Chapter Text
Their booted feet pounded loudly in the hallway as they ran from the room, and Drax placed Rocket's vial–filled with his companion's belongings–into his belt. He could hear his leader's harsh breathing from behind him, and turned to see the human struggling to keep his footing as he ran.
It was not a difficult thing to remedy, though Quill's yelps certainly did not help as Drax grabbed the Terran and threw him over his shoulder. "Drax, what the- what the heck, dude?!"
"Star-Lord, you cannot run quickly enough in your current physical state. It would be far more helpful if you made certain that we are not pursued to our ship."
The Terran's reply was lost in the ensuing blaster fire as Drax cleared his way into the elevator, barely getting the door to close behind him. "I dunno if we really have time for an elevator ride, Drax …" Quill said, and the Destroyer agreed, knowing that the elevator controls were DNA coded.
That left only one way out.
"I will get us to the ship, Star-Lord. Do not worry." He set the human back down, and Quill immediately slipped–not having expected it–sitting gracelessly on the floor with a thud and a grunt. The Kylosian looked up at the ceiling for a moment, ignoring the shouts and pounding from the elevator door, before leaping upwards with another roar.
The ceiling crumbled around him under the force of his compact body, and he flew into the elevator shaft easily, landing back on top of the elevator with his feet on either side of the hole. His old bruises flared to life in the wake of this new strain, but Drax was unharmed.
"The hell, man?!" Quill's feminine cries came from beneath him, and he looked down to see the human covered in dust, standing shakily once again.
"Give me your hand, Star-Lord. We cannot stay here."
As if on cue, the building shook with the force of a large explosion, and the Terran lost his footing once more, beginning to fall to the floor again.
He never hit, as Drax bent to grab the back of his guard's uniform and hauled him through the hole to throw him over his shoulder as before. "Draaax!" The human whined, struggling weakly to escape the Kylosian's firm grip as Drax began to use the metal poles in the shaft to climb. "I'm not a baby, dude! I know how to climb!"
"You should not overtax yourself when you are clearly physically unwell." The Destroyer could hear the echoes of pounding rippling up the shaft from where the guards were attempting to follow them. "They did not spare you any pain."
There was a huff of breath from Quill then, and it was a long moment before the Terran finally answered. "I'm fine, Drax."
Drax wanted to point out that the statement was plainly a lie, but he knew that Star-Lord was already aware of that fact, so he remained silent.
It did not take him long to reach the next door up, and it suddenly occurred to him that they were perhaps much farther underground than he had originally thought. If such were the case, than he would have to climb much more before they could reach the ground level.
The Kylosian ignored the sound of blaster fire and the stray shots that flew past him as he looked up the elevator shaft. It was very long, and he couldn't see the top due to how far away it was.
He could feel Quill returning fire from his back, and was pleased to look down and watch as the shaft beneath them was completely blocked with ice.
Drax continued the climb, speeding up when he heard the crackling sound of the ice breaking from below. Star-Lord continued to add more ice with his element blaster even as it was broken away, and he could hear Quill breathing hard with the exertion.
They needed to get out of there.
The Kylosian stopped at the next door, deciding to try it in the hopes that it would lead them outside. If not, then they would have to fight some more guards.
All Drax knew was that whatever happened, he wouldn't lose the family that he had recently found.
"Quill, blast this door open."
"Drax … was the building this tall?" He felt Star-Lord twist, attempting to look over his own shoulder at the elevator shaft above them. "Don't we have to go farther up?"
The Destroyer didn't get the chance to reply as the ice from below them suddenly exploded from the force of a powerful blast.
"Krutack." Star-Lord turned, weakening the door easily with pure flames from his blaster, then leaning back down to replace his icy wall underneath them.
Drax jumped at the red-hot door, and it fell apart around him, only burning him marginally as he broke through it running. Quill closed up the entrance behind them with ice, even as the Kylosian pulled to a stop, surveying the empty hall before him. "Your supposition was correct. We are still too far down."
"Damn!" Quill squirmed in his grip. "Put me down, dude! We need to find out if there are stairs-" He cut himself off as a troop of men turned the corner, their uniforms completely different, though still recognizable as security.
