FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A/N: I've rewritten this entire story. It's much better now. Feel free to go re-read and tell me what you think! There's only two more chapters after this one - they're the most intense of the whole story, and they'll be uploaded relatively soon, I promise! Enjoy!

Rocket and the Imp

[A Guardians of the Galaxy FanFiction]

Chapter Six - Come and Get Your Love

The Guardian's Mission down without a hitch, despite all of the circumstances, and they'd successfully defended the Sovereign's Anulax Batteries from a the inter-dimensional Abilisk. Much of the smooth success was thanks to Rocket being abnormally vigilant and focused this time around. Post-mission, the raccoon had spent the whole weekend with his friends, sharing stories and catching up. He received quite the earful from Star-Lord and Drax after he'd been prodded and pressured into revealing more about his 'new girlfriend.' Alas, after the celebrations were over, Rocket requested a drop-off at Knowhere, rather than lead them to Sale's ship. He just wasn't ready for that.

So there he was, walking around the same planet he'd once been alone on. The bright, flashy neon lights illuminated him as he vacantly wandered, wondering what his next move would be. The first thing he did once he had the opportunity was bombard Sale with messages and calls. He must have sent over a hundred texts at this point, and attempted well over a few dozen calls, all unanswered. The poor raccoon was beyond worried now and felt a chilling loneliness drench over him like never before. The weariness and the sorrow mixed with his fear and anger, causing him to grind his teeth and clench his fists as he continued along the streets of Knowhere.

He continued on, making his way to the alleyway in which they had first met, walking to the restaurant in which they'd first gotten to know one another.

The scenery was the same, a ghostly abandoned part of town with alien vegetation growing in the most unnatural of places. Paying no mind to the scenery around him, Rocket trudged to the unassuming shack, vacantly shoving open the door and stepping inside. He let out a deep sigh, one out of pure emotional exhaustion.

Against his own will, he couldn't help but reminisce about the time they shared here together. The pleasant memories brought fourth pain that hit him like a dozen ice-daggers plunging into his heart. A paw found itself onto the main counter for support, as the mental whirlwind began to take a real toll on him.

Then, a dim blue light caught his eye. There, on the counter, was the button that Sale used to summon her own creation. Not giving any second thoughts, Rocket pressed it, and within seconds a mechanical whir began to echo from opposite the restaurant.

A large, robotic figure stepped out of the shadows, slowly making its way towards Rocket.

Rocket felt weaker than he'd ever felt before - a part of his own consciousness scolding himself for it. His lower lip trembled as he spoke.

"Hey. Andy...was it?"

No response.

"Yeah, I'm...You wouldn't happen to know where Sale's run off to, would you, Andy?"

Andy neutrally stared at him, his glowing blue eyes vibrantly illuminating the raccoon's deceptively happy face.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't be as worried as I am, she's probably fine."

Again, no response.

"She's...probably...fine-I just think it's a bit strange that she hasn't answered me, is all. I'm just..."

His breath caught his throat and he coughed a bit.

"I...just..."

Andy's bright blue eyes were beginning to grow painful to stare at. He started into the idle blue eyes. The silence of the building drove him insane, further fueling his loneliness.

"I just miss her so fucking much, Andy."

And as the tears began to fall, Rocket left the establishment. He took to the rooftops that he'd chased after her upon. He'd progressed from idly climbing and walking to an all-out sprint- running as fast as he could and exerting himself as much as possible.

His heart threatened to quit on him, so pausing to catch his breath, he stopped and looked over the edge of the building. An odd sense of deja-vu washed over him. This is where they argued. He curiously looked back, and down, and there it was.

Sale's mask.

Rocket ran to pick it up, gently holding it in his paws. He brushed his digits over the smooth metal and flipped it over. Slowly, he inched his head forward into the inside of the mask, inhaling deeply. It smelled like her.

A stupid smile instantly spread across his muzzle, faster than a bolt of lightning.

Later that day, he'd traversed to her apartment.

