〘 :*¨༺ 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 ༻¨*: 〙

"This isn't my color...It clashes with my eyes."

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

" i'll wait for you there
like a stone "

ROOTS RAN DEEP no matter where they came from. For most, their roots lay in who their parents are, their blood relatives. As babies, our instinct is to cling to the mother, whose chest we lie on right after entering the world. To know we're protected by the man whose finger we hold with an iron grip. From the very beginning, to be our guides and comfort.

Ellie never remembered where she came from before Rocket and Groot. She entered the world when Rocket guided her out of her cage that day, her meek grip around his hand. Her family started with him, and she would never have it any other way.

The start of her life now lay on the medical table in front of her. Her hand wrapped around his, and her head lay tiredly on Groots' shoulder. Her eyes were droopy, but she didn't dare move her eyes from watching Rocket take in shaky short breaths, his small chest rising and falling. Groot sat beside her, one arm wrapped around Ellie's shoulders, rubbing her arms in an attempt to comfort her.

Blake, who stood in the doorway of the Med-Bay, ran a hand through his hair before he took a step back into the hallway. He sighed quietly, following after Peter, Mantis, and Drax.

"It's bio-formed." Nebula's voice informed over the ship's communication speakers. "Instead of being built, it's grown from living matter. The structure is surrounded by three impenetrable plasmic security shields. It's not going to be easy to break into this place, Star-Lord."

"Doesn't have to be easy," Peter replied into his communicator. "I was a professional thief, remember? I'll jam the signals one at a time." Peter turned and tossed the key to Blake, who caught it seamlessly. He stepped through to the control panels of the shield generators at the bottom of the ship. "She calls me Star-Lord when she's mad at me."

"She's always mad," Blake commented, sticking the key in and turning it, starting the machine up with a loud hiss.

"At everyone," Mantis added, typing on the control panel beside Blake.

"It's because I was drunk." Peter huffed. "She's right. If I hadn't been drinking," Peter grabbed the drive out of the generator, inserting it into a handheld device, "-maybe Rocket...I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Mantis reassured. "He's your best friend."

"Second best friend." Drax and Blake mumbled. The two men straightened, looking at each other with furrowed brows.

"I'm his brother." Blake reasoned.

"I was here before you," Drax explained simply, gesturing to the ship.

Blake squinted his eyes, taking a step back in confused disbelief. "No, you weren't-"

"Everyone around me dies." Peter interrupted, his gaze down and distant. "My mother, Yondu, Gamora."

"Gamora is not dead." Mantis countered.

"She is to us," Drax grumbled. He turned to Peter, raising a small chip bag. "You want a Zarg-Nut?"

Peter sighed, nodding as he dipped his hand into the bag. "Thank you." The device in his beeped, and Peter retracted the drive, putting it back into the generator. "First shield set." He spoke into the com, shutting the panel over the generator, and Blake took out the key.

"Three, two, one."

The lights on the ship flickered slightly as the group moved to the next box.

"Peter," Mantis began, making the man hum in response. "You had family on Earth, and you never wanted to go back to see them?"

Blake pushed the key in once more before turning it.

Peter shook his head, pulling the drive from the generator. "No, Blake's my brother, and you're my sister. That's all the family I want or need. Besides, it was really just my grandpa, okay? He was a pretty hard guy."

Blake shifted in his stance, glancing over at Peter shortly. Even though Blake had always been curious about his family on Earth and the night his mother died, he had never pushed Peter into talking about it. When they did, they would always talk about their mother, and that was all Blake ever needed.

"Still, don't you think he..." Mantis trailed off, making Peter glance at her with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"You and Blake were abducted by Ravagers the same day he lost his daughter."

Peter nodded. "Oh, yeah, he was upset. My mom died, he screamed in my face, threw a screaming baby in my arms, he pushed me out of the room!"

"He was probably just trying to protect you." Mantis reasoned.

"What are you talking about?"

Mantis shrugged. "What?"