"Get them!" They all ran at Drax, who supposed that Jaifo had only been speaking of the guards on the bottom level when he had numbered them earlier.
It was a good thing that Drax could take on far more than 127. He ran forward with a shout, ready for his revenge. "MEET YOUR DESTROYER!"
Star-Lord squirmed out of his grip then, falling to the floor with a groan. "Drax! These are those losers that got us before! Look out for the electricity!" Mud erupted from his blaster, enveloping a good portion of the guards before he quickly followed it up with wind that dried it to them, rooting them in place.
Drax had already taken out three of them before the electricity reached him. All of his bruises flared to life at once, and he stumbled to his knees while black spots invaded his vision.
For a long moment, Drax's world was pain.
"Get off my friend, you sonuva-!" Quill's voice was the first thing that he became aware of when the pain abruptly stopped, and it took a moment for the Kylosian to clear his head.
He could see that the majority of the room was covered in ice and earth, freezing many guards in place, and he turned to see his leader grappling with two guards at once, listing badly to the side where he stood and breathing quite heavily.
Once more, the Destroyer's knives were flying through the air, dispatching the last two guards just as the human before them collapsed onto the ground. "Quill!" Drax stumbled to his feet, and almost fell back when the room rocked from another explosion.
The guards from below were attempting to break the very thick ice that Star-Lord had placed over the door, but weren't having much success as of yet.
"D- Draaax …" The Terran wheezed, sitting himself up a little, trembling all over.
"I told you, Peter Quill, you have nothing to fear." Drax promised. "I will rescue us from this foul place. I will find the stairs, and if they cannot be found I will make them myself!"
"I- … I believe … you would …" Star-Lord let loose a shaky laugh and Drax nodded sagely.
"It is wise to believe me. I do not lie."
"Except for- … for when you do." The Terran shook his head, and the Kylosian could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yes. Except for when I do."
They both sat like that for a moment longer, the only sounds in the room being Star-Lord's shuddering breaths and the noisy explosions from the elevator shaft. Then Drax finally stood. "I must find the stairs, so that we may escape."
"H- Hey … wait …" The human got to his knees. "M- maybe we don't- … don't need the stairs …" Quill grabbed his arm. "Rocket's vial … the- the jetpack …"
"Ah." Drax nodded, pulling it out of his pocket immediately. "That will aid us much more in our escape." He activated the vial, watching as Gamora's sword fell out, followed closely by Rocket's clothes, and then his jetpack.
The Kylosian put it on quickly before returning the other items to the vial and tucking it back into place, looking at his leader, who was still on his hands and knees. "Star-Lord, are you capable of blasting the ceilings above us?"
"Why Drax, I thought you'd never ask!" The enthusiasm and humor in the Terran's voice were at odds with the strangeness of his statement, revealing its sarcastic quality. The Destroyer still replied, keeping the smile from his own face.
"You were incorrect if you thought that I would never ask for your assistance." Drax picked up the human easily, this time holding him as he would a small child, allowing Star-Lord a better chance to shoot.
The human laughed at Drax's literal answer, his voice tinny from within the helmet.
Then they rocketed upwards, with Quill spewing fire so that the ceiling would crumble as they flew through it. They passed through four levels in this manner before Drax recognized the floor they were on.
He flew through two more ceilings before changing direction easily, shooting quickly towards the outer wall. They burst out far above the many heads of the creatures below, and the Destroyer angled himself towards the ship immediately.
It felt as though days had passed since Drax had last been outside. The air was sharp with many different smells and flavors, and the two suns of the solar system were beginning to creep into the sky.
His rescue mission had taken him all night.
He utilized Rocket's jetpack for a while longer, and then dropped into the middle of the market, running for all he was worth towards the parked Milano. Drax only slowed down when they exited the city and he could sense no pursuit, and swiftly made his way to where they had hidden their ship, adjusting the quiet Terran in his arms as he did so.
The sight of the Milano filled him with a sense of unprecedented relief, and he found himself excited to share it with the limp human in his arms. "Quill, we are here! We are home!"
There was no answer, and he looked down at Star-Lord, observing his lack of movement before deactivating his leader's mask. The Terran's bruised face was still and pale, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open.
Quill had fainted.