𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟐

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋

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Primrose woke up with a gasp before sitting up so fast that the world around her began to spin. She placed her head in her hands and waited for the sensation to stop. Once it did, the Quill woman slowly looked up to find herself in a room that was not her own. It only took a moment longer for her to remember what happened before Rocket knocked her out. Panic rushed through her veins as she got to her feet and rushed out the door.

A million thoughts ran through Primrose's head as she sprinted through the halls of the quadrant. She popped her head into every room she passed, looking for the two people Rocket forced her to leave for dead. It wasn't until she reached the bottom-most deck that her eyes landed on her brother, whose back was facing her and was completely unaware of her presence. A wave of relief washed over her as she just stared at Peter, completely oblivious to everyone's attention turning toward her. When the Quill man saw his allies looking at something behind him, he slowly turned around to find his sister.

Peter couldn't help but smile as he walked toward his sister, who was already rushing at him. The siblings met in the middle and shared a long overdue hug. Primrose's eyes were sealed shut as she took in the moment, still not fully believing her brother was in her arms. What felt like an eternity passed before the Quill woman opened her eyes to look at her allies over her brother's shoulder, only for her heart to shatter into a million pieces. Primrose couldn't help but push her brother away as she stared at the sight in front of her. There on the table surrounded by flowers, recently lit candles, and all his knick-knacks was Yondu.

A sob managed to escape Primrose as she stared at the Ravager leader's lifeless form, unable to believe that he was gone. After a long moment of taking everything in, the Quill woman found the courage to look up at Peter. "How? What happened?"

Primrose could see the emotion building up in Peter's eyes, something that he no longer tried to hide. After letting out a long sigh, he wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. "He sacrificed himself to save me, Rosie. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him."

The Quill woman couldn't find it within herself to respond with words, so she settled with squeezing Peter's hand instead. The two of them stood there for another moment before the Quill man began walking back toward the table, taking Primrose along with them. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stared down at Yondu's emotionless face, one that once held a permanent smirk. For some inexplicable reason, there was a small part of Primrose that couldn't find it within herself to believe the Udonta man was truly gone. She thought he was about to pop up and yell "surprise," like the jokes he played on the Quill siblings when they were kids. But the other part of Primrose, a far bigger part, knew he was gone and all she had left of him were the memories they created.

"I told Gamora how when I was a kid I used to pretend David Hasselhoff was my dad. He's a singer and actor from Earth, really famous guy," Peter spoke, breaking the silence that surrounded them while tightening his grip around Primrose's shoulders, "earlier, it struck me...Yondu didn't have a talking car, but he did have a flying arrow. He didn't have the beautiful voice of an angel, but he did have the whistle of one. Both Yondu and David Hasselhoff went on kick-*ss adventures and hooked up with hot women...and fought robots. I guess David Hasselhoff did kind of end up being my dad after all. Only it was you, Yondu. I had a pretty cool dad."

"We had a pretty cool dad," Primrose muttered just loud enough to hear. Her words caused Peter to look down at her with a hint of confusion in his eyes, knowing how much she and Yondu didn't get along. The Quill woman let the silence surround them for a moment longer before opening her mouth to continue. "Yondu and I may not have gotten along for the majority of my life...well, all of my life up until a few days ago. But now I know he had a reason for it. He was protecting me like he promised my father he would. He was trying to keep me out of danger in the only way he knew how. It may not have been the best way, but it was Yondu's way. I'm just sorry that I couldn't see that sooner."

Peter just stared at her in silence while questions ran through his head. He was confused by her talking about her father when she never met hers and only heard stories about him from himself and their mother. He wanted to know how in the world Yondu, of all people, knew who Jordan was and what their relationship was. But he also knew now was not the time to ask and it would probably be a while until the right time came. So instead, he turned his attention back to Yondu and continued speaking. "I guess what we're both trying to say here is...sometimes that thing you're searching for your whole life...it's right here by your side all along. You don't even know it."

