I don't need no light to see you SHINE

by TransAceWithAPan

Summary:

The sequel to 'What About Theia?' and 'Hey, Who Could It Be? (No, It's Gotta Be...)'

The final installment in which changes occur and secrets are brought to light after millions of years of burying them deep.

Notes:

TWs: Feeling lost/alone and self-deprecation.

Stay safe :)

Chapter 1

"What am I going to do, Uranus? It's been twelve weeks since Nine apologized to everyone, yet I feel like it isn't enough." Neptune paced in a circle, "Maybe I should visit him."

"Didn't you talk to him a few days ago?" Uranus questioned, his face scrunched up in concentration as he moved his paintbrush across the canvas.

"Well, yeah, but I still feel the need to do something- get him to come out of his shell more, y'know?" Neptune pressed his lips in a thin line, raising a hand to his chin.

"I might have an idea." A voice spoke.

"Oh?" Neptune perked, "What is it, Messier?"

"If it hasn't drifted off too far, there's a stray NovaStar on the outskirts of the Solar System. Its name was Pinwheel."

A grin stretched across the blue Celestial's face, "That's perfect!"

"What's perfect?" Uranus glanced over, switching out the colors.

"Messier said there's a NovaStar around here. All I have to do is find it and give it to Nine!"

"You say that as if it'll be easy." Uranus frowned, "Sure, NovaStars are bright, but they're the size of Jupiter's largest moon, which is small in comparison to us."

"Yeah, you're right..." Neptune puffed his cheeks out, thinking about it carefully. He let out a gasp as an idea came to him, "What if I get some of the Dwarf Planets to help out? They reside in the Kuiper belt, so they can help look for it."

Uranus hummed, "Not a bad idea, but are you sure you don't need help from me or the others?"

"Positive! You know me, cousin, I'll be fine out there!" Neptune grinned.

"If you say so, mate." Uranus paused his movements in favor of giving the other a soft smile, "Be careful out there."

"I will, also," Neptune turned to look at the canvas his cousin was painting, "Isn't this the fifth time this week you painted the Earth?"

Uranus froze, his paintbrush stopping just before the canvas. He felt his face flushing uncomfortably as he shifted from side to side. Slowly, he peered over at Neptune, "Maybe..."

Neptune squinted his eyes, analyzing his cousin's behavior. Uranus could feel the cold spots on his face shifting downwards, causing icy droplets to fall from his face.

"Oh, I understand now!" Neptune snapped his fingers, not noticing how Uranus' eyes widened, "I mean if I were as talented as you are at painting, the Earth would also be my muse."

Uranus blinked, his lips pressing into a thin line as he took in the other's words.

Oh.

Uranus laughed, albeit awkwardly, "Hahaha, yeah! You got me! The Earth does make for an inspirational model."

"Your paintings always convey him nicely!" Neptune complimented.

"Ah, thanks, mate." Uranus wiped the cold sweat from his face.

"Anyway, I have an adventure to go on! I'll see you later, Uranus!" Neptune bounded off in the direction of the Kuiper Belt.

"Have fun, mate!" Uranus called after him before sighing as he continued to paint, "Too close for comfort..."

« × »

"...But I find that lately, I've been crying like a tall child." Earth's voice could be heard throughout the atmosphere, a soft smile on his luminous face as he braided Luna's hair, "So please, hurry, leave me- please don't say you love me... 胸がはち切れそうで."

Mars couldn't help but stare at the scene, his eyes focused on the singing. He was in awe as he watched his best friend, completely forgetting the world around him as a hand waved in his face.

"Mars. Marrrsssss..." A gruff voice tried getting the other's attention before deciding to punch him on the shoulder, "Mars!"

"Ow! What was that for?" Mars held his arm, backing away from the hot-headed Celestial.

"You were staring." Venus stated, "Again."

Mars blushed, "N-No, I wasn't."

Venus crossed his arms, squinting at him, "Then what did I say?"

"Uh... about how much of an annoyance Mercury is and how lucky you are that you aren't closest to the Sun?"

"...Lucky guess," Venus grumbled.

"...And I would jump off of this ledge I'm on, baby." Earth continued singing, grabbing the attention of Mars, "Tell me don't, so I can crawl back in."

Venus rolled his eyes, "Why won't you just tell him?"

"What? Tell who what?" Mars asked coyly.

"Earth! Tell him you li-!" The rusty Celestial covered the other's mouth, whipping his head toward the Earth.

The lively blue Celestial didn't hear his name being yelled, or of the conversation taking place in the zone next door, "Yet now I find I've grown into a tall child... and I don't wanna go home yet, let me walk to the top of the big night sky."

Mars let out a sigh of relief, then felt a burning sensation on the palm of his hand, "Agh!" He retreated his hands, looking over them, "Did you have to lick my hand!? Ah... it burns..."

"Should've thought twice before silencing me then." Venus deadpanned as Mars huffed.

Unbeknownst to them, Mars wasn't the only one looking in the direction of the Earth.

« × »

Nine sighed, gazing up at the nebulae surrounding him. Even after a couple of weeks, he still felt the same- and no, he had changed his opinion about destroying the Solar System, deeming it a bad idea.

That was the only change that happened. Other than that, everything went back to normal.

He was still on the outskirts of the Kuiper belt, and he knew he couldn't change his orbit without something going wrong. The side effects of an orbit change could be catastrophic.

Despite Neptune visiting him every once in a while, Nine still felt lonely. He couldn't help it, spending decade after decade of spying and watching the Solar System, only to fail in his grand plan... maybe he deserved to be alone.

Neptune said Nine was invited to the planet meetings, yet he had declined with a heavy core each time the other offered.

After what he did, he couldn't get himself to talk to the Giants. He couldn't face them after what they did to him. Sure, they had reason to do it, but it still felt wrong somehow.

It all felt wrong.

He had another reason for avoiding the Giants, especially Uranus. Speaking to Uranus after so long made him feel uneasy, and he was grateful that he was a good actor. Uranus would hate him if he knew what Nine did to him.

Everyone would, he was sure of it.

So he just floated there, wasting away in his thoughts and the silence surrounded him no matter where he looked.

He let out another sigh. Deep in his core, he longed for something- anything- to happen; a change in which he didn't have to hide in fear.

Chapter 2

Notes:

TWs: Brief arguing, feelings of defeat, unresolved issues.

Stay safe :)

"You want us to help you track down a NovaStar drifting in the far parts of the Kuiper Belt?" Sedna raised an eyebrow.

"NovaStars are bigger than us. What good can we do?" Quaoar asked.

"I just need someone to locate it." Neptune smiled, tilting his head as he clasped his hands together, "Please help me, it's a present for Nine."

"N-"

"Sure." Sedna interrupted Salacia's disagreement.

"What? Sedna, the lunatic literally forced us to do his bidding and almost destroyed you!"

"No, well, yes- but he's trying his best to make it up to me. He leaves around diamond debris with messages carved into them."

"An apology doesn't make up for everything that someone did wrong, Sedna."

"I know, it doesn't! But look, in the end, he found your moons wandering the edge of the Heliosphere, doesn't that account for something?"

Salacia was quiet before huffing, "I still don't trust him."

"And it's fine not trusting anyone!" Neptune butted in on the conversation, "Nine understands that he's not... well-liked at the moment, but that doesn't mean we can exclude him from everything that happens here! He's one of us, and as such, he'll be treated like the rest of us ought to treat him."

The smallest Dwarf Celestial slowly nodded, "I suppose you're right."

"Huh." Sedna tilted her head, "I heard all kinds of stories about you guys from Nine, but he didn't mention how good you are at giving advice, Neptune."

"Oh, it's nothing! Just a lot of time in isolation tends to make you speak without thinking."

"Are we done here? Can we find that thing you're looking for now? I hate doing nothing." Quaoar grunted.

"Patience, Quaoar, grab Gonggong and Orcus for us, will ya?" Salacia shooed him away.

"I'm going, I'm going... jeez." The oblong Celestial uttered as he flew away.

"I should get going as well." Neptune hummed, "I'm going to try to get Triton to help- he's one of the fastest moons out there!"

"Sounds good, right, Salacia?" Sedna turned to the other.

"Yep, whatever, as long as nobody gets in my way." Salacia crossed her arms, eyes piercing through the void only to soften upon noticing her moon's deflated expression, "I don't mean you, Actaea."

The moon perked up, smiling. Actaea didn't speak very often, opting to only talk to certain bodies, such as her planet and two fellow moons. It had a term on Earth called 'selective mutism.' Salacia acted as her voice, telling others the moon's opinion on subjects.

"I have to say, your moon is so adorable!" Neptune leaned down, blinking one eye and then the other at the small moon.

Actaea squeaked, moving behind Salacia and grabbing her arm, muttering something under her breath.

Salacia patted her on the head, giving her a smile, "She says thank you."

Neptune grinned, "I'll see you guys soon, then! If you run into any trouble, just yell!"

Before the Dwarf Celestials could ask, the blue Giant Celestial flew off.

"Just yell...?" Salacia uttered, "What good will that do?"

"Who knows with Neptune?" Sedna shrugged, "He's on a different plane of existence- not that that's a bad thing."

Actaea watched Neptune disappear within the debris and rubble, eyes full of wonder and curiosity. Soon, she would tell Vanth and Weywot about the carefree Celestial.

« × »

"And you are... Epimetheus?" Saturn guessed, squinting at one of his irregular moons. Seeing the moon in question nod, the Giant smiled, "A-ha! Another one down, 127 of them to go..."

"Hey, Saturn, what're ya up to?" Jupiter drifted up to the other, peering at the hundred and some moons before them.

"Hello, Jupiter! I'm just trying to match the moon with the name since I can be a bit forgetful when it comes to names." Saturn flipped through his notepad, "Who's next?"

Another irregular moon shifted forward, and its surface was less damaged than most of Saturn's moons.

"Hm... you are..." Saturn flipped through his notepad, "Telesto?"

"Mhm!" The moon bobbed up and down, retreating to its spot before.

"And that's another one! How am I doing so far, Titan?"

Titan kept a tally of every mistake and correct answer the Gas Giant made, marking another tally mark down, "You got seven right."

"Out of...?"

"Nineteen." Titan frowned.

Saturn winced, his expression falling, "Well, it looks like I'm not any closer to guessing them all correctly."

"Don't worry, Saturn, I'm sure you'll get better as time goes on. How many did you get wrong last time?" Jupiter questioned.

"Seventy-three," Saturn uttered, his sphere flushed as he averted his gaze.

"And before that?"

"Eighty-nine...? What are you getting at?"

"Eighty-nine, seventy-three, and I bet you'll get less of them wrong this time."

"What makes you so sure?" Saturn raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me on this, Saturn. You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for."

Saturn opened his mouth to speak, yet nothing came out. He gazed into Jupiter's eyes unblinkingly. Despite being void eyes of white, Saturn couldn't turn away, and neither could Jupiter.

Jupiter broke eye contact upon hearing yelling in the distance. He glanced over to where his moons were situated, seeing that an argument was breaking out among his A-Team. He sighed, "I'll be right back, just have to take care of something."

"A-Alright." Saturn found himself stuttering over his words. He shook his sphere, blinking as he watched the bigger planet leave, 'Oh my- what was that...?'

"That was hard to watch," Enceladus uttered.

"You're telling me..." Iapetus nodded.

« × »

The Sun spun the flames in his palm, watching the blaze race up his arms and elbows, before returning to his palms.

So much had happened in the span of a couple of weeks; Nine had a plan to destroy the Solar System, the Stars gave the Sun another chance, and they hung around for a bit until they had to leave- something about how the gravity they gave off could off-balance the orbits of everyone else and either obliterate them or throw them out into the depths of space, so they left as to prevent that from happening, and everything went back to normal.

Sort of.

Sun had invited Nine to the planet meetings, yet Neptune always returned with a small smile and knitted eyebrows, telling him; "Not this time, sorry."

It was obvious why Nine kept declining to see the others; with the way Jupiter and Saturn were so tense around him or even when someone mentioned his name. It was obvious they didn't want to see him.

But the Sun knew the three of them had to talk or else their issues were never going to get resolved.

He clenched his fist, crushing the blaze in his grasp. At this point, it looked like the Sun would have to do an intervention for them.

After all, who could say no to the Sun? He was the Guardian of the Solar System, he wasn't going to let his planets not communicate.

Though a part of him wished they resolved their issues themselves.

He crossed his arms, gazing into the distance, 'Let's get started then...'

Notes:

Sprinkle in a bit of Jupiturn~

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Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 3

Notes:

TWs: References to Earth Alone, pain, brief dissociation, insecurities, self-deprecation, mention of past extinction events.

Stay safe :)

Earth winced as he felt another jolt of pain from within his surface, 'What are they doing now...?'

He was always in pain. It didn't matter what he was doing, he couldn't distract himself from it. He acted as a model for his Earthlings, the tiny netizens always changing what was meant to help them live, and all for what? Money? It was a strange concept to Earth. Why deform and disfigure everything beautiful about the Earth? Was he not good enough?

Earth frowned as he raised his hands up, peering at them. They shook subtly as he turned to look at his palms.

Were they always this shade of blue? Were these actually his hands? Why did everything look so blurry?

He felt something splash against the surface of his wrist. He blinked as more droplets of water fell from his face.

Oh, he was crying now. Just great.

"Earth...?"

The lively celestial jumped, quickly wiping away his tears as he turned to look at his moon, "Luna! D-Didn't see you there, heh..."

"I'm always here..." Luna furrowed his eyebrows in concern, "What's bothering you, Earth?"

Earth shook his head, forcing a smile on his face, "Nothing- it's nothing. Don't worry about me."

"It's too late for that... you're my planet, I always worry about you."

Earth paused, eyes wider than usual as he gazed at his moon, lips trembling the more he stared. He bit his bottom lip, trying to contain his quivering, "Mmh... well, as I said, it's nothing." He winced at the way his voice cracked, covering his mouth with a fist as he coughed to clear his throat.

"Earth, I've known you for billions of years. I know when you're hiding something."

"Oh, really? That's a relief cause I barely know anything myself." Earth joked, forcing out a chuckle.

Luna gave him a pointed look, crossing his arms.

"Heh... ha..." Earth couldn't contain his facade anymore, mask crumbling slowly as fresh tears poisoned his eyes, falling from his blue and green face.

Luna knitted his eyebrows in worry, "Earth-? What is it? What's wrong?"

Earth gave a weak chuckle, hands shaking as he tried to wipe his face, "I-It's just... why-" He bit his lip, concealing a whine, "Am I really... good?"

Luna's eyes widened, mouth agape as he stared at his planet. Was the Earth feeling insecure?

Before the moon could respond, Earth shook his head, his wavering watery eyes peering at his hands, "I mean, I'm the planet that harbors life, of course, I'm good- but am I perfect? A-Am I good enough for my Earthlings? Do my Earthlings feel unwanted? Do I need to do better- be better so they never leave me?"

"Earth-"

"Am I not good enough?" Tears fell from the planet's eyes, dripping into the void below. He sniffled, hiccuping as he placed his head in his hands, "The pain never goes away..."

Luna couldn't help but watch his planet cry. How long had he been suffering in silence? Why didn't he tell his moon? Luna thought he knew everything about the Earth, yet he was wrong.

'He needs to talk to someone.' Luna thought, his eyes darting around. Even if the moon knew the Earth better than everyone, he couldn't comprehend the pain that the planet was going through.

He needed a planet that did understand.

Luna's eyes landed on the hot-headed planet from afar, watching as he laughed at the smallest planet, who looked annoyed.

'Of course! Venus could talk to him.' Glancing at the Earth, Luna quickly flew to the duo, "Venus! Venus, I need your help!"

"His help?" Mercury asked, tilting his head.
"My help?" Venus raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

"No time to explain- it's the Earth, I need you to talk to him!"

Venus furrowed his eyebrows, becoming serious, "Alright."

The sulfuric planet followed the moon to the Goldilocks Zone. Venus' eyes perked once he saw Earth's disposition.

"Earth...?" He uttered, blinking.

"Please, he's hurting and needs someone to talk to." Luna pleaded, "I figured you might have some experience considering..."

Venus immediately understood, nodding slowly before making his way toward the Earth. He cleared his throat, "Heyyy, Earth..."

Earth gasped, glancing at Venus as he tried to cover up the fact that he was crying, "V-Venus! What are you, uh- doing here?"

"Quit the act, Earth." Venus snapped, watching as the other flinched. He sighed, "Sorry, I just- I know how you feel."

Earth scoffed, "How could you possibly know what I'm going through? The overwhelming pain I'm in all the time?"

Venus huffed, "I told you already, Earth. I know what it's like to have life and I know how hard it is to... lose it all before it even began."

The once lively planet was silent, his eyes tired and red from crying, "What was it like?"

"Huh?"

"What was it like for you?" Earth met the other's eyes, a few tears slipping out, "Having life?"

Venus hesitated, contemplating what to say, "Well, I can tell you it wasn't easy, that's for sure."

"Hah, tell me about it..." A small smile formed on Earth's face.

Venus gave an awry smile as he continued, "Especially when you consider things such as volcanoes, tsunamis, global warming..."

Earth frowned, "Yeah..."

"But," Venus paused, "It's worth it in the end."

"How so?"

"Take yourself for example- you've had life for three point seven billion years and five mass extinction events, yet... life somehow finds a way to survive on your surface."

"So...?"

"There's a reason you have life, idiot. It could be luck, it could be something we can't comprehend- whatever the case, you have life. The pain may be unbearable but just think of how you felt during the Great Dying."

Earth's eyes widened, "The Great..."

"You're not alone, Earth. You don't have to suffer alone or put on a display, not when you're with us."

"But-"

"I'm still talking, idiot!" Venus scowled, "Your Earthlings have no idea the pain they're causing you, but when they 'suddenly' run out of materials and resources, they'll regret it."

"...What makes you so sure?"

Venus didn't answer, merely looking away as his eyes met Luna. He gave a curt nod as the moon mouthed his thanks, "I'll see you guys later."

Earth opened his mouth, yet didn't say anything as he watched the hot-headed planet fly away.

"How do you feel, Earth?" Luna asked, eyes analyzing the other.

"Uh... a bit confused, but... I feel better." Earth spoke, his eyes blinking slowly as he curled up.

"You should rest. I'll take it from here." Luna hovered over the Earth, watching the small Earthlings on the surface.

"Mmh..." Earth yawned, his eyes steadily closing as he fell into a deep sleep.

Notes:

I didn't mean for this chapter to just be about Earth- It just happened lol

He's my favorite character, therefore... I have to torture him :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 4

Notes:

TWs: Brief swearing (heheh), overprotective behavior, brief lying, second-hand embarrassment.

Stay safe :)

"Ugh...!" Uranus huffed annoyed as he searched through the asteroid belt, "It can't be that hard to find a giant notebook, can it?"

"Uh- watcha doing there, Uranus?" Jupiter raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend force asteroids out of his way.

"Searching for my dia- journal! I've been looking for ages, but come up empty each time... it's probably out of the dang solar system 'bout now." Uranus frowned.

"Huh. I thought I saw Earth and his moon with a large book earlier. Maybe they have it?" Jupiter speculated.

"Ah, tha- wait, d-did you say Earth?" Uranus did a double take, a petrified look on his sphere.

"Uh, yeah...?"

'...Well, fuck me in the anus.' Uranus cursed under his breath, 'The Earth probably knows by now, and he most likely thinks of me as some sort of freak- scratch that, he definitely thinks of me as a freak! Ugh, what is wrong with me!?'

Jupiter must've seen the inner turmoil Uranus inflicted upon himself because he moved forward cautiously and placed a gentle hand on the other's shoulder, "Hey, whatever's in it can't be that bad."

Uranus scoffed, "Oh, suuurrreee... confessing my undying love for the Earth on every other page isn't bad at all, Jupiter!"

Jupiter froze, processing the other's words, "What?"

Uranus flushed, avoiding Jupiter's gaze, "Wh-What? I didn't say anything! Anyway, I'm off to... confront the Earth. See ya later, mate!"

Brushing past Jupiter, Uranus made his way through the asteroid belt, which didn't take long, and started on his way to the Goldilocks Zone.

"Hey, Uranus!" A voice called.

The light blue Celestial stopped, breathing heavily before turning around, "Mars! What a nice surprise seeing you, mate."

"Is it now...?" Mars raised an eyebrow, eyes looking back and forth, "I orbit the outer zone, so it can't be that much of a surprise."

"Right, right... it's a bit warm for my taste."

"So, what brings you here? You know the Sun doesn't like it when we're out of orbit."

"I was just hoping to visit the Earth."

That seemed to pique Mars' interest, a smile rising on his face, "Oh, can I come with?"

"...You just said the Sun-"

"Ah, the Sun won't mind for a little while. Come on, let's go!" Mars started flying away.

"But... ugh, alrighty then." Uranus huffed, following after the other.

"Heya, Earth!" Mars called as he drifted closer to the lively Celestial.

"Hm? Oh, hey Mars, Uranus." Earth smiled. It didn't quite meet his eyes, which Uranus noticed right away. He found it reminiscent of Saturn whenever the ringed Giant was hiding something or when he was exhausted.

Mars also seemed to notice it, a concerned look lacing his features, "Hey, you good?"

"W- Yeah, I'm fine! It's just..." Earth spared a glance at Luna, who narrowed his eyes, "Uh, I've been dealing with a lot of stress recently."

"Oh." Mars frowned, "Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

"Same here, mate." Uranus held himself in a way that made him appear smaller. He wasn't good at dealing with others' emotions, let alone giving them advice when it counted, but he wanted to be there for the Earth- if not to give him advice but just to listen.

Earth cleared his throat, hoping to smoothly change the subject, "So, uhm- why are you guys here? I would play Space Poker, but I, uh... misplaced my cards."

"Seriously? That sucks." Mars spoke, "Have you tried retracing your orbit?"

"Yep." Earth nodded, "Although, there is one area I haven't looked..."

Uranus watched as the two went back and forth. He hummed in thought, his eyes darting to see if his diary was around. He happened to catch Luna's gaze. The moon was staring him down. The Ice Celestial knitted his eyebrows, flushing as he felt all four of Luna's eyes on him.

Wait, four?

Luna's eyes flashed with a darkness in them like no other.

'What in the...?' Uranus' eyes widened, his mouth opening to speak.

"Uranus? Didn't you want to speak to the Earth about something?" Mars spoke up, interrupting the other's thoughts.

Uranus blinked and once he glanced at the moon again, his eyes were normal, and he had an innocent smile displayed on his face.

"Well, Uranus? What is it?" Earth gave one of his signature smirks.

"Right, I was uhm... hoping you had seen a book around here."

"A book?" Earth tilted his head.

"Yeah- with my name on it."

Based on Earth's expressions, he seemed to realize what Uranus was talking about but tried to play it dumb, "Hmmmm... a book. I'm pretty sure I've seen one."

"Well? Was it mine?" Uranus asked.

"Mmh..." Earth raised a hand to his chin, "N-"

"Hey!" Luna butted in, "Isn't that it over there?"

Everyone's gazes averted to where Luna was pointing. A few units away floated a book labeled Uranus' Diary.

"Hahah, yes!" Uranus grinned, "Thank you, mates!"

Earth glared at Luna, "Why'd you throw the book away? I wanted to read it!"

"It's been weeks since we found it, how have you not managed to read it?" Luna glowered.

"Puh- uh- reasons!" Earth flushed red while darting his eyes away from the moon, "Maybe because you were keeping it away from me!"

Mars frowned, a deadpan look on his face once he came to a realization, "Earth. Luna."

Earth and his moon stopped, their eyes wide as they turned to the other, "Yes, Mars?"

"Please don't tell me you did what I think you did."

Earth and Luna glanced at each other, 'We're screwed.'

« × »

"Are you guys sure you wanna tag along?" Triton peered over his shoulder, "The Heliosphere isn't a place for wandering bodies."

"Yet you're the one leading the way," Callisto spoke.

Triton huffed, "Well don't blame me if we're suddenly sucked through a black hole."

"Th-There are black holes here!?" Io's eyes widened.

"N... No, Io. That was sarcasm." Triton sighed, "Anyway, you might wanna stay close. This area can be... less than welcoming."

"We'll try not to get lost," Callisto spoke, casting a glance at Io.

"I c-can defend myself with s-sulfur, s-so I'll be good!" Io grinned.

Triton frowned, yet didn't say anything. Instead, he stopped in the middle of a clearing in the Kuiper belt, "Alright, this is about as far as we can go."

"Why's that?" Callisto asked.

"The outermost layer of the Heliosphere- the Heliopause- has an immense pressure and higher winds, meaning if we were to exit this boundary..." Triton paused, "We could be crushed."

The other moons looked horrified.

"W-Well, that's no good!" Io winced.

Triton shook his head, "It's not, but- huh?"

Lowering his sunglasses, Triton squinted his eyes. In the distance, he saw a blue-ish glow. That was odd, considering there was no light source in the outreaches of the solar system.

"I'll be right back." He spoke.

"Where are you- Triton?" Callisto called after him.

Triton moved the asteroids out of his way, coming to a stop once he reached his destination. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing the object, 'A NovaStar? Well, that was easy.'

He moved closer, inspecting it carefully. Cautiously, he grabbed it, his eyes darting around for any possible danger.

'That was too easy...' Triton thought, furrowing his eyebrows as he peered at the NovaStar.

"...You're looking for someone else." A voice spoke.

"Wha- who said that!?" The moon jumped, his senses on high alert.

"Down here..."

Triton looked down at the NovaStar he gripped in his hand, "Wait, you can talk-?"

"...Yes." They spoke, "Can you please stop holding me so tightly? Contrary to what you've been told, we also need space to move freely..."

"Oh, sorry." Triton lessened his hold on the NovaStar, "Are you... Pinwheel?"

"Weren't you listening? I said you're looking for someone else..."

"Oh, so then- who are you?"

"...Wěi. It's nice to meet you, Triton."

"How do you...?"

"I know many things. It's best not to question it."

A yelp echoed throughout the area, "Agh! I-I'm sorry, p-p-please don't hurt me!"

"That sounds like Io." Triton frowned, pushing his sunglasses up, "Let's check it out!"

"What makes you think I want to go with you...?"

Triton paused, peering at the glowing object, "...I'm literally holding you."

"...Oh, that's right." Wěi uttered, "Against my will, might I add."

Triton huffed, putting the NovaStar in the inside pocket of his jacket, "I'll deal with you later, but now is not the time!"

Notes:

Wěi is based on SN 393, a probable supernova that was reported by the Chinese in the year 393 CE. An extracted record of this astronomical event was translated into English as follows: A guest star appeared within the asterism Wěi during the second lunar month of the 18th year of the Tai-Yuan reign period and disappeared during the ninth lunar month. The guest star reached an estimated apparent magnitude of −1 and was visible for about eight months before fading from sight, whose lengthy duration suggests the source was a supernova. However, a classical nova is not excluded as a possibility.

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Chapter 5

Notes:

TWs: Arguing, feelings of rage, anxiousness, denial of feelings. Ceres doesn't know what personal space is.

Stay safe :)

"You can't just say things like that!"

Triton came to a stop, frowning as he eyed the duo before him, "What are you guys doing?"

Io stepped away from Callisto, stuttering as he shielded himself with asteroids, "H-Hey, Triton! D-Do you m-mind, uh- calming your girlfriend down?"

"We're not dating!"
"She's not my girlfriend!"

Io squinted his eyes, his gaze looking between them, "Uh-huh... a-anyway, I didn't m-mean it, Callisto! It was j-just a j-joke, y'know?"

The darker moon glared at him before she sighed, crossed her arms, and looked the other way, "Fine."

Io let out a breath of relief, only to tense as Callisto whispered something to him. He nodded fearfully, shifting away from the other.

Triton glanced between them, 'They're acting weird... but oh well, it's not my problem.'

"Wow, what a great friend you are," Wei spoke.

'I will throw you into the void if you don't shut up.'

"You're bluffing."

'Am I?'

Wei didn't respond.

Triton huffed, "We should find Neptune, tell him what we found."

"What? We didn't find anything." Callisto raised an eyebrow, "Unless you had an adventure of your own...?"

"You could say that," Pulling out the NovaStar, Triton held it out, "I found this by the edge of the Heliosphere. It's not the one Neptune is looking for, but perhaps it knows something."

"Excuse me...? Are you calling me an 'it?'" The moon could feel the anger pulsing out of the object, "I'll have you know I go by he/they!"

Triton ignored the NovaStar, "And it won't stop talking, so we should hurry before I gain a headache."

Wei scoffed, yet didn't say anything.

« × »

Orcus shifted the asteroids out of his way, inching forward to keep his eyes on the group of dwarf planets a few units away from him.

'There they are...' He thought, 'Okay, Orcus, you can do this- just go up to them and introduce yourself!'

Taking a small step forward, Orcus slowly made his way over. His nerves were on fire, and the frost along his body ignited. He held himself tightly, appearing smaller than he usually was.

Envious eyes glazed over, watching the group laugh over something they were playing. Orcus had never experienced something like that nor did he have someone who genuinely cared about what he said.

Averting his eyes, Orcus returned to hiding, 'I can't do it... I'll just ruin everything.'

Turning around, the small dwarf planet let out a sigh as he opted to give up on his endeavor.

"Orcus." He came sphere-to-sphere with Salacia, meeting the other's disconcerted glare, "Where have you been? I've been trying to find you for at least three hours now!"

Orcus flushed, not used to someone giving him full attention, "I was just- uh... t-taking in the view?"

Salacia quirked an eyebrow, not believing it for a second, "What's so great about the Kuiper belt? I bet you can get the same view in the asteroid belt." Orcus looked away, his gaze averting toward where the other dwarf planets were. Salacia noticed, brushing past him and following his stare. She hummed, "The other dwarf planets...?"

Orcus nodded, his lip quivering as he fought over what to say and how to say it. The smaller dwarf planet turned her eyes toward Orcus. She knew what Orcus wanted, and was reluctant in deciding what to do.

Salacia didn't care what the others said about her, and she most certainly couldn't care less about them.

Then why was she doing this?

The red-faded dwarf planet inwardly sighed before speaking, "Come on, let's go over to them."

"Wh-What?" Orcus stuttered, his eyes widening.

"You want to talk to them, right? Let's go before I change my mind." Salacia snapped, yet it had no bite to it like before.

"O-Okay...!" Orcus nodded.

They flew over to the group of dwarf planets, Orcus hiding behind Salacia despite him being bigger.

Salacia cleared her throat, hearing as the noise subsided and all eyes were on them. She frowned, feeling a tingling sensation set in her core. Whatever it was, it didn't feel pleasant.

"Well, howdy!" Pluto smiled.

"Ooh, are you guys also dwarf planets!?" Makemake exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Hey, you guys were with Planet X, right?" Charon asked.

"It's Nine, and yes... we were with him." Salacia gritted through her teeth.

"What brings you guys here?" Pluto tried to catch Orcus' eyes, yet the smaller turned away.

"My, uh..." Salacia hesitated. She didn't think of anyone as her 'friend,' but she also didn't want to say 'acquaintance' since that was too formal for her, "Friend wanted to meet you."

Orcus let out a humming sound at the word choice.

'He better not ask about it later, I swear to-' Salacia turned to the other, nudging him before her.

Orcus squeaked, stuttering over his words as he introduced himself to the group, "H-Hello, I-I'm, uh... I'm O-Orcus, nice to m-meet you."

Salacia couldn't help but snicker under her breath, 'He's such an idiot... how cut-' She stopped, shaking herself as she pushed that thought to the deepest part of her mind, 'No! Agh, what am I thinking!? He's just an idiot, and that's all he'll ever be!'

Charon smiled empathetically, "Well, aren't you sweet? My name's Charon, Pluto's moon and partner."

"Charon..." Pluto blushed, "I'm Pluto, former planet, now dwarf planet- it's nice to meet ya!"

"My name's Makemake! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

"Eris."

"M-My name's Haumea, it's nice to meet you..."

"And this is-" Charon moved aside to let her feral friend through, eyes wide as Ceres flew up to Orcus and started inspecting him.

"Ah-! Uhm..." Orcus froze, unsure what to do, "Wh-What's he doing...?"

"Trying to figure you out. Don't worry, Ceres does this all the time." Charon assured.

Salacia scowled as Ceres came close to her, "Not too close lest you want to become smaller than Mars' pebbles."

Ceres understood the sentiment, keeping his distance as he analyzed the smaller. He frowned upon noticing another body hovering near her.

"This is Actaea." She spoke, tucking the sleeping moon closer.

Ceres looked at Orcus, his eyes scanning the dwarf planet's atmosphere, "M-Moon...?"

Orcus blinked, "A-Are you asking if I have a moon...?" Ceres nodded, a grin appearing on his face, "H-He's around... he likes to p-play hide and seek."

"Ah-hahahahahhhahah!" Ceres flew circles around Orcus before returning to the group of dwarf planets.

Orcus nearly stumbled into Salacia, who steadied him with her gravity. She huffed, muttering a word of annoyance under her breath.

"Well, I assume we're done here?" The smaller spoke, "Time to go before the others start to wonder where we are."

"Awe, you're not going to play Dungeons & Dwarf Planets with us?" Makemake frowned.

"Dungeons and... what?" Salacia squinted her eyes in confusion.

"Dungeons & Dwarf Planets! The most epic fantasy adventure roleplaying game?" Makemake raised an eyebrow, "Have you never heard of it?"

"Nope." Salacia shook her sphere, "Sounds boring anyway."

"Wha-!?" Makemake gasped in disbelief.

"Come on, Orcus, let's go." Just by looking into his eyes, Salacia could tell Orcus wanted to stay. His eyebrows were knitted, he was biting his lip, and he couldn't meet anyone's eyes, "Orcus."

Steadily, Orcus nodded, despite every inch of him wanting to stay, "Fine."

Salacia led the way to where Neptune said to meet.

It was quiet, not once was there sound.

Orcus stayed quiet for most of the trip, his eyes glancing toward Salacia occasionally. His nerves told him not to say a word, yet he opened his mouth anyway.

"You shouldn't have been so harsh."

Salacia's eyebrows perked up. She had never heard Orcus without him stuttering over his words. It surprised her, and so was the fact that he was confronting her about it.

"I- Wh- I'm sorry?" Instead, she found herself stumbling through her words. She glared at the other, trying to make him feel small.

"Th-They were only being nice..." Orcus averted his gaze, noticing how close they were to their destination; Gonggong and Quaoar talked to each other as if nothing mattered.

Salacia scoffed, stopping to face him, "Being nice doesn't get you far in this universe."

"R-Right, 'cause I'm sure you know all about being nice," Orcus uttered, furrowing his eyebrows before brushing past her and meeting the others a few units away.

Salacia made a few sounds of indignation, circling a few times as she collected her thoughts, 'That little- how dare- I'll- ugh!'

She raised an asteroid, throwing it against another.

POW! Thwip-ip-ip...

The bits of the asteroid scattered everywhere.

Salacia heaved, her breathing hard and unsteady. She took a beat to calm herself, her eyes glazing over as her gaze lowered to the void below.

"Salacia...?" Actaea whispered, having seen everything from the moment Orcus left.

"Actaea..." Salacia muttered, her voice cracking, "What am I doing wrong, my dear Actaea?"

Notes:

*Sips tea*

Well... that happened.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 6

Notes:

TWs: Awkwardness/tension and denial of feelings.

Stay safe :)

"Interesting... so you were also in the area." Messier spoke, "Do you know where Pinwheel is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here..." Wěi responded, "NovaStars can't touch lest you want to be sucked into a black hole."

Neptune perked up at that, moving his hands containing the objects further apart, "Well, do you know where they might be?"

Wěi hummed, "The edge of the Kuiper belt, the darkest part... I can sense something."

"You too?" Messier uttered.

"The edge of the Kuiper belt... that's where Nine resides." Neptune spoke, "Unless we can distract him somehow..."

"I can do it!" Sedna smiled.

"Really? But from what I remember, which is very little, he was always very focused." Neptune looked away, trying to think back.

"He is." Gonggong nodded, "Sedna was the only one who could gain his attention for more than a few minutes."

"Maybe he has a thing for Sedna?" Quaoar smirked.

"Wh-What!? That's preposterous!" Sedna jumped to the defense, her face flush with embarrassment and irritation, "We've just known each other longer, that's all."

Gonggong and Quaoar glanced at each other with disbelief tracing their features.

"Anyway, Sedna, you'll be distracting Nine." Neptune spoke, "Triton, Orcus, and Salacia are to look around. Quaoar and Gonggong, you two are on lookout duty; make sure Nine doesn't see you or the others."

"Wh-What about us, M-Mr. Neptune?" Io asked.

"Sorry, guys, but Jupiter needs you back." Neptune gave them a kind look, "And a part of me doesn't want to see him get angry."

"Awe..." Io frowned.

"Come on, Io, we can talk to them later," Callisto assured, bumping her shoulder into the other's.

"I'll bring the little ones along next time." Triton straightened his jacket, placing his hands in his pockets.

Io nodded, a small smile forming as he brushed past him, "Th-Thanks, Triton."

Callisto gave Triton a look, shifting forward, she placed a hand on his chest, "Thank you."

"For what...?" Triton felt his core flare up at the touch.

"Without you, me and Io probably wouldn't be here, with you or them." Callisto gestured to the group, "I never knew the solar system had so much to offer other than being a big... void of darkness."

"Callisto..."

"So, yeah," Callisto retreated her hand from the other's chest, clearing her throat as her face flushed warmly, "Thank you for that, or whatever..."

"Anytime." Triton nodded.

Io looked between them, a small huff escaping his mouth, "Y-You can flirt more later, c-come on, Callisto!"

The two moons looked at the other, their faces flushed and wide-eyed.

"We're not-!"

"Y-Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can say th-that all you want." Io turned around, "I-I don't want Jupiter to be u-upset, so I'm going to go on a-ahead!"

As soon as he left, Triton eyed Callisto with a quirked brow. Callisto met his gaze, crossing her arms, "What is it?"

"Ah, nothing." Triton shook his head, his head rubbing the back of his head, "I'll see you later, alright?"

Callisto hummed, making her leave, "See you, Triton."

Triton raised a half-salute, adjusting his sunglasses tensely.

Neptune raised a hand to his chin, his worrying gaze set on Triton before focusing on the task at hand. Looking at the glowing object in his hand, he contemplated something.

"Don't," Wěi spoke.

Neptune blinked, frowning, 'But it's Uranus! I think you'd like him!'

"I'd rather spend my time elsewhere, away from you and other distractions."

'...It's not healthy to be alone.' Neptune looked down, 'Trust me- I spend a hundred and sixty-five years in isolation. It really did a number on my mental state.'

"I can see that," Wěi uttered.

Neptune opted to ignore the Star's words, 'I'm just saying it's better to have someone by your side in case things get... serious. Uranus spends most of his time painting and writing in his diary anyway. He's probably the less talkative one out of the Giants- other than Nine.'

"If I may," Messier spoke up, "Even a NovaStar needs stimulation, and if you were to go back to the depths of space, there are Celestial beings who would use your power to their advantage. A NovaStar cannot survive on its own- you're lucky to have ended up here instead of some... other system."

Wěi didn't respond.

'Well...?' Neptune etched for the Star to say something.

A sigh echoed within the Blue Celestial's head, "Fine. Let's go."

Neptune grinned before turning to the group of dwarf planets and Triton, "Great! So, now that everyone knows what they're doing, are you all ready?"

Orcus looked unsure, his gaze turning to Salacia, who kept her focused look forward.

Triton nodded, "Guess I'm leading then- if everyone can keep up."

"Pfft- I bet I can go faster than you!" Quaoar puffed out his chest.

"Maybe in your dreams." Gonggong remarked, "Your shape and rings slow you down."

"Stay close, Actaea. I don't want to lose sight of you again." Salacia muttered to her moon.

Orcus felt a tug on his arm, averting his gaze off the faded red Celestial to look down at his moon, "There you are, Vanth."

"Where are we going, Orc?" The small moon asked, his beady eyes peering up at his planet.

"You remember Nine, right? We're going to find something for him." Orcus raised a finger over his mouth, "But you have to be quiet about it, okay?"

Vanth covered his mouth, nodding sharply, "Mhm...!"

Orcus smiled, ruffling the moon's head.

Salacia couldn't help but smile at the wholesome moment between the blue-grey dwarf Celestial and the muted brown moon. She huffed, averting her gaze to the void below, her hand fiddling with a keychain. She shook her head, ridding of the thoughts that tried to pierce her where it hurt.

"Salacia...?" Actaea whispered, taking hold of her other hand.

"It's nothing," Salacia spoke far too quickly, "Come along now."

"Salacia!" Sedna called, flying up to the smaller.

"Ugh, what is it now?" The muted red Celestial faced Sedna begrudgingly.

Sedna seemed hesitant, opening and closing her mouth like a fish- whatever that was- before finding the right words to say, "Can we talk later- after this is all said and done?"

"Why are you asking me? You'll talk to me regardless if I said no." Salacia crossed her arms.

"I figured..." Sedna tapped the side of her face in deep thought, "You don't like or see anyone as a friend, so I figured we could get to know each other."

"...What?"

"It would be like a girl's night! I can invite Eris and Charon from the other group to join us." Sedna continued, "I'm still thinking of activities... b-but it'll be fun nonetheless!"

Salacia's eyes only got bigger the more Sedna kept rambling.

"Maybe I can invite some of the moons too! Callisto seems cool, maybe even Europa... ooh, the moons of Uranus as well." Sedna listed off on her fingers as she zoned out. Blinking, she looked at Sedna, "So, what d'you think?"

"I, uh... wha, uhm..."

