〘 :*¨༺ 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 ༻¨*: 〙

"Bit excited are we?"

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

" every breath you take
and every move you make
every bond you break
every step you take
i'll be watching you "

AFTER ELLIE AND Blake had left the room the Guardians found that the passkey in Rocket's file had been deleted that same day by one of the High Evolutionary's recorders. They quickly found the coordinates to the High Evolutionary, setting course to find the dickhead that dissected their friends and save Rocket.

Ellie stood on Rocket's bedside, silent tears now pooling on her chin. She wore her guardian's suit, a ravager emblem on her chest. Her hands, wrapped in dark blue fingerless gloves, clutched his limp paw, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"Rocket," She croaked, her throat horse. "I-" She let out a shuttered breath and closed her eyes. "I need you. I need you to come back. I'm remembering everything now and it won't go away." She put her forehead against her fists, trying to connect in some way to Rocket through touch alone.

She yearned for his words, whether they were advice or saying some stupid joke or swearing, anything. She'd give anything to hear him.

In the cockpit of the Bowie, Blake leaned his arms against the railings on the platform next to Peter.

"How's she doing?" Peter asked, leaning beside his younger brother.

Blake kept his gaze forward, watching the stars in the galaxy pass them by. "The best she can be." He replied, looking down at his folded hands in front of him. "I want to help and understand. I just want to be there for her, but I don't know how when I could never understand what she's been through. What they both went through."

Peter placed his hand on Blake's shoulder, drawing the young man's eyes to him.

"I think your support and your presence are enough for her Blake." He advised, the corners of his lips turning up weakly. "She doesn't need you to know, she just wants you to be there so she doesn't have to be alone. She loves you man, so just..." Peter shrugged, trying to find the right words. "-love her, protect her and you know, be her partner in crime."

Blake smiled lazily, glancing away with a small scoff. "Wow, Pete, that was actually really good advice."

Peter raised his brows. "Really?" He cleared his throat. "I mean-Yeah of course." He curled his lip. "It's my job to guide my young padawan."

"Padawan?" Blake echoed, standing up straight.

"Star Wars, come on man."

Blake raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, it's not my fault I got abducted before I could watch Earth movies."

"What is this War of the Stars?" Drax asked, joining the pair on the platform and looking out to the cockpit.

Peter waved his hand dismissively. "Just an Earth movie that depicts space very incorrectly."

Drax nodded his head, grabbing Peter by his shoulders. "Quill," He began, his voice much more serious. Peter furrowed his brows, sharing a quick look with Blake. "Life is a pond, and you've spent your entire life leaping from woman to woman as if they're lily pads upon this great pond. Perhaps, what you need to do, Quill, is learn to swim."

Blake pressed his lips into a firm line, actually impressed by how wise Drax's words were.

"That actually made sense," Peter said, breaking the short silence.

Drax smiled. "Yes, it made sense."

"No, I mean, that's sort of an analogy. And I didn't know that you were capable of that type of thought." Peter elaborated further.

Drax's smile faded, replaced with a very offended look.

"I know lots of analogies, Quill. Analogies, metaphors, et cetera." Drax briefly looked over Blake's shoulder at Mantis, who hid in the corner shaking her head. "For instance, Gamora's head is like a lily pad because it is green. Analogy. And also stupid-looking and flappy."

"Flappy?" Blake questioned, tilting his head with furrowed brows.

"Because her skin is made of a leaf. Metaphor."

"Is it?" Peter asked rhetorically.

"Yesterday," Drax continued "I made a poop shaped like a fish. Even my butt is capable of making an analogy."

Blake scoffed lightly, shaking his head. "Gosh, Drax. We did not need that much detail."

The brothers furrowed their brows as Drax looked behind them once more. They turned in unison, spotting Mantis holding her head in her hands.

"Oh,"

"Help!" Ellie's cry broke the slightly peaceful atmosphere of the ship before the Med-Bay's alarm sounded.

Blake and Peter quickly broke into a sprint down the hall to the Med-Bay. Ellie was hunched over the bed, trying to figure out what was wrong while Rocket groaned and twitched on the bed. The monitors beeping wildly around them.