As soon as Peter finished speaking, Gamora followed Nebula out of the room while everyone else took a moment to remember the good times they shared with the Ravager leader. Primrose never wanted that moment to end, knowing what was about to happen next meant all of this was real. But sadly, after what felt like an eternity, Peter took his arm off Primrose's shoulders and placed his palms on the table. The Quill woman just stared at her brother's hands for a moment before looking up to meet his eyes, only to find him already staring back at her. The two of them seemed to have a silent conversation before Primrose let out a long sigh and copied Peter's actions by placing her hands on the table. It wasn't long after that when they pushed it forward, sending the table and Yondu into the engine's rainbow flames.

Peter returned his arm to his sister's shoulder as they watched the scene in front of them unfold. That lasted for a moment longer before they turned around and began walking together away from the engine. Neither of them knew where they were going, they just wanted to get away from there. They didn't make it very far when Kraglin called out to both of them, making them stop in their tracks before turning to face him.

"Captain found these for the both of you in a junker shop. Said you two would come back to the fold someday," the Obfonteri man announced before placing a small object in Peter's hand, "it's called a Zune. It's what everybody's listening to on Earth nowadays. It's got three hundred songs on it."

"Three hundred songs?" the Quill man asked, not even bothering to hide the shock in his voice.

Kraglin nodded in response to Peter's question before turning his attention to Primrose. The two of them just stared at each other until Yondu's right-hand man handed her a slightly larger object. "It's called a Kindle. Apparently, you can read books on it. We were told it has about a hundred on there. Yondu and I didn't know how to check but I'm sure you can figure it out."

A small smile formed on Primrose's face as she studied the device in her hands. It wasn't long after that when she looked back up at Kraglin, who was already staring back at her with a proud smile. "Thank you, Kraglin."

The Obfonteri man sent the Quill woman a small nod in response before starting to turn away from them. They watched him go for a moment before Peter called out to him, making Kraglin stop in his tracks and turn back around to face them. The Ravager stared at them with confusion in his eyes before the Quill man reached into his boot and pulled out a very familiar-looking object

"Rocket grabbed the pieces and reassembled them," Peter explained as he handed Yondu's arrow over to Kraglin, "I think Yondu would want you to have it."

The Ravager just stared at the arrow for what felt like an eternity before slowly looking back up at the Quill man. "Thanks...Captain."

After the siblings shared another smile with Kraglin, the three of them went their separate ways. The Ravager stayed below deck while Peter went to his makeshift room on the quadrant, both wanting a moment to themselves to take everything in. While they did that, Primrose went to the top deck to join Rocket and Drax, not wanting to be alone at a time like this. She sat a few rows back and began trying to figure out how the Kindle worked. There was only one small icon on the screen and when she touched it, it took her to what looked like book covers. A small smile appeared on Primrose's face as she took in the silence and scrolled through all the pictures. However, the peaceful atmosphere was soon broken by Rocket's voice.

"They came," the raccoon said, causing Primrose to look up to find something extraordinary happening just outside their ship.

The smile on her face did nothing but grow as she placed the Kindle in her bag. Once she knew the device was safe, Primrose got to her feet and began walking toward the window, stopping next to Drax and behind the chair Rocket was currently in. The Quill woman kept her eyes glued to the window as she listened to someone coming up the steps to join them. It wasn't long after that when an arm appeared around her shoulders, causing Primrose to look up to find Peter smiling down at her with Groot on his shoulder. After she returned the gesture, the two of them turned their attention back to the window.

"What is it?" Drax questioned while staring at the scene before him in awe.

"I sent word to Yondu's old Ravager buddies and told them what he did," Rocket explained as he looked at the hundreds of ships flying around right in front of their ship.

"It's a Ravager funeral," Peter told them right as Gamora appeared at his other side, causing Groot to jump from his shoulder to hers. The smile on Primrose's face did nothing but grow as she watched the ships begin to launch fireworks into the open space around them, which was the highest honor a Ravager could receive. All in honor of a man who sacrificed himself to save the galaxy.

"He didn't chase them away. Even though he yelled at them. And was always mean. And he stole batteries he didn't need," Rocket muttered just loud enough for Primrose to hear, making her attention fall on the raccoon to find him looking down at the floor.

The Quill woman just stared at him for a long moment, taking in all the words he just said, before finally opening her mouth to speak. "Well, of course not. We all make mistakes, after all."

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