Chapter 9:

*Verena's POV*

After some time, Rocket and I meet up with everyone at the control when we came across something unfamiliar to most of us.

"What is it?" Drax asked.

"It's called Knowhere," Gamora answers. "The severed head of an ancient celestial being. Be wary headed in, rodent," she says to Rocket. "There are no regulations whatsoever here," she explains, sitting on her seat.

Rocket flies us into the entrance and into something that made my eyes go wide.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

"Don't be fooled by it's beauty Verena," Gomara speaks to me. "We need to keep our guard up at all times here."

Some machines have their own minds as they act like normal beings around us.

"Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers in to mine the organic matter within the skull," Gamora explains as we walk along the grounds as its citizens. "Bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid. All rar resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy." Rocket holds my hand to protect me. "It's dangerous and illegal work suitable only for outlaws."

"Well, I come from a planet of outlaws," Quill speaks up. "Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos."

"It sounds like a place, which I would like to visit," Drax comments.

"Yea, you should," he agrees.

A group of kids past us which makes me sad of seeing their condition. I place my hand in my pocket to pull out a few pieces of candy that I was saving for later, but the kids need it more so than me. The girl smiles happily, taking the candy which I smiled back.

"You always have a soft spot for children," Rocket mumbles under his breath with a soft smile.

I blush at this.

"Your buyer's in there?" I asked Gomara when we arrived to the location.

"We are to wait here for his representative," she says to us, turning to us.

"This is no respectable establishment," Drax comments about the area. "What do you expect us to do while we wait?"

Rocket, Drax, and I are in the bar waiting on an answer on the buyer. Peter and Gamora are off somewhere. I am taking small sips on my drink colored in blue. I'm not much of a drinker, but whenever me and my boys are out drinking, I'll get one drink and I'm done.

My boyfriend has his usual beer and sitting next to me. We are sharing a tray of wings because we haven't had anything good lately.

Everyone of the guys cheers for the Orlonis that they place bets on. I am not into these bets because that's more for the guys. I flinch at a couple of times when the small creatures keep on eating the smaller ones.

"My Orloni has won, as I won at all things!" Drax, drunken, cheers. "Now, let's put more of this liquid into our bodies," he takes a drink.
"That's the first thing you said that wasn't bat shit crazy!" Rocket, who isn't drunk, grins at Drax.
I giggled a little when Rocket has his furry face covered in the sauce from the wings. I gently clean his face with a napkin. He playfully acts like he doesn't like it, but the smile on his face shows he likes me caring for him.

"Why take care of him as if he's a child?" Drax asked me, slurring a little.

"I was playing around because I want to help him be clean," I giggled a little.

"Why?"

"Because I love him and he loves me."

"He just loves you for your body," he say through his drunkenness, taking a drink.

Drax's words actually hurt me gratefully. It came to the point I actually feel tears coming.

"What?" I asked.

"What did you say?!" Rocket growls at him.

"She has a body that can fulfilled any man's needs to the point I wouldn't be surprised she's getting money by spreading her legs."

Now the guys chuckles, looking at me in lust, making me seriously uncomfortable.

"She's with me not because of her body so leave her alone!" Rocket screams at them, getting on the table.

"Women like her is only for sexual pleasures!"

The next thing I knew, Rocket and Groot attacks Drax for his drunk words towards me.

Groot wraps his whole body around Drax while Rocket got his weapons out for him when Drax break through Groot's hold.

Thankfully, Gamora and Peter hears the fight from outside.
"Stop it!" Gamora yells at Drax, stopping him.

"What are you doing?" Peter stops Rocket.

"This vermin speaks of affairs he knows nothing about!" Drax yells.

"That is true!" Rocket tells him.

"He only cares of weakness!"

"Because I love Verena for her heart, not for her body!"

"Hold on! Hold on! What's going on here?" Peter asked again.

"He keeps on saying that women like Verena are only for sexual pleasures!" Rocket explains.

"What?!" Gamora screams at Drax, about to attack him, but Quill manages to get her to stop.

"Verena is beautiful, kind, and doesn't treat me as if I'm a monster!" Rocket comments makes me blush, but I am worried of the scene before me.

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked.

"I didn't ask to get made!" Rocket confesses. "I didn't ask to be torn apart, and put back together, over and over and turned into some….some little monster!"

"Rocket, no one's calling you a monster," I speak up worried for him.

"Verena, he called me 'vermin'!" he points at Drax. "She called me 'rodent'!" He turns to everyone else. "Let's see if you can laugh after five or six good shots to your frickin' face!" he is about to shoot him when Gamora and Peter stops them from fighting again.

"No, no, no, no! Four billion units! Rocket!" Peter yells at him, having his hands out to him. "Come on, man. Hey! Suck it up for one more lousy night and you and Verena with Groot are rich."

Rocket looks over to me as I feel the tears running down my face as I have my hands close to my face. He is stunned at the tears before lowering his weapon.

"Fine," he finally speaks. "But I can't promise, when all this is over I'm not gonna kill every last one of you jerks."

"See? That's exactly why none of you have any friends!" Peter tells everyone in our group. "Five seconds after you meet somebody, you're already trying to kill them!"

He does have a point.

"We have travelled halfway across the quadrant and Ronan is no closer to being dead," Drax had enough of this and walks away.

"Drax!" Peter calls for him.

"Let him go," Gamora says. "We don't need him."

Rocket walks over to me and gently takes my hands down so I can see him.

"Hey, I'm so sorry about that," he apologizes, holding them. "Forgive me?"

I nod my head, still feeling hurt from Drax's words.

"Milady Gamora," an unfamiliar voice speaks up from near us. "I'm here to fetch you for my master." A pink skinned female offers her to enter in with us following her.