"Quill, you really scared us!" Gamora sobbed. She had been trying to stay strong, but deep down, she was afraid she had misunderstood Alan's intentions.
Seeing Quill return without a single serious injury, the heart that had been lodged in her throat finally settled.
Quill patted Gamora's shoulder. "Of course I came back. You're all here—I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
After calming Gamora down, Quill began looking around for Yondu. The moment Ego's planet was destroyed, a flood of memories flashed through Quill's mind—not of Ego, but of Yondu. It was in that instant that he truly realized how much Yondu had endured all these years.
"Did Yondu make it back onto the ship?" Quill let go of Gamora and scanned the area, searching for the familiar blue-skinned figure.
"Uh…" For a brief moment, Alan hesitated, unsure whether he should speak or not.
But his awkward silence only made Quill more nervous. "Don't tell me… Yondu was left behind on Ego's planet?"
The second those words left his mouth, Quill spun around, staring at the now-collapsing planet in disbelief. He refused to accept the possibility that Yondu was still down there.
"No, Quill, Yondu is on the ship, it's just that…" Rocket Raccoon's face was filled with guilt as he stepped aside, along with Drax and Nebula.
Lying flat on the ship's floor, unconscious, was Yondu.
Quill rushed over and lifted Yondu up. "What the hell happened? Why is he passed out?"
Alan hesitated to answer. This was exactly why he wasn't sure how to explain things.
Rocket waved his hands in the air. "Quill, listen to me. Calm down first. Yondu thought you were planning to die with Ego. He wouldn't listen to anyone and tried to charge in to save you."
"In the heat of the moment, this was the only way to stop him. Otherwise, he would've done something stupid."
Alan nodded. "That's pretty much what happened. He'll wake up soon."
The moment those words left Alan's mouth, Quill—right in front of everyone—immediately let go. With a loud thud, Yondu hit the ground hard.
"Oh, that's fantastic. Yondu really needed some sleep anyway. I was starting to think his bad temper was just because he wasn't getting enough rest."
…
Now that he knew Yondu was fine, Quill was completely at ease again.
But soon, he noticed Nebula staring at him with an odd expression, as if she were examining some rare, exotic creature. Had she forgotten what he looked like in just a few minutes?
"Nebula, why are you looking at me like that?" Quill ran a hand over his scruffy, unshaven face. "Don't tell me… you've fallen for me?"
Alan glanced at Quill, who was in full-blown narcissist mode. Oh, he was definitely misunderstanding something here. This was going to get awkward real fast. And Quill hadn't even noticed that Gamora's expression was darkening.
Nebula quickly averted her gaze. She had zero interest in this kind of thing, but she still couldn't stop herself from speaking up.
"Now that Ego is dead, you shouldn't be able to inherit his Celestial power, right?" Nebula recalled Ego's humanoid form, his agonized screams before he collapsed. Even in his final moments, he had tried to tempt Quill.
"What?" Quill furrowed his brows, completely confused by Nebula's sudden question.
He wondered if he had misheard her. Then again, it wasn't impossible—after all, he had just witnessed an explosion powerful enough to shake the entire universe.
...