Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Part 3)
INT. PALACE - NIGHT…
"For the first time in my life, I am truly not alone." Ego said, as Quill suddenly looks sad. "What is it, son?"
"My friends." Quill said, sadly.
"That's the mortal in you, Peter."
"Yes. I don't need that."
"What are we?"
"Forever."
"What are they?"
"Temporary."
"You think you love them. But love is merely an evolutionary trick in the service of reproduction. We are beyond such things."
"Yes."
"NOW…" Ego said, looking at Quill.
"But my mother." Quill said, and Ego looks at him, questioningly. "You said you loved my mother."
"That I did. My river lily, who knew the words to every song that came on the radio. I returned to Earth to see her three times. I knew if I came back a fourth, I'd never leave." Ego said, guiltily. "The expansion, the reason for my very existence, would be over. So I did what I had to do. But it broke my heart to put that tumor in her head."
"Wh- what?" Quill asked, while the cosmos disappeared from his eyes.
Tears stream down Quill's face.
"I know that sounds bad…" Ego said, happily.
Quill pulls out his pistols and fires; the blasts tear through Ego, dispersing the molecules forming his body. He shoots at him again and again and again. The flesh disappears from Ego like bites from a cookie, exposing the angry alien skeletal form beneath. But, as the charge on Peter's blasters wears out, Ego just looks at him, and, although he's filled with holes, he's merely disappointed.
"Who in the hell do you think you are?" Ego asked.
"You killed my mother!" Quill said, worried.
Ego transforms into David Hasselhoff.
"I tried so hard to find the form that best suited you, and this is the thanks I get?" Ego asked, while once again, he became his usual form. "You really need to grow up."
A spiky cosmic light-propelled tendril shoots up from the floor behind Quill, and juts into Quill's body. Quill is thrust into the air. He opens his mouth to scream and white light emits.
"I wanted to do this together! But I suppose you'll have to learn by spending the next thousand years as a battery, `Star-Lord'." Ego said.
INT. DRAX'S SLEEPING QUARTERS - NIGHT…
Through the window to the palace, Gamora is watching as her transmitter… the one she was trying to contact Rocket and Jared on…beeps. She answers.
"Rocket?! Jared?!" Gamora exclaimed.
Gamora follows Drax, Nebula, and a confused Mantis as they move out.
(Jared's POV)
INT. LASER DRILL - OUTER SPACE…
Rocket, Yondu, Groot, and I are crawling into a huge laser drill.
"Keep that transmitter nearby so I can find you. We're in an old piece of construction equipment Yondu once used to slice open the Bank of A'askavaria." Rocket said.
"Ego's unhinged…" Gamora said, over the transmitter's speakers.
"We know!" I said, excitedly. "Get ready, Gamora, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis!"
"Drop it, Kraglin!" Yondu said, angrily.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
I looked up to see Kraglin yanking a lever.
I/E. LASER DRILL - OUTER SPACE…
An ugly, bulbous and uneven craft plops from the Quadrant, and heads toward Ego's surface.
"I have a plan." I said, happily.
"What is it?" Yondu asked, looking at me.
"It's a pretty simple plan."
(Open POV)
INT. PALACE - NIGHT…
Ego walks calmly up beside the trapped Quill. He snatches the Walkman off of him. He stares at it.
Quill can barely speak, "NO."
Ego presses play. A distorted version of 'Brandy' plays. He stares at it - perhaps he's feeling wistful sadness, or perhaps nothing at all.
"`Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you would be.'" Ego said. "`My life, my love, my lady is the sea'? Peter, THIS IS THE SEA."
Ego crushes the Walkman in his grip as Quill watches helplessly. The power surges from Quill through the tentacle and throughout the entire palace.
EXT. PALACE - NIGHT…
As Gamora, Mantis, Drax, and Nebula run toward the Palace it bursts with cosmic light, so brightly they have to protect their eyes.
INT. PALACE - NIGHT…
Ego basks in the power and he looks down his legs.
INT. RED PLANET/SELF CHAMBER - NIGHT…
The energy is through the surface of the planet…through the twisting veins of light beneath…and into an enormous, metal orb, the Self Chamber, which explodes with light. Boom.
EARTH - EXT. WOODS BEHIND DAIRY QUEEN - MOMENTS LATER…
At the small plant - now a bit larger - it is the one Ego planted when he was on Earth. It lights up and grows, instantly bursting upwards.
EARTH - EXT. DQ - MOMENTS LATER…
The plant bursts up behind the Dairy Queen (now a modern DQ), a huge organic, blob-like mass of light that comes down instantly on the building, crushing it and everyone inside -- and continuing to spill, spreading.
INT. PALACE - NIGHT…
Ego summons all his energy, when, suddenly, a door beside him smashes apart. Drax has kicked through it and Gamora, Nebula and Mantis are with him. Ego turns to see them, then hears a rumbling above him. He turns to look at a window on the palace wall behind him. And the giant laser drill comes smashing through the palace wall.
"Hey there, Jackass." Yondu said, as Ego looks surprised.
The laser drill lands on Ego, squashing him. The tendril retracts from Quill as he falls and heaves for breath.
EARTH - EXT. STREET - DAY…
The cosmic plant, barreling down the street, suddenly stops.
INT. PALACE/LASER DRILL - SUNRISE…
Drax, Gamora, Nebula, and Mantis rush into the crumbling palace. The door on the side of the Laser Drill slides open. Baby Groot is standing there, smiling, and waving.
"Out of the way, dumber, smaller Groot." Drax said.
As Drax crawls in, Groot starts punching Drax as hard as he can. Probably because he called him dumb, but who's to say.
Gamora helps up Quill, "I told you something didn't feel right."
"`I told you so.' That's really what I need right now." Quill said, looking at Gamora.
"I came back, didn't I?" Gamora asked.
"Because there's an unspoken thing."
"There is no unspoken thing."
(Jared's POV)
INT. LASER DRILL - NIGHT…
Drax, Mantis, Gamora, and Quill step inside the door.
"What are you doing? You could have killed us all crashing in here like that!" Drax said, worried.
"Uh, `Thank you, Rocket and Jared'?" Rocket asked.
"We had it under control."
"Drax, you did not have it under control." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Your friend's right." Mantis said, sadly "That is only an extension of his true self. He will be back soon."
"What's Smurfette doing here!?" Quill exclaimed, looking at Nebula.
"Back rubs, dishes, killing gods, whatever I need to do to get a damn ride home." Nebula said.
"She tried to murder me and Jared!" Rocket said, angrily.
"I saved you and the President of Earth, you stupid fox."
"He's not a fox." Gamora said.
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"I'm not a raboon either!" Rocket yelled.
"I am Groot."
"`Raccoon,' whatever!"
Drax looks out the window.
INT. PALACE - NIGHT…
Tentacle-like strands burst up through the palace flooring all around the drill.
INT. PALACE - NIGHT…
Drax turns to the others.
"How do we kill a Celestial?" Drax asked.
"There's the center to him - his brain, his soul, whatever it is, in some sort of shell…" Quill said.
