I waited near the prison satellite, collecting asteroids and keeping an eye on the place. Since in the original story, things went down during meal times, I figured it'd be the same here. Killing time, I waited until lunch hour hit on Xandar, and sure enough, the prison erupted into chaos.
Bang! Pow!
'Finally, they're breaking out.'
I pulled the Milano out of my inventory and hovered near the prison. Probably due to the commotion inside, no one stopped me as I approached. After a while, I saw the Guardians of the Galaxy members waving from the prisoner belongings storage area, so I flew over, docked the Milano, and opened the door for them.
I helped each Guardian board the Milano and brought them onto the ship one by one.
"Wow, friend, perfect timing!"
"I saw you getting arrested."
"Let's get out of here first."
"Right."
I piloted the ship and hid the Milano among the asteroids. Even though I knew, since it was our first meeting, I asked Quill about the Guardians.
"Who are these people?"
"Ah, I didn't introduce them. This is Gamora, Groot, Drax, and Rocket. And this handsome young man is... what was your name again?"
Come to think of it, I hadn't told Quill my name.
"I'm Cassian. Nice to meet you."
We exchanged brief greetings and had a meal. I had bought food in advance, so there was plenty. While eating, I asked about their plans.
"So, what's the plan from here?"
"Gamora says she knows a buyer on Knowhere. We're thinking of selling the Orb there. The math gets a bit complicated, but with a whopping 4 billion units, even if we split it, we'll each get a hefty share."
I pretended to be impressed.
"Whoa... 4 billion? That's incredible!"
"Haha! Right? Let's head to Knowhere."
So, we set off for Knowhere. On the way, I struggled to resist petting Rocket. Since Rocket's a feisty raccoon, he wouldn't just sit still if I tried, so I held back. I had a reason for going to Knowhere—I was curious how The Collector would react when he found out the Orb didn't contain an Infinity Stone, and I wanted to see how things would diverge from the original story.
'Well, if he buys it anyway, I'll get some money, which is good.'
But Gamora kept staring at me intently. I wondered why she was looking so hard.
"Strange... I feel like I've seen you before. Have we met?"
I thought she might have seen footage of the Avengers' fight when she was with Thanos. I played dumb. Knowing could complicate things.
"Whoa, is this how you flirt with guys? I'm pretty sure I've never seen you before."
"No, that's not it..."
Suddenly, Quill stepped between us and spoke up.
"We're at Knowhere now."
This guy Quill, he definitely intervened on purpose. He must really like Gamora.
"I'm sure I've seen you somewhere... Maybe I'm mistaken."
Luckily, Gamora pondered for a moment and let it slide.
Arriving at Knowhere, we landed the ship and followed Gamora's guidance. After a while, she led us to a large casino, so Quill asked her.
"Your buyer is in there?"
"No, if we wait here, his servant will come."
Just then, we saw a drunk being roughly thrown out of the casino. Drax frowned and said to us.
"Doesn't seem like a great place."
We went into the casino, found seats, and ordered drinks. Bored of waiting, Rocket, Groot, and Drax decided to enjoy betting on alien rodent fights, and since I had nothing better to do, I played card games. The rules were the same as the card game I played with Quill before, so I had no trouble enjoying it.
Gamora talked to someone to meet The Collector, then went to the railing in the casino, sipping her drink and watching outside. Quill went over and chatted with her, probably talking about Gamora's past, just like in the original.
In the past, Thanos invaded Gamora's home planet, Zehoberei, killed her parents in front of her, took her as a foster daughter, and raised her as an assassin. Thanos subjected his foster children to near-torturous training, and if they couldn't endure, he forcibly replaced parts of their bodies with machinery. Nebula was a prime example.
Anyway, as I enjoyed gambling, I won so much that no one wanted to play with me anymore, so I got up to try other games. Suddenly, the casino grew noisy, and I saw Rocket and Drax fighting. I immediately went over to break them up.
"Hey! Guys, stop it!"
Gamora and Quill also came over to help calm things down. Drax angrily shouted.
"That vermin keeps mouthing off without knowing anything!"
Rocket fired back without backing down.
"It's the truth!"
"You have no manners!"
"That's true too!"
I tried to calm them down and asked what the fight was about. Rocket spoke up first.
"He called me a vermin!"
And pointing at Gamora, he added.
"And that woman called me a rodent! I can't take this!"
"Whoa, calm down. Just wait one night, and we'll get 4 billion. We'll be filthy rich. So, chill out!"
Hearing that, Rocket composed himself and cooled down.
"Huff... Fine. But I'm not promising I won't kill you guys after this is over!"
Quill shook his head in disbelief and said to Rocket and Drax.
"This is why you guys have no friends! You're ready to kill anyone you meet after five seconds!"
Then Drax looked at us and said.
