Tada! Surprise chapter after more than a few months of radio silence. The Bunnies have been hopping lately for this fic, though how many of them will actually work with me and become one shots is hard to say. It will by no means happen very quickly. Then there's the problem of being sucked into many new fandoms by my best friend. (It is all her fault!) If you have internet and netflix then you must go watch Marvel's Daredevil! I'm addicted and Matt and Foggy are beautiful Avocados at law! Do I ship them? Just a tiny bit. (Ship the size of the titanic sails past) But enough of my rambling, REMEMBER TO READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY!

Rocket's first memories were of fear, and a maze of white walls.

The recollection was always blurry and indistinct but no matter how many years passed or how hard he tried to forget, Rocket would always be able to remember it. His first memory. It was the first moment of his new self-awareness, his sentience. Of course his first thoughts were extremely basic compared to his later contemplations, and consisted of all the very little knowledge he knew at the time. He knew his name was experiment 89P13. The world consisted of only cages and the maze. He knew that pain came from white gloved hands and the metal in his back. He knew he couldn't stop running. (He could never stop running.)

He came to know pain very well. In fact, over time, he became intimately knowledgeable about nearly every kind of agony one could suffer. From burning, to electricity, to starvation, to drowning, to dehydration, to exhaustion, to... well the list was nearly endless. Everytime the white gloves (Scientists, he learned) would open him up to fool around with his organs as if they were toys he got to know pain all the better. For the longest time he didn't even have a voice or words to scream that they would understand. Not that they cared, because even once they did give him the means to communicate they never cared and his screams never stopped them. Not even once. (If anything it only seemed to encourage them.)

Bits of metal (Cybernetics they were called) were added to his body and brain to improve him. So the scientists said anyway. They burrowed under his skin into his bones and brain like parasites, increasing his capabilities and intelligence even though he wished that they would just finally kill him. They pulled apart his joints and forced them into unnatural positions, remaking them so he could stand upright. They broke his hands and gave him opposable thumbs so he could hold tools. They tied him to a metal table, pried and pinned his eyelids open, forcing him to watch dozens of vid screens at once. They force fed him information on just about anything and everything, and punished him when his knowledge didn't meet their expectations. (Sometimes they punished him when he surpassed their expectations too, he never understood why.)

It was almost funny, looking back, at how hard they were trying to make an 'inferior being' into a genius but were so completely unprepared for him to be one. It was just a little while after beginning to understand language and overhearing conversations of the scientists that he came to the realization that there was a world outside of the lab (he could scarcely believe it), and the maze, and the pain. It was also then that he learned the valuable lesson of how to hide his intelligence, to be underestimated. While it certainly meant he was punished more often and with more cruelty, he was smart enough to watch, wait and plan. (He didn't dare hope, hope was a poison more potent than any they ever gave him, he knew better.)

While the scientists were having him run the mazes that tried to trick and kill him and forcing knowledge, he was teaching himself mechanics mostly from theory. While they had him learning puzzles and experimenting on his body, he was memorizing the layout of the lab and access codes for the doors. (Morons.) Then one day they took him from his cage and decided they wanted to test his memory and problem solving skills by having him take a solar emulsifier apart and then put it back together again. They expected him to fail, especially since this was far beyond anything that they had tested him on before. They even had his punishment set up in the other room, and for the first time in his life the unfairness of it all made him very, very, angry.

They expected him to be able to take the emulsifier apart easily enough but in the end be unable to put it back together in the reverse sequence. They were only about two thirds right. He took it apart in record time, but once he began to put it back together it was immediately obvious that he wasn't doing it right.

The watching pair of scientists scoffed and almost eagerly began looking forward to his consequential punishment. They didn't even notice the bolt of electricity that shot from the barrel of the ramshackle gun in his paws until it was too late and they were unconscious. (For scientists they were sure stupid.)

By the time those scientists regained consciousness experiment 89P13 was already long gone. It had broken out and stolen a small one person spacecraft off world with nothing more than a cobbled together solar emulsifier and a stolen I.D. badge taken from a guard it ambushed. The scientists responsible were punished of course, and if some new humanoid test subjects were found the very same day then everyone knew better than to say anything about it. The experiment 89P13 would be found, sooner or later, it couldn't run forever after all. And once they did and it then perhaps they could finally move on to stage two of 'The Plan'.

Groot's first memories were of loneliness, and a landscape of gray rock.