"It's in the caverns below the surface." Mantis said.
Quill climbs up the ladder to see Yondu, "Yondu?"
Nebula looks at Gamora, "If he's got that fin back, I am so screwed."
I/E. PALACE - SUNRISE…
Yondu thrusts the ship upward for takeoff. But tentacles wrap around the ship…and yank it back down into the floor, destroying the foundation of the palace. The entire palace slopes.
INT. LASER DRILL - SUNRISE…
We all fall forward.
"Thrusters are out!" Yondu said, worried.
Quill starts rewiring the mechanics, "I guess I should be glad Jared and I were skinny kids. Otherwise you would have delivered me to this maniac and Jared to Missy!"
"You still reckon that's the reason I kept you and Jared around, you idiot?!" Yondu exclaimed.
"That's what you told me, you old doofus!" Quill yelled.
"Once I figured out what happened to them other kids, I wasn't gonna just hand you and Shay over." Yondu said.
"You said you were gonna eat me and Jared!"
"That was being funny!" Yondu said, angrily.
"Not to us!" Quill said, terrified.
"You people have issues." Rocket said, annoyed.
"Shit." I said, seeing through the windshield where Ego's creepy skeletal is growing in front of us. "He's getting bigger on the inside!"
"Of course I have issues that's my fricking father!" Quill said, worried. "... thrusters are back up."
Quill thrusts the ship forward instead of up. It crashes through Ego and down the sloping floor…and out through the giant pane of glass at the end.
I/E. LASER DRILL/CRACK IN THE PLANET - SUNRISE…
We hold on in what's essentially the worst roller coaster drop ever.
"We should be going up!" Yondu said, terrified.
"We can't. Ego wants to eradicate the universe as we know it. We have to kill him." Quill said.
We plummet toward a fissure in the earth below. It's too small for the ship.
"Rocket!" Quill yelled.
"Got it." Rocket said, blasting the lasers perfectly, chipping away pieces of rock, forming an opening in the crack.
"Yes." I said, while we smashed into the opening, barely fitting, leading down into the planet. "We fit."
Quill flies perfectly, twisting through tunnels and around corners.
Rocket mans the lasers, blasting pieces out of place just in time so we can scrape through, "So, we're saving the galaxy again?"
"Yup!" I cheered, taking out chocolate chip cookies to snack on them. "I helped save the universe more times than I can remember."
"Awesome. We'll really be able to jack up our prices if we're two- time-galaxy savers." Rocket said, smirking.
"I seriously can't believe that is where your mind goes." Quill said, annoyed.
"It was just a random thought, man! I thought we were friends!" Rocket said, angrily. "Of course I care about the planets, and the buildings, and all of the animals on the planets."
"Don't forget the people." I said, happily. "There are good people amongst the bad."
"Meh."
Mantis giggles, "The crabby puppy is so cute he makes me want to die!"
"Your suicidal thoughts sadden me, but your wish will likely come true." Drax said, sadly.
(Open POV)
I/E. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
Meanwhile, Kraglin is mellowly hanging out, eating some soup and listening to 'Wham Bam' by Silver as he sees something out in the distance of space. He looks a bit closer. Sovereign omnicraft are popping through jump points above Ego's planet.
EXT. AYESHA'S SPACECRAFT - OUTER SPACE…
Ayesha is remotely piloting one of the ships. She looks determined and angry on the vid-screen. And, one by one, Sovereign omnicraft pop in all around her, until there is a large fleet.
INT. SOVEREIGN PILOT BAY - DAY…
Ayesha, in full pilot gear, yells into her comm, "Pilots, release envoy units!"
EXT. AYESHA'S SPACECRAFT - OUTER SPACE…
Smaller, more nimble robotic envoys, like big pods with blasters for arms - detach from the front of every Omnicraft.
"Our sensors detect the batteries are below the surface of the planet." Ayesha said.
INT. SOVEREIGN PILOT BAY - DAY…
"Dive!" Ayesha said, angrily.
On the screens in all the pods, the envoys dive toward the planet from slightly different directions.
I/E. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
Kraglin, in shock, watches the massive fleet of envoys diving downward. He grabs the comm.
"Uhh... Cap'n?" Kraglin asked, getting no answer. "Cap'n?"
(Jared's POV)
INT. LASER DRILL/CRACK IN THE PLANET - SUNRISE…
Yondu doesn't hear the crackling speaker beside him as we maneuver down through the fissure. Quill eyes him.
"So why'd Ego want you here?" Yondu asked.
"He needs my genetic connection to the light to help destroy the universe. He tried to teach me how to control the power." Quill said, sadly.
"So could you?"
"A little. I made a ball." Quill said, smiling.
"A ball?"
"I thought as hard as I could, that's all I could come up with."
"That's very human." I said, tossing a chocolate chip cookie into my mouth.
"Thank you, Jared."
"You `thought'?" Yondu asked, and Quill nodded. "You think when I make this arrow fly, I use my head?"
"What do you use?" Quill asked.
Quill and Yondu look at each other instead of where we're going, and we crash into an overhanging piece of rock. The entire side door is ripped off. As we screech through a smaller space and into the planet.
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW/LASER DRILL - DAY…
The Laser Drill drops into this enormous open space within the planet. The Guardians and I gather on the side of the ship open to the hollow, gazing out at its stunning beauty, lit by Ego's white glow running throughout it.
"Whoa." Gamora said, in awe.
Mantis turns, looking through the portholes on the other side.
"There! Thats Ego's core." Mantis said, pointing at the Self Chamber, down below us.
We twist down towards it.
"That ore's thick. Rocket, we're gonna need to use the big laser." Gamora said.
Rocket nods, flicking switches. All the small lasers on the sides move through grooves to combine into one huge laser in the center of the ship: the mega-laser.
"We must hurry. It will not take Ego long to find us." Mantis said, sadly.
"Keep it still!" Rocket said, worried.
Quill steadies the craft as best he can beside the Self Chamber. But it's an unwieldy beast, built for power, not precision. Rocket powers up the mega-laser and holds tight to the shuddering controls as it drills, burning a hole into the protective sheathe. It melts and drips down.
"We drill into the center, we kill him." Quill said, holding tight to the steering wheel.
"Yondu. Kraglin has been trying to reach you." I said, rolling my eyes.
"And you didn't say?" Yondu asked, noticing the blinking light on the comm. He taps it. "What is it, Kraglin?"
"Um, remember that Ayesha chick?" Kraglin asked, over the communicator.
"Yeah, why?" Yondu asked, looking out the window where Ayesha's squadron is swooping down out of the cracks in the ceiling all around us. "Aw, hell."
Quill pulls away from the envoys. But the Sovereign envoys start blasting at the craft all at once; the laser loses power and the vehicle turns sideways…Drax, Mantis, and Gamora go tumbling from the hole in the side.
"They're in the Self Chamber." I said, sadly. "They're safe."
Nebula, Groot, and I grab onto the floor.