Rocket could recall following Sale out of her apartment that first time, and used this knowledge to find his way back into her hideout. He picked the lock on the door, making a mental note to apologize later.

Stepping inside, he looked around at the state of the place. It was just as he remembered it. A perfect living arrangement, completely untouched and covered with years of dust. He made his way over to that familiar hallway, and into that same room in which he'd first seen her unmasked. All the lights were off, but his night-vision allowed him to see a shape in the shadows.

His lovesick heart impeded his judgment.

"Sale?" He croaked.

The figure stepped closer, into the light.

It wasn't Sale, but an...otter?

Rocket quickly pulled his Laser Cannon from over his shoulder, aiming it directly at the unknown assailant.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here?! Where's Sale?!" His voice boomed, and with each inquiry, he grew more frantic and desperate.

The otter raised a paw and blinked slowly. Rocket eyed her - she was about his height, sleek and slender, dressed in very elaborate purple armor. Her fur was a light yellow, and her eyes were a dark brown. They were somewhat weary- and it appeared she'd just cleaned a large amount of blood off of her lower neck. It was obvious she wasn't someone to be trifled with.

An odd feeling washed over him.

"Have...I met you before?"

She stepped closer to him, and Rocket lifted his gun higher, threateningly.

"In another life, yes you have, Rocket." She spoke slowly, somewhat mystically.

"How...do you know my name?"

"I've no doubt your head must be filled with questions, but I am going to need you to listen to my piece first."

Rocket blinked.

"Well...well go ahead."

The otter gently cleared her throat.

"There was a world...a world we once inhabited long ago. How it came to be, how we came to be - that's another, intricate story. I just need you to understand that you...you were a part of something, Rocket. And now, your old associates- Your old friends, they're in danger. Things have grown terribly worse at a f-frightening rate, and I fear Judson may be close to achieving his goal. I..."

She stopped, turning to stare at him.

His face was as confused as confused can be.

"How much do you remember?" She asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about! Who is Judson?! And what does this have to do with Sale?!"

The otter sighed, stepping closer to the raccoon.

"Judson comes from our old world. He's...he's harnessed the power of the Halfworld book, and...he's using it to...bring us back."

"...why?"

"Well...we suspect that he's capable of....taking people over. Controlling them.. That's....that's what happened to my-...to BlackJack O'Hare."

The otter's voice cracked at the last part. Rocket could sense some sadness in her voice, but was completely overrun with confusion and a powerful sense of deja-vu.

"That...that name....I think he was, he had red goggles, right?"

"Yes."

"And he, uh, he....we.....we were partners...."

"Yes, yes you were. Keep going, try to remember."

Rocket squinted, searching deep into his memories, following one lead to another, dusting off the metaphorical cobwebs and focusing on things he never knew were there. He turned to her, a look of realization hitting him.

"I was his friend."

The otter smiled a forced grin.

"You were." She croaked.

Rocket dropped his gun and pulled up a chair to sit in. He cradled his head in his hands.

"This is...I don't understand...how long ago was this?"

"In the grand scheme of things, it was not that long ago."

"W-why...how....how'd I forget?"

"It's complicated."

"What-what's this got to do with Sale?"

"Well, if BlackJack...if he's been...corrupted..."

She fought back tears. Rocket stood up, stepping closer to her. He barely knew this otter, well, apparently he used to but, he felt just a bit uncomfortable around her, just as he would any stranger. Nonetheless, he gently placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Corrupted...how? Like..."

"He's...he's gone. He's empty. He's a slave and he'll do whatever Judson wants."

Rocket stood back.

"Like what?"

She avoided his eyes.

"Lylla!"

"I came here because, they got her. They got Sale."

"Th-...WHAT?! Has...no...has she been-"

The otter let out a shaky exhale.

"Has she been corrupted?!"

"I don't know! It's unlikely, I think it takes time."

The raccoon looked around, his breaths growing frantic.

Lylla stepped closer to him, offering out her paw.

