Chapter Text
Lost - Part One
Floor knew what the word “nowhere” meant. “Where” meant a place and “no” meant no, so “nowhere” meant a place that wasn't there or wasn't real. So Floor was confused when Rocket said that they were going to “nowhere”. Eventually, the Guardians got within viewing distance of the place, and Floor was surprised to see an unfathomably enormous skull floating in space. Apparently it was the severed head of something called a Celestial, which confused Floor even further. The idea of anyone living on a giant dead head was a foreign concept to her.
But, if her brother said that it was home, then Floor wasn't about to argue. As far as she was concerned, home was wherever Rocket was.
So, after the ship landed at the spaceport, the Guardians stepped out and back into the bustling, chaotic world of Knowhere.
Floor hesitated a moment, stopping just short of stepping off the ramp. She raised her head and looked out. There were so many people, so many races, all milling about, exiting and entering buildings. . .
“C'mon, Floor,” Rocket said, holding a hand out to her. His expression was calm and level, being almost uncharacteristically patient.
Floor took a breath, and her legs tapped their way out of the ship. She bumped her forehead against Rocket’s palm, her nerves calming at the touch.
“Knowhere’s pretty wild, but we got a sweet HQ here,” Rocket said as the pair walked together, “We got a couple more friends here too. You'll be feeling at home in no time.”
“Rocket is here. That all Floor needs,” she replied with certainty.
“Heh,” Rocket said, genuine happiness on his face.
The pair continue to walk away from the ship, along with the rest of the group.
“We must introduce our new ally to Kraglin and Cosmo,” Drax said.
“I am Groot.”
“If only Cosmo had been with us, she would have sniffed her out right away,” Mantis mused.
“In spite of the obvious new developments, the ship still needs repairs,” Nebula said.
“Practical as usual, Nebula,” Peter remarked.
Floor's thoughts focused on the two new names, but before she could ask about them, she heard a clack of something hitting the ground. She turned and saw a vaguely familiar, rectangular device lying on the ground. Floor realized that it was Mr. Quill's music making gadget that everyone called a Zune. Floor looked at Mr. Quill as he walked off, and she saw that it had slipped off of his belt.
Eager to help, Floor stepped towards the device and picked it up in her paws. Floor had never seen the Zune up close, so she couldn't help taking a moment to get a closer look at the screen and buttons. She eventually snapped out of her reverie, and looked up to see that the Guardians had gotten some distance from her. Rocket was looking up at Mr. Quill, and the two seemed to be discussing something or another, and Drax appeared to be adding something, much to their annoyance.
Floor chuckled at this. She was very much used to the dynamic from her time spying on them from in the walls. Floor quickly stepped after them, holding the Zune in her paws. However, the ground wasn't exactly even, and one of her legs briefly got caught. She stumbled, and the Zune fell out of her paws and skidded some distance away from her.
Floor gasped and hurried after it, but she was too late. A tall male humanoid type with tan paper-like skin reached down and picked the Zune up, intrigued by it.
“Wait! Me drop that! Give back, please,” Floor said urgently.
The man looked around, then finally looked down. He stared at Floor in disbelief, his compound eyes widening and his long thin protruding nose wrinkling as he asked, “What the Hell are you?”
Floor felt unsure for a moment, but the need to get the Zune back overrode her fears and she replied, “Me called Floor.”
The man's face crinkled as a smile formed on it, and he laughed out loud and said, “Seriously? Your name is Floor?!”
Floor didn't have time to be insulted, so she said loudly, “Give back, please. Not yours!”
He looked at the Zune in his hand, and he smirked and said, “It is now.” And with that, he jogged off into the streets of Knowhere.
Floor was horrified. “Mr. Quill be so mad if Floor loses Zune!” she thought. So, she did the only think she could think of and promptly took off after him.
It was all a blur to Floor as she skittered across the ground in hot pursuit of the thief. People cried out in shock, indignation, and even horror as the small furry six-legged cyborg slipped between their legs or nearly knocked them of balance. All the while, Floor was focused on the thief.
Luckily, the thief assumed that Floor must have given up and slowed down to a brisk walk. This gave Floor the chance to close in and ram her metal mask into the back of his legs. He cried out and fell to the ground, knocked into a nearby alleyway. He turned and sat up quickly, and he was legitimately surprised to see that Floor had caught up with him.
“Give back Mr. Quill's Zune!” Floor shouted with an intensity that surprised herself. The fact of the matter was that Floor truly was tired of being the one that hid and had already done much to leave that life behind. She had saved Rocket in the ship. She had saved the Guardians by first energizing Mantis and then using the Nega Bands with Rocket to destroy the attacking fleet. There was no way she was going to let her new friend, her new family, down now by allowing this thief to take Mr. Quill's belongings.
The thief's eyes widened again, and he said, “Wait, Quill? From the Guardians of the Galaxy?”
“Yes!” Floor answered.
“Oh, crap!” He shouted, and he quickly set the Zune down in front of Floor ad said, “Look, I don't want any trouble with them, okay? I'm nobody, really. Protect me, please. You never saw me, okay? You never saw me.”
Then he got back up and ran off.
Floor blinked, surprised to see that he was afraid of the Guardians. Then she remembered that her brother had told he that the Guardians did dangerous things all the time. Nevertheless, Floor smiled behind her mask and grabbed the Zune, slipping into her tool bag. Mission accomplished.
Floor raised her head and looked to the left.
She looked the right.
Her heart sank.
She had no idea where she was.
End of part one