[A furry hand carefully holds a burning wooden stick and uses it to light a ceremonial candle with reverent precision.]
[Star-Lord gently placed a small flower next to Yondu's peaceful body, the simple bloom representing all the beauty the Ravager captain had protected in the universe.]
[Gamora arranged his favorite possessions around him, including cherished trinkets and gadgets he had collected during his lifetime, some of which he had acquired from various dealers and brokers across the galaxy.]
[Star-Lord silently and respectfully covered Yondu's mouth and eyes with clean cloth, following the ancient funeral traditions of the Ravagers.]
[After completing these solemn preparations, everyone quietly gathered around his body in a circle and observed a moment of respectful silence.]
[Star-Lord spoke softly, his voice heavy with emotion: "I told Gamora that when I was a kid, I used to pretend that David Hasselhoff was my dad!"]
["He's a singer and actor from Earth who was very famous back in the day!"]
["Just now, it suddenly occurred to me... Yondu doesn't have a talking car like Kitt, but he has that amazing flying arrow!"]
["He doesn't have what you'd call an angelic singing voice, but his whistle sounds like the most beautiful music in the universe!"]
["Yondu and David Hasselhoff both had incredible adventures! They both hooked up with gorgeous women! And they both beat up countless bad guys!"]
["I always thought David Hasselhoff was the perfect father figure! But it was actually you all along, Yondu!"]
[Gamora noticed the tears beginning to form in Star-Lord's eyes and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.]
[Star-Lord could no longer hold back the overwhelming emotions.]
["I had a really cool dad!"]
["What I'm trying to say is... sometimes, the thing you've been searching for your entire life has actually been right beside you all along! But you're too blind to see it!"]
[Gamora was deeply moved by his heartfelt words, and slowly turned her gaze toward Nebula, who was watching them from a distance with her arms folded across her chest.]
[Nebula noticed Gamora's meaningful look, slowly closed her eyes in emotional conflict, and then walked away to avoid her sister's penetrating gaze.]
[Gamora watched Nebula's retreat and decided to follow her.]
[Baby Groot looked down at Yondu's still form and said softly, "I am Groot!"]
[Rocket translated with a gentle smile, "He said that Yondu called you 'Twig.'"]
[On the other side of the ship, Gamora called out to Nebula who was walking toward the main cabin, "Nebula!"]
[Nebula paused in her steps, then slowly turned her head to look back at Gamora.]
[Gamora spoke quietly as she approached: "I was just like you back then - just a scared child! I was only thinking about surviving until the next day, and I never really considered what Thanos was doing to you while he was training me!"]
[She continued walking toward Nebula as she spoke.]
["I want to make amends for that. There are other little girls like us scattered throughout the universe! They're in terrible danger right now! You could stay and help us protect them!"]
[Nebula's tone remained cold and distant, "I can help them better if I kill Thanos first!"]
[Gamora shook her head sadly, "I don't know if that's even possible anymore!"]
[Nebula took a deep breath and turned to leave, but Gamora quickly grabbed her cybernetic arm.]
[Nebula instinctively spun around ready to fight back, but stopped herself when she saw the genuine love and concern in Gamora's face.]
[Gamora stepped forward and embraced Nebula tightly, "You will always be my sister, no matter what happens!"]
[Nebula slowly relaxed her clenched fists, and then gradually returned the embrace. At this precious moment, they completely released all their old grudges and resentments.]
[After sharing this warmth for several seconds, Nebula decisively pulled away and chose to leave. Gamora watched her sister's departing figure and sighed with quiet resignation.]
[She hadn't expected Nebula's hatred for Thanos to run so deep that she would sacrifice everything, including family, to pursue her revenge.]
Nebula watched this display of sisterly love in contemplative silence. At this moment, she no longer harbored hatred toward Gamora. She simply wanted to find her sister and embrace her, and then focus entirely on killing Thanos.
Cosmo looked at her with curiosity and whispered to Carina beside him, "Why isn't she staying with Gamora?"