Sedna gave her a sympathetic look, fiddling her fingers, "Sorry to spring all of this on you- I know you don't like distractions and overthinking while on a mission, but just- please think about it, okay?"

Sedna waved goodbye and flew away, bringing her attention to Triton, who told her something.

"I, wha, uhm..." Salacia trailed off, shaking her head as her wide-eyed stare glanced down at her moon, "What. Just. Happened?"

Her moon shrugged, "You have a friend now...?"

Notes:

✨ P r o g r e s s ✨

Join my Discord, I stream my writing sometimes (and you can watch me struggle for descriptive words)

Outline? What's an outline?
All I know is pain :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 7

Notes:

TWs: Sleep deprivation, threats/tension, worrying, brief snapping.

Stay safe :)

"Uranus isn't in his orbit," Neptune noted as soon as he exited the Kuiper belt. Looking around, his eyes landed on another Giant, "Maybe Saturn's seen him?"

Saturn was writing something down, his fingers fiddling with the fountain pen in his grasp as he bit the end of it in contemplation, muttering to himself. Neptune noticed dark rings under his eyes, tilting his head at the sight.

"Perhaps something more... simple?" He frowned, scratching out whatever he wrote only to huff, "But it can't be too simple. I don't want Ju-"

"Heyyyyy, Satur-ino!~" Neptune yelled out, pirouetting in his orbit until he got close enough to hug the other, "Long time, no see!"

"Neptune!" Saturn beamed, "My dear friend- what brings you to the in-between?"

"Well, I was searching for a present to give to Nine," Saturn's expression nearly dropped, yet he forced his smile to stay, "But I found something for Uranus, and he wasn't in his orbit, so I was wondering if you've seen him?"

"Uranus...?" Saturn thought for a moment before snapping his fingers, "Oh, last I saw, he was talking to Jupiter. I'm pretty sure Uranus was looking for his 'journal,' but I know it's actually his diary..." Saturn trailed off, a yawn escaping his lips as he covered his mouth. Shaking his head, he blinked, "Sorry about that, uhm... he's probably over the asteroid... thingy."

"Asteroid thingy...?" Neptune quirked an eyebrow.

"Y'know, the thing that separates Mars and Jupi." Saturn gestured to the asteroid belt.

'Jupi...?' Neptune gave his friend a worried look, "Saturn, how much sleep did you get?"

Saturn hummed, skimming the pages of his notepad, "Ten..."

"...Hours?"

"Minutes."

Neptune's expression dropped, "As soon as I leave, you are going to rest."

Saturn held up his notepad, "But I still have-"

Neptune used his gravity to swipe the pad from the other's weak grasp, "No, you don't. I'm going to keep this until you get some rest, okay, Saturn?"

"You're not going to leave me alone unless I say yes, are you?"

"Yep."

Saturn huffed, "Fine, you win, Neptune."

"Great! I'll be seeing-" Before Neptune could fly away, Saturn grabbed a hold of his wrist.

"Wait."

"Yes, Satur-ino?~" Neptune peered over his shoulder, wondering how Saturn had a strong grip on him when the blue Celestial was comprised of mostly fluids.

"You should know that those notes are important to me..." He spoke, his tone deep as his eyes flashing with lightning, "Lose them and I won't hesitate to throw you farther than your brother- and don't even think about reading them. I will know..."

Neptune didn't normally feel threatened or dissuaded, yet he felt himself nodding shakily as he tried to free his wrist. His smile wavered as he chuckled timidly, "Understood, Saturn!"

Saturn perked up, a grin on his face. He promptly let go of Neptune, clasping his hands together, "I'll see you later then, dear friend! Take care now!"

The ringed Celestial floated away, leaving a dripping Neptune behind.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Neptune started toward the asteroid belt, 'I didn't think Saturn could be that scary... boy, was I wrong.'

« × »

"Everyone ready?" Triton asked, peering through the asteroids at the navy Celestial, "Sedna, you're up first."

"Right." The Red Dwarf Celestial nodded curtly, pushing herself forward to meet the navy Giant. She cleared her throat, "Hello, Nine!"

The Celestial jumped, his hands flailing with something as it slipped between the digits. He clasped his hands together, shielding it from sight. Turning around, he blinked, "Sedna... what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm visiting you!" Sedna beamed.

"Oh, well," Nine paused, analyzing the scarring on the smaller one's features, his eyebrows knitting with worry, "Are you positive?"

"Never been more positive." Sedna smiled, except more softly, trying to assure the other she was fine, "So, what have you been up to? I haven't seen you since..."

Nine averted his eyes, beads of water dripping from his chin, "I've mostly been here trying to find ways to pass the time... Neptune visits sometimes, which is nice, I guess."

"What about the others?"

"What about the others...?"

"Aren't they wondering where you are?"

Nine huffed, "Doubt it. All the Giants ever care about are themselves, except Neptune, but he's always been... different."

Sedna gave him a look.

"What? It's a compliment!"

"Agh- Quaoar, stop moving! You're deflecting asteroids my way."

Nine furrowed his eyebrows, turning his head to the side.

Sedna squeaked, flailing her arms as she exclaimed, "Hey!"

Luckily, the navy Celestial turned his attention back to her, raising an eyebrow, "Yes...?"

"What, uh- what's in your hands?" Sedna gestured, noticing the way his hands were holding.

Nine seemed to battle with himself as he debated whether to reveal what was between his palms. He bowed his head in defeat and raised his right hand to show what he was hiding.

Sedna tilted her head, eyeing the bunch of crystals curiously, "What... is that?"

"It was supposed to be a heart, but..." Nine sighed, "Crafting with ice can always be a challenge."

Sedna looked at the jangled mess, a small smile on her face, "Well, I think it's nice... hm? What does it say here?"

Nine flushed, biting his lip as he looked away, "Ah- nothing, don't worry about it."

"Really? Cause that looks like an L... and here's an O... is that a U or V?"

Water rapidly dropped from Nine's chin as he closed his eyes and clenched his fist, destroying the present he had created.

Sedna took a step back, eyes wide as she watched the fragments of ice crushing between the digits. Slowly, she looked up at Nine's scrunched features, speaking softly, "Nine...? You okay?"

"I'm..." Nine opened his palm, turning it sideways to clear the splinters of ice. He opened his eyes, a strangely calm expression on his face, "Fine."

Sedna creased her eyebrows, worry taking over her features, "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"...Why?" Nine uttered, "I'm the reason you're fractured."

Sedna shrugged, "It's only my surface that's broken. It's not a big deal."

"It's a big deal to me..." Nine shook his head, not understanding why the Dwarf Celestial hung around him still. He lowered his gaze, avoiding the other's, "After everything that's happened, why are you not afraid?"

There was a beat of silence.

Sedna opened her mouth, only for a laugh to escape her lips, "Pft- hahahaha!"

Nine's eyes widened, his frown deepening, "What- why are you laughing!?"

"Oh my-" Sedna coughed, clearing her throat as she pulled herself together, "You're still just as clueless as when we first met."

That only confused Nine even more as he scrunched his face, "What?"

"A mysterious planet ejected from their orbit with a delusional mindset... I saw right through you yet I still followed you." Sedna said, "I probably would've still followed you even if I died."

Nine opened his mouth, yet nothing came out. His features twitched.

"You make yourself out to be the villain, and sure, you almost became one... but that's just because you were forced to." Sedna looked at him, "Am I right?"

"...The others wouldn't have listened any other way." Nine muttered.

Sedna nodded, "Sometimes it takes one voice to speak up for others. That's how communication works anyway."

"I don't think the Sun will listen to me after what I did..."

"You never know, Nine. The Sun has his way of doing things, even if it's a little... counterintuitive."

"A little?"

Something flashed in the corner of Sedna's eyes. Glancing over, she gaped at the glowing object in Triton's hands.

Nine noticed the look on her face, peering over his shoulder to see nothing. Triton had managed to hide behind the asteroids, clutching the NovaStar to his chest, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing! I just remembered that I have to get ready for a get-together with some friends, that's all." Sedna smiled.

"Oh, you should go do that then. I'll be here... if you want to talk or something." Nine glanced away as he uttered the last sentence.

Sedna rushed forward, hugging the navy Celestial around his neck, "Thank you! I'll talk to you later then."

The Dwarf Celestial backed up before zipping away.

"You're welcome...?" Nine blinked, raising a hand to his jacket collar.

Notes:

Everyone is probably waiting for the ships, but I'm more focused on the ANGST and DRAMA.

FUEL THE PAINNNN

join my discord :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 8

Notes:

TWs: Fainting, brief arguing, depressive symptoms, implied/referenced PTSD.

Stay safe :)

Uranus peered at the object in his hands, analyzing it carefully.

Neptune's smile fell into a small pout as he watched his cousin, "Well? Say hello to them!"

Uranus clicked his tongue, sighing at the ridiculousness of speaking to an inanimate object, "Uh- hello?"

Seconds passed and Uranus slumped his shoulders. He frowned, opening his mouth to say something but was cut off.

"You're not what I was expecting."

Uranus raised his eyebrows, casting his gaze on the NovaStar, "Excuse me?"

"Cold, quiet, insecure..." The NovaStar didn't explain, continuing to go on, "You'll do nicely."

"What...?" Uranus furrowed his eyebrows, becoming fed up with the Star in his hands.

"Your aura. Every Star can sense a planet's aura once it unlocks its true potential. Your Sun is no different- I can tell he's unlocked more than half of his powers."

"So...? What do you think, Uranus?" Neptune leaned over a grin on his face.

"He's weird," Uranus replied.

"Good weird, or...?"

Uranus gave him a deadpan look, "He's weird, mate. I can't stress it enough."

Neptune laughed, "Well, you guys can get to know each other then! I'm sure you two will get along!"

"Eh, if you're so sure, mate..." Uranus frowned.

"How does that work...?" Earth muttered, shifting closer so he could look at the NovaStar, "You just touch it and it can interact with you?"

"We connect ourselves by linking to your thoughts," Messier spoke, "Every Star can do it- even your Sun. Though, planets are different than Stars- while planets need to have touched a NovaStar, Stars have no problem reaching each other through the mind."

"That's cool!" Neptune grinned, "Apparently, they can connect to our thoughts the moment we touch the NovaStar."

"What happens if I...?" Earth reached out.

"Earth!" Luna yelled, pulling the other's arm back while Uranus shifted away.

"Hey-!"

"Are you crazy!? You don't know what could happen if you, a planet with life, touch that!" Luna glared, tightening his hold on Earth's arm.

"It was only going to be for a second!" Earth frowned, clicking his tongue as he pushed his moon away, "What's the worst that could happen, anyway?"

Neptune hummed, "Messier?"

The NovaStar in question thought for a moment, droning out until he came up with a response, "It's hard to say what would happen if a planet with life were to touch a NovaStar. I've never encountered such a rarity until now."

Shaking his head, Neptune looked at the others, "He doesn't know."

"Neither does Wěi," Uranus spoke.

"Well, what could go wrong?" Earth inquired, "It's not like it'll exterminate my life. Right...?"

"It's unlikely... NovaStars are much cooler than Stars since we're practically corpses." Messier said. Neptune laughed under his breath.

"It's not likely." Neptune smiled, "I suggest poking it with your index finger- see if anything happens then."

"I dunno 'bout this, mate..." Uranus sighed, "If you start hurting after a second, I will throw Wěi into the void."

"What?" The NovaStar hissed.

"Fair enough." Neptune shrugged.

"I am right here, you waste of Stardust!" Wěi yelled. Uranus glared, tightening his grip on the NovaStar, "Ack-!"

"I will throw you," Uranus scowled before lowering the object to Earth's level, "Careful, Earth."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Earth rolled his eyes, then peered at the glowing eight-pointed Star. Slowly, he raised his arm, reaching out his index finger toward the NovaStar.

Luna whimpered, biting his lip as he watched with anxiety flooding through his core. Mars, Uranus, and Neptune watched with curiosity and apprehension.

Earth's finger touched the surface. He gasped upon feeling how hot it was, yet he couldn't find it in himself to pull away.

Before he knew it, he blacked out, spiraling down a relentless void that grabbed him by the throat. He couldn't move- he couldn't speak.

"Earth!" He heard a familiar voice echoing through the atmosphere and reverberating in his head.

Squinting his eyes, he made out a bleary figure before him. Their shape was contorted and Earth didn't know what he was looking at until the figure shifted closer.

"That looked like it hurt... are you okay, Earth?" That voice. Earth recognized that voice.

Slowly, he blinked, his brows creasing as he peered at the figure, "Theia...?"

...

"Earth!" Luna, Mars, and Uranus shouted as they watched with wide eyes. Earth suddenly jerked back, making a pained noise as his eyes closed. Mars took the blue and green Celestial into his arms, checking him over. Luna found himself attaching to Earth's arm, hugging it tightly.

"What'd you do!?" Uranus snapped, tightening his grip on the NovaStar in his hand.

"Ah-! Why are you assuming I did something!? Your friend was the one who wanted to 'see what would happen.'" Wěi responded, his tone sharp.

"Messier doesn't think it was Wěi's fault." Neptune spoke, "In fact, he thinks it's Earth's."

Uranus snapped his head to look at the other, "What? What is that supposed to mean? Earth didn't know this would happen to him, mate!"

"Sure, but Earth is a planet with life." Neptune shrugged, "His life is much, much different from any planet or moon, meaning he's different from the rest of us... huh."

Neptune raised a hand to his chin, a thoughtful expression rising on his face as he looked down. Uranus raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Wasn't there another planet here at one point? Other than Nine..." Neptune uttered, "Ugh, I can't remember..."

"You mean Theia?" Mars spoke up after reassuring Luna that Earth was alright.

"Yes! That's the one- I think." Neptune snapped his fingers, "I don't know much about what happened then... but I have a feeling..."

Neptune covered his mouth, zoning out as a thought occurred to him, 'Could NovaStars be connected to past Celestial objects...?'

"A plausible theory." Messier spoke, "One has to wonder what happens when a planet dies... everyone knows what happens to their body, not their soul."

'Planets have souls?' Neptune tilted his head.

"They have cores, and that's what makes every planet unique. Every planet, from the Rocky Inner Planets to the Outer Giants and even the moons... every single one of you has a middle." Messier explained, "When a planet dies, the core is obsolete... meaning it's completely destroyed and tossed into the atmosphere. The rest of the pieces, however, become something new thousands of years later."

Neptune nodded, 'So... how does that relate here?'

"Bring me closer to the Earth. I have to check to make sure my theory is correct."

'Alright.' Neptune reached into his jacket, bringing out his NovaStar.

"Mate?" Uranus raised an eyebrow as he watched his cousin shift closer to the Rocky Planet, "What are you doing?"

"Messier said he wanted to check something." Neptune shrugged, bringing Messier's Novae closer to the unconscious planet.

Luna eyed the blue Celestial cautiously, watching with a piercing stare.

Once the NovaStar was positioned by the Earth's closed eyes, he put forth a bit of his energy, connecting his mind with Earth.

In the ethereal, one would close his eyes and concentrate as he triangulated his hands, indexes, and thumbs connecting. One would then take a deep breath and open all his senses to the Celestial he was bonding with.

It took Messier a few minutes to get a full picture. He had yet to do a full reading in a long time.

"Messier...?" Neptune whispered, frowning as the other didn't say anything for some time.

One would twitch in the ethereal, a strong wave of emotions overpowering his form. He grunted, snapping his eyes open.

"Just as I thought..." He uttered, "Pain, sadness, grief, helplessness, anger, fear, numbness, and guilt..."

"What is it, Messier?" Neptune brought the NovaStar close to him.

"They're all symptoms of Survivor's Guilt."

Notes:

I wouldn't kill off characters, but I will make them suffer :)

Join my Discord for updates~

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 9

Notes:

TWs: Earth Alone/Earth is heading to the Sun references, crying, getting overwhelmed, past death.

Stay safe :)

"You shouldn't be here, Earth," Theia spoke, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Wh- is this another dream...?" Earth blinked as he felt tears forming in his eyes, "Another figment of my imagination...? Please go away... I can't do this... not now- not ever."

"Earth..." Theia softened her gaze, "I need you to take a deep breath for me."

"But-"

"Shh- don't speak, just look and listen." Theia shifted closer, "Take a deep breath in, hold for four seconds, and breathe out."

Earth whimpered, yet did as he was told. He couldn't look away from the figure before him, peering into those eyes of gold. She was right there. He could reach out and touch her, yet his hands were glued to his chest, trembling as he fidgeted. His breath nearly got caught in his throat. He gulped, blinking hard as he cleared it.

"Better...?" Theia whispered. Earth nodded, not finding the vocabulary to speak, "Good... Hello, Earth. You're in the Ethereal- a sort of... afterlife for every Celestial being."

Earth's eyes widened, feeling his throat close up as he choked on his saliva, "Y-You mean I'm dead!?"

Theia waved her arms, "No, no, no! Well, not exactly... you're very much alive- it's just that... it appears you managed to detach yourself from your body. If that makes sense."

"It doesn't..."

Theia smiled, "Our, uh, bodies are mixed. When we... collided, not only did I die, but a part of you also died."

Earth took in her words, trying to grasp it, "So how do I get out...?"

"The same way you came in, I'm assuming."

Earth frowned, "Where will I find a NovaStar?"

Theia chuckled, "Follow me."

Earth hesitated, unsure if he should trust the situation. Theia peered over her shoulder, giving him a concerned look.

"It's okay to not trust me, Earth. I know you've had it... rough this past year. We can take it slow, uhm- if you'd like, I can introduce you to some friends of mine." Theia smiled.

Earth looked at the other before slowly nodding.

"Great! They're, uh- right over there somewhere."

Earth cautiously followed Theia through the pink, purple, and blue-hued wasteland of the Ethereal. It was eerily quiet- too quiet for Earth's liking. He couldn't see the glowing Stars thousands of Astronomical Units away like he did in the plane of existence. No asteroids were separating the inner zones from the outer zones. He couldn't tell where they were or if they were going around in circles.

'How could someone navigate this place? There's nothing here...' Earth thought, looking at Theia. She hummed a melody while bouncing on her axis. She had a sense of direction, judging by how she paused in her steps, looked around, and turned a different way. This process repeated until Theia came to a complete stop.

"Ah, there they are!" Theia grinned.

Earth stopped beside her, eyes widening as he saw Celestial bodies laughing and hanging out together. They appeared smaller than average.

"They're moons...?" Earth realized.

"Yep! The past moons of Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Nine!"

Earth took a moment, his mouth gaping at the sight, "P-Past moons...?"

"Mhm. This isn't everyone, but I figured we should start small." Theia moved forward, waving her arm in the atmosphere, "Hello, everyone!"

The bodies faltered in their speaking, turning to face the chestnut and sepia Celestial. The smaller moons beamed, coming to meet her.

"Theia!"
"Miss Theia!"
"You're back!"

Earth watched Theia laugh, letting herself be pulled by the child-like moons. His eyes shifted to the bigger moons, knitting his brows as he noticed their stares at him. They were cautious, their gazes analyzing him. Swallowing his anxiety, he turned back to Theia, a small smile on his face as he watched her dance with the smaller moons.

Seeing her smile once more made him happy.

"Okay, okay, that's enough, little ones." Theia smiled, a few laughs escaping her lips as she managed to calm the moons down, "I can't stay for long."

"Awe..." The moons deflated, peering up at her with sad yearning eyes.

"Why not?" One of them asked, grabbing hold of her arm.

"I have to help an old friend return home." Theia patted the moon on the head.

"Theia... care to introduce us?" A charcoal-grey Celestial stepped forward, their gaze set on Earth.

"Oh, right! Everyone, this is Earth." Theia took Earth's hand, pulling him forward.

"Earth...? As in...?" A brown Celestial trailed off, his eyes trained on the guest.

Theia hummed, turning to Earth, "Earth, I want you to meet Jupiter's moons; Clementia, Cura, Dia, and Tacita, Saturn's moons; Aeon, Cardea, Febris, Fidius, Faunus, Lua, and Picus, Uranus' moons; Viola, Iago, Euphronius, Pericles, and Othello, Neptune's moons; Acis, Venilia, and Canens, and Nine's moons; Decima, Morta, and Nona."

The charcoal-grey Celestial hummed, outstretching a hand, "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Morta, the biggest moon out of everyone here."

Earth took their hand, shaking it. He frowned, "I didn't know Nine had moons..."

"I'm not surprised... we were taken at the hands of Saturn and Jupiter when our planet was exiled."

Earth's eyes widened, "Oh..."

"Hello! I'm Cura!" A little sepia-colored moon spoke, "I'm the smallest of the bunch!"

"Are you really Proto-Earth?" A small grey moon asked.

"Uh..." Earth twitched, averting his gaze.

"Clementia, mind your manners." A hazel moon scolded.

"Sorry, Dia..."

"Wow, I've never seen a planet with life before!" Cardea spoke, eyeing the Earth's green patches of land on his body, "How'd you get it?"

"Uhm..." Earth shifted away from the small moon's prying eyes until someone grappled her orbit, moving her away.

"I am so sorry for her behavior..." A lighter grey moon uttered. He looked about the size of Luna, Earth noted, "Name's Picus, by the way."

"It's-"

"What's it like having life?" A white and brown moon the size of Oberon questioned.

"Faunus!"

"What? It's only a question."

Theia noticed how uncomfortable Earth looked, pushing herself between him and the moons, "Alright, I think that's enough questions! We have got to get going."

The smaller moons whined.

"Right now?"
"Can't you stay for a little bit longer?"
"We never get guests!"

Theia sighed, "I'm sorry, everyone, but it's for the best. I have to get Earth to a Star."

"Ah, I saw one earlier- they looked out of it," Morta spoke.

"Which way did they go?"

Morta closed their eyes and hummed, "West."

"Thank you, Morta." Theia smiled.

"Anything for you, Madam."

Earth raised his eyebrows; first Miss, now Madam? These moons held a deep regard for Theia. He couldn't help but wonder why.

"Ready to go, Earth?" Theia peered over at him.

"Uh- yeah." Earth nodded, "Lead the way."

...

Earth huffed. It felt like ten minutes since they left the past moons to find a NovaStar and they didn't seem any closer. He watched Theia pause, contemplate, then move on- an ongoing process that never seemed to end.

Moving closer to be by her side, Earth cleared his throat, "The moons seem to respect you."

"Huh?" Theia blinked, glancing at the other, "O-Oh, I guess, hahah. Ever since I died, I thought I was alone for the longest time... until everyone else showed up. A lot of Saturn's moons showed up here over a few days- at least thirty of them, Jupiter and Uranus' moons came soon after... then Neptune's, and then Nine's. A few still pop up now and then. I was the one who greeted them, took care of them, showed them how everything in the Etheral worked... and they just started to regard me as a superior, I suppose. I told them not to, but some still do it."

Theia stopped abruptly. Earth nearly rammed into her, looking at her curiously.

"You see that?" Theia pointed, "That's the Star."

A shining light in the distance acted as their beacon.

"Hopefully, they'll be able to return you to your body." Without waiting for a response, Theia bolted off, "Last one there's an asteroid!"

Earth gaped before chuckling, flying after her, "You're on!"

...

Pinwheel watched from his NovaStar at the dwarf planets shifting him around, 'They better be careful...'

FWOOSH!

The Star whipped around, finding two Celestials a few units away. They seemed to be out of breath, their chests heaving.

"Ha, I won!" The chestnut and sepia one claimed victory. Victory over what, Pinwheel had no idea.

"Nuh-uh!" The blue and green Celestial denied, "I demand a rematch!"

"What? Want to lose to me again?" She laughed.

The bigger one crossed his arms, his face flushed.

"Uh- excuse me?" Pinwheel spoke, "Who are you?"

The chestnut and sepia Celestial looked up, "Ah, right! Hello, my name is Theia, this is Earth!"

Pinwheel smiled, tilting their head, "You can call me Pinwheel."

"Well, Mr. Pinwheel-"

"Ah-ah-ah, just Pinwheel! No formalities, please!" Pinwheel waved his hands.

"Oh- Well, Pinwheel, I wanted to ask a favor, if that's alright," Theia spoke.

"Ooh, go on..."

"My friend, Earth, doesn't belong here. He somehow managed to detach himself from his body in the living plane."

"I see..." The Star shifted his gaze to the other, "I'm assuming you touched a NovaStar."

"How'd you know?" Earth asked.

"I've seen this kind of thing before." Pinwheel said, "It's not uncommon, but it's not common either... all you have to do is touch another NovaStar that's hanging around your Solar System. Luckily for you, my Novae is currently being transported by a few of your Solar System's dwarf planets."

"So you can get me back?" Earth's eyes filled with hope.

"Yep!" Pinwheel nodded, reaching for his NovaStar, "Whenever you're ready, just touch this!"

A weight on Earth's shoulders lifted as he sighed in relief.

Theia nudged his shoulder, chuckling, "Well, I guess I'll see you when the Sun explodes."

Then it all came crashing down as Earth turned to her, "What...?"

Theia blinked, her smile wavering as she let out a small laugh, "You didn't think we would see each other again before then, did you?"

Earth didn't respond, his eyes filling with unshed tears.

"Earth... we both knew this was inevitable. I may be gone, but I can still watch over you and little Luna. Besides, you don't need me anymore."

"Wh- yes, I do. I'll always need you..." Earth uttered, his voice cracking.

"No, you don't." Theia gave him a soft smile, taking both his hands in hers, "You're capable of moving forward without me, you have your Earthlings to worry about and to care for..."

"B-But... I don't want..." Tears fell from his eyes.

"I know it's hard to move on..." Theia brought her right hand up, placing it on Earth's cheek, "You have friends to help you through this... you need to be more open about your feelings, and, after some time, you'll feel better. Everything will eventually get better. I promise."

"What if it doesn't...?" Earth sniffled, "I can't... y-you're the only one I loved and trusted, and look where it got you..."

Theia bit her lip, feeling it quivering slightly, "That's not true..."

"But e-everyone I care about left me, who's to say it won't happen again?"

"I don't know what's going to happen... it all depends on you and what you do. Will you let the voices win again?"

Earth looked down, "...No."

"Are you going to let the voices win, Earth?"

"No." Earth shook his head firmly, "I won't."

Theia smiled, "Good because I swear I died again when I nearly watched you throw yourself into the Sun. Do not do that again or I'll come back from the dead to kill you myself."

Earth gave a watery laugh, wiping his eye, "G-Got it..."

Theia pulled him in, hugging him tightly, "I'll miss you..."

"Me too..." Earth sniffled, burying his head in her shoulder, "I love you."

Theia just smiled, a few tears falling down her cheeks. She pulled away, wiping her tears, "I know... but our story ended a long time ago, Earth; it's time to start anew."

Earth frowned, holding onto Theia's hand, "I can't... not without my lover."

Theia tittered, pulling her hand from the other's, "Trust me, Earth... I'm not the only one who had eyes on you."

"What...?" Earth raised an eyebrow.

"As much as I love this wholesome moment, my NovaStar is almost in the possession of one of your planets, which means I'll disappear from here." Pinwheel interrupted.

Theia pushed Earth before her, "We're ready to go, Pinwheel!"

"Wait-" Before Earth could speak, Pinwheel pressed one of the NovaStar's points on Earth's forehead.

The Celestial blacked out, spiraling downwards the same way he showed up into the Ethereal.

Notes:

I looked it up and researched mythological names for this one chapter lmao

There are asteroids named Clementina and Nonna; the latter being named after an actress and the former having no origin, but I figured since they're spelled differently, I could use them.

Also, I went with the naming system for Uranus; his past moons are named after Shakespeare's characters. For Neptune, I went with water-related myths- and for Nine, I went with the three Parcae goddesses (known in English as the Fates). According to some classical writings even Jupiter had to bend to their will.

I also have a 'smaller to bigger' list of the moons on the Discord :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 10

Notes:

TWs: I guess worrying and playful teasing? I can't think of anything else...

"Days seem sometimes as if they'll never end. Sun digs its heels to taunt you, but after sunlit days, one thing stays the same- rises the moon..."

Earth pried his eyes open, blinking wearily as he looked around for the source of the singing.

"Days fade into a watercolor blur, memories swim and haunt you... but look into the lake, shimmering like smoke- rises the moon..."

'Luna...?' Earth's hazy gaze landed on the grey moon floating over him. Luna never sang- well, he did, but he usually didn't when someone was around him. He was always insecure about his voice, becoming easily embarrassed whenever he was caught singing.

"Oh-oh, close your weary eyes..." Luna closed his eyes as he sang, "I promise you that soon the autumn comes to darken fading summer skies. Breathe, breathe, breathe..."

Earth smiled with a soft expression, "Have you been practicing?"

Luna jolted, his eyes snapping open to look at his parent planet, "E-Earth? You're awake!"

The moon moved forward, wrapping his arms around Earth's middle. Earth returned the hug, closing his eyes as he raised a hand to sweep through Luna's hair. He breathed in, his shoulders slumping as he finally relaxed.

"Days pull you down just like a sinking ship. Floating is getting harder," Earth sang, his voice light as he pulled away. He peered through half-lidded eyes as he brought his hand to rest on Luna's cheek, "But tread the water, child, and know that meanwhile- rises the moon..."

A tear fell from Luna's eye, and Earth quickly wiped it away with his thumb. He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss on Luna's forehead. The moon shivered, feeling a brief spray of mist rain on his surface. He looked up into Earth's heterochromatic gaze.

The Celestial smiled, "Days pull you up just like a daffodil uprooted from its garden..."

"They'll tell you what you owe, but know even so," Luna continued, "Rises the moon..."

"You'll be visited by sleep." Earth made a gesture, prodding the other to sing with him.

Luna's voice wavered, "I promise you that soon the autumn comes-"

"To steal away each dream you keep~" They both sang.

Earth, "Breathe."

Luna whispered, "Breathe..."

"Breathe..." They finished.

Earth smiled, cupping Luna's face in his hands, "Te amo, Luna."

Luna blinked back tears, his lip quivering as the corners rose slightly. He moved forward, burying his head in Earth's chest, "Te quoque amo, pater."

Earth ruffled the moon's head, who leaned into the touch, before turning his attention elsewhere. He hummed, "How long was I out?"

"Two days... Mars and Uranus tried to stay until you woke up, but the Sun wouldn't allow it," Luna spoke.

Earth blinked. He understood why Mars stayed, they were best friends and practically inseparable, but Uranus? Sure, the Giant gifted him portraits, but that's basically the only time they've interacted.

"Well, I can always count on you to keep me company." Earth grinned, patting the other on the head, "And to help me keep my Earthlings safe..."

Luna peered up at Earth, frowning as he noticed the wistful expression on the planet's face. Pulling away, Luna tilted his head, "Earth...?"

Earth furrowed his eyebrows, his lips twitching, "I saw Theia..."

Luna's eyes widened, "Wh- Really? H-How is she? Is she okay- are you okay!?"

A small laugh escaped Earth's mouth, "I'm fine, Luna... really, I just- have a lot to think about."

The moon raised an eyebrow, tilting his head curiously as he waited for his parent to elaborate. He never did, leaving Luna with many unanswered questions when they separated.

« × »

Neptune grinned as he peered with glowing eyes at the NovaStar in his hands, "Yes, yes! This is it- thank you all so much! I would hug you, but my gravity is a bit..."

"Yeah, no problem." Triton huffed.

"Always happy to help!" Sedna smiled.

"I have to get this to Nine!" Neptune beamed, starting to fly away, "Thank you again! I promise to repay all of you~"

"H-He does realize he doesn't have to do that, r-right?" Orcus asked.

"It's Neptune." Triton shrugged, "He does what he wants and doesn't take no for an answer."

Neptune entered the Kuiper belt, pushing the asteroids away with his gravity. He held the NovaStar up, tapping the surface, "Hello~? Anyone home?"

"Ah! Yes, hello! I'm here!" A chipper voice rang from the object, "Sorry for not answering sooner, I had to do something real quick... anyway, hi! Hello! My name is Pinwheel- feel free to call me Pin!"

"Hello, Pin! My name is Neptune, and this is Messier. I believe you two met before..."

"Very briefly," Messier said, "And I gave you my word about finding you again."

Pinwheel was silent before uttering, "Thank you... this means a lot. If I may, can I ask where we're going?"

Neptune smiled, yet it didn't quite meet his eyes, "My brother, Nine... let's just say he's done some things and everyone was mad at him for some time, but things changed. Everyone forgives him, or at least is giving him a second chance... yet Nine is still as distant as ever. I try to get him to join the planet meetings, but he always says no."

"And how do I fit into this?" Pinwheel questioned.

"Nine needs someone; a companion. He needs someone to talk to so that he knows he's not alone... maybe then he'll express his emotions!"

"And you're sure...? I mean, no offense, it sounds like a decent idea, but why a NovaStar? Why not someone who's actually there?" Pinwheel inquired.

"He does have one friend, but she has to stay in orbit most of the time. Our Sun is very insistent about it." Neptune said, "And Nine needs someone who can always be there for him."

Pinwheel hummed, "If you say so. I'd be happy to help in any way I can!"

"That's the spirit! Let's go~"

« × »

Mercury stared at the Sun from afar, watching the Guardian struggle with morphing something from his flames.

'What... isn't that a flower?' Mercury squinted, trying to get a better look at the blazing object in the Sun's plasmic hands.

Creeping closer, Mercury eyed the Sun a bit longer, debating whether or not to ask what the other was doing.

Yet the Sun seemed to realize he was being watched, snapping his head to where Mercury was, his brows furrowing before raising as he noticed the small planet. He jolted, red flames licking his face as he held his possession close to his chest, "Mercury! What are you doing here?"

Mercury raised a brow, glancing around, "You mean what am I doing in my orbit...?"

The Sun blinked, a frown settling on his face, "Don't play smart with me now, Hermes- you're the one who's not paying attention! You're too close to my Roche Limit."

Mercury rolled his eyes, yet backed away, "Sorry, Sun... anyway, I just wanted to know what you're doing."

"Nothing! Can't you see I'm doing nothing?" Sun scowled, cautiously moving so he didn't disturb what was in his hands.

"And your hands...?"

"I always play with fire when I'm bored! You should know that since you are the closest one to me!"

"Well, yeah, but your creations aren't always that precise and... pretty?" Mercury tilted his head, realization dawning on his features as his eyes widened, "Wait, don't tell me you're giving it to Sp-!?"

"No! Of course not!" Sun shook his head, "I'm not the type of Star to give their flame to someone who doesn't like them back!"

"Oh." Mercury squinted, "Then who is it for...?"

Sun tensed, his lips pressing together as he averted his gaze to the blaze in his hands, "Uh..."

"Sun..." Mercury's gaze softened, "You know you can tell me anything; you literally do so all the time."

The Guardian let out a small laugh, "Hah, sounds about right. Okay, I'm planning on giving it to T..."

"Huh? Couldn't quite hear you." Mercury shifted closer, "What'd you say?"

"It's for Tol..."

"Are you feeling okay, Sun? You aren't normally this quiet..."

The Sun gave an exasperated sigh, "It's for Toliman! There! Are you happy now?"

Mercury had a confused face, "Who-"

"Alpha Centauri B."

Mercury's eyes widened with realization, "Oohhhh... huh, I didn't know they went by a different name."

"They all have other names, it's just that those names are easily recognizable. Like, I go by Sun, but I have other names, such as..."

"Helios, Ra, Apollo, and Inti?"

"Exactly! Though, it's best to ask Earth or Jupiter about our names; they know more about this than I do."

"And... you're giving your flame to Toliman? Isn't there a thing about Stars and only giving their flames as a sign of courtship?"

The Sun froze, his eyes growing to the size of saucers, "...What?"

"I mean- I'm not a Star, but I've heard Proxima talking about it with Toliman and- Sun? Are you okay?"

The Guardian grew red in the face as plasma shot from his hands, destroying the present. He scowled, grunting under his breath as he put his head in his hands, scrubbing at his face, "I'm such an idiot! Of course, I forgot such a rule existed, and I call myself a Star..."

"But you are a Star-"

"Agh! I wanted to give Toliman a present of friendship and maybe liking- now I have to think of something else, which is hard cause what else am I gonna do!?" The Sun threw his hands up in exasperation, "I'm the Sun, it's not like I can move from this spot without everything going wrong!"

Mercury frowned, "Maybe I can help you?"

The Sun stopped what he was doing, his red gaze landing on the small planet, "You...? Mercury, I mean no offense when I say this, but... have you ever liked someone?"

"I think you're confusing me with Venus, which I do not appreciate. And yes, I do know what it's like to have a crush and not know how to approach them."

Sun gaped, his eyes sparkling with an unnatural glow as he leaned down, "You have a crush? Who is it? Do I know them!?"

"H-Hey! We're focusing on your love life here- not mine!" Mercury flushed.

"Awe..." Sun grumbled, "At least give me a hint?"

"Sun!"

"Ugh, fine! I'll let you help me with my 'love life,' or whatever." The Sun raised his hands to accentuate air quotes.

"Thank you." Mercury smiled.

"And then I'll help you with yours!"

Mercury groaned.

Notes:

Someone wanted Suntauri content, so this is for them :)

Also HELLO CHRISTINA FROM THE SB SERVER :D
THANK YOU FOR READING <3

And thank you for joining my Discord, everyone; it means so much to me that you guys enjoy my stories :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 11

Notes:

TWs: Brief injuries/pain, bitterness, sleep deprivation, self-blame/self-deprecation.

Stay safe :)

"Nine~? Helloooo~" Neptune flew around, head turning a full 180 degrees as he searched for his brother. He frowned, "He should be here..."

"Ack-!" A yelp sounded in the distance, "Ugh, stupid fragile crystals...!"

Neptune raised an eyebrow, following the voice. Moving a few asteroids out of his way, he blinked upon seeing Nine hunching over himself, clutching his hand.

"Nine, are you okay-?" Neptune shifted forward, reaching out to touch him, yet Nine slapped it away.

"I'm fine. I can heal myself, you-" Nine looked up at Neptune, biting his tongue as he looked at the other who had a worried and anxious expression on his face. Nine huffed before looking away, "Dummy."

Neptune tilted his head, watching as Nine plucked out ice shards from his hand. He waited a few moments, feeling the extra NovaStar in his pocket weighing him down with every second that passed.

"What do you want?" Nine barely glanced at the other, "You know I don't like visitors showing up out of the blue."

"Well," Neptune smiled, "I~ have a present for you~"

"...Why?" Nine appeared genuinely confused.

"Because you're my bro, and I love you...?"

Nine blinked, a deadpan look on his face. Rolling his eyes, he turned to face the other, "Alright, fine. What is it?"

"Close your eyes~"

"Really?"

"Just do it!"

Nine scoffed, yet closed his eyes, "This is ridiculous..."

Neptune grinned, pulling out Pinwheel's NovaStar, "Gimme your hands."

The other scrunched his nose, lifting his hands hesitantly. Neptune brought Nine's hands to a cupping position before placing the NovaStar in the palms.

"And... open!" Neptune wrung his hands together.

Nine opened his eyes, casting his gaze toward his open palms. His eyes perked up with surprise, "You're giving me your NovaStar...?"

"Ah-ah-ah, that's not Messier's NovaStar- their name is Pinwheel."

"Hello, new friend!" Pinwheel exclaimed. Nine jolted, the Novae nearly slipping out of his grasp.

"Nine...?" Neptune furrowed his eyebrows, noticing the brief look of panic on the other's face, "Are you okay...?"

Nine grunted, "I'm fine, it's just- why would you give something so valuable to me, of all planets, after everything I did?"

"I meant what I said."

"What...?"

"You're my brother, and I love you." Neptune gave him a small smile.

Nine averted his gaze, uttering, "That's not a rational reason..."

"Well, I'm not a rational planet!" Neptune grinned, becoming fluid in his motions as he wiggled around.

Nine rolled his eyes at the other's antics, a smile toying at his lips.

« × »

"Saturn...?" Jupiter eyed the ringed Celestial.

"What?" Saturn glowered, his pen never leaving the paper in the notepad.

"Are you okay? You seem... agitated." Jupiter spoke, voicing his concerns cautiously.

"Of course, I'm agitated, Jupiter!" Saturn threw his hands up in the atmosphere, "I can't with all these names and all the memorizing!"

"You do realize you can take breaks, right...? I'm sure your moons won't mind if you slip up a couple of times."

"It's more than a couple of times, Jupiter!" Saturn grabbed Jupiter by his shoulder, "I don't give my moons the time of day! Other than Titan, I don't even acknowledge them!"

Jupiter placed his hand where Saturn's was, "You haven't been acknowledging any of them these past few days- just look at them."

Saturn peered over his shoulder just in time for his major moons to avert their gazes, pretending to mind their business.

"Saturn, how much sleep have you gotten?" Jupiter asked.

"In total? Uh... maybe ten minutes?"

'That explains it...' Jupiter nodded. Saturn was always moody when he didn't get enough rest. Taking Saturn's hands in his, Jupiter guided the other to a specific spot in the zone, one of the only spots where the Sun emits enough light for warmth to travel to them, "This should be good... you should get some rest, Saturn."

Jupiter tried to separate their hands, only for Saturn to tighten his grip.

"Ow- uh, Saturn? Can you loosen up there, bud?"

"Don't tell me to loosen up." Saturn puffed his cheeks out, "I'm perfectly fine!"

"That's not..." Jupiter trailed off, eyes gazing down at their laced hands. He sighed, "Never mind- just get some sleep."

"I was going to do that before you showed up," Saturn grumbled, curling into himself. Jupiter didn't reply, knowing a response would make things worse for him.

"Man, is this what third wheeling is like?" Ganymede whispered while holding Europa close to him. Europa merely held onto his arm like a koala to a tree.

"You have no idea." Callisto deadpanned.

