Taking a break from my Martian stories...to write another Martian story! Wow, three in a row! Well this one is (hopefully) more exciting, because we have another Martian OC popping up: Lilly, who was created by Nightmarebeforechristmasfreak! She's an awesome character! Hope you guys (especially Nightmarebeforechristmasfreak) enjoy this new story:
"Pleeeaaase, Marvin?" Lilly followed close behind her friend as they made their way down one of the ship's many corridors, hands clasped eagerly in front of her, "I promise it'll be fun!" Marvin screeched to a halt, turned and gave her a wary look.
"Lilly, I have known you long enough to notice that your idea of 'fun' usually does not coincide with mine."
"But this time I'm sure you'll have fun." Lilly's eyes grew impossibly large and pleading, "Please?"
"Lilly, oh no, don't, not the eyes!"
Lilly continued to look imploringly at him.
"Lilly, that's not fair!"
She remained unmoved by his entreaties that became increasingly more and more desperate. She shuffled closer, giving it her best shot. Marvin's eye twitched slightly and he leaned farther back, trying to avoid her gaze, before he finally sighed in defeat,
"Oh…alright." As a Martian Commander, there were few things he could not handle. That look that Lilly could muster up was one of them. Lilly immediately brightened and flung her arms around him,
"Aww, Marvin, you're the best! Common, I'll show you!" She tugged on his arm and practically dragged him back up the corridor to the room housing their beloved piano. Before Marvin could get a word in edgewise, Lilly hurried over a music stand set near the piano, grabbed a notebook off of it and turned back to him. Marvin watched her, his curiosity getting the better of him. As she flipped through the pages of her notebook she explained,
"You know, Marv, I've been thinking-"
"Always a dangerous prospect." He cut in dryly, but immediately shut up when he saw the glare Lilly shot his way.
"Anyways, like I was saying, I've been thinking and you know what I noticed? The only music you ever play on this ship is Martian music. We need some variety, Marv, something new, exciting, different! We need," She found the page she was looking for and exclaimed triumphantly,
"Earth music!"
"What's wrong with Martian music? I thought you said you found it quite enjoyable." Marvin said indignantly. Lilly rolled her eyes,
"I do like Martian music, Marvin, a lot. But after listening to it all the time, well…it gets pretty old pretty fast. "
"And where exactly do you propose we find Earth music? If you think I'm about to alter course just to pick up some new tunes for you, think again. I do have Commander duties to attend to, you know!" Lilly brushed away his concerns flippantly, a smile still on her face.
"We don't need to go anywhere, Marv, that's the point!" Marvin suddenly felt uneasy for some odd reason. Where is she going with this…?
"What exactly do you mean?" Her grin grew wider and she handed him a few sheets of paper from her notebook.
"We're going to record the music! Right here, right now! Doesn't that sound like fun?" Marvin's eyes widened as he glanced at the papers she had given him. Angel of Music? He scanned the first few lines, brow wrinkling in distaste. What kind of nonsense is this? After a moment he said incredulously,
"You prefer this – this cacophony over Martian music?" Lilly's expression hardened and she retorted hotly,
"This isn't cacophony, Marvin, this is art!"
"Well as long as you find it enjoyable, I suppose there is no harm in recording it yourself."
"Marvin…this is a duet." She gave him a meaningful look. Marvin froze,
"Oh, no. No. Noooo. Nononono. No. No. NO!" He said firmly, as Lilly inched towards him, the pleading look returning to her face. Involuntarily, he found himself backing up away from her.
"Lilly…"
"Marvin, I can't do it without you! You have to do it!"
"No, I have no such obligations to do any such thing!" He said angrily.
"But, Marvin –"
"No, Lilly!"
"It's just this one –"
"I said no and that is final!"