"I can take you to her. That's why I came. I need your help, just as you need mine."

Rocket looked up at her, then to her paw, indicating a handshake request.

With no hesitation, he took her hand with a fierce grip.

Murder darkened Rocket Raccoon's eyes.

"We'll get her. And...we'll get BlackJack too."

The voyage to the Keystone Quadrant was long and arduous, but it allowed for Rocket and Lylla to become more familiar with one other's predicaments. As Lylla told the raccoon more about her life and what had led up to this point, he found that his own memories had begun to gradually come back to him. It wasn't long after this when finally, all the pieces had come together, and the full picture was revealed.

It all started hundreds of years ago. Rouge alien scientists, chased away by federations that found their actions unlawful and abhorrent, had found refuge on the secluded, distant planet of Halfworld. Away from the prying eyes of the rest of the Galaxy, they resumed their sick, twisted research. The rouge aliens had obtained samples from every planet, tested and experimented on them all for reasons unknown. One thing is for certain - they weren't at this for very long.

A force of some sort, had eliminated them all. And just like that, the subjects - the animals, were free. This event would be the earliest that they could pinpoint, and credited as the beginning of their stream of consciousness.

Rocket, Lylla, BlackJack O'Hare, Mark, Judson Jakes, Sale, and thousands of others lived in harmony on Halfworld. For the longest time, it was nothing more than a quaint, primitive town on the small planet. Centuries passed, and they found the cybernetic enhancements and augmentations they'd received allowed them to sustain considerable damage and seemingly live forever. As their technology advanced and time passed, the lust for exploration grew, and the leaders of Halfworld longed to see what lie beyond the Keystone Quadrant.

And all within a few years after these discoveries, all the animals had left. They'd moved on, and forgotten their old lives.

The Legends of Halfworld were paramount in kid's tales all throughout the Galaxy. Stories told of a book that contained the secrets for limitless power, written by the very same being that freed all the animals all those years ago.

"I tell you, Sale and I read the first few pages of that, and I don't feel any more powerful." Rocket spat, rolling his eyes.

"Well, what was it?" Lylla questioned, sitting across from him, in the co-pilot's seat.

"It-...It didn't make sense...I don't know. It was like...even after we pieced everything together, it was still as if we were reading someone's crazy, incoherent thoughts."

"Thoughts of what?"

Rocket hesitated.

"Control."

An unnerving silence washed over the two, drowned out by the white noise of the speeding ship.

Knowhere was on the far edge of the charted galaxy, and Halfworld was on the exact opposite end. Luckily, Lylla's ship was equipped with warping technologies, but even going as fast as they could, it still took almost an entire day before the raccoon had spotted the planet they'd abandoned all those years ago.

"Lylla," Rocket whispered, nudging the otter's shoulder.

The yellow mammal grunted, slowly opening her eyes.

"What-.." She groaned.

"We're here." Rocket said with a smile.

She shot up and turned to look out the front of the ship.

It was just as amazing as it ever was.

An inconceivable burning yellow ring, bigger than any sun Rocket's ever seen - and within it, at another angle, a cool blue ring, and in the center of it all - the small blue marble that was Halfworld. Memories of seeing this planet shrink in the mirrors of his ship came to him, contrasting with the bittersweet reality that he was truly, finally, going back.

"Welcome home, Rocket." He muttered, sarcastically.

They continued onward.

Lylla navigated the ship to the coordinates that Mark had sent her. It was intel that the rabbit had acquired through a long and arduous undercover mission, wherein he learned that this whole operation was much bigger than any of them had expected.

"Fuck, this isn't where the lab was, is it?" Rocket asked.

Lylla nodded.

As they broke through the atmosphere, details emerged and it became apparent that something was wrong.

Very wrong.

There was no grass. There was no water.

This planet had been abandoned and neglected beyond any hope of recovery.

And above all, quite literally, a behemoth of a structure stood. It certainly wasn't there before.