Nebula walked in right before them, looking over the monitors to find the source of the problem.

"What's happening?" Peter questioned, stopping at the end of the bed while Blake put his hand on Ellie's shaking shoulder.

"The fluid is in his lungs," Nebula answered, turning from the monitors.

"Well get it out of his lungs!" Ellie shouted, her shaking hands hovering over Rocket's form. While Nebula grabbed a syringe from one of the medical cabinets, Ellie muttered reassuring words to not only Rocket but herself.

Once Nebula started to pull the fluid from Rocket's lungs, his body ceased its convulsion, his groaning became a slow wheeze and the monitors went back to their simple short beeps.

"He's dying," Nebula said shortly. A small squeak left Ellie as she closed her eyes and sunk her head. "We need that passkey. We don't have long."

The comms over the speakers of the ship dinged to life. "We've arrived," Mantis announced.

Ellie locked eyes with Nebula, a confliction in her stare and a hard desperation with her unspoken question.

Nebula nodded her head at the young woman. "He will be alright for now. But if you stay here Ellie, it will not help him."

Blake placed his hand in the crook of Ellie's back, providing an unspoken reassurance. Ellie nodded, taking one last look at Rocket before peeling herself away from the table.

They walked out of the Med-Bay side by side, their fingers intertwined together. The ship entered the atmosphere of the planet with an odd, eerie-like resemblance to Earth.

"This is freaky," Blake exhaled, peering at the window to the planet's inhabitants, animals with human-like mannerisms. They appeared normal, living in a suburban neighborhood, wearing suits and skirts, mowing lawns, tending to gardens, and walking along sidewalks. No sign of any malice.

The inhabitants looked up at the ship with increasing curiosity and interest. A crowd formed around the front of the ship entrance as it landed.

The stairs hissed, extending the entrance to the pavement of the road. The guardians tentatively made their way down with Peter leading the group with his hands raised, trying to appear non threatening to the animals who took fearful steps away from the group.

"Hello," Peter greeted, his voice clear and calm. "We mean you no harm."

A little Tarsier girl rolled a big red ball towards them, swinging side to side innocently. Drax picked it up with a smile as the child giggled. The crowd gasped as Drax threw it back harshly, hitting the Tarsier child in the face, and knocking her to the ground.

"Drax!" Ellie shouted accusingly.

The man threw his arms out towards the child lying on the pavement. "What? It should have caught it." He reasoned.

What appeared to be a rabbit man in a suit pointing at them, yelling in a language unknown by the Guardians ears. The crowd murmured their agreement, reaching down at their feet.

"Listen to me, he was just trying to throw her back her ball-" Peter was cut off by a small rock hitting the side of his head. "Ow!"

Drax's booming laughter was cut off by a rock thrown at his own head, turning to find the perpetrator of the throw. "Hey!"

Ellie put her arms in front of her face to block the rocks thrown at her, making her way to the front of the group. She threw her arms out, creating a crackling shield in front of the Guardians. The translucent blue shield sparked brightly with each bounce off from a rock. The crowd's anger didn't cease as they shouted and continued to throw various objects against Ellie's forcefield.

"Groot, full Kaiju!" Nebula ordered.

Blake quickly intervened, stepping in front of Groot with his arms raised. "No! Not full Kaiju!"

Failing to hear the man's words, Groot grew his body into a thin, tall creature, towering over the animals and Ellie's shield.

"I AM GROOT!" He boomed, making the inhabitants scramble and scream as they ran away.

Ellie let go of her shield, turning to Groot with her hands raised to him. "Groot stop! Groot down!"

Groot ignored her, wagging his tongue as he made growling noises, further terrifying the animals.

"Groot!" Ellie shouted, her voice stern and commanding. Groot looked down at her, tilting his head. She looked more like an ant than usual, and it was hard not to laugh with her face scrunched in annoyance at him. "Get down. Now."