« × »

Earth held himself close, his hands rubbing his arms as he gazed at the Sun with a fixed stare. To an outsider, it was hard to tell what he was thinking, but to Luna; the moon didn't have to guess to know what his parent planet was thinking. He just knew.

"Earth...?" Luna closed his book, setting it down as he shifted before the other, covering most of his view of the Sun, "Are you... okay?"

Earth blinked, coming to his senses as his eyes landed on Luna, "Huh...? Oh. I was doing it again, wasn't I?"

Luna slowly nodded, "Is it still hurting?"

"So much." Earth grimaced; the weight on his shoulders grew heavy, "I've been through worse... I should be able to handle this."

"You can't blame yourself, Earth." Luna spoke, "You had no idea what was going to happen- no one could've known."

"Right..." Earth grunted, feeling multiple aches across his body followed by subtle vibrations. It made him dizzy, his head shaking slightly. He raised a hand, clutching his head. The weight on his core was overbearing.

"Earth," Luna crouched down, his eyes and voice pleading, "Tell me what I can do to help-"

"You can't stop eight billion Earthlings at once, Luna," Earth spoke.

"No- I know I can't, but just help me help you." The moon looked around, "I'm sure we can find something to distract you for a while- that'll help take your mind off the pain."

"Th-There is one thing..." Earth muttered, feeling heavy with each breath he took; the crushing weight was holding him back from saying what he wanted to say. It was like a noose around his neck, squeezing until he finally choked.

"Earth?" Luna shifted closer, eyeing his parent warily as the other coughed, "Are you alright?"

Earth covered his mouth with a fist, coughing into it, "I will be..."

"You have friends to help you through this..." Theia's words resonated through his head, "You need to be more open about your feelings, and, after some time, you'll feel better."

"Once I tell the others everything." Earth finished.

"Everything will eventually get better."

A tear rolled down Earth's cheek, yet he was smiling.

"I promise."

Notes:

My mental health has taken a swan dive off a roof and into a black hole, never to be seen again.

Anyway, join my Discord, or else I'll add The Iris to this story. Links are on my bio/profile page.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 12

Notes:

TWs: Crying, anxiousness, awkwardness, teasing, cliffhanger.

Stay safe :)

Mercury, Mars, and Venus glanced at each other once they were gathered in the Goldilocks Zone, a question hanging over them as they turned to look at Luna.

"Sorry for gathering you all on such short notice, but... Earth would like to tell us something." The moon gestured to the planet next to him, nudging him gently.

The normally lively planet fidgeted with his fingers, his body growing tense under everyone's stare. He bit his lip, his stomach reeling as he tried to meet their gazes. He opened his mouth, letting out a few stutters. He rubbed between his eyes with his index fingers, shaking his head.

"Earth?" Mars placed a hand on the other's shoulder, eyes full of concern for his best friend.

Earth looked at Mars, an unrecognizable emotion swirling inside him as he gazed into those apprehensive eyes of the other. He looked away after a few moments, taking a deep breath like Theia taught him whenever he felt anxious. He breathed in and out slowly before blinking up to meet everyone's eyes.

"I-I..." He stuttered, jerking his head in annoyance as he did so. Mars backed away to give him space. Earth found the loss of contact dispiriting. He cleared his throat, speaking up, "I need... help."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, it all came crashing down. Earth found himself shaking uncontrollably, tears springing into his eyes as he tried to blink them away.

"Earth-!" Luna rushed forward, attaching himself to Earth and clinging onto him. The moon buried his face in his parent's shoulder, rubbing his back to try and calm him down.

"I'm fine, I'm..." Earth inhaled sharply, tears streaming down his face as he placed his head near Luna's, bumping their heads together, "S-Sorry, I'm s-so, so sorry..."

"What for?" Luna peered up at him.

"Making you worry," Earth sniffled, "And not telling you anything..."

"Earth..." The moon frowned, eyes full of worry and care, "You don't have to apologize."

"But Th-Theia-"

"You don't have to tell me what happened." Luna spoke, "Not if you don't feel like it."

"So you aren't upset?"

"I mean, worried, yeah, but upset? No..." Luna shook his head, "I just want you to feel okay."

Earth blinked, stray tears still rolling down his face. Slowly, the corner of his mouth lifted. He pulled the smaller one close to his chest, "You're the best moon any planet could ask for."

Luna nuzzled his face in the other's torso, a smile on his face, "I know..."

Mercury, Mars, and Venus watched them for a moment, silently knowing they both needed this.

« × »

Saturn groaned, slowly opening his weary eyes. He blinked away the tiredness, moving to straighten out his limbs.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." A voice spoke.

Saturn barely cast a glance over at the other as he rubbed his eye with his right hand. He gruffed, uttering, "Hello, Jupiter..."

The ringed Giant froze, his eyes going wide, 'Wait...'

"J-Jupiter!?" Saturn turned his full attention toward the other Giant. He felt his face go impossibly red as he stuttered, "Wh-What are you doing here- in m-my orbit?"

The bigger one paused in his reading, gesturing down, "You're the one who didn't want me to leave."

Saturn looked down, seeing their hands interlaced together. He squeaked, yanking his hand away as if the touch had burned him. Jupiter frowned, hurt at the reaction.

"Saturn-"

"I'm terribly sorry, Jupiter!" Saturn awkwardly smiled, "I didn't mean to keep you here."

"I don't-"

"Anyway, I feel much better, so if you'll excuse me, I'll just be going now. Farewell~" Saturn flew away, not waiting for a response from the other.

"Bye..." Jupiter sighed.

"Wow."
"That was hard to watch."

The Giant glanced down, spotting his A-Team looking up at him.

Jupiter winced, "How much of that did you see?"

"Unfortunately, all of it," Ganymede spoke.

"If you want to ask him out, you best take a different approach." Europa fluffed her hair, "Take it from us, the hottest couple around."

Callisto scoffed.

Jupiter raised an eyebrow, "Since when were you two...?"

"It's best not to ask questions!" Europa quipped, "Do you want our help or not?"

"Uh, well..." Jupiter squinted, "Sure, I guess?"

"Perfect! Cause I have just the idea..." Europa smirked.

Jupiter huffed before casting his gaze over to the others, "And what about you two...?"

"Eh, we're just here for the potential that things may go wrong." Callisto shrugged.

"I-I thought it was because y-you were going to get pointers f-from Europa?" Io questioned.

Callisto snapped her head to look at him, glaring, "Io, you-!"

Europa gasped, a teasing grin rising on her face, "Oh- my stars. Callisto!~"

"Oh no..." The dark moon huffed.

"You- want to get pointers- from me?" Europa clasped her hands together.

"Kill me now..." Callisto uttered.

"You must tell me who! I'm obligated to know!"

"You're not obligated to anything."

"Oh, come on! Give me a hint, at least! Is it a Saturnian moon? Possibly one of Uranus' moons?"

"As if I'll-"

"I-It's Triton!" Io grinned.

"Io!" Callisto glowered, her face lighting up red, a stark contrast from her dark skin tone.

"Wh-What? You w-weren't going to say anything." Io spoke.

"Obviously. Why would I?"

"Triton?" Europa raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't he the only Neptunian moon who doesn't act like a child?" Ganymede asked, "He acts as a babysitter to them."

Jupiter quirked an eyebrow, "Really? Last I checked, Triton still roamed free in the Kuiper belt."

"He visits the dwarf planets from time to time," Callisto spoke.

The Giant hummed, "I guess since he technically is a captured dwarf, it only makes sense for him to be back and forth between places."

Europa made a noise of agreement, "Huh, I never thought you would like someone like him, Callisto."

"Got a problem, Europa?" Callisto frowned.

"Oh, no, no, no! Of course not..." Europa cleared her throat, "Anyway, we'll help Jupiter first seeing as he desperately needs it."

Jupiter gave her a pointed look.

"What? It's the truth." Europa sassed, "And we're going to need to pull out all the stops to make this happen!"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this...?" Jupiter muttered.

Callisto sighed, "You're not the only one."

« × »

The Sun sat cross-legged in the middle of the solar system. Breathing in and out, he placed his hands on his knees, the tips of his index fingers and thumbs touching.

Something was wrong- very wrong.

And he was going to find out what it was.

He closed his eyes, plunging his mind into the dark depths of his headspace.

Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out.

He opened his eyes, finding himself in a pitch-black wasteland of emptiness. His radiated light seemed so dull here.

He found himself pushing forward.

In the distance, there was a string of blue light.

He moved quickly through the inky abyss, his hand reaching out to grab the thread.

As soon as the tip of his fingers grazed the string, he inhaled sharply, feeling a jolt radiating through him.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up." A voice spoke.

Sun opened his eyes, meeting the audience of his friends. Spica had her arms crossed, Sirius had a serious expression on his face as always, Proxima smiled upon seeing his friend, Regulus merely huffed, and Toliman gave a nod of acknowledgment, yet also had a small smile gracing his features.

"You're late," Sirius spoke.

"Late? I didn't even know we were meeting!" Sun glared.

"Give Sol a break, Siri, he's only ten minutes late." Spica placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm guessing Gliese is on time-out?" Sun joked, looking around the abyss as he didn't see the brown dwarf.

"Gliese isn't here for a reason," Regulus said.

Sun hummed, raising his eyebrow, "That reason being...?"

"We have a major problem, Sol." Spica spoke, "Regarding your part of the galaxy."

The yellow Star blinked, furrowing his eyebrows, "What...?"

"We're talking," Regulus looked up to meet the Sun's stare, "BH S A-Star..."

Notes:

*Maniacal laughter in the distance*

Ayyy, it's the guys from the last story- I never thought we'd see them again :D

Any guesses on who or what BH S A-Star is...? :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 13

Notes:

TWs: Verbal abuse/name-calling, higher authority/being, impending doom, past pain/injuries.

Stay safe :)

"Helios Ra Apollo the Inti..." A voice rumbled throughout the abyss, "Or do you prefer to go by Sun now?"

Sun anxiously smiled, bowing before the superior, "Wh-Whatever you prefer, almighty one."

"How about... nuisance?"

Sun flinched, standing straight to face the black hole.

"Do you honestly think I wouldn't find out?" It seethed, scowling at the metaphorical ant, "How idiotic do you think I am?"

"I-I don't-"

"I wasn't finished." It snapped, "I gave you an order, and what did you do?"

"...Not do it."

"Exactly!" Its voice reverberated, "Even the Kepler and Gliese systems are more capable than you, you pathetic excuse for a Star!"

Sun held his tongue, his eyes blazing red as he took the hits.

"Now," It glowered, "I want to see that blue planet... gone. Destroy him if you have to, I don't care, just do it. Otherwise, I'll have to get someone more capable of getting their orbit dirty... do you understand, nuisance?"

Sun nodded, "Yes, almighty one."

"Good." It seemed satisfied for now, "You're dismissed... and Sol?"

Sun peered up at the black hole.

"Do. Not. Fail. Me..."

« NOW »

"BH... Sagittarius A*...?" Sun repeated, voice wavering as his eyes widened, "A-Are you sure?"

"Oh, we're sure alright." Regulus nodded, "And it's taking all its anger out on you and your little solar system of miracles."

"What Regulus means to say," Proxima stepped forward, "Is that whatever is going on... you may be the cause of it."

The words entered Sun's head, echoing back at him like a broken record. He shook his head, not believing it, "N-No, I'm sure there's another reasonable explanation, haheh- right? Th-There has to be... right?"

"We're sorry, Sol." Spica spoke, shuffling through her pockets, "Toliman found this just beyond the Kuiper belt."

She pulled out a black eight-pointed object.

The Sun gaped, "An Asterium..."

"Judging by the different coloration on some parts, I'd say it's been floating near the Kuiper belt for a long time..." Spica uttered.

"Did you have any idea about this?" Sirius asked.

"No- I have no idea how it ended up there!" Sun shook his head.

"Is there someone who could've dropped it there?" Proxima tilted their head, "I know some celestial bodies hang around the outskirts..."

Sun thought about it, raising a hand to his chin, muttering to himself, "I don't think... actually... wait."

"You have someone in mind." Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, "Who?"

"I- I need to be sure." Sun responded, "I have to get answers from him before making accusations."

"Sol," Spica looked at him with a solemn gaze, "You have to remember that not only are you in danger, but so is the entire Milky Way galaxy."

Proxima never looked so small as they stood huddled close to Toliman, who rested an arm around them. Sirius merely averted his gaze, never being one to show emotions.

"So, you all are...?" Sun trailed off, his eyes wavering to each of his friends.

"Well, except for me as I'm part of Leo I." Regulus spoke, "Though, I'm sure you guys can handle it without fucking the galaxy up."

"Thanks for the commentary, Regulus." Spica rolled her eyes.

"Ay, no problem, mate. Tis what I do best."

"Anyway," Spica turned her attention to the yellow Star, "We're putting our lives in your hands, Sol. We trust you know what to do."

Sun nodded, trying his best to smile assuredly, "Of course, Spi."

"Good. We're all counting on you." Spica smiled.

"No pressure or anything..." Regulus shrugged. Proxima hit them on the shoulder.

"Toliman." The blue star turned her gaze to the other, nodding.

The orange dwarf stepped forward, his right hand grasping something as he brought it forward, "A gift."

Sun put his hand out expectantly. Toliman dropped the object he was holding into the palm of the yellow Star's.

"This is... a charm?"

"Made out of Asterium." Toliman spoke, "It can withstand anything."

"Anything...?" Sun raised an eyebrow, staring into the other's eyes.

"Anything." Toliman clasped Sun's hand shut, "Ensure you don't lose it."

Sun smirked, "What do you take me for?"

"A lot of things." Toliman answered, "You can't keep track of anything if your hydrogen depends on it. Remember when I gave you one of my Sai to practice with and you lost it minutes later?"

A chuckle was elicited from the Sun's mouth, "Hah, those were good times..."

"Can you assholes stop flirting?" Regulus snapped, "The Milky Way may as well be turned into stardust by the time you lovebirds are done."

Sun froze, his face steaming red as he glared at the interrupter. Toliman huffed, pulling his hand away from Sun's as he retreated to his spot next to Proxima.

"Awe, why'd you interrupt them? They were having a special moment...!" Proxima whined, their eyes shimmering as they looked up at Regulus. The blue star merely averted his gaze, face noticeably flushed.

Sun peered at the charm in his hand- it was about the size of Mercury and as black as the abyss, a faint glow surrounding it.

"I'll do my best." He said, clutching it close to his chest.

« × »

"Nine," Neptune spoke as he followed his brother around the outskirts of the Kuiper belt, "Can I ask you something?"

"You're already talking, so you might as well." Nine responded, barely looking at the other.

Neptune hummed, tilting his head, "Alright, so... what's up with that scar?"

Nine skidded to a stop, eyes wide as he turned to face Neptune, "...Pardon?"

"You know... that scar on your left cheek." Neptune reached out to touch it, yet Nine backed away, "Now that I look at it closely, it sorta resembles an X..."

Nine didn't respond, frozen in place.

"Is that why the others called you X- cause of that scar?"

Neptune was talking, yet Nine didn't hear a word. His mind was a raging storm and his head was underwater, the sounds drowning from around him as he could only watch as Neptune paused in speaking.

He realized Neptune was reaching a hand out to touch him. Reflexively, Nine batted the offending arm away, taking a step back. He blinked, realizing what he had done when Neptune looked at him surprised.

However, Neptune smiled softly, "Sorry, I guess that was a bit personal of me to ask... you don't have to tell me."

Nine nodded, subconsciously reaching a hand up to his left cheek, "Right... it's fine, Neptune."

"Anyway, we should head back," Neptune turned, "Even the dwarf planets don't go this far from their orbits."

"Planet meeting! Planet meeting!~" A voice rumbled throughout the solar system.

"Oooh, exciting!" Neptune grinned, clapping his hands, "Wonder what's in store for us this time!~"

Nine didn't bother telling Neptune he wasn't going to be a part of any celestial meeting- he figured the blue Celestial would remember that fact along the way.

Still, Nine followed Neptune out of the Kuiper belt, his cheek stinging with phantom pains of a past he wanted so badly to forget.

Notes:

Sagittarius A* (abbreviated Sgr A*) is the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center of the Milky Way. The object is a bright and very compact astronomical radio source. The observations of several stars orbiting Sagittarius A*, particularly Star S2, have been used to determine the mass and upper limits on the radius of the object. Based on mass and increasingly precise radius limits, astronomers have concluded that Sagittarius A* must be the central supermassive black hole of the Milky Way galaxy. The current best estimate of its mass is 4.297±0.012 million solar masses (4 million times the mass of our Sun).

Adding Sgr A* was kind of a last-minute decision lmao

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 14

Notes:

TWs: Brief yelling, higher being/authority, mention of past coercion, phantom injury.

Stay safe :)

The Rocky Planets were there first, voices low as they talked between each other. Mars stuck close to Earth, evidently hesitant to move away. Earth didn't seem to mind, or even notice that his friend was hovering, smiling at the company absentmindedly. Mercury took a break from talking to the Rockies and instead spoke to Luna.

Jupiter and Saturn emerged from the asteroid belt, the latter ignoring any attempt the former was making to form a conversation. Jupiter sighed, giving up as he shifted away from the other to stand on the opposite side.

Sun eyed his planets, eyebrow raised slightly as he looked between the Giants, 'Odd.'

Uranus came shortly after, clumsily tumbling out from the asteroid belt. He stretched his arms out, using them to keep his balance as he stopped beside the Rocky Planets. A few murmurs of greetings were exchanged between them before Uranus focused his attention on Saturn, floating over to talk to the ringed Celestial.

Sun squinted his eyes. A few minutes had passed and there was no sign of Neptune. That was strange since the blue Celestial would always arrive seconds after his cousin.

"Uranus," Sun spoke, eyeing the cyan artist, "Where is Neptune?"

"I haven't seen him much since he's been off trying to find a gift for Nine," Uranus responded, making the other two Giants look at him incredulously.

"A gift...?" The Sun uttered, "What kind of gift?"

"A NovaStar, I think."

"What!?" The Guardian scowled before twisting his head around, his eyes scanning the atmosphere as if expecting something to be there.

"Are you okay, Sun?" Mercury asked, noticing how erratic the other had become.

The Sun laughed, a wry smile on his face, "Hahahahah! Of course, I'm okay, Mercury! Nothing to worry about here!"

"But-"

"Everything's fine!" With a tense expression, his voice echoed throughout the solar system.

Mercury bolted behind the other Rocky Planets, a wide-eyed look on his face. Luna clung to the other's arm, trying to comfort him.

The Sun blinked, realizing he had yelled at his best friend. Bringing his hands up, he rubbed his face, huffing tiredly, 'I am the worst Star ever... why did I do that?'

"Heyoooo~, everyone!" A voice rang in the distance, "What'd I miss?"

Everyone turned just in time to witness Neptune bombard Uranus with a hug. The latter's eyes widened, trying and failing to keep balance as he returned the hug.

"Other than the Sun yelling at us, nothing much," Venus responded, crossing his arms.

"Oooh, fun! When will it be my turn?" Neptune beamed, shifting in place as he stood beside his cousin.

"Mate..." Uranus shook his head lightly, mentally facepalming.

"You... want to get-"

"Anyway!" The Sun interrupted Mars' sentence, "Onto the mee- wait, we're missing one."

"We are?" Earth looked around, mentally counting, "But everyone's here..."

Neptune shook his head, still smiling, "Not Nine!"

The other Celestials grew wary, looking at each other.

Sun grinned, "Exactly, Neptune! Now, do you know where Nine is, or...?"

"He decided to watch from the Asteroid Belt. I can go get him though!"

"That would be great!"

Neptune saluted, flying toward the inner belt.

...

Nine grunted, scratching his cheek for the tenth time. It had started to grow irritated and every time he'd stop scratching, it would get worse and worse.

'This wasn't happening before.' He thought, 'Why is it bothering me now?'

He had a feeling it had something to do with It.

'Why me? Why did it choose me from all the planets? I'm the smallest of the Giants, yet it decided to pick me specifically. What was the reasoning behind it...?'

His head was swirling with questions. He had asked himself the same things thousands of times over.

All of it was left unanswered, because who else would know what it's like to do someone else's bidding?

'Sedna and the others... they would know.' Nine frowned.

"Nine!" The Celestial jumped upon hearing a voice beside him.

"Stars- Neptune! Don't do that." Nine grunted, "Why are you here? Planet meetings aren't that short."

Neptune chuckled, circling the other, "Sun wants you to join the meeting!"

"Can't he take a hint? I already said no."

"I don't think you have a choice this time, brother-ino." Neptune looked at him apologetically, "The Sun was already yelling despite the meeting not starting."

Nine furrowed his eyebrows, eyes full of curiosity. Tilting his head, he thought about it.

'Would he hear me out...? Ugh, no, of course not. The Stars may very well be in cahoots with it...' Nine bit his lip, raising a hand over his mouth, 'What if he already knows...? Is that why he wants me there?'

"Nine? Are you okay?" Neptune's voice cut through his thoughts, making him blink as he registered the other's words.

"Uh, yeah, yeah." Nine waved it off, crossing his arms, "Fine, I'll join your stupid meeting."

"Yay!" Neptune cheered, grabbing his brother by the wrist and leading him out of the asteroid belt.

Nine let it happen, a permanent frown on his lips. He knew he had to face the others at some point, he just didn't want it to be so soon.

He winced as he felt a searing pain across his cheek. He brought his free hand up to rub it, his fingers gliding across the scar that marked his surface forever.

...

"Ah, Nine! Glad you could join us!" Sun clasped his hands, grinning at the navy Celestial.

"Not like I had a choice." Nine huffed.

Sun's eyes twitched, annoyance crossing his face before he laughed it off, "Oh, well... anyway, now that everyone's here, we can get the meeting started."

The Celestials settled down, waiting patiently for the Guardian to speak.

Sun peered down at them all, his brows furrowing slightly as he thought about what was at stake. Glancing around the atmosphere again, he spoke, "This meeting will be short, so I'll be quick- Neptune, Uranus told me you've been giving out NovaStars...?"

"Yep! I gave one to Uranus and Nine respectively."

The Sun's smile tense, "That's... nice and all, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop."

Neptune tilted his head.

"NovaStars are dangerous, mystical objects. They can't be handed out to random Celestial beings, let alone beings who don't know how to harness the true powers of the NovaStars." Sun explained, "And who knows what would happen if two were to make physical contact?"

"You mean we would all be sucked into a black hole or something?" Venus asked.

Sun froze at the mention of a black hole, yet recovered quickly, laughing and grinning callously, "Hehehahah, yeeaaahhh, maybe...!"

Nine squinted his eyes, noticing the hesitation in the Guardian's laugh and the wavering of his fanged smile.

'I could be wrong...' He thought, 'It seems he's hiding more than he's letting on, and leaving the others in the dark.'

Soon, the meeting was over, and the Sun requested one more thing before the Celestials were let off to do their own things.

"Nine," He spoke, "Can I talk to you- alone?"

The navy Celestial in question raised an eyebrow. He glanced over his shoulder to where Neptune hesitated, watching him intently.

Nine nodded, letting his brother know he would be alright. Neptune returned the nod, letting himself be pulled by Uranus as they flew away. The other Celestials returned to their orbits, not before casting questioning gazes to Nine.

And then there were two.

Sun looked down at him with an intense glare. He opened his mouth, yet Nine interrupted him.

"I didn't know Stars were capable of lying."

Notes:

Join the Discord. I have nothing interesting to say.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 15

Notes:

TWs: Torture, lying, non-con body modification/touching, and implied masochism.

Stay safe :)

Life is constantly fleeting. Draining. It drags and pulls you down until you can no longer move.

"How does it feel, Helios...?"

Life hurts you in more ways than one. It rips you in half and tears you apart limb from limb.

"Do you enjoy making others suffer...?"

Helios had found himself used to the feeling of pain. He also found himself liking it, wanting more each time. Both Celestial entities were similar in that regard; the pain fueled them. It made him sick to his core of how similar he was to  It .

"How you're being torn from the inside out... do you enjoy it?"

Helios held back a gasp as he felt sharp edges piercing into him. His eyes widened, watching the world around him with stars in his vision.

It held him tighter, "You fail to realize what I am capable of..."

Helios felt burning tears pricking his eyes. He squirmed in its grasp, trying to break free.

"Allow me to show you."

"Augh-!" The dwarf star yelled, eyes rolling to the back of his head as a loud hissing was heard. Everything faded to black despite his senses screaming at him to stay awake.

« NOW »

Sun laughed off the other's comment, "Hahaha, I have no idea what you're talking about, Nine!"

Nine raised an eyebrow, "So a black hole isn't going to destroy our home?"

"Yes," Sun nodded before his eyes widened as he quickly realized what he said, "Wait- I mean, no!"

'Gotcha...' Nine smirked, crossing his arms.

Sun glared at the Celestial, "Nibiru-!"

Nine raised a finger, "Ah-ah-ah, you can't get mad at me when you're the one keeping this from everyone else, but I would like an explanation..."

Sun growled, "Is this your way of getting me back, Nibiru? All those times that I tortured you and the others..."

"Has it all led up to this? I dunno. I'll leave it for you to decide." Nine shrugged, "But if you don't tell me, then I'll end up telling Neptune, who we both know will blab to everyone else."

Sun eyed him with a piercing stare. He sighed, scowling, "I hate that you're right."

"I always am."

"I'll tell you, but don't even think about telling the others," Sun uttered.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Nine placed a hand over his chest.

'I'm going to regret this...' The Guardian huffed, "First things first, Sagittarius A* is not to be taken lightly."

"Oh, I know- I was just wondering if you were working with him."

"'With'...? Hehah, teamwork is not a thing when it comes to black holes... they don't take 'no' for an answer." Sun grinned before humming, "Wait, you know? How would you know what Sagittarius A* is like...?"

Nine didn't respond, his eyes pointedly looking away.

Sun furrowed his eyebrows, "You know it..."

"It was only one time." Nine uttered, "And I'll never forget it for the rest of my existence..."

"What did it make you do? It wouldn't approach a planet unless it were desperate."

Nine peered over his shoulder to where the Rocky Planets and Luna played cards. He clenched his fists, his stomach twisting with anger and overwhelming guilt.

He took a harsh breath, looking at the Sun with sharp eyes, "I eradicated the dinosaurs."

"You did- what!?" Sun exclaimed, his eyes blazing red. His voice was heard throughout the solar system, causing the other Celestials to turn toward the commotion, eyeing the Sun warily. The Guardian blinked, recovering from the initial shock as his eyes returned to their original glowing pale yellow. He cleared his throat, hissing in a low voice, "What do you mean you did that? Jupiter told me he did it and he wasn't lying!"

"That's because he thought it was the truth."

"So, you-" Sun paused, shaking his head as his gaze fell, "Of course... of course, it would use my own planets against me."

"...If it's any consolation, I used a smaller asteroid." Nine spoke.

Sun gave the other a deadpan look.

"Right. Not the time."

« × »

"So, what you want to do is go up to him and give him this." Europa levitated a Mars-sized rose, handing it to her planet.

"Uh, where in the Milky Way did you get this from?" Jupiter raised an eyebrow, twirling the planet in his fingers.

"Earth." Europa responded, "He has a lot of pretty things like this rose, so might as well put it to good use."

"You can thank me for getting it." Callisto spoke, "Those two are still on the Rocky Planets' bad side and the Earth only tolerates me since I saved him from getting hit by asteroids."

Jupiter sighed, eyeing the rose, "Right... well, okay then."

"Trust us, this is the way to go." Europa smiled, "As long as there are no-"

"Jupiter!"

Europa's face fell into a grimace, "Distractions."

The Giant Celestial turned, spotting the biggest moon of Saturn, "Hey, Titan! What brings you here?"

Titan seemed to have flown across the orbits in a hurry as his breathing was heavy, "Uh, well, I-I'm not sure... I think there's something wrong with Saturn. H-He won't wake up and he's been twitching and moving a lot and there's this... black substance coming out of his mouth."

Jupiter frowned, overwhelming dread pooling in his stomach, "Show me."

Titan led the Giant across orbits, and the latter's A-Team followed closely behind.

Once they reached where Saturn was, Jupiter and his Galilean moons went stock still with shock.

Saturn's eyes were closed, his head and hands jolting around as if he were in pain; a black liquid seeped from his mouth and down his chin.

Jupiter opened his mouth, but he was too stunned to speak. His core hammered in his chest, and all he wanted to do was reach out and hug Saturn- to protect him from the distress he might be feeling.

He eyed the black substance around his mouth, reaching out to see what it was.

"Don't touch him!" Yelled a voice.

Jupiter's arm was yanked away from the ringed Celestial as Nine held it back.

"What the- what are you doing!?" Jupiter exclaimed.

"Stopping you from doing something idiotic- as always!" Nine furrowed his eyebrows, "No one is to touch him!"

"Why not?" Jupiter pushed the other away, "Tell me, why do you know so much about what's been happening?"

"What's going on here, mates?" Uranus flew up behind them, looking at them cautiously. Neptune followed behind him before floating off to hug his brother, who wrapped one of his arms around Neptune.

"Yeah, Nine, care to explain?" Jupiter glared daggers at the other.

"I..." Nine stopped short, squinting his eyes, "I can't explain it, but do not get close to Saturn."

"Why not?" One of Saturn's moons, Dione, asked. She kept a calm exterior, showing no emotion, yet Nine saw through the mask.

"Because..." Nine glanced at Saturn, "He's been corrupted."

« . . . »

"Wh-Where...?"

Prying his eyes open, the ringed Giant found himself in an inky abyss. There was nothing as far as his eyes could see. He was alone in a wasteland.

"Wh-What is this place...?" He asked no one in particular. He raised his hands to his chest, breathing in and out slowly as he tried to collect his thoughts.

"Doesn't it just eat you up inside?" Saturn jolted upon hearing a rumbling voice from all around him.

"Huh- Who's there!?" Saturn looked around, yet found no one. He was still alone.

"Aren't you terrified of the consequences?"

"What...? I-I have no idea what you're-"

"Don't try to lie to me, Kronos... after all, I know everything- I see everything! You've done more wrong than right."

"I..." Saturn bit his lip. He turned his gaze down, clasping his hands over his ears, "No! I will not listen to you!"

There was a laugh, "It's funny how you think that would work."

Saturn forced his eyes shut as the voice reverberated through his mind.

"It's clear to me that talking won't get you to listen..."

"Agh!" Saturn yelled, feeling a crawling sensation within his chest. He felt a rush of heat as something drove into him.

Opening his eyes, the Celestial gasped, the pain of it all crashing into him.

His chest. Oh, his chest.

A wide, gaping hole separated his layers, showing off his rocky and metallic core.

Notes:

Well, that was something.

Join the Discord :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 16

Notes:

TWs: Sneaking away, torture/manipulation, worry/anxiety, injury/scars, anger. Stay safe :)

"Woah, what's happening over there?" Mercury pointed out, noticing the scene beyond the Kuiper belt. He dropped his cards, rushing over to the asteroid belt to get a better look.

"Hey, wait for us!" Earth abandoned his cards, following the small Celestial.

"What do you think is happening?" Mars asked, eyeing the Giants gathering in one spot.

"I don't know, but I think Saturn's hurt." Luna frowned, noting how the ringed Giant didn't interact with anyone as he twitched in place.

"Should we go over there?" Mercury questioned.

"Beats standing around and doing nothing all day!" Venus furrowed his eyebrows as he waved a hand to move the asteroids.

"Hey, get back to your orbits, you five!" Sun hollered.

"But, Saturn-!" Earth got cut off.

"Let the Giants handle it! They know what they're doing." The Guardian glared.

The Rocky Planets and moon looked uncertain before returning to their orbits, all except two.

Unbeknownst to them, the moons of Mars made their way to the asteroid belt, slipping through the debris.

"Maybe being small is a good thing, Phobos!" Deimos smiled.

"Being bigger beats being made fun of or forgotten, Deimos!" Phobos frowned.

"Say you agree just this once!"

Phobos rolled his eyes, "Fine, we are undetectable this way."

Deimos grinned.

"But it's not very efficient!" The bigger complained, "We're not even a quarter of the way there."

Deimos hummed before suddenly taking off, "I'll race you- last one there doesn't get Mars' attention for a week!"

"What!? That's not fair, you cheater!" Phobos flew after him.

« × »

"Something's happening with the Giants." Gonggong pointed out, prompting the group of dwarf Celestials to look over.

Sedna blinked, 'Nine?'

"We should check it out!" Quaoar rushed forward. Sedna didn't waste time in following him.

"Hey, we can't just- ugh..." Gonggong sighed, shaking his head before pursuing the others.

Orcus hesitated as Salacia moved past him. She glanced at him, "Ya comin'?"

The bigger one barely looked at the other, turning away. Salacia frowned, a huff escaping her lips. She inched closer to the other, trying to get him to meet her eyes.

"Oi, I can tell something's wrong." Salacia spoke, "What is it? If it's about earlier-"

"N-No," Orcus shook his head, "I-I just have a feeling... l-like we're being watched."

Salacia felt a prickling on the back of her neck. She whipped her head around, "Weird... now that you mention it, I get the same feeling."

The two stood there with bated breath as they watched the atmosphere.

Salacia took Orcus by the wrist, "Come on, we should stick close to the others."

Orcus nodded, taking one last glance behind him as he was led by the smaller.

...

"Nine!"

The navy Celestial glanced behind him, eyes widening, "Sedna? What are you guys doing here?"

"We were wondering what was happening here." She responded. Nine was about to respond when Quaoar gestured to Saturn.

"Is that normal?" The ringed ovoid Celestial questioned.

Saturn curled up, holding himself tightly as his hands clutched onto his arms.

"He's fine-"

"He's not fine, Nine!" Jupiter yelled, "Look at him- he's in pain!"

"You think I don't know that, Zeus?" Nine scowled, "Forcing him to wake up will only worsen it- trust me."

Jupiter scoffed, "You want me to trust you after what you did?"

"Fine! Don't trust me. Just let Saturn wake up on his own accord."

"And if he doesn't...?" Jupiter's voice was significantly quieter.

"He will." Nine assured, not only for Jupiter's sake but his own.

« . . . »

"Why is it that all of you planets are stubborn?" The voice hissed, "Helios isn't a good role model, it seems... and neither are you, hahah-! I mean, come on... destroying your own moons? How evil can you be?"

"N-No...! Th-That was only... a theory! It hasn't been proven!" Saturn shook his head, arms jolting as he tried to cover the hole in his chest.

"Really...? Then you don't know a moon named  Chrysalis ?"

Saturn gasped, his eyes bolted wide. His breathing wavered, "H-How-?"

Another laugh, "As I said before, I see everything... and you, my dear Kronos, are the worst of the worst."

Saturn sucked in a stuttering breath, "No... I refuse to listen to you."

The ringed Giant bared his teeth, preparing for what came next.

"What are you-?"

A core-shattering scream pierced through the atmosphere.

"Agh!" The voice was pushed away.

Saturn shielded his chest with his arms, waving his hands as he tried to layer the gases over his core.

"Ugh...! Too loud...!" The voice glowered, "You little-!"

Before he knew what was happening, a glowing inky hand reached out toward him. Saturn shielded himself with his arms.

And found himself face-to-face with his friends.

Saturn blinked; he was awake, or was he asleep and the voice wanted him to think he was awake? He didn't know anymore.

He noticed Jupiter had a hand outstretched toward him while Nine (when did he get here?) held him back. Uranus and Neptune eyed him warily, the latter seemed more jumpy than usual as he held himself back from hugging the ringed Celestial. Titan, Dione, Enceladus, Mimas, and the rest of his moons seemed in shock as they huddled together, staring at their planet. Nine's friends, the dwarf planets from afar, stood frozen a few units away, watching the scene play out.

Saturn opened his mouth, "Wh-What happened...?"

That seemed to set off various actions; his moons and Neptune bombarded him with a hug, Jupiter smiled in relief, Uranus shed a few happy tears, the dwarf Celestials cheered, and even Nine had a look of solace on his face.

After the small celebration, everyone talked amongst themselves, and Jupiter shifted to the other, grabbing his hand, "You okay?"

Saturn nodded lightly, glancing at their laced hands, "Mhm, I'm just not sure whether I'm awake or still... dreaming."

Jupiter squeezed his hand, running his thumb across Saturn's knuckles, "I can assure you that you're very much awake."

Europa nudged against Jupiter, offering the rose from before. The Giant huffed, taking it and revealing it to Saturn, "Here."

Saturn frowned, eyeing the flower. He hesitantly took it, analyzing it, "What is this...?"

"It's called a rose. They grow on Earth."

"It's quite beautiful." Saturn smiled.

"As are you..."

"Huh- ack!" Saturn dropped the rose, clutching his chest. Everyone turned their attention back toward him. Jupiter let him lean against him and Uranus held his arms out to catch him just in case.

"Saturn?" Jupiter looked at him worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Easy, mate..." Uranus uttered when Saturn tried to move forward.

"Do you need help, Saturn?" Neptune asked. The ringed Giant nodded and made a gesturing motion to his chest, "On it!"

With the blue Celestial's help, Saturn was able to take off his vest and shirt to look at the disturbance.

"That's... definitely not normal," Neptune muttered, poking at the marking on Saturn's chest, causing the other to flinch, "Sorry, uh- hey, that scar... it looks like the one on Nine's cheek."

Nine instinctively covered his left cheek as everyone turned to look at him.

'Damn it...' He thought, furrowing his eyebrows.

« × »

"I didn't think Saturn was able to scream like that," Luna spoke.

"It was unsettling, to say the least..." Mercury agreed.

"Let's just ignore it for right now." Mars suggested, "It seems he's fine right now-"

"I wouldn't be too sure." Venus huffed, pointing at something.

"What's happening now?" Earth questioned, staring at the scene as everyone gathered around Saturn, then turned to look at Nine.

"I have no idea, but it seems Nine has something to do with it," Mars said.

"Figures." Venus shuffled through his cards.

Earth was quiet, staring at the scene for a moment more, eyes on the mysterious navy Celestial. He always seemed familiar, but Earth didn't know why.

"Wait," Mars looked around, "Where's Phobos and Deimos?"

"Probably realized how boring you are and decided to leave you," Venus smirked.

Mars gave him a deadpan look.

"What? I'm kidding! They practically worship you, they would never."

Mars sighed, "I hope they're not getting into too much trouble..."

Earth bumped into the other's shoulder, giving him a smile, "You know that's always the case."

Mars flushed at the contact, laughing lightly, "Hahah, yeah...!"

Venus stuck his tongue out as he watched the scene, 'Idiots.'

The Sun watched from where he was sitting, eyes squinted as he gazed upon his planets. He let out a low growl as he noticed why everyone was gathered around Saturn.

Plasma boiled through his flames, riling him as his eyes turned red, 'It can torture me all it wants, but no one messes with my planets.'

Notes:

Oh, I went to a Van Gogh immersive exhibit. Pictures are on my Instagram; transacewithapan

Might add them to my Tumblr soon; transacewithapan (Astraea)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 17

Notes:

TWs: Past injuries/torture/coercion, anger, destroying things.

Stay safe :)

"Oh dear..." Spica uttered after Sun was done explaining, "And you're sure it was its mark?"

"I'm sure. Nine has the same one, only on his left cheek." Sun nodded.

"What are we going to do?" Regulus asked, "It's not like we can eliminate the marks. After all, once a Black Hole sets its hands on you, there's no way to cleanse yourself."

"Unless Sagittarius A* were to undo the marks itself," Sirius crossed his arms, "But we all know that's impossible. Most Black Holes are relentless."

Proxima perked up, "That's right- most Black Holes are... but not all of them!"

The Stars turned to look at the smallest. Toliman gestured them to continue, "Go on..."

"Sun, you have a few NovaStars floating around your part of the Milky Way, right?"

Sun hummed, "Nine, Uranus, and Neptune each have one."

"Do you happen to know their names?"

"Well, there's Wěi, Pinwheel, and Messier."

"Messier, like from the Messier 87 galaxy?"

"Yes, but I don't see why-"

"BH M87 is exactly who we need to help us!" Proxima exclaimed. The Stars looked at them incredulously.

"Did you eat those weird space crystals again?" Toliman furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

"No- well, maybe- but not the point! Just hear me out," Proxima pulled a chalkboard out of thin air.

"Where did you-"

"Just go with it." Toliman gave Regulus a look.

Proxima began to write, "I've heard that M87 has been... less than happy lately. It contains a few hundred billion stars and one hundred fifty globular clusters, making it the dominant member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, which includes around two thousand galaxies."

"And where is this going exactly...?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Spica, you reside in the Virgo constellation, right?" Proxima turned to the blue Celestial.

"Correct." Spica nodded.

"You've seen what it's like there, right?"

"Well, not exactly..." Spica raised a hand to her chin, "Sure, I've seen a few Stars die out over the centuries, but it's not like I know M87 personally."

"Regulus?"

"Ah, can't say for sure..."

"Then, we'll just have to connect with it." Proxima drew up a diagram.

"Are you crazy? M87 is 1500 times more massive than Sagittarius A*!" Regulus gestured as he stepped forward, "Just think about what will happen if we tell M87- he might destroy us himself!"

"I have to agree, Proxima." Spica spoke, "It's too risky."

The smallest Star frowned before looking back at the chalkboard, eyeing the diagrams of the Virgo and Leo constellations before humming, "Wait... something's missing."

"Are you even listening-" Regulus got cut off by an elbow to his side, "Augh, hey!"

Toliman ignored the blue Star, staring at his sibling, "What do you see, Prox?"

"Messier 87 is right here." Proxima circled an area between the constellations before looking at a clear area of the board, "We're missing something here."

Spica analyzed the chalkboard, her eyebrows furrowing as she dug through the memories in her cortex. She blinked, coming to a realization as she uttered, "The Bootes constellation."