Even as just a small sprout, just woken from the womb that was the shell of his seed, he knew that something wasn't right. The biologically inherent knowledge of his species told him that he should be waking bathed in golden sunlight. However he struggled to feel any light at all. It told him he should have been planted in loose, warm soil, rich in the nutrients he would need to grow healthy and strong. Yet the ground he was in was dry, almost cold, and full of sharp stones. It told him that he should wake surrounded by other young saplings of his species. But when he finally opened his eyes for the first time, he was completely alone. The only thing that he knew that was true, was that his name is Groot.

It was all wrong. The land that Groot was born in was not the one that his instincts said it should be. There were no other seedlings, hardly any light to speak of was getting through the atmosphere, and his soil tested barren and sand-like to his roots. The tiny Flora Colossus gazed around with his new eyes, trying and failing to make sense of what he was seeing and what his instincts were saying. Nothing was as it should be.

He had been planted on a small craggy knoll with no protective cover to speak of other than a boulder a few feet to his left. A little dirty creek, muddy and half dried up, was flowing past at the base of the hill but was too small and far to provide him with adequate water. However the most distressing thing was that even from atop of the hill he couldn't see even a single green plant in the surrounding flat landscape. There was nothing, only cold gray sand, dirt and stone.

"I am Groot?" The tiny seedling called plaintively, hoping that there was someone to answer.

No one ever answered. It didn't take long after that for Groot to come to the realization that the one that had planted him, had left him. That didn't stop him from calling until his voice gave out, three days later. Once accepting that he was completely alone and that his planter had left him (likely to die) Groot focused his efforts into his survival.

It didn't matter that he was planted too far from water. He focused all of his energy into growing his roots so they reached the creek. It was irrelevant that he had little nutrients in his soil. The tiny sapling caught bugs and the occasional small reptile to bury at his roots and give him energy. The fact that he had no protection whatsoever from the raging sandstorms and cold wind was insignificant in the face of his will to live. To prove whoever had abandoned him wrong. Groot was determined to survive, he would live. However there were times when the sheer emptiness of his surroundings would become too much, and he wondered if survival would be enough.

Very slowly Groot grew, he was stunted for his species due to poor nutrition and often scarce water supply, but he grew. Eventually he reached a size that was able to support itself without the need for roots, and his instincts told him that it was time to let them go and begin moving. However the tiny tree being was reluctant to do so. His instincts were wrong about so much, there was very little that it got right, what if it was wrong again? Perhaps it was better that he stayed here, planted in the earth. Sure he didn't have much water, or nutrients, and he was so very alone but this place was all that he knew.

Groot might have stayed there for years if the choice hadn't been taken from him by the largest sandstorm of his young life. He had seen the signs of its coming three days before it hit and had done his best to prepare, but the moment the winds hit he knew that he was in trouble. He was buffeted back and forth like a mouse in the claws of a cat. Sand blowing on the wind at high speeds cut into his bark, got into his mouth and blinded his eyes. He tried to stand firm against the storm but everytime he tried to push back he was knocked flat by the wind. The storm raged for days and Groot could feel his roots ripping as he struggled to breath through the sand dune that was slowly being blown overtop of him. He didn't have a choice, he could either try to stay planted and suffer as every root was forcibly torn from him and he was buried alive in sand, or he could let go and hopefully survive. Groot chose the latter and with a final painful cry that was muffled by a layer of sand, Groot released his roots.

He didn't have much time to linger on his pain however since he was beginning to run out of air. The Flora Colossus weakly dug his way out of the sand and back into the raging wind. On his new feet he tried to stand but against the rough sand they were sensitive and still hurting, the battering of the wind didn't help his efforts to stand at all. This however didn't stop the tree being from trying even as the wind tossed his newly unrooted form around, carrying him away from the knoll that had been his birth place. Eventually the wind tossed him into a rock and he was able to cling to its surface and ride out the storm in relative safety. The morning after the storm was oddly quiet and peaceful, the thick atmosphere almost seeming lighter and brighter after having raged so strongly. It didn't stay that way for long of course, and in the days that followed Groot regretted his decision to let go of his roots. Now it was even harder to find water, and now that he was weaned off of soil nutrients there was no non-sentient plant life for him to eat.

And then one night while Groot continued wandering looking for food and water he saw something strange. A cluster of lights, like fallen stars on the horizon. Curious, he changed direction a part of him needing to know why stars would gather on the earth. He wasn't disappointed that the lights weren't stars because they revealed something much better, buildings and people. He watched them from behind a dune, wanting to approach them but his common sense warning caution. They seemed like a rough bunch, arguments and fighting seemed common. A number of them would occasionally stumble unsteadily from the largest building, smelling strange but laughing. And they all had different appearances and clothes. Some were large and bulbous while others had colorful skin, some were very tall but Groot could easily tower over most. None of them looked like Groot did but the Flora Colossus didn't much care. He very nearly ran back into the desert when something large and very loud flew overhead to land on the far side of the small city. Only his loneliness and curiosity kept him from running. His inherent knowledge whispered that it was a spacecraft, a vehicle used to travel through space which made Groot wish for a closer look.