INT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Gamora, Drax, and Mantis fall from an incredible height. They land - one, two, three - with aplomb. Gamora looks up and sees the Laser Drill curl behind the Self Chamber as it tries to avoid the envoys' blasters.
INT. SELF CHAMBER/LASER DRILL - DAY…
Nebula, Groot, and I settles as the ship rights itself and blasts pierce the ship around us. Quill peers down at Rocket, who has jumped out of his seat and is pouring out the contents of his satchel.
"Why aren't you firing the laser?!" Quill exclaimed.
"They blew out the generator! I think I packed a small detonator." Rocket said, letting out a sigh.
"A detonator is worthless without explosives!" Nebula said, worried.
"We got these!" Rocket said, showing Nebula the Anulax batteries.
"Those work!" I said, excitedly.
Quill leaves the controls to Yondu as he climbs down beside Rocket, now messing with wiring on his bomb.
"Is it strong enough to kill Ego?" Quill asked.
"If it is, it will cause a chain reaction throughout his entire nervous system." Rocket said.
"Meaning what?" Quill asked.
"The entire planet will explode. We'll have to get out of here fast. I rigged a timer."
"That's good." I said, as Rocket stuffs the bomb back in his satchel. "Let's do this."
Groot climbs on Rocket's back. Rocket, Quill, and I slap on our aero rigs.
"Go!" Quill yelled.
We run and jump out of the laser drill, flying on our aero rigs, avoiding the gunfire. We zoom towards the blast hole on the side of the self chamber.
INT. OPENING OF BLAST HOLE - DAY…
Rocket, Quill, and I land here, messily, tumbling.
(Open POV)
INT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Mantis is worried about something else entirely; the entire chasm begins trembling and the walls start to mutate.
"He's coming." Mantis said, frowning.
"Didn't you say you could make him sleep?" Drax asked.
"When he wants! He's too powerful! I can't!" Mantis said, worried.
"You don't have to believe in yourself because I believe in you."
They look ahead. They see, on the enormous wall in front of them, the light-form of a giant Ego screaming angrily. His scream becomes a tunnel of rocks rushing towards them like a train. Mantis sees a nerve bundle on the ground coming from Ego's Core. Although afraid, she grabs it.
"SLEEP!" Mantis said, screaming with effort and some pain as energy travels through the bundle and into the core, where it darkens.
The light leaves the rock formation and it slams into the ground in front of them, splashing dirt over them. But they are safe, shivering. Drax and Gamora look at each other.
"I never thought she'd be able to do it. With as skinny and weak as she appears to be." Drax said, happily.
Mantis's arm is trembling.
"I don't know how long I can hold him!" Mantis said, terrified.
"You need to, girl. If you don't keep Ego at bay, we all die." Gamora said, frowning.
(Jared's POV)
INT. OPENING OF BLAST HOLE - DAY…
"Shit" I said, activating my sonic screwdriver inside the cavity, exposing the interior, spattered with Swiss-cheese-like holes glowing with light. "Rocket! The metal is too thick!"
"Ah, crap." Rocket said, annoyed. "For the bomb to work we'd actually need to place it on Ego's core. And our fat butts ain't gonna fit through those tiny holes."
"Well…" Quill said, slowly eyeing Groot, who is playing with a leaf on his arm and thinking about something else entirely.
"That's a terrible idea." Rocket said, annoyed.
"Which is the only kind of idea we got left."
Rocket sighs. He puts Groot on his back and I turned myself intangible with the three of us moving with Groot deeper into the blast hole.
Rocket mumbles to himself, "Unbelievable, Jared. What Quill makes me do `Rocket, do this. Rocket, do that.'"
"Yeah. Quill is unbelievable." I said, as Quill turned toward the opening. "He can be such an ass sometimes."
"Uh, what a day." Quill said, jumping out into the fray.
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW - DAY…
Quill flies up as a ship flies in toward him blasting, and he's about to fire back. It is a battle between man vs. spaceship. This is most likely the beginning of the biggest, baddest fight scene ever.
INT. INSIDE BLAST HOLE - DAY…
Quiet. There are blasts nearby. Rocket places a tiny bomb in front of Groot with me standing behind the raccoon. It is a small, simple device with two switches and two buttons.
Rocket explains, very carefully, "All right. First you flick this switch, then this switch. That activates it. And then you push this button, which will give you five minutes to get out of there. Whatever you do don't push this button, because that will set off the bomb immediately, and we'll all be dead. Now repeat back what I just said."
"I am Groot." Groot said, happily.
"Yeah. That part's right." I said, kneeling down behind Rocket.
"I am Groot."
"That part is also right."
"I am Groot."
"No!" Rocket cried, as Groot pointed towards the wrong button. "That's the button that will kill everyone! Try again."
Groot thinks, "I am Groot."
"Yup. That part's right." I said, and Rocket nodded.
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"Also right." I said, while Rocket nodded.
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"No! That's exactly what you just said! How is that even possible?! Which button is the button you're supposed to push?! Point to it." Rocket said, as Groot thinks. And Groot points to the one that will kill everyone. "NO!"
"Hey, Rocket, you and Jared are making him nervous!" Quill said, worried.
Rocket and I run to see, at the end of the hole, a sliver of the outside as Quill peeks in while shooting at envoys.
"Shut up! And give me some tape! Does anyone have any tape out there!? I want to put some tape over the death button!" Rocket said, angrily.
"I don't have any tape. Let me check." Quill said, disappearing from the hole. As Rocket and I wait, we hear, amongst the chaos, faintly. "Yo, Yondu, do you have any - ow! - do you have any tape?!"
"This is going to take a while." I said, hearing gun blasts and voices grumbling.
Rocket, Groot, and I look around, waiting. Rocket is impatient. He coughs. I am playing with my hands, looking a bit bored. Groot is like a bored kid in a waiting room. He shifts around and plays with the wires on the bomb.
Quill reappears outside the hole, shooting an envoy, "No one has any tape."
"Not a single person has tape?" Rocket asked.
"You have priceless batteries and an atomic bomb in your bag! If anyone had tape it would be you!" Quill said, angrily.
"That's exactly my point! I have to do everything!" Rocket yelled.
"Dude, you're wasting time!"
"I think I have some tape." I said, taking out some Gaffer tape out of my sling bag. "There we go."
"You had tape on you the whole time?!" Rocket exclaimed, and he and I turned back to Groot, who had already taken the bomb and was heading towards the hole. "Why didn't you take it out earlier?"
"I forgot." I said, sadly. "Sorry."
Groot makes a 'WHEEEEEE' sound and smiles brightly as he hops into the hole and slides down as if on a water slide. Rocket and I, heavy-lidded, watch Groot go.
"Nice going, Jared. We're all gonna die." Rocket said, looking over at me.
"I said I was sorry." I said, reaching over to the strap of my sling bag to hold it.
(Open POV)
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW/LASER DRILL - DAY…
Yondu and Nebula, in the cockpit, are being overcome as blasts come through the walls.
"We're done for without the generator." Yondu said.
Nebula moans, frustrated. She flips open a section of the dashboard, then a part of her arm.