Regulus froze, whipping their head to look at the taller, "But that's where..."

Spica nodded, "Arcturus."

« × »

Nine sighed, running his hands through his hair multiple times as he took deep breaths. He just had to run. Now he probably looked even more guilty. What else was he to do? He wasn't supposed to tell anyone, especially not the Sun. He didn't want it to be after him, not after what happened all those years ago.

He scratched at the mark on his cheek, the stinging sensation becoming irritating. He huffed.

"Looks like you've got yourself in quite the void."

Nine scoffed, "You can say that again."

Pinwheel hummed, "Want to talk about it?"

"Does it look like I do?"

"It might make you feel better."

"Ugh, fine..." Nine situated himself on an asteroid, "Where do I even begin?"

"When you first encountered Sagittarius A*. It's the reason you're in this mess, right?"

"Well, not exactly. I was ejected because I did something unforgivable. I met Sagittarius A* a little bit after... huh, now that I think about it, it was obvious from the start that it was using me." Nine raised a hand to his cheek, "How could I have been so foolish...?"

"It left its mark on you." Pinwheel uttered, "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah, but it's never itched this badly, and trying to heal it has proven pointless."

"The only way is with huge concentrations of matter and electric charge, which can only be found in black holes."

"Right."

"So, the black hole in this galaxy... how intimidating is it?"

Nine grunted, "Very. What about yours?"

"Mine...? The Pinwheel Galaxy doesn't have a supermassive black hole, instead, it's quite small... about twenty to thirty times the mass of your Star." Pinwheel explained, "But it does consume material at a much higher rate, including stellar wind."

"Interesting..."

"So, Sagittarius A* forced you to get rid of a planet's life? Did you say no?"

Nine didn't respond, eyes cast down, "Can't NovaStars dig through memories? Why aren't you doing that?"

"I want to hear it from you." Pinwheel encouraged, "You can trust me."

The navy Celestial heaved out a heavy sigh, "It didn't have to force me into anything. I said yes without hesitation."

Pinwheel said nothing, wanting to hear the Celestial before jumping to conclusions.

"I was just so... pissed off at everyone!" Nine seethed, clenching his fists, "Every single one of the planets is a bunch of goody-goodies and it annoys me how much they suck up to the Sun! The Sun isn't the one we should worry about, hehaha, no- it's the black hole keeping our galaxy together!"

Nine slammed his fists against an asteroid, shattering it to pieces. He stayed in that position, hunching over the remains. He took a few breaths, bringing his hand up. Small debris lay there in his palm. He shifted his hand, watching as they drifted into the atmosphere.

"Your hands..."

"Yep." Nine eyed the black decaying surface of his palm. The corners of the mark were noticeably pale.

"Nine," Pinwheel spoke, "This isn't your true color, is it?"

« × »

"We have to tell Mars!" Deimos yelled, pulling on his brother's arm.

"Tell him what? Even we have no idea what's happening!" Phobos pushed the other away.

"Uh, uhm... well, we'll figure something out!" Deimos stuttered, "Orrrr- maybe we can ask Titan!"

"Ask Titan what?" A voice spoke.

The tiny Celestials perked up, "Titan!"

The bigger one looked down at them, squinting his eyes, "Aren't you two supposed to be with Mars?"

"Yes!"
"No!"

Phobos face-palmed, clearing his throat, "Ahem, we were just returning! We saw everyone over here, so we decided to check it out."

"Well, why don't I make sure you guys get to where you need to be?" Titan suggested, peering over his shoulder at the scene, "The Giants can handle this for now."

"Yay, we're spending time with Titan!" Deimos exclaimed.

"This is so exciting!"

Titan smiled, ushering the smaller moons away from the scene as the Giants talked.

"Does it hurt?" Jupiter asked, staring at the black decaying mark.

"Mmh, yeah..." Saturn pressed a few fingers against the surface, wincing as it stung.

"Has anyone seen Sedna?" One of the dwarf planets, Gonggong, asked the others.

Quaoar shook his head, "If I had any guess, I bet she took off after Nine."

Neptune stared off into the distance, eyes glazed over. Uranus came over, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, "You okay, mate?"

"He ran..." Neptune muttered, "Why did he run?"

"Probably cause he thinks we see him as the cause of all of this."

"But he's not!"

"How can you be so sure?" Uranus looked at him, forcing them to make eye contact, "No offense, mate, but you can't remember what he was like."

Neptune's jaw went slack as he deflated, "Right... that's right."

Saturn adjusted the sleeves of his shirt, and pat down his vest. He said nothing the whole time, thinking to himself. He placed a hand on his chest where the mark was, "Jupiter."

The bigger one looked at him, humming, "Yes, Saturn?"

"Have you read in any of your books about celestial beings and... marking?"

Notes:

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 18

Notes:

TWs: Past manipulation/torture/ejection, self-deprecation.

Stay safe :)

A white planet lay on the outskirts of the solar system. Alone. He was shaking with anguish.

He let out a low growl, staring through the debris where he blasted through. Once, he had called them friends, but now... nothing. They were never his friends.

A storm raged on within him, one that could rival Uranus.

Why couldn't they see? He was just trying to get their attention, and now no one would listen to him again.

He wandered the ethereal beyond the Kuiper belt, searching for something to do, something to pass the time. He found nothing, but an empty abyss.

He figured out a way to hide his true color. From then on, he didn't go by 'Nibiru' or 'Erebus'. Instead, he went by Nine. He preferred it that way.

Then, as he fell into a deep sleep, a voice spoke to him;

"Don't you wish everything could change?"

And if that didn't entice Nine, well...

« × »

"So, your true color is white?" Pinwheel inquired.

"Yep. Every bit down to my core is frozen solid." Nine waved his hand, "My wind speed is more chaotic than Uranus, my gravity is unparalleled compared to Neptune, and my orbital period is unlike any other celestial being  in the solar system."

"Does anyone else know?"

"The planets. I don't think they care, to be honest. I'll always be the same old X to them; an outcast from the start."

"Neptune cares."

"Of course he does, he's Neptune- he cares about everyone the same."

Pinwheel laughed, "Do you think he'd care about Sagittarius A* if he'd knew what it did to you?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Do you think he'd let the others treat you like a bad guy for everything you've done?"

"...No."

"And all those times Neptune visited you, sometimes more than once a day- you're telling me he doesn't care about you more than the others? Not even a smidge?"

Nine didn't respond, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

"I mean, he even calls you his brother despite celestial beings having no form of connections whatsoever!"

Nine sucked in a breath, a shaky chuckle pouring from his lips, "Hah, you're right... why are you right?"

"Heh, it wasn't easy... I did have to search through some of your memories though, hope you don't mind..."

Nine swiped a hand over his eye, "Not at all... you- thank you, Pinwheel."

"For what? I'm merely the messenger." Pin hummed.

"For helping me realize... I don't actually know what I'm doing." Nine's frown deepened, "I can't tell the others and I can't trust anyone, not even myself."

"Uhm... I don't want to alarm you, but there's someone behind you."

Nine craned his head to peer behind him. His eyes widened slightly, "Sedna? What are you doing here?"

"Sorry," The red dwarf Celestial spoke from behind the debris, "I didn't mean to... intrude? It's just- you ran off and I was so worried, so I followed you, and, well..."

Nine nodded, "I understand, but I'm alright now."

"Are you sure?" Sedna continued to stare at him apprehensively.

"I'm sure." The navy Celestial gave a small smile in assurance, "I promise."

Sedna returned the gesture, "Okay... I'll be with the others if you need me."

"Okay." Nine watched Sedna back away.

"And Nine?" Sedna looked back at him.

"Yes?"

She bit her lip, contemplating for a moment before speaking, "You know you can trust me with anything, right?"

"Wha...?"

"Anyway, I'll see you later."

Nine watched her fly away, his gaze unblinking and trance-like. His head tilted slightly, an aching feeling swelling deep within his core.

"Oooohhhh~ someone's got a crush...~" Pinwheel sang, snapping Nine back into reality.

"What!? No, I don't!" Nine yelled.

"Mmmhm..." Pinwheel laughed to himself, "Your mind says otherwise~"

"Get-!" Nine growled, then huffed, "Of all the NovaStars to be stuck with..."

"Hey!"

« × »

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Regulus turned to the bigger Star, "I mean, this is Arcturus we're talking about!"

Spica sighed, "I hate to admit it, but right now... we could use any help we can get."

"Alright, so you two will set the plan into motion!" Proxima pointed to the two blue Stars, "We'll stay here in the meantime to figure out the rest."

"Except for Sol," Sirius spoke.

"What? Why me?" Sun looked at the white Star with a panicked and questioning gaze.

"One of your planets was just attacked. You should be there to keep watch in case something else were to happen."

"But-"

"Sirius is right. I know you want to help, Sol, but your planets need you more than us, especially one that can sustain life." Spica smiled.

Sun averted his eyes, nodding slightly, "Yeah, you're right. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Of course."

The yellow dwarf caught the orange dwarf's eye and looked at him for a few seconds which felt like minutes to them. Then Toliman smiled wryly, "Don't get into too much trouble, Sol."

The words caught Sun off-guard, making him cackle. He grinned, baring his fangs, "Hah! Who do you think I am!?"

With that, the Sun disappeared into the inky abyss.

"Maybe therapy would help." Spica wondered after a moment of silence, a hand on her chin.

"Or maybe an exorcist," Regulus uttered. Everyone turned to look at him, "What?"

. . .

When the Sun awoke, he was greeted by five faces staring up at him.

"Why is everyone crowding me? Do I have something on my face?" Sun slapped his cheeks.

The Rocky Planets backed away, Mercury stepping up to the plate, "Uh, Sun? Do you have any idea what's going on with Saturn or Nine?"

"Am I supposed to...?" Sun raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah, you're the Sun for crying out loud!" Venus gestured wildly. Sun furrowed his eyebrows, opening his mouth to say something when he was cut off.

"Hey, what's going on over here?"

"Titan?" Luna tilted his head, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to return some runaways." The moon spoke, "Go on, Phobos and Deimos."

"Wha- Phobos? Deimos!? Where the heck were you two!?" Mars knitted his brows, reaching out to hug the smaller moons.

"We were spying on the Giants!" Deimos responded.

"We were trying to find out what was going on!" Phobos continued.

Mars sighed softly, patting them on the head, "Well, at least you two are safe..."

Sun cleared his throat, "Ahem. As I was about to say before I was interrupted..."

Titan hung low under the heat of the Sun's glare.

"I may be a Star of 'limitless amount of knowledge,' but the truth is..." Sun took a deep breath, looking between his planets and moons, "I don't know everything."

"What!?" Everyone was genuinely shocked as their faces grew wary and nervous.

"B-But- you're the Sun!" Earth exclaimed.

"And...? I'm a Celestial being like the rest of you. Despite being ten times your size, shooting solar flares, and being the center of this solar system... there's not much I can do."

"What- are you even hearing yourself, Sun!?" Mercury flew up until he reached the Sun's point of vision, "The solar system would disintegrate without you. Planets, moons, asteroids, and comets would fly off into the abyss due to the loss of your gravitational pull! You keep us in place, you ensure we're not wandering too far from our orbits- you care too much to let anyone else go!"

"That's... mmh..." Sun tried to avert his gaze, yet Mercury followed, holding it.

"You're giving Planet Nine a second chance for something he did in the past, right? And what about your past friends? You were the one who messed things up, yet you apologized. Sure, some of them are still holding grudges, but they gave you a second chance, right?"

"That's right... they did."

Mercury crossed his arms, "Now I don't want you saying there's not much you can do. You still have a whole solar system looking out for each other, and that includes you."

Sun smiled, watching as the small Celestial regrouped with the others.

"Wow, Mercury, that was amazing!" Mars grinned.

"Yeah, way to go!" Earth ruffled Mercury's hair, annoying the latter. Luna had stars in his eyes as he stared at Mercury, his mouth shaped like an 'o.'

"I could've done better." Venus grumbled, making the other Rocky Planets look at him, "What? I'm kidding! Good job, pipsqueak, or whatever."

Sun smiled slightly, feeling the pit in his stomach dissipate as he took his friend's words in.

However, it quickly returned when he noticed the other Giants heading towards them.

"Sun! I think I know what's going on!" Jupiter exclaimed, a hysteric look on his face.

Notes:

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 19

Notes:

TWs: Drama, brief confrontation, cliffhanger, manipulation/torment.

Stay safe :)

"Everything about this is risky..." Regulus muttered beside Spica as they made their way across the abyss of the void.

"I know, but we're running out of options." Spica spoke, "Luckily, Arcturus is one of those Stars who listens before acting."

"Luckily..." Regulus huffed.

"We're getting close..." Spica squinted, spotting a red twine in the distance, "There."

Regulus pushed forward, reaching for the string, "Allons-y!"

Spica glanced around before taking the glowing red string in her grasp, "Here goes nothing..."

The atmosphere shifted drastically as she felt a heavy pull overwhelming her.

"Ah... if it isn't the Little King and the ear of grain." Arcturus grinned, flashing his fangs, "What brings you two here?"

"Lovely to see you too, Arcturus." Regulus crossed his arms.

"Arcturus." Spica stepped forward despite the tight feeling around her throat, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor...? This is new." Arcturus smirked, "Last time we talked, you preferred doing things independently."

"Times change, Arcturus." Spica frowned, "As time goes on, we grow weaker... while Black Holes grow stronger."

Arcturus raised their eyebrows, "Black Holes, you say...? I'm listening..."

Spica nodded at Regulus before looking at the bigger Star, "Sagittarius A* has been... unstable recently. It threatens to upset the balance of the Milky Way."

Arcturus' eyebrows twitched as they angled their head, "Is that so...?"

"Yes, and we figured we could use your help."

"Why my help?"

"Talk to BH Messier 87 for us." Regulus spoke.

Arcturus eyed the smaller Star, "M87? Real shame... I've heard that Black Hole's grown soft."

"Well, Sol has something it might fight for." Spica told him, "A NovaStar."

Arcturus raised their eyebrows, "My, my... It's a one-in-a-hundred-thousandth chance for a Star to drop a Novae- how in the one hundred ten astronomical objects of Messier did he get it?"

Spica and Regulus looked at each other, their eyes holding a conversation.

'Should we tell them Helios has two more?'

'Are you crazy? Of course not!'

"Sol is just lucky, I guess." Spica shrugged, acting casual about it.

Arcturus squinted, "That so...? Well, I will admit, I am intrigued. It's not every day that a Black Hole wants to rip apart its own galaxy."

Spica pursed her lips, "Right, so... you'll help us?"

"You've got yourself a deal." Arcturus' eyes radiated with red flames as he peered at the smaller Stars, "But if I do this for you, you have to do something in return."

"And here we go..." Regulus scoffed as they turned away.

Spica glared at the smaller before turning her attention to the Red Giant, "What is it?"

"You," Arcturus leaned down to Spica's height, "Have to find a NovaStar for me."

Spica didn't seem bothered by the proximity as she bowed her head, "Okay."

"Mmh... I can always trust you, darling." Arcturus smirked as he straightened up.

'Darling?' Regulus whipped their head to look at Spica, yet faltered upon seeing the tension of her body and the growing glare on her face, 'Guess they have history...'

"Anyway, it'll take a few days to reach Messier 87. I hope you're not in immediate danger or anything." Arcturus spoke.

"We can hold our own, Arcturus," Spica told him.

"Oh, I know you can..." The Red Giant crossed his arms, "I was referring to Sol, given that he has a history of causing trouble wherever he goes, not to mention he's also a Dwarf Star."

"What's wrong with Dwarves, eh?" Regulus felt offended on behalf of his siblings.

"Hah, I always forget that two Dwarf Stars orbit around you." Arcturus chuckled.

"It's three." Regulus clenched his fists.

"Ah, right... the one that's always forgotten."

Regulus furrowed his eyebrows, his body tense, "You bloody pr-"

"Regulus." Spica grabbed her friend's arm, restraining him from moving forward, "We should go now- the others are waiting."

"Mmh..." Arcturus smiled, keeping his eyes on the smaller of the Blue Stars, "Send my regards to Sirius, Toliman, Sol, and Proxima."

"Will do," Spica responded, dragging Regulus away as they ground their teeth. She whispered to him, "Not a word, Regulus."

« × »

"You know what's going on, Jupiter?" Mars asked.

Everyone turned their attention to Jupiter, who held his chest as he steadied his breathing, "Right, well- I think I know the jist of what's happening, not really everything, per s-"

"Just get on with it!" Venus yelled.

"Okay, ahem, so we know that Sagittarius A* attacked Saturn and potentially Nine...?" Jupiter glanced at the Sun, who nodded in confirmation, "And it left marks behind. I read somewhere that Black Holes can bend celestial objects to their will, and this is through marking."

"What, like a marionette?" Earth asked.

"Precisely."

"Creepy... treating me like a puppet on a string," Saturn muttered, rubbing his aching chest.

Sun hummed. It did make sense. The smaller the Black Hole, the more experimental it was. Of course, it would torture its victims before tearing them apart.

Wait.

Sun snapped his head up, eyes flickering around.

Victims.

"Where's Nine?" Sun furrowed his eyebrows upon not seeing the navy Celestial.

"He ran off to the Kuiper belt," Uranus responded.

Sun scowled, "Find him. He's in more danger than all of us can imagine."

« × »

"Woah-! You look amazing!" Pinwheel gushed, watching from Nine's peripherals as the Celestial's colors faded, "I can see the frozen wasteland from here!"

Nine huffed, wondering why the NovaStar was entranced by his true color. Nothing was lying on his surface, let alone under it. He didn't have life or water. He was just ice. Cold, frozen, and dead.

"You won't get anywhere if you keep thinking like that," Pinwheel spoke.

Oh. He had forgotten the Novae could hear his thoughts.

"I think you're cool because you're unlike anything I've seen before; I mean, a completely white planet... if only you were closer to the Sun, then you could shine brighter than any other Star."

"I used to be closer to the Sun, then we were pushed back to make room for the Rocky Planets." Nine sighed, looking down into the abyss, "I used to be closer to Neptune as well... until I realized my orbit was shifting away from him and then I ended up close to the Kuiper belt before I was ejected and found myself on the other side of it."

"You've been through a lot..."

"Yep, but I deserved it."

In the Ethereal, one would watch from their Novae, not knowing what to say or do to comfort their holder. Instead, they looked on, observing the Celestial who occupied himself by smashing asteroids together.

In the Ethereal, one would notice a slight change in the atmosphere.

Pinwheel snapped his head away from the Novae, whipping it around. He peered over his shoulder, wide-eyed as he felt a pit forming in his stomach.

He was supposed to be alone. No one could follow him when he was attached to a Celestial.

'Unless,' Pinwheel looked up, the wind getting knocked out of him as something struck him down, "Agh!" He was forcefully pulled away from his Novae, faintly hearing Nine letting out a pained yell. He reached out, his vision blurry and stippled with black spots as he tried grasping his Novae, "Nine...!"

 

---

Notes:

Someone drew fanart for me without realizing it was fanart lol

Look how good it is!!

Artist: Christina_3004 on Discord

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 20

Notes:

TWs: Torture/injuries/violence/near-death experience, manipulation.

Stay safe :)

Nine clutched at his chest, feeling something piercing through his core. The left side of his face throbbed with pain and half of his vision was obscured in blackness, "Ngh...!"

He brought a shaking hand to his cheek, recoiling upon finding a sharp texture buried where the marking was.

"Alone again, are we?"

Nine's breath hitched, his eyes looking around wildly as he breathed heavily.

"Ah, how I missed this... still furthest from the Sun, I presume?"

The white Celestial grunted, "W... Why a- agh!"

A pulsating shockwave of electricity ran its course through Nine, making him squirm in place as he held himself close.

"Ah-ah-ah...  I  do the talking, remember? All you have to do is listen."

Nine growled, grinding his teeth as he held back what he wanted to say.

"Oh, don't give me that look. After everything I've done for you, after everything you went through... we're supposed to be friends."

Nine scoffed, regretting it once he felt a tightness in his core.

"I gave you the power of the Stars, and you don't even  thank  me. Pitiful, really... I thought you wanted to destroy them. They're the reason you're here. Alone. Abandoned.  Lonely . You haven't seen or talked to anyone in billions of years, yet here you are  forgiving  them...? Pathetic. I knew you couldn't handle it. I knew you were too  soft . You're just like that  nuisance ..."

The tightness increased tenfold. Nine felt his surface cracking from below. The icy terrain shattered like glass. He sucked in a breath, clutching his chest as he tried to stabilize his breathing. It was unbearable. He felt shooting agony across his body, digging and penetrating him in the worst way possible. The pain was worse than when he was ejected. Only this time, he was being torn apart.

"Do you know what's worse than dying?"

Nine didn't respond, focusing on trying to heal himself while his surface fractured.

"Knowing you never got a chance to say goodbye. But I mean, it's different for you... after all, no one cared about you- you're just an outcast... you were destined to fail from the very start."

Piece by piece, Nine felt his core breaking under the immense pressure.

'N... No... must not... give in.' Nine grunted, the stress forcing him into a fetal position. He forced his eyes shut, focusing his energy on his straining body.

"Even if you do persevere, you still are no match for me... say hello to your moons for me."

There was a pause as the pain seemed to cease, the cracking coming to an end.

He took a breath, his chest heaving.

Then it all came smashing down.

"Aaaaagggghhhhhh!"

All at once, the pain exploded into a cacophony of misery. Bits of his surface fell into the atmosphere while his core split in two. He couldn't see anything, a black crystal-like haze covering his eyes. He couldn't hear anything over the sound of his surface plunging into the void. Deep inside, he knew he wouldn't make it.

This was the end for-

"That's enough!" A voice pierced through the atmosphere.

The pain subsided, leaving Nine a wide-eyed spectacle as he finally managed to catch his breath.

"Ugh, you again..."

"I don't know if I made this clear, but for your information, this is my NovaStar!" Pinwheel yelled, a clear edge to his voice.

"Does it look like I care...?"

"You overestimate your strength that you forgot one thing," Pinwheel spoke.

It scoffed, "Oh? And what's that?"

Pinwheel snarled, "Nothing... is more powerful than a NovaStar."

"Wha-  Agh !"

"Amove te ab hac Novae!"

Nine couldn't make anything out, eyes still covered with black iridescent crystals, hearing the offending Black Hole's yells dissipating.

"What... happened?" Nine asked after he couldn't hear anything more.

"I cast it out of your body." Pinwheel spoke, "Unfortunately, it's a temporary fix... it'll be back."

"Great..." Nine blinked, raising his hands to wipe his eyes.

"Don't!" Pinwheel yelled, "That'll only rub it in and make things worse."

"What else am I supposed to do? I can't see anything."

"Those crystals are Asterium, one of the most powerful objects here and known to be unbreakable just like Novaes."

"Well, great..." Nine grunted.

"Oh, yee of little faith... there is one way to get rid of it; purified Asterium."

"Wait, I need the thing that's blinding me in order to heal me? Do you realize that makes no sense?"

"Purified Asterium is different from regular Asterium, dummy. Regular Asterium has a black glow around it, and Purified Asterium has a purple glow."

"And I can't see either way... dummy."

"I'll just have to be your eyes." Pinwheel spoke, "The others are looking for you, so we'll have to make our way to them."

"Damn, I can't let them see me like this..."

"Why not? Neptune will be more than happy to help heal you."

Nine didn't respond, biting his lip as he dropped his head.

"Ah, is that what this is about...?" Pinwheel uttered, "You're afraid of being seen as weak."

"Isn't it obvious?" Nine grumbled.

"I don't know... you're the one who hides everything."

"Hah, I don't hide! If anything, Jupiter and Saturn are the ones hiding- honestly, everyone thinks so highly of them when they've done more wrong than all the planets combined!"

"Then why don't you tell everyone the wrongs they've done? Why do you hide here?"

Nine clenched his fists and his lip trembled, "Just seeing them makes me so, so... furious. I can't stand being around them for more than a minute- I could barely hold it together when everyone was worried about Saturn- and Jupiter just... I can never win with him."

"Well, have you tried-"

"Nine! Nine, where are you!" A voice echoed in the distance.

"Sounds like Neptune... ugh, I can't let him see me like this." Nine raised his arms, reaching around him for the nearby asteroids, hoping to use them as a cover.

"Why not? You know Neptune isn't one to judge someone- let alone think lowly of someone he looks up to."

Nine faltered, flinching when a small piece of debris hit him in the face, "He... what?"

"I can tell he admires you a lot. He does think of you as his brother, after all."

Nine opened his mouth, wanting to say something yet he couldn't seem to find the words. There was a long pause as Nine found himself recalling the times Neptune seemed to look at him a certain way- it was very different from how Neptune looked at the others yet it was similar to the look he gave Uranus, someone the blue Celestial also claimed as 'family.'

"I didn't realize..." Nine muttered, "But why me? I'm no better than Jupiter or Saturn."

"Nine!?" The voice was getting closer.

"So? Everyone here is flawed, some more than others... that doesn't make us any less Celestial."

"I... guess you're right."

"I know I am!"

Nine scoffed, "Fine then, guide me to where Neptune is..."

"He's just up ahead. I'll tell you when you're about to run into anything, just use your gravity."

Nine nodded, slowly pushing forward with his arms stretched outward.

"Careful- there's a group of asteroids to your left," Pinwheel warned, watching from the peripherals as Nine swept his arm, moving the asteroids to the side, "This would be easier to just yell out to him."

"Yelling is beneath me."

"...Right." Pinwheel deadpanned, "You're getting close, just move the asteroids in front of you."

"Augh!" Nine winced upon accidentally flinging an asteroid at his left shoulder. He grimaced, raising a shaky hand to where it smashed on impact.

"Nine!? Is that y... you."

He felt the atmosphere shifting before him as two featherlight hands touched him. Nine flinched, feeling the hands quickly retract.

"Wh-What happened?" Neptune asked.

"Oh, y'know... black hole stuff." Nine shrugged, then quirked an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you remember me."

Neptune furrowed his eyebrows, "What? I saw you hours ago, I'm not that forgetful!"

"You don't... Neptune, what color am I?"

"White with blue-ish undertones."

"And what color was I a few hours ago?"

"Dark blue... wait." Neptune blinked, his eyes widening with realization, "Oooohhhhh!"

Nine hummed, "Mhm..."

"Neptune. Don't get distracted." Messier spoke.

"Oh, right! You need to be with everyone else- you'll be safer that way!" Neptune took Nine by the hand, ensuring he wasn't squeezing too tight.

"I'm not too sure about that." Nine spoke.

"What do you mean?" Neptune questioned.

"I only survived because Pinwheel was with me." Nine responded, "That doesn't mean I didn't get off easy though... I'm completely blind and I can still feel my surface cracking underneath."

"Uranus and I can handle healing your surface... I'm not sure about the black crystals or the blindness. Maybe the Sun can figure it out!" Neptune pulled Nine forward, guiding them slowly through the Kuiper belt, "In the meantime, don't worry too much! I'm sure everything will be fine!"

"Mmh, let's hope so..." Nine uttered, subconsciously squeezing Neptune's hand.

---

Notes:

Translations:
Latin =
Amove te ab hac Novae - Remove yourself from this Novae

(Translations brought to you by Google Translate)

Comments are appreciated <3

I GOT MORE FANART!!!
This is from a scene from the second book; Hey, Who Could It Be? (No, It's Gotta Be...!)
It's based on the scene in the upper right corner :)

Artist: PickledCeres on Discord

Chapter 21

Notes:

TWs: Injuries/pain, past manipulation/gaslighting.

Stay safe :)

The Sun glared down upon his planets, watching Uranus and Neptune heal Nine's surface, the latter wincing when they came upon a deep fracture.

"I'm not cold enough to do this part..." Neptune frowned.

"Allow me, mate." Uranus waved his hand over the rupture, ice discharging from his palm as he went over it a few times, "I can only begin to imagine what your core looks like, Nine."

Nine huffed, "It's practically two halves- I don't know how I'm still alive."

"You said Pinwheel helped you, right?" Neptune asked, "Maybe that's what it is... the NovaStar is keeping you stable."

"Are you sure Neptune isn't the smart one?" Pinwheel chuckled, "I enjoy his little tidbits and theories."

Nine hummed, 'He's always like that, even before I was ejected. He can be smarter than Jupiter at times.'

The Sun crossed his arms, prompting everyone to turn to him. Nine felt a sense of relief; he knew everyone was staring at him with pity and he hated it. He loathed the attention.

"How could I let this happen...?" Sun uttered, shaking his head.

"This isn't your fault, Sun." Mercury spoke, "No one knew this would happen."

Except the Guardian did know this would happen, a memory flashing in his mind as he furrowed his brows and bit his tongue.

"How can I lead a system when they don't even listen to me!? I've tried  everything , Almighty One." Sun had said.

"You let them walk all over you, Helios. It's time to  make  them listen." Sagittarius A* responded.

"But how?"

"You say you've tried everything, but did you try a more  combative  approach?"

"You mean like using my whip...?"

"Exactly! They don't listen to you because they think you're weak; a pushover."

"Wha- I am not weak or a pushover!"

"Then show them who you really are, Helios; a Star with great potential to become like me."

The Sun had grinned, nodding assuredly, "You're right! I'm the Star and they're  nothing  compared to me!"

Sun blinked, raising a hand to his temple, 'Why couldn't I see it sooner? It was using me from the start...'

"Your core is more damaged than I initially thought..." Uranus' voice brought the Sun out of his daze, "Neptune, you handle the back- I can do the front." The duo placed their palms on Nine's chest and back. Uranus glanced at Nine, "This might hurt a bit."

Nine sighed, "I've been through worse- bring it."

Uranus looked at him unsurely yet turned his gaze to Neptune, curtly nodding, "Three... two... one..."

The pain came instantaneously, the ice and water passing through both sides of him all at once. Nine held his tongue, his fists clenching as he held his breath. It wasn't worse than what Sagittarius A* did to him, but it was close.

A core acted like a heart for every Celestial. Without it, the Celestial's features and powers would disappear for good and they would eventually grind into nothingness.

"Almost..." Uranus uttered, placing his other palm on Nine's chest to exert more energy, "Neptune?"

"I finished- there wasn't much cracking in the back."

The ringed Ice Giant released his hold on Nine's chest, flexing his hands, eyeing his frigid fingers as they began to sublimate, "Man, that did a number on me... I should get going soon else I'll melt."

Neptune latched on to his cousin, "Don't worry, Uranus, I can help keep you cold!"

"That's not how..." Uranus trailed off, yet found himself relaxing into the hug and pulling the other close, "Oh, fine..."

"Great, I'm healed." Nine stretched his arms, "But I still can't see shit."

"Allow me- I just so happened to obtain a charm," Sun spoke.

"A charm...? What good will that do? Pinwheel said I need purified Asterium." Nine frowned.

"Charms are purified Asteriums. Stars believe they grant good luck to the Celestial holding it." Sun explained, pulling out the small object, "A few seconds should do the trick."

Nine could only use his senses to tell when the purified charm was close to him, flinching when one of the sides poked him.

"Hold still," Sun uttered before placing the purified Asterium against the Celestial's cheek once more. A blinding light emitted from the object as soon as it made contact with Nine's cheek. He winced, closing his eyes as it overwhelmed him. Black, purple, blue, and yellow sparks radiated from the crystals on Nine's face and everyone watched with an awestruck stare.

The black iridescent crystals covering half of Nine's face shattered, leaving behind the mark on his cheek. The charm's color pulsated as it was directed to the X-shaped mark.

The Sun's eyes widened as he watched the Asterium seal the mark, a permanent scar in its place.

'Huh, it really is lucky...' Sun thought, pulling the charm away, 'I didn't know it could do that...'

Nine felt the Sun shifting away, prompting him to open his eyes. A surprised look settled on his face. He raised a hand, touching the place where the mark should've been. "It's... gone?"

Neptune squirmed from where he was floating, pushing forward to capture Nine in an embrace while still holding onto Uranus, who tried to escape the group hug, "Ooh... this is great, Nine!"

Nine frowned, 'Is it...?'

"Still having doubts?" Pinwheel inquired.

'Of course. This all seems too good to be true.'

"Saturn, come forward." Sun beckoned.

The ringed Celestial shifted closer, "Yes, Sun?"

"That mark on your chest." The Guardian gestured.

"Oh, right! Go ahead," Saturn looked down at his vest, "Uh... should I take my shirt off for this, or...?"

"I don't think so- this should only take a moment."

Saturn nodded, tensing once the purified Asterium was placed near his chest; bursts of white, brown, pink, and orange discharged from the charm immediately. Saturn winced, his chest aching with pain. He felt a slight pinch, biting his lip until it eventually subsided.

"I think it's done, but you should check to make sure," Sun spoke, putting the charm away.

Saturn pulled at the collar of his shirt and vest, peering down to look at his chest. He blinked, "Nothing's there."

"Good- that's good..." Sun sighed, threading his hands through his hair as a calming mechanism, "Everything should be fine now..."

Nine and Jupiter looked at the Guardian, one with squinted eyes and the other with a raised brow.

"Everyone shouldn't stray from the solar system. Stay in groups of three or more. I won't allow anyone else to get hurt." Sun ordered, "And Nine, you are to stay near Neptune's orbit."

"But-"

"No buts!" Sun seethed, his eyes glowing red, "Stay inside the Kuiper belt limits, do I make myself clear?"

Nine huffed, "Yes."

"Good. Now there's something I need to check up on—the planet meeting is dismissed!" Sun watched as the Celestials retreated to their orbits. He exhaled, turning away from his planets, 'Spica, Regulus—any updates on Arcturus?'

"They're making their way to Messier 87 as we speak," Spica responded.

"Are we sure we can trust that bastard?" Regulus asked.

"I don't know why we shouldn't trust M87. After all, it seems there's more to it than meets the eye." Spica spoke.

"I wasn't talking about M87." Regulus spat, "It's Arcturus I'm worried about. We all know they have ulterior motives."

'What ulterior motives? Even if they're a Red Giant, they're more sane than most.' Sun furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah, right..."

"Don't worry about Regulus, Sol- they've been like this ever since Arcturus made a slight comment about Dwarf Stars."

'Ah...' Sun hummed.

"Honestly, who does he think he is!?" Regulus shouted, making Sun wince at how it echoed, "Just because they're bigger, they think we're incapable of pushing them around!"

"Because we are... we would literally be crushed," Spica spoke.

"Ugh, stupid Red Giants... think they're so much better than us." Regulus pouted.

"Anyway... Sol, do you think you can protect your own for a while? It takes some time to get to M87." Spica said.

'Of course, I can! Nothing's getting past me!' Sun grinned.

"Alright, we should tell the others our progress then."

Sun hummed, 'I still need to thank Toliman for the charm. I used it to heal Nine and Saturn's markings and it worked like a charm!'

Regulus groaned while Spica laughed.

"Please, for the love of everything Starlight, don't make a joke ever again," Regulus spoke, "They're terrible."

"Awe, I thought it was good." Spica quipped.

"That's because you're weird and have the humor of a ProtoStar."

Spica gasped, "Take that back!"

Sun chuckled, listening to his friends' back-and-forth banter.

"Anyway! We're getting off track!" Spica cleared her throat, "We should get going."

"Yeah, plus I don't want to listen to Sol and Toliman flirting with each other," Regulus spoke.

Sun flushed, his eyes widening, 'U-Uh, wha-'

"I don't hear you denying it."

'I will turn you into  Stardust .'

"In your dreams, Rigil Kentaurus knock-off."

Spica sighed, "Guess I'll do it myself..."

Notes:

The term 'ProtoStar' used in that context is similar to preschooler/kindergartner, so it's a big insult lol

Rigil Kentaurus is Centauri A, the third Star in the triple star system of Alpha Centauri (in which Toliman and Proxima also reside). It's also a G-Star, just like the Sun :)

It was my birthday a few days ago. I'm officially 20 (even if I don't feel like it lol)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 22

Notes:

TWs: Rude behavior, brief crying/anxiety.

Stay safe :)

"Messier, can I ask a favor?" Neptune spoke, watching his moons mess around in the distance while Triton hung out with the main dwarf planets as they were also ordered to stay out of the Kuiper belt.

"Go ahead." The NovaStar responded.

"Can I hand you off to Saturn?"

"What-?"

"Well, I figured since he was targeted by Sagittarius A* and he doesn't have a NovaStar to protect him like Nine did, so..."

Messier huffed, "Are you absolutely certain this is what you want?"

"Without a doubt!"

"Positive?"

"I'm always positive!"

Messier sighed, "I'm serious about this, Neptune, you have to know that I won't have full access to your mind. I wouldn't be able to see through your eyes or memories. I'll only be able to sense whether you're nearby."

"We'll still be connected through our minds though, right...?" Neptune asked, "Just like when Nine held onto you- you could still contact me despite me touching the Novae once."

"That's correct... and are you sure you've never had an interaction with Sagittarius A*?"

"I'm-"

"Think about it, Neptune. Your memory isn't the best- I dug through it, but what I saw... nothing matched up. There are memories from billions of years ago and a lot of holes throughout."

Neptune bit the inside of his cheek, "Well if it does get to me, then you have to promise me something."

"What is it...?"

"No matter what, you'll be the one to save me."

« × »

'I hate this, I hate them, I hate myself, I hate everyone, I hate doing nothing, I especially hate that Black Hole-'

"You hate a lot of things, don't you?" Pinwheel mused.

'What gave it away?' Nine rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"You should try initiating a conversation..."

Nine scoffed, 'No, no way. I am not talking to Jupiter or Saturn.'

"I was going to suggest Uranus- the guy seems lonely."

The white Celestial turned his head, seeing the cyan figure writing in his diary as usual. Nine pursed his lip, eyebrow twitching.

"What is it? I can sense you're becoming stressed." Pinwheel spoke.

Nine opened his mouth, then closed it, shaking his head, 'Nothing- it's nothing. Maybe you're right, I should try to talk to someone... and I don't mind Uranus' company, unlike the others.'

"Okay... maybe I can give you some pointers."

'Oh, please. I can do this myself. I talk to Neptune and Sedna all the time, having a conversation isn't that hard.'

"That's because you let them talk for you..."

'I don't need advice from a dead Star, thank you.'

In the Ethereal, one's eyes would widen as they peered through their Novae, voice coming out in a whisper, "O-Oh, alright... I'll be watching from afar then."

An ache spiked in Nine's chest, becoming heavy with every breath he took. He looked down, sighing, 'I'm-'

"I know, Nine. I know you didn't mean it. I can tell you've been under a lot of pressure lately."

'That's putting it lightly...'

"Yeah... but, hey- maybe talking to someone can relieve some stress."

'The last time I talked to Uranus, we debated which Star would explode first, Guihai or Shen Yue.'

"Who won?"

'Me, of course.'

Pinwheel hummed, "Oh, of course..."

'It was obvious Guihai would die first.'

"Stop stalling and go talk to Uranus."

'I'm doing no such thing.' Nine huffed and slowly made his way to the cyan Celestial.

"Now, all you have to do is say 'hello.'"

'I still don't need advice.'

Pinwheel pouted, "Fine then... I'll just watch."

Nine watched Uranus for a few moments as the other wrote in his diary. After eyeing him a few seconds more, Nine cleared his throat, "Ahem."

Uranus jolted, snapping his diary shut as he looked up at the intruder, "Wha- ah- Nine...? I didn't expect to see you here, mate."

"Well, contrary to popular belief, this used to be my orbit." Nine spoke.

"Right, right... and that all changed when you were ejected."

"Mmh," Nine nodded, pursing his lips, "I didn't expect you and Neptune to switch orbits, though."

"Me neither," Uranus opened his diary, flipping through the pages, "But hey, it's not so bad. I guess..."

Nine nodded, turning away as a question gnawed at him in his mind, "Say..."

"Hm?" Uranus hummed, glancing up at the other.

"Do you remember?" Nine kept his gaze away, waving his hand, "How you got like... that?"

Uranus raised an eyebrow until he realized what Nine was gesturing to, "Oh! Do you mean my axis? Some parts are still foggy, but I'm pretty sure a planet-sized asteroid hit me... actually, Pluto was there- he witnessed the whole thing."

"Pluto..." Nine's eyes immediately darted to where the dwarf planets were playing their roleplaying game, only to find that the ex-planet was looking at him already. The dwarf planet jumped, turning his attention to the game. Nine bit his lip, "Of course..."

"What is it, mate?" Uranus pulled out his pen, eyes glued to his diary.

"Nothing, nothing... I have something to do- have fun daydreaming and writing about your crush."

"Wait, what-?" Uranus looked up in a panic, watching as Nine flew away. The cyan Celestial huffed, mouth twitching, "Bastard..."

« × »

"For the last time, Jupiter, I swear I'm fine." Saturn turned away from the other upon noticing him approaching for the umpteenth time.

"I know," Jupiter knitted his brows, raising a hand to adjust his collar and fix his sleeves, "It's just..."

Saturn noticed the nervous habit, his head tilting, "What is it?"

Jupiter kept his left hand pressed against his right sleeve, stroking the smooth fabric to ground himself.

Saturn furrowed his eyebrows, frowning, "Jupiter...?"

The bigger Celestial didn't meet the ringed one's eyes. He couldn't bring himself to, not when he thought he was so close to losing the other hours before.

If Jupiter looked into Saturn's eyes, he would never look away again for fear that he was going to lose his soulmate for real.

There was only one Saturn.

There was only one friendly, lovable, sensitive, naive, sassy- and has a bit of a temper- Saturn.

For Jupiter, it was love at first resonance.

A touch sent him spiraling back to reality. He glanced down, seeing Saturn's hands intertwined with his.

"You know you can tell me anything, Jupiter," Saturn smiled softly, "We've known each other for millennia."