Finally he mustered his courage and slowly walked into the streets. A few people looked at him curiously but none of them gave him much of a second glance, to used to seeing odd aliens from everywhere. Groot wandered deeper, almost overwhelmed by the press of people, noise and lights but utterly addicted to it. He eventually found a very small park where a dirty fountain flowed and a few scraggly trees grew, both of which Groot used to quench his thirst and gawning hunger. Once his need was slackened he then wandered back into the crowded streets. A merchant hawking his wares shouted at the Flora Colossus as he passed, shoppers passed impatiently and the odd child passed while picking pockets.

He liked it here, at least for the first little while. He stayed in the small city for days, simply wandering and watching, always making his way back to the tiny park whenever he needed water, food, or sleep. However after only a few days he was chased away from the park by people claiming to be law officers, telling him he couldn't live in a public area. He tried to explain to them that he had nowhere else to go but they didn't understand. That was yet another problem, after trying to converse with several different people he realized that no one seemed to be able to understand him. Which of course made him feel even more alone than he had been in the desert, even though he was surrounded by people.

Just a few days later after walking for quite some time he found himself in front of a large building, where some kind of commotion seemed to be happening inside. Two beings suddenly came fighting out the doors, one large with armored red skin and fangs poking out from its large bottom jaw, the other was a bit shorter covered in mottled green brown skin and twice as angry. Both were reaching for large metal contraptions on their waists and backs which had Groot's instinctual knowledge buzzing.

Groot was too busy listening to the flood of information coming from his instincts to notice that the people on the street were beginning to run away, while others also carrying metal were crowding closer to the arguing pair. 'Those are guns, also known as blasters. Minimized heavy ion fusion chambers coupled with hair trigger release valves connected to the synthesis chamber allows for it to shoot plasma at high speeds for effective offensive combat.' He was just about to listen to a more detailed description of what ion fusion was when the fight began.

Sudden blaster fire from both sides peppered the area and Groot was forced to duck to avoid getting hit in the face. Shouts, screams and the sound of small explosions filled the air as the two groups clashed. The young Flora Colossus took cover behind the corner of a nearby building and watched the fight with confusion. Why were they fighting? The street was absolute chaos, beings everywhere shooting and fighting with both guns and fists. Groot was about to turn away and run back into the desert when he noticed that a much smaller being had been caught in the crossfire. It wasn't very tall and cried shrilly. With a jolt he realized it was a sapling, a child, of one of the other species here and that it was in danger of being injured or crushed in the small battle in the street.

Groot didn't even have time to realize he was moving before he was running across the street and grabbing the little sapling. For a split second the tree being questioned why he was even interfering. However he found that the answer was that he simply couldn't stand by. The young child hiccuped and quieted for a moment looking at him in a mix of awe and confusion, as if deciding if it still wanted to cry or not. The Flora Colossus wanted to stop and try to comfort it, assure it he meant no harm, but he had little chance to do so when a sudden blaster shot came. Groot took the brunt of the blast, vines almost instantly growing from his arms forming around the child so like a shield so it remained safe. With a low groan that sounded more like a growl Groot turned and saw the carelessly shot blast had come from the red armored alien from before. This was obviously not a nice person.

The red one shouted at the alien he had started the fight with loud enough for even Groot to hear him from across the street of blaster fire. "This is what you get for thinking you can take me on, ya little toad! I'm going to kill you nice and slow. Just so those other people I killed can hear your screams from the afterlife!"

With another growl Groot's back grew a number of thorns and sharp but short branches. Quickly he turned and put the child into the relatively safe arms of a cowering bystander before making his way thicker into the center of the fight. By the time Groot had managed to fight and dodge his way closer the red skinned alien was fist fighting his original opponent and quite obviously winning. The crimson armored man finally grabbed his stunned adversary and lifted him from his feet by the throat. A victorious smile spread across his fanged mouth as he brought out a knife and raised it high. However that same hand never came down due to the nearly crushing grip he had on the red skin's wrist.

The ruby skinned being looked over his shoulder at Groot in surprise and snarled, "What the frak? Get off of me you ugly tree, before I make sure your next."

Groot scowled, "I am Groot."

