A/N:

Guess who's back with a new chapter?

Yeah, so I'm really sorry I left this story abandoned for so many years. But I recently saw "GotG Vol 3" and it has rekindled my love for PeterxRocket!

I wrote a one-shot not too long ago called "More To Me" and then started reading all the PeterxRocket fics and got hooked on the fandom again lol

And then I wanted more so I decided to write more for this fic, with brand new motivation and drive.

Anyway, hope you enjoy! :)

Sorry for any bad spelling and grammar.

Ain't Nothin' In The Universe Like Me
Written by mpkio2

Chapter 6
Cry For Help

Nova Prime sighed deeply, having felt she had aged a year just from being in the same presence as the Guardians. They were all located in different positions around her office; Peter, in his new raccoon form, sat in front of her; Rocket had opted to lean on a pillar to her right, his arms folded as if he wanted to be anywhere but here; Gamora decided to stand next to Peter and Drax had sat on a comfortable red couch which was situated next to bookcases that lined the walls on the left side of Nova Prime's office.

"And this all started after you held The Infinity Stone, correct?" Nova Prime asked in a brisk voice sitting at her marble desk in her chair, looking down at the newly transformed Peter, who sat in front of her in a lavish red chair that, due to his new smaller form and the size of the chair, made him look comical in comparison; he looked like a child sitting in a seat that was all too big for them.

"Pretty much, yeah," Peter answered, sitting awkwardly in the chair due to his new appendage that swished from side to side that was his tail; he hadn't accounted for it, and when he reached the chair, he looked at it dumbfounded, not only due to its size, but to how he would tackle the issue of how he would actually sit down.

It had never occurred to him how difficult a simple action as sitting, would be for him in his new form. He had looked to Rocket, asking him for help and support with his eyes, but the genetically engineered raccoon merely scoughed at him, giving Peter a look that said "Figure it out by yourself, Star-dork,"

And Peter did, with much difficulty. But after much testing, with Nova Prime and the other guardians giving Peter confused glances as he did so, he discovered, in the end, that sitting down on his backside and holding his newly acquired tail in his paws in front of him was the best solution that worked. It wasn't ideal mind you, but it worked, nonetheless. In fact, as he spoke to Nova Prime, he found his padded paws, unconsciously, stroking his own tail, smoothing down the mattered fur, in a slow rythemtic motion, that calmed and soothed the nerves he felt in the pit of his stomach.

Nova Prime leaned forward on her desk, her hands clasped together in front of her on her desk, her eyes scanning the talking raccoon in front of her, as if detecting for any ulterior motives that may be hidden beneath his words. "And you concocted up an idiotic, reckless deceptive plan just to get my attention?"

Peter clicked his fingers, which he actually found quite difficult too, but managed somehow with pure luck, and pointed a claw at Nova Prime with a closed eye and a cheeky grin on his furry face. "You got it, Prime,"

"Quill, be serious here," Gamora said in a stern voice, flashing a stern look down at him. "Your plan could have gotten us landed into prison,"

"Ah," Peter said as he looked up at Gamora with a smirk on his face, whiskers twitching in amusement. "But we didn't. In fact, my plan was an utter success,"

"How is being captured a success, Quill?" Drax asked from the couch. Starting to lie down, getting comfortable like he was going to sleep.

"We're not 'captured' Drax," Peter replied, rolling his eyes at the ex-maniac. "We're just having a little chat, that's all,"

"But you are in deep water," Nova Prime reminded Peter, giving the new talking raccoon a stern glance, looking at him behind rimmed spectacles, her voice edging on the cusp of annoyance and strict. "And I should, on many laws and grounds, have you all imprisoned,"

"B-but you're not going to….." Peter said in a shaky voice, abandoning his place in the chair and opting to stand instead, as if his worry overcame his actions, standing to exaggerate with his newly formed paws, stretching them out a bit facing the ceiling with an unsure yet hint of a weak encouraging smile on his muzzle. "….right?"

"I should have stopped you when I had the chance," Gamora said with annoyance lacing her every word.

"I knew your plan was flarkin' insane. Why did I ever come and help you, idiots?" Rocket groaned from his pillar, a growl escaping his lips, shooting an annoyed look at Quill in the process.

"I apologize, Nova Prime," Drax said, as he closed his eyes, lying down on his side on the couch. "But we are not in deep water. There is no water currently in your room,"

"Silence!" And at once, the guardians ceased their complaining. The low rumble of a nearby ship landing in the hanger bay could be heard, accompanied by a few guards walking down the corridor passing by Nova Prime's office door on the other side of the door and Drax's light snoring that echoed around them.