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW/LASER DRILL - DAY…
The remaining Sovereign envoys have encircled the battered Laser Drill, blasting it to bits. Quill flies into the Laser Drill, slamming into the wall.
"Guardians! Perhaps it will provide you solace that your deaths are not without purpose." Ayesha said, on the ship.
Nebula is feeding the wires from the craft into her mechanical arm.
INT. SOVEREIGN PILOT BAY - DAY…
The actual Ayesha, fitted with the pilot gear, looks at the Laser Drill on the screen.
"They will serve as a warning to all of those tempted with betraying us; don't screw with the Sovereign." Ayesha said.
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW/LASER DRILL - DAY…
Yondu works some switches: The lasers slide back into the slots all over the ship.
"This is gonna hurt." Yondu said, looking at Nebula.
"Promises, promises." Nebula said, annoyed.
Yondu flips all the switches; All the power runs painfully out of Nebula's body and into the vehicle….and the lasers beam out of the ship in all directions at once, like a dangerous disco ball, slicing through almost nearly every single envoy.
INT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
A beam almost hits Drax, but he leaps out of the way. Smoke rises from a hole in the ground between him and Mantis.
"Hey!" Drax said, worried.
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW/LASER DRILL - DAY…
With flair, Yondu spins the pilot's wheel, so that the whole rig revolves. Ayesha looks on, in horror as the beams slices through the remaining craft - and one is coming her way.
"NO!" Ayesha said, on the ship.
Ayesha's envoy is ripped apart.
INT. SOVEREIGN PILOT BAY - DAY…
Ayesha sits back. She looks around her at the other pods: all of them are down.
"NO! NOOOOO!" Ayesha said, terrified.
INT. PLANET'S HOLLOW/LASER DRILL - DAY…
Quill sees flaming chunks fly into the rig...and fire spilling toward the ship's engine, dripping fuel, "We're gonna blow!"
Yondu whistles as the flames hit the fuel.
(Jared's POV)
INT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Gamora watches as the entire laser drill explodes. She is stricken.
"Peter?" Gamora asked, seeing a tiny body flying from the ship - it's Nebula, who lands across from her on her feet.
Gamora looks at Nebula, worried. Nebula gives her what might be a little smile, and looks upward. Gamora follows her line of sight. Quill is flying from the explosion on his aero-rig. Yondu is holding onto a flying arrow: his one arm up straight, his heels touching. Quill looks at him and snickers.
"What?" Yondu asked.
"You look like Mary Poppins." Quill said, smiling.
"Is he cool?"
Quill looks at the man who raised him. He smiles.
"Yeah. He's cool." Quill said, happily.
Yondu looks out at the Guardians as he comes in for a landing, "I'm Mary Poppins, y'all!"
Quill and Yondu land beside Nebula. Gamora sees Quill and marches toward him. Fiery ship fragments are raining down around Gamora and Quill in slow motion, as if this is the greatest heavy metal video of all time.
"We're reaching the end of this adventure guys." I said, clutching the strap of my sling bag. "We just have to beat Ego."
The other Guardians enter, one by one - Nebula, Drax, Yondu, Rocket and I flying down on our aero-rigs, and finally, Mantis, staring forward with concentration until…a huge chunk of spaceship flies in from the side, flattening Mantis. The rest of us look down at Mantis in shock.
"Oh. Wow." Quill said, at a loss for words.
Mantis, unconscious beneath a ship fragment, has lost hold of Ego. The entire hollow around us begins to rumble. The ground and walls themselves shift and waver. The whole cavity is alive.
Drax checks on Mantis, "She's just unconscious."
(Open POV)
INT. SELF CHAMBER TUNNELS - DAY…
Groot runs and hops through the tunnels. He comes to a crossroads. He sees a cosmic light emanating from one tunnel. He dashes off toward it.
(Jared's POV)
INT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
"How long before the bomb goes off?" Quill asked.
"In the unlikely event Groot doesn't kill us all, about six minutes." Rocket said.
"Six minutes is a lot of time to stop Ego and get the hell out of here." I said, looking at the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Yondu speaks into the comm on his lapel, "Kraglin."
(Open POV)
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - DAY…
Kraglin, nodding out, abruptly wakes.
"We need the Quadrant for extraction in T-minus five minutes." Yondu said, over the speakers.
"Aye, Cap'n!" Kraglin said, excitedly.
(Jared's POV)
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
We peer up to see the surface of the planet unfolding above us, so that the bright life sky shines through.
"Someone needs to be up top when Kraglin arrives. Drax, take Mantis." Quill said.
Drax nods. He picks up Mantis. Quill grabs the aero-rig off himself and slaps it on Drax's back, which automatically wraps around his upper body.
"Ahhh! My nipples!" Drax said, flying upward.
The ground around us splits into enormous cracks. Gamora sees a crack in the earth rushing toward her and Quill, and she turns toward him. And Gamora's side crumbles away, Gamora falling down with it.
"Gamora!" Quill said, worried.
Huge bursts of earth shoot up all around Drax, Yondu, Rocket, Quill, and I. The planet has formed giant tentacles that hurtle towards us.
"Ah, shit." I said, annoyed.
(Open POV)
EXT. LOWER RIFT - DAY…
Gamora is plummeting, seemingly to her death, when she looks over and sees Nebula falling just behind her. Nebula grabs Gamora's arm and then grabs onto a passing cliff. They snap to a stop and are hanging down off the side. Nebula tosses Gamora up onto a flat surface. As Nebula climbs up after her, Gamora looks at her, wary but surprised by this beneficence.
"Oh, get over it." Nebula said, scoffing.
(Jared's POV)
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Quill blasts a tentacle. Yondu whistles, the arrow weaving through some tentacles around us. Rocket tosses a bunch of tiny bombs at some, which they stick to and explode.
"This is going to take forever." I said, sending some electrical shocks to some tentacles, trying my best to stop them. But we are by no means winning this fight. "I hate this. I really do."
(Open POV)
EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY…
The giant Quadrant lowers toward the surface.
EXT. LOWER RIFT - DAY…
Gamora looks at Nebula, "We have to get up to the extraction point!"
They look over the edge and see a huge rift of land rising quickly. They look at each other and jump - they grab onto the edge of the rising rift, clutching to it as it flies upward toward the open space above them.
EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY…
Drax flies up onto the surface; he sees the Quadrant waiting or him there. He darts for the ship.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - DAY…
Kraglin opens the loading door.
EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY…
But huge swatches of the planet reach up and grab onto the Quadrant, yanking it down.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - DAY…
Kraglin, freaking out, throws the thrusters into high gear.
I/E. PLANET SURFACE/QUADRANT LOADING BAY - DAY…
The thrusters flare as the massive ship struggles to free itself from Ego's tendrils. And it does pull itself up for a moment, but the tendrils tighten, slamming it back down. The whole Quadrant starts to tip over. Kraglin falls down against the side of the ship. Drax sees the ship falling towards him and he runs away from it in fear. But he arrives a the edge of a cliff. He crouches as the ship continues down toward him, about to squash both he and Mantis…but Kraglin heroically crawls his way back up to the controls as he dangles from them. He pushes on the thrusters, so that the ship goes back upright. Drax turns and again runs toward the Quadrant.