Judson Jakes had built himself a headquarters of monstrous size, whether to satiate his ego or to serve some greater purpose, they didn't know. Nonetheless, Rocket and Lylla felt a collective chill upon flying closer.

"Y-you should uh, take us behind that hill, over there." Rocket stammered, still a bit speechless upon seeing the intimidating structure that no doubt held Sale.

Lylla maneuvered the small spacecraft out of the line of sight from any watch guards near or around the building, and gently landed it in a patch of dead grass on the other end of a rocky hill. The two quickly hopped out of the ship and climbed to the top of the hill, keeping low to the ground.

Lylla looked over at Rocket, as he eyed and inspected the building, no doubt formulating a plan within that thick skull of his. She decided to tease him to ease some of the unrelenting tension.

"Don't think too hard, Rocket, you'll hurt yourself."

He giggled.

"Shh. I'm comin' up with a plan."

"You telling me you don't wanna crash our ship here into the building all heroically and shit? Seems to work pretty well for you."

"Haha. Bitch. No."

The two silently chuckled with one another.

Then Rocket quickly bumped her shoulder.

"Look. There!" Rocket whisper-yelled, pointing at a structure on the side of the building.

Lylla followed the raccoon's digit, to the location he was referring to.

"You can't be serious." Lylla deadpanned.

"Well, do you have a better idea?" Rocket fired back, a little agitated.

Lylla loudly exhaled, before replying.

"...damn it."

The full range of Judson Jake's powers was unknown.

The female raccoon had put up one hell of a fight, but it was all to no avail. With a mere wave of his claws, he was able to send a stream of painful, agonizing, dark energy at Sale, thus immobilizing her and making it possible for her to be imprisoned.

Sale woke up on a cold concrete floor, looking around to find absolutely nothing else in the small room but a massive steel door. It was heavily armored and undoubtedly locked. As she collected her thoughts, she began to understand the weight of her current predicament.

This was Judson's plan all along, to lock her up as bait, for Rocket.

Filled with rage and fury, she angrily kicked the steel door, accomplishing nothing but a loud sound and a sharp pain in her foot. After catching her breath, a word floated back in her head.

"Rocket..." She thought.

Sale hadn't seen him in about two weeks, and she spent the next few hours running through a whirlwind of thoughts about him, always coming to that jarring conclusion.

"Am I thinking that we were more than we actually were?"

Her breath caught in her throat again.

"Does he love me?"

She sat down, dropping her head onto her knees.

"What if...he doesn't come back for me?"

Then...silence.

Her mind went blank, and as she sat there with her eyes shut... a memory came to her.

Sale's body tensed and shuddered, her claws sinking deeper into the flesh of Rocket's back, drawing out slight amounts of blood. His strong arms had her in a vice-like grip, and she was nearly crushed as he tightened his grasp. He grunted in her ear, and his voice cracked as he moaned in utter ecstasy. Then, as their brains performed a full reboot, they climaxed. Minutes passed where nothing had occurred but panting. The sound of their heavy, labored breaths filled the air. Rocket shivered as he removed his head from being buried in Sale's shoulder, and lifted it to rest in front of her. After a few breaths, Sale came down her euphoric high and slowly opened her eyes. Her line of sight focused on where their bodies connected, then slowly traveled up to his torso. His brawny chest contracted and expanded with his deep breaths, his pectorals glistening with sweat. She looked up a bit more and finally met his gaze. Rocket's eyes burned with something she'd never seen before. The deep brown orbs were slightly illuminated, even in the dim light of the room, and he stared at her as if she was an absolute miracle. He stared at her with a hunger, a lust, an instinctual, primal desire. He stared at her with the utmost admiration and...true, unbreaking love. The realization set a fire within her heart and enveloped her with a deeply comforting and unfamiliar warmth. It was intensely exciting. She nervously laughed in utter bliss and disbelief.

Her eyes shot open. A sense of purpose, determination, and motivation filled her.

"Of fucking course he will."