Peter looked at Nova Prime and could see her brow tightening in irritation, her eyes growing cold and her arms folding in front of her chest.

"Please forgive him," Peter pleaded, grasping his paws together and entwining his claws, making his eyes bigger as if to make himself look more endearing, his ears flattened across his back, his tail dropping. "He's a-"

"Moron!" Rocket's voice interjected. "He's just a big doofus, Prime," The procyon walked across the room with intent and stopped in front of a sleeping Drax. He leaned into the green man's ear and yelled. "Wake up you lazy lump!" And at once, Drax woke with a start, his head darting left and right, feeling confused and bewildered.

"Wha- where am I?" he asked. "I was just battling Ronan. He was on the ground, my hands around his neck"

"Can we please get back to the topic at hand here," Nova Prime said in a voice that clearly communicated that she was at the end of her tether, that she was at the edge of throwing them into prison, that she was at her limit to how much more she could take from them.

The guardian's looked at her, acknowledging that she was deadly serious, that she would not hesitate, if one more step was out of line, to imprison them there and then. They gave her the attention she required and she continued on as she stood up from her desk to address them:

"I should imprison you," she started with in a firm voice. "However, it may be that your only salvation, your only help at recovery maybe with the Nova Corps as you predicted," She turned and paced the room slightly, looking away from the guardians and out of her office window. "The Infinity Stone holds many mysteries that we have yet to uncover and perhaps, it is with testing that we might find an answer to your little predicament," She turned her head and glanced at Peter in his current form. "So no, you will not be imprisoned. And Nova Corps will help you,"

Peter felt a joy that spread through his body. He jumped up and punched the air with his fisted paw, his tail swishing back and forward, his eyes gleaming. "Thank Kevin Bacon! Yes! I'm gonna be normal again!"

Normal again, that phase didn't sit well with Rocket, and already he could feel his fur bristling along his spine, his tail flicked and his eyes narrowed. Normal again, huh? Because being someone like me is such a tragedy, a burden…..something…..not normal….

Well, if he doesn't wanna be something like me,,,,fine then. Its why I came and helped him on this d'ast plan of his anyway! I made up my flarkin' mind, right? I made my decision so who cares now?!

But no matter what the cybernetically engendered-raccoon told himself, he couldn't stop the anger that ebbed at his heart, couldn't stop his tail twitching, couldn't stop the growling at his muzzle, couldn't halt his hind paw kicking the air next to the couch where he stood….

Couldn't stop his heart from hurting….

"I know I'm awesome, but Nova Prime, you might be just as awesome as I am," Peter was practically a bundle of energy, bouncing on his hind paws and beaming his teeth all the while. Even Gamora beside him smiled at him weakly.

"Despite the level of my "awesomeness"," Nova Prime continued, her brow now less tight together, her voice less strict and was that a small grin Peter could see on her lips? "I must ask you just a few more questions before we can begin,"

Peter halted in his joyful celebration upon hearing Nova Prime's words and looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Begin, what?"

Nova Prime sat herself in her chair behind her desk once more and looked at Peter through her rimmed spectacles. "Answer my questions first and then I shall elaborate…."

Peter squinted his blue-green eyes back at Nova Prime, as if he was attempting to measure what the leader of the Nova Corps had in mind for him, what she could possibly be referring to in regards to the word "begin". Not being able to infer anything, Peter sighed deeply and sat back down on the chair he previously stood upon, holding his tail within his paws. "Okay, Prime. Ask me anything…."

"You stated," Nova Prime started, speaking in a rather matter-of-factly tone of voice. "That you began to feel strange, experience headaches and an overall sense of unease once you came in contact with The Infinity Stone, correct?"

"Yeah, but we've already gone over this, Prime….." Peter answered, a confused expression washed over his furry facial features, his head tilted to one side. "Why are you asking me again?"

"Just," Nova Prime's voice rose in volume for just a second, irritation etching at the word she almost exclaimed. She stopped herself, sighing as she did so, slumping slightly in her seat. "Answer the questions, Mr. Quill,"

"O….okay," Peter replied, knowing all too well that he was already on Nova Prime's bad side. "Sorry," Gamora sighed deeply next to Peter, her right hand holding the bridge of her nose, like she was feeling exactly the frustration Nova Prime must be feeling.

"Right," Nova Prime started again, Peter noticing that it seemed she was trying more than usual to control her voice, as if she was on the threshold of screaming at any moment. "But what occurred right after you destroyed Ronan with you and your friends? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing that I can recall," He placed a claw on his chin, his eyes darted up, focused on the ceiling, trying to remember the events that occurred after the battle with Ronan….