Peter inserted the drive back into the shield generator. "I'm talking about the people in my life who died, and you're talking about this?" He raised the com to his mouth. "Second shield set."

"Three, two, one."

"I'm only saying," Mantis continued as the group moved through the halls of the ship to the next shield generator holding box, "you've never even gone to see if he's okay. He could still be alive.

"My grandpa?" Peter questioned, pulling on the door of a generator. "He'd be, like, ninety-something years old."

Mantis glanced over her shoulder from the large control panel. "So he could still be alive."

"Mantis, people on Earth die when they're, like, fifty," Blake explained, twisting the key and pressing a couple of buttons.

"They die when they're fifty?" Mantis raised her voice in shock.

Blake raised his brows and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Something like that."

"What's even the point of being born?" Mantis questioned.

Peter nodded, correcting the drive from the generator. "Exactly!"

"Are you about to die?"

Peter furrowed his brows in offense at the woman while Blake chortled.

"I'm not fifty!" Peter argued. His device beeped. "The point is," He continued, putting the drive back into the generator. "I wasn't talking about any of this." He took out his com. "Third shield set."

"Three, two, one."

The group moved through the halls, making their way back to the cockpit.

"Well, not everything is about what you are talking about," Mantis told Peter, staying close behind him. "And I'm only saying you are upset because so many of the people you cared about have left you...but you also left someone."

They squeezed into the elevator. With Blake being the closest to the buttons, he typed the floor keys.

Mantis turned to Drax with a hard glare. "And maybe I wanted a Zarg-Nut!"

"It's too late. They're all gone." Drax explained calmly as the elevator hummed to life. He reached into the bag still in his hand and popped a Zarg-Nut into his mouth. The elevator rattled, and the lights flickered. Electricity sparked across the surfaces, the ship humming to a stop.

"That's definitely not Els," Peter muttered, bringing the com up to his mouth. "Why didn't we go through?"

The elevator jerked to life, bringing them up just enough to get back onto the main floor.

"We did. It's not the shield."

"What the hell was that?" Ellie asked, appearing with Groot in the hall.

"Oh, hell." Blake sighed, watching the front window. Ellie followed his gaze, gasping at a man flying in front of the screen in a space suit with multiple ships surrounding him.

"Ravagers," Peter mumbled.

Their overhead speakers crackled before an unknown voice spoke throughout the ship. "Hey, guys, you're about to be boarded by the United Ravagers. You can surrender and turn over and stuff worth anything and live, or you can die." The back end of the Milano boomed as a Ravager ship connected to them. "Totes up to you."

Ellie's hands tightened into fists, glaring at the sparking orange portals that appeared at the end of the hall. A slithering red alien with no mouth waved its hand through the hall, creating more portals for Ravagers to step through.

Her head whipped around when a low chuckle came from the hall on the other side of Ellie. Ravagers raised their gun, clocking them as they pointed at her.

Blake grabbed Ellie by her bicep, pulling her to him.

More guns and Ravagers surrounded them, seeming to come out of every corner of the Milano.

Drax grunted, taking a step to defend them against the Ravagers. Peter quickly scrambled to stop him, putting his body between Drax and the Ravagers.

"Drax, no, no, no! Drax!" Peter held his hand up to the Ravagers to show his peace. "Guys, it's me. Peter Quill, I'm one of you, remember?"

"Hold on!" Nebula boomed, running from the cockpit. "We have an appointment!"

"We have an appointment," Peter repeated.

"With who?" One of the Ravagers growled.

"With Gamora," Nebula answered.

"With Gamora," Peter repeated once more. His brows furrowed, turning to Nebula. "What?"

"You're early." Gamora's voice cut through the silence. Ellie sucked in a breath, watching the woman she had once known so well push through the sea of Ravagers.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

BLAKE HUFFED AS a red-orange jumpsuit was thrown into his gut harshly.

"What are these?" Drax questioned.

"OrgoCorp uniforms." Starhawk, an older, gruffy man who was the leader of the United Ravagers, explained. "You're gonna have to wear these to move through the Orgo without attracting attention."