"I know, I just..." Jupiter bit his lip, his thumb rubbing the back of Saturn's knuckles. Saturn gave his hands a reassuring squeeze, waiting patiently for him to continue. Jupiter let out a sigh before finally looking into the other's eyes. Once he did, he was trapped. His mouth opened and the words escaped before he could stop them.

"I love you."

Saturn froze, eyes widening as he looked at the other, tensing as he tightened his grip on Jupiter's hands. He made a strained noise, barely opening his mouth. He blinked a few times, shaking his head.

"I'm, uh- you- I- what?" Saturn shook his head firmly, squeezing his eyes shut.

Jupiter pulled away, forcing his arms to his side as he inspected the cuff of his sleeve, "Mmh, nevermind- forget it, you've already been through enough, I'm not gonna-"

"Stop- no. You're not-" Saturn raised his hands, effectively getting the other to shut up. Saturn sighed, frustratingly, as he tousled his fingers through his hair, gazing up at the Ethereal, "Please don't be another dream..."

Jupiter perked up, raising an eyebrow, "Another...?"

"It's not weird to dream about your fellow planets, Jupiter, especially when one of them is... one you've known for billions of years." Saturn played with his hair, pulling and tugging on it, "I- I just never expected..."

"Never expected what...?" Jupiter questioned, shifting closer.

"For you," Saturn gestured with his hand, "To like- let alone love- me... back."

Jupiter let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Slowly, he looked at Saturn, speaking softly, "Really...?"

"Really..." Saturn whispered, scoffing lightly, "I've dreamt of this moment for millions of years and I've never imagined it ever coming true because you're, well... you. You're the oldest, the wisest, the smartest, and everyone goes to you for advice or fact-checking... and then there's me, the opposite of all of that. I'm the second oldest, everyone thinks of me as the 'Jewel' of the solar system, I'm a coward, not the brightest, often condescending towards others, especially my moons-" Saturn took a deep breath, his hands shaking as he tried to steady himself, "A-And I don't f-feel guilty for ejecting Nine..."

Jupiter let the ringed Celestial vent, frowning as the other went on.

"Isn't that just awful? It happened ages and ages ago, yet I still can't let it go..." Saturn sniffled.

"Saturn..." Jupiter uttered, moving closer to embrace the other in a hug. Saturn returned it, burying his face in Jupiter's shoulder.

"What he did to them was horrible... how can I forgive him and act like nothing happened?"

Jupiter rubbed his back methodically. It wasn't the first time he'd done this, and it was far from the last.

Saturn took a few moments to collect himself, staying situated in Jupiter's embrace. He was so quiet that Jupiter thought he had fallen asleep until the ringed Celestial spoke.

"Do you remember..." With a shaky voice, he whispered, "When we were created?"

Jupiter smiled faintly, "How could I forget? You practically saved me from barreling toward the Sun and causing any more damage to the Terrestrial Planets... Mars could've been a lot smaller."

Saturn chuckled, "Thank Stars, he's not."

Jupiter laughed lightly, "Why do you ask?"

Saturn hesitated, "I was just wondering since..."

"Since?"

"The Stars shone so brightly back then... it made what we were doing seem special."

"It was special." Jupiter spoke without hesitation, "That dance meant everything... without it, who knows if the inner planets would exist?"

"...Yeah." Saturn nodded, effectively nuzzling further into Jupiter. He bit his lip, his face growing red, "Do you think we can recreate it- without putting anyone in danger this time?"

Jupiter hummed, an amused smile rising on his face, "Sure."

Saturn breathed, relaxing against Jupiter's chest, "Great..."

"You'd know I'd never say no to something like that." Jupiter frowned.

"I know- I'm still making sure this isn't a dream."

Jupiter huffed.

"Hello!" A voice blurted, spooking Jupiter and Saturn out of their hug.

"Agh!" Saturn clutched his chest, "Neptune! How many times..."

"I know, I know, but it's important!" The blue Celestial smiled apologetically. He looked between him and Jupiter, eyebrow raised, "I hope I didn't interrupt anything..."

"Uh, no- you didn't, we're just... it's nothing." Saturn shook his head, face red, and hands clammy.

"Alright... anyway! I need to talk to you, it's important!"

"So, you've said..." Saturn glanced at Jupiter, "Uh-"

"Go on." Jupiter spoke, "We can dance anytime."

"Thank you..." Saturn smiled, "And I love you, too."

Jupiter smiled, warmly, his face heating up as he looked at the other. Then he remembered they had an audience. Jupiter glanced at Neptune, yet strangely the smaller did not react. He just smiled as he watched the interaction. Saturn also seemed to notice.

"Well... what were you going to tell me, Neptune?"

Without another word, Neptune grabbed Saturn's wrist, dragging him away.

Notes:

I haven't watched the new episode, but I just know it's filled with misinformation.

If you portray yourself as an 'educational' channel, DO THE FUCKING RESEARCH (excuse my French)

Who cares if you have a schedule? It won't be the end of the world if you're late to post ONE video. Screw the fans, just make the episodes accurate.

At least I try with my information. I looked up many articles and Wikipedia pages, but the SB crew, unfortunately, doesn't do that and it shows.

Also, why are you promoting AI? %99 of the time, it gives you misinformation as it picks from multiple articles (which may be from uncited sources) and pastes its response. It said Uranus had 27 moons and guess what? It was wrong (of course)! Uranus has 28 moons.

Never trust AI. Be sure to fact-check whatever BS it gives you.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 23

Notes:

TWs: Intimidation, rude behavior, mention of past injuries.

Stay safe :)

Nine watched the main dwarf planets from afar, his eyes squinting as he focused on the ex-planet.

"Nine, you better not be planning anything," Pinwheel spoke.

"You know I'm past those days." Nine grumbled, "For now."

"Nine, please." Pinwheel urged.

"What's wrong with a little confrontation?" Nine questioned, moving forward.

"I can think of many things..." Pinwheel muttered.

"Well, keep them to yourself. I have to talk to a certain dwarf." The white Celestial flew over to where the dwarf planets were situated.

Haumea noticed the Ice Giant first, eyes widening as he poked and prodded Makemake, who winced and grabbed the other's wrist.

"Ow, what is it, Hau- oh my Stars!" Makemake lifted his gaze once he saw the glistening surface of the giant Celestial out of the corner of his eyes. Haumea hid behind Eris, who crossed her arms and gave the Giant a pointed glare. Pluto and Charon held onto each other's arms while Ceres huddled between them, seemingly confused about what was happening. Triton eyed Nine momentarily, examining the Giant's look.

"Huh," He hummed, "Cool."

"Literally and figuratively." Nine spoke.

Eris raised her eyebrows, looking between them, "Did we miss something?"

"Not really." Nine and Triton responded.

Makemake raised his hand, "Can I ask you a few questions?"

"No." Nine quipped, "The less you know about me, the better."

"Nine." Pinwheel cautioned.

The white Celestial sighed, "Fine, I can answer a few questions, but not now. I'm busy at the moment."

Nine's eyes darted to Pluto, who had moved behind Charon. The moon glanced at her partner, eyes growing concerned.

"And why are you here?" Eris asked.

"I need to talk to 'Declassified Planet' over there." Nine gestured to Pluto.

In the Ethereal, one would facepalm and sigh exasperatingly, muttering under their breath as they shook their head.

"May I ask why?" Charon scrutinized the Giant, looking at him cautiously.

"I just have a few questions... is that so wrong?" Nine furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's so wrong is that you still haven't apologized for what you did to us." Charon frowned.

"Oh, is that all? Fine," Nine sighed, "I'm... sorry for kidnapping you guys and holding you hostage. I just needed to convey that I was serious about seeking vengeance."

The dwarf planets looked at each other, a silent conversation with their gazes until Charon turned to Pluto, who gave a small nod.

"Okay, you're forgiven," Charon spoke as she turned to face the Giant Celestial, "But, I would like to hear what you have to say to Pluto."

"Charon, I can handle it." Pluto cut in, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know, and I'm not saying you can't, but whatever he has to say, he can say it to your moons." Charon frowned, and Pluto noticed her eyes glimpsing at his shoulder for half a second. Despite being covered by his puffy brown jacket, Pluto still had the scorch mark from where Nine released his anger.

Pluto looked at her, and despite the anxiety rising within him, he found himself nodding. He turned to Nine, "If you don't mind, I would like Charon to join me."

Nine shrugged, "Yeah, sure, whatever. Let's go."

Without another word, Nine flew away. Pluto and Charon shared a glance.

"You guys continue playing, we'll be back," Pluto spoke to the other dwarf planets and Triton, who nodded, albeit hesitantly.

As Pluto and Charon followed after the mysterious Celestial with a redesign, Triton frowned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"So," Nine stopped once they got a good distance from the others, crossing his arms and looking at Pluto with a squinted gaze, "Do you know what happened to Uranus?"

Pluto blinked, not expecting the question. He nodded hesitantly, "Yes...?"

"So you know he got hit by a large asteroid?"

"What?" Charon squeaked from beside her partner.

"It happened before we collided with each other, Charon." Pluto explained, "I tried to warn Uranus, but he didn't hear me in time."

"Wow, that happened at the beginning of the solar system...?" Charon muttered, "It does make sense, though- there was a lot of rubble and debris floating around at the time."

"Did you see where the asteroid came from?" Nine asked.

"I don't think so?" Pluto responded, "It came out of nowhere."

Nine glowered, giving Pluto a hard stare causing the dwarf planet to back away and avoid the other's gaze.

"Is that all you wanted to ask?" Charon pushed her partner to the side upon noticing his discomfort, "If so, we would like to get back to our game."

Nine huffed, "Alright, you may go... see you around- or something."

"Right!" Charon grabbed Pluto's arm, dragging him away.

The white Celestial stared after them, eyes glazed over.

"Okay, what aren't you telling me, Nine?" Pinwheel spoke up, "And don't try lying, 'cause I know when you are."

Nine glanced down into the void, "You know how I made many mistakes in the past?"

"Yes...?"

"This was one of them."

« × »

"If you don't mind me asking, dear Neptune, what was so important that you dragged us all the way out here?" Saturn asked, looking around the atmosphere, eyes growing wary upon how empty it was, "I don't think I've ever been this far from the Sun before..."

"Right!" Neptune grinned, blinking one eye then the other, "Sorry to drag you away from your husband, but-"

"M-M-My what!?" Saturn stuttered, feeling his face flushing deep red as his eyes widened.

"Your husband- Jupiter," Neptune stated as if it was obvious.

"Wha- I, uh- n-no, no, no!" Saturn shook his head as he waved his hands dismissively, "W-We're not- we're just, w-well..." Saturn trailed off, averting his gaze as he thought, 'We both like each other, so... what does that make us?'

"Anyway!" Neptune blurted before Saturn could spiral on it further, "I wanted to give you something!"

"Oh...?" Saturn blinked, "What is it?"

"Do you remember when you got attacked by that black hole?"

"It happened less than ten hours ago... so, yes." Saturn smiled, eyes creasing in trepidation.

"Well, I figured I would give you this." Neptune reached into his coat, pulling out his NovaStar.

Saturn's smile fell upon seeing it, eyebrows raising, "Wha- but Neptune, that Novae is what's keeping you from being attacked."

"Exactly! The Black Hole attacked you for some reason, who knows what would've happened if you gave in?"

"But I didn't give in. I'm here and I'm fine." Saturn gestured around, "Besides, you need it for yourself."

Neptune seemed genuinely confused, "Why? It's not like I know anything."

"That's because you don't have the best memory, dear..." Saturn uttered.

"Precisely! Why would I be attacked if I know nothing?" Neptune grinned.

The ringed Celestial looked at the other, eyebrows twitching, before finally letting out a sigh, "Fine... if it'll make you happy, I'll take the NovaStar."

"Yay!" Neptune practically leaped for joy, "Saturn, this is Messier- Messier, Saturn."

Saturn tensed when Neptune handed the Novae over, wide-eyed and looking at it apprehensively.

"With him around, I almost forget that my orbit is 165 years long!" Neptune laughed, then whispered, "Haaaaa, almost..."

"Neptune..." Messier sighed, catching Saturn off-guard and nearly causing him to drop the Novae, "Woah-!"

"Ah- sorry, sorry!" Saturn apologized profusely, "I didn't expect you could talk."

"Nobody does, it's fine," Messier spoke.

Neptune watched the interaction, practically glowing, "Well, I'll see you later, Messier! I expect you'll take good care of Saturn."

"Please be careful, Neptune." Messier advised, "You never know when Sagittarius A* will strike next."

"He's right," Saturn nodded, "Why don't you stick with Uranus and Nine, Neptune? They also have NovaStars, right? So they'll be able to protect you."

"Sure! If it eases your minds, I'll head to Uranus' orbit now." Neptune smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you, Neptune." Saturn bowed his head.

"For...?" The blue Celestial tilted his head.

Saturn chuckled, glancing at the Novae in his hands, "Being you."

...

"Be careful with Hippocamp and Psamathe, Galatea and Larissa! They're the smallest of the bunch." Neptune warned, eyeing his moons as they chased each other, "Proteus, Nereid, keep an eye on them!"

"Okay!" The bigger irregular moons yelled.

"Man, how do you do it, mate?" Uranus questioned, tearing his eyes away from his canvas.

"Do what?" Neptune glanced at his cousin.

"Your moons," Uranus shifted closer, gesturing, "They seem to admire you and even listen to you. How do you do it?"

"Hahah, well that's easy! It's because I-" Neptune stopped, blinking one eye then the other, "Because I... because...?"

"You okay, mate?" Uranus placed his hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Mmh, I suppose it's because I was like them once," Neptune spoke.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really..." Neptune let out a yawn, suddenly feeling drowsy, "I can just communicate easily with them."

Uranus nodded, rubbing the back of Neptune's shoulder, glancing at him when he yawned once more, "Tired?"

"Yeah, but I swear I wasn't sleepy earlier."

"Maybe all of the excitement has finally caught up with you. You should rest for a bit, mate." Uranus pulled away, "I'll watch your moons for you."

"Thanks, Uranus," Neptune spoke, his voice groggy as he closed his eyes.

Uranus smiled upon realizing the other was already asleep. He pulled his canvas, setting up where he got a good view of Neptune's moons, and started to paint.

Unbeknownst to him, Neptune twitched from where he slept, his mind and body plagued.

Notes:

*Laughs maniacally in the distance*

You also may be wondering; "Where is AstroDude? He was in the prequels- where is he now?"

That's a good question, and it'll be answered.

Not saying when ;)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 24

Notes:

TWs: Gaslighting/manipulation, implied torture, brief arguing, lying/keeping secrets.

Stay safe :)

"Nice to finally meet you,  Neptune ."

The blue Celestial looked around, his eyes wide with panic, "Who's there!?"

Neptune took in where he was; an empty void of space where Stars could be seen in the distance. He could faintly make out the Kuiper belt a few units away. He noticed how alone he was; the planets and moons- his friends- were nowhere to be found.

"Just how it's always been."

"What...?" Neptune looked up, whipping his head around to try and figure out where the voice was coming from.

"You should be used to being alone. Not getting to see your friends or your  moons ..."

Neptune winced, looking down as he pursed his lips.

"Didn't you  lose  your moons at one point? What's up with that? Couldn't bear to  lie  to them anymore?"

Neptune blinked, shaking his head, "What? No, no- I've never lied to anyone, especially not my moons."

"What makes you so sure, hm? After all, you don't have the 'best' memory, as I've heard..."

Neptune folded in on himself, bringing his knees to his chest, "I don't understand... just tell me who you are!"

The voice scoffed, "Seriously...? Hmph, it's no wonder you locked your memories away, the other planets likely deemed you as a moron."

"H-Hey! That's not very nice!" Neptune frowned, becoming defensive as he crossed his arms.

"And I'm not a nice being. Get over it."

Neptune forced his eyes closed, fingers digging into his arms as he tried to wake himself up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It'll only make my job easier."

Neptune huffed, "Just leave me alone! I'm not supposed to be talking to you!"

"Oh, so you  do  know who I am? Did you just now remember, or did you know the whole time and didn't want to admit it?"

Neptune bit his lip, limbs shaking and eyes watering as he forced his head down.

"Ah... just as I suspected." Sagittarius A* spoke once it realized Neptune wasn't going to answer, "You really are nothing but a manipulative liar... you think you have everyone fooled, but not me."

Neptune shook his head, lips quivering, "I- I don't know wh-what you're talking about... I swear, I don't know anything."

"Sure, you don't know anything now, but with a little 'prying,' I'm sure you'll remember everything."

Neptune took a breath, speaking cautiously, "What does that mean...?"

The Black Hole ignored the question, humming, "Try not to move around too much..."

"Wha- ugh!"

« × »

"Something's wrong," Wěi spoke.

Uranus snapped out of his concentration, his paintbrush rising from the canvas as he stopped, "What is it?"

"I don't know..." Wěi uttered, "I have a sudden sense of dread as if something bad is going to happen."

Uranus hummed, eyes rooted on Neptune's moons, "Do you think we should warn the Sun?"

"No, not yet, at least." The NovaStar responded, "It's only a feeling, nothing more."

"If you say so, mate." Uranus continued painting.

In the Ethereal, one would think about the situation and how to go about it.

'Although, I should warn the others.' They thought before closing his eyes and yanking on the loose threads. They felt the atmosphere shifting, dropping deep into the void before altering again. He opened his eyes, finding himself before a yellow NovaStar.

Wěi looked around; nothing to see for a couple of Astronomical Units away.

It was always quiet in the Ethereal. He almost preferred it that way.

Almost.

Glancing back at the yellow NovaStar, Wěi placed his hands on it, palms up, "Messier, Pinwheel, it's Wěi- meet me at Sol's Novae, it's important."

The yellow NovaStar lit up briefly, Wěi pulling his hands away as he noted that his message was sent.

"Woah, how'd you do that, mister!?" A voice exclaimed.

Wěi whipped his head around, finding a small figure watching with awe.

"Uh- who...?"

She smiled, zipping around as she inspected the stranger, "Hello! My name's Cura, what's yours? I haven't seen you around before!"

Wěi noted her attire: a plain white dress, a gold sash around her waist, gold coiled sandals, and short brown hair with flipped bangs.

"I'm Wěi... tell me, are you by chance a moon?"

"Yep!" Cura responded, "Jupiter's moon, to be exact! I wasn't around for long, as you can tell..."

"How come?"

Cura didn't respond, only averting her eyes toward the NovaStar. She ooh'd, pointing at it, "Is it supposed to be glowing like that?"

Wěi turned, raising a hand to shield his eyes, "Only when entering and exiting the Ethereal..."

"You can exit the Ethereal...?" Cura whispered, eyebrows furrowing in puzzlement.

"What took you guys so long?" Wěi questioned Messier and Pinwheel as they emerged from the aureola.

"We came as soon as we heard," Messier spoke.

Pinwheel nodded, "So, what's up? We only agreed to come here in case of emergencies."

"Call it intuition or a core feeling... but I think something will happen."

"Something, as in...?" Messier trailed off.

"Yep. I have a feeling Sagittarius A* will make another move."

Messier bit his lip, shaking his head subtly, 'Damn, I should've never left Neptune on his own...'

Wěi then remembered there was someone with them. He peered over his shoulder, about to speak, only to find that the small brown Celestite was gone. He quirked an eyebrow, 'She left in a hurry, I only turned my back on her for a minute.'

"Well, if we have no idea what it's planning, then... what do we do?" Pinwheel asked.

"Ah, uhm... keep a lookout? I don't know, it'll probably be obvious." Wěi shrugged before turning to Messier, "Although I would suggest keeping an eye on Neptune, he seems to be the most probable to be a target for Sagittarius."

"Right, about that..." Messier paused, "Neptune gave my Novae to Saturn."

Pinwheel gasped, "What!?"

"Excuse me?" Wěi's frown deepened, eyes twitching, "What do you mean Neptune gave you to Saturn!?"

"As I said, Saturn has it now." Messier crossed his arms.

"Well, give it back to Neptune!"

"It's not that easy, Wěi," Messier sighed, "Neptune insisted Saturn have it so I can protect him."

Wěi rubbed his temple, his face scrunched in frustration, "That idiot is going to get himself killed one day..."

"He's not an idiot, he just cares about his friends."

"Enough to put his core on the line?"

"Yes." Messier glowered, glaring at the other, "You have no idea how far he'll go."

Pinwheel watched the two go back and forth, a tight smile on his face, "Uh, h-hey! Why don't we, uhm- leave this and tell our holders what's happening?"

Wěi kept his eyes glued to Messier's, "Fine by me."

Messier clenched his jaw, saying nothing as he gave a curt nod.

...

"Cura! Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" A grey Celestite with silver hair pulled into a chignon rushed forward, checking the smaller one for injuries.

Cura groaned, "Chrys, I'm fine. I was only gone for a few minutes..."

"I could've sworn it was hours..." Chrysalis uttered, pulling away once she found nothing wrong.

"Where's Miss Theia?" Cura wondered, her eyes darting around.

"She's with the others, but- woah!" Chrysalis' eyes widened as she was pulled along by the small Celestite, "Cura? What are you-?"

"Miss Theia lied to us!" Cura yelled.

"Wh-What? About what?"

Cura huffed, looking at Chrysalis with big watering eyes, "She said there was no way to exit the Ethereal, b-but... I met a Nova and they mentioned something about entering and exiting this place!"

Chrysalis froze, staring at the younger with dissonance, "Th-That can't be... there has to be an explanation. Maybe only Novaes can enter and exit...? They are the most powerful beings in the Ethereal, after all."

"But there's still a chance!" Cura pouted, "The only way to get an answer is by talking to Miss Theia!"

"Talk to me about what?" A voice piped up behind the duo.

"M-Miss Theia!" Chrysalis blinked, "We were only just talking about, uh-"

Cura interrupted her, "Is it true that we can exit the Ethereal!?"

Theia seemed shocked at the question, but it soon turned into fear as the Celestial tensed up, flexing her hands. She turned her head away as she opened her mouth, anxious about how the two would react, "...Yes."

Notes:

I finally figured out what to call the moons; Celestites instead of Celestials.

I bought the Tord makeship plushie :)
I have all 4 now :D

I'm thinking of buying SolarCards, but I'm waiting until my next paycheck hehe

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 25

Notes:

TWs: Crying/breaking down, keeping secrets, cliffhanger.

Stay safe :)

Theia interlaced her fingers, an apprehensive look on her face as she faced the past moons of the planets.

Morta, a moon of Nine, frowned, eyebrows furrowing, "But why? Why did you feel the need to hide this from us?"

Theia rubbed her knuckles, letting out a sigh, "At first, I said it because I didn't know it was possible... until one day when I found it was. It was disorienting, confusing, and terrifying. No one could see, or hear me, and I phased through objects... we're not on the same plane of existence as other Celestial objects."

Some, especially the smaller moons, looked disheartened to hear that while others seemed cognizant.

"I've experienced firsthand what it's like," Theia continued, her voice shaking as her whole body trembled, "That no matter how hard you yell, no one will hear. No matter how hard you try, you can't touch them, you can't even comfort them when they're depressed, you can't talk them out of doing something irrational and idiotic, you c-can't...!"

The moons watched as Theia covered her face, breath shuddering. The smaller Celestites huddled together, some eyes filling with tears more than the rest. The bigger moons looked on in sympathy.

"Theia..." Chrysalis uttered, a bleakness in her eyes as her lips quivered.

"N-No matter what you do, you can't be with them..." Tears flowed from Theia's eyes. She tried blinking them away, turning toward the others, "I-I'm sorry I hid this from everyone... after my experience, I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. It's agonizing not being able to be there for your planet... but that doesn't excuse the fact that I should've told you guys sooner. I'm sorry..."

Herschel, a moon of Uranus, stepped forward, offering Theia a hand, "It's alright, Theia... we've got til the Sun turns into a Red Giant to find out what our planets have been up to."

"Not to mention we get to see them again!" A moon of Saturn, Cardea, exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Yay!" The other small Celestites celebrated. Theia smiled softly despite some tears falling from her eyes.

"Go on now, Cura..." Chrysalis pushed the smallest moon toward Theia, "Just like we practiced."

Cura nodded, turning to face the chestnut and sepia planet, "Miss Theia...?"

"Yes, little one?" Theia gave her her full attention.

Cura averted her eyes, fiddling with her fingers, "I-I'm sorry... for yelling."

Theia frowned, tilting her head. Slowly, she took the small Celestite's hands in her own, "It's alright, Cura, I didn't think anything of it."

Cura smiled before rushing forward to hug Theia. The Celestial returned it, patting her on the head.

"Miss Theia, can we go now!?" Clementia exclaimed as she darted around.

"Uh-"

"Yeah! Can we, Miss Theia!?" Cardea grinned.

"Can we!? Can we!?"

"Uh, w-well..." Theia knitted her brows, thinking about it.

"Clementia, Cardea, you're stressing the poor thing." Dia, a moon of Jupiter, lightly scolded as she pulled them away.

"Sorry, Dia..." They apologized.

"Don't apologize to me." Dia gestured to Theia.

"S-Sorry, Miss Theia..." The small moons uttered.

"It's alright... as for exiting the Ethereal," Theia paused, her eyes glancing around at everyone. She smiled, "I don't see why not."

The smaller moons cheered.

"Are you sure, Theia?" Chrysalis asked, eyes full of concern.

"I'm sure, Chrys." Theia nodded, "As long as they behave and stick with one of the older moons, they should be fine."

« × »

"Has anyone else been feeling... heavy, lately?" Venus questioned while placing a card down.

Mercury smirked at the play, pulling out an ace and placing it down, "I thought I was the only one."

Mars gave Mercury an annoyed look, drawing four more cards. He frowned, "I guess we all feel like that... maybe it's because of everything happening around here."

After a few beats of silence, all eyes turned to the planet who hasn't played. Earth's unblinking gaze was focused on the cards.

"Earth, it's your turn," Mercury spoke.

He didn't respond.

"Can I slap him? That should wake him up." Venus suggested, raising a hand.

"No!" Mars glared at his friend before focusing on the lively Celestial. Mars placed his hands on Earth's shoulder, rubbing his arms, "Hey, you still with me, Earth?"

Earth loosened his hold on his cards and they flittered out of his grasp, floating in different directions. He blinked, "S-Sorry, what was happening?"

"You've been doing that a lot lately... are you okay, Earth?" Mars smiled, concern lacing his features as he stared into Earth's eyes.

Earth found himself blushing under the other's stare, trying to hide it by turning away, "Oh, y-yeah! I'm fine, never better!"

Mars raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the response.

"Get a room, lovebirds." Venus huffed.

"Venus, you ruined the mood!" Mercury pouted.

"Does it look like I care, pipsqueak!?"

Earth jolted, pulling away from Mars and shifting from the others. The rusty red Celestial glared at their interruptor.

"H-Hey, uh... where's Luna?" Earth finally realized there was a loss of gravity around him.

"He's right over there." Mercury pointed without lifting his eyes from the cards, "He left around ten minutes and thirty-six seconds ago."

"And you just know that...?" Venus scrunched his face, looking at the smaller one weirdly.

"Uh, well..." Mercury covered his face with the cards, face flushing in embarrassment.

Venus simpered, giving the smaller a knowing look that only worsened the blush on Mercury's face.

Earth flew up to his moon, noting that he was looking toward the Sun. The lively Celestial quirked an eyebrow, "You know staring at the Sun is bad for your eyes."

Luna jolted, whipping his head to face his parent, "Oh, right..."

"What is it, buddy?" Earth noted how tense Luna was as the moon cradled his arms against his chest.

"Nothing, I just thought..." Luna glimpsed around, "I thought I saw something and decided to check it out."

Earth hummed, following the moon's gaze, "Well, there's nothing there, so..."

"I know, but..." Luna trailed off, "She looked familiar to me almost."

"She?" Earth's eyes widened and he placed his hands on the Celestite's shoulders, a desirous feeling setting in his core, "Did she- was it... was it her...? Theia?"

"I don't know, all I could make out was her wavy hair." Luna shrugged, his eyes casting to the right.

Earth frowned, the longing feeling leaving his chest heavy. He let go of Luna's shoulders, a remote look in his eyes.

"Sorry, Earth..." Luna uttered.

"You don't have to apologize, Luna." Earth forced a reassuring smile on his face, "Me and Theia's story ended when we collided. I just need to let go of the past."

"You don't have to. Not completely." Luna spoke.

"What do you mean?"

Luna hesitated, his cheeks puffing out, "Ever since we found out about her, I-I've always wanted to hear more about what she was like."

Tears started forming in Earth's eyes. He nearly choked, masking it as a cough. A wavery smile appeared on his face, "I would like that very much..."

Mars watched the interaction from afar, a small smile on his face.

"Ooh~, I'm Mars and I have a huge crush on my best friend but I'm too much of a coward to tell him how I feel~...!" Venus feined a distraught expression as he raised a hand to his forehead, shifting all of his weight against Mars.

Mars gave him a deadpan look, eyes twitching as he pushed Venus off of him, "Alright, alright, that's enough, Venus. Thank you."

"No problem. Annoying you guys is my specialty." Venus smirked.

"Have you ever been in love, Venus?" Mars questioned.

"No," Venus responded, crossing his arms, "It's not for me."

"How would you know?"

"Because I just do." Venus huffed, "Sure, I care about you guys and the others, but not to that degree. I dunno... maybe I'm just weird or something."

Mars blinked, "I don't think so... actually, I'm pretty sure there's an Earthling term for what you're describing- Aro...? Aro... something."

"Of course, leave it to the Earthlings to have everything figured out," Venus uttered.

Mars stifled a chuckle, instead continuing to watch Earth and Luna.

Venus rolled his eyes, "Seriously, though, the staring is getting creepy."

Mars huffed, lightly glaring at the other before casting his gaze toward the asteroid belt, a streak of blue weaving between the debris, "What's that?"

"Huh?" Venus followed the other's gaze, "What is it?"

"It looks like..." Mars' eyes widened upon witnessing the destruction of rocks, chunks spiraling into the inner zones. On instinct, Mars flew toward Earth and Luna, arms outstretched, "Look out!"

Notes:

That's right! I headcanon Venus as being Aromantic :)

I don't know why, I just do. I can't see him in a relationship.

Anyway, HAHAHAHAH CLIFFHANGER

What'll happen next? You'll have to wait until the next chapter ;)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 26

Notes:

TWs: Fighting, weapons, injuries, confrontation, manipulation/brainwashing.

Stay safe :)

BOOM!

Mars grunted, managing to shove Earth and Luna out of the way and taking the hit himself.

"Mars!" Earth gasped after snapping out of the initial shock, coming to the other's side, "Are you okay!?"

"Ugh... never better." Mars groaned, clutching his side.

Mercury flew to Luna's side, eyes reflecting concern. Luna gave a curt nod, letting the other know he was alright.

"Mars!" Phobos and Deimos cried.

"Hey, you two..." Mars gave them a reassuring smile, "I'll be alright, it merely grazed me."

"What the hell was that, anyway!?" Venus yelled, whipping his head toward the asteroid belt.

"Neptune..." Mars uttered, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

A figure bearing a trident appeared from the asteroid belt. He scowled as he clenched the weapon, annoyed that his attack had backfired.

The Rocky Celestials looked on in confusion and fear, wondering why their friend acted differently.

The Sun, who was previously watching the scene with a piercing stare, had a look of familiarity dancing in his glare.

"It can't be..." He muttered before speaking to the Terrestrial Planets, "That's not Neptune."

"What?" Earth raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean that's not Neptune?" Mercury questioned, "He looks exactly like him."

"He may have the body of Neptune, but trust me... he doesn't have the same mind as him."

The statement left the Rockies even more confused.

"Poseidon! Stop this at once!" The Sun exclaimed in a booming voice.

'Neptune' scoffed, "As if I'll listen to you, Sol. Everything you said was a lie. You condone their actions... how could you allow them to push him away?"

"Listen, I had no idea until it was too late." Sun raised his hands in a surrendering gesture, "You know how I am at communicating."

"That's no excuse... there'll never be a reasonable answer for ejecting someone, let alone someone I thought of as a brother!"

"That happened billions of years ago, Poseidon! Your brother is safe- he's staying within the Kuiper Belt."

Poseidon seemed unsure about the response given, head tilting a bit. Then, his expression darkened, "As I recall, you're giving him a 'second chance.' You're waiting for the day he messes up so you can just eject him again!"

With a wave of his Trident, Poseidon summoned a wave of cosmic lightning, making a quick downward gesture.

Venus summoned his sword, reflecting the bolts off it. He sheathed it before summoning his bow. He shot arrow after arrow at Poseidon, who managed to dodge all but one.

"Agh!" Poseidon grasped his shoulder, pulling the arrow out. He raised his Trident once more, "You little-"

"That's enough, Poseidon!" A hand seized the other's wrist.

"You-" Poseidon's glare hardened upon seeing Jupiter, "You were the one who ejected Nine!"

Jupiter winced, yet stood his ground as he clutched Poseidon's wrist, "That's true, but I doubt you know the full story behind why we had to."

"I don't need an explanation to know that you and Saturn are apathetic monsters when it comes to him!" Poseidon spat, "He looked up to you, Jupiter, and what did he get? Isolation for billions of years!"

Jupiter held a look of pain and regret, eyebrows furrowing, "I know. I'm a horrible Celestial who doesn't deserve anything."

"Ain't that the truth..." Poseidon glowered.

"But it was your brother who made me realize just how terrible I am. I can barely look at him and I can't talk to him without getting upset."

Poseidon clenched his jaw.

"It's my problem not to want to be around him or the memories that come after... but looking at Nine now, I can tell something has changed. It was you, Neptune, who showed him that not everything can be solved with war."

Neptune blinked, a spark igniting his gaze, "Really...?"

Jupiter nodded, "Really."

"I-" The blue Celestial stopped, shaking his head. Suddenly, a light emitted from his Trident, "No!"

Before Jupiter knew it, Poseidon had gotten the upper hand. The bright light flashed in Jupiter's eyes, his hand letting go of the other's wrist as he shielded his vision. Poseidon stepped back, shooting a blue beam at Jupiter.

"Hyaah!" A scythe intercepted the attack, the beam reflecting into the weapon before being shot back towards Poseidon.

"Agh!" Neptune reeled back, clutching his chest, "Kronos... nice of you to show up."

Saturn held his weapon, twirling it in his hand, "It is nice, isn't it...? What happened to you, dear Neptune?"

"He's likely been sought out by Sagittarius A*." Messier spoke, "For some reason, I cannot connect to Neptune. Looks like the black hole is getting stronger... most likely being fueled by rage."

"So, how do we reach out to the actual Neptune?"

"You can't," Messier uttered, "I, however, can... but I'm going to need some help."

...

Nine awoke with a start, wide-eyed and gasping. He whipped his head around, senses on overdrive as a heavy feeling weighed him down.

"Something's wrong." He uttered.

"It's Neptune," Pinwheel spoke, "Sagittarius got to him!"

Nine furrowed his eyebrows, "Where is he now?"

"Inner zones, he's fighting Jupiter and Saturn."

He scowled, unsheathing his trident, "I won't let this happen... not again."

Uranus was already there, staring through the debris with a frightened look.

"How bad is it?" Nine asked as he came to a stop beside him.

"Oh, it's pretty bad, mate..." Uranus covered his mouth, "It reminds me of when you, uh... y'know."

Nine frowned, "That bad, huh?"

Uranus hummed, "What do we do now?"

"Distract him." Wei responded, "Us NovaStars will take care of the rest."

"Alright, did you get that, Nine?"

Nine nodded, "Pinwheel explained on the way."

"Another question," Uranus bit his lip, "Do we have to distract him by force?"

"If attacking him is the best means of action, then so be it." Nine spoke, holding a resolute look as his core weighed deeply inside him.

Uranus sighed as he brandished his two Kopis, "I was afraid you might say that... well, let's get this over with."

...

Poseidon sent a wave of seething energy toward Saturn and Jupiter. They barely managed to dodge it before sending their own attacks.

"What can we do?" Earth questioned, his gaze focused on his friends as they fought the blue Celestial, "We can't just sit around and do nothing."

"It's far too dangerous for you, Earth. One blast and your life could be destroyed." Luna spoke.

"Right..." Earth knitted his eyebrows, a forlorn expression on his face as he watched from the sidelines.

His eyes landed on the asteroid belt.

An idea came to him.

Suddenly, he was rushing forward, weaving past the chaos taking place amid the Inner Zones, ignoring his moon's cries.

"Earth, wait! Where are you going!?" Luna exclaimed, following him as he dodged oncoming attacks, "Earth-!"

"Watch out!" A voice shouted as Luna felt a push behind him. He yelped, feeling a beam of cosmic energy whip past him.

Luna looked around, yet saw no one. He frowned, 'What was...? Oh, well...'

The grey Celestite continued on his way.

"Did you just-?" Chrysalis stared at Theia, wide-eyed.

"But I thought you said you couldn't touch them!" Cura yelled.

Theia clutched her chest, a wince visible on her face, "I normally can't... it takes a lot out of me."

Chrysalis placed her hand on the Celestial's shoulder, worry covering her features.

In the asteroid belt, Earth gathered the biggest rocks he could find, struggling to carry them all. His face scrunched in fatigue, "Ugh, come on..."

"Earth!? Mate, what are you doing so far from your orbit?" Uranus questioned as he stopped in his tracks to stare at the smaller. Nine, who was following closely behind, huffed.

"Isn't it obvious, Uranus?" Earth grunted, "I'm trying to help the others with Neptune."

Uranus raised a brow, "What are you going to do with asteroids...?"

"Have you ever heard of a game called asteroid dodgeball?" Earth smirked, "I'm doing that, only my target is one planet."

"Sounds dangerous... what if it backfires and an asteroid hits you, or Neptune destroys you before you can throw one?" Uranus uttered, yet Nine seemed intrigued.

Earth paused, shivering slightly, "...I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"Earth..." Uranus frowned, staring at the smaller one apprehensively.

"Actually," Nine stepped forward, "He might be on to something."

"I am?"
"He is...?"

"May we borrow some of these asteroids?" Nine asked.

"Oh, sure, go ahead!" Earth grinned, chuckling a little, "I don't know why you're asking me, though... this is a free atmosphere."

"Perfect; Uranus, I have a better idea." Nine spoke, picking up a few asteroids, "And it involves a little game called asteroid dodgeball..."

Notes:

Ooh, what will happen next?

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 27

Notes:

TWs: Attacks/injuries/weapons, mind/body control, manipulation, memory loss.

Stay safe :)

"Earth, why'd you disappear like-" Luna paused, taking in the other Celestials beside his parent, "that...? What's going on here?"

"Luna! Perfect timing, can you grab some of those asteroids?" Earth held his adamantine harpe above him, gathering as many rocks as he could.

"Uh, sure? But Earth, you shouldn't be this far from your orbit for too long." Luna frowned, heaving some asteroids close to him. He grunted, feeling his gravity weighing him down.

"I know," Earth steadied the moon, latching the smaller one onto his much stronger gravity, "But I can't just sit around and do nothing, I have to help the others!"

"Just be careful..." Luna uttered, pulling out his silver spear with a crescent moon at the point.

"Be ready to fire." Nine spoke, raising his hand into a fist to anchor the asteroids.

Uranus nodded, snapped his fingers, and spiked the debris with icicles. Within seconds, the ice encased the asteroids, and frost glistened off their surfaces.

Earth stepped out from the asteroid belt, dragging Luna along, "Now to figure out a way to get Neptune over here..."

"Earth, don't you think this is a little... risky?" Luna questioned, knitting his eyebrows as he stared at the other anxiously.

The lively Celestial took a moment to think about it before shaking his head, "Risk is my middle name! Trust me, Luna, I'm sure nothing will go wrong!"

"We don't have middle names... or last names." Luna droned.

"That's beside the point." Earth waved his hand, eyes darting to the blue Celestial across the zone, "Any second now..."

Luna watched with bated breath as Neptune neared them, his attention on Saturn and Jupiter.

Earth raised his harpe, "Hey, Poseidon! Over here!"

The Terrestrial Celestials gaped at the lively one, Mars yelling, "Earth, no!"

Poseidon whipped his head toward Earth with a scowl, "You... you should've been dead a long time ago..."

'Huh-?' Luna blinked, noticing something flash in Poseidon's gaze.

"Hah, it'll take more than a couple of asteroids to get rid of my life!" Earth grinned, twirling his harpe before striking down, "Now!"

Fwoosh!

Earth felt the asteroids sweep past him, holding Luna close as he ducked his head.

"What the-!?"

Bang! Boom! Boom!

Despite his attempts to dodge, it was futile as dozens of rocks merged with his surface, the icy crystals pricking deep into him.

"Interesting..." Nine uttered when he stepped out from the asteroid belt, his eyebrows furrowing, "When we were younger, you were always the better dodger- you could even do it with your eyes closed..."

"You okay, mate?" Uranus spoke to Earth and Luna as they inspected each other for injuries.

"Oh, yeah, we're good." Earth nodded, smiling up at the Ice Giant.

"Good, good..." Uranus averted his gaze, face flushing pink the more the smaller one stared. Luna glared upon noticing it, "You should, uhm... get out of the line of fire. I don't want you to get hurt... or worse."

"Yeah, I know..." Earth sighed, "I just haven't experienced this much excitement since my earthlings came along."

"I can only imagine..." Uranus muttered as he watched the Earth and his moon fly away, quirking an eyebrow when he caught Luna's death stare.

"And you..." Poseidon grunted, wiping the ice crystals from his face, "Why do you always get in the way...? You're just like that pathetic nuisance."

Nine growled, "I knew it was you... Sagittarius A*."

"Took you long enough," 'Neptune' smirked.

"Get out of Neptune's body."