"Nothing at all? Nothing that might explain why you are in the form that you are currently in?"

"Peter," Gamora spoke up from Peter's left-hand side, looking down at him with a thoughtful expression. "Didn't Rocket scratch you while you were holding the stone?"

"I too recall the furry friend inflicting a rather nasty scratch on Captain Quill's hand," Drax said in agreement to Gamora's inquisition, nodding his head and looking at Rocket. "There was no need for such fury, little friend,"

"He deserved it!" Rocket growled, showing his teeth, glaring from Drax to Peter, pointing a claw directly at him. "You showed no gratitude towards Groot's sacrifice!"

"Where is the little tree friend?"

"In my room on the Milano. He'll be fine for an hour or two,"

"And then," Nova Prime raised her voice, signaling to both Rocket and Drax to halt the conversation, that she required their attention. "What happened next, Mr. Quill?"

"And then….I….the headaches started….and…..no freakin' way!" Peter's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, his mind putting a puzzle together, pieces started falling together, everything clicking in place. He practically leaped off from his chair, landed on the floor and spun around, his emotions spurring him on, realization hitting him all too hard. He walked towards Rocket and pointed an accusatory claw at him. "It….this is all your fault!" he said with a raised voice.

"What the flark are you talking about?!" Rocket growled back, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I didn't do anything to you, Star-Dork,"

"You freakin scratched me, dude!" Peter exclaimed, incredulously. "While I was holding the stone and then….this all happened," He gestured to his new body with both paws.

"You just wanna blame me for something that ain't my fault," Rocket retorted, glaring back at Peter. "Because you don't know what's going on and you're scared you might be stuck in the form of a little freak,"

Rocket had said too much and he knew he had cause Peter did not reply, didn't retort with a witty- quip of his own, didn't yell or scream or anything. He just stood in front of Rocket, blinking a few times as if processing everything Rocket had just spilled out into the open. The same could be said for the other guardians, who both exchanged uncomfortable glances with each other, looking as if they wanted to be anywhere else but in the same room.

Flark, Rocket thought to himself, panicked thoughts whirling around inside his mind. Why did I say that to him?!

A silence trudged on filling the awkwardness between them….

But thankfully, this was short-lived, as Nova Prime coughed, cleared her throat and said:

"We don't know that yet, Mr. Quill," she said, taking off her glasses and putting them aside. "Which is why you need to stay here with us…."

Peter slowly turned his face, away from Rocket and looked at Nova Prime with a bewildered expression. "Stay here…?" He asked, his voice, distant.

Nova Prime nodded here. "For tests…."

Peter didn't reply; he merely looked at Nova Prime and then back to Rocket, his facial features contorting into an expression of guilt. He slowly held his head, looking down at the floor, his ears pressed back on the back of his back, his tail dragging and still.

"What….kind of tests?" Gamora asked, injecting the question on Peter's behalf. "What for?"

Rocket looked a Peter not sure of how to gage his sudden change in body language; though, as far as he could tell, it looked as though the newly transformed raccoon possessed an air of sadness. Perhaps you inferred what Rocket had blurted out, interpreted what he had been yelling at him about and processed this information, which lead to his current demeanor. He had no idea how to react to this so he looked at Nova Prime instead….

"To help your captain, of course," Nova Prime explained in a tone of voice like it was the most obvious thing in the universe. "We have excellent scientists here at Nova HQ, and I believe, with your captain's consent, we may be able to help him turn back to his original form. But it would require further research, further tests…"

Re-research…

Tests….

Scientists….

And Rocket felt like he was back on Halfworld, felt the scientists looking down at his body with such glee and contempt, felt the cold hard table under his fur, could feel the light blinding his eyes, could feel their hands all over him, needles, injection entering his body causing him nothing but pain and anguish….

"And…you need to do tests on me?" Peter asked, looking back at Nova Prime. "You need me to stay?"

"Not just you," Nova Prime looked at Rocket. "It sounds as though your current form may have something to do with your furry friend here. Perhaps a mixture of DNA that The Infinity Stone infused into somehow. I'm not certain. But if you and your friend Rocket allow us to perform further research, with your help, we may be able to turn you back into human…."

Rocket could smell the sterile aroma in the air, like there was too much, like a medical bay or something. He heard the voices of those scientists, how they talked about him but in a language he could not fully understand and could hear the other animals being tortured around him, could hear their pain, their cries for help….

"R-Rocket….?" A gentle voice pulled him back, sweeping away painful memories that clogged his brain, memories he wished he could forget but, as much as he tried, could never be forgotten. "A-are you OK….?"