Groot lowered his head at her scolding. His branches shrunk back to his regular size, his form still towering over Ellie's form.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

THE GROUP VENTURED into the home of what appeared to be a batwoman Peter had befriended. Music played throughout the home, a quick upbeat tune to go along with the bright colors of the carpet and furniture. The alien woman spoke quickly to two children playing in a bedroom and shut the door before guiding the Guardians into a living room. Her husband, who stood in the kitchen called out to her, his tone questioning with wide eyes.

Ellie looked at the picture frames lining the wall, her lip quirking up at the family pictures. In every picture, there were smiling faces, arms wrapped around each other in tight embraces. She followed Blake to the couch along one of the walls.

He plopped himself on the corner, rearranging the throw pillows behind his back. He rested one arm on the arm of the couch whilst the other was laid on the back creating a perfect inviting spot for Ellie. She sighed heavily, sitting down directly next to Blake and immediately sinking into his side. It was hard not to cozy up and shut her eyes for a moment.

"Yeah, yeah, sit," Peter muttered, taking one of the chairs from the center table, nodding to the rest of the Guardians still standing. "Let's sit. Okay."

The bat woman stormed over to the window, where her neighbors curiously peered through in a frenzy. She twisted the curtain knob, turning the curtain flaps to a close.

Drax went to the other side of the coach. Heaving a deep exhale, he lay down, sprawling his legs across the couple's laps.

"Hey!"

"Drax, come on man." The pair groaned in protest whilst Ellie threw Drax's heavy boots off her lap, making them hit the floor with a loud thud.

"I am Groot."

Drax picked up his head off the throw pillow. "It's not rude. It's what it's here for."

"Drax, sit up!" Nebula scorned, taking a seat at the table. Drax rolled his eyes but complied, shuffling to sit in the middle cushion beside Ellie.

Peter folded his hands in front of them, bowing his head at the bat-woman. "Thank you."

The woman bowed her head, responding in her alien language. Her husband now carried a tray of glasses filled with ice and cans of drinks. Peter smiled at him as he placed the drinks down in front of the three at the table.

"Thank you." Peter thanked loudly, making his words extremely clear. The woman spoke up once more, grabbing Peter's attention. He shifted in his seat, facing the batwoman. "Our friend..." he began, using his hands to emphasize his words by gesturing towards the others in the room. "He's dying. Uh..."

Nebula put her metal fist on the table, projecting an image of Rocket in the Med-Bay. Ellie shifted in her seat, pressing herself more into Blake's side with her eyes transfixed on the image of Rocket.

"We love our friend." Peter continued. "But he is dying."

Mantis stuck out her tongue, imitating the sounds of choking. Ellie was pulled from her trance when Drax's boots plopped themselves on her lap once more.

"That's not dying," Nebula stated simply. "That's already dead. They'll think he's already dead."

"They'll think we're here on a quest for revenge." Drax huffed, throwing his arms behind his head to get more comfortable.

"Drax, sit up." Ellie groaned, rolling her eyes.

He opened his eyes and brought his head up to look down at her. "That's what it's here for!"

"Drax, it isn't," Peter argued. "It's made for people to sit shoulder to shoulder right next to each other like Blake and Els. Now get your boots off their laps."

"I find it hard to believe it doesn't have multiple purposes," Drax grumbled, moving to sit up. He shuffled closer to the couple, placing himself directly against them.

"Drax, move over!" Blake protest. Drax turned to them with his mouth open in offense. He turned his head between the couple and Peter, raising his arms.

"He just said to sit like you." Drax reasoned.

Peter sighed. "Well not exactly,"

"Not that close, Drax," Ellie added while Blake pushed on Drax's shoulder with the hand that rested on the back of the couch.

Peter turned back to the batwoman, rolling his eyes. "I'm sorry. My friend is a dumbass."

Mantis waved her tongue out, grunting lightly.

"That's the same as your dying." Nebula scoffed.

Mantis turned to her with a sharp glare. "Why do you criticize everything?"

"Well, why is it oblong then?" Drax questioned, gesturing to the rest of the couch.

"It was a totally different sound," Mantis argued.

Nebula shook her head. "Uh, no it wasn't." She stuck her tongue out and grunted. "Dying." She did it again. "Dumbass. See? It's the same."

