The first thing they did was drag Peter away from the crystals. If the human suddenly attempting to eat rocks had alarmed Groot, it had put Gamora into a slight panic. She immediately began leading them back to the ship, Rocket at her side. "I remember Thanos speaking of odotrae, Rocket. Is it dangerous apart from the insanity?"

Rocket still seemed angry, but now it was punctuated by urgency. "Odotrae is super expensive, and pretty illegal to use in weaponry, so even if there are miners on this planet, they're not gonna be happy when they find out we dropped in."

"Why is such a dangerous substance so coveted?" Drax hadn't let go of Peter since they'd begun heading back towards the ship, and the human trailed behind him with halting steps. "I did not think that people desired insanity."

"It don't make ya go insane, Drax." Rocket rolled his eyes, still walking up ahead of them. Groot could see one of his paws still working at the wristband, yet he didn't seem to be trying to actively tear it off as of yet. "Its radiation does that."

"Why do people want it for weapons if it could make them go insane?" Gamora asked, and Groot was glad that she had. He was sure that if he had asked, Rocket wouldn't have answered (he could sometimes be spiteful that way).

"'Cause once ya heat it up an' mix it with other stuff, it don't make ya crazy no more." Rocket's tone had become one of greed and delight. "I mean, I've only heard-a this stuff, but I know it's supposed to make some frikkin' powerful crap."

Drax opened his mouth to speak, but it was Peter who surprised them all by muttering, "He doesn't mean actual crap, dude …"

"Peter?" Gamora was in front of the Terran instantly, "Peter how do you feel?"

"Like I flew outta the Milano an' hit a wall …"

Groot nodded. That made sense. Quill's head had stopped bleeding, but the black-looking blood still covered the side of his head, matting his hair. Honestly, the Flora Colossus was surprised that it hadn't killed him.

"Then you are not going mad?" Drax's grip must have finally slackened a little, since Star-Lord pulled his arm to himself as he answered.

"'m not crazy, I'm just concussed!"

Gamora turned to Rocket, "You said that it could make you go crazy. How long does it normally take?"

"Hey, don't look at me!" The bounty hunter shrugged. "All's I know izzat it can make ya lose it! I dunno how long it takes, I just heard-a the stuff from some-a the black market losers I've worked with."

"What is it that this rock will cause me to lose?" Drax asked just as Groot finally intervened.

"So for all we know, we're already crazy?"

"Then is Quill crazy or not?" Gamora turned towards the human with narrowed eyes. "Because eating rocks is not normal, even for people with head injuries."

"I already told ya I don't know an'-!"

"I am not crazy!" Peter pulled away from Gamora now. "I just remember waking up in the blue light, and my head hurt!"

"Then why did you come and start eating rocks?" The Zehoberei assassin backed the Terran thief towards the wall, and he put his hands up in surrender.

"I … I dunno, okay! I left the blue light, and … I- I just remember lights coming from my flower, which was weird, and then … I dunno, I- … I dunno! Something pulled me here!"

"Peter, calm down." Gamora reached forward, and frowned when the human flinched away.

"I have also felt a pull from these crystals." Drax's interruption stopped all talk, along with Rocket's glare at Groot for Peter's comment about the his flower, and Groot stared at the Destroyer.

"Like what we felt earlier?"

"Oh flarg. Drax has lost it too."

"Have you not felt it?" Drax ignored Rocket's declaration as he doggedly continued (and hadn't Rocket said he felt a pull?). "When we were in the blue light, it was as though it was attempting to push us away. Yet it is as though the purple light pulls us towards it. Have you not noticed this?"

As soon as Drax said it, Groot knew that he was right. He hadn't liked the feeling of the blue lights. It had been as though the atmosphere around him was pushing in on him. In the purple light, it was just as the Destroyer described it. It was … pulling was really the only word he could think of.

"Rocket, do you know the properties of the mineral apart from the radiation?" Gamora turned away from Peter to spear the bounty hunter with a look.

"If I did, don't ya think I'd-a said somethin' by now?!" Rocket threw his hands up (he really had been doing that a lot recently).

"I am uncertain. You often keep information from us to laugh at our ignorance." Drax couldn't have said it better, and Groot pointed it out with a chuckle.

As soon as he said it, he regretted it, since Rocket glowered at him. Oh yeah, he was still mad. "You're one ta talk, Groot, freakin' taggin' us an' then lyin' about it."

"Whoa, what?" Peter gave them both an incredulous look, and Groot could see just how uneven and large his pupils had become. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not important." Gamora spoke over Rocket's reply, reaching out to grab Peter and drag him behind her as she began walking. "We need to get back to the Milano."

"I doubt the integrity of Milano's hull at this moment. It appears as though many repairs are required before the ship will be worthy of flight once again." Drax followed just behind her.

"That … was a lotta words …" Peter's speech was slurred, and he looked back with squinting eyes. "Waitaminute- what happened to the Milano?"

"You crashed it into a da'ast planet, ya moron. Whadda you think happened?" Rocket snorted.

"He didn't crash for a long time." Groot admonished, trying to ignore the sharp glare from his friend. "He only crashed after we hit the blue light."

As soon as he said it, he realized what that could mean.

"The blue light!" He spoke excitedly. "It must have pushed the ship and made him crash!"

"I do not understand you." Drax turned to speak firmly, yet his eyes were kind. It was clear that his patience was waning, however.

Rocket rolled his eyes, "Oh, sure." The bounty hunter's tail dragged a little as he stepped farther ahead. "Blame it aaaaall on the blue light. It ever occur to ya that Pete's just a bad pilot?"