"We've come all this way, risking our lives, and Ronan is still alive."
After saying that, Drax turned and walked off somewhere. From his walk, he seemed a bit drunk.
"Drax!"
Quill called, but it was no use.
Ronan was from the Kree, an enemy of Xandar, and had allied with Thanos to destroy Xandar, with Gamora and her sister Nebula under his command. He was a radical extremist, known among Xandarians as a figure of terror and a mad fanatic for his ruthless methods.
Drax had lost his entire family to Ronan and followed Quill's group from prison to get revenge. He believed Ronan wouldn't let Gamora's betrayal slide.
As the casino quieted down after the commotion, the entrance suddenly opened, and a pink-skinned woman entered. She was Carina, The Collector's slave.
"My master requests your presence."
Hearing that, Gamora gestured for us to follow. We trailed Carina, and Quill asked Gamora.
"Where are we going?"
"The Collector. He's settled here, selling minerals and amassing great wealth to collect unusual objects and creatures. He's the buyer for the Orb."
As Gamora explained, we arrived at a round building that looked like a massive space observatory. Inside, various objects and creatures were on display, and in the center, a white-haired middle-aged man wearing strange glasses was examining items. He was The Collector.
The Collector removed his glasses, looked us over, and slowly approached Gamora.
"Dear Gamora."
"I've brought the promised item."
"I see. Let's see what you have."
Quill took the Orb from his bag to hand it over but, perhaps nervous, accidentally dropped it, then quickly picked it up and passed it. The Collector glared at Quill briefly before accepting the Orb and placing it in a strange machine. The machine began rotating the Orb, solving the puzzle.
"Before creation, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these singularities were forged into concentrated forms. Called 'Infinity Stones'!"
The Collector explained the Infinity Stones to us, even showing a video as he solved the Orb's puzzle. The footage included a Celestial using a Power Stone to destroy a planet.
"These stones can only be wielded by beings of extraordinary power. Those who possess one can easily obliterate an entire civilization."
Quill couldn't take his eyes off the scene of a planet disappearing due to the Power Stone.
"I think I just wet my pants a little..."
Then, the machine finished solving the puzzle, and the Orb slowly opened, revealing the glowing energy mass I had created inside. The Collector looked at it, puzzled for a moment, then brought over another machine to analyze the energy mass.
"This... contains powerful energy, but it's not an Infinity Stone. A mineral I've never seen before... So the Orb didn't hold an Infinity Stone after all..."
Hearing that, Gamora was shocked and asked The Collector.
"Collector! The real Orb doesn't have an Infinity Stone?"
"Analysis confirms it. But this item still has value."
Rocket urged The Collector.
"We brought the Orb as asked, so hurry up and pay us."
"Hmm... It's not what I wanted, but it is the promised Orb, so I'll pay. It's quite a loss, but for the sake of trust, I have no choice."
Whether due to his name or a merchant's honor, The Collector kept his promise. He seemed unfazed by the large payout, given his wealth. He went to his desk, took out units, and handed them to us.
Unlike the original, here Carina didn't grab the Power Stone and overload, causing an explosion, since she knew it wasn't the Power Stone and avoided such a reckless act.
"This time is a bit disappointing, but I'll count on you again."
"Sure."
We took the units and went outside. Rocket spoke up.
"Let's split it now, no delays."
Quill hesitated but went ahead and divided the units. Each got 660 million, with the remainder to be split later due to exchange needs. While dividing, Gamora was silently pondering something. I didn't know exactly, but the fact that the Orb wasn't an Infinity Stone seemed to disrupt her plans.
Quill hesitated briefly, then suggested we work together as a team.
"How about we don't split up and work as a team... Huh?"
Suddenly, numerous ships were seen flying toward us. Drax must have used the Orb and Gamora as bait to lure Ronan here for revenge. As if to prove it, Drax suddenly appeared and shouted.
"Finally!!! I can eliminate my enemy!!!"
Meanwhile, armed people swarmed in from the side—upon closer look, they were the Yondu's Ravagers.
"Quill!! Don't move!!"
In this chaos, everyone started running toward where the ships were. I decided to hide and observe the situation. Since I wasn't known yet, no one would pay attention if I stayed out of sight.
I went up to the roof to watch the fight between Drax and Ronan. Ronan and Nebula got off their ship to chase Gamora, but Drax blocked Ronan's path.
"Accuser Ronan!! You killed my wife! And my daughter!!"
Drax charged at Ronan with two daggers. But Ronan easily blocked and punched Drax in the abdomen, sending him flying. However, Drax got up immediately and faced Ronan again. Ronan dodged Drax's attacks lightly, maintaining the upper hand. To my eyes, Drax fell short in both strength and skill compared to Ronan.
