REBEL FOR KICKS
ix. TO ALL OF YOU
❝WE'LL FIND HER, PETER.❞

IT WAS THEIR FIRST NIGHT AS ESCAPED CONVICTS and it was an exhilarating experience. Isabelle could still feel her nerves buzzing, begging for a chance to release all her pent up energy. But, the danger had already passed and Isabelle found no need to move from her spot on a semi-comfortable cot. It wasn't the best bed in the world, but she preferred it to the bunk beds in the prison. She had caught a few winks of sleep, but that was all her body allowed. Isabelle had always been a light sleeper and it stemmed from the fact that she never felt safe. Isabelle was a bounty hunter and her line of work had caused her to meet some of the vilest creatures in the universe. She never trusted anyone anymore. Even around Gamora, Isabelle never fell into a deep sleep. After all, a deep sleep could cause someone to sneak up on her and make sure that she permanently stayed in the realm of sleep. It wasn't normal to constantly live on edge, but it was Isabelle's normal.

A slight rumble in the ship's mainframe pulled Isabelle out of her thoughts. Someone had changed their course, but why? Gamora had pointed them in the general area of the buyer, but she refused to give the exact coordinates. It had been slightly frustrating to Peter since he was the one steering the Milano, but he decided to blindly follow Gamora after Isabelle had threatened him. Despite the fact that Isabelle had originally tried killing Gamora, Isabelle thought differently of the green-skinned woman. She had to admit that she had grown fond of Gamora and enjoyed her company. She wasn't just a reward anymore, but a person with actual goals and feelings. Isabelle, suddenly, felt ashamed of her actions in the past. She had always been so obsessed with collecting rewards for bounties that she had never thought about what she unleashed on the hunted.

Bright light flooded the sleeping quarters, causing Isabelle to wince as she shielded her eyes. It had been about two hours since she had seen everyone else. She had retired early since sleep was the only thing that her mind wanted, but it seemed that the others were starting to come to bed as well. Isabelle spared a glance at the intruder and couldn't hide the playful grin—one that only Gamora could cause—that spread across her lips.

Gamora spared her a glance, but not much of anything else as she moved to her own cot. They weren't assigned, but Gamora still chose to bunk near Isabelle. It was a sweet sentiment since it probably meant that Gamora trusted Isabelle more than anyone else. "Why are you still awake?"

"I got... some... sleep," Isabelle replied, still groggy from waking up a couple minutes ago. She had gotten less than two hours of sleep, but it was something. "Did we change course?"

"Yes," Gamora grumbled, shaking her head. It was clear to Isabelle that the woman before her was filled with irritation. "Your brother, Peter, decided to make a pit stop in Contraxia."

"Seriously?" Isabelle asked, rolling her eyes. Yondu Udonta, a known member of the Ravagers, still had a bounty on Peter's head. And, Contraxia was a planet that was frequently visited by Ravagers. "Did he say why?"

"—something about meeting an old friend," Gamora replied. She was currently undressing and changing into something more comfortable to sleep in. Isabelle had faced the other way, wanting to respect Gamora's privacy. "He said that it would only take a day."

"I guess you're stuck with us for one more day, Gam," Isabelle mumbled softly, closing her eyes as sleep began to invade her senses. She was still exhausted, but tried to stay awake for Gamora's sake. "Don't worry. After we sell the Orb, we'll never cross paths again. But, you're always welcome to come to my planet if you ever need a place to stay."

Gamora didn't say anything, choosing to climb into her own cot instead. The sound of sheets rustling filled the dark room before silence engulfed them. Finally, after a few quiet moments, Gamora spoke. "I'm not a... good person, Isabelle. You should be grateful that our days together will be coming to an end."

Isabelle scoffed. "No offense, darlin' but we're all shitty people. I was a bounty hunter for fuck's sake—literally tried to end your life. My brother is an honorless thief. Rocket is a freelance criminal, willing to do anything for money. Drax, well, he was arrested for so many counts of murder. I think, maybe, Groot is the only decent one among us, but he's probably done some messed up things under Rocket's watch. Point is, we're all terrible people so you shouldn't beat yourself up about it."

"I," Gamora seemed to be at a loss of words. "Isabelle..."

"You don't need to say anything, Gamora," Isabelle whispered, glancing in the general direction of the woman. She could see Gamora's faint outline in the darkness, but couldn't make out her features. "Just, go to sleep. I'm sure we have a long day tomorrow.

Isabelle had missed the way Gamora's lips curled upward in a soft smile. "Goodnight, Isabelle."

— — —

"WAS THIS DETOUR NECESSARY?" Rocket was the one to ask when the group exited Peter's ship. Contraxia was a planet that Isabelle did not visit very often, but it was interesting to say the least. Bright neon signs invaded their vision and the clamoring of the crowds overwhelmed their ears. However, it was the best planet to lay low since it was filled to the brim with criminals and the Nova Corps knew better than to walk into a criminal's home. "Star-Douche, why are we here?"

"I need to see someone," Peter replied vaguely. Isabelle frowned, not used to seeing her brother in a serious light. He wore a passive expression as he weaved his way through the crowd of aliens. He was headed toward the Iron Lotus—one of the most popular brothels in the galaxy—and no one knew exactly who Peter needed to see.