But the crimson being only furrowed his brow in confusion, not understanding. The young Flora Colossus had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes and instead increased the pressure on the arm that he was holding, until he could feel the fragile bones underneath creak in protest to the pressure. The alien gritted his teeth at first with a growl that quickly turned into a shout of pain as both his hands reflexively opened, letting his opponent free and dropping the knife. Groot continued to increase the pressure and twist the red skinned being's arm until the being stopped fighting and struggling in pain.

"Let me go!" The red skinned alien shouted.

The Flora Colossus glared but then gave a small smirk and nodded, "I am Groot."

And with one swift punch to the fanged mouth Groot knocked the alien across the street, unconscious and missing one of the teeth from its large jaw. The fight was winding down now, only small scuffles remaining, Groot then turned his attention back to the mottled skinned opponent who was coughing and rubbing his throat while glaring up at him.

"An' jus' who the hell do you think you are?"

"I am Groot," the young Flora Colossus shrugged eyes narrowed and tense in case this one wanted to fight as well.

Of course the man didn't understand what Groot was really saying but it didn't seem to matter to him. "Groot, uh? You got a pretty good arm there Groot, very handy in a fight. You do much fighting before?"

Groot shook his head and the mottled alien's eyes lit up with a shrewd look. "I'm Ganmor, captain of th' starship Whydah. Tell ya what Groot, I jus' so happen ta have a vacancy on my crew an' I need a guy just like you with plenty of muscle. If ya want the job its yurs. A chance ta get off this mudball an' see the galaxy. Plenty of fighting ta go around an' even more money if ya work well an' follow my orders. What d'ya say? Sound like a good deal?"

Groot wasn't sure what to think. If he was being truly honest with himself he had kind of liked the fight. Hitting the red skinned alien had been particularly satisfying in its own way. The idea of getting off the planet of his sprouting was even more surprisingly welcomed. He was surprised to find that he really didn't want to stay here any longer, that he wanted to move on. What he wasn't sure of was the look in Ganmor's eye, but he was willing to go with him for now. So Groot nodded, and followed behind his new boss to what he hoped would lead to something better than what he knew.

Three years later:

There was something to be said about the asteroid prison, the Compendium, that housed the high class criminals of the Navien quadrant of the galaxy. Unfortunately none of those things to be said were good. The carved out hunk of floating space rock was the size of a small moon. A veritable fortress that reminded many of its reluctant inhabitants of a large mine shaft more than anything else. The single entrance both in and out was a large elevator that took you to the landing bay where ships arrived to deposit prisoners. However the worst part was by far the fact that the guards and the prison warden, a retired Naveen engineer with foul breath, enjoyed personalizing the prisoners individual containment cells. And Rocket didn't mean with throw pillows and carpet samples.

No, each cell was specifically designed to keep its single occupant locked away for the rest of their life. Though the rooms could hardly be even called cells since they were closer to the size of closets. While the small size of the space didn't much bother Rocket, the fact that he'd been here for three moon cycles (and the fact that he couldn't hack the EMP pulse on the barred door of his cell) was irking. Rocket knew that if he so much as touched the steel bars then the delicate cybernetics under his skin would be deactivated and he'd be lucky if he was dead before he hit the ground. He knew he needed to get the deactivation code from one of the guards but they never needed to open the door. Not even for food since all they were given was watery slop that came from a small tube dispenser built into the wall twice a day.

Which made this whole thing all the more frustrating for Rocket. He needed a guard to get the door open and get out, but the guards never came by, not eve for parols. (A lazy oversight that was more annoying than anything else.) Fortunately for him about a week into his stay at the Compendium the prisoner in the cell across from his passed away from old age. Which meant that once they got a new schmuck to put in that box he'd have a chance to begin making his escape attempt. Unfortunately for him it was taking a really long fraking time which was why he'd been here for so long. By the time a replacement prisoner was finally brought down Rocket was just about ready to grab the bars of his cell just for something to do.

Of course the alien they brought down was nothing that Rocket expected or had seen before. The guy was big, since he towered over even the tallest guard that the prison had. However the most distinctive thing about the guy was the fact that he looked like he was made of wood. A fact that Rocket knew wasn't just in looks, since his keen nose could pick up the crisp scent of sap, bark and pollen from down the hall. However it was still surprising to see. Rocket at first said nothing as the guards herded the new guy into his new cell, though he glared mightily at one particularly foul tempered guard that Rocket had managed to bite on his first day. In his defence the d'astard first called him a rat and then tried to kick him before Rocket bit off one of his fingers. Besides the guy was a Tesek, they could biologically regrow entire limbs, so its not like he did any permanent damage.

Rocket made sure to make eye contact with that same Tesek guard and smirk before saying, "How's the hand doing?"

The guard snarled, "Shut it."

"I'd like to see you make me," the ring tailed experiment said with a grin.

