A/N I only own Crystal, the species of dragons, and the planet of dragons. Everything else is owned by Disney and Marvel.

ThatCrazyLion: Thanks :D

Wanli8970: Maybe. That's fine. Not only does she believe that because she herself is a criminal, but her family/clan didn't really care much for her either; she imagined if something happened to her, her mother (and maybe her sister) would be the only person to care about her.

wolfimus prime: Gotta love grumpy characters XD Thanks :)


Once Quill told them his plan, he turned around and went back to the door of the room. Once he opened the door, Yondu immediately approached him and asked, "So, boy, what's your plan?"

"Gather everyone in here, and we'll tell you," Quill answered.

Grunting in response, the Ravagers leader looked over his shoulder and called out to the other Ravagers. Soon, the six criminals were joined by several Ravagers. "What'cha got, Peter?" Yondu's first mate, Kraglin, asked.

Clearing her throat, Gamora stepped up and said, "The Stone reacts to anything organic. The bigger the target, the bigger the power surge."

"All Ronan's gotta do is touch the stone to the planet's surface, and zap!" Quill exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "All plants, animals, Nova Corps."

"Everything will die," Crys added grimly.

"So Ronan does not make the surface," Quill said firmly. "Rocket," he nodded to the furry alien, "will lead a team to blow a hole in the Dark Aster's starboard hull. Then, our craft and Yondu's will enter."

"Won't there be hundreds of Sakaaran soldiers inside?" Kraglin asked skeptically.

"I think of Sakaaran as paper people," Drax said smugly.

Crys and Gamora glanced at each other with a confused expression, but shrugged it off. "Once they know we're on board, Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on deck, which I can disable by dismantling the power source."

"We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use the Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan," Quill said.

"Once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the Stone. Use these devices to contain it," Crys said, holding up a tray of orbs. "If you touch it, it will kill you," she warned.

"I'll contact one of the Nova officers who arrested us," Quill added. "Hopefully, they'll believe we're there to help."

"There's one more thing we need to complete the plan," Rocket said.

Here we go again, Crys rolled her eyes, exchanging a smirk with Groot.

"That guy's eye." He pointed at a Ravager with a false eye.

"No!" Quill exclaimed. "No, we don't. No," he said sternly to Rocket, "we don't need that guy's eye."

"No, seriously," Rocket protested, trying to hide a snicker. "It-it's important to me."

"No, it's not," Crys chuckled. "He's just joking."

"What you will need, however, are some change of clothes," Yondu said.

"Why is that?" Gamora asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If you're gonna work with the Ravagers, ya gotta dress like the Ravagers."

"We could probably do with a change of clothes," Quill shrugged.

"Peter, you lead your friends to rooms to change," Kraglin said, "and we'll get the ships ready."

Quill nodded, and said, "Groot and Crys can't wear clothes, so they can stay behind."

They nodded and waved goodbye as Quill, Gamora, Rocket, and Drax, as well as the Ravagers, left the cargo bay. Crys took a deep breath, and sighed heavily. "Well, this is it."

Groot nodded, grunting. "I am Groot?" [Are you afraid?]

Pinning her ears back, she whispered, "A little, I suppose. I'm more afraid of dying than of the actual fighting."

Smiling kindly, the Flora Colossus hugged the dragon, wrapping her in several vines. Crys smiled and nuzzled her snout against his neck. After several minutes, Groot let her go and stepped back. He "cracked" his neck and flexed his shoulders, causing little branches to pop out of his shoulders. As he plucked one from his cheek, Crys giggled at his show-off attitude. She flexed her claws, pumped her wings a couple of times, and roared loudly, baring her teeth. Groot chuckled at her display.

"You understand that creature?"

Groot and Crys turned at the voice, finding that Yondu was still in the cargo hold. "Dragons can understand almost all vocal languages," she explained. "So, yes, I can understand Groot with ease." She fiddled with her claws and said, "Um, I'd like to apologize for what happened earlier."

"What, you mean when you were big an' wild?"

Pursing her lips slightly, she nodded, "Yes. I have little control over it. If I lose this," she fingered her usekh, "I turn to my true form in an uncontrollable animalistic rage. That is why I must have it on me at all times."

Humming, Yondu nodded shortly and left the cargo bay. "Think the others are finished dressing?" Crys asked.

"I am Groot," [Perhaps,] Groot answered. They both exited the cargo bay and wandered through the Eclector until they found Quill stepping out of a room, now wearing a red uniform and pants, and black boots; two guns were holstered to his hips. "Hey, guys," he greeted.

"Hello," Crys nodded. "Are the others nearby?

"Nearby, and nearly ready," he answered. "Are you and Groot ready?

"As ready as we can be," she sighed.

Gamora, Drax, and Rocket joined them, all wearing Ravager garb; Drax himself was only wearing the pants and boots, and his knives were attacked to the sides of his boots. Gamora also had two guns, and Rocket had his Laser Cannon over his shoulder. "We ready?" he asked.

Everyone either nodded or confirmed verbally that they were. As they walked down the hall, a voice said over the intercom, "Ronan's fleet has been spotted, and will arrive in t-minus fifteen minutes."

"Good timing," Quill remarked as they continued down the hall; Rocket separated from them to board his M-ship, the Warbird.

Yondu stopped Quill as they approached the Milano, while the others continued on ahead and climbed into the ship. Quill soon joined them. "What did he want?" Gamora asked.

"Oh, just told me that I was to give him the Stone, otherwise he'd kill us," he shrugged, smirking slightly. "Y'know, the usual."