Isabelle walked beside Gamora, soaking in the heat that radiated off the woman. It was freezing on Contraxia and Isabelle didn't have any warmer clothing. She has stolen one of Peter's jackets, but it did little to keep out the biting cold. She glanced behind her, taking in Drax's appearance. He only wore pants and she couldn't even imagine how cold he felt. But, he kept his complaints to himself as he followed closely behind the group.

"Look, you could have waited for some robot pussy after we had all gotten paid for the stupid Orb," Rocket continued to berate Peter, still irritated that they were taking a detour from the main mission.

Peter rolled his eyes, letting a heavy sigh. He pushed open the doors of the Iron Lotus and walked inside, holding the door open as everyone else filtered in. "I'm not here for that," Peter muttered, ignoring the questionable characters that roamed around the brothel. He walked up to the front desk, greeting an android that worked the desk. "Um, hi, I'm here to see Shanti Xienia?"

The Love Bot blinked, processing Peter's request. "I'm sorry, but Miss Shanti is not available. May I take a message?"

"What?" Peter asked, confusion taking over his features. Isabelle wondered who Shanti was since this was the first time that she had ever heard of the woman. She wondered if Shanti had something to do with Peter's 'bad memories' of the planet. "Where is she?"

It took the android a few moments to respond. "I do not know."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Peter asked softly. He was distressed. Isabelle could see it in the way that his eyes darted from the android to around the lobby. His leg shook with pent up energy and his voice held a little tremor to it.

Again, the android paused. "I think... I last saw her about six months ago."

"Six months?" Peter shouted, causing the android to jump at the sudden noise. "I want to talk to Iriel Lawton, then. Where the fuck is she?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that, sir," the Love Bot replied.

Isabelle stepped forward, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder. "Peter, what's going on? Who are you looking for?"

"I..." Peter's words were caught in his throat as he glanced up to see the confused expressions of the rest of the group.

"Hey, give us a few minutes," Isabelle started, leading Peter towards the front door. "I'm just going to talk to Peter alone."

Peter didn't fight Isabelle as she led him towards an empty bench where she sat him down. She took a seat next to him, pretending as if she didn't notice the unshed tears in his eyes. For a few moments, it was silent as they shivered due to the cold. As soon as they got their share of the money, Isabelle was going to buy some more clothing to make sure that she had something for every temperature.

"I met Shanti about a year ago," Peter abruptly started, causing Isabelle to give him one hundred percent of her attention. "I had travelled to Contraxia for a gig—the usual, you know? I was after a man named Ivvon M'ara and... the details aren't very important."

"Tell me as much as you want," Isabelle reassured, not wanting Peter to leave out any part of his story. She had to admit that she was curious about Peter's life during the years of their estrangement.

"So, uh, Shanti was a dancer that the previous owner of the Iron Lotus—Iriel Lawton—had kidnapped and basically forced her into posititution," Peter mumbled softly, shaking his head. His hands were clenched into fists as he spoke and Isabelle could see his face turning into a shade of red. "At first, I didn't give a shit. I was only there for Ivvon and not to save any damsels in distress, but Shanti grew on me. Shanti was kind—even to the stupid Love Bots that aren't even alive—and she actually gave two shits about me, you know? And, oh! She was a beautiful dancer and when she was on that stage... it was like nothing else existed. It was just her against the world."

Isabelle smiled, watching as her brother's eyes lit up as he talked about the woman from his past. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you loved this woman."

Peter froze, staring down at the ground that was covered in a thick layer of snow. "Yeah, I think I still do..."

"Well, what happened with her?" Isabelle asked, wanting to know the rest of the story.

With a solemn expression, he replied, "I betrayed her."

Isabelle let out a heavy sigh, not wanting to know the details of the story anymore. Betrayal was painful—no matter what form that it came in. Isabelle, herself, had been betrayed many times before and it had always broken her heart.

"I need to find her, Izzy," Peter whispered, running a hand through his hair. "I fucked up so bad and I have been trying to fix it this whole time. Originally, the plan was to get enough money to be able to buy Shanti's freedom. I was so close to the amount that I needed. But, now, she's gone."

Isabelle rested a hand on her brother's shoulder, hoping to comfort him in some way. She may no longer be close to her brother as she used to be, but she did still care about him. He was family. "We'll find her, Peter. I promise."

♡

I HAVE BEEN GETTING chapters out for this story very steadily recently and I have to admit that I am very very proud of myself. Usually, I updated a story and then, I don't touch it for months. I have been extremely motivated and taking a year break really helped me bring back my inspiration. Hopefully, I can keep the inspiration + motivation train running because I don't want to lose it. I, also, want to say thank you to all of you for supporting this story after so long. It truly means the world to me and you guys are the reason for motivation. ❤️

IMPORTANT INFORMATION—most of you probably already know who Shanti Xienia is. If not, I am here to explain! She is the original character of my Peter Quill fic, To All Of You—hence the title of this chapter. I wanted to start interconnecting the two stories. I already know that I want to keep T.A.O.Y. completely original and AU. So, I decided to have this fic go through the GOTG movies with minimum AU scenes. Though, I do plan on just rewriting the movie and not following the script. I hate writing while following a movie/script because it blocks me as a writer. So, I will try my hardest to create more AU scenes.

Also, I promised in the last chapter that Isabelle will have a moment with each of the characters, but I didn't have the chance to do it in this chapter. So, I have only included Gamora and Peter. She will hopefully bond with Rocket, Drax, and Groot in the upcoming chapters! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I plan on releasing the next one very soon! ☺️

— AMARA
PUBLISH DATE — 10.08.2019