"This isn't my color," Drax commented. Starhawk turned from Peter to walk over to Drax.

"What did you say?" He sneered.

"It clashes with my eyes," Drax explained, making the Ravagers laugh.

"Put it on!"

"Drax," Ellie said, getting his attention. "It doesn't matter what color the damn suit is."

"I'm surprised you're not saying anything." Drax shrugged, turning to the showers to change. "You're the one always wearing blue."

Ellie rolled her eyes, pushing the door to the shower stall open. She clicked it to lock, tossing the jumpsuit to hang over the edge.

"Gamora, we are grateful for your help." Mantis thanked from behind the shower door. Ellie could not see over the shower door that ended just above her head unless she went onto her tiptoes. Still, she ducked her head, hearing Gamora's voice.

"Oh, I'm not doing this out of the kindness of my heart. I'm doing this for the hundred thousand units my sister promised."

Ellie bit her lip. It was strange to hear a voice so familiar but have the tone sound so foreign. It was just another reminder that Ellie would never get the Gamora she knew back.

Blake crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his weight onto his feet beside Peter. His eyes scanned the Ravagers, flickering between them and the door hiding Ellie behind it. He watched her shuffle her feet, items of clothing falling to the floor. The top of her ponytail was the only visible thing above the door until her hand reached for the jumpsuit hanging over the edge.

"So, you're a Ravager now?" Peter started casually, looking over at Gamora.

"Put on the uniform," She mumbled.

"Never pictured you as the Ravager type."

Gamora looked at him with confusion. "Who are you again?"

Peter sighed, looking down at the floor. "Oh, man."

Blake patted him on the back, pressing his lips together to keep from grimacing...or laughing.

"OrgoCorp is in possession of some of the most advanced cybergenetic IP in the galaxy, so they're heavily guarded by the deadly Orgosentries." Starhawk continued to explain. "Now, I know you don't have documentation to dock, so you're gonna have to get in there on your own. Once in, Gamora is gonna lead you to the records, where maybe you can find the passkey to override the kill switch and help you save the hedgehog."

As she changed, Ellie's mind wandered back to the moment in the Med-Bay. If there was even the slightest chance that she and Rocket had been taken by similar companies, she had to look for documents on her. If something were to happen to her, she would hate to put the group in a position like this again.

"But if you get into trouble," Starhawk's voice broke through her thoughts, "we will not be able to bail you out."

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

THE DOOR HISSED as it opened to space. Now wearing a blue space suit, Ellie pushed off her feet with the others, letting her push guide her towards the surface.

"There. That's the decompression chamber." Gamora's voice sounded through her helmet com.

"Lock in," Peter spoke. Ellie raised her wrist, pressing the button for the laser rope device. It connected to the surface beside the others, telling her suit where she needed to land. "Go."

Her suit hisses, releasing air on her back jets to push her to the surface. She swallowed hard, the odd weightless feeling throughout her body making her feel slightly queasy.

With a red glowing dot on the surface, Ellie adjusted to press her foot against the surface. She bounced, jumping from one spot to the next.

"Activate gravity boots and gloves," Peter advised. Ellie flipped once through the air and pressed her wrist to activate the gloves. Waiting until she could make a good land, she pressed the button on the side of her boot. She landed in a staggered stance.

Mantis landed next to her with her arms flailing, trying to catch her balance. Ellie grabbed her arm, helping the woman stand up right.

"Nebula, go."

Nebula's metal arm morphed, wiring with power. She knelt down to the surface, firing a red hot flaming laser into the flesh to cut it.

"That's disgusting," Blake grimaced, watching the yellow liquid from the organism's surface float into the space. Ellie nodded from beside him, watching Nebula work.

Blake pressed the orange button on the small panel on his forearm, turning their coms to private to talk only to Ellie.

"Sparky," He started. Ellie's gaze flickered to him, taking a step back to try and look up at him. With the space suit, she didn't have much mobility in her neck. She hummed, catching his eyes. "How are you doing?"