Carina was about to respond, but Nebula overheard and answered directly, "Because if we don't kill Thanos, we will never have peaceful lives!"
Thanos, who was currently traveling through the depths of space, narrowed his eyes with cold calculation. Although he was deeply dissatisfied with Ego's attempt to devour thousands of populated worlds, and wanted to destroy the cosmic entity himself, he also understood the tactical situation.
He knew there would be a massive concentration of powerful forces gathered at Ego's location. If he appeared there, they would likely abandon their assault on Ego and unite to besiege him instead. After all, Ego could potentially escape to another dimension, but Thanos's sanctuary ship could not.
According to intelligence reports from his network of spies, the Nova Corps had deployed their entire fleet to Ego's planetary body.
Since Ronan the Accuser had already destroyed a significant number of their fighter craft, and they had now committed even more forces to this mission, Xandar would be virtually defenseless - making this the perfect time for his own assault.
Unfortunately for Thanos, he had overlooked one crucial detail. Nova Prime had refused the Guardians of the Galaxy's request to store the Power Stone on Xandar for safekeeping, so his planned invasion would ultimately prove fruitless.
What he also didn't know was that there was another fleet currently traveling through space, also heading directly toward Xandar with their own agenda.
[The assembled Guardians slowly and ceremonially placed Yondu's body into the ship's cremation chamber.]
[Star-Lord couldn't bear to watch Yondu's physical form being reduced to ashes by the engine flames, so he turned around silently and began walking away from the ceremony.]
[Kraglin called after him, "Quill!"]
[Star-Lord stopped and looked back at the loyal Ravager.]
[Kraglin wiped his nose emotionally, then reached into his belongings and pulled out a music device, extending it toward Peter.]
["The Captain found this for you at a thrift store on some backwater planet! He always said you'd come back someday!"]
[Star-Lord accepted the gift and examined it curiously: "What exactly is it?"]
["This is called a Zune! Everyone on Earth is listening to these things now! It can store up to 300 songs!"]
[Star-Lord looked genuinely surprised: "Three hundred songs?"]
[Kraglin nodded silently, then turned around and began to walk away.]
["Wait!" Star-Lord called after him, then pulled out Yondu's whistle arrow from where he'd been carrying it. The weapon showed obvious welding marks where it had been carefully repaired.]
[Kraglin accepted the whistle arrow with both hands, understanding that it had once represented everything Yondu stood for.]
[Star-Lord explained with quiet respect: "Rocket collected all the broken pieces and welded them back together. I think Yondu would want you to have it!"]
[Kraglin looked at Star-Lord with tears streaming down his face and managed to say in a choked voice: "Thanks... Captain!"]
[Star-Lord's mouth curved upward in a slight, knowing smile.]
[Yondu's body was transformed into brilliant golden particles by the cremation flames and slowly drifted out into the infinite cosmos like stardust.]
[The scene shifted to show Star-Lord sitting comfortably on the ship's sofa with the Zune and headphones, browsing through the songs that Yondu had carefully selected and saved for him. He quietly chose a track called "Father and Son."]
[Baby Groot climbed up onto the sofa, then settled into Star-Lord's lap and held out his tiny hands expectantly.]
[Seeing this, Star-Lord removed one of his headphones and gently placed it over Baby Groot's small head. The little tree accepted it gratefully and listened to the meaningful song together with Peter, while Star-Lord protectively cupped his hands around the tiny Guardian.]
[Nebula piloted her spacecraft away from the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Gamora watched her sister's departure from the observation deck with mixed emotions.]
[Rocket sat quietly in his chair with his head down, processing the events of recent days, when suddenly a brilliant firework display in the distance caught his attention.]
[He slowly raised his head, observed the spectacular scene, and said with a genuine smile spreading across his features: "They're coming!"]
[Baby Groot also noticed the activity outside the viewport and raised one small finger to point at the approaching vessels.]
[Star-Lord then looked up from his music and saw that numerous spacecraft had arrived in their vicinity, filling the space around them.]