Rocket found himself staring into the blue-green eyes of Peter Quill, who stood in front of him, a worried expression on his fury face. His paw was on Rocket's shoulder as if he was coaxing him out of a bad dream, as if comforting him and telling him that everything was going to be alright…

Rocket felt his heart-skip a beat….

"W-Wha?" Rocket blinked a couple of times. "W-what didja' ya say?"

"I-" Peter started, before he closed his mouth and started again. "You looked….lost, buddy,"

Rocket shook his head slightly, still trying to rid the memories that haunted him. "I'm fine, Quill," he assured, looking back at Peter, feeling his heart beating in a peculiar way, skipping beats hers and there. "Just thinkin' is all…."

"Oh," Peter replied, paw still on Rocket's shoulder. "Well, I don't know if you heard but Nova Prime thinks, she can help me. But-"

Peter paused and looked down, as if worried to continue the sentence. He sighed for a moment, and then looked up into Rocket's eyes.

"I need your help, Rocky," Peter said in a gentle voice that was so unlike him and Rocket could see a genuine cry for help behind those eyes of his, could see how his body slumped as if his body was drained, out of ideas and not an idea of where or who to turn to….

Like a cry for help….

Like a cry for help he could hear in his memories….

Like the cry for help he cried out for…..

"They need to run tests on me," Peter continued, looking away from Rocket's eyes and down to his feet. "They need me to stay here to do further research on my body and…."

And he was looking back into Rocket's eyes once more, and Rocket felt himself falling into those eyes once more….

Felling his heart skip a beat….

Feeling his brow get sweaty….

Seeing those eyes cry out for help….

"….they need you too,"

"W-what?"

"They…need to run tests on your body too,"

Rocket froze, unable to move, unwilling to process what he heard tumble out of Peter's mouth. He didn't hear right, surely?! Tests on his body…? No, no, no…..!

"No," he growled in a bitter voice, looking down at the ground, his paws clenched into fists by his side. "No flarkin' way…."

"It will just be for a while, not too long and then we can go back to adventuring and-"

"No!" Rocket looked up, an angry scowl plastered on his face, shoving Peter's paw off rom his shoulder. "Are ya deaf or something, Star-Idiot?! I ain't staying! I ain't letting these whack jobs do tests on me!"

"But, ya my only hope, Rocket," Peter retorted back, sadness clouding his face. "Without you I…..can't change back,"

"So what?!" Rocket screeched back. "Oh boo-hoo, you have to stay the same like me," His voice changed to one of mockery, as if Peter was a baby. "Get over yourself, Quill," He folded his arms and turned his back on Peter.

"I….thought you were gonna help me," Rocket's eyes twitched at hearing Peter's voice, one that filled him with much guilt and grief. He felt the pang at his heart and tried to ignore as best as he could. Flark you, Quill….

"Guess I've changed my mind, huh," Rocket said, biting down the bitterness that filled his mouth, feeling the guilt ebb away at him. "I don't care how much you need me; I ain't helpin'. Now, I think I've heard enough. I'm getting the flark outta here…"

And with that said Rocket turned and looked at Peter once more, and as quickly as he did so, he wished he never did, for what he saw before him, broke him inside; Peter with tears at the corner of his eyes, looking as if he was holding it all back, but was failing miserably, accompanied with his ears flattened down on his back, his paws hanging down by his sides.

"G-good luck, Pete,"

It was all there for him to see; the cry for help….

The pain that's one he thought he could trust, was turning his back on him….

And as Rocket walked towards the office door, it took every ounce of his being, not to turn back and run back at Peter and hug him there and then and tell him everything would be alright….

That Rocket did have his back….

That Rocket did care….

That maybe he cared a bit more…..

"Rocket!" Get back here!"

"Fury friend! We are not done with our conversation!"

"Ro-Rocket…."

And with his heartbreaking inside, Rocket opened the door and left his friend to his doom.

Left him to what fate had in store….

Left him as he cried out for help…..

-TO BE CONTINUED-

A/N:

Another chapter done.

Well, we are getting into the meat of the story now where most of the drama and eventual romance will take place. The purpose of this chapter was to setup Rocket's past trauma regarding his past on Halfworld with regards to the story and that with Peter's only chance of becoming human again is to do tests and with Rocket's help.

Because, it could be Rocket's fault, unintentionally, that Peter is in his ne form to begin with….

What will Rocket do now, especially when the one he cares about needs him more than ever?

If you liked this chapter, it would be most appreciated if you could leave a review :)

Anyway, more to come soon!

~mpkio2~