EXT. PLANET'S HOLLOW - DAY…
Gamora and Nebula are still rising on the rift when they slam into a wall near the opening in the surface of the planet.
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Quill turns and sees Ego, in his terrifying skeletal light form, strolling down towards him, as the land around him parts like the Red Sea. As Ego walks, the dirt and molecules around Ego forms organs in his body, piecing himself back together. Quill sees a tentacle slam Yondu to the ground and cover his entire body. He turns to see Rocket hollering as he fires at tentacles, but they overwhelm him. Quill turns to see Jared yell as he sends electrical shocks at tentacles, but they overwhelm him.
EXT. PLANET SURFACE - DAY…
The earth wraps around Drax's legs like quicksand, pulling him and Mantis down into it.
EXT. PLANET'S HOLLOW - DAY…
Gamora and Nebula scramble, trying to climb back up, when tendrils wrap around them, stopping them from going further.
INT. SELF CHAMBER TUNNELS - DAY…
The walls are tightening around Groot. He grows his branches to try to stop them, but they aren't working. He begins to cry, like an actual baby, terrified, on the brink of suffocating.
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Ego approaches his son. He is fully formed, and he is more truly 'himself'. Alien. Dark eyes and pale skin.
"I told you I don't want to do this alone." Ego said, looking at Quill. "You cannot deny the purpose the universe has bestowed upon you!"
And once again, the light tendrils stab through Quill's back, thrusting him to his knees. Smaller light tendrils stab into his face and body. The light is being sucked out of Quill and up into the Self Chamber once more as it bursts with light.
EARTH - EXT. STREET - DAY…
Police officers and bystanders are in the streets, snapping phone photos, etc, beside the huge, still swatch of Ego's lifeform.
"Please, everyone. Step back. I need you all to clear the…" Officer Fitzgibbon said.
"What is that?" A weird old man asked.
The lifeform alights with energy and moves again, spilling incredibly quickly towards them. People abandon their cars in traffic as it runs over them. A woman falls. People trample around her. But an old man's hands reach in, helping her up. It is Grandpa Quill, in his 70's or 80's now.
"Come on, ma'am." Grandpa Quill said, helping the woman into an SUV.
SUV…
Grandpa Quill on the gas, screeching away from the enormous tidal wave of organic light.
XANDAR - I/E. STARBLASTER/CITY - DAY…
Ego's lifeform smashes down the park walls and into the street.
"It doesn't need to be like this…" Ego said, as a voiceover. "Peter.."
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Ego approaches his son, "Why are you destroying our chance?!"
AAKON - EXT. AAKON CITY - NIGHT…
Aakons run from a giant wave behind them.
"Stop pretending you aren't, what you are!" Ego yelled, as a voiceover.
KREE HOMEWORLD - EXT. STEEP HILLSIDE - DAY…
Kree monks run from the cosmic flesh as it pours down the hillside behind them. But it's too fast, rushing over them.
PRIMITIVE PLANET - EXT. WETLANDS - DAY…
Thousands of Orloni are darting in fear across this dusty desert, as it washes over them.
"One in billions…" Ego said, as a voiceover.
ARAGO-7 - EXT. STONY LANDSCAPE - DAY…
Three Hurctarians run, screaming.
"Trillions, even more!" Ego said, as a voiceover.
EASIK - EXT. FOREST - NIGHT…
An Easik mother clutches her baby, covering it with her own body, as the spreading lifeform looms up behind her. She closes her eyes and waits for the worst.
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Quill looks up at Ego, barely able to focus, as the molecules form skin over the muscle and skeleton and innards beneath.
"What greater meaning could life possibly have to offer?!" Ego exclaimed.
Yondu struggles beneath the tentacle beside Quill, "I don't use my head to fly the arrow, boy! I use my h…"
Quill hears this as the earth covers Yondu's face.Quill looks inward. And suddenly, everything becomes...quiet. Tears come to Peter Quill's eyes as he remembers those around him and what they mean to him and he thinks about his memories. The first memory Young Peter Quill and his mother cuddled and listened to music on the Walkman together,each with one ear piece. The second memory was Quill, Drax, and Jared laughing hysterically on the Milano. The third memory was Gamora and Peter looking into each other's eyes and dancing on Knowhere. The fourth memory is of Quill, Rocket, and Jared flying through the sky on aero-rigs for the first time, smiling as the air rushes through their hair. Baby Groot clutches happily onto Quill's back. And the final memory was Yondu and young Peter Quill in the first. Yondu's arm is on Peter's arm as he teaches him how to shoot.
Quill looks back up at Ego as he hears the gentle chords of Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain' start echoing throughout the hollow. He clutches his fist and he sees the light growing within it. Bits of earth begin to roll up and scramble and swirl around Quill's body, his arms, his legs, as if he's pulling them towards himself with magnets. And Ego looks confused, as the ground shakes around him. Quill glares at his father, his voice distorting with Celestial thunder.
"You shouldn't have killed my mom and squished my Walkman." Quill said, and a solid tornado of earth propels him forward. "Jared was right when he said the Walkman was precious to me since it reminds me of my mom."
Ego tries to protect himself as Quill slams into him, flying upwards with him…Quill raises his fist, now a giant club. And he smashes Ego. Ego loses his concentration.
EXT. PLANET'S SURFACE - DAY…
A pair of arms are protruding from the surface of the planet, still holding Mantis aloft. The earth falls away, and Drax, who was entirely covered, heaves for breath.
EXT. CRACK IN PLANET - DAY…
The tendrils fall, freeing Gamora and Nebula as they gasp.
(Jared's POV)
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Yondu breaks through the rocks around him, drawing in breath. The tentacles holding Rocket and I aloft crumble, and the racoon looks around, confused.
"What happened?" Rocket asked, looking at me.
"Peter is beating up Ego. And he needs us." I said, putting on my aero-rig. "Now come on!"
(Open POV)
EARTH - EXT. ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI - DAY
The wave pushes up against the back of Grandpa Quill's Camaro and suddenly stops: the mountainous plant, a hundred stories high, is up against the back of the car.
EASIK - EXT. FOREST - NIGHT…
The Easik Mother clutching her baby looks behind her; the wave has stopped. She clutches her baby to her chest, relieved.
INT. SELF CHAMBER TUNNELS - DAY…
The tunnel around Groot snaps back to what it was. Once more he can see the light at the tunnel's end, and one looks like a giant brain composed of prismatic light. He runs forward.
(Jared's POV)
INT. INSIDE BLAST HOLE - DAY…
Rocket flies up with me and yells at Groot.
"Groot! Groot, if you can hear me, hurry up - I'm not sure how long Quill can keep him distracted!" Rocket said, worried.
"Hurry up Groot!" I cried, flying behind Rocket. "We don't have much time!"