"All right, guys!" Peter interjected loudly, bringing the arguments to a close. "Can I proceed, please, to try to save our friend?"

"Drax, we see you!" Blake interrupted, stopping Drax from lying back down again. "Sit the hell up! It's not hard!"

Peter ignored them, turning back to the married couple. "I understand that none of this makes any sense to you right now. We need your help in finding a man. Uh..." He looked around the table, grabbing a pen and pad from near the centerpiece. "Uh, I'm gonna..." He clicked the pen. "I'm gonna draw. I'm gonna draw the man that we're looking for."

Nebula cracked open the can of liquid, pouring it into her iced glass whilst Peter drew the man on the pad.

"You see the thing on her head?" Peter asked, pointing at the metal plate on the side of Nebula's head. "He has a thing like this?"

Nebula hummed after taking a sip of the blue liquid. "That is delightful."

"There you go." Peter raised his drawing of the large man in a white lab coat. "Have you seen this man?"

"That's very good." Mantis complimented, her antennas waving slightly with her enthusiasm. The three on the couch leaned forward to look at the image.

"Can I have that later to hang in my apartment, please?" Drax asked.

Peter smiled. "Yeah. Thank you."

Blake dipped his head down, his lips brushing against Ellie's hair.

"Should I tell him how bad it is?" He whispered.

Ellie shook her head. "No, let him have this."

Blake nodded, straightening up.

"Mowtio," The bat woman said, pointing at the drawing.

Peter raised his brows, pointing at the picture. "His name...his name is Mowtio?"

The woman shook her head with her husband standing behind her chair nervously. She stood up and walked towards the window once more. She pushed back the curtains, revealing the crowd of neighbors to still be standing there. She shouted at them waving her hand for them to leave. They waved their hands at her dismissively, muttering as they walked away. Peter stood up to look out the window, looking out with raised brows.

The bat woman pointed into the distance as a triangular-shaped building, the top point of it the only visible part from the window.

"Mowtios-ek lolo." She said, pointing to each of her fingers as if counting. Peter looked between her and the building in the distance.

"Many mowtios." Peter echoed, seeming to understand. The woman nodded. "There?" He questioned, pointing to the building. She nodded again. "At the pyramid." Peter then pointed to the car in their driveway. "Is that your car in the driveway?"

The woman nodded whilst her husband sighed, mumbling as he rubbed his neck.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

"DRAX, STAY HERE with Rocket." Peter instructed as the Guardians walked out of the house, the car keys in Peter's hands. "Watch him. That's who they're coming for."

"I wanna come." Drax protested.

"No," Peter argued simply, opening the door to the driver's side. "Mantis, watch Drax. Groot, you know what to do with these." He added, handing Groot two extra blasters to conceal. Blake tossed the tree his pair as well.

Blake opened the door to the back behind the passenger seat, furrowing his brows at the cramped back seat where two cushions were pushed together. With Groot's extra size, there was no way Ellie would fit on the seat.

Groot opened the door on the other side and squeezed himself in, dipping his head to keep from hitting the ceiling. Blake went in after him on the other side. He turned to Ellie, who stood at the open door with raised brows. His lips quirked into a smile, patting his lap. Ellie rolled her eyes but smiled just a bit before climbing in and shutting the door behind her.

Nebula grunted, failing to open the door to the passenger side.

"Push down on it," Peter instructed, putting the keys into the ignition.

"What?"

"Push it down," Blake added.

"I am pushing down on it," Nebula said, yanking on the handle to try and open the door.

"Push the button," Peter said slowly, watching where her hand landed. "It looks like you're pushing the keyhole."

"The what?"

"There's a button under the handle, press that in," Peter said, demonstrating with his hand. Nebula grunted and the button clicked inside the door.

"Okay. Now what?"

"Open the fucking door," Peter stated. Nebula swung the door open, growling in distaste.

"That is a stupid design," she grumbled, getting into the car and slamming the door shut. "-and your instructions were very unclear."

Peter started the car, putting both hands tightly on the wheel. "Let's get that passkey and save our friend."

Blake wrapped his hands around Ellie's waist, interlocking his hands onto her lap.

Peter stepped on the gas, the car jerking