This is it, the last chapter of Rocket and Lylla's story.

After the Battle for Earth, life went back to a relative normal. The people that were brought back in 'The Blip' as they called it had to adjust to the five-year difference, but the world started to rebuild itself once again.

The Guardians of the Galaxy had a tearful reunion, with Shocket finally getting to meet her entire family. The Gamora of the past was nowhere to be seen after the battle, but Star-Lord and Nebula were convinced that she was still alive out there. They would be leaving Earth soon to try and find her.

While Lylla had revived Tony, his injuries were still fairly severe. The Nova Corps offered to take him off-world to get proper healing, but even with the most advanced technology he would still have to retire as a hero. It seemed that while the Phoenix had revived Tony, it had only made it so that he would live to get treatment for his injures, not make a full recovery.

"I'm sorry about that, Tony," Lylla said over a video call. She and the Guardians were already in space, with Star-Lord and their newest member Thor having an argument over who was captain.

"It's fine Lylla," Tony coughed. "We had to do whatever to took to save everyone, so I can't be entirely mad at you that I get to see my family again."

"Got anyone in mind to take your place on Terra?" the otter asked.

"Morgan will probably take over the company once she's old enough," Tony said. "As for now, the kid- Peter will do fine."

"I'll make sure to visit often so that Shocket can hang out with Morgan," Lylla promised.

As for what happened to the Infinity Stones, Steve was the one that took them back to their proper places in time, though he took this as his last mission. From what Natasha told her, Cap decided to stay in the past with his beloved Peggy Carter, and was now passing on his mantel to Sam Wilson, the Falcon.

"What about you, Natasha?" Lylla asked. "What will you do next?"

"This was my last mission as well," Natasha said. "I'm retiring, from Shield, the Avengers, all of it."

"And what about your family?"

Natasha gave a sad smile. "I'll still be around, Lylla, but for now it's my turn to ride off into the sunset. We never did figure out what happened with the Soul Stone, so I'll be doing some personal research into it. If there's any way to give Clint the rest of his soul back, I'll take it, even as the cost of my own."

"But Cap said- "

"While Steve might not trade lives, as an assassin I can't live by those rules," Natasha said firmly.

Lylla paused, then nodded in understanding. "Alright, but please contact me before you do anything. One last goodbye."

With that, life was back to normal. Rocket and Lylla had been through a lot, from being heroes on Half-World to bounty hunters, from Guardians of the Galaxy to Avengers, to being parents to two kids (adopted kid in Groot's case). They could have a rest, at least until the next galactic crisis came around.

[***]

Lylla.

Lylla.

Did you think there would be no consequences for your actions, Lylla?

You saved the Archer and Widow, but one of them must die to complete the ritual. The Soul Stone demands a full soul.

…

I am not whole, Lylla.

You returned part of me, but my other parts are still adrift in the universe.

You are my first host in a long time, Lylla.

You used my power to bring back the Iron Man, so you must be the one to return my missing parts.

Find my pieces.

Make me whole.

Awaken the Phoenix once again.

Lylla woke up with a gasp, her breath heavy and eyes starting to drip with tears.

"Lylla?" Rocket asked, sitting up next to her. "Ly? Lady, what's wrong?"

"It was the Phoenix," she said, burying her muzzle into her mate's chest. "It spoke to me. It said that Natasha or Clint would have to give herself fully to the Soul Stone. The way Nat spoke to me, I think she knows that and will be the one to give herself back to the stones. How come even when I try to save people, I always lose someone else in return?" She sniffled. "First it was Groot against Ronan, then Yondu against Ego. Even Gamora was taken by Thanos, and now…"

Rocket patted Lylla on the head, softly whispering into her ear. "Lady, it's okay, it's okay. Groot and Yondu both willingly sacrificed themselves for us, and I'm sure Nat would do the same for her team as well. We've lost a lot of good people, but that just means we've got to hold onto what we can."

"Mum, Dad?" Shocket asked, waking up from the noise. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine, Shocket," Rocket replied. "Just some adult stuff."

The ottercoon yawned. "Well, I'm going back to sleep then. Night Mum, night dad."

"Good night, little one," Lylla said. As Shocket went back to sleep, the otter took a breath and faced her mate. "That wasn't the only thing the Phoenix told me. There are more parts of the M'Kraan crystal out there, each holding a shard of its power inside. It wants me to look for them."

"Then we can do that while we look for Gamora," Rocket said.

Lylla shook her head. "I think this is something I'll have to do on my own. I was the one that used its power. I was the one that asked it to revive Tony. I alone must do this."

Rocket paused. He brought Lylla close to him again. "Lylla, ever since we left Half-World, I've been so scared of losing you. Even now, after all we've been through, that thought can keep me up at night. Now that we have the Guardians, we don't ever, ever have to do anything alone. We're a family, so you better be sure as hell that we're going to help you, whether you want us to or not."

Lylla leaned into her mate. "Right. You're right. Geez, when did you become the reasonable one out of us?"

"Don't get used to it," Rocket chuckled. "I'll be back to blowing things up soon enough."

Lylla laughed. "So then, how about it? A mission to return the parts of a cosmic entity. Sounds pretty dangerous."

"Well, whatever is out there, they'll have to face us and the rest of this bunch of losers together, Lady Lylla," Rocket said.

"Wherever it takes us, Ranger Rocket," Lylla said.

The two Half-Worlders new that their adventures were only starting anew, but now was different from when they left Half-World all those years ago. They had a new family, both found and birthed, by their side and just as crazy as they were. The galaxy couldn't guard itself, so while they were looking for the Phoenix and Gamora, they could do a little bit of good and bad on the side. Rocket and Lylla had each other, and their bond was stronger than ever.

Author's Note

I always knew this story was going to end on a more open-ended note. Even before Infinity War and Endgame came out, I was planning on the ending being Rocket and Lylla with Shocket. It's going to be a long time until Guardians Volume Three is out, so for now this is goodbye to our furry duo. Maybe once the third movie comes out, I'll return to make an extra story about those events in this world.

As I said, Tony and Natasha surviving does come at a cost. Natasha was always going to be the one to sacrifice herself, it's just that now she does so after the fact. I imagine that instead of dying completely she'll become the new Stonekeeper in place of Red Skull. As for Tony, he'll still retire from being a hero, and like the Hulk his injures aren't ones that can be fully healed.

Lylla also has to find the pieces of the Phoenix to pay for bringing Tony back to life. The Phoenix Force isn't one to use its powers for everyone, especially a person that doesn't wield it at full strength (that's why it used the Infinity Stones to help bring Tony back, by the way). Luckily for her, she has Rocket, Groot, Shocket, and the rest of the Guardians to help her on this new mission.

I just want to take this time to say thank you to everyone that has read this story. "Half-Worlders of the Galaxy" has been one of my most positively received stories, and one that I had a lot of fun with. It took a while to finish it (For context, I started it in December 2017 and am now finishing it in June 2020) but I'm happy to leave Rocket and Lylla's story here. They'll have many more adventures together, but for now, I'll let them have their happy ending.

This is The Dragon Saver, signing off to my fellow Guardians.