Epilogue
Lilly read off of a paper list, pacing back at forth as she read aloud to Cedric. Cedric sat on the sofa quietly, his legs squished together in worry with his hands clasped on his lap. "Okay, Cedric, we've done the Chinese candle test (Didn't work), we've done the Ouiji board, TWICE I might add (Didn't work), we've tried attracting ghosts with marigolds and lamps and all sorts of- of- of NOTHING for 2 hours today! NOTHING WORKED! And I STILL haven't been able to prove CONCRETELY that you can talk to ghosts!"
Cedric wrung his hands tightly. "M-m-maybe we're trying the wrong thing-"
"Lilly! You saw what happened!" Do-Wah yelled.
"He channeled Gorgon's ancestor's ghosts!" Mike argued. "They explained what happened!"
"They're ALIENS!" Lilly roared, making the abandoned arcade shake. "They couldn't have understood... human biology, that whole spirit thing could've been done with... Mike or B-Bop ANYBODY! It does not make sense!"
"Uh..." B-Bop mumbled, showing uncharacteristic hesistancy. "Lilly, I have to go with the guys on this one..."
"WHAT?!" Lilly disappeared with a poof of smoke and a loud "POP", reappearing before B-Bop's face, red and fuming. "Of all people, Bomray Bop- A-Luna, I expected you to side with me!"
"Lilly called him 'Bomray'?!" 2-T gasped, slapping his hands over his mouth.
"What's the big deal?" Angela asked. "What's a 'bomray'?"
"'Bomray' was B-Bop's old name," Do-Wah whispered urgently into her ear. "And B-Bop hates his old name!"
B-Bop, indeed, had a look of mixed horror and anger on his face as Lilly ranted on. "Besides, you know very well that Gorgons can take a gaseous form and possess bodies, so Cedric could have been possessed normally. Couldn't he have, BomRay?"
B-Bop growled and pushed Lilly away from his face. "Don't call me Bomray!"
"Told you he hated that name," Do-Wah giggled, nudging Cedric which his elbow. Cedric giggled lightly.
He stopped giggling when Lillly appeared in front of him, holding a glowing ball of energy in front of his eyes. As she moved it side-to-side, Cedric's eyes couldn't help but follow. It was so pretty... mesmerizing...
From Lilly's point of view, Cedric's eyes changed from his beautiful brown to the recently discovered quicksilver as the light hit them at different angles. She wondered out loud, "It's weird that his eyes change color, though. Maybe something Is different about him... but he can't talk to ghosts, I know!"
Lilly snapped the energy ball away, but Cedric kept staring into space.
Mike sighed and leaned over the, once again, tranced-out Cedric, snapping his fingers in front of his nose. "Oh no, not again. Cedric?"
Do-Wah shook him gently. "See, Lil, he's doing it again!"
"He's having a seizure!" argued Lilly, floating above the Martians.
Cedric awoke quickly, shook his head, and bolted to his feet. "Aa!"
Ced rushed past Lilly, Do-Wah, and Mike to reach the door. He passed 2-T very closely as he ran, brushing against the Martian's huge jaw with his shirt.
2-T rubbed his skin where the shirt had hit like a kid rubbing a bug bite. "Woah! Cedric, what's up!?"
"Big problem, gotta help a lady, can't talk, bye!"
SLAM!
***
B-Bop tiptoed through the cracked door, his senses hightened and his gauntlet charged. But what he saw touched his heart... he'd never seen anything so moving...
Cedric was snuggling an elderly woman into a cradle of pillows, rubbing her hands comfortingly. Cedric jumped in surprise, but the old lady looked at B- Bop with a warmth he had never seen from anyone. "Más amigos..."
"Ced... what's going on here?" B-Bop asked.
The door flew open, and in barged Mike and Angela, helmets under their arms, breathing heavily. "We... we had to... run up the... stairs... what's..."
2-T and Do-Wah gently shoved the humans out of the way, Lilly weaseling in like a snake.
"Cedric, what's going on?" B-Bop ordered. "Tell me."
"Shhh!" Cedric hushed them, and explained. "This lady's dieing. She needed someone to wait with her while she died. Don't spook her!"
"Son todo el tan ruidosos...." she again whispered weakly.