Crys and Drax glanced at each other, each with an eyebrow raised, but said nothing. The holding bay opened, and dozens of M-ships flew out of the Eclector, including the Milano. "This is a terrible plan," Gamora deadpanned.

"Now you say this?" Crys asked.

"Hey, you were the one who said you wanted to die among friends," Quill chuckled lightly.

After several minutes, Crys said, "So…I guess since we all know about each other, except for me…I guess it's only fair I tell you all my story."

"Why are you so hesitant to share?" Drax asked.

"It's not a very pretty story," she answered. Taking a few deep breaths and sighing several times, she said, "All right, I'll start from the beginning, I suppose. As some of you may know, there are three kinds of dragons on Drakonehm: the fire dragons, Ignises; the ice dragons, Glaciems; and the poisonous dragons, Venenums. I'm an Ignis dragon, like the rest of my family, but I was born during the winter months, and so was born with icy breath. I was a shame to my entire clan."

"Why is that?" Gamora asked.

"Because Ignises and Glaciems despise each other. No one quite knows why. So, imagine my parents' reactions to having a dracling with ice-breath, when they themselves are fire-breathers, much less the entire clan's reaction."

"Not too happy, I'm guessing?" Quill asked.

"That would be an understatement," Crys snorted. "My mother at least tried to accept me, but my father was disgraced. And my entire clan hated me. I was bullied many times, simply for having something that I had no control in having. Even my baby sister began to hate me." She was gripping the armrests of the seat at this point.

"Did your parents not protect you?" Drax asked.

"My mother tried to, but my father…he didn't seem to care. He and the elder even tried to take me to the nearby Glaciem clan. They didn't accept me because I was still an Ignis, and I was barely a yearling. My father was less than pleased afterwards. He even scolded me for fighting back against my bullies. These scars," she released an armrest to finger the scars on her left side, "not all of them are from my criminal years. When I was a young adult, all of the pain, anguish, and anger that had built up finally reached its peak." She chewed her lip nervously; when she told her story, this was the part that was always the hardest to tell. "One evening, I…I exploded. I was so angry at my family and clan for hating me because of something I didn't ask for…I attacked them. I froze them with my ice-breath, and attacked anyone who didn't run away. I killed many dragons that day, including my own parents." Crys blinked against the tears that were beginning to grow in her icy-blue eyes. "I had never felt so guilty and ashamed."

"They had it coming," Gamora said kindly, reaching back to lay a hand on the dragon's arm. "They all treated you poorly."

"Especially your father," Drax growled through gritted teeth. "A father isn't supposed to hate or hurt his children; he is supposed to protect and love them for who they are! He is the one who should be ashamed, not you."

Crys glanced over at him, smiling slightly in appreciation. "The reason I was…afraid of you, Drax, is because one of my bullies told his uncle I was the one bullying him, and his uncle happened to be the biggest and strongest dragon of the clan. He chased me around the volcano we lived near, and trapped me inside a small cave for two hours…it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life."

"…So, what happened with the necklace?" Quill asked. "How'd you get that?"

"…I stole it. It was originally in Mt. Antiqua, the largest mountain on Drakonehm; it contained many treasures, one of which was the Usekh of Humanus. Whoever wore it would convert to this form. However, when it was removed, they would return to their true form in an uncontrollable, animalistic rage."

"If it had that risk, why did you steal it?" Gamora asked.

"I didn't ever want to hurt anyone in my true form," Crys answered. "I thought that if I changed myself, I wouldn't cause any more harm…I was proven wrong time and time again when I lost my usekh. I was captured and sold to a traveling zoo before I met Groot and Rocket. So, that is my story. Judge me how you will, but the past is the past, and I can't change it."

"…I don't blame you for attacking your family," Quill said.

"Neither do I," Gamora added. "They had no right to hurt you like that."

"Absolutely no right," Drax agreed.

Crys's ears pinned back, and she smiled in gratitude. "Thank you. I didn't really consider myself a…loser, since I lost my family and home due to my own actions."

"You still lost your family," Quill pointed out. "You just lost them before you grew up."

Crys looked down at her knees in thought. Quill was right; her family and clan had turned their backs on her long ago, causing her to effectively lose them. She was still ashamed for her actions, but she felt a little better knowing that her friends weren't hard on her for it.


A/N I tried to write it to where the gang changed clothes before telling the plan, but I couldn't really write it that well; so I decided to have them tell the plan first, and then change clothes. I know it was the other way around in the movie, but I couldn't figure out how to put it on paper (or text) in a way I like it, if that makes any sense.

I also know that Groot looked like he was in his own room preparing for battle, but I figured that he (and Crys) would stay behind while the others got dressed, since they don't wear clothes (Crys would have trouble wearing clothes because of her wings and tail)

Finally, Crys tells everyone her story (Rocket and Groot already know it, so Rocket's not left out of the loop) I think I portrayed Gamora, Quill, and Drax pretty well during that part of the chapter. Crys still carries a lot of guilt over what she did, even if her clan deserved it, and she may carry some guilt for the rest of her life. But I'm trying my best to not let it take over her; she still gets sad when she tells the story, but she doesn't think about it all of the time (at least not anymore)

Probably only a few more chapters, and this story is done. I'm probably not going to do much of an epilogue, so with the battle against Ronan, there'll probably be at least three more chapters. I'll be glad when this is done; I've been working on it for so long. I'm stuck in Writer's Block Hell for my Grinch story, but when I'm done with this story, I'll be able to focus more on it. THAT story's got a long time before it's over.