Sale smiled and shot up from her feet. The raccoon paced around the small room, looking for anything and everything that could aid her in an escape. She continued this for an hour, running through every possible escape option, but coming up empty. She nearly lost hope, but then, a revelation popped into her head, and a plan began to form.

"But I don't have to wait for him," She said with a smile.

Halfworld's climate had been always been temperate. It was the kind of weather that one would find on the most popular vacationing planets in the galaxy. Warm, sunny days took up most of the year.

This would be ideal for Rocket and Lylla, if the two weren't crawling through a cramped, confined metal vent.

The sight of the building had reminded the them that Judson's operations were on a larger scale than they could've ever anticipated. The villainous mole had clearly owned an extensive amount of resources. With an army at his side and otherworldly powers at his fingertips, Judson Jakes was able to rebuild the abandoned alien lab that created them, bigger than it ever was before.

The towering structure had included a central air conditioning system with vents that ran all throughout the building, supplying every lab, room, and office with heated or cooled air. It was this system that Rocket had spotted from the hill, and had come up with the idea to use the vents to sneak inside the building, undetected. After stealthily maneuvering around the patrol rabbits, the two broke into an exhaust vent and began the arduous process of climbing through the building.

So there they were, crawling side by side through the narrow passages. Eventually, they came up to a small opening. Sitting side by side, they stared down through the vent grate to see an army of armored rabbits, marching down the halls in perfect unison. After exchanging a meaningful glace - the facial expression equivalent of saying, "Holy shit, we might be fucked." - they continued down the vent, leading further into the belly of the beast, as it were.

The two were led down to several dead ends, or to vents that had openings into rooms filled with the mindless drones of rabbits under Judson Jake's influence. At one point, the two had crawled into a four-way split crossroads of the narrow metal passages.

They tried the first vent. After a long, arduous trek, it was revealed to inexplicably end with a grate to the outside. They headed back and tried the second vent. It was longer, and once again led to a dead end. Rocket, at this point, was understandably stressed and tired. Upon realizing he'd have to go all the way back, he balled his paws into fists and brought them to his head tightly gripping the fur over his brow.

"Fuck!" He whisper-yelled, still remaining cautious.

He took a seat up against the vent, letting out an aggravated sigh. Lylla joined, sitting close beside him.

"Nice plan, Rocket." She teased.

After a chuckle and a few labored breaths, he replied.

"We...just gotta find her."

"Well, we know the next vent's gotta lead to something. Let's try our luck there."

"Yeah. Just lemme sit here for a while."

The vents weren't soundproof at all, and the two were sure to remain as quiet as they could during the entire time they'd been in there. Because of this, they were easily able to clearly hear the noises emanating from the building, and they were incredibly disheartening, to say the least. Loud, mechanical screeches, drilling, robotic slicing - along with the screams of the unknown. A long, awkward pause stretched between the two, as Rocket once again took notice of this. Lylla looked over the distressed raccoon and tried to make conversation.

"It's cold in here."

He didn't answer.

More awkward silence.

Lylla sighed.

"Rocket. We're strong, we've been through a lot worse. Even if you don't remember it."

He turned and smiled at her, even if it was forced, his facade made him feel a little better.

"I bet we have."

A little more time passed, as the two sat there. Lylla's train of thought took a dark turn after that.

"But, our memories, they're fickle."

The otter cleared her throat.

"I'm scared that if BlackJack doesn't remember me now, he will never remember me again."

"He will." Rocket reassured.

"I hope so."

The sinister, horrible sounds of the building became audible once again, and the raccoon was overrun with similar, terrible thoughts. A surge of anger and realization hit him, and he tried his best to contain himself as to not flip out and reveal their position to the other rabbits. Instead, he breathed a little bit harder and gripped his head tightly.

"It's my fault." He spat.

Lylla turned to him, giving him a look of concern.

"What?" She said softly.

"It's my fucking fault, it really is. Sale would've been fine if she never met me. If I didn't...fuck up and end up on that goddamn shithole of a planet."

