The rain had slowed to a soft drizzle, the kind that made everything look blurry and unreal. The sky was dull and grey, like even the weather was grieving.
Tim sat on the cracked pavement under the bridge, shoulders shaking, hoodie half-pulled over his face. Not his hoodie....
Luna's.
The pink one.
He held it tight against his chest like it was the last warm thing in this broken world.
Omega stood awkwardly a few feet away, not knowing whether to comfort him or scream or just implode emotionally.
Pluto was worse. Red-eyed, face swollen, trying to stay strong for Tim but failing miserably. He wiped his cheeks but new tears kept forming.
Tim tossed his head back and yelled, voice breaking:
"WHY DID SHE DO THAT?! WHY DID SHE PUSH ME OUT OF THE WAY? WHY DID SHE GO FULL HERO MODE?!"
Pluto grabbed his arm. "Tim… calm down—"
"CALM DOWN?!" Tim snapped. "Pluto, she died. Right here. And this stupid hoodie—" he clutched it tighter "—still smells like her dumb expensive perfume."
Omega sniffed. "You mean the Dubai chocolate-scented one?"
Tim glared. "YES. THAT ONE. I HATE IT. I LOVE IT. I HATE HOW MUCH I LOVE IT."
He suddenly stood up so fast Pluto stumbled backward.
"Come on," Tim said, voice cracking. "Pluto, get up."
Pluto blinked. "Tim… what are you—?"
Tim grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the exact spot where Luna had fallen.
The dirt.
The broken concrete.
The dried blood.
Pluto's lip trembled. "Tim… I can't—"
"Well I can!" Tim yelled.
But his voice cracked halfway through.
He dropped to his knees, pulling Pluto down with him.
They both stayed there.
Two boys, wrecked, angry, heartbroken....
grieving the girl who held them together.
Tim pressed the hoodie into the dirt like he could anchor her spirit there. "Luna… you idiot. You absolute legendary idiot. Why would you leave us?"
He put his forehead against the fabric and finally broke.
Pluto cried silently beside him, fingers clutching the edge of the hoodie.
Omega stepped closer, swallowing hard. "Guys… maybe she wanted you alive more than she wanted herself alive."
Tim hissed, "Shut up Omega."
Omega nodded. "Okay I'll shut up but just know you're projecting."
"SHUT."
"UP."
Omega zipped his lips dramatically.
A soft wind moved through the underside of the bridge.
But… it wasn't a normal breeze.
It glowed.
A faint blue shimmer spread across the ground beneath them, curling around their arms, their legs, the hoodie, the bloodstained earth.
Pluto gasped. "Tim… do you see that?"
Tim pressed his hand to the glow. "This… wasn't here before."
Omega's hair stood on end. "That… looks like time energy. Like leftover power from the universe or....whatever sent you through time."
The glow grew stronger, swirling upward in a spiral.
Then....
A voice.
Soft.
Broken.
Familiar.
"Hey… idiots."
Tim froze.
Pluto froze.
Omega nearly passed out.
The light thickened...sharper, brighter...until it formed a translucent outline of Luna.
Not alive.
Not fully gone.
Something in between.
Pluto whispered, "Luna…?"
Her figure flickered. "Stop crying like abandoned kittens. I didn't die for this level of emo energy."
Tim choked on a sob-laugh. "Luna… you're glowing. And slightly see-through. And still roasting us…"
"Of course," she said. "Why would death stop my personality?"
The blue spirals wrapped around their arms gently.....warm, comforting.
Luna kneeled beside Tim's trembling hands. "Take the hoodie. Don't lose it. I swear if you ruin it, I'll come back and haunt your dreams."
Tim actually smiled through tears.
Luna flickered again, voice weakening. "Listen. Don't give up. You still have a long road. Varex… the zombies… time… everything's not over yet."
Pluto whispered, "What do we do… without you?"
Luna smiled faintly. "You fight. You protect each other. And you stop Tim from eating all my chocolate."
Tim let out a shaking breath. "Luna… I'm sorry. For everything."
"Don't be sorry. Just be better."
The glow intensified.
Omega shielded his eyes. "Dude, she's going full LED mode....."
Luna looked at them one last time.
"Live. All of you."
And with a flash of blue;
the light burst upward like a firework
and vanished.
Leaving only silence.
Tim clutched the hoodie like a lifeline.
Pluto wiped his face again.
Omega whispered, "Okay… that was extremely emotional and very aesthetically cool, but… what now?"
Tim took a shaky breath.
Stood up.
And pulled the hoodie on.
"We keep going," he said.