NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.

While the others were chatting and laughing somewhere else in Ego's ship, Leo sat in a corner by himself and stared at the floor in deep thought. He kept asking himself, How did it come to this?

Deep down, he had always known that Mikey was unhappy, but he convinced himself that everything was fine; he didn't want to believe that something was wrong. If he were the brother and leader that he should've been, then he would've put Mikey's feelings before his own and tried to fix things between them instead of waiting until it was too late.

And now Mikey wants to leave. How was he going to explain this to Donnie and Raph? More importantly, without their youngest brother, how were they going to function as a team, or a family for that matter?

He suddenly heard someone approach him and lifted his head. Gamora stood over him and gave him a small, sympathetic smile. "May I join you?" When he nodded in approval, she sat down in the corner across from him. "Whatever Mikey said to you last night," she said softly, "you have to remember that he was upset. He didn't mean any of it."

Leo sighed and shook his head. "No, he meant every word. I know my brother."

"He just needs some time," she tried to assure him. "I'm sure he has no intention of ever leaving you and your brothers, no matter how upset he might get."

"You don't understand, Gamora," he said miserably as he lowered his gaze back to floor. "Ever since our father died, our family has been gradually falling apart, and nothing I'm doing is making things better. We've been too hard on Mikey, and we're always underestimating and belittling him. He's been patient with us for years, but I guess he finally snapped, and I don't blame him."

He glanced up at Gamora with wet blue eyes and a sad smile. "Whenever he's with you, I see this...glint in his eye that I haven't seen in a long time. I can tell that he's truly happy. If he does decide to stay with you, it's probably for the best."

Gamora looked at him with sad eyes. "Leo-"

"Just promise me that you'll take good care of him, Gamora. Please. Then I'll be content with him leaving."

She stared at him for a moment before she stood back up. "We'll discuss this some other time. Come on." She walked over to him and took his hand, helping him back on his feet. "Let's rejoin the others."

...

"Hey, can I ask you a personal question?" Quill asked Mantis. He and Drax casually chatted with Ego's servant while her master slept in another secluded area of the ship.

Mantis looked the human surpised. "Oh, no one has ever asked me a personal question."

"Your antennae, what are they for?"

"Their purpose?"

At that moment, Gamora and Leo stepped into the area with cups of water in their hands, just as Drax told Mantis, "Yes, Quill and I have a bet. I say, if you are about to go through a doorway that is too low, your antennae will feel this, and keep you from being decapitated."

"Right," Quill nodded. "And if it's anything other than you specifically not being decapitated by a doorway, I win."

"They are not for feeling doorways," Mantis replied, to which Drax groaned while Quill laughed triumphantly. "I think...they have something to do with empathic abilities."

"What are those?" Gamora asked.

"If I touch someone, I can feel their feelings."

"You mean, you can read minds?" Leo asked.

Mantis shook her head. "No. Telepaths know thoughts. Empaths feel feelings. Emotions." She then turned to Quill and lifted her hand. "May I?"

Quill shrugged and nodded. "All right."

She gently touched his knee and the tips of her antenna instantly glowed a soft white light. She closed her eyes as she soaked in all of Quill's emotions before she opened them again and smiled brightly. "You feel...love."

Quill's eyes went wide and he began to feel nervous as he realized where this was heading. "Yeah, I guess, yeah, I feel a general unselfish love for just about everybody-"

"No! Romantic, sexual love."

Quill frantically shook his head. "No. No, I don't."

Mantis pointed to Gamora. "For her!"

The green-skinned assassin looked slightly shocked at this revelation, and Leo glanced up at her with a teasing grin.

"No!" Quill denied. "That is not..."

Drax was incredibly shocked by this, then he quickly burst into a fit of booming laughter. "She just told everyone your deepest, darkest secret!" he announced as he pointed at Quill.

"Dude, come on!" Quill groaned. "I think you're overreacting a little bit!"

But Drax continued to tease and mock him. "YOU MUST BE SO EMBARRASSED!" he laughed.