Sagittarius hummed, "Mmh, no... you see, you're already too late. By the time Neptune takes his body back, well..."

"What did you do to him?" Nine raised his hand, creating a sword from the void of the atmosphere.

"Find out for yourself." It shrugged, "If you're lucky... maybe Neptune will finally remember everything."

"Enough of your nonsense..." Nine grabbed Pinwheel's Novae, "Saturn, Uranus, toss them!"

The two Celestials did as they were told, throwing the Novaes at Neptune.

"Recede a corpore fratris mei, spurius!" Nine yelled, launching Pinwheel's Novae.

The three NovaStars made contact with each other.

BOOM!

A bright light swept across the atmosphere and everyone was pushed away by a wave of stardust.

...

..

.

"Ugh... my head..." Neptune raised his hands, wincing at the uncomfortable pain within his surface, "What happened...?"

"Neptune!" An accented voice yelled and before Neptune knew it, he was pulled into a hug, "You're okay!"

Neptune froze, staring at the other unblinkingly as his arms tensed, "Uh... yeah, of course I'm okay?"

Nine frowned, forcing Uranus away from Neptune with his gravity.

"Hey-!" Nine gave the cyan Celestial a look, shutting him up completely.

The navy Celestial looked at his brother, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Neptune raised a hand to his chin, "Let's see... well, uh- maybe...? No... ah! Wait, no..."

Saturn and Jupiter stopped beside Uranus, exchanging worried glances.

"Neptune..." Saturn spoke, snapping the other out of his thoughts, "Do you know our names...?"

Neptune blinked confusedly, "Who are you calling Neptune...? My name's Poseidon."

« × »

Arcturus huffed, lightly tugging at the black thread, "Ugh, come on... I know for a fact that black holes don't sleep."

They gave the thread one last pull, the void getting sucked out of them as the atmosphere shifted.

"Who dares enter through my mind link!?" A voice boomed, "Speak now or there shall be consequences!"

"Wow, I am so scared." Arcturus raised his hands, shaking them in feigning fright.

"Oh, it's just you..." BH M87 spoke.

"Mes! How long has it been?"

"A relaxing six million years, give or take..." It responded.

"Awh, I missed you too." Arcturus shaped his hands into a heart.

"Stop messing around and tell me what you want." Mes crossed its arms.

"What? Can I not see the best black hole in all the galaxies?"

Mes huffed, giving them an annoyed look, "Every time you come here, you ask for a 'small favor.' So, what is it this time?"

"You know the Milky Way galaxy, right?"

"No, nu-uh, no way am I wasting even one second with an inferior galaxy." Mes shook its head, turning around in defiance.

Arcturus smirked, "Not even for a particular NovaStar...?"

Mes didn't turn around, choosing to ignore the red Giant.

"A NovaStar that once belonged in Messier 87...? To you?"

Mes' eyes widened before whipping around, "What!? What do you mean it ended up in the Milky Way?"

Arcturus shrugged, "I dunno, but from what I've been told, Sagittarius A* will tear itself apart until nothing's left, including your missing NovaStar."

Mes seethed, breathing heavily as it grew angrier, fists clenched by its sides. With a growl, it uttered, "Take me to this Sagittarius A*..."

Notes:

Translations:
Latin =
Recede a corpore fratris mei, spurius - Depart from my brother's body, you bastard

(translations brought to you by Google Translate)

Chapter 28

Notes:

TWs: Memory loss, expecting the worst, brief arguing, brief crying.

Stay safe :)

Neptune raised an eyebrow upon noticing how abnormally still the atmosphere had gotten. He looked around, noticing the smaller planets a few units away, "I haven't seen you planets before... are you guys new?"

"Nep- Poseidon, can you please go over there, bud? I need to talk to the others for a moment." Jupiter gestured to a spot near the asteroid belt.

The blue Celestial blinked, seeming shocked, "'Please'? Haha, I didn't think you knew the word, Zeus!"

Jupiter cringed at the name, moving to the side to let Neptune pass him.

"What are we going to do?" Saturn knitted his eyebrows, biting his lip as he watched Neptune play with a few asteroids, "Oh, our dear Neptune, he really doesn't remember anything..."

"Well, we need to figure out what he does remember." Nine spoke, hands balled into fists as he glared into the void below.

"M-Maybe... ah, I can gather his moons! See if they can trigger some memories..." Uranus trailed off, wiping at his eyes as he felt icy tears gather in them.

Saturn rested a hand on the cold one's shoulder, "Are you okay to go by yourself, Uranus?"

"Mmh... yeah, I'll be fine, mate." Uranus shrugged the hand off, "I just... need to be alone for a bit."

Uranus swiftly left after he said that, ignoring the confused glance that Neptune gave him as he entered the asteroid belt.

Jupiter sighed, "I suppose I'll go inform the Sun what happened..."

"Allow me to go with you." Nine spoke.

Jupiter's brows twitched, "Uh- what? Why?"

"Because," Nine squinted, speaking in a lower tone as he shifted toward the bigger one, "He's my brother, and it's on me if he gets hurt."

Nine flew away, heading to the Sun. Words replayed in Jupiter's head as he watched the white Celestial.

"He looked up to you, Jupiter, and what did he get? Isolation for billions of years!"

Jupiter frowned, shaking his head.

"Jupi...?" Saturn spoke, snapping the bigger one out of his thoughts, "What if we don't get Neptune's memories back? What if he'll forget everything; us, his moons, the fun little adventures we've had...? Everything..."

Jupiter raised a hand to Saturn's cheek, wiping away stray tears, "We'll get Neptune's memories back. We'll get through this, I promise."

"You can't keep a promise like that, Jupiter..." Saturn sniffled, voice cracking.

Jupiter pursed his lips, nodding, "I know, but for now... we just have to keep moving forward."

...

Everyone was acting weird, that was a fact. No one could look Poseidon in the eye. The only normal thing was that Ouranos ignored him, but since when did the others care so much?

He glanced toward Zeus and Cronus, who seemed closer than when he saw them last. It almost looked like they were more than reluctant 'friends.' They had hated each other, so what changed?

A sudden pain struck his head, causing him to wince and raise a hand to soothe it, "Agh, ow..."

Once the pain subsided, Poseidon spotted a shimmering light emitting from an entity. He hummed, shifting closer to the object. He noted its eight points, pale blue color, and a small fracture in the middle. Slowly, he reached out to touch it...

As soon as his index finger made contact with it, he gasped as he felt a penetration throughout his body.

He blacked out soon after.

"...tune? Can you hear me?"

When Poseidon came to, a white glowing figure was hovering over him, eyes concerned.

"Mmh... who- who are you?" The blue Celestial straightened up before looking around, "And where am I?"

The white stranger frowned, shaking his head as he uttered, "I knew I shouldn't have left you alone..."

"What?" Poseidon looked at the other, puzzlement sweeping his features.

"Nothing... my name is Messier." The figure crossed the abyss, looking into an eight-pointed crystal of some kind.

"Poseidon... and this place? Where are we?"

"In the Ethereal."

"Ethere-what?" Poseidon scrunched his nose, even more confused.

"It's where Stars, Planets, and Moons congregate when they... pass on."

"Are you trying to tell me I'm dead?" Poseidon gestured to himself before scoffing, "I don't believe this- I'm barely two hundred million years old, I can't be dead!"

Messier quirked an eyebrow, "Two hundred... million?"

Poseidon crossed his arms, ignoring the white Star before him and choosing to look around the space some more.

'Interesting... it seems that Sagittarius A* did more damage than I previously thought. Neptune's memories appear to have regressed 4.4 billion years.' Messier furrowed his eyebrows, 'Damn...'

"Also, no, you're not dead." Messier spoke, "This sort of thing happened before but with Earth."

"You mean Proto?" Poseidon glanced at him.

"...Sure." There was a limited amount of things the Novae knew, old names not being one of them.

"So, how do I get out of here?" Poseidon looked at the NovaStar floating in Messier's hands, "Hey, that's the shiny thing that knocked me out! Let me have a closer lo-"

Messier's eyes widened when Poseidon tried taking it. He quickly pulled away, guarding the Novae to his chest, "No! This isn't a toy, Neptune- it can have dire consequences in the wrong hands!"

Poseidon blinked, "Seriously? Why is everyone calling me Neptune? That's not my name!"

Messier sighed, averting his eyes to the Star, "I'm sorry, Poseidon, it's just I need this NovaStar to keep me alive. Without it, I'll cease to exist."

"Oh..." Poseidon looked down, rubbing his arms, "S-Sorry, I didn't realize..."

"It's fine," Messier assured, "I can try to get you back, but I can't guarantee success."

"Why not?"

"Any fracturing or chips on my NovaStar also affect me." Messier moved some of his robes aside, revealing a small scar across his chest, matching the one on the NovaStar.

Poseidon shifted closer, analyzing the mark, "Does it hurt?"

"Not really... I've been dead for decades." Messier shrugged, "It's more of an inconvenience whenever I use my powers."

"Ah... so, you'll try getting me back?" Poseidon asked, "Promise?"

"Of course," Messier nodded, smiling stiffly as he held up the NovaStar to the other, "I promise."

« × »

Uranus wiped away another tear, continuing to move forward despite the aching in his chest. He and Neptune weren't the best of friends billions of years ago. He couldn't bear looking into the other's eyes and seeing Poseidon instead. Ouranos was self-absorbed and malevolent while Poseidon was moody, unstable, and somewhat aloof.

Times have changed since then; it had turned out that the two Ice Giants were capable of getting along.

Uranus and Neptune were like two conjoined Stars, except they didn't orbit around each other and weren't Stars.

Uranus let out a soft sigh, whipping around when he heard a small sneeze, "Earth!? What on Milky Way are you doing away from the Goldilocks Zone!?"

"Oh, you know..." Earth shivered, "You ran off so quickly and I guess I was worried."

"W-Worried...? About me?" Uranus flushed.

"Of course! We're friends- I worry about all of my friends!"

The aching in Uranus' chest grew, making him wince, "Ah... r-right."

"Anyway, where are we going?" Earth finally caught up to the Giant, noticeable frost covering his surface.

"'We'? Mate, you're shivering all your water away- we need to get you back!" Uranus pulled the Earth into his orbit, effectively trapping him.

"H-Hey!" Earth tried pulling the opposite away, yet it was no use due to the bigger one's gravity. He huffed, deciding to give up and let Uranus drag him to the asteroid belt, "Ugh, this blows! Why do I have to be this small?"

"Stop complaining, you're bigger than the other Terrestrial Planets."

"At least I'm not Mercury size..." Earth uttered.

When they got to the asteroid belt, Uranus provided as a shield for Earth, pushing the debris outward with his gravity.

Upon spotting Neptune, who appeared in a daze, Uranus swiftly moved past him, keeping his gaze low. Earth seemed to notice his quickened pace, looking at the other with worry.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just, uh..." Uranus trailed off.

"Don't want to see him like that?" Earth finished for him.

"...Yeah, precisely."

Earth was quiet the rest of the way, his gaze held downwards.

"Earth!" A nasally voice yelled, "Where were you?"

The lively Celestial jumped, feeling arms around his torso as Luna bombarded him with questions.

"You have got to stop running away like that, Earth." Mars crossed his arms, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Yeah! It's like you're trying to get rid of your life!" Venus glowered.

Earth stiffened when he said that, blinking as he wrapped his arms around his moon, "Mmh, s-sorry, guys... I'll be more careful."

Luna looked up at his parent Celestial, anxiety holding in his gaze.

"Thanks for bringing him back, Uranus!" Mercury smiled.

"You're welcome, mate." Uranus gave a curt nod before turning away.

"Hey, wait-!" Earth let go of Luna, spinning his head toward Uranus.

Uranus stopped, peering over his shoulder at the smaller one, "Yeah?"

Earth hesitated, averting his gaze as he rubbed his hands soothingly, "I know what it's like."

"What?" Uranus turned his body to give his full attention to the other.

"With Neptune," Earth spoke, his gaze rising, "I know what it's like to forget everyone and everything you love."

No one said anything. Luna shifted forward, grabbing onto Earth's arm.

Earth continued, "When we first met, it was the second time apparently... I had forgotten everyone, including Theia and... the collision. A few months ago, these memories kept flashing in my mind about my past, yet it wasn't me, but someone entirely different. Theia and Proto were inevitable to collide with each other and from that mess... two beings were created."

Earth glanced down at his son, who was looking up at his father with watery eyes.

"I may not remember everything from before or how anyone acted, but I believe Neptune has a chance of regaining his memories..." Earth finished, "Even if it takes decades."

Uranus stared at him for a long time, mouth open ajar as he thought of something to say, yet it was all futile given that there was one thought going through his mind.

'Holy Milky Way, I'm in love. I'm in love. What the hell? How is he so good-looking and expressive? Agh, I'm in too deep...!'

The Rocky Planets seemed impressed at Earth's speech. Mercury grinned while Venus nodded in approval. Mars, on the other hand, kept his gaze on Earth like he was the only being there. Faint red marks covered his face as a thought crossed his mind.

'How did he get even more attractive?'

"E-Earth..." Uranus finally spoke, gaze softening and face flushed, "Thank you... you're the best thing this Galaxy has to offer."

Earth blinked at the statement, his core thrumming inside his chest as his face grew red, "Uh- what?"

Uranus seemed to have realized what he said, eyes widening as he stuttered, "Oh, uh- that was- uh, ahem- anyway! I have to find Neptune's moons, so I'll see you mates later! Bye-!"

Uranus quickly left, flying as fast as he could toward the asteroid belt.

Earth stared after him, a noticeable blush covering his surface. It was a familiar feeling, the other times being when Mars was close to him.

'Could they both...?' Earth bit his lip, thinking about it. He soon shook his head, a frown growing on his face, 'Nah! How could they ever have feelings for me? I'm too much of a narcissist...'

Mercury and Venus looked at each other, both coming to a silent agreement;

'Mars and Uranus both have feelings for Earth.'

« × »

It was quiet as the Sun stared down at Jupiter and Nine, who seemed to be having a silent staring contest.

"Ahem," Sun coughed, snapping them both out of it, "Can anyone care to explain what happened?"

"Right, it all started-"

"After the white light-"

"Neptune was back in his body-"

"But he can't remember anything-"

"He doesn't even know that Neptune is his name-"

"He prefers going by Poseidon-"

Sun's attention went back and forth between the two as they spoke over each other. His temper grew short as they started arguing about who was going to tell the Sun.

"Shut up!" Sun yelled, his voice briefly going deep, "That's enough, both of you! Instead of acting like premature rubble, you have to learn to get along! Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sun..." Jupiter nodded.

"Nine?" Sun glanced at the other.

"Fine, whatever you say." Nine crossed his arms.

Sun glared at the abrasiveness of the comment, yet chose to let it slide, "Anyway... how bad is Poseidon's memory?"

"Uh..."

"Mmh..."

Sun huffed, "Luckily for you two, I have other sources to get information. Nine, you might want to gather those NovaStars before they drift too far."

"They weren't destroyed...?" Nine questioned.

"I told you before, NovaStars are practically indestructible. Now shoo, go!"

Nine rolled his eyes, flying off to find the entities.

"Jupiter."

"Yes, Sun?"

"Everyone has to work together in order to balance the solar system. Even one mistake could send someone spiraling..." Sun gave him a pointed look, "Sound familiar?"

Jupiter looked down, guilt wrapping around his core, "It sure does..."

"I know you and Saturn have your differences, but please... don't let your emotions get in the way of what's important right now. Neptune needs us more than ever."

"Right..." Jupiter nodded, "I understand."

"Good, you're dismissed."

Jupiter gave a curt nod before flying away.

Sun flexed his fingers, feeling tense, 'Agh, being a Star shouldn't be this hard...'

"Sun, Spica and Regulus have something to tell us." Toliman's voice spoke through the mind link.

Sun smiled, 'Thank you. I'll be right there, Toli.'

"You might want to hurry, Regulus seems to be in a bad mood."

'Aren't they always...?' Sun droned.

Notes:

Fun fact! People who think or claim they're a narcissist usually aren't a narcissist. A narcissist wouldn't think of themselves as being a narcissist.

Tldr; Earth is not a narcissist :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 29

Notes:

TWs: Keeping secrets, a brief confrontation, angsty dialogue(?).

Stay safe :)

"Neptune lost his memories...?" Galatea uttered, her face scrunched up in confusion.

"But how?" Proteus questioned.

Uranus averted his eyes, "I wish I could explain everything, but I don't think you all will quite understand what happened..."

"What's not to understand?" Larissa spoke.

"Yeah! It was probably that big meanie- Sagittarius A*!" Nereid frowned, puffing her cheeks out.

Uranus' eyes widened, "You know of Sagittarius...?"

"Of course! Neptune mentioned it a few times, but always ignored us when we asked questions!" Naiad spoke.

"It wasn't like Neptune at all!" Neso waved his hands around, "He always answers our questions!"

"That right?" Uranus quirked an eyebrow, then sighed, "Knowing Neptune, I'm sure he was trying to keep you all safe and out of harm's way."

Triton crossed his arms, huffing under his breath. He made eye contact with the other dwarf planets, who were listening in on the conversation. They were tense, their faces laced with apprehensiveness and concern for their newfound friend. Triton nodded to show he was fine, but deep down he knew he wasn't and they knew too.

"So, I figured that one way we could trigger his memories was to 'introduce' him to you mates," Uranus spoke, knocking Triton from his inner turmoil.

"No-!" He shifted forward, appearing almost scared of the notion.

The tiny moons cast each other glances before looking at their big brother.

"Why not, Triton?" Proteus asked, tilting his head.

"Because, uh... because I, uh..." Triton clenched his hands into fists, eyes averting from the moons to look at the Celestial instead, "Uranus, can I talk to you for a second; alone?"

"Sure, mate..." Uranus nodded, uncertainty crossing his features. Triton led them a few units away, his gaze downcast. Uranus waited patiently for the moon to get his words together.

"Right, so..." Triton bit his lip, hesitating for a few seconds, "Around one hundred million years ago or so, I was formed. Everything was great, y'know? I was free, traveling the Kuiper Belt, and doing my own thing... until I found myself in Neptune's orbit. I tried to get out, but no matter what I did, I couldn't escape. Since I travel in the opposite direction of his moons, I ended up... colliding with them."

Uranus sucked in a breath, eyes going wide.

"Neptune's moons aren't debris that came out of the Kuiper belt... they're fragments of those past moons."

Uranus didn't respond, looking at the moon with an indistinguishable stare. Triton looked anywhere else, avoiding the Giant's piercing gaze. He fiddled with his hands, a nervous habit he picked up from Neptune.

"Does he know?" The Celestial uttered.

Triton looked up, "Huh?"

"Does Neptune know...?"

Triton pursed his lips, "He doesn't like talking about it... or remembering it."

Uranus dipped his head, letting out a sigh, "Poor Neptune..."

For a few moments, nobody spoke. Triton eyed the Giant warily, watching as he took deep breaths.

"Right, well..." Uranus quickly composed himself, lifting his head with a look of determination on his face, "We're still going to go through with this."

"What- why?" A startled expression appeared on Triton's face as he quirked an eyebrow.

"Think about the other moons," Uranus stated, "You can't hide the truth from them forever. They're going to find out eventually."

"But- ugh, there has to be another way..." Triton grumbled, shaking his head in dismay.

"We're running out of options, mate... either we confront Neptune now and actually get somewhere, or we do nothing but wait until Neptune miraculously remembers something useful."

Triton huffed, eyebrows twitching in indignation, "Fine... let's get this over with."

Unbeknownst to them, a small moon scurried away to join the others, his face expressing significant panic.

« × »

"Is there a reason why you're watching me?" Poseidon asked, squinting at the ringed Celestial.

"What...? No, of course not!" Saturn waved his hands around, "I'm just, uh... ensuring your safety..."

Poseidon scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Since when did you and Zeus care about anyone's safety? You guys literally destroyed potential planets that could have formed."

Saturn stumbled with his words, trying to come up with something to say, except he couldn't. He had nothing to say. He couldn't defend himself for his past actions. Instead, he chose to stay quiet, averting his shameful gaze away from the other.

"That's what I thought..." Poseidon uttered, "If you'll excuse me, I have some things I need to take care of."

Saturn huffed, watching the other leave with puffed-out cheeks and crossed arms, "I prefer the old Neptune..."

"You and me both." A voice stated.

"Nine! Wh-What are you doing here?" Saturn whipped around to face the white Celestial.

"Oh, you know... I was going to my 'temporary' orbit, but I decided to check on you." He spoke, shrugging.

"Check on me...? What for?" Saturn questioned, becoming self-conscious as the other one looked at him critically.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not like I care about you after what you've done to me." Nine told him, turning away before sighing, "I thought I understood you and Jupiter more than anyone else... but as it turned out, I was wrong. You two are just as bad as the Sun."

Saturn let out a noise of indignation, "What-?"

"How do you deal with guilt, Saturn? How does Jupiter deal with it?" Nine squinted his eyes, "How can anyone be riddled with pain such as the heavy burden weighing on my core?"

Saturn was quiet, letting the other one rant his feelings.

"How can anyone- anyone- live like this? Feel like this? For billions of years, I've never felt this strongly about anything! I've never felt- I've never felt... anything. So why now, am I feeling like it's the end of the universe?"

"...Because it is." Saturn responded, voice just above a whisper, "Who knows when Sagittarius A* will cease to exist? Who knows what will happen to the Milky Way when it does? Who knows if we'll be reborn again...? None of us know... it could be seconds, minutes, hours, days until we all die out, leaving nothing but the empty void."

Saturn had looked away, a despondent expression covering his features. A pressure weighed heavy on his core, making him somewhat nauseous.

Nine analyzed him, a smirk rising on his face, "Hah, you always were the sensitive one."

Saturn lifted his head, expression turning into bewilderment, "Huh?"

"Seriously...?" Nine raised an eyebrow, "You, Saturn, are an open book. Anyone can tell what you're feeling by barely glancing at you. You may feel saddened by 'Poseidon' over there, but me...? Mmh, you've convinced yourself that you were right to eject me without a second thought. Why is that?"

"B-Because... I don't feel guilty." Saturn held himself close as Nine scrutinized him.

"Oh...? Well, in that case, I don't feel guilty either."

The two didn't speak for a few minutes, merely avoiding each other's gazes.

Nine turned away, huffing as he floated away, "It was nice talking to you again, Saturn... and I genuinely mean that."

« × »

"So, what's this about again...?" Sun asked Toliman as they and the others clustered around the Etheralink.

"Arcturus made contact with M87." Toliman answered, "The Red Giant supposedly has more to tell us."

"Honestly, Helios, do you listen to anyone-"

Sun raised a finger, opening his mouth.

"Except Spica and Toliman, whenever we have to meet up here?" Regulus glared at the other.

Sun scoffed, "Of course, I do! It just... depends on what it's about."

"So that's a no," Sirius uttered.

"Ugh, you too, Sirius? You're supposed to be the neutral one here!"

"You've always ignored my lectures about different Stars, comets, and planets."

'Maybe because it's boring...' Sun thought.

"Come on, guys, let's not get on Sol for not listening when Proxima is right here." Toliman spoke, gesturing to his sibling.

"H-Hey! Don't bring me into this!" Proxima crossed their arms, glaring at Toliman.

"You know I'm just kidding." Toliman elbowed Proxima in the side, a small smile on his face.

Sun watched the interaction, head tilted as he stared longingly at the Orange Star.

"So...?" Spica piped up beside him, "When are you going to make a move?"

Sun blinked, the lovestruck gaze dissipating. He looked at the Blue Star, uncertainty crossing his features, "I don't know..."

"Well, you like him, don't you? Why not go for it?"

Sun looked down. There was a low rumble as the Etheralink glistened.

"Oh, that should be Arcturus now!" Proxima stepped forward, pulling on a red thread.

Spica shifted forward to help them with welcoming their visitor.

"Y'know... you were right, Spica..." The Sun uttered to where only she could hear.

The Blue Star hummed, looking back at her friend, "What do you mean?"

"Stars like us cannot be together... for the distance is too great and the consequences are even greater..."

Notes:

Man, poor Sun...

I almost feel bad for him...

Almost.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 30

Notes:

TWs: Memory loss, crying, rude behavior.

Stay safe :)

"Tell me, Mr. NovaStar-"

"It's Messier."

"Yeah, whatever," Poseidon held the object close to his face, "Tell me, can you really see everything...?"

"Technically..."

"It's a yes or no question."

"...Then no, I can't."

"Is that so?" Poseidon scoffed, "That's not what Zeus told me... he said NovaStars are more powerful than anything in the Galaxy."

"Yes, well... our powers can have drawbacks. It is only to be used during emergencies."

"That's lame..." The blue Celestial uttered, "Why can't you let loose a little?"

Messier didn't respond, ignoring the deep aching in his chest.

Poseidon squinted his eyes at the eight-pointed Star upon not receiving an answer, "Okay, fine... be that way."

Messier winced, contemplating to himself, 'I wonder where the other two ended up...'

"Neptune, mate!" An accented voice called out.

The blue Celestial turned, frowning at the term that the other one used.

'Why does that sound familiar...?' He asked himself, raising a hand to his chin as he tilted his head, 'I don't even know what a 'mate' is...'

'Come on, Neptune...' Messier quietly pleaded, watching his holder from a distance.

"What do you need, Ouranos?" Poseidon asked as the cyan Celestial stopped before him.

Unlike the others, Uranus didn't seem to mind the use of his former name, smiling slightly. It was better than being made fun of or being called UR-anus most of the time, "Your moons, uh... wanted to talk to you."

Poseidon perked up, "Acis, Venilia, and Canens? I've been wondering where they've been."

Uranus seemed hesitant in his words, "R-Right, well- about that... you know how space is always changing, right?"

"Yes...?" Poseidon quirked an eyebrow.

"And how celestial bodies are always moving around; pushing and pulling stray objects that end up in their orbit? And how certain orbits can be dangerous to the point of two objects eventually colliding?"

"Just get to the point, Ouranos." Poseidon huffed, "I don't have time to play mind games."

Uranus sighed, "I'm sorry, mate, but the moons you once knew are gone."

Poseidon felt the atmosphere freeze around him, eyes wide in disbelief and jaw clenched. He managed to grit out a single word, "...What?"

Uranus gestured behind him, moving aside to let the other see sixteen celestite bodies huddling close together.

Poseidon stared at them blankly, analyzing every one of them.

"Neptune...?" Proteus stepped forward, "Do you recognize us?"

"It's us!" Galatea squeaked, "Your moons!"

Poseidon scrunched his face, scrutinizing the small moons with disdain, "You have got to be kidding me... those pebbles are my moons?"

Triton tensed, immediately noticing his sibling moons' shocked and miserable faces. He took his sunglasses off and assessed the scene.

"Mate-" Uranus sucked in a breath, surprised at his old friend's behavior.

Triton flew up to Poseidon, "You will not speak to them like that!"

The blue Celestial seemed nearly impressed by the interference, his brows raising, "You dare talk back to me...? Hah, who do you think you are?"

"The name's Triton," The moon spoke, returning his sunglasses to where they were originally perched, "And I do whatever I damn please."

"Triton, huh...? Well, at least you're not an insignificant piece of debris." Poseidon shrugged.

Triton scowled, opening his mouth to argue back, yet someone else beat him to it.

Before Triton knew what was happening, he was pushed aside, a swift breeze rushing past him.

BAM!

Poseidon reeled back, holding his face as part of it stung from freezing ice, his surface having a hard time recovering as bits of ice plummeted down into the void.

"You... how can you say that?" Uranus' voice wavered as he glared at the other one with tears in his eyes. He readjusted his hold on his harpe, shaking ever so slightly, "You, of all Celestial beings..."

Poseidon stared at him incredulously, "Wha-"

"Don't! I don't want to hear your excuses!" His voice cracked as he yelled at the amnesiac, "You should know better than anyone! You actually talk to your moons, know all of their names, care about them, and you even taught me how to treat my moons after they ran away from me! You should know, so stop acting as if you don't!"

Poseidon opened his mouth, yet no words came out. He continued to hold his cheek and stare bewildering at the other.

"I know you remember, so stop pretending you don't!" Uranus stepped forward, grabbing Poseidon by the shoulders, "I know you can, mate! I've known you for billions of years, you think of me as your cousin and everyone is your friend! You're capable of so much more if you can just think! Please, mate..."

"..."

There was no response as Poseidon stood still, tense at the contact.

"Neptune... please..." Uranus pleaded, clutching onto Neptune's shoulders as if his core depended on it.

"...Let go, Ouranos." Poseidon finally spoke.

"No, not until you-"

"Let. Go!" Poseidon placed a hand on the other's chest, striking the area.

"Agh-!" Uranus pulled away, holding his chest.

Poseidon took his chance, quickly leaving and heading toward the Kuiper Belt.

"Uranus- are you okay?" Triton moved forward, his hands hovering as he looked at the Ice Giant.

"I'm fine, mate, the shock is only temporary..." Uranus grunted, peering down at the white mark on his chest, "Make sure all the moons are okay."

Triton nodded, beginning to list the moons, 'One, two, three, four... ten, eleven, twelve... fourteen, fifteen...'

The biggest moon raised an eyebrow, 'Including me, that makes fifteen, but...'

Thalassa was the first to notice, her gaze flitting around the area, "Hey, where's Hippocamp?"

Triton's eyes widened, whipping his head toward the Kuiper Belt, "Oh, no..."

...

Poseidon huffed, storming through the Kuiper Belt.

'Why is everyone behaving differently? What is going on here? What happened to my moons!?'

With a scowl, Poseidon raised a fist, striking it down and blowing an asteroid to bits.

"Why won't anyone tell me anything!?" He yelled, his voice echoing throughout the atmosphere.

He grabbed an asteroid, staring at it in revolt. Subconsciously, his hands started moving along the piece of debris.

A million questions ran through his head, 'What did that idiot mean by 'I know you remember'? What does he mean we've known each other for billions of years? We haven't even been alive for that long...'

"Right...?" He uttered to himself, frowning as no one responded, "Hey, Mr. NovaStar, are you still there?"

No response.

Poseidon rifled through his pockets, coming up empty, 'It must've slipped out...'

The blue Celestial sighed, peering at the asteroid he had been fidgeting with beforehand.

Poseidon blinked at the blue face staring back at him.

The face had an almost deranged feel to it as it grinned eerily at him.

It was familiar to him.

Oh, so familiar...

Why was it so familiar?

Poseidon stared and stared until he reached out for it, bringing it closer to him and inspecting it.

"I'm gonna call you... Guillermo!"

Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Guilt.

The emotions seemed to build and build, weighing heavy on Poseidon's shoulders as his hands shook.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this... my friends."

It was all blurry. He could no longer see the blue face due to the fogginess.

It was quiet.

He choked on his breath.

No, not again.

He wasn't going to go back to being isolated. He wasn't going to spend his days, years after years of orbiting around the Sun once, and then repeating it over and over and over and over-

Neptune sucked in a breath, the tears that once streamed down his face now sinking into his surface.

He blinked, looking around the area he was in, "Wh-Where...?"

Underneath his fingers, he felt something rugged and cracked. He glanced down, eyes widening upon seeing a blue face.

"Guillermo...?"

Notes:

I may or may not have spent 107 dollars on SolarCards...

Uh... remember to join my discord for updates on the latest stories/chapters :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 31

Notes:

TWs: Memory loss, panicking/brief crying, rude behavior, cliffhanger.

Stay safe :)

"N-Neptune...?"

The blue Celestial whipped his head around, eyes as wide as saucers, "S/2004 N1?"

"I-It's Hippocamp, remember? They gave me a name a few years ago..." The smallest Neptunian Celestite uttered as he hesitated to move forward.

"Oh, right! I remember now!" Neptune grinned, "What are you doing away from the others?"

Hippocamp frowned, becoming uneasy at the Celestial's drastic change in attitude compared to before. The small moon fiddled with his hands, eyebrows slanted as he looked up at Neptune with an anxious gaze, "Do you not remember what happened...?"

Neptune blinked one eye then the other, his face contorting in confusion as he tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"Uh..." Hippocamp drifted away slightly, "You told us we were too small to be your moons and compared us to pebbles and asteroids."

"What!? That's-!"

"And you attacked Uranus."

Neptune stopped, frozen with his mouth open. A few noises slipped out, one word being prominent, "...What?"

He couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it.

Neptune let out a small laugh of disbelief, voice cracking as he shook his head, "Th-That's not- I mean, there's no way I could've- it's not..."

"But it's true! I was there, Triton was there- all of the moons were there."

Neptune's eyes were wide, a terrified expression overtaking his features, "I-I'm... oh, I have to apologize to him, let him know I didn't mean it- though I can't remember doing it..."

Hippocamp gnawed on his lip, fidgeting in place as he looked at Neptune, his eyes looming with a question.

Neptune noticed the smallest Celestite's look, eyes softening as he caught the other's gaze, "I-Is that everything you wanted to tell me?"

Hippocamp hesitated, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, "Is it true that Triton destroyed your moons?"

Neptune sucked in a breath, shock taking over his features as his eyes widened, "Wh-Wha-"

"And is it true that Triton's not a moon- that you pulled him into your gravity?"

Neptune's eyebrows slanted in guilt and sorrow, he pursed his lips as they started twitching. He looked down in shame, slightly nodding, "I'm sorry, S/200- Hippocamp... I wanted to tell you and the others, but I couldn't bring myself to. You all were so happy and loving towards Triton and I didn't want to come between that by telling you guys the truth..."

Hippocamp appeared saddened by the words, "But we're your moons, right? You should tell us these things... isn't that how planets and moons work? When one of us is feeling bad, it also weighs on the others..."

"...You're completely right." Neptune smiled, yet it failed to reach his eyes, "It's not fair of us to keep this in any longer."

Hippocamp grinned, "So you promise to tell them?"

"Of course! I always keep my promises!" Neptune spoke adamantly, his eyes darting around the area, "But we should probably get out of here first- the Kuiper Belt is no place for smaller objects."

"Even that thing?" Hippocamp gestured to the asteroid still in Neptune's hands.

Neptune hummed, eyeing the piece of debris with remorse, "Yeah... even Guillermo."

« × »

"So, uh... does anyone know where we are?" Pinwheel questioned, watching from the Ethereal as his Novae floated into the deep of space.

"I doubt it," Wěi grunted, glancing at the NovaStar.

Pinwheel sighed, "I hope Messier's alright..."

"He's a big Star. He can take care of himself."

"Well, sorry for caring about our friend!" Pinwheel puffed his cheeks out in annoyance.

"When have I ever claimed him as a friend?" Wěi glared at the other.

Bam!

"Ack-!" Wěi yelped as an asteroid collided with their Novae. They glared at the offending object, swearing under their breath, "Stupid rocks..."

"Hah, that's what you get!" Pinwheel teased.

"Childish..." Wěi huffed, crossing their arms.

"Hey, what's that?"

"What's wha- hey, woah!"

Suddenly, Wěi felt themself being lifted into reddish-brown hands.

"Well, you guys seem to be far from home." The dwarf planet smiled, adjusting his glasses.

"Hello!" Pinwheel waved, albeit knowing that he couldn't be seen, "What's your name?"

"The name's Makemake, a pleasure to make your acquaintances!"

Pinwheel 'ooh'd, peering at the dwarf planet with a curious gaze, "How come you're not freaking out? It must be surreal for objects like us to talk."

"It is! Fortunately, I read all about NovaStars and their 'mysterious properties.'" Makemake explained, "It was only one book, though, since NovaStars are hard to come across. Can you believe it? One in every ten thousand Stars excretes their Novaes!"

"Great, we just had to be stuck with the stereotypical nerd," Wěi uttered.

"I prefer the term 'gifted.'" Makemake spoke.

"More like 'inferior.'"

Makemake merely quirked an eyebrow, not seeming phased by the remark.

"Excuse my, uh... friend, here. He doesn't know the meaning of 'nice.'" Pinwheel spoke. Wěi rolled their eyes.

"It's quite alright, I'm used to those types of comments." Makemake smiled.

Pinwheel grimaced, "Oh, well, uhm... anyway, can you help us find Nine and Uranus? We would try ourselves, but we can't exactly move on our own... it takes too much of our energy."

"Oh, of course! I'm pretty sure I saw Uranus near the Kuiper Belt talking to Neptune earlier." Makemake tilted his head, thinking, "I don't know about Nine though..."

Pinwheel nodded, an aching feeling in his chest, "That's alright, we can just wander around and see where gravity takes us, right, Wěi?"

Wěi scoffed, "I much prefer being with Uranus over four eyes here."

"...I'll take that as a yes." Pinwheel spoke before looking at the dwarf planet, "Let's go, Makemake!"

« × »

"This just isn't like him..." Uranus muttered as he held a NovaStar close to his chest, gazing down at it sadly.

Messier hummed, "I didn't think a black hole could cause so much damage..."

A sigh pulled Uranus out of his daze. The cyan Celestial tensed, watching Triton run his hands through his hair, "No luck, I take it?"

Triton shook his head, taking his sunglasses off as he caressed the space between his eyes, "What did I expect? It's thirty to fifty-five Astronomical Units wide, of course, I can't find a moon that's only a dozen miles across! Most of the objects are bigger than him!"

Triton waved his arms out of exasperation and exhaustion. He slumped against an asteroid, fiddling with his sunglasses. The other moons of Neptune huddled together, some of them close to tears. Uranus looked down, eyes glazed over with icy tears.

"What's with the waterworks?" A voice rumbled from beside Uranus.

Uranus jolted, "Ah- Nine? What are you doing here?"

Nine gave the other a look as if he were stupid, "This is where I'm staying temporarily..."

"Oh... sorry, mate." Uranus shifted awkwardly.

Nine noted the NovaStar in the other's hands, yet said nothing about it, "So... why are you all here? You guys look as if someone died."

"No, it just feels like it..." Uranus averted his gaze to the void below.

"Let me guess," Nine's brows twitched, "Poseidon?"

"Yep."

"Figures..."

"Hey!" A voice emitted a few units away.

Proteus' eyes widened, "Did anyone hear that?"

"It sounded like..." Larissa trailed off, her eyes peering toward the Kuiper Belt as a figure came bounding from the debris.

"Hippocamp!" The moons of Neptune exclaimed, cheering for the smallest one's return.

"You're back!" Psamathe and Laomedeia latched onto the smaller, spinning around in circles.

"We were so worried!" Sao cried.

Triton looked at the small Celestite, inspecting him for injuries, "But h-how did you find your way back?"

Hippocamp grinned, raising his arms as he gestured toward the Kuiper belt, "Neptune, of course!"

The blue Celestial in question came hurtling out from the rocks, avoiding oncoming asteroids by drawing in his watery surface.

"Poseidon." Nine glowered.

Neptune raised an eyebrow, pausing before the others, "No...? My name is Neptune!"

Nine, Uranus, and Triton looked at him, casting each other glances.

"What's your position from the Sun?" Nine asked, squinting at the blue Celestial.

"Well, that's easy! I'm eighth from the Sun right after Uranus and before you!" Neptune responded.

"And what's your relationship with everyone here?"

Neptune frowned, "Why are you guys being so weird? I thought that was my job."

"Answer the question, Neptune."

"Okay, okay! Triton, Nereid, Naiad, Thalassa, Despina, Galatea, Larissa, Proteus, Halimede, Psamathe, Sao, Laomedeia, Neso, and Hippocamp are my moons!" Neptune listed them in order of their discovery before turning to the other Celestials, a smile never leaving his face, "Uranus is my cousin and you are my brother!"

Nine was silent as he stared at Neptune with a faraway gaze.

Neptune looked at him worriedly, "You okay, Nine...? Did I say something wrong?"

Nine blinked, eyes pooling with relief as he practically threw himself forward, hugging his brother tightly.

Neptune froze, eyes wide. He was always an optimist, yet never in a million years did Neptune think that Nine would be the one to initiate physical touch. He always thought of it as a wish that would never come true.

Yet here he was.

Neptune returned the hug tenfold, closing his eyes and wanting to relish the feeling forever.

Despite lasting a few minutes, Neptune deemed it the best thing to have ever happened to him.

Uranus eagerly wrapped his arms around Neptune, squeezing tightly. His voice wavered as tears fell from his eyes, "You worried me, mate... I thought I would never get you back."

Neptune returned the embrace, face full of confusion at the words spoken. Regardless, he started to apologize, "I'm so-"

"Don't." Uranus shook his head, pulling away, "None of this is your fault, mate."

Neptune tilted his head, his eyes glancing over to Triton, who was listening in. Neptune smiled, waving the hesitant moon closer.

"Yeah, it's all Sagittarius' doing."

The blue Celestial grinned as Triton joined the circle, peering back at the other two as he quirked an eyebrow, "What's a Sagittarius...?"

Notes:

Tee-hee :3

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 32

Notes:

TWs: Amnesia/Memory loss, mention of past death, past apathetic behavior, yelling/confrontation, crying, panicking, worrying.

Stay safe :)

The atmosphere was still as everyone looked at Neptune.

The blue Celestial sensed the tenseness, looking back with a knitted expression. He gave a small titter, "Did I say something wrong again?"

"Y-You're joking with us... right?" Uranus asked.

Neptune pursed his lips, shaking his head.

Nine furrowed his eyebrows, scowling, "That damn black hole..."

Neptune averted his gaze, finally noticing the object in Uranus' grasp. He hummed, gesturing to it, "How's Wěi, by the way?"

"Oh, this isn't Wěi—It's Messier," Uranus said, handing the NovaStar to the other.

"Messier...? I thought I left you with Saturn." Neptune peered at the eight-pointed Star, eyes widening upon finding a small fracture, "Where'd you get this from...?"

"Saving you." Messier replied simply, "As I promised before."