True to form the Tesek guard growled and slammed the butt of his large stun gun against the bars.

"I said shut it, you waste of carbon!" He shouted, which unfortunately this caught the attention of his superior.

"Desno! Quit lazing around yacking with prisoners and help us with this one. Now! Before I decide to put you in a cell instead."

With a last scowl and heated glare at Rocket the guard, with the unfortunate name of Desno, turned and shut the cell door on the newest addition to the Compendium. The large fella appeared much smaller in such a cramped space, and for once Rocket was briefly appreciative of his smaller than average size. Of course he made sure to listen in closely when one of the engineers began speaking quietly to Desno's superior. His ears weren't just for good looks after all since they gave him exceptional hearing.

"We may have to import some better materials for the of this new prisoners cell. I know the warden wants his specifications for the cells to be followed to the letter, but if this one manages to hold onto the bars for any long length of time the metal may overheat and melt." The engineer muttered to the superior guard, but he only rolled his eyes at the engineer's concerns.

"You worry too much. These bars will burn him if he so much as brushes them. I doubt even this idiot is dumb enough to do that, and if he is he'll be too damaged to get very far."

The engineer muttered about lax security but was ignored as the final touches to the newcomers cell were put in place. Rocket of coursed used this opportunity to heckle the guards, particularly the Tesek Desno. He cursed, shouted, insulted their mothers, and used every foul mouthed insult and dirty insulting joke he had learned in scummy bars across the cosmos in the past few years. He even added a few new ones he had made himself out of boredom. Unfortunately nothing made the guards react, though Desno would twitch every now and then, letting Rocket know that he was effectively getting under the Tesek's skin. All too soon the guards finished, packed up their tools and left, Rocket calling taunts after them as they went.

"Ya, that's right ya limp noodle d'astards you better walk away!" Rocket shouted before settling down, slumping against the wall of his cell in frustration. He could only hope that the moron Desno would come back for a round two before he died of either old age or boredom in this place.

So without any other distractions Rocket looked over and observed his new cell mate across the hall, who was staring at the floor morosely. As observed before the guy was big and frankly looked like a living tree that had grown into a generally humanoid shape. Rocket had seen some strange species of aliens in his time but nothing and no one he had met looked like this guy. So it was fairly logical to assume this guy's species was either really rare, he was very far from his home planet, or that he was unique. A lot like Rocket himself, which was a thought that died as quickly as the racoon formed it.

"Hey, big guy. What they get you for?"

He was ignored.

"Not a talker uh? How about a name. Got a name?"

Rocket sighed in frustration, even his last cell mate who was half dead talked more than this guy. Pacing in frustration the racoon muttered to himself to fill the silence.

"Of course they would stick me with the one idiot in this place that doesnt talk. Is it too much to ask for a little intelligent conversation around here? This place is worse than the Bagair prison, at least there they gave me a bloody pack of cards to keep sane with. Sure I used them as part of a diversion for my escape but still it was better than this. I can feel my I.Q. dropping by the second."

"I am Groot," Groot muttered mostly to himself, but Rocket answered anyway.

"Of course I'm being rhetorical. Besides intelligence isn't something that can be accurately calculated with any definitive accuracy."

"I am Groot?", the Flora Colossus asked in surprise.

"Of course i can understand you. I wouldn't be talking to you if I couldn't now would I?"

"I am Groot."

Rocket's brow furrowed in confusion, "Why would-" then it clicked. "Oh, I get ya. Most species don't have keen enough noses to smell the subtle variances in the pollen you use to communicate. All they hear is in what you say. Limited speech patterns must be a pain in the ass."

"I am Groot," The tree man agreed but he seemed extremely happy that someone finally understood him.

Maybe it was the lack of anything else to do or anyone else to communicate with, perhaps he was just desperate for a bit of company, but Rocket found himself sitting down in his cell and settling in to listen.

"So Groot, where abouts are you from?"

They talked for the rest of the day and long after the final meal of the solar cycle came down the tubes. Groot spoke of how he was from the edges of a far off quadrant and how he came to be a grunt for a band of mercenaries. Rocket spoke of his adventures and escapades through his time as a bounty hunter. There were topics they both obviously avoided which neither of them pressed the other to speak of; like where Rocket was from or what had gotten Groot arrested and sent to the Compendium. A number of days passed in this way with nothing much else to do but talk and for Rocket teach Groot some of his raunchier jokes. Of course eventually the topic about what they missed about being free. Rocket missed being able to have a strong stiff drink the most, while Groot missed sunlight and green plants. It was a surprise when Groot confessed how he had gotten arrested.