And Quill was indeed feeling embarrassed, as was Gamora, and Leo could see a blush on the green woman's cheeks but decided not to tease her about it.

"Do me!" Drax told Mantis as he enthusiastically pointed to himself. "Do me! Do me!"

Mantis stood up from her seat and walked over to Drax, placing her hand on his chest. She immediately began to giggle as her antennae glowed. "I have never felt such humor!" she happily said as she pointed her finger at Quill and laughed along with Drax.

"So unbelievably uncool," Quill muttered, wishing that he could disappear right there and then.

The still giggling Mantis got back up and walked over to Gamora, wanting to feel her emotions next. But the latter quickly grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Touch me, and the only thing you're gonna feel is a broken jaw," she threatened with an icy glare.

Mantis didn't need to touch Gamora to know what she was feeling and backed off the moment she was released. "I can also alter emotions to some extent," she told the group.

"Yeah, like what?" Quill asked.

"If I touch someone who is sad, I can ease them into contentment for a short while. I can make a stubborn person compliant. But I mostly use it to help my master sleep. He lies awake at night, thinking about his progeny."

"Progeny?" Leo raised an eye ridge. "There are others like him?"

Mantis seemed slightly disturbed at the question but nodded. "Yes, but they have been dead for years. He feels alone in the universe. I know how it is to be alone," she added somberly.

"You said you can ease other people's pain. Use that on him," Gamora gestured to Leo.

"What?" Leo looked at her surprised, then turned to Mantis. "No, no, that's okay. You don't have to..."

But Mantis touched him on the shoulder and he gasped softly as he felt a warm and gentle sensation flow throughout his entire body. It was comforting, like an embrace from a loved one. But regardless of the overwhelming good feeling, there was still that bit of pain in his heart from Mikey's words to him and the thought of his little brother leaving. Still, he felt a lot better than before.

Mantis removed her hand and looked at him curiously. "Better?"

Leo smiled at her warmly and nodded. "Much. Thank you."

Berhert

"They're so beautiful," Mikey said in awe as he looked up at Berhert's four moons in the night sky.

He sat next to Rocket on a large, sturdy tree branch admiring the beauty of the planet. Groot stayed with Nebula back in the wrecked Milano to keep an eye on her, while the two animals had spent the whole evening setting traps throughout the woods for in case the Sovereign or any other intruders come snooping around.

"They're bigger than our moon back home," Mikey continued, swinging his dangling legs back and forth. "Wonder why there's four instead of just one?"

"Who knows?" Rocket yawned as he scooted over to the trunk of the tree and leaned up against it. "Wake me up when something exciting happens." He then closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Hey, Rocket?" Mikey softly spoke to him.

"Yeah?" the raccoon mumbled tiredly with his eyes still closed.

"You really think it was a good idea to leave Groot alone with Gamora's crazy sister?"

"Eh, he'll be fine. 'Sides, she can't do anything in those cuffs."

"Okay."

The crickets chirped somewhere in the woods. Crick. Crick. Crick.

"Hey, Rocket?"

Said raccoon sighed. "Yeah?"

"You think the Sovereign will find us?"

"Not likely. And if they do, we'll be ready for them. 'Kay?"

"Okay."

Crick. Crick. Crick.

"Hey, Rocket?"

"Omigod, what?!" Rocket yelled exasperatedly, his eyes wide open. "What?! What is it?!"

Mikey flinched and glanced away. "Nothing. Sorry."

"No, no! Go ahead and say what you want to say! I won't rest until you do! Obviously!"

The Turtle bit his lower lip. "It's just...I feel bad about not saying goodbye to Leo."

"He'll get over it," Rocket grumbled.

Mikey shook his head. "I acted like a big jerk to him."

"We all can act like jerks sometimes. Except me," he added with a grin. "I'm a class-A jerk 24/7."

Mikey chuckled softly and nodded. "Got that right, but you're still fun to hang out with."

"Think so, huh? Even though I piss everyone off and steal their stuff?"