(Open POV)
INT. SELF CHAMBER CORE - DAY…
Groot arrives at the end of the tunnel, and stops there. The center of the core holds a huge cosmic placenta, and, within that, Ego's true self, the cosmic brain, It roils furiously, the reflection of its fight with Quill, thrashing around within this womb. Although afraid, Groot places the bomb on the placenta. Groot stares at both buttons, scared - he doesn't know which one to pick. Groot makes a decision on which button to press. He goes to push the death button. Then his finger stops just millimeters from the button, trembling. He thinks... and then changes the course of his finger, pushing the correct button. The countdown clock commences. Baby Groot turns, terrified, and runs.
I/E. PLANET SURFACE/QUADRANT LOADING BAY - DAY…
Drax moves with Mantis into the loading bay. He throws her down and climbs up a ladder. Gamora and Nebula are climbing up to the surface in the dirt storm.
INT. PLANETS HOLLOW - DAY…
Ego rises on his own molecular tornado and strikes back at Quill. He yells as he SLAMS Quill against the wall, dragging his face along the wall. He tosses Quill into another wall.
(Jared's POV)
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER/PLANET'S HOLLOW - DAY…
Quill brings his arm filled with light away from the wall, so that he causes a wave of light and rock around the interior of the hollow, flying to Ego and knocking him aside. Yondu protects his face as dirt swirls in the wake of the Quill/Ego battle.
Rocket, carrying Groot, flies back down with me beside him.
"Yondu! We're about to blow!" Rocket yelled.
"Get to the ship." Yondu said, looking between Rocket and I. "Both of you."
"We're not leaving without Peter." I said, sadly.
"You and the rat gotta take care of the twig."
"And we're not leaving without you, Yondu. Peter still needs you." I said, frowning.
"I ain't done nothing right my whole damn life, son. You need to give me this." Yondu said, looking away from Rocket and only focusing on me.
"Okay." I said, hesitantly, nodding. I took out some things from my sling bag, an aero rig and an orange spacesuit, the one I used during my adventures with the Doctor. The orange space suit has been modified so it can be compact in disc form. I handed them to Yondu. "A space suit I used while traveling with the Doctor and an aero rig. Only have one of each."
"Thank you, son." Yondu said, nodding.
"Thank you for the last several months, Yondu. It was fun." I said, nodding too.
"It was my pleasure."
Rocket starts to go with me, but the raccoon stops and looks at Yondu. He wants to say something, but he doesn't know what, especially since I stole his moment from him. Baby Groot does.
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"What's that?" Yondu asked.
"He says welcome to the frickin' Guardians of the Galaxy... only he didn't use `frickin'." Rocket said, smirking.
"Bye, twig." Yondu said, looking down at Groot.
Groot waves. And Rocket and I flew up toward the surface.
Rocket mutters to Groot, "We're gonna need to have a discussion about your language."
(Open POV)
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER/PLANET'S HOLLOW - DAY…
Ego slams Quill back against a wall. Ego pulls the huge rocks away from the wall, flying them towards him and battering him there. Ego and Quill fly towards each other. Ego uses the light to bring rocks to his body, forming a giant avatar of himself. Quill brings yellow rocks to his body, forming a giant Pac- Man. Ego's form flies into Pac-Man's mouth, so hard there's a sonic boom. They fall, tumbling, still striking one another on the way down. They land hard.
INT. SELF CHAMBER CORE - DAY…
The timer counts down. A minute left.
(Jared's POV)
I/E. PLANET SURFACE/QUADRANT LOADING BAY - DAY…
Gamora and Nebula are caring for Mantis as Rocket, Groot, and I arrive.
"Where's Peter?" Gamora asked.
Rocket and I don't answer. Or we can't answer.
"Rocket, Jared, where is he?!" Gamora exclaimed.
Rocket looks down at a timer in his hand. The time is almost there.
"Rocket?! Jared?! Rocket, Jared, look at me! Where is he?!" Gamora exclaimed.
Rocket just shakes his head a little. And I looked down at the ground, guiltily. But Groot points sadly outside.
"I'm not leaving without him." Gamora said, hardening.
Gamora hardens. She stands and snatches a rifle off the wall. She cocks it. She starts out the bay door…when an electrical shock hits her from behind. She falls, unconscious, with electrical energy coming out of my body.
"I'm sorry, Gamora." I said, looking down at Gamora. "Rocket can only afford to lose one friend today. He can't lose another. He's been through so much."
"Kraglin, go!" Rocket yelled, into the comm.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - DAY
Drax looks uncertain as Kraglin presses thrust.
"Wait. Is Quill back?" Drax asked, speaking into a comm. "Rocket, Jared, where's Quill?!"
I/E. PLANET SURFACE/QUADRANT LOADING BAY - DAY…
Rocket looks sadly out the bay door as it closes. I look down at the floor, guiltily. Drax's voice echoes on his comm.
"Where's Quill?! WHERE'S QUILL?!" Drax exclaimed, his voice over his com.
(Open POV)
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Quill and Ego are exhausted, on their knees and leaning against one another like boxers after too many rounds.
INT. SELF CHAMBER CORE - DAY…
The timer reads 00:26 seconds.
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Ego reaches for the core, "No, we need to stop it!"
Quill throws him to the ground. But Ego comes back up, grasping his son's jacket, pleading with him now.
"Listen to me! You are a god! If you kill me, you'll just be like everyone else!" Ego said, angrily.
"What's so wrong with that?" Quill asked.
Ego looks at his son, scared, "No…"
INT. SELF CHAMBER CORE - DAY…
The countdown reaches zero. The brain explodes.
I/E. EGO'S NERVOUS SYSTEM - DAY…
The explosion causes the life forces to burst through the entire planet.
EXT. BELOW SELF CHAMBER - DAY…
Everything around Quill is exploding. He looks down at his hands, where the glow fades and disappears. He gazes up at the mammoth walls around him as they blow up and collapse. He lowers at head, at peace with the death that's coming, when, from the side, through the debris…Yondu is flying towards Quill on an aero-rig. Yondu grabs him, almost a tackle, really, lifting him up and flying away.
EXT. PLANET'S HOLLOW - DAY…
As Yondu and Quill fly upward, the planet explodes behind them, flames licking their heels, huge stretches of the planet caving in.
EXT. SKY - DAY…
Yondu holds a surprised Quill as they soar up into the sky,
"He may have been your father, boy. But he wasn't your daddy." Yondu said, happily.
"What?" Quill asked. "Jared said you were my daddy."
"He was right. I am your daddy. I'm sorry I didn't do it right. I'm damn lucky you're my boy." Yondu said, smiling.
Quill is touched. Yondu slaps the spacesuit disk onto Quill; the shimmery sheath covers him.
"What?" Quill asked.
Yondu breathes out as completely as he can, emptying his lungs. And they exit the planet's atmosphere, bursting into space.
(Jared's POV)
EXT. SPACE - OUTER SPACE…
Quill struggles to get free, but Yondu holds him there, trapping him, but it is also an embrace. The entire planet is collapsing behind them.
