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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒

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"I guess most of Nova Corps wanna uphold the laws, but these ones here, they're corrupt and cruel," Rocket explained as Primrose walked behind him and in front of her brother through the halls of the Kyln, "but, hey, that's not my problem. I ain't gonna be here long. I've escaped twenty-two prisons. This one's no different."

"Do you really think it's a good idea to be saying that out loud?" the Quill woman questioned while her eyes scanned over the back of the guard that was escorting them.

"You two are lucky the broad showed up because otherwise me and Groot would be collecting that bounty right now," the raccoon continued speaking as if Primrose never said a word before looking back and sending her a small smirk, "and you'd be getting drawn and quartered by Yondu and those Ravagers."

"We've had a lot of folks try to kill us over the years. We aren't about to be brought down by a tree and talking raccoon," Peter scoffed while his sister did her best to hold back her laughter, only to fail.

"What's a raccoon?" the furry creature questioned as he looked back to look at the younger Quill sibling once again after the guards forced the group of prisoners to stop.

"'What's a raccoon?' It's what you are, stupid," the Quill man responded at the same moment Primrose let out another small chuckle before the former's attention landed on Gamora, "so, this Orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe. What is it?"

"I am Groot."

"So what?" Peter responded to the giant tree at the same moment Primrose repeated, "what's the Orb?"

"I have no words for honorless thieves," the Zehoberei woman told the Quill man in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"Pretty high and mighty coming from the lackey of a genocidal maniac," Rocket retaliated, causing Gamora to glance down at him with a hint of shock in her eyes before she turned her back to him once again, "yeah, I know who you are. Anyone who's anyone knows who you are."

"Yeah, we know who you are," Peter added before Primrose turned to look at him with a confused look on her face, only to find her brother looking up at Groot with an equally lost look, "who is she?"

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, you said that."

The group came to a sudden stop at a closed-door before the silence was filled by soft beeping. As they waited around for the guard to open the entrance to the next room, Gamora let out a small sigh and opened her mouth to speak once again. "I wasn't retrieving the Orb for Ronan. I was betraying him. I had an agreement to sell it to a third party."

"I am Groot."

"Well, that's just as fascinating as the first eighty-nine times you told me that," Peter told the giant tree behind him before his attention fell back on the furry creature in front of his sister, "what is wrong with Giving Tree, here?"

"Well, he don't know talking good like me and you. So his vocabulistics is limited to 'I' and 'am' and 'Groot.' Exclusively in that order," Rocket explained in a way that made Primrose's brain hurt before she stared down at the creature in front of her.

"That sentence is so far from grammatically correct it should be illegal," the Quill woman muttered under her breath, causing Peter to let out a laugh at the annoyance in his sister's tone.

Before any of them could respond, the doors slowly slid open to reveal their next destination. They soon began walking through the halls of the Kyln in silence once again. When they passed by a small door in the bars that separated them from the guards, a familiar song met her ears. Primrose's breath got caught in her throat as she turned her attention toward the source of the sound. She was shocked to find one of the guards with Peter's walkman in his hands. It wasn't long after that when her brother realized what was happening.

Peter instantly started shouting at the guard to put his prized possession down, only for his demands to go ignored. Primrose could sense the irritation radiating off her brother without even having to look over at him but she still didn't expect what happened next. As the gate in front of them started to close, Peter managed to squeeze through before it shut with a loud clang. Everyone watched as the Quill man stared down the blue guard in front of him, who was now staring at the Terran in annoyance and anger.

"Hey! Listen to me, you big blue idiot. Take those headphones off," Peter demanded as he circled the table to get closer to the guard while the latter took off the headphones and continued to stare at the redheaded man, "that's mine. Those belong to impound. That tape and that player are mine!"

The man's response to Star-Lord's words was using his baton to electrocute the latter. Peter's screams cut through the air and made Primrose flinch before she watched him fall to his knees. Despite wanting to yell at him for his foolish actions, the Quill woman kept her mouth sealed shut while her brother continued to glare at the guard.

"Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede, 1973. That song belongs to me!" Peter shouted, only to be electrocuted over and over again in response while his sister and the rest of his group watched from the other side of the closed gate.

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After getting hosed down and changing into her bright yellow prison uniform, Primrose followed Gamora out into the hall. The two of them walked in silence between their escorts before reuniting with the males of their group. They continued to walk through the halls until they reached their final destination. The guards shoved blankets into the groups' arms right as they walked through the entrance of the main living area of the prison. Primrose stayed as close as she could to Peter as they looked around at where they would be staying for who knows how long. While she took in every aspect of her new environment, the Quill woman couldn't figure out whether she should be impressed with the Kyln or terrified by the fact that everyone in there was far more ruthless than her and her brother.