Lilly suddenly stopped, drooping slightly. She looked up at her friend and said softly,
"But it won't be fun without you…"
Oh, no! This was worse than the look! He avoided her eyes and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, until eventually he looked up and met her hopeful gaze. He sighed and looked down for a moment, debating on how much he was willing to humiliate himself for her sake. Finally he snatched the music out of her hand and marched over to the piano. He sat down and muttered,
"So how do we begin?"
"You mean…you'll do it?" Lilly's eyes sparkled happily when she saw Marvin nod, albeit a bit ruefully. She launched herself at him and gave him the biggest hug she could muster, saying all the while,
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She sat beside him on the piano bench and gave him one last hug, just for good measure. Marvin smiled at her and gave her a pat on the shoulder.
"Alright, alright, yes you're welcome. But there is one condition."
"Anything!"
"I will sing this with you if, and only if, you promise never to show this to anyone, understand? I do have a reputation to uphold!" Lilly grinned and answered,
"Deal!"
--
"Wait, are you expecting me to actually hit that note, Lilly?"
"It's not that high, Marvin!" She played a note on the piano and turned back to him, "See?" Marvin still didn't seem too convinced. She rolled her eyes at him,
"Ok, let's just try it from the very top. You have to start."
"Must I?" Marvin looked incredibly nervous, "Isn't there a version where you can start?"
"Well there is the duet between Meg and Christine, Marvin, but unless you plan on singing soprano I'm guessing that one's out. Just try it!" She urged him. He gulped and took a breath –
"Commander!"
X-25's sudden appearance caused both Lilly and Marvin to jump. Marvin whirled around to face the large screen coming out of the ceiling, an annoyed look on his face,
"Really, X-25, you can't just surprise unsuspecting Martians like that!"
"Apologies, Commander, but an urgent message has just come in from the Queen." Marvin immediately straightened,
"I will be at the bridge shortly." Concern crossed his face as he pondered this latest development. An urgent message? He returned his attention to Lilly and handed her back the music,
"We'll continue this later, alright?" She nodded silently and together they quickly headed towards the bridge. When they arrived, X-25 had already gotten the Queen up on the screen. Marvin stepped forward, bowing.
"Your Majesty."
"We must dispense with the pleasantries, Commander, for there is little time."
"Of course, Your Majesty. What seems to be the problem?"
"Dr. Woe is our problem, Commander." The Queen's expression darkened, "I am afraid he has managed to escape yet again from our prisons. He is clearly much more cunning and ingenious than we had previously thought." Marvin started, looking surprised,
"He escaped again?" He paused, "Hmm…we really need to come up with a better way for containing this one…" The Queen shook her head firmly.
"No, he is far too powerful. His mind is too great for us to fight against…we must destroy him once and for all." Lilly watched the conversation, a strange feeling nagging at the back of her mind. Something felt so…wrong, but she couldn't figure out why. She stepped a little closer to the screen, listening carefully. The Queen's eyes flickered over her momentarily, showing no signs of recognition.
"Commander, we have detected Dr. Woe's latest hide-out. I am having its coordinates transferred to your ship as we speak."
"You know, for someone who can escape from Mars' highest security prisons, he's sure bad at finding decent hide-outs." Lilly piped up. The Queen merely gave her a sideways glance then continued,
"We are counting on you, Commander. Do not let us down…do not let me down." Marvin saluted sharply.
"Fear not, my Queen, I will return victorious." The Queen nodded then ended the transmission. Lilly stared at the blank screen then turned to her friend.
"Was it just me or did something feel really…odd?"
"What do you mean?" Marvin gave her a surprised glance, "I sensed nothing out of the ordinary."
"Oh…ok, I guess it was nothing then." She peeked over his shoulder to see the coordinates he was punching in, "Soooo, I guess we have to beat this guy…a third time?"
"It seems that way."
"Well, as we say on Earth, 'third time's the charm'!" She tried to smile and shrug off the unsettling feeling she had. Yet Lilly found that she still couldn't quite push the nagging feeling out of her mind.