"Yondu, you can't! What are you doing? What are you doing?!" Quill exclaimed.
Yondu's jet pack expires its supply of fuel, and they stop there, in space, floating. Yondu's grip weakens. Quill turns to face him.
"Yondu. Yondu, no!" Quill cried.
Yondu grabs his son's face with both hands, looking and touching him with love.
"No." Quill said, sadly.
And Yondu's face expands and his body goes limp as he dies there. And he starts to drift away. Quill grabs onto his shirt. He is crying.
"No!" Quill said, worried.
And, suddenly, behind Quill, Rocket, Drax, and I propel ourselves toward him in aero-rigs, grabbing him.
"I'm sorry, Peter." I said, sadly. "I'm so sorry."
INT. ECLECTOR CREMATORY - LATER…
Yondu's body lies on a plank here: Various colored cloths are laid in strips over his body and face, yaro lilies beneath him, red-fired pyres and Yondu's toys all around. Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora, Mantis, Kraglin, and I surround the table. Quill is at the head. He has to say a few words. But it is not easy.
"The other day I told Gamora how I used to pretend my dad was David Hasselhoff." Quill said.
Rocket and Drax exchange a look and I laughed a little.
"He's a singer and actor from Earth... a really famous guy." Quill said.
Drax nods. I looked down at Yondu's body.
"And, you know, today it struck me. Yondu didn't have a talking car, but he did have a flying arrow. And he didn't have the voice of an angel, but he did have the whistle of one. And both David Hasselhoff and Yondu went on kickass adventures, and hooked up with hot women, and fought robots." Quill said, looking down at Yondu's body. "So, the thing is, David Hasselhoff kinda did end up being my Dad after all, only he was Yondu. I had a pretty cool Dad."
Quill starts to break down.
"And what I'm trying to say here is, that thing you're searching for your whole life, sometimes it's right there by your side all along and you don't even know it." Quill said, sadly.
Gamora sees Nebula, watching from a darkened doorway, before she turns and walks away. She moves after her. Groot looks up at an upset Rocket and he looks over at me, also noticing that I'm as upset as the raccoon.
"I am Groot?" Groot asked.
"Yeah. That's the friend I was talking about." Rocket said, frowning.
"I am Groot?"
"Yeah. I'm going to be okay." I said, letting out a sigh. "I promise."
"I am Groot."
"Positive."
"I am Groot." Groot said, looking between Rocket and I.
"He did call you `twig.'" Rocket said, laughing a lot.
INT. QUADRANT SMALL HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER…
Gamora catches up to Nebula in the hall.
"Nebula." Gamora said, while Nebula turns toward her, but she doesn't look her in the eye. "I was just a child. Like you. I was concerned with staying alive until the next day - every day. And I never considered what Thanos was doing to you. I am sorry." Nebula nods. "I'm trying to make it right, everything I did." She is looking at Nebula, closely. "There are little girls like you were - little boys - all over the universe - who are in danger. You can stay with us, and help them."
"I'll help them by killing Thanos." Nebula said.
"I don't know if that's possible." Gamora said, sadly.
Nebula shrugs: maybe. She turns to leave. But Gamora grabs her, perhaps too roughly. Nebula turns, ready to snap. And Gamora embraces her. Nebula does not know how to react.
"You'll always be my sister." Gamora said, happily.
Tears well in Nebula's eyes and, for just a moment, she embraces her sister back with one hand...before pushing her away and leaving.
INT. ECLECTOR CREMATORY - MOMENTS LATER…
The Guardians and I lift Yondu on the plank. A bulbous and rusty crematory is at the center of the room. It doesn't burn with fire, but a swirling, vibrant cosmic energy. We slide Yondu in as we watch with sadness and respect as his body is enveloped by the sparkling colors. Quill closes the door on the crematory. As Quill moves away, Kraglin approaches Quill with me.
"Pete." Kraglin said.
Quill turns toward us. Kraglin is holding something.
"Cap'n found this for you in a junker shop. Said someday you'd come back to the fold." Kraglin said, putting an MP3 player in Quill's hand. "It's called a Zune - what everyone listens to on earth nowadays. Jared installed three hundred songs on it."
"Jared, you installed songs on it for me?" Quill asked, looking over at me.
"I picked them out. Had Yondu listen to the songs." I said, happily. "He told me what he thought you'd like or didn't like out of those 300 songs. I deleted the songs Yondu thought you wouldn't like since it would take up storage."
"Thank you, Jared." Quill said, nodding, touched. "Wait. Kraglin." He is holding out Yondu's arrow. Kraglin's lip trembles. "Rocket and Jared grabbed the pieces and reassembled them. I think Yondu would want you to have it."
"Thank you... Cap'n." Kraglin said, smiling.
EXT. QUADRANT - OUTER SPACE…
Yondu's sparkling ashes are blown out in spurts from the crematory into space.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
Rocket, Drax, Mantis, and I are here, watching Yondu's ashes in the vacuum of space, swirling almost magically. I walked away from them towards the captain's quarters, knowing Peter was there.
INT. CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS - OUTER SPACE…
Quill sits down on the bed in Yondu's quarters. He scrolls through selections on the Zune. He comes to 'Father and Son' by Cat Stevens. He presses play. He listens. As he does, Groot crawls up onto the bed, and then onto his lap. Quill offers Groot one of the ear buds.Groot holds it against his ear, amazed by the clarity of sound. Quill watches him, hearing the beauty of the song more through Groot's face than the music itself. And they sit there together, listening to the music, a new father and son.
"Man, I can't believe this adventure is finally over." I said, wearing my TARDIS key around my neck, watching Quill and Groot bond, with the key keeping me hidden due to the perception filter on it. "We can finally relax."
(Open POV)
INT. M-SHIP - OUTER SPACE…
Nebula flies away, sad, perhaps regretful, but forcing her chin up to brace against what's to come.
INT. QUADRANT SMALL HALLWAY - OUTER SPACE…
Gamora watches, through a window, as Nebula leaves.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
Rocket sees something by the ashes. His eyes alight.
"They came." Rocket said, in awe.
(Jared's POV)
INT. CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS - OUTER SPACE…
"It is beautiful, isn't it?" I asked, removing the TARDIS key around my neck, and placing it inside my sling bag.
"I am Groot." Groot said, as I walked towards him.
"This is why I travel and see the universe, Groot. For things like this."
"I am Groot?"
"You can."
Groot and I see colorful flashing lights out of the window. Groot pulls on Quill's shirt to show him. We go to get a better view.
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
Drax and Rocket see Yondu's cosmic ashes pulsing and swirling out in space as, one by one, enormous Ravager ships arrive around them. They each flash specific light sequences - and, with all the ships together - it looks like fireworks.
"What is it?" Drax asked.
"I sent word to Yondu's old Ravager buddies and told them what he did." Rocket said.
Quill comes up behind them with Groot and I, just as Gamora enters.
Quill smiles, "It's a Ravager funeral."
"It's beautiful!" I cheered. "Absolutely beautiful way of honoring Yondu."