Angela looked down at the woman in shock. "You understood her?"
"Um... when I talked to her, she was speaking English."
"OH, COME O-"
"Lilly!" Do-Wah elbowed her sharply, making her double over. B-Bop made a threatening gesture towards Do-Wah, and the red-drobed alien snarled back in fluent, violent, and probably offensive Martian.
"Guys!"
The attention was brought back to Cedric and the old woman, who were both looking upon the children in shame.
"Please let this lady get some peace and quiet while she's passing on! Jeez, you guys are acting no better that my bratty cousin Tim!"
Everyone, no matter what race or species, has a bratty cousin, so they all agreed to stay quiet and not disturb the lady. She passed away in her sleep some two minutes later, creeping out the humans thoroughly; they quickly rushed out of the room.
B-Bop, 2-T, and Do-Wah stayed behind for a few minutes of silent contemplation. B-Bop stroked the woman's cheek with the back of his hand before ordering his buddies to leave.
About a thousand thoughts were running through his mind, but one in particular stuck out from the rest; Cedric had helped a complete stranger, even if the help was only watching after the old lady as she died. Cedric didn't know this one particular human, nor did they speak the same language, but... he still came.
On the Bog Star, on Mars, in times of war, it didn't matter, Martians never helped someone when they were dieing. If somebody (more likely a male than a female because female Martians were so rare) was dieing a slow death, from a disease or from old age, no one attended to them. There were no parting words, no loving hugs or held hands. The lonely dieing one just died in peace, or pain, it depended.
But Cedric came and attended to the woman, making her a little cradle of pillows as her life drifted out of her...
"Are you okay?"
B-Bop's train of thought ran off the tracks abruptly. Lilly was flying at the same speed as him, keeping up with his OMAB, hovering directly in front of his face, just a few millimeters away...
B-Bop, startled that their faces had been that close together and he hadn't noticed, slammed on the brakes. Lilly was only surprised briefly; she coasted to a gentle stop (B-Bop, however, had flipped straight over the handlebars of his OMAB).
"You are alright, aren't you? Or are you talking to ghosts, too?"
And now the story is done! Thank you all, goodnight!
Lilly read off of a paper list, pacing back at forth as she read aloud to Cedric. Cedric sat on the sofa quietly, his legs squished together in worry with his hands clasped on his lap. "Okay, Cedric, we've done the Chinese candle test (Didn't work), we've done the Ouiji board, TWICE I might add (Didn't work), we've tried attracting ghosts with marigolds and lamps and all sorts of- of- of NOTHING for 2 hours today! NOTHING WORKED! And I STILL haven't been able to prove CONCRETELY that you can talk to ghosts!"
Cedric wrung his hands tightly. "M-m-maybe we're trying the wrong thing-"
"Lilly! You saw what happened!" Do-Wah yelled.
"He channeled Gorgon's ancestor's ghosts!" Mike argued. "They explained what happened!"
"They're ALIENS!" Lilly roared, making the abandoned arcade shake. "They couldn't have understood... human biology, that whole spirit thing could've been done with... Mike or B-Bop ANYBODY! It does not make sense!"
"Uh..." B-Bop mumbled, showing uncharacteristic hesistancy. "Lilly, I have to go with the guys on this one..."
"WHAT?!" Lilly disappeared with a poof of smoke and a loud "POP", reappearing before B-Bop's face, red and fuming. "Of all people, Bomray Bop- A-Luna, I expected you to side with me!"
"Lilly called him 'Bomray'?!" 2-T gasped, slapping his hands over his mouth.
"What's the big deal?" Angela asked. "What's a 'bomray'?"
"'Bomray' was B-Bop's old name," Do-Wah whispered urgently into her ear. "And B-Bop hates his old name!"
B-Bop, indeed, had a look of mixed horror and anger on his face as Lilly ranted on. "Besides, you know very well that Gorgons can take a gaseous form and possess bodies, so Cedric could have been possessed normally. Couldn't he have, BomRay?"
B-Bop growled and pushed Lilly away from his face. "Don't call me Bomray!"
"Told you he hated that name," Do-Wah giggled, nudging Cedric which his elbow. Cedric giggled lightly.