Lylla said nothing but solemnly gazed at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I don't know, I just got bored. I wanted more! I-I...was selfish, and stupid."

Rocket looked at Lylla, presumably looking into her eyes for some sort of confirmation of his self-depreciation. Her soft, brown, alluring, feminine eyes tenderly comforted him.

"I just felt so alone and...she's...she's so nice..."

Rocket was sniffling now.

The otter reached over, placing a paw on his shoulder.

He immediately turned to face her.

"I just miss her so much, Lylla."

She immediately leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in tightly for a warm embrace. Rocket gripped her shoulders, resting his head up into her neck. The two hugged each other tightly, finding comfort in one another's embrace in the face of an unknowable danger.

After a few minutes of this, the raccoon broke the hug and met her eyes.

"She's here, Rocket."

He wiped off his eyes and flashed an awkward smile.

"Yeah, I know. We...we should get moving."

And so they did.

They navigated through the tight vent, going back to the crossroads and taking the last path. This metal passage was the shortest of all, immediately leading into a downward-facing vent grate. Rocket leaned down, peeking through the grate and scanning the room for any sign of movement. There was none. After a look of confirmation from Lylla, Rocket grabbed the grate, pulling it from its place and setting it beside him.

Rocket and Lylla cautiously stepped down into the dark storage room. The raccoon felt around the walls for a light switch, stumbling over boxes and bumping into file cabinets. He'd slammed his hip into a particularly sharp table and let out an expletive when Lylla had flicked the lights on.

He regained his composure and vision, standing up to meet Lylla's eyes with an awkward smile. She had a look of shock and discovery in her eyes. The otter roughly brushed past him, running over to the file cabinet behind him. Her lean arms frantically pulled it open and began sifting through the folder's contents.

Rocket looked over and saw this cabinet was labeled.

O'Hare.

He made his way over to her, approaching cautiously as she was visibly shaking. Within the folders contained mostly documents, warrants, newspapers, pretty much anything that had anything to do with the rabbit. This must've been where Judson Jakes kept his research. Lylla pulled open another folder and audibly gasped.

Rocket peered over her shoulder and saw tears beginning to form in her eyes, then looked back over to the folder. There were photos.

Photos from another life. Long ago.

Her shaking paws lifted one after the other, staring endearingly and somberly at them.

Lylla and BlackJack standing beside a tree in a grass field, staring endearingly at one another.

Rocket, Lylla, and BlackJack laughing together, at a cards table.

Rocket and BlackJack mugshots, visibly smirking at each other.

Lylla and BlackJack's wedding photo.

She choked out a brief sob.

"Lylla," Rocket began.

She noticed him standing there, quickly composing herself and taking that last photo into her hands, shoving it into her pockets and wiping her eyes.

"Let's...keep going."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Alright, then."

They stepped out of the room, cautiously looking down both directions of the corridor before stepping out into the thin, hospital-like hallways. The walls, ceilings, and floors were no more than large slabs of rough concrete. Unpainted, the whole interior of the building was incredibly unsettling. Inexplicably, this part of the building was silent. Unbearably, deafeningly silent.

Rocket and Lylla continued down the hallway, turning the corner and stopping dead in their tracks.

Standing at the far end was a rabbit, wielding a bloody, serrated dagger.

His chilling red eyes illuminated the entire hallway.

Rocket retrieved his pocket-dimension storage vial from his pocket, and materialized his laser cannon in one quick motion. Rifle in hand, he held his ground, and with a fierce stare of his own, met its gaze.

Then the realization hit him.

"BlackJack?" He asked.

The rabbit began approaching them.

The raccoon raised his gun threateningly.

Rocket didn't want to hurt him, but he had no idea what BlackJack was capable of.

"Old...Friend..." the gangling-looking hare rasped.

He stopped and dropped his dagger.

Lylla's breath caught in her throat, as she began to approach him.

"Jack..." She whispered.

The rabbit snarled, falling onto all fours and charging at the two.