"Yeah." Quill said, happily.
(Open POV)
INT. HALLWAY - OUTER SPACE…
Kraglin sees it from here. He screams with joy, and he slams his fist twice against his chest, a Ravager salute.
I/E. RAVAGER FLIGHT DECK 1 - OUTER SPACE…
Stakar and Martinex watched him there, moved.
"He didn't let us down after all, Cap'n." Martinex said.
"No, he did not, son. He did not." Stakar said.
I/E. RAVAGER FLIGHT DECK 2 - OUTER SPACE…
Charlie-27, an enormous man, is wistful as he salutes.
"Fare thee well, old friend." Charlie-27 said.
I/E. RAVAGER FLIGHT DECK 3 - OUTER SPACE…
Aleta is here, tears in her eyes, alcohol in her hand, an all-female Ravager crew around her.
"See you in the stars, Yondu Udonta." Aleta said.
(Jared's POV)
INT. QUADRANT FLIGHT DECK - OUTER SPACE…
And the Guardians and I all watch, enchanted by the majesty.
"He didn't chase `em away." Rocket said.
"No." Quill said.
"Nope." I said, sadly.
"Even though he yelled at `em." Rocket said.
Quill and I shook our heads.
"And was always mean." Rocket said.
Quill and I shook our heads.
"And he stole batteries he didn't need." Rocket said.
Quill is surprised - what? And then he looks at Rocket, a little animal who doesn't know the rules of how to be any more than a young boy whose tribe sold him into slavery.
"Of course not." Quill said, scoffing. "You still know it was him."
"Yup." I said, letting out a sigh. "I do. He's denying it."
Baby Groot is on Gamora's shoulder. He reaches for Drax, who takes him. Baby Groot yawns and nuzzles into Drax's shoulder, falling asleep. Drax lovingly pats his back. Gamora looks at Drax and Groot, and Rocket, and Mantis, and me, taking it all in, this strange family of hers. She turns to Quill, staring at him with love.
"What?" Quill asked.
"It's just some unspoken thing." Gamora said, happily.
Quill wraps his arm around Gamora and she sinks into him.
Mantis smiles and becomes teary and gasps, overwhelmed, as she looks out the window, "It's beautiful."
"It is. And so are you." Drax said, pausing for a moment to think. "On the inside."
"After what happened recently. This is what we needed." I said, standing with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
We turn back to the window and we stand there together, I looked over at the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, happy to be a part of it. We are watching the Ravager funeral and the colorful dust of an old friend dance. And the shape of the dust seems to form something very close to an arrow. Rocket sees this and he cries. I also cry, knowing that this is going to be a long four years with the Guardians of the Galaxy in this form, knowing that it will end in 2018,
'Surrender' by Cheap Trick plays.
(Open POV)
INT. ECLECTOR HALLWAY - OUTER SPACE…
Surrender is playing here. Kraglin has had a version of Yondu's fin implanted in his head. He looks nervously down at the arrow on the floor. He tries to whistle. It just flips around like a dead fish. He whistles again, and it flies up, hitting a wall, and falls back down again. Kraglin whistles again, and it zips away. He hears a scream. Kraglin looks around the corner where Drax is sitting, the arrow impaled in his chest, yelling in agony. He looks around, hoping no one saw him there, and he tries to slink away.
Surrender's chorus kicks in: 'Mommy's all right, Daddy's all right, they just seem a little weird'.
INT. STAKAR'S SHIP - OUTER SPACE…
Stakar looks sad, serious, "It's a shame it takes a tragedy like losing Yondu to bring us all back together. But I think he'd be proud if he knew we were working as a team again."
Over Stakar, there is this incredibly motley crew - Martinex, Charlie-27, Aleta, who is holding Mainframe (a robotic head in a cage), and the mouthless, wormlike Krugarr.
"What say we steal some shit?" Stakar asked.
"In." Charlie-27 said, happily.
"Dope." Martinex said, smiling.
"I missed you guys!" Mainframe said, excitedly.
Krugarr makes a hex symbol and two colorful thumbs-up bursts in front of him.
"Hell. Yes." Aleta said.
INT. BIRTHING PODS CHAMBER - DAY…
Ayesha sits on a bench, brooding, disheveled and still furious.
The Chambermaid cautiously approaches, "High Priestess, the Council is waiting."
"They are perturbed. I have wasted our resources." Ayesha said.
The Chambermaid smiles politely, nods slightly, agreeing in a circumspect manner. Ayesha stares across the way.
"When they see what I have created here, their wrath will dissipate, though it will be some time." Ayesha said.
The Chambermaid looks where Ayesha is looking.
"That is not just another birthing pod, ma'am?" The Chambermaid asked.
"That, my child, is the next step in our evolution: more powerful, more beautiful, and more capable of destroying the Guardians of the Galaxy." Ayesha said, and a large, human-sized cocoon stands where she stares. "I think I shall call him... `Adam'."
(Jared's POV)
INT. GROOT'S BEDROOM - OUTER SPACE…
Quill and I are standing in the bedroom doorway, looking down.
"Dude, seriously, you got to clean up your room. It's a complete mess." Quill said.
"It really is, Groot." I said, looking at a gawky adolescent Groot, hunched over, playing a video game, in this very messy room. "I can't even hang out with you."
"I am Groot." Adolescent Groot said.
"I'm not boring, man. You're boring." Quill said, annoyed.
"I am Groot."
"You're not letting me hang out with you because I didn't give you a Nintendo Switch and a flat screen TV?" I asked, looking down at Adolescent Groot. "Is that all it takes?"
"I am Groot."
"Oh. So you don't want to clean up because Jared knows you're being a brat." Quill said, while I grabbed his hand. "Once I got stuck on a planet where everyone was just lines and dots. I had to use geometry to get out of prison. Is that boring?"
Adolescent Groot shakes his head in disdain.
"You know what's boring? Not doing the dishes. What's boring is me tripping over your vines everywhere." Quill said, and Adolescent Groot sighs. "Drax and I switched pants in the middle of that party last weekend. For no reason other than we're awesome and very much not boring."
Quill starts to walk away then comes back and I enter Groot's room. I took out a flat screen TV and a Nintendo Switch from my sling bag, setting up the game room for Groot.
"I am Groot." Groot said, happily.
"You're welcome, Groot." I said, tossing a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller to Groot. "Mario Kart?"
"I am Groot."
"Okay. Smash Bros can work." I said, grabbing the other Pro Controller.
"Great. Now you're playing video games with Jared." Quill said, getting ready to tell another story. "Once I got a venereal disease that made me float for three days… Don't tell Gamora... it's dormant, but... If that's boring then, I guess I'm boring." He looks at Groot and I. "I'm not boring enough for you to play video games with Jared."
Groot rolls his eyes and makes an exasperated sound. That caused me to laugh a lot.
"What's boring is when you roll your eyes like that at me and make an exasperated sound like I'm an old, boring, stupid idiot while treating Jared like a cool uncle." Quill said, thinking. "Now I know how Yondu felt." He begins to cry. "Yondu."