Groot didn't appreciate that Rocket was twisting his words, or that he wasn't explaining to the others exactly what the Flora Colossus had said. Perhaps it was a good thing, then, that he didn't get the chance to retort as their leader beat him to it.

"I am not a bad pilot!"

"'Cos all good pilots forget to wear safety harnesses an' fly straight into krutackin' planets!"

"You weren't wearing yours either!" Peter stopped their slow progress down the tunnel when he pulled his hand from Gamora's (they had been holding hands? When had that started, and why hadn't Groot noticed?) spinning to face the small bounty hunter. "You were crawling all over the bridge!"

"Tryin' ta keep us from dyin'!" Rocket stepped forward. "An' look at the good it did!"

"Yeah, I almost died!"

"Because you weren't wearing your safety harness!"

"Well-!"

"Quill! Rocket!" Gamora's words cut through the quickly escalating argument. "That's enough out of both of you!"

"Friend Rocket, it is highly likely that your actions saved our lives, just as Star-Lord's terrible piloting skills prolonged our time before the crash." Drax's tone had become chastising, and Groot wondered if it was how he had once spoken with his daughter. "If the purple stone called Quill to it here, perhaps it called the Milano to it as well, and that is why the gravitational field–though I see no vegetation–is larger than that of a normal planet of this size."

"And maybe that's why we crashed …" Gamora finished, unwittingly repeating Groot from earlier. "Because the blue light does the opposite, and it messed with the controls."

"That's what I said." Groot couldn't help but tack on at the end, while Peter's eyes widened. They were fortunate that the human chose to speak before Rocket could think of an appropriately scathing remark for his recently spurned friend.

"Wow." Peter was swaying on his feet a little, and Gamora's hand came out, but stopped before steadying him. "You know it's bad when Drax is the wise one."

"I know it's bad when you start chewin' on rocks." Rocket huffed. "Now let's hurry up an' get ta the Milano before we all go crazy!" He spared one more sniff at Groot before hurrying to the front of their strange little parade.

Quill started to follow, and would have fallen if Gamora hadn't grabbed his wrist while Drax gripped his shoulder (Yep. She was holding his hand because of the concussion).

The blue light was coming up ahead of them, and Groot felt himself dreading to enter it. Here in the purple light his footing was sure and walking was simple. He remembered it being difficult to keep his footing in the blue light.

Yet it was possible that he was over-thinking it. Surely the blue light could not have been that bad. Then Peter passed from the purple to the blue, and immediately tripped, being caught by Gamora. "The hell-?"

Okay. So it was that bad.

It only got worse from there, as they all heard the crash from the cavern ahead of them. It was a strange sound, incongruous with their surroundings until Rocket asked, "Was that the ship?"

Then they were all stumbling towards the end of the corridor, slipping around the corner to stare in horror at the sight that met them.

The Milano had been shaken off of the spike that had impaled it, and now it lay on the floor of the cavern, silent, crippled, and still upside down. That, however, was not what alarmed Groot the most.

Their ship was completely surrounded by huge furry creatures that had no eyes, only huge mouths filled with flattened purple teeth. Each one of them (and there were at least 10) were roughly the size of one third of the Milano. The creatures all turned to them as one, their giant ears twitching on top of their heads, quivering as they listened.

A series of clicking sounds came from one of them, almost hesitantly, if Groot were asked to describe it. Another one responded, and then they all began to come forward, blocking the Guardian's path to their ship.

"What the flarg?!" Rocket backed up quickly and for a moment it seemed as though he was going to climb up onto Groot's back, but then he seemed to think better of it, pulling out his large blaster instead.

"Hey!" Quill stepped forward angrily, wobbling slightly. "Freaky mole-things! Get away from my ship!" He shot at one of them, and the creature's fur absorbed it the blast, glowing a bright purple for a moment before it started walking more quickly towards them.

"Holy-!" Rocket never finished his sentence as Drax grabbed him and put him on his own shoulder (Groot would have to thank the Destroyer later).

"If their skin is impenetrable, it would be best for us to find better ground on which to fight. There are too many of them here."

"Run!" Groot shouted, and even if his team didn't understand him, they at least thought the same. As one, they began moving, except for Peter. He was standing and staring at the (what had he called them? Hadn't it been ...) mole creatures.

"Peter!" Gamora grabbed Quill's hand again, and Groot followed them out, bringing up the rear. Once again, they were running for their lives.

Honestly, Groot shouldn't have been surprised.


Yep. Are any of us really surprised?

Wow, I'm sorry this took so long. I had to rewrite a coupla parts before I felt good about it. :/

And look! Look closely! The plot! I- ... It's MOVING! (I thought it would never happen, honestly) ... And was that some subtle Starmora in there?

Yes. Yes it was.

Wow, Rocket sure is a grudge-holder. Haha, I feel like Peter had just begun really recovering from my last story! I'd like to apologize to everyone if it seems like I'm favoring any one character over the other, because I hate that. So lemme know how it reads.

Poor Groot. It will all just go downhill from here on out. :(

Thank you for patiently waiting! My Wifi died on me yesterday, so here it is today!

Oh, and btw ... I REALLY love Drax. I'm glad he's in the Guardians.

Thank you KD172! That is quite a compliment, as I love Rocket, and I'm glad you think I write him well! Haha, and Yondu IS a legend. :) I love that ravager to death! *over-exaggerated gasp* How DARE Thanos kill a dog! ;)

Anyway, C y'all next time!

-Al