Her stare moved to the ground, and she licked her lips nervously. "Not good," She replied shortly. She took a deep breath to keep her emotions down.

"Something happened back in the Med-Bay, didn't it?" He questioned softly. He had noticed her distant moment when Nebula had gone over Rocket's information, he just hadn't found the time to bring it up yet. "What's going on?"

Ellie sighed. "I had this flashback from when Rocket and Groot rescued me." She replied. "But it was like I was just thinking of a memory; it felt like I had traveled there. It was like I was reliving it all over again. I don't know how it happened, but I'm scared that it will happen again, and I'll have to relive memories that I had suppressed for so long."

Not sure what to say, Blake put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. The corner of Ellie's lips turned up, sinking into him. The sound of her helmet clunking made her brows furrow and lean her head away from him.

"Sorry," Blake apologized awkwardly. "That was supposed to be me kissing your head."

Ellie chuckled, shaking her head as she wrapped her arms around his waist. The weight on her chest already felt so much lighter.

"So, you don't remember anything?" Peter's voice sounded.

"Like what?" Gamora asked. They were both kneeling on one knee beside the other, with Gamora watching Nebula work intently and Peter looking at Gamora.

"'Bout your time with us."

Gamora shook her head with a short sigh. "No."

"Huh. We were-"

"We weren't anything." Gamora interrupted.

"You and me..."

"That person was some alternate future version of me." Gamora looked over at him. "It wasn't me."

"We loved each other."

"I don't think so."

"I know you don't remember any of it." Peter paused, gazing towards the ground. "You were everything to me. And I miss you...so much."

Ellie knew that Peter must have meant for the rest of them not to hear, but, in a way, she was glad she did.

"And, maybe...maybe, if you open yourself up to it, there's a possibility-"

"I don't think so, Quinn."

Blake grimaced at the woman's mistake.

"Quill." Peter corrected gently.

"Quill. I don't think so."

"Well, what I'm trying to say-"

"Peter, you know this is an open line, right?" Mantis interrupted.

"What?"

Blake tapped the purple button on his panel. "We can hear everything you were saying."

"And it is painful," Drax commented.

"I thought it was sweet," Ellie countered.

Peter's mouth gaped at them. "And you're just telling me now?"

"We were hoping it would stop on its own," Nebula muttered.

"But I switched it over to private!"

"What color button did you push?" Mantis asked.

Peter pointed at the purple button. "Purple, for the purple suit!"

Drax shook his head. "Oh, no."

"Purple is the open line for everyone," Nebula explained.

"Pink is for Purple," Mantis informed.

Peter shook his head in dramatic confusion. "What?"

Mantis raised her arm, pointing to each color on the panel. "Black is for orange, orange is for blue, yellow is for green, green is for red, and red is for pink."

"No, yellow is for yellow." Drax corrected. "Green is for red, red is for green."

Mantis shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Try it then," Blake suggested, knowing that Drax was right.

Mantis pressed the yellow button before screaming, "HELLO!" Peter shouted in protest, instinctively raising her hands to his helmet to cover his ears. Mantis pressed the blue button once more. "You were right."

"How the hell am I supposed to know all of that?" Peter shouted in annoyance.

Drax shrugged. "Seems intuitive."

"Can we get back to saving our friend?" Nebula yelled to interrupt them, bringing the group back to the task at hand. With the new silence, Nebula turned to Peter. "Get that jammer ready to change the shield."

Peter reached into his utility belt behind him and pulled out the device, presenting it to Nebula. Nebula shifted on her knees, her arm morphing into a webbed hand to grip the surface flesh. With an odd suctioned pop, the thick flesh slid from its spot, and Nebula tossed it into space. Peter quickly reached in and placed the device on in the inside, breaking the shield into a purple-hued portal into the facility.

Nebula flew in first, then Gamora, and Ellie drove in, trying to shrink herself from touching the fleshy edges of