Apparently the mercenary group that he had worked for had abandoned him to take the fall after a bust gone wrong. Three people had died, two of them at Groots hands being from that same mercenary group after they had killed a bystander. The raccoon had then spent the rest of that day ranting and wishing for a blaster and more than a few choice targets to shoot at. Rocket even found himself considering revising his escape plans to include the Flora Colossus. Unfortunately the plans that he had involved more sneaking than walking out, and Groot was far too large and obvious for such a plan. It simply wasn't an option. Finally after about a week the mandatory maintenance check on a new prisoners security measures came around. Rocket could barely contain his grin when he saw that the guard doing the check was none other than Desno.

"Well looky here if it isn't our favorite moron! How you doing Desno? That finger still growing back?"

The Tesek guard shot Rocket a venomous glare and flipped the racoon the bird, showing that his fingers had indeed healed, but otherwise ignored him. Desno proceeded to then plug in his handheld diagnostic tool into the wall beside Groot's cell and continue the inspection. All Rocket needed was that tool, and possibly the blaster at Desno's belt if he could, in order to get out of this horrible place. His plan was fairly simple and straightforward, if it worked. He just had to hope that Desno was as stupid as he looked. So with faked ease and relaxation Rocket lounged in the back of his cell, readying himself to strike.

"I have to say you're the first Tesek I've met Desno. However if you're the best example for a species with selective regenerating abilities you sure are a pathetic bunch."

Desno's shoulders twitched but otherwise showed no reaction. Groot on the other hand looked across the hallway and gave Rocket a questioning look that the ring tailed experiment ignored.

"I mean let's face it," Rocket scoffed with derision. "What kind of loser get assigned to guard this dump unless they're either completely useless, incompetent, or their boss just wants them out of the way?"

Rocket hardly even needed to look to see that Desno's control was inches away from snapping. Even from behind the guy looked tense enough to bounce a unit off his tense shoulders. Groot glanced wearily from the guard to Rocket, "I am Groot?" But the racoon ignored his question to give the final blow.

"Your mother must be ashamed to look in a the mirror because of you, if not because she's ugly."

In truth Desno was not the first Tesek Rocket had met, and he had learned just a few very valuable lessons about them from the one he had met before. One of them being that Tesek matriarchal culture was mainly centered around goddesses and the rare females of their species, and that insulting someone's mother was a deadly thing to do there. Needless to say 'yo momma' jokes never did go over well on that planet.

It was with a nearly audible snap that Desno's control over his temper broke. The Tesek turned, his face nearly purpled in rage as he ripped monitoring device from the port in Groot's cell. With a snarl the guard quickly plugged the machine into Rocket's containment unit, the bars sliding aside and deactivating the EMP shield. Without hesitation Desno charged into the cage while Rocket simultaneously leaped to his feet and dodged, his goal to get out the open door and lock the Tesek in with the still plugged in device.

Unfortunately while Rocket was right in thinking he was much faster than Desno, the clever raccoon's plan didn't quite factor in the length of his tail or how fast an enraged Tesek could be. The ringtailed experiment only made it halfway to the doorway and freedom before Desno's hand closed around his tail and yanked him back. Rocket twisted in his grip but before he could so much as utter a shout another hand closed around his throat, cutting off his voice and access to air.

"You filthy little rodent," Desno growled lowly as his grip tightened. "You dare insult my honor and lineage, and for that I will take great pleasure in ending you. Suffer in the knowledge that no one shall miss you."

Choking and struggling Rocket fought the darkness beginning to creep in at the edges of his vision as well as the hands around his neck. However Desno was still so angry that his grip never faltered even as Rocket tore at his wrists and fingers with his claws. Dimly, distantly, the racoon could hear Groot shouting from his cell as his lungs burned for air and the world began to fade. However just as Rocket was hanging on the edge of consciousness something large shot into his vision and wrapped itself around Desno and ripped the Tesek off his feet.

Reflexively Desno's hands opened and dropped the nearly unconscious racoon to the floor of the cell coughing and choking for air. Once he was sure he was still breathing and alive Rocket looked up to see Desno being held against the cell wall, being choked by what looked like a familiar hand-like vine. Groot, with a look that was quite frightening on his gentle face, had extended one of his arms through the now flaming bars of his cage to grab the guard. The bark-like flesh of the arm was smoldering and burning, especially the shoulder where the wood as pressed to the bars.

"Stop you idiot!" Rocket croaked past his sore throat. "Your arm is burning off!"

It was true, the bars were blazing brighter and hotter the longer Groot was touching them and his shoulder joint was beginning to crumble and turn to ash.