Neptune's eyes flashed in remembrance.

"Well if it does get to me, then you have to promise me something."

"What is it...?"

"No matter what, you'll be the one to save me."

"And you kept it?" Neptune whispered.

"Of course."

Neptune smiled softly, bringing the NovaStar close to him, "Thank you..."

In the Ethereal, Messier felt warmth for the first time since he went Supernova.

Nine glanced at Uranus, making a few hand gestures. The cyan Celestial nodded once he realized what the white Celestial was signing.

"Hey, Neptune?" A gruff voice spoke.

The Celestial turned to his largest moon, eyes filling with panic, "Oh, Triton! I don't remember what happened, but despite what I might've said to you and the others, it's not-"

Triton cut him off, shaking his head, "I know, but that's not what I wanted to talk about."

Neptune frowned, tilting his head as he looked at the other curiously, "Then... what is it, Triton?"

Triton seemed hesitant, averting his gaze to the other moons. He pursed his lips, biting on his lower lip. He let out a small sigh, turning to Neptune with furrowed, twitching eyebrows, "Do you... blame me?"

Neptune's eyes widened, not expecting the question to come from his most level-headed moon. He laughed, though it sounded more like a cough, "What makes you believe that, Triton?"

"...Okay, I know I said we weren't going to talk about what you said, but it was something you said." Triton spoke, never meeting Neptune's eyes, "About Acis, Venilia, and Canens."

Neptune knitted his brows worriedly, silently knowing what Triton was getting at, "Oh..."

"You chose to ignore the problem, you never acknowledged the deaths of your moons and every time I tried to pry about it, you played it off as if it was nothing- as if your past moons never existed in the first place!" Triton's voice raised at the end as he finally forced himself to look at Neptune, his eyes blazing behind the sunglasses he wore, "You couldn't even look at me for millions of years and that only changed because the other moons came along!"

Neptune shifted backward, feeling as if he had just been pierced through his core with dozens of arrows. His eyes twitched as he made a strained expression. Reluctantly, he glanced at his smaller moons.

He had never seen them more terrified than that moment. They looked at him as if he were someone they didn't know or recognize- as if he were some kind of monster.

Guilt clawed its way into his chest, effectively squeezing around his core, digging into it like a black hole ripping itself from the inside out.

He looked to his smallest moon.

Tears escaped Hippocamp's eyes as he looked at Neptune. He turned away from his parent Celestial, hiding his face in Thalassa's coat.

Of course...

Neptune forgot to mention how apathetic he acted after his past moons died.

Uranus placed a hand on Neptune's shoulder, looking at him with trepidation.

Great, even his cousin feared him.

"You okay, mate?" Uranus questioned.

Neptune quirked an eyebrow. It didn't make sense for Uranus to still be nice to him- not after everything he did.

"Perhaps it's because he cares about you," Messier spoke.

Neptune's breath hitched, nearly forgetting that Messier had been returned to him, 'You think so...?'

"I know so." Messier spoke with determination, "You may not remember the reason now, and you may never will... but we cannot change the past, Neptune. It has been said, it has been done. We can only look forward to the future, re-writing past wrongs in order to better it."

'Right...' Neptune nodded, 'I understand what I must do.'

"Good."

'And Messier?'

"Yes, Neptune?"

'Thank you- for everything. I couldn't have done any of this without you.'

"...You're welcome."

"I'm fine, Uranus... thanks for the concern though." Neptune finally spoke, his voice sounding calm despite the chaotic thoughts that swirled in his head like a tornado. He looked at Triton and, to everyone's surprise, smiled, "You're completely right, Triton."

Triton tensed, his hands balling up into fists as his face scrunched up in distress, hurt by the response of his planet.

"But I don't blame you." Neptune continued, prompting Triton's face to shift into one of shock, "I never did."

Triton opened and closed his mouth, "B-But- th-then why were you so-"

"I blame myself." Neptune replied, his dark and stormy eyes showcasing a faraway look, "It was my fault that I pulled you into my gravity... I didn't notice until it was too late. I was careless back then, and still am today. As for acting like I didn't care... I truly didn't care."

The small moons gasped, gaping at their planet with all sorts of scared and anxious expressions.

"It was... normalized to treat moons as if they were nothing compared to planets." Neptune's face scrunched in disgust, "I only just realized how much they meant to me thousands of years later... when I had a conversation with Nine."

Neptune glanced Nine's way. The white Celestial nodded curtly; a silent acknowledgment.

"He had always treated his moons with respect and I wanted to know why- everyone else treated their moons poorly, so what could be so special about these moons?" Neptune shook his head, "No... it's not about how 'special' a celestial object is- it's not about their composition, their size, or how far away they are from their parent planet."

Neptune turned to his moons, eyes watering, "It's not about any of that... no, it's about how we balance each other out, how moons stabilize their planet's climate, how they can control the length of our days, and how they provide clues for habitability! They serve as geological time capsules, recording our solar system's history with impact craters, ice deposits, and cooled lava landforms! Without moons, there would be more asteroid impacts, our days would be shorter, our temperatures would change drastically, and our tilts as well! Without moons, we would be nothing..."

Neptune sniffled, trying to wipe the tears away, "I-It wasn't until I was isolated for 165 years after the fact that I truly understood how much I longed to hear their voices again... only to realize that I'll never see them again."

The blue Celestial looked up, gazing at Triton with grieving eyes. Triton gulped, finding himself not able to look away.

"So, no, Triton, I don't blame you. I never did." Neptune smiled, his lips quivering. He blinked, unable to stop the tears from flowing as a sob wrenched its way out of his mouth.

Hippocamp was the first to push his way to his planet, arms spread open as he grasped onto him, nuzzling into his sweater. He felt water dripping on his head, choosing to ignore it in favor of trying to help his planet.

Uranus was the second to snap out of his daze, reaching forward to wrap his arms around Neptune, "It'll be okay, mate... I got you."

The other moons joined the group hug, half of them crying freely as they latched themselves onto the Celestial.

Triton seemed hesitant, limbs shaking as he shifted forward. Slowly, he hugged the side of Neptune's face, closing his eyes as small tears fell.

Nine crossed his arms, choosing to look away from the group. Instead, he focused his attention on the Kuiper Belt, reminiscing about a time that once was.

« × »

Sun and Toliman floated there in the Etheralink, staring at the void that stretched out before them. A few pieces of glowing threads could be seen scattered around, linking to other Stars and Celestial bodies. Everyone else was long gone, already having wished the Sun good luck on what might happen within the coming days.

Now, it was silent, the only sound heard was the dull roars coming from within the two Stars.

Toliman glanced over at the Sun, a questioning look on his face, "You're quiet today."

"Huh?" Sun perked up, looking at his friend, "What do you mean?"

"You hate being silent, you always have to make some kind of noise- usually humming or talking to yourself, but... you're not." Toliman explained, "What's going on through that head of yours, Sol?"

Sun sighed, "I wish I knew... I know Arcturus said M87 would talk to Sagittarius A* and that everything would probably be okay, but..."

"You're worried that everything won't be okay."

"Exactly! That bastard black hole is the least of my problems because even after its confrontation with M87, things still won't be okay!" Sun waved his arms around as he faced Toliman, "I still have to make sure my planets are fine and that they don't kill each other over things that happened billions of years ago! It's ridiculous; you'd think they'd learn to communicate, but no! I have no choice but to do it for them! All of the secrets, all of the lies they told me... it makes me want to kill them myself!"

Toliman let the other rant, watching him pace back and forth.

"I can't..." Sun dropped his head in his hands, letting out an exasperated whine, "It's hard to hate them when they give you unconditional support that you don't deserve..."

The orange Star shifted forward, pulling the other into an embrace.

Sun lowered his head onto the other's shoulder, closing his eyes as hot firey tears fell. His voice was quiet as he whispered, "I just can't hate them... not when I've made more mistakes."

Toliman creased his brows, holding the yellow Star close to his chest. Slowly, he started running his fingers through the other's hair.

Sun sighed, relaxing for the first time in billions of years, "Thank you, Toli..."

"Anything for you, Sol."

After a few moments of silence, Sun sighed, starting to pull away, "I should probably check on them..."

Toliman nodded, yet didn't let go of the other's hands.

"Uh... that requires you to let go," Sun spoke, tittering.

Toliman dropped his hands, not meeting the other's gaze, "Before you go, though, I have something to give you."

"Another gift?" Sun raised an eyebrow, "I already loved the purified Asterium charm you gave me."

"I know, however... I would say this is better." Toliman cusped his hands together, focusing all his energy on the palms of his hands. Sun watched in astonishment as an orange flame fabricated itself within seconds, the fire dancing as it crackled silently.

"Is that...?" Sun uttered.

"My flame." Toliman said simply, "I want you to have it."

Red flames rose to the surface of the Sun as he looked at the other with eyes as wide as saucers.

"And... you're giving your flame to Toliman? Isn't there a thing about Stars and only giving their flames as a sign of courtship?"

Mercury's words echoed in his head on repeat. He opened his mouth, strangled noises slipping out as he fought for what to say, "I- uhm- wey-"

Toliman couldn't help but laugh, "Knowing you, Sol, you're taking this as a marriage proposal."

"Wha- eh- i-is it not?" Sun managed to squeak out.

"Giving another a flame can mean you want to court that someone, but... it can mean something else." There was a noticeable blush on Toliman's face as he spoke, "A promise."

Sun blinked, his surface still warmer than ever before as he gazed at the other, "P-Promise...?"

Toliman nodded, "I promise that no matter what, no matter if one of us dies or whether we're thousands of Astronomical Units away from each other... I'll always be there for you, by your side."

Subconsciously, Sun raised his hands, mesmerized by Toliman's words, his eyes sparkling with lava-like tears.

"I promise to love you until the very end... until space and time cease to exist."

Their hands met in the middle, interlacing their fingers. The orange fire glowed brightly until it scattered, the flames looping around Sun's hands, arms, and chest until it dissipated into his core. He shivered, raising a hand to his chest, and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Really...?" Sun whispered, looking at Toliman with awe in his eyes.

Toliman nodded, smiling warmly, "Every word..."

Slowly, a grin rose on Sun's face, most of his sharp teeth presenting themselves. He pushed forward, practically jumping on the other. Toliman held him steady, flushing as his head was shoved into the Sun's chest.

The Sun had never felt happiness such as the way when he was with Toliman. Later he could worry all he wanted about his planets and system. For now, he would focus on the feeling of being loved and admired by one of the ones who truly understood him.

Notes:

I have a poll running in my Discord about what to call this AU :)

So far, Stellato is in the lead with Paramnesia in second place.

The poll ends in about 2 days, so get your votes in by joining the Discord (link in bio/profile)!

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 33

Notes:

TWs: Amnesia/Memory loss, worrying, brief arguing/confrontation, past death/collision.

Stay safe :)

"Are you sure you're okay, mate?" Uranus asked his cousin as they got to his orbit.

"I'm fine, Uranus!" Neptune smiled, "I've never felt better actually!"

"Even so, you should still be careful." Nine spoke, "Sagittarius could strike at any moment."

"I still don't know what a Sagittarius is..." Neptune frowned, raising a hand to his chin.

"That's because it may have manipulated your memories." Nine explained, "Do you know how your amnesia works, Neptune?"

"Well, usually, I prioritize them by importance; take my moons, for example." Neptune gestured to the smaller objects. I only remember their names because they're important to me—they'll always come before anything else."

"And me?" Nine prompted, "When you found me in the Kuiper Belt, you had no idea who I was."

"You also had no idea who Jupiter was that one time." Uranus pointed out.

Neptune frowned, averting his gaze, "Uh... those are more personal."

"What do you mean?"

"I chose to forget them," Neptune replied, shrugging.

Nine winced, a sharp sting jamming into his core at the words, 'Ouch... guess I deserve that.'

"Okay, but if you see anything out of the ordinary, you'll come straight to one of us, right?" Uranus placed his hands on the other's shoulders.

"Of course!" Neptune nodded, "I promise, Uranus, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, I have Messier to keep me safe!"

"That makes me wonder what happened to our NovaStars..." Nine uttered.

"I'm sure they're around here somewhere, they couldn't have gotten too far." Uranus pulled Neptune closer, wrapping his arms around him.

Neptune grinned, returning the hug, "You guys are really feeling huggy lately! Not that I don't like it- it's just not like you two at all."

"We're just worried, is all." Uranus' voice came out muffled as he pressed further into Neptune's sweater.

Neptune simpered, "I know, but you don't have anything to worry about."

"We have everything to worry about, mate!" Uranus pulled away, brows furrowed as he lightly glared at the other, "You don't even remember who we're fighting against!"

Neptune hummed, raising a hand to his head, "Yeah, it's still all fuzzy for me... I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Neptune." Nine piped up, "It's all Sagittarius A*'s fault that your memories are missing."

"I know... I just wish I could help." Neptune frowned, averting his gaze toward the endless void below.

"You can help us by recovering." Uranus spoke, "Maybe you'll be able to remember the things you're missing."

"I hope so... my head has never been in more pain trying to think." Neptune winced, his head pounding like a supernova explosion.

"Try not to hurt yourself." Nine told him, nudging the other one's shoulder.

"It's kinda hard not to..." Neptune chuckled.

Uranus peered at him, concern filling his gaze, "Promise you'll say something if you notice something out of the ordinary?"

Neptune looked the other in the eyes, nodding curtly with a sense of reassurance, "I promise, Uranus."

"Okay... I'll go ahead and tell the others about your condition." Uranus pulled away from the others, hesitating to leave his close friend who considered him family. He glanced back at Neptune, "I... love you, Neptune."

Neptune made an 'o' shape with his mouth before it quickly turned into a grin, "I love you too, Urano!"

Uranus smiled a bit, feeling more at ease as he left the scene, heading toward the inner zones.

Nine stared at Neptune, words on his tongue yet couldn't find it in himself to say them. He sighed, gaining Neptune's attention.

"What is it, Nine?" Neptune asked, shifting closer to his brother.

Nine shook his head, "No, it's nothing... it's not important."

Neptune knitted his eyebrows, lips curling up into a small pout.

"Anyway, I should also take my leave. Uranus might need help to explain some things." Nine turned away, about to leave when arms wrapped around his back and torso, "Wha-?"

"I love you, Nine."

The words came out so carelessly, but they were filled with affection all the same. Nine deemed himself unworthy of such, yet he couldn't help but lean into the touch, his shoulders slumping against the other as he whispered a single phrase, "...I love you too, Neptune."

...

"Uranus, dear friend!" Saturn beamed upon noticing the cyan Celestial approaching, "How is... Poseidon?"

"Back to normal." Uranus smiled.

"Really?" Saturn's eyes widened.

"Somewhat. He can't remember Sagittarius A* or what it has done." Uranus spoke.

"Oh, how unfortunate... but it's good that he's feeling like his old self again!" Saturn smiled.

"Yeah, I was worried he would stay like him." Uranus couldn't help but shiver at the thought.

Saturn frowned, brows knitted in worry, "Let's not dwell on it further, all that matters is that he's okay."

Uranus nodded, "Yeah..."

A sigh was heard from a few units away as Jupiter floated up to them, looking sullen. Saturn and Uranus glanced at each other before peering at the Giant questioningly.

"What's wrong, dear?" Saturn pressed a hand to his 'friend's shoulder, giving him a concern-filled gaze.

"We might be in trouble," Jupiter spoke, looking at Saturn.

"Like galaxy-ending trouble, or...?" Uranus trailed off.

"It might as well be..." Jupiter uttered, "When this is all over, the Sun wants to speak with us."

"All of us...?" Saturn tilted his head.

"No, just you, me... and Nine."

Saturn pulled away from the bigger one, a pained expression on his face, "Aahh... that can't be good."

"For you two, it isn't." A deep voice echoed as Nine entered the scene, stopping beside Uranus. Nine crossed his arms, "You two might as well leave the solar system as soon as everything is back to 'normal.'"

"You know as well as I that that's not possible without causing repercussions for everyone else." Jupiter glared at the white Celestial.

"Oh? I bet us Ice Giants can handle any problem with you two gone."

"Mate..." Uranus warned, furrowing his brows.

"What? I'm just saying... none of this would have happened if they had just kept your mouths shut."

Saturn scoffed, pointing an accusatory finger in Nine's direction, "Oh, please! None of this would have happened if you had only stayed away from them!"

"Them...?" Uranus muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Herschel, Chrysalis, and Theia..." Saturn's voice wavered.

Uranus' eyes widened, 'Herschel-!?'

Some memories were distorted, but Uranus remembered having a moon named Herschel. He was once the biggest moon of the Uranian System until he got caught in a collision with a Mars-sized object, the same collision that changed Uranus' tilt for billions of years to come. The leftover debris eventually became Uranus' rings.

Nine frowned upon seeing Uranus' crestfallen expression. He reached a hand toward the other, "Uranus, I'm-"

"It's fine, Nine." Uranus cut the other off, shrugging the hand away, "I forgive you."

The Gas Giants were shocked, Saturn letting out a small gasp, "But Uranus, he was the cause of your moon's-!"

"The asteroid was the cause of Herschel's death, not Nine!" Uranus glowered, "Besides, Herschel would've eventually collided with me anyway, I was always dragging him too close to my surface."

"But-"

"Drop it, Saturn." Uranus scowled, starting to drift past them, "I don't want to be reminded of it..."

They watched Uranus leave, beginning to cross the asteroid belt. Saturn bit his lip, turning to glare at Nine, "You don't-"

"I know I don't deserve his forgiveness." Nine spoke, head down as he clenched his fists, "I know I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness... after all, I cause nothing but pain to those I care about."

Notes:

Another chapter out so soon? You bet!

I don't have work until the 12th and 13th, so I'll be writing up a storm in the meantime.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 34

Notes:

TWs: Crying/panicking/passing out/worrying/confrontation.

Stay safe :)

"Well, this is great news!" Sun clapped his hands, grinning down at his planets, "Now that Neptune is feeling better, the solar system is one step closer to becoming normal, er... as close to normal as we can be, that is."

Nine scoffed, "Yeah, right..."

Sun raised an eyebrow, squinting at the white Celestial before turning to Uranus, "See to it that Neptune fully recovers from being in Sagittarius' clutches, and don't let him wander too far from his orbit."

"Understood." Uranus nodded.

"On the plus side, M87 should be confronting SGR A* any day now. In the meantime, everyone can return to their regular schedules of orbiting around me," Sun spoke, glaring at the Celestials, "And not moving from said orbits."

'As if that'll happen...' Most of the planets thought.

"Anyway, is that all you guys wanted to tell me?" Sun questioned, leaning back in his orbit. Nine held his tongue as he saw the other three shaking their heads.

"N-" Saturn was about to speak when he was interrupted.

"I have something to say!" Nine yelled, pushing his way toward the Sun.

The Sun raised his eyebrows with a curious look as he stared down at the Celestial, "Oh...? What is it, Nine?"

Nine's body was tense as he forced himself to meet Uranus' questioning gaze. He felt himself shaking, feeling all eyes on him. The Rocky Planets seemed to be listening in from where they sat, their card game cast aside.

A low sigh escaped Nine's mouth as his eyebrows knitted and his eyes wincing. He gulped, opening his wavering lips, "I'm sorry, Uranus..."

Uranus tilted his head, confused at the apology, "What for, mate?"

"I..." Nine closed his eyes, not wanting to see the other's expression, "I caused that collision."

"What...?" Uranus quirked an eyebrow before it hit him like a tidal wave. His eyes widened in shock and horrification, "You mean... you're the one who sent that asteroid hurtling toward me all those years ago!?"

"...Yes." Nine nodded, keeping his head low. He heard quiet gasps from the Rocky Planets as they huddled together. He felt his back burning from the Sun's red solar glare.

Uranus' eyes watered, icicles forming at the edges, "...Why? Why didn't you tell me...?"

"I-I didn't want to ruin what was left of our friendship..."

"Mates are supposed to tell each other everything!" Uranus frowned, a pained expression on his surface, "That's why it's called friendship, because it's built on compassion, equality, trust, and honesty, and you- you are none of those things..."

Nine closed his eyes, taking the harsh words as they penetrated his surface.

"Do you have any idea how much pain I was in for hundreds and hundreds of years? I felt like I was falling apart, yet by some miracle, I'm still alive, no thanks to you." Uranus' voice cracked as he tore his eyes away from the white Celestial. Tears fell from Uranus' eyes as he tried to keep himself together, "I trusted you, Nine... Neptune trusted you, yet... you're still the same as before- a traitor."

Nine choked, feeling the wind being knocked out of him. He opened his mouth to retort, yet nothing came out. He backed away, eyes wide. Never in his billions of years of existence had he not had something to say.

It made him terrified, core whirring deep beneath his surface.

"Nibiru." The Sun's voice echoed throughout the quiet atmosphere, "Face me."

Nine tensed, limbs subtly shaking as he forced himself to look at the Sun's blazing glare.

"Is what you said true?" The Sun spoke through clenched teeth, holding himself back from shooting a solar flare at one of his planets, "Did you really cause that collision?"

"Yes." Nine bobbed his head.

The Sun scowled, "I believe you owe an apology to a few more planets."

Nine lowered his head, shame running through him, "Yes, sir..."

He inhaled before breathing out slowly, turning to face Saturn. The ringed Celestial had his arms crossed, frustrated tears stinging in his eyes as he glared at Nine.

"Saturn, I'm sorry about Chrysalis," Nine said, "I didn't think that would happen."

Saturn scoffed, hiccuping softly, "You p-pushed me into her... clearly, you w-weren't thinking at all."

Nine winced, turning to the other Gas Giant. He hesitated on what to say, "I know we have our differences, Jupiter. I don't recall when it all started to fall apart- I'm not sure I want to remember when it did. Even so, I believe that at one point in our existence, we had grown to be friends... and I had you to look up to."

Jupiter said nothing, choosing to avert his gaze. Nine huffed, tilting his head away from the other.

After a moment of silence, the Sun cleared his throat, "You're forgetting someone, Nibiru."

Nine sighed, and to everyone's surprise, he faced the Earth. The lively Celestial blinked, eyebrows raised as he was the focus of attention. However, this attentiveness made him roused, and not in a good way. He shifted back, taking hold of the closest thing beside him, which happened to be Mars' arm. The dusty red Celestial jolted in surprise before placing a soothing hand where Earth's was. Luna placed himself in front of Earth, noticeably shielding him as he glowered at the Ice Giant.

"Earth," Nine spoke, "I owe you an apology..."

"F-For what...?" Earth spoke, intimidated by the other's cold temperate.

Nine clenched his jaw, speaking through gritted teeth, "I was the one who caused your dinosaur lifeforms to go extinct."

Earth stopped breathing and, for a moment, he felt as if he was dying. Black spots laced his vision as he stared at Nine. He could faintly hear Mars and Luna try to get his attention, yet all Earth could think about was that one specific moment in history.

The asteroid coming toward him, the asteroid making contact with his surface, and him screaming in pain. Blacking out for days, and waking up to find his life had been destroyed. Blurry, blurry, blurry... he wasn't sure what happened after that moment, but he thought he was in a coma for centuries because of the stress of it all.

He felt faint and before he knew it he tipped backwards, eyes closing as darkness consumed him.

"Earth!"

...

Nobody said anything for a few hours. The Sun had forced everyone to go back to their orbits, except for Nine.

Nine could feel the heat bearing down on him, raising a hand to ensure he wasn't melting. He peered up at the Sun, who had his arms crossed and eyes closed, brows twitching ever so slightly.

Looking toward the outer zones, the Rocky Planets were stationed at their orbits, Earth still in a catatonic state while the other three cast worried glances, silently wondering when he would wake up. The Earth's moon, Luna, stayed at his side, jostling the unconscious one to ensure he kept a moderate temperature.

Nine bit his lip, holding himself in a fetal position as he awaited punishment. Deep inside, he knew that the Sun would send him away just as the Gas Giants once did. He would have to wander outside of the Kuiper Belt for eons to come.

He would be alone.

Again.

'I won't be completely alone... I still have Sedna.' Nine's lips nearly curled into a smile before becoming a deeper frown, 'If she even wants anything to do with me after I tell her everything...'

"Nine." The Sun finally spoke, opening his eyes to peer down at the white Celestial. Nine whipped his head toward the Guardian, eyes alarmed as he waited with bated breath for the Sun to continue, "After some time of thinking and running it over and over in my head, I think it's best for the entire solar system if you... left."

For the second time in his entire existence, Nine felt nothing.

Notes:

Tee-hee.

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 35

Notes:

TWs: Self-deprecation, isolation, implied manipulation.

Stay safe :)

"Nine!"

The white Celestial looked up just in time for Neptune to bombard him with a hug.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" Neptune whined.

Nine huffed, "You saw me a few hours ago...?"

"Like I said- it's been forever..." Neptune released from the hug, looking to where his moons were playing.

Nine noticed one missing, raising an eyebrow, "Where's that dwarf planet you captured?"

Neptune tensed at the wording, "O-Oh, uh- Triton's either with Jupiter's moons or the other dwarf planets!"

Nine hummed, shifting away as he glanced in the Sun's direction, "I better be going, I don't want the Sun to get heated..."

"Okay!" Neptune smiled until he realized his brother was heading toward the Kuiper Belt. He flew forward, catching Nine by the wrist, "Didn't the Sun put you in a temporary orbit next to the Kuiper Belt? Why are you going in?"

Nine sighed as he turned to look at Neptune, "Yeah, about that... the Sun ordered me to return to my orbit on the outskirts of the solar system."

Neptune's eyes widened, "What? Why?"

Nine hesitated, not wanting to tell Neptune what the Sun said to him, "...It's best you ask the others."

Wrenching his wrist from Neptune's grip, Nine flew away and into the Kuiper Belt.

"Nine, wait-!" Neptune tried calling after him, yet it was all in vain as the other got further away, "Nine...?"

Neptune floated there, a deep frown on his face and brows knitted in worry.

"What happened to Mr. Nine...? " A voice asked. Looking down, the blue Celestial saw Proteus eyeing the direction Nine went in.

"I don't know..." Neptune uttered before setting his eyes on the Star at the center of the solar system. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes blazed with determination, "Whatever it is, it's my job to make it right again."

« × »

Nine sighed, curling up into a ball as he placed his head between his knees, 'I'm such an idiot...'

As if you  don't  deserve this.

'Yeah, that's true...' Sitting up, Nine raised his hands.

White and pristine, always reflecting the Sun's rays whenever he was around the yellow Star.

He frowned, brows twitching. Slowly, he pushed and pulled, grunting in pain as his white surface was drowned out by navy blue, the dark color taking over his entire celestial body. He winced upon looking at the blue shade, 'Might as well be as hidden as possible...'

"Nine! Nine?" A voice cut through the silent atmosphere as a reddish-brown object pushed her way through the debris. She blinked, taking in the other's body, "Oh, there you are..."

"Sedna? You shouldn't be here." Nine faced the dwarf planet with wide eyes.

"You shouldn't be here either." Sedna retorted, crossing her arms.

"Yes, I do. Out of everyone, I'm the one who belongs here."

"Why? Cause you wiped out the Earth's life and killed a moon?"

"How did you-"

"Word travels fast, believe it or not." Sedna shrugged, waving it off, "Anyway, you shouldn't stay here- it isn't good for you to be alone all the time!"

"Yeah? Well, it doesn't seem to bother you- your orbit is 11,400 years."

Sedna tensed, her hands balling into fists as she scoffed, "You really think I follow the Sun's dumb rules of staying in orbit? How do you think I met you?"

"You said our orbits most likely crossed paths..."

"That was a lie! I was supposed to be at the closest point to the Sun."

"Why would you lie about something like that...?"

Sedna opened her mouth, biting her lip as she averted her gaze, "I-I had heard rumors about there being a ninth planet, so I wanted to check it out for myself... and I figured a planet so far from everyone else must've been pretty lonesome."

"Uh- I was not lonely!" Nine scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Sure... says the Celestial who talks to himself when he's thinking." Sedna shrugged, smugly smiling, "Kinda like Neptune with his imaginary friends."

"Don't lump me in with Neptune- we have nothing in common."

"Right, 'cause being an Ice Giant doesn't put you on the same wavelength as Neptune..."

"It doesn't."

Sedna gave him a look. Nine didn't say anything and instead looked away from the other. Sedna huffed, "At least he isn't as stubborn as you are."

"I am not stubborn- I just choose not to change my position on certain things." Sedna looked at him with a deadpan stare. Nine could feel the concentrated gaze on the back of his neck. He sighed, "Okay, maybe I am a little stubborn..."

"Just a little?"

"What were you here for again?"

"Changing the subject, I see..." Sedna uttered, "I was trying to convince you to return to the solar system."

"Hah, with the Sun still pissed?" Nine smirked, "Highly unlikely."

"Is that the only reason you're not coming back?" Sedna tilted her head, "Because you're afraid of what the Sun will do?"

"I am not-!" Nine whipped around, glaring at the dwarf Celestial. He balled his hands into fists, snarling, "I am not, and will never be... afraid."

Sedna glowered, staring at him with piercing eyes, "I know you better than anyone, Nine, and I can tell when something is up with you, so what is it? What aren't you telling me?"

Nine placed his hands on his head, grunting as he muttered incoherent things to himself, "So many... why... I'm not..."

Sedna outstretched her hand and placed it on the other's shoulder, effectively grounding him as he turned to look back at her. Nine found himself paralyzed as he looked into Sedna's eyes. He forced his eyes closed, squeezing them tight.

"You're right." He spoke, "I am... afraid- but not of the Sun."

"Then what...?" Sedna tilted her head, eyebrows knitted in concern.

"...Sagittarius A*." Nine spat out the name like it was poisonous, "The Sun has a good poker face, but I could see it in his eyes... he didn't want to do it."

"What-? He's the Sun! He's one of the most powerful out of every Star out there! What do you mean he 'didn't want to do it'?"

"One thing I've learned about being in a system is that the Stars are never the mastermind, merely an accomplice to do a Black Hole's bidding." Nine explained, "Sure, some Stars- like the Sun- can do whatever they want however they see fit, but it's ultimately the Black Hole's decision on what they can or cannot do."

"Then..." Sedna tilted her head down, raising a hand to her chin.

"What is it?" Nine noticed Sedna's thoughtful gaze, her eyebrows twitching.

"So let me get this straight- the Sun didn't want to banish you?"

"Mhm..."

"Instead, this is all Sagittarius' doing?"

"Most likely."

"Uh..." Sedna bit her lip, "We might want to tell Neptune that."

"What? Why?" Nine sat up straight, eyes full of alarm.

« × »

"Sun!" A voice hollered through the atmosphere.

Sun rolled his eyes, reluctantly turning around, "Ugh, what is it nowwww- hey, why is everyone out of orbit again!?" Sun glared down at his planets, eyes flashing red.

The Celestials shrugged aside from Neptune, who stepped forward and met the Sun's eyes with a scowl of his own.

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" Neptune pointed at the Star.

The Sun smiled creepily, the grin stretching across his face, "Oh-ho... do I now? What makes you say that, Poseidon?"

Neptune winced at the name, yet didn't back down as he glowered, "You tell me... you're the one who exiled Nine again!"

Notes:

Is Earth still unconscious?
Yes.

When will he wake up?
... :)

How many times is he going to pass out?
Uhh...

Anyway, everyone wish my brother a happy birthday (I was the first one to do so at 12:30am)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 36

Notes:

TWs: Near-death experience, confrontation, out-of-body experience, longing/yearning for a past love, mentioned past death/destruction of celestial objects.

Stay safe :)

It was so quiet that you could hear the Sun's low hissing, his plasma starting to boil as the words left Neptune's mouth.

"You dare blame me...!? " The Sun stood tall as he reached behind him. Nibiru only has himself to blame!"

There was a spark of light as the Sun summoned his whip.

"Neptune!" The Giants yelled as most of the Rockies backed away, huddling in formation around the Earth, who was still unconscious.

Venus felt a sudden loss of gravity, his eyes darting to where Mercury should've been. His eyes were panicked as he lifted his gaze, spotting the smallest Celestial flying toward the Sun.

"What the hell is he doing!?" Venus scowled.

Mercury unsheathed his wand before the whip struck down, bringing it forward.

TZZT!

The whip's movements faltered as the Sun felt a pinch in his wrist, nearly making him drop his weapon. Peering over, he noticed a green energy surrounding the base of his wrist.

"Ow..." He uttered and tried to strike down again, only to realize he couldn't. He tried again, yet his wrist wouldn't move. He snarled, glaring down at the smallest Celestial, "What is the meaning of this, Hermes...?"

"Communication is important, Helios!" Mercury exclaimed, furrowing his eyebrows, "You, of all Celestials, should know that!"

"Heh- hahah!" Sun couldn't help but laugh, "This isn't like you, Mercury... what made you brave so suddenly?"

"Oh, I don't know... maybe when my best friend tried to destroy his own planet!?" Mercury gestured to Neptune, who blinked lizardly.

The Sun's eyes widened as he gazed at the small Celestial, his smile twitching into a frown, "B-Best...?"

Hesitantly, he let go of the whip, hearing it dissipating into thousands of particles the moment he released it.

The Star blinked, shaking his head, "I'm... uh, I don't know what came over me." He raised his free hand, covering half of his face before moving to sweep through his long flowing hair, "What were you saying, Mercury?"

"Actually-"

"I wanted to talk to you!" Neptune moved Mercury out of the way, his hand raised as if they were in a classroom, "It's about Nine!"

The other Celestials looked on at the scene incredulously.

"Are we gonna ignore what just happened, or...?" Venus trailed off, quirking an eyebrow.

"It looks that way." Mars shrugged.

"Oh, right..." Sun's eyes barely met Neptune's, "He was banished."

"What for?"

"Didn't he tell you? He destroyed Earth's life as well as one of Saturn's moons."

Neptune's mouth opened in partial shock, yet he found the scenarios oddly familiar. He looked down, contemplating. After a few moments, he shook his head, "Even so, it's not justified."

"Pardon...?" The Sun's eyes twitched upon hearing the blue Celestial's words.

"It happened eons ago," Neptune crossed his arms, "Since after the Stars attacked, Nine has been trying to prove himself, yet you all are making it difficult, especially Saturn and Jupiter."

The Giants in question flinched, Saturn grabbing Jupiter's arm like a lifeline.

The Sun hummed, feeling himself relax as he thought about what Neptune was saying, peering down at him with a just stare.

Something flashed in Neptune's eyes as a memory came to him, "Besides... Saturn and Jupiter destroyed his moons- all three of them."

The Sun's eyes flared red for a moment as he turned to look at the two Gas Giants, who recoiled beneath the glare, "Is this true, Zeus and Cronus?"

Uranus' eyes widened in remembrance. He raised his hand, "It's true! Neptune and I were there to witness it!"

The Sun scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "I swear, you three will cause me to become a Red Giant sooner than later..."

"Neptune." A voice spoke.

'Oh, Messier! You've been quiet ever since you were returned to me- what's up?'

"There's something I'd like to do."

'What's that?'

"NovaStars aren't tied to the living world or the afterlife, we can freely choose where to go."

Neptune blinked, '...And?'

"And... I'd like to talk with the deceased moons." Messier told him, "For their perspectives on things."

Neptune made an 'o' shape with his mouth before blurting out, "That's an awesome idea, Messier!"

Everyone turned to look at him with startled and bemused expressions.

"Care to share with the class, Neptune?" The Sun raised an eyebrow at the beaming Celestial.

...

He couldn't hear anything. He could barely see. It was dark as he felt himself floating in and out of consciousness.

Prying his eyes open, he noticed a blue and green figure before him. It made him yelp, and his eyes widened as big as saucers as he stared at... himself.

He felt himself flailing around in the atmosphere, his being separated from his body.

"Aaaaggghhhh! Wh-What's happening? What is this!?" He yelled, his voice reverberating around in the void.

He didn't realize a figure was behind him as he accidentally bumped into them.

"Hey-!" The being's voice stopped abruptly as they eyed the familiar Celestial, "E-Earth...?"

Earth's eyes widened. He knew that voice. Turning his head around, he made eye contact with pale yellow eyes.

"Th-Theia..." Earth uttered.

Theia looked at him concerned as her eyes glanced at his physical body, "Oh dear, what happened this time?"

"Uh... I don't know." Earth shrugged, "All I remember is that weird ninth planet saying he was the one who decimated my dinosaurs."

Theia winced, "I see... well, we just got here, but I don't think this is the best time considering... everything that's happening."

"'We'?" Earth quirked a brow, "Who else is with you?"

"Practically everyone." Theia gestured to the deceased moons of the planets. Most of them were huddled around their parent planet, "I don't think you've met Chrysalis and Hershel yet."

"Chrysalis? That name sounds familiar..." Earth muttered, "Wait, wasn't she the moon that Nine threw into Saturn?"

Theia's eyes widened, eyes darting to where the silver Celestite was floating beside Saturn, "Nine did what...?"

"Yeah, Saturn said so!"

Theia frowned, seeming confused, "Earth, Chrysalis is-"

"Wah! Stranger danger, stranger danger!" One of the small Celestites exclaimed as a few headed toward Theia.

"Miss Theia!" Another yelled.

"Woah, woah, woah, what's all this about?" Theia peered at them as the small objects hid behind her. She turned to the charcoal-grey caretaker as they made their way to the Celestial, "Morta, what's happening?"

"It's just a Novae... it appeared so suddenly and I guess it frightened them." They explained, eyes appearing tired. They glanced over at Earth, perking up, "Oh hey, I didn't think we'd ever see you again."

"Me neither..." Earth gave an apprehensive smile.

"This is perfect! A NovaStar is just what we need!" Theia grinned, "Not only can it send Earth back into his body, but it can also communicate with us!"

"Really...?" Earth silently wondered if it was going to be like last time, with him crying in Theia's arms like a big baby.

Before he knew it, Theia grasped his wrist, beginning to pull him along. He fought down a blush, shaking his head shamefully.

After all, their story had ended billions of years ago. It was time he moved on.

Yet, his core couldn't help but yearn for the other, and he knew he couldn't stop it.

And so, he decided to enjoy the feeling of her holding onto him.

At least, for a little bit.

Notes:

Two updates back-to-back? More likely than you think ;)

(I just want to finish this story lol)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 37

Notes:

TWs: Past extinction events, loss of emotions, brief crying, cliffhanger.

Stay safe :)

"I wonder what the planets are up to..." Charon muttered as she gazed out into the atmosphere, "They're not in their orbits."

"They're probably with the Sun." Pluto spoke, "I wouldn't worry about it... unless the Sun forces them to change their positions again."

Charon laughed, "Now that was a nightmare!"

"Yeah, I still feel suffocated sometimes..." Pluto raised a hand to the base of his neck, "I didn't think the Sun had the power to make it happen."

There was a thudding sound behind them as Makemake pushed through the debris. He adjusted his glasses before floating up to the duo, "Of course, he can! He is one of the more powerful Stars in the Milky Way!"

"Really?" Pluto raised his eyebrows.

"Really!" Makemake fiddled with two large shiny objects in his hands.

"What do you have there, Makemake?" Charon gestured to the eight-pointed entities.

"Oh, these? They're called NovaStars." The pale red Celestial spoke.

"Nova... Stars?" Pluto tilted his head, eyeing the objects in his friend's hands.

"I'll explain their purposes as soon as the others arrive!"

Charon peered at the stars, a reminiscent feeling rising in her core, 'I feel like I've seen these things before... but where?'

« × »

"Hey, you!" Messier heard a voice shout from behind. He turned his head, spotting Celestials and Celestites flying toward him.

Messier blinked, mouth opening as he stared owlishly at the group, "Well, this is interesting..."

"You're one to talk," Decima crossed her arms, "You scared all the smaller moons half to life."

"Decima," Morta eyed her sister with a frown.

Theia cleared her throat, pushing herself forward to be face-to-face with the NovaStar, "Hello! My name is Theia, a past planet that used to reside in the solar system."

"Messier," The Novae gave a curt nod, "And there's no need for introductions; I know who you all are from Nine and Saturn's memories."

"And you're here because...? No offense, it's just this kind of situation is strange..."

"Understatement of the millennia..." Morta muttered, "But I agree- why are you here?"

"Honestly, I expected to be transferred to the Ethereal, not the In-between... but I suppose it's because the moon I need to talk to is already here."

"Oh? Who would that be?" Theia glanced around, noticing all the past moons gathering around.

Messier's eyes landed on the figure next to the sepia and chestnut Celestial, "A past moon of Saturn named Chrysalis, and... the Earth, as peculiar as it is seeing an active planet in the In-between."

"I'll get Chrysalis," Morta told Theia, flying off with some small moons following.

Earth tilted his head, noticing how Messier stared at him with an indiscernible gaze.

"This sort of thing has happened before," Theia started, squeezing Earth's wrist, "Only he appeared in the Ethereal..."

"I see..." Messier raised a hand to his chin, contemplating. He turned to look at the lively Celestial, "If you don't mind, Earth, I'd like to try something."

"Oh- uh, sure, go ahead," Earth responded with a hint of hesitance.

Slowly, Messier placed his hands on Earth's face, "I need you to be perfectly still... this will only take a moment."

Earth hummed, tensing when the Star leaned forward, head hovering over his own. Messier uttered something in Latin, yet Earth couldn't hear it over the rushing noise of his surface. There was a spark of light as lips met with his forehead.

Earth gasped, overcome with emotions as memories flashed in and out, starting with the collision that caused his life to flourish, yet destroyed the one planet he was living for. It was nostalgic to remember the Cambrian explosion, how he had always felt something tingling within his surface, and when the Ordovician began, he truly knew what was going on- he had somehow gained life. It was very minuscule and didn't do much, but he was overjoyed nonetheless.