The Turtle shrugged. "Nobody's perfect, dude. But you really shouldn't steal, 'cause you're a hero now. Plus, you're setting a bad example for Groot."

Rocket just scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, thanks for your pearls of wisdom, Michelangelo. But seriously, I wouldn't worry about your brother. Things like that happen with families all the time, especially with mine." He crawled over to Mikey and sat close to him. "You already know that you're one of us, and if you're still thinking about staying with us, we'd be ecstatic to have ya. But don't stay because you're upset with your brothers, 'cause you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Trust me."

Mikey looked down at his dangling feet, taking Rocket's words into consideration. Then he began to giggle as he felt something tickle his left side.

"You know what I missed while you were away?" Rocket chuckled as he continued to rub his tiny fingers up and down the Turtle's side. "Tickle fights. Don't tell Quill, though."

"Oh, you're gonna get it now," Mikey grinned big as he leapt at Rocket and began to attack him with tickles, showing the raccoon no mercy.

Rocket laughed so hard as he felt Mikey's fingers under his arms, then one of his ears twitched when he heard the sound of ships flying over them. He immediately stopped laughing and pushed Mikey's hands away. "Shhh, stop," he whispered urgently and nodded to the sky. "We got company."

...

The Ravagers slowly crept toward the Milano with their guns raised, following the music that was playing on Quill's tape deck. Those who at the front line were the first to experience Rocket's painful traps. One Ravager stepped on a button that triggered the traps to their left, and dozens of tranquilizer darts came at them all at once. Not a single dart missed it target and all of the Ravagers dropped to the ground unconscious.

The next wave of men heard Rocket and Mikey move in the trees and fired their guns at the two. Luckily, the raccoon and Turtle were much too quick for them and dodged every bullet, jumping from one tree to the next. At one point Rocket hid behind a tree which shielded him from the oncoming bullets, while Mikey hid behind the tree opposite to his. Rocket flashed him a cocky grin as he pulled out a device and pushed one of the red buttons.

A burst of blue energy emitted from a device that was hidden under the leaves and launched the Ravagers a couple of feet off the ground before they dropped and landed on their faces. Before they could even recover, the traps went off again and they all screamed as they went up into the air. Rocket and Mikey both laughed as the former kept pushing the buttons and launching the pirates, and after a couple more blasts they stopped and moved on to the next group of unsuspecting victims.

The third wave didn't even know what hit them as Rocket swiftly hopped onto each head to plant a small device on their foreheads. Once he had finished, he pushed a button on the device on his wrist and the Ravagers went into spasms as electricity was discharged. They all dropped to the ground, unconscious and smoking.

Rocket jumped down from a tree and into a clearing, standing very still and listening for any more intruders. He picked up the scent of a Ravager creeping up behind him, and then another Ravager, a bald pink-tonned alien with fangs and pointy ears, stepped out from the bushes in front of him.

"Ain't so tough now without all your toys, are you?" the pink Ravager sneered as he pointed his gun at the raccoon. But then the chain of Mikey's nunchuck suddenly wrapped itself around his waist and he yelped as he was pulled back into the bushes. Rocket smiled to himself as he briefly listened to Mikey punching the daylights out of the pirate before he did a big backflip and landed on top of the other guy's head, punching him in the face repeatedly until he fell down.

Mikey stepped out of the bushes and put his nunchucks away. "Whew. Is that all of them?"

Suddenly, somewhere in the distance, a hidden stranger whistled and a glowing red arrow dashed through the trees at an incredible speed. Rocket flinched as it stopped right in front of his face, threatening to pierce him between the eyes. "Crap," he mumbled.

"Rocket!" Mikey started to run to his friend, but then the arrow quickly turned on him and the tip was now inches away from his beak.

"Kid, don't move," Rocket warned through gritted teeth.

At that moment, a blue man with a red metal Mohawk stepped into the clearing with more Ravagers behind him, and Mikey instantly remembered him from the battle on Xandar: Yondu, Quill's former boss. He laughed at the two animals as the crew surrounded and closed in on them. "Hey there, rat." He nodded at Mikey. "Turtle."

