also being the place where I was able to bury her."

Before Virgil could move closer to the planet, 3 figures of various sizes appeared from within the atmosphere and surrounded Virgil. Each one of them greeted Virgil respectfully.

"Greetings, Sage!"

When Virgil looked at each of them, they all had Rinnegan similar to him in their eyes. But unlike his with the 6 tomoe, they all only had the ripples inside of them. These 3 were stationed here to guard the planet and protect her grave.

Flying through the atmosphere, Virgil could feel the chill and increase in gravity on his body as he made his way closer and closer to the core. By the time he had reached it, all of his clothes were destroyed due to not being able to take the temperature around him.

Virgil had all of his nanites heat him up as much as they could so that he could resist the effects of the cold but even he had to admit that his body was a bit chilly.

He walked across the core until he finally reach the area he was looking for. Once inside, the temperature stabilized and was no longer as cold.

Inside of a case of clear, perfectly cut ice was a woman whose beauty could topple empires. She was dressed in the white wedding dress that she had picked out days prior to her death. The most astonishing thing was the small, lazy smile on her face. Most would think that this woman was simply sleeping or pretending to do so if she was anywhere else.

When Virgil saw the smile on her face, so many thoughts ran through his mind. All the times they had fought. All the times they had laughed. All the times they had loved. From their first meeting to their last goodbye.

"You don't look so tough. I'm sure we can take him down in a single moment," were the first words Cleo said to him

"Why do you have to be the bad guy? Ever thought of helping change things from this side?" was the first time she had shown concern for him

"Sorry. I'm only interested in guys that smile. So you have to give me your best smile if you want to date me," was how Cleo had rejected him before deciding to ask him out herself once he gave her a genuine and sweet smile

"Virgil, I've decided. We have been dating for 3 years now. We are engaged and getting married next year," was how the girl proposed when the pair were laying in bed and watching a movie together

All those memories and more. It all came rushing through Virgil and escaped his body in the form of a single tear.

"Hello, darling. It's been a while," Virgil said trying his best not to let all the emotions erupt.

He tried to turn away from her face because he did not want her to see him like this but ended up looking at the tombstone he had made for her.

[

Soon to be wife

Soon to be mother

Has always had the warmest heart that could melt any ice

Has always had the brightest smile that can shine through any darkness.

]