Then, I saw a small ship flying away above. Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot, short on time, seemed to be escaping in a nearby escape pod since they couldn't reach the Milano. Nebula urgently alerted Ronan.
"Ronan! Gamora is escaping!"
"Nebula, capture Gamora!"
Following the order, Nebula quickly boarded a ship and began chasing Gamora's vessel.
'Surely... Nebula won't just kill Gamora upon learning the Orb is gone... Ugh, this is insane.'
Given Nebula's grudge against Gamora, it was plausible. So, I instantly teleported to the Milano and started following Nebula. They weaved through Knowhere's city, pursuing Gamora's ship. I trailed them slowly, waiting for them to reach a more open area, as attacking now could cause significant civilian casualties.
-Nebula! We already sold the Orb. It's not here. And the Orb isn't an Infinity Stone. I checked!
-That doesn't matter! I can't forgive you for betraying us!
They were communicating on an open channel, so I could hear their conversation. When they finally reached an open area, I began my attack.
Rat-a-tat~
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As several of their ships exploded, they scattered and started surrounding me. I immediately performed a cobra maneuver, rapidly changing direction, and began taking them out one by one. My reflexes and body, capable of withstanding sudden gravitational acceleration, were beyond their level.
After dealing with them all, only Nebula's ship remained, and she began to flee. I didn't pursue. Quill and Rocket, who had seen my piloting skills from nearby, started praising me.
-Wow~ Killer flying skills. Didn't know the Milano could pull off moves like that.
-Tell me about it. Impressive, huh? Never seen piloting like that before.
We approached Gamora's ship, which was too damaged to move from the chase, and brought Gamora onto the Milano.
"Thanks, you saved my life."
"No big deal. More importantly, let's head back. Drax is fighting Ronan alone."
Gamora said.
"Drax is probably already dead. Ronan is cruel and strong."
"Still, we should check."
We moved back to where Drax and Ronan were fighting. Ronan and Nebula were already gone, and smoke was rising here and there. We got off the ship and searched for Drax, finding him stuck in a tank filled with a strange yellow liquid. Groot pulled Drax out of the tank. Luckily, since he hadn't been in long, he started coughing up the yellow liquid and regained consciousness.
"Cough, cough!"
"Good, you're awake."
"Yeah, talk about tough."
Hearing that, Drax apologized.
"I was foolish..."
I needed to check if The Collector had been looted, so I decided to leave Drax with them.
"Friends, sorry, but I have something to check. I'll be right back. Take care of Drax."
"Sure."
I quickly went to where The Collector was. The exhibition hall was already ransacked, with debris everywhere, and the slaves had probably fled. Going deeper, I saw The Collector dead with a broken neck, likely killed by Ronan.
'Damn... if it went like the original, he would've lived longer until Thanos got him...'
I quickly scanned The Collector with [Naked Eye] and took all the certificates, ledgers, and units he had stored. He kept the units in a vault in the innermost part of the building; using [Hacking], I opened it to find an enormous amount of units. I stashed everything in my inventory and left.
'I'll put it to good use.'
Returning to where the Guardians were, Gamora asked me.
"The Orb was looted, and The Collector is dead, I presume."
"Huh? How did you know?"
Gamora pointed behind me. There, a Golden Retriever puppy in a spacesuit was looking at me.
'Was his name Cosmo?'
Cosmo came over and spoke quietly through the speaker on his collar.
"Take me with you. Then I'll keep quiet."
This guy, with his innocent face, started with blackmail. He must have watched me loot The Collector's vault.
"Sigh... Fine."
"And give me treats every day."
"You little...!"
Then Gamora asked again.
"So, The Collector?"
"You're right. The Collector is dead, and the Orb is gone."
Gamora sighed.
"Sigh... Now Xandar is doomed. Thanos will probably give Ronan troops to attack Xandar."
"Why would that happen?"
"Thanos promised Ronan. If he brought the Orb, Thanos would destroy Xandar for him. He may be many things, but he doesn't lie and always keeps his promises."
"I see."
Hearing that, Rocket chimed in.
"Let's not worry about that. It's out of our hands now. We've got money, so let's go enjoy a peaceful retirement somewhere."
Quill looked at Rocket and said.
"But we should warn them. Are we just going to stand by while countless people die?"
"Will that high-and-mighty Nova Empire believe us?"
Then Drax got up and gathered his daggers.
"I'm going. This might be my last chance to get revenge on Ronan."
"You alone, going to get beaten up again? You can't do anything."
Groot beside him spoke.
"I am Groot!"
"You want to help too? How! There are only six of us!"
Gamora and Quill also said.
"I'll help too. I can't let Xandar be destroyed like this."
"Yeah. Right!"
Hearing that, Rocket shook his head vigorously.
"Idiots! You're all idiots!! Sigh... Damn it! Fine, let's give it a shot."