"I... am... Groot," the Flora Colossus grunted in pain, and Rocket scrambled to obey. All but falling out of his cell in his hurry to shut the doors and lock Desno inside. Groot quickly retracted his arm as the bars slid shut, letting Desno's soundly unconscious form fall to the ground. With a moan of pain Groot retracted his arm all the way back through the now mostly melted bars of his own cell. The gaping smoking wound in his wooden shoulder nearly going straight through the badly scorched limb.

"Just who the frak do you think you are?" The tiny beast-like being snarled in worried irritation, and he would have been very threatening if he was any higher than Groot's knee.

"I am Groot," the tree man said with a shrug, wincing as his wound smoked and smoldered at the edges.

"I don't need help! I had him right where I wanted him, and then you had to come and screw it all up. Ya giant doofus!" Rocket hissed in frustration before sighing and eyeing the melted gaps in Groot's cell. "Do you think you can get out of there without burning yourself into charcoal?"

Groot nodded and after a moment of careful maneuvering he was able to ease his bulk between the half melted bars and into the hallway. Without a second's hesitation Rocket quickly clambered up the Flora Colossus's legs and back to closer inspect the burn.

"Shit, you really did a number on yourself big guy. You can't even move your fingers can you? The whole bloody arms useless. We gotta get ya help." Rocket's mind reeled, flicking quickly through several scenarios that would get Groot treatment as fast as possible and hopefully save his arm. The most likely being handing themselves over to the guards.

"I am Groot."

Rocket froze, "What?"

"I am Groot", the tree being repeated.

"What the hell man! Why didn't you say that in the first place!? You let me freaking panic that you'd just impaired yourself without even telling me you'll just grow the whole arm back in a few days? Ya bloody jerk!" Rocket growled heatedly, not admitting to the relief that he could feel in his stomach.

"I am Groot."

"Just because I didn't ask doesn't mean that you shouldn't tell me shit like that ya moron," Rocket grumbled as he jumped off Groot's shoulder back to the floor."

"I am Groot?", the Flora Colossus questioned.

"Now we make our escape," Rocket replied as he scooped up the monitor device and unplugged it from the wall. Things had certainly just gotten harder. The racoon hadn't planned on breaking Groot out as well but he told himself that if he left the big brute to wander around to find his own way out he'd likely trip an alarm. It would be better if they stuck together, at least for now, and perhaps the big guy would make a good distraction.

Rocket quickly scanned the hallway before leading the way, Groot lumbering behind him. Fortunately the Compendium didn't have surveillance equipment since prisoners almost never left their cells. At least not without an escort of guards, so there was little point in having it, a fact that made it that much easier for the pair of criminals to sneak around. There was one close call where a prisoner spotted them escaping and started making too much noise. However it was quickly handled by Groot who shot his still functioning hand through the bars and slammed the noisy aliens face into the nearest wall. Sure it lacked finesse but it certainly worked.

It wasn't long before they had found their way to the center of the compound. The large room was fairly busy compared to the rest of the prison. Large crates of food, supplies and various basic equipment were stacked off to one side beside the doors that led to the guards quarters and living areas. Above it all on a raised platform that had been carved into the asteroid was the main control and monitor room for the prison, where the sole controls for the elevator and only exit to the Compendium was. The elevator itself was directly opposite the pair of criminals across the wide space and past both the guards and the control room. The large metal blast doors were designed to hold up to even a medium class bomb, making the control room Rocket's main target.

"Ok big guy here's the plan, I'm going to sneak up to the control room there. From there I can use this," he held up the monitoring device that they had taken from Desno. "With this I can hack into the mainframe to give me control of the elevator. Once I do that we'll have only seconds before they realize something's going on and alarms start going off. That means that the moment you see those doors open you make a run for them, and don't get caught, alright?"

"I am Groot," the tree being nodded.

So with a final scan around the large room Rocket ran to the nearest cover. There weren't very many guards in the large room, and those that were were more focused on doing their duties to be looking in the shadows for any small prisoners that might be hiding in them. It took a few minutes and more than a few close calls but eventually Rocket was positioned behind a nicely placed crate right beside the staircase that led to the control room. Of course at that moment a large group of guards exited their quarters for the shift change, several of them turning toward the hallway that Groot was hiding in with nowhere else to go or hide.

The same moment that Groot was spotted and a shout of alarm went up Rocket dashed up the small staircase to the control room door. Which smoothly opened for him as the guard general came out to see what the commotion was about. The alien had no time to react as Rocket ducked between his legs and hit the emergency lock on the inside panel, effectively locking the man out and Rocket in. Wasting no time to listen to the shouting and inventive cursing coming from the other side of the door the furry experiment hurried to the controls and plugged in the monitoring device he had stolen. Through the window overlooking the room outside Rocket could see the utter chaos that Groot was causing, and the beating he was getting in return.