The brunette woman's thoughts were soon cut short by something hitting the side of her head. When she looked in the direction the object was thrown, she found a small crowd of inmates yelling at her, Peter, and their new associates. Or, more specifically, Gamora. But it wasn't just that one group. As Primrose took in more of her surroundings, she found almost every inmate shouting, glaring, or throwing things at the Zehoberei woman.

"It's like I said, she's gotta rep," Rocket said to the Quill siblings, drawing their attention down to him before he continued, "a lot of prisoners here have lost their families to Ronan and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."

"The guards will protect her, right?" Peter asked as the shouting continued while they walked further into the main living area.

"Have you not been paying attention, Pete?" Primrose responded, causing her brother to look over at her with a questioning look in his eyes, "it's obvious that the guards don't care about what happens inside these walls. They just wanna keep us here."

"Whatever nightmares the future holds, are dreams compared to what's behind me," Gamora stated, making Peter look back at her with a blank expression on his face while his sister tried to hide the goosebumps forming on her arms.

After the Quill siblings exchanged a quick look, they turned around to continue walking, only for a blue alien to stop them in their path. The uneasy feeling inside Primrose doubled as she watched the huge prisoner look over her brother.

"Check out the new meat," the blue alien said before his eyes moved back up to meet Peter's, "I'm gonna slather you up in Gunavian jelly-"

The monstrous alien's threat was cut off by Groot stepping forward and lifting the former up in the air by his nose. The inmates yelling at Gamora fell silent as they watched the scene play out in front of them. It wasn't long after that when Rocket stepped forward to address the crowd while the Quill siblings continued to cluelessly stand in the middle of it all.

"Let's make something clear! These two are our booty!" the raccoon shouted while he pointed toward Peter and Primrose, "you wanna get to them, you go through us! Or, more accurately, we go through you!"

As soon as Rocket finished speaking, Groot released his grip around the giant blue alien before the two of them continued walking through the main living area. Primrose just stared down at the alien who was just threatening her brother as he cried on the metal floor. Her eyes stayed glued to him until her attention was drawn back to Peter when he nudged her with his shoulder. The two of them just stared at each other with uncertain looks in their eyes. After both of them looked down at the sobbing alien one last time, they turned back to face the crowd that surrounded them.

"We're with them," the Quill man announced as he gestured toward the retreating figures of Rocket and Groot.

Once he finished looking around at all the inmates watching them, Peter slung his arm around Primrose's shoulders and forced her to continue walking along with them. The eldest of the Quill siblings proceeded to guide his sister through the Kyln until they reached a fork in the halls with two guards standing in the middle. The man watched the siblings with an expectant look in their eyes which instantly told the moment the Quill woman was dreading finally came. Primrose and Peter both knew that this was where they had to go their separate ways, so it wasn't a surprise to them. What did shock them was finding Gamora standing with the two guards waiting for the younger Quill to join her.

Before the Quill woman could take another step, her brother grabbed her by the shoulders and forced him to face her. Primrose looked up at him to find Peter staring down at her with a hint of worry in his eyes. This only added to the shock she was feeling. He hadn't looked at her like that since Yondu forced her to train.

"Be careful, alright?" Peter told her as he adjusted his grip around the blanket in his arm, "don't do anything stupid."

"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?" Primrose retaliated with a quirked eyebrow, only to be greeted by an annoyed look from her brother before she let out a sigh, "I promise I'll be careful. I can survive one night without you."

Peter quickly pulled Primrose in for another hug before they went their separate ways. The Quill woman followed Gamora through the halls as they made their way toward their cell for the night. Along the way, inmates began to follow and crowd around them before they resumed shouting at the Zehoberei woman. Even though they basically ignored her presence, the Quill woman started to feel uncomfortable from the unwanted attention and it soon became too much to bear.

The brunette woman kept her head down while trying to ignore the yelling until she and Gamora finally reached their destination. Primrose didn't hesitate to walk into the small room and sit down on her cot for the night. The Quill woman let out a relieved sigh when she heard the door close before looking up at Gamora, only to find the woman looking back at her with a hint of terror in her eyes.

The two women continued to stare at each other until their trance was interrupted by an inmate slamming his hands against the glass. His actions caused both Primrose and Gamora to jump out of their skin. It wasn't long after that when the brunette woman turned her attention toward the glass to find the crowd even bigger than before.

"This is gonna be a long night," the Quill woman muttered under her breath before placing her head in her hands and letting out another long sigh.

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