Mikey just glared at him. "Long time, no see, Mandrill Butt."

"How's it going, you blue idiot?" Rocket gruffed.

"Not so bad," Yondu said casually as he chewed on a straw. "We got ourselves a pretty good little gig here. This golden gal with quite a high opinion of herself has offered us a large sum to deliver you and your pals over to her because she wants to kill y'all."

The other Ravagers chuckled darkly while Mikey gulped in fear. "So I take it she's still mad at us?" the Turtle chuckled nervously.

"Just let the kid go, all right?" Rocket nodded to his young friend, who looked at him surprised. "He's got nothing to do with this. I'm the one who took the batteries."

"Yeah?" Yondu nodded with a grin. "I don't doubt it."

"Give me your word you won't hurt him or Groot, and I'll tell you where the batteries are," Rocket offered.

Yondu chuckled again. "Luck for you, my word don't mean squat." The entire crew chuckled at his response. "Otherwise, I'd actually hand you over."

Immediately, all of the smiles on the Ravagers' faces dropped. One of them, a large reddish man with a horribly disfigured face, a long beard, and a black messy Mohawk, was particularly outraged. "Otherwise, you'd what?" he shouted.

Mikey looked at the captain confused. "Wait...so you're not gonna turn us in?"

"Nah," Yondu shook his head. "We'll take them batteries. They're worth what? A quarter mill on the open market?"

The men behind Yondu nodded in approval, but the other larger half behind the disfigured guy weren't too happy with this decision and they all glared at their leader. Mikey immediately got a bad feeling in his gut.

"That priestess offered us a million!" the disfigured Ravager argued. "A quarter is only one third of that!"

"A quarter ain't a third," Yondu corrected him.

"A quarter is twenty-five," a fat Ravager with goggles said. "We can't even buy a pair of boots with twenty-five units."

"Um," Mikey raised his hand, "I'm no math whiz, but I'm pretty sure that a quarter is one fourth-"

"Enough!" Yondu yelled angrily. "The point is, we ain't stupid enough to help kill the Guardians of the Galaxy! The whole dang Nova Corps would be on us!"

"That ain't right!" One Ravager stepped forward from the group behind Yondu, a scrawny man named Kraglin. "I just gotta say it this one time, Captain," his voice cracked with emotion as he spoke. "No matter how many times Quill betrays you, you protect him like none of the rest of us much matter!"

Yondu clenched his jaw at this accusation, while the angry half shouted in agreement.

"I'm the one what sticks up for you!" Kraglin shouted.

One of Yondu's loyal followers, Tullk, tried to calm his comrade down. "Take it easy, Kraglin."

But the disfigured Ravager nodded. "Damn straight, lad! He's gone soft. Suppose it's time for a change in leadership!" He pointed his gun at Yondu and the men behind him quickly followed suit.

Those who were still loyal to Yondu raised their own guns to defend their captain, while Yondu, himself, summoned his arrow and prepared to slaughter all of the mutineers.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Rocket yelled as he waved his arms around. "There must be some kind of peaceful resolution to this, fellas! Or even a violent one where we're standing over there!" he suggested as he pointed to the woods. He then motioned for Mikey to follow as he slowly stepped away.

"Right!" Mikey nodded. "So, uh, we're just gonna leave and let you guys work this out. Sound good?"

Yondu glared at the mutiny leader and was about to whistle...

...when his Mohawk was suddenly blasted off his head. He groaned weakly as sparks flew out of his skull before he dropped to the ground along with the arrow.

Behind him, Nebula, who had somehow freed herself, aimed a gun at Rocket and Mikey. She grinned sadistically and stared at them with cold black eyes.

"Uh-oh," Mikey whimpered.

Rocket just groaned in annoyance. Typical.

Before they could even make a run for it, she fired two electric blasts and hit them both. They lay unconscious on the grass while the rest of the crew slowly turned to her, both horrified and impressed.

"Well, hello, boys," she cooly said before she took a bite out of a yaro fruit. But she quickly spat it out in disgust. "It's not ripe."