The Flora Colossus was fighting back with a fierce ferocity that Rocket hadn't known the normally gentle giant capable of. The shocked and unprepared guards had no idea what hit them. Crates of cargo were tossed at clusters of men like pebbles that shattered and sent his opponents scattering. Groot's one good arm was grabbing and throwing any guards that dared come to close and many of those men were not getting back up for a second round. However Groot was still severely outnumbered, and even as Rocket watched the tree-like being kick their collective asses the guards were quickly recovering from the surprise attack and reaching for their blasters.

Working quickly the genetically altered racoon hacked into the Compendiums mainframe and transferred control of all the prisons systems into the monitoring device in his paws. Within moments of doing so and with a grin Rocket flipped a few switches and opened the elevator door to freedom. Shouts and bangs could still be heard on the other side of the control room door so with a quick leap to the floor and the loosening of a few screws Rocket escaped through the main ventilation shaft. The metal shaft led to the ground floor, and with a sole swift kick to the grate and Rocket had a direct path to the still open elevator and freedom. Rocket took several steps toward the elevator at a run but momentarily froze at the sound of plasma fire and a pained shout.

Rocket froze and looked over his shoulder. Surrounded, in the center of the room, Groot was swiping with his one good arm at the guards, disarming and knocking many down. However more and more were making their way from the guards quarters, blasters at the ready and shooting. Concentrated burning plasma shots connected with the Flora Colossus's back and with a howl of pain and anger Groot whipped around and tossed one of the few remaining crates at the guards. But from where Rocket was standing he could see that it was only a distraction. Another group of men were setting up what looked like a harpoon like cannon, obviously planning on taking the tree like being down, if not alive then severely wounded.

The cybernetically enhanced racoon knew that he could just go. The elevator was open, he was so close to freedom he could almost taste it. He sure as hell didn't owe Groot anything, certainly didn't promise the tree-like being that he'd get him out of here. Heck, he didn't plan to bring the big lug out of the prison with him in the first place. Yet with a growl of frustration Rocket found himself turning away from the open elevator door and tackling the guards manning the cannon. Caught by surprise they couldn't stop Rocket before he had control of the large weapon, with a quick shove the barrel of the cannon was pointed at the fuel tanks across the room.

"Get down!" Rocket shouted.

With no hesitation Groot dived for the ground the same moment Rocket pulled the trigger. The resulting concussive force of the blast knocked remaining guards to the floor and put an impressive crack in the ceiling. Leaping over concussed and unconscious bodies the ring tailed experiment quickly made his way over to the Flora Colossus. After grabbing an abandoned blaster for himself of course.

"Groot! Ya ok?"

A groaning nod was his reply, though the tree-like being seemed a little stunned by the explosion he remained mostly whole. The guards were already stirring and Rocket may or may not have given one a swift kick to the head before he turned back to Groot.

"Tell ya what big guy, it just so happens I need some muscle. So here's the deal, you help me get top side, steal a spacecraft, and get off this rock and I'll make sure we get somewhere with more sunshine and green grass than you can imagine. Along with a lot of booze for me. Sound like a plan?"

Groot pondered the offer for several seconds. He was a little unsure what to think of this little furry but incredibly prickly being that he had gotten rather attached to. He had learned through traveling with the mercenaries that loyalty could be bought, and trust was often just a pretty illusion. People were cruel, generally for no good reason other than personal gain. However he couldn't quite smother the small part of him that wanted to hope that maybe this time it was different. Or the even small part of him that hoped Rocket would let him stay with him. So with a nod he said, "I am Groot."

Rocket scoffed, "You're a picky one aren't you? Fine! I'll make sure there's me compost in it for you to. Now let's quit chatting and go kick some ass!"

Together the unlikely pair dashed for the elevator, and the rest they say is history.

Awww, aren't they cute? So I know this isn't cannon with the comics (which I claim to have no knowledge of other than what I've read on the internet). However the bunnies latched into the idea of tragic background stories and wondering how Rocket and Groot met and as a result pumped out this little number. Next one will likely be solely focused on Rocket, simply because I think he needs a damn hug. (Also because my bunnies are sadistic little D'astards that enjoy inflicting emotional pain on characters that are already damaged.) They're like sharks I swear, they smell emotional pain like blood and go in for the kill. So whatever you do, don't cry! Also don't forget to give me your prompts, ideas, or memes you want to see written. I cant promise they'll happen but I'm open to all ideas. Until next time, to infinity and beyond!