He stopped giggling when Lillly appeared in front of him, holding a glowing ball of energy in front of his eyes. As she moved it side-to-side, Cedric's eyes couldn't help but follow. It was so pretty... mesmerizing...
From Lilly's point of view, Cedric's eyes changed from his beautiful brown to the recently discovered quicksilver as the light hit them at different angles. She wondered out loud, "It's weird that his eyes change color, though. Maybe something Is different about him... but he can't talk to ghosts, I know!"
Lilly snapped the energy ball away, but Cedric kept staring into space.
Mike sighed and leaned over the, once again, tranced-out Cedric, snapping his fingers in front of his nose. "Oh no, not again. Cedric?"
Do-Wah shook him gently. "See, Lil, he's doing it again!"
"He's having a seizure!" argued Lilly, floating above the Martians.
Cedric awoke quickly, shook his head, and bolted to his feet. "Aa!"
Ced rushed past Lilly, Do-Wah, and Mike to reach the door. He passed 2-T very closely as he ran, brushing against the Martian's huge jaw with his shirt.
2-T rubbed his skin where the shirt had hit like a kid rubbing a bug bite. "Woah! Cedric, what's up!?"
"Big problem, gotta help a lady, can't talk, bye!"
SLAM!
***
B-Bop tiptoed through the cracked door, his senses hightened and his gauntlet charged. But what he saw touched his heart... he'd never seen anything so moving...
Cedric was snuggling an elderly woman into a cradle of pillows, rubbing her hands comfortingly. Cedric jumped in surprise, but the old lady looked at B- Bop with a warmth he had never seen from anyone. "Más amigos..."
"Ced... what's going on here?" B-Bop asked.
The door flew open, and in barged Mike and Angela, helmets under their arms, breathing heavily. "We... we had to... run up the... stairs... what's..."
2-T and Do-Wah gently shoved the humans out of the way, Lilly weaseling in like a snake.
"Cedric, what's going on?" B-Bop ordered. "Tell me."
"Shhh!" Cedric hushed them, and explained. "This lady's dieing. She needed someone to wait with her while she died. Don't spook her!"
"Son todo el tan ruidosos...." she again whispered weakly.
Angela looked down at the woman in shock. "You understood her?"
"Um... when I talked to her, she was speaking English."
"OH, COME O-"
"Lilly!" Do-Wah elbowed her sharply, making her double over. B-Bop made a threatening gesture towards Do-Wah, and the red-drobed alien snarled back in fluent, violent, and probably offensive Martian.
"Guys!"
The attention was brought back to Cedric and the old woman, who were both looking upon the children in shame.
"Please let this lady get some peace and quiet while she's passing on! Jeez, you guys are acting no better that my bratty cousin Tim!"
Everyone, no matter what race or species, has a bratty cousin, so they all agreed to stay quiet and not disturb the lady. She passed away in her sleep some two minutes later, creeping out the humans thoroughly; they quickly rushed out of the room.
B-Bop, 2-T, and Do-Wah stayed behind for a few minutes of silent contemplation. B-Bop stroked the woman's cheek with the back of his hand before ordering his buddies to leave.
About a thousand thoughts were running through his mind, but one in particular stuck out from the rest; Cedric had helped a complete stranger, even if the help was only watching after the old lady as she died. Cedric didn't know this one particular human, nor did they speak the same language, but... he still came.
On the Bog Star, on Mars, in times of war, it didn't matter, Martians never helped someone when they were dieing. If somebody (more likely a male than a female because female Martians were so rare) was dieing a slow death, from a disease or from old age, no one attended to them. There were no parting words, no loving hugs or held hands. The lonely dieing one just died in peace, or pain, it depended.
But Cedric came and attended to the woman, making her a little cradle of pillows as her life drifted out of her...
"Are you okay?"
B-Bop's train of thought ran off the tracks abruptly. Lilly was flying at the same speed as him, keeping up with his OMAB, hovering directly in front of his face, just a few millimeters away...
B-Bop, startled that their faces had been that close together and he hadn't noticed, slammed on the brakes. Lilly was only surprised briefly; she coasted to a gentle stop (B-Bop, however, had flipped straight over the handlebars of his OMAB).
"You are alright, aren't you? Or are you talking to ghosts, too?"
And now the story is done! Thank you all, goodnight!