Although, he should've kept a closer eye on it, because before he knew it, eighty-six percent of his life was gone due to intense weathering, dramatic sea-level swings, and the sequestration of CO2, causing changes in the climate.

Despite this, life still found a way to live on Earth. The Devonian period was when plants and insects came into the picture. It was colorful, with all sorts of exotic greenery and marine life. However, due to abrupt cooling and lowering of sea levels, seventy-five percent of his life was exterminated.

By the end of the Permian period, Earth vaguely remembered thinking he was cursed.

Ninety-six percent of his life was gone due to intense volcanic activity. Elevated CO2 and sulfur levels from volcanoes caused his oceans to acidify- it even rained acid.

By this point, he was numb to it. Numb to the idea of his life living to its full potential, numb to the pain, and just numb in general.

'Why me?' He had thought a few hours after it happened, 'What did I do to deserve this?'

'Nothing.' His conscience replied to him, 'You did nothing wrong... it's the universe that's out against you.'

He found the answer acceptable at the time, but he knows better now. He always lied to himself to make him feel better, so that's how he knew he actually did deserve it.

By doing nothing, he did everything. That was his problem.

When the Triassic period began, the reptiles left him in awe as he had never seen anything like it before, but he almost accepted that it would never last. He was right, of course. Eighty percent of his life became extinct due to a dramatic rise in greenhouse gasses. It ended before it could begin.

Earth was starting to lose his mind by this point, having run out of tears when it came to his life. How he isolated himself for years on end was almost pathetic. His moon, who had been there since the very beginning, tried to get him to open up, but Earth wouldn't budge.

Then there were the dinosaurs. They first appeared during the late Triassic period but didn't dominate until the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. For years, Earth waited for something, anything, to happen, such as another mass extinction event, but this time, it would rid him of all of his life. He was expecting it, dreading it, almost wanting it to happen so it could all be over.

But it never happened.

He waited days, weeks, months, and years for something to happen, but it never came. He began to gain the hope he had lost, celebrating with Luna about how he had life, and how the dinosaurs were there to stay.

Earth had life, and nothing was going to take it away from him!

. . .

. .

.

How could he have been so foolish?

Nearly eighty million years of him getting used to the dinosaurs thriving on his surface, only for a stupid asteroid to ruin it.

It wasn't fair.

Why did this keep happening to him? What did he do to deserve this?

Everything. He did everything to deserve this. Luna told him differently, but Earth knew the truth.

It was his fault. Everything that happened was his fault.

Something made contact with his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Are you okay, Earth?" Theia's eyebrows were knitted in concern as she raised a thumb to wipe away something on Earth's face.

Oh. He was crying.

"I-I'm-" His voice cracked, causing him to shake his head profusely, "I'm fine, just, uh... bad memories."

Theia turned to Messier, a defiant expression on her face as she shielded Earth, "What did you do to him?"

Messier raised his hands in a complaisant manner, "I'm sorry if I crossed a boundary, I only did what was necessary to grasp a better understanding of what's happening to him."

"And...? What's going on?" Theia seized the Earth's hand, squeezing gently. Earth swallowed thickly, eyes peering down at their interlocked hands.

"The Earth is, well... how do I put this?" Messier uttered, clearing his throat, "It appears his core is 'split,' so to say."

"What?" Theia looked at him incredulously, "What does that even mean?"

"Well, instead of imploding on itself during your collision, his core was instead mixed with yours, therefore... the Earth is dead."

---

Notes:

This is a redraw of a past fanart brought to you by the amazing Christina! Check out their story on Wattpad titled 'The Ninth Planet' featuring their OC, Mirage :)

And thank you, everyone, for the continued support! We're about 80-85% finished with this story :D

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 38

Notes:

TWs: Amnesia, misunderstandings, mention of extinction/manipulation/gaslighting.

Stay safe :)

"While Messier is gathering statements from the past moons, I have another question for you, Sun!"

"What is it, Neptune?"

"Sagittarius A*... what is it exactly?"

Everyone blanched, staring at the blue Celestial in astonishment.

"You... really don't remember?" Sun uttered.

"Remember what?" Neptune blinked lizardly.

"Sagittarius... it controlled you, made you do things you haven't done in eons," Sun spoke.

"Oh..." Neptune hummed before smiling, "That must've sucked for me! It's probably a good thing I don't remember what happened!"

The other Celestials gawked at the sudden optimism, some of them sweating awkwardly.

"Oh, mate..." Uranus mentally face-palmed, shaking his head in dismay.

"Anyway..." Sun frowned as he swiftly tried to change the subject, "Any more questions?"

It was quiet as everyone looked at each other, contemplating whether to speak out. The smallest Celestial eyed the Giants, expecting one of them to speak up but to no avail. He huffed, whipping around to look at the Guardian, raising his wand, "I have one!"

"Mercury! Of course, of course, what's your question?" Sun practically beamed, clasping his hands together as he peered at his best friend.

"What's Sagittarius' deal?"

The Sun flinched, eyes twitching, "Wh-What?"

"Why is Sagittarius so set on us? Why not some other system in the Milky Way?"

Sun clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together as he held in the rage that was boiling within, "Mmh... I don't think that matters right now, Mercury."

Mercury raised an eyebrow, "Wha-"

"But it does matter, Sun." A voice echoed through the atmosphere.

Neptune was the first to notice, eyes widening as he recognized the voice, "Nine! You're back!"

The navy Celestial was met by a harsh force that nearly toppled him over. He tensed, still not used to the sudden display of affection.

Sun seethed, glaring at the intruder, "Nine, I thought I told you-"

"Yeah, yeah, put an asteroid in it..." Nine droned, rolling his eyes. Pushing Neptune away, he faced the Sun, "Anyway, I came here to stop Neptune from confronting you, but it turns out it doesn't seem like such a bad idea after all."

"Confront me...?" Sun nearly laughed, "You guys aren't exactly intimidating given how small you are..."

"Oh, we know we can't confront you," A smirk appeared on Nine's face, "I meant you confronting Sagittarius A*."

Sun choked, tensing upon hearing the statement, words failing him as he stuttered, "You- I- Sagi- wh... what!?"

"That's what started this whole ordeal, right?" Nine asked, crossing his arms, "You finally said no, and that's what pissed it off."

The Sun balled his hands into fists, tips digging into the fiery surface like knives cutting into flesh, "H-How...?"

"The way you hesitate when giving orders." Nine replied, "It's as if the words aren't your own."

Sun's eyes grew as wide as saucers, red irises trembling within the pale scleras.

"Your eyes also give it away." Nine gestured, "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul... while you are good at hiding what you're feeling, I can tell from looking at your eyes that you're just as scared as the rest of us."

"...!" Sun backed away, a scowl rising on his surface, "I'm not-"

"Oh, please!" Sedna said, standing beside Nine, "You're just as bad as Nine at admitting your feelings!"

"Sedna..." Nine glowered, a flush appearing on his face.

"It's the truth." She shrugged.

The Sun was quiet for a while, staring at his planets with a piercing glare, his brows furrowed in annoyance. He twitched, his facade diminishing as he averted his gaze downward. Frowning, a sigh left his lips, "You're right..."

The other Celestials stared in awe at the confession.

"Then does that mean this whole time... Sagittarius was the one giving orders?" Mercury questioned, his head tilted as he peered up at the Sun.

Sun hesitated, his eyes drifting over his shoulder as if checking to see if someone was listening in. Slowly, he nodded, "I, uh... can't say much, so we'll have to keep this brief."

Everyone nodded before Jupiter decided to speak up, "Why did it go after Saturn and Neptune? And Nine? What's the point in doing so?"

"It harnesses energy by weakening its victim. It tries to break down the Celestial body by spouting what the Celestial thinks is true." Sun explained.

Saturn noticeably flinched, latching onto Jupiter's arm like a lifeline. Nine subconsciously raised a hand to his scarred cheek, rubbing along the mark.

"Actually, it doesn't have a problem with any of you." Sun knitted his brows in concern, "Aside from me and Nine, it shouldn't have gone after anyone else."

"Th-Then why did it?" Saturn asked.

"My guess is to gain more energy and go after its true target." Nine's eyes wandered to the unconscious planet floating in the atmosphere, subtly twitching in his sleep.

Sun followed his gaze, growling slightly, "Of course, why didn't I see it before...?"

"Wait- you mean-!?" Luna's eyes widened as he darted to his planet's side, "It's going after Earth!?"

"He's the only planet here that Sagittarius wouldn't pass up on." Nine glowered.

"I hate to admit it, but it's true." Sun nodded, "It wanted to get rid of the Earth once it found out he had life."

"What!?" The Rocky Planets turned to the still-sleeping Celestial, staring at the body with wide eyes.

"But why!?" Uranus shouted.

"The Earth having life is pretty... abnormal- not to mention, practically unheard of." Sun spoke, "It also wanted to go after Mars and Venus for having life, but it knew their life wasn't capable of surviving in those types of conditions..."

Mars and Venus looked down, saddened at the news. The former glanced at Earth, feeling his core splitting in two as he eyed the lively Celestial.

"Despite what anyone here says, the Earth is truly special. He's been through the worst of it... five big mass extinction events, yet... life still found a way on his surface."

« × »

"Wh-What...?" Earth uttered, eyes wide as he processed Messier's words.

"Y-You're joking, right?" Theia stuttered, her grip on Earth's arm becoming shaky.

"I'm afraid not." Messier frowned, "The Earth has been half-dead since the collision."

"But how would tha- wait- half-dead? Not dead-dead?"

"Sorry, allow me to explain further," Messier said, looking at them apologetically, "The Earth's core is split into two halves, one half belonging to him and the other half belonging to you. Whatever was left over from the collision combined to make a new core and body. Instead of the Earth dying like you, he was still alive. Are you following?"

Theia and Earth shared a confused glance, shaking their heads.

Messier sighed, "Leave it to space to be confusing... alright, let's try something else. Earth, how many times have you been in the Ethereal?"

"A few... maybe three or four times," Earth responded.

"That's because of your composition. You can appear in the Ethereal, whether of your own volition or a great amount of stress sent you here. You can see things that aren't there, hear things when no one else is around, dream things that you swear are just dreams when in actuality... they're real."

Earth breathed, his mouth wide open as he listened to the NovaStar.

"Then... he's not dead?" Theia clasped her hands together, silently pleading.

"No, he's very much alive." Messier reiterated, laughing lightly, "His core makes it hard to tell, though..."

Theia sighed in relief, "Oh, thank the Stars..."

"Anyway, we should get you back to your body," Messier spoke, offering a hand to Earth.

Earth stared at the hand, frowning as he realized something, "Wait, if I can cross the boundaries between life and death, then my moon, Luna... can he also...?"

Messier smiled, "You're very perceptive... since you two are made of the same compositions, Luna also has this ability. Although, due to his size and shape, it's harder for him to do so."

Earth nodded before looking at Theia, "I suppose this is goodbye again..."

"You mean 'goodbye for now.' We were just told you can hop between planes, meaning you can visit anytime."

"Right... I can." A smile started to rise on Earth's face as he gazed into the other's eyes, "Theia, I-"

Two sepia fingers were placed on his lips. Theia shook her head as she pulled away, "I know what you're going to say, Earth... and my answer is no- we can't be together even if you have this ability... we both have to move on."

Messier eyed the two, a forlorn and nostalgic expression on his face as he remembered something from his past.

Earth frowned, his core aching in his chest as he reluctantly nodded, "I-I understand..."

Theia hummed, "Y'know... I can think of a few Celestials who would like to get to know you better~..."

Earth blinked, brows rising in surprise, "Huh-?"

"I think we're ready, Messier!" Theia grinned.

Messier jolted from his thoughts, nodding as he offered his hand to Earth.

"Wait- what did you mean by-!?" Before Earth could finish his sentence, he was wisped away in a flash of white.

"Oh, was I supposed to hold off until he was done?" Messier retracted his hand, peering at the spot the Earth was in.

Theia chuckled, shaking her head.

Notes:

Messier: The Earth is dead.

Theia and Earth: WHAT!?!?!?

Messier: But he's also alive! :D

Theia and Earth: ...wut???

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 39

Notes:

TWs: Secrets revealed, Earth Alone mention, implied past torture.

Stay safe :)

Heterochromic eyes peered open, adjusting to the light. He huffed, raising a hand to cover his vision, "Ugh, too bright..."

He felt something move against his side, a voice crying out as arms wrapped around him, "Earth! You're awake!"

"Luna...!" Earth grinned, returning the embrace. He placed a kiss on the Celestite's forehead before rifling a hand through his hair.

"Heyyy! Quit it!" Luna whined, trying to push away while the other pulled him closer, "I just did this braid!"

Earth chuckled, finally letting him go. Luna raised his hands, feeling the damage done.

"My hair... now I have to do it all over again." Luna pulled the hairband out, running his fingers through the braid to get it undone.

"I don't know," Mercury spoke, observing the unkempt and lightly curled hair, "I think you look prettier with it down."

Luna blinked, looking at Mercury with a surprised gaze, "What was that?"

Mercury jolted, realizing what he said. Quickly, he waved his hands around, "Wh-What? I said nothing- n-nothing at all, hahah! If you'll excuse me...!"

Mercury backed away to stand beside Venus, who shook his head in disappointment, "You're hopeless, pipsqueak."

The smallest Celestial groaned, covering his face with his hands, "You don't have to tell me, Venus..."

Mars shifted past Venus, eyes concentrated on the Earth as he stopped before him, "Earth... oh, I'm glad to see you're okay. You made me- us worried."

"How are you feeling, mate?" Uranus asked, coming up from behind them.

Earth glanced between the two, mouth open as he contemplated.

"Y'know... I can think of a few Celestials who would like to get to know you better~..."

Earth's eyes widened as a blush spread across his face. He shook his head harshly, getting rid of the thought, 'Nope, nope, nope... never gonna happen!'

Mars was his best friend, and he'd only known Uranus for a few months. Not to mention that they were both way out of his league and two Celestials.

That was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Earth?" Mars asked, spooking the Celestial in question out of his thoughts, "Are you okay?"

"Do you need to lie down some more?" Uranus tilted his head, "Maybe something cold to wake you up?"

"I'm fine!" Earth yelped, wincing as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat, "I'm, uh... I'm alright, guys."

"Okay..." Uranus didn't look fully convinced, "If you're so sure, mate."

Mars frowned, squinting at the other for a bit before sighing, "Alright, just tell us if something's wrong."

Earth nodded, feeling the flush die down as soon as he looked away. His gaze stopped on the navy Celestial a few units away, eyes flashing in apprehension.

Nine bit his lip, "I'm-"

"I know." Earth spoke, "And I won't forgive you for it..."

Nine nodded, expecting the answer.

"However," Earth raised a finger, "I'll give you a second chance."

Everyone appeared shocked at the lively Celestial's words, turning to stare at him.

"What-? But Earth, he-" Mars got cut off.

"I know. You're making it sound like I'm forgiving him."

"Then why are you giving him a second chance?" Saturn asked.

"Why aren't you?" Earth snapped, "All this happened because you and Jupiter couldn't communicate with him."

Saturn flinched, stumbling over his words as he cowered behind Jupiter.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Earth spoke, making sure everyone was listening, "Take me for example..."

Earth turned to look at his moon, a grieving sadness running through him.

"I nearly threw myself into the Sun just because a few hallucinations told me I wasn't worth anything... and I agreed- still do agree. I'm not worth it, so why try to become better when everyone will still think of me the same way? As egotistical, selfish, and a narcissist." Earth spoke, his voice wavering between words. He glanced at Luna, who had tears staining his eyes. Slowly, he smiled, turning back to look at Nine, "But, at least I'm trying, right? And that's all that matters."

Nine stared at the lively Celestial, mouth open ajar.

"We're both trying, right?" Earth tilted his head.

Nine didn't speak, just nodded his head in silent acknowledgment, "I should thank you."

"For what?" Earth quirked an eyebrow.

"The chance." Nine responded, "I thought you were going to hate me for all eternity."

"Well, sure, the dinosaurs were the longest-living species on my surface, but it also happened a long time ago that I just... don't remember them clearly." Earth frowned, disappointment dripping from the words.

"Even so, I'm... sorry to have taken them away so soon."

"It's fine."

"...Is it?"

"No, no it's not, but I'll- I'll get over it. Eventually."

"Will you?"

"Of course not, but it's fine. I'll live." Earth crossed his arms, looking away from the other.

'I'll live.'

Earth huffed out a laugh, 'Ironic...'

Oh. He should probably tell the others about what Messier told him.

"Well, now that you're awake, Earth, we should catch you up on what we've discussed!" Sun grinned, "Starting with how I exiled Nine again-"

"Wait, what?" Earth knitted his brows in concern.

"It wasn't his decision, but Sagittarius'." Nine responded to the confused Celestial.

"The black hole...? What happened?"

"It may or may not have been behind most of the decisions I make..." Sun awkwardly rubbed his hands together.

"Which is why you need to confront it." Nine spoke.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! I'm not standing up to a black hole, not after-" The Sun stopped mid-sentence, a memory flashing in his head, prompting his eyes to grow as wide as saucers. He intertwined his fingers together, breathing in and out, breath shaking, "Not after what happened last time..."

Nine furrowed his eyebrows, catching the quietly spoken words. He huffed, nodding, "Fine, we'll wait until M87 speaks with it."

"Agh!" Neptune let out a yelp, nearly jumping out of his surface.

"Are you alright, mate?" Uranus asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hahah, yeah! Messier just scared me." Neptune rubbed the back of his head, "Go ahead, Messier."

Neptune was quiet for a moment, letting the NovaStar explain. The blue Celestial hummed, nodding along.

"Mhm, mhmm... what? Really?" A gasp elicited from Neptune's mouth.

"Care to share with the class, Neptune?" Sun asked, brow twitching.

"Oh, right!" Neptune seemed to realize everyone couldn't hear the Star's words, "Well, apparently Chrysalis was blind."

Everyone seemed shocked, especially Saturn. The ringed Celestial's mouth was agape, and his eyes widened in horror, "Wh-What!? No-! That's not—I didn't—she n-never told..."

"That's because she never told anyone." Neptune continued before gesturing to his brother, "Aside from Nine."

"What...? Why did she tell only Nine?" Saturn questioned.

"And that's because..." Neptune trailed off, eyes widening slightly as he turned to look at Nine in surprise, "You're... you're blind?"

Notes:

*Cough*

Wow, third chapter in a row... this is a lot of content.

I have work tomorrow though, so this streak won't continue ;-;

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 40

Notes:

TWs: Past collisions/death, more secrets revealed, attacking, past pettiness, insecurity, past near-death experience.

Stay safe :)

Nine sighed, barely meeting his brother's gaze, "Half-blind. My left eye."

Everyone was silent at the revelation, so Nine decided to continue.

"I figured out Chrysalis was blind on my own. I urged her to tell Saturn about it, but she didn't want to be a constant bother to anyone, so we left it at that." Nine shrugged, crossing his arms, "I wanted to help her navigate better because it always looked like she was dragging further into Saturn's orbit. I tried to warn her about it, but... it was too late."

Saturn sucked in a breath, tears starting to fall from his eyes. He covered his mouth, trying to conceal his silent weeping, "Oh, my dear Chrysalis..."

"Then... what about Theia?" Jupiter asked. Earth raised his eyebrows, interest piqued.

"She was in my blind spot. I didn't see her," Nine replied, his voice becoming tense as he became increasingly uncomfortable. "I thought she was an asteroid at first, so I accidentally pushed her away."

"And Herschel?" Uranus frowned.

"Got caught in the collision that created your rings." Nine rubbed his arms, trying to soothe himself.

"And why did you do it?"

"Do what? Throw an asteroid at you?" Nine turned to look at the cyan Celestial, shrugging, "It's simple, really. I did it because I hated you."

Uranus blinked, "Huh...?"

"And I know that's not an excuse to throw an asteroid at someone, but I just couldn't stand you and your need for approval." Nine explained. Uranus started to curl up into a ball, trying to become as small as possible, "It was honestly pathetic how hard you tried to get the Gas Giants' attention, especially Saturn."

Saturn perked up from drying his tear-filled eyes, his gaze landing on the other ringed Celestial curiously.

Sedna cleared her throat, nudging her close friend, "Nine- tell him the rest."

"Eh, do I really have to say it...? It's embarrassing..." Nine uttered.

"Nine." Sedna glared.

"Oh, fine..." Nine huffed, "Ahem... plus I felt I had been replaced since you had moved to my orbit. Looking back on it now, I do feel guilty about it, so I'm sorry."

Uranus shook his head, sighing as he pulled his legs to his chest, placing his head between his knees.

Neptune patted him on the shoulder, smiling slightly, "Look on the bright side, Uranus! At least you're not dead!"

"Unfortunately..." Uranus muttered before letting out a low sigh, "I would rather die than live a life in constant pain."

"Same." Earth nodded.

Everyone was quiet, looking between the two in shock and concern.

"Reminds me of when I first met you..." Sedna whispered to Nine, "All emo and brooding."

Nine grunted, staring daggers at the smaller, who was smiling smugly.

"Anywayyyy, as you can tell, Sun," Neptune pulled away from his cousin, shifting closer to the Guardian, "It wasn't Nine's fault, he didn't mean to do those things."

Uranus coughed loudly.

"...Most of those things."

Sun knitted his eyebrows, shaking his head in dismay, "Even if you can prove his innocence-"

Uranus, once again, coughed loudly.

"Whether he's liable or not, I'm afraid I cannot take back his sentence," Sun spoke.

"So... you can't do anything?" Neptune asked.

"Not until Sagittarius backs-" Sun stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening before darting around, "It appears that something just entered the Milky Way..."

"Messier 87...?" Jupiter questioned.

"Yep."

"Wait, you mean there's a black hole heading right for us!?" Mercury yelled, causing most of the Celestials to panic.

"Ugh, doesn't anyone know how galaxies work...?" Nine mumbled.

"Calm down, everyone, it's rare for a black hole to move from its original position due to its immense mass!" Jupiter assured, "Besides, most supermassive black holes in the center of galaxies are considered stationary unless a galactic collision occurs, which is also uncommon."

"Oh..."

"Thank the Stars..."

"Phew..."

"Like Stars, there's a more efficient way for black holes to communicate between galaxies." Sun explained, "We call it the Etheralink, a realm inside our subconscious. To enter the Etheralink, a Star has to be fully relaxed, but given every Star's nature, it's a hard task to accomplish..."

"So... M87 has arrived in this Etheralink thingy?" Venus asked.

"That's right! However, any outsiders would need permission from the cluster of Stars orbiting the black hole..." Sun nearly shivered, memories flashing in the back of his mind, "And something tells me that they won't go down without a fight..."

« × »

"It's true about what they say..." A voice reverberated within the void, "The smaller the black hole, the more childish they are."

Sagittarius A* whipped its head around, glaring at the intrusion, "Who dares enter my Etheralink without my knowledge!? Show yourself!"

The atmosphere rumbled as something in the void made its appearance. Sagittarius choked, feeling its gravity pushing down on it. Looking through its hazy vision, Sagittarius' eyes widened upon realizing what was before it.

"You- how did you get past the Council!?" Sagittarius glared as it tried to connect to the nearest Star, yet to no avail- S2's link had been cut off, "What'd you do to them!?"

"Calm down, Sagittarius A*... I merely put them to sleep." M87 spoke calmly, "It looked like they needed it."

Sagittarius scowled, its eyes glowing and sparking with rage.

"Oh, don't give me that look... after all, you've been causing all sorts of trouble, or so I've been told."

"Stop being cryptic and tell me who you are."

M87 blinked, eyes widening in surprise, "You don't recognize me? Well then, my name is Messier 87."

"The Messier 87...?" Sagittarius quirked a brow, "I've heard many things about you."

"Hmph, I've also heard things about you."

"They say you lost your mind after a few of your Stars went Supernova."

"I assure you, my 'mind' is fully intact..." Mes squinted its eyes, "I've heard that you're harboring a few Novae here, one belonging to me."

"That's right. A planet called Neptune has it."

"Neptune, eh...? Tell me, just what are you doing to those Celestial beings of yours."

"That's none of your business."

Mes scoffed, "It becomes 'my' business when you plan on tearing yourself apart, destroying something of mine, and causing the deaths of over 3.32 billion celestial objects."

"Oh, please. You're making it sound dramatic. I'm doing them a favor—they should be thanking me."

Fwoosh-  FWAHHH!

"Ngh...!" Sagittarius found itself pinned to its spot as a hand clutched its chest, pricking inside the dark matter. Electricity buzzed in the atmosphere as a faint light emitted from within it.

"You need to learn to respect your superiors... as well as lower beings." Mes uttered, pulling the other closer, "The universe doesn't revolve around you."

Sagittarius squirmed under the other's hold, sputtering, "Get... off..."

"I wasn't finished." Messier 87's grip grew stronger, prompting Sagittarius to grunt in pain and semi-annoyance, "You best treat your Stars better. After all, every single one of them is going to die one day, and before you know it... you'll have no one left."

Notes:

This will definitely be longer than HWCIB...

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 41

Notes:

TWs: Crying, insecurity, jealousy, mention of past collisions/destruction.

Stay safe :)

"Hello...?"

"Hello... Helios."

The Sun whipped his head around, staring in awe at the supermassive black hole before him.

"Y-You're..." Sun trailed off, eyes in a trance as he gazed into white voids.

"Messier 87... but you can call me Mes."

Sun nodded, eye twitching slightly as he analyzed the black hole.

"I suppose I should be thanking you." Mes continued.

"What for?" Sun asked, tilting his head.

"I heard that one of your planets is harboring one of my own," Mes spoke.

"Oh! Oh, yes! He's in Neptune's care. He's one of the best planets a Star could ever ask for."

"I don't doubt it. You see, I've heard many things about that solar system of yours... mostly about that planet with life- Earth, was it?"

"Mhm, yes! Earth's life is very complex; he's been through a lot to get where he is now."

"...I see." Mes hummed.

Sun quirked a brow at Messier's despondent expression, "Have you talked to Sagittarius A* yet?"

"Ah, yes... it's not exactly the 'talk to and it'll change' type, so I don't have high expectations." Mes sighed before a musing glint crossed its gaze, "Although, maybe there is one way..."

Sun waited for it to continue, waving his hands in a gesturing manner, "One way to...?"

Mes blinked, shaking its head, "No, never mind..."

"Okay...?" Sun knitted his eyebrows in question.

"I'll visit again in a few months. If you need me sooner, just get Arcturus."

"Understood, ma'am, er- or sir!" Sun gave a two-finger salute.

"Just call me Mes," Messier 87 turned away, about to back out until it remembered something. It turned toward the Sun, "One more thing... I recommend keeping an eye on Earth. You never know what might happen, especially to a planet harboring life on its surface."

Sun eyed the supermassive black hole, mouth agape, "Huh...?"

"From asteroids to global warming to collisions with other Celestial bodies... and even suicide. Planets with life are rare for a reason."

"Are you implying that there are more planets that have life...?" Sun inquired.

"Were." Mes uttered as it turned away, "Anyway, I should be going now. I'll be seeing you again sometime soon, Helios."

Sun nodded, "Goodbye for now, Mes!"

...

"How dare that black hole... who does it think it is to tell me off!?"

Using the electricity ignited from within, Sagittarius clasped its hands together, using every last bit of its power.

Its scowl turned into a demented smile, a breathless and delirious laugh escaping it, "HaHAhahAH... oh, I'll show them... I'll give them a reason to bow down to only me."

Two clumps of crystals were shot out into the void of space, flying at the speed of light toward a specific destination.

"And there'll be no one to stand in my way..."

« × »

"Hey."

Uranus jumped, his paintbrush splattering black paint over his canvas. He huffed, turning to glare at the intruder, "What?"

Nine held his hands up, backing away slightly, "Woah, easy there, no need to get all twisted."

Uranus sighed, turning back to his painting as he tried to make work of the mistakes, "What do you want, Nine?"

"I just wanted to check on you to see if you're..." Nine trailed off, biting his lip nervously, "I mean, it's not like I care- I could care less about how you feel, it's just that you seem... ruffled- more than usual, that is."

"Probably because you straight up told me you hate me and that you caused me excruciating pain on purpose!" Uranus pushed his canvas to the side, giving the other a piercing gaze that could rival that of the Sun.

"Right... I thought you might say that." Nine uttered, "But you have to understand, Uranus, it happened a long time ago, and I deeply regret what I did to you and everyone else."

Uranus shook his head, "Apologizing won't change how I feel. Every single day since that collision, I still feel the aftermath- the shock, the shifting, the sheer agonizing pain I was in. Some days, it's worse, and other days I can't feel anything at all- no pain, no feelings; I'm just an empty shell."

Nine was silent while Uranus continued to speak.

"And for that, I can't and won't forgive you." Uranus picked up his paintbrush again, turning back to his canvas.

"...I understand, Uranus."

Uranus fiddled with the brush in his hands, twirling it slightly, "Let's just... move on from all this. It's best not to dwell on the past... as Neptune says."

"Mmh," Nine nodded even though Uranus wasn't looking at him, "Where is Neptune, anyway...?"

"Who knows? You know him, he tends to wander."

"Hah, yeah..." Nine huffed out a laugh, yet a frown remained on his face. He eyed the cyan Celestial, analyzing how he painted, noticing a stiffness in his wrist and how he hesitated ever so slightly. Nine had made the other uncomfortable, and so he pondered on what to do, eyes glancing at the colorful display on the canvas.

Oh, now there's an idea...

"Are you ever going to confess or are you just going to paint him a thousand times over?" He questioned, his voice coming off harsher than he meant to.

Uranus' eyes widened as he whipped around to face the other, "What-!?"

Nine gestured to the canvas, which portrayed the Earth in his humanoid form, his features delicate and drawn in an ethereal point of view.

"Oh, this? This is nothing- it's simply for a project I've been working on!"

"Does this project happen to have anything to do with Earth?"

Uranus flushed, his face growing red as he tried to come up with something to say, "I- uh- well..."

"You have a crush on Earth." Nine stated, holding his hand up before Uranus could speak, "Ah-ah-ah! I read your diary, so don't even try to deny it."

"Wha-!? So you were the one who stole my diary!" Uranus furrowed his brows, eyes twitching, "That's an invasion of privacy, Nine!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can yell at me all you want later, but for now, why don't you actually go up and talk to the planet?"

Uranus scoffed, turning away to look at the nearly complete portrait. He frowned, tugging the painting close to his chest. He peered at it, the colors swirling in his vision. Looking up, he spotted the lively Celestial through the asteroid belt, laughing at something Mars had said. He felt his core aching in his chest, yearning to hear the melodic sound. He noticed the way Mars was looking at him, his mouth pulled into a slight smile as he stared at his best friend with a longing gaze.

Uranus' fingers subconsciously dug into the frame of the canvas, forcing his eyes to look away from the scene.

"I can't." Uranus muttered, "He doesn't feel the same way."

"Have you even told him you like him?" Nine quirked an eyebrow.

"No. Never."

"Then how do you know he doesn't like you if you've never told him?"

"...I just kn-"

"You don't know, Uranus. How can you say you know if you've never talked to him about it?"

"I..."

Nine sighed, "Just... talk to him, okay? I guarantee it'll make you feel better to get something off your chest."

Uranus gave a long exhale, "Fine. I'll do it."

Nine nodded approvingly, "Finally... also, how do you feel about a little something called therapy? Because some of those diary entries were..."

Uranus turned to glare at him again, "Don't you have anything else to do other than bother me?"

"Not really. I could look for Pinwheel, but I have no idea where to start..."

"Why don't you confess to Sedna?" Uranus snapped.

Before Nine could reply, a voice came up from beside him, "Confess to me about what?"

Nine jolted, his eyes growing as big as saucers, "Sedna! What a pleasant surprise to see you!"

The dwarf planet eyed him weirdly, "I just came from the Kuiper Belt, it's not that far from Uranus' orbit. Anyway, what were you two talking about?"

"Nothing."

"You."

Nine scowled at Uranus, who gave him a smug smirk, mouthing a 'you're welcome.'

"Oh-? What about me?" Sedna glanced from Uranus to Nine, peering at the navy Celestial with curiosity lacing her gaze.

Nine's shoulders sagged forward, holding in thousands of words he wanted so desperately to say, "Sedna... I have to talk to you- alone."

He didn't wait for a response before taking off toward the Kuiper Belt.

"Okay...?" Sedna flexed her fingers anxiously, hesitantly following her friend. She waved to the cyan Celestial, shooting out a quick 'goodbye.'

Uranus watched them leave, sighing slightly as he relaxed his tense shoulders, 'Finally... alone again.'

The quiet moment was ruined, however, when a boisterous voice came from behind.

"Uranus!"

"Agh-!" On instinct, Uranus threw the painting at the intruder.

"Woah-!" Saturn caught it in his orbit, pulling it towards him. He chuckled awkwardly, his gaze apologetic, "Sorry about that, dear... I always forget you're jumpy."

"It's fine," Uranus waved it off, "What did you need, mate?"

"Oh, nothing... I just wanted to talk to you." Saturn shifted closer.

"About what...?" Uranus asked, yet deep down he knew what the other one was going to say.

"About what Nine said earlier..." Saturn uttered.

'Knew it...'

"Is it true that you were trying to seek approval from us?"

Reluctantly, Uranus nodded, "...Still am."

"Uranus..." Saturn reached out, grabbing hold of Uranus' hands, "You should know that, no matter what, we'll always be proud of you. You're your own planet. You're capable of deciding what you want to do. It shouldn't matter what anybody else thinks, so long as you're happy."

"But... you're better than I am. You're amazing, you always look good, and you can do everything else I can't." Uranus argued, "You think highly of yourself and you're kind to everyone while I... I'm not any of that."

Saturn shook his head, "None of that is true, Uranus. You're brilliant and unique in your own way, plus you're a wonderful artist and poet! You're very modest and skeptical about the universe around you, never trusting easily while being a good friend to everyone."

Tears formed in Uranus' eyes, vision hazy as he stared at the other ringed Celestial in bewilderment, a soft whimper came from his throat as he tried to blink away the tears, "I- I don't..."

Saturn smiled softly, pulling him into a hug, "Shhh... you don't have to say anything, dear. It's alright now..."

Uranus froze in the other's embrace, blinking rapidly as the tears started to flow before finally giving in and wrapping shaky limbs around the other, feeling the weight of everything he bottled up across the centuries lifting from his shoulders.

Notes:

Unfortunately, the next chapter will be the last of this story...

Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me throughout it all :)

A special shout-out to Christina/Mirage for making beautiful fanart for me and to ThaynaraDeCarli on Wattpad for voting on every single chapter in the series (that's dedication lol)

And to my Discord, a special thanks to;

ztaryaoi
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.sage_7311.
mystic.mikey
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comiverse
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ella.pirate_fox.2023

You're the reason why I'm always motivated to write every other day, your reactions always make me smile and laugh, and your comments hold a special place in my heart.

Thank you :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 42

Notes:

TWs: Fluff overload, making out/suggestive behavior, past injuries, feelings of second-hand embarrassment/anxiety/intrusive thoughts.

Stay safe :)

"Wow, that's great news, Sol!" Spica beamed as she hugged her friend, "I'm so glad that M87 was able to stand up to Sagittarius!"

"Heheh, yeah!" Sun returned the hug, "Though, it said Sagittarius was unlikely to change right away... that's why Mes is returning in a few months."

"Well, whatever happens, just know that we have your back." Spica let go, reaching out to take his hands, "We're not letting Sagittarius abuse us any longer!"

Sun blinked, not expecting the statement. A small smile rose on his face and he nodded, "Yeah...!"

She smiled, letting go to talk to Sirius, who was slightly smiling, for once.

Sun glanced around, chuckling a bit when he saw Proxima visibly vibrating with joy, their arms latched onto Regulus as they shook him. He turned his gaze toward Toliman, who was already looking at him, his eyes softer than ever whenever he stared at the other.

The Sun felt himself heating up from the inside, shying away from the stare to look down into the void below. There was a shift in gravity as Toliman drew closer, hand reaching out to intertwine his fingers with Sun's, prompting the Star to look up at the other.

Toliman gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, whispering so that only the Sun could hear him, "Hey."

Sun smiled, a light red flush crossing his face as he looked into the other's eyes, "Hey..."

Both were quiet for a moment or two, comfortably staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours when it had only been a couple of minutes.

Sun bit his lip, subtly growing uneasy as words caught in the back of his throat, holding back on what to say.

Toliman seemed to notice this, his eyes growing concerned, "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah! I'm fine! No need to worry about me!" Sun waved it off, and even though Toliman did not believe him, he opted to say nothing about it.

Continuing to gnaw on his lip, Sun gripped the hand he was holding, breathing out as he glanced at the intertwined fingers before looking into the Orange Star's gaze, "I love you!"

The atmosphere grew quiet as everyone stared at him, bewilderment on their faces.

'Ugh, why do I have to be naturally loud!?' Sun thought, taking his hand from Toliman's and covering his face in embarrassment.

Toliman blinked, not expecting the statement to come from Helios of all Stars- and to say it so soon.

Even so, Toliman felt his core flaring up at the words, his shoulders relaxing as a weight lifted from them. He reached forward, placing a hand under Helios' chin and gently lifting his head so they could look at each other. Helios' face was flushed red and eyes darting everywhere else except his.

"Helios, please look at me." Toliman pleaded lightly, his voice soft and eyes full of nothing but care for the other.

Hesitantly, the Sun slowly looked into the other's eyes, his dejected gaze wavering.

Toliman gave him a small smile, "I promised to love you until the very end, Sol... until space and time cease to exist."

Sun stared at him in awe, his eyebrows raising slightly, "Y-You were serious about that...?"

Toliman huffed out a laugh, "What do you take me for, Sol? You know I would never lie about something like this."

The Sun's eyes grew hopeful as he started to lean in, "So you meant it...?"

Toliman nodded, "I meant every last word—I love you, Helios."

Sun shivered as an unfamiliar yet exhilarating feeling crossed over him, making him glow from top to bottom. He leaped forward, his arms going around Toliman's neck as he tackled the other in a hug. Toliman went wide-eyed as he flushed red, finding his face shoved into the taller one's chest.

"I love you too, Toli~!"

"Aweee~" Spica and Proxima cooed at the display while Regulus grimaced and Sirius had his usual deadpan stare.

"Ugh, get a room." The smaller Blue Star muttered.

The yellow Star laughed, finding himself not caring that the others were watching them. He pulled away from Toliman, cupping the other's face in his hands before leaning in and kissing him deeply.

Toliman short-circuited, freezing where he was as his facial expression turned to shock. His hands waved around, not knowing where to put them.

When he felt the Sun about to pull away, Toliman's hands flew to the back of the other's head, keeping their lips attached. Sun made a strangled noise of surprise, yet went with it, wrapping his hands around Toliman's waist.

"Okaaayy... now I'm feeling awkward just watching them make out," Spica mumbled.

"We're all going to be third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-wheeling them. Might as well get used to it." Proxima pulled out a camera, taking pictures of their sibling and best friend getting it on.

"Where'd you get that?" Regulus questioned, wanting to look at something else instead of the new couple.

"And how is it not burning to ash right now?" Spica asked.

Once she said it, the camera did just that—burned to a crisp in Proxima's hands.

"Awe..." Proxima deflated.

"Damn," Sirius uttered.

"Oh well..." Spica smiled, patting the Red Star on the shoulder before noticing something happening between the couple. She furrowed her brows, glaring at them, "Alpha Centauri Toliman B, keep your hands above the waist, mister!"

The Orange Star jolted, doing as he was told. Sun pulled away, laughing at the scolding. He leaned his head against Toliman's, chuckling lightly, "Oh, Toli..."

Toliman's embarrassed expression quickly changed to fondness at hearing the other one's laugh.

"Cute..." He mumbled, smiling softly.

Sun jumped, eyes widening as he pulled away, a deep red color making its way to his surface, "I-I'm not cute!"

Toliman smirked, "Sure... whatever you say, Sol."

Sun pouted, crossing his arms as he looked away from the other.

Toliman smiled, watching him closely as Spica congratulated them. The yellow Star beamed, flashing his shark-tooth grin. Toliman hid his growing smile behind his hand, 'Cute...'

"Oho, I cannot wait to tell RK about this!" Proxima latched onto Toliman, hugging him tightly.

'Oh right, I haven't told Rigil Ken about this...' Toliman grew nervous just thinking about it.

Proxima sensed their sibling's growing uneasiness, smiling reassuringly at him, "It'll be fine, Toliman! RK may be protective over us, but he's also understanding. If you say Sol makes you happy, then I'm sure he'll also be content."

Toliman thought about it before nodding curtly, "Yeah... you're probably right, Prox."

"I know I'm right!" Proxima puffed out their chest, smiling coyly. Toliman chuckled at his sibling's antics, his gaze wandering to where Sol was.

His smile grew as he heard the other laughing at something Spica said, 'Yeah... I've got nothing to worry about.'

« × »

"Nine, why'd you bring me all the way out here?" Sedna asked, her gaze wandering around the dark atmosphere.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Nine answered her question with another question, "Well, this is it."

Sedna perked, eyes slowly widening in realization, "Ah... I've never realized how beautiful it was."

They were a few units outside the Kuiper Belt, the solar system glowing vibrantly from the Sun's reflecting light and making the planets within gleam.

Nine gazed at Sedna, watching as the light mirrored what she was witnessing, making her eyes shimmer ethereally. His brows knitted as he looked at Sedna like she was the entire universe to him, "Yeah..."

Sedna turned her head, catching his gaze on her. Nine startled, whipping his head away. Sedna made an 'o' shape with her mouth, eyes seeming to discern something. She started to smile, giggling lightly, "Well, now that we're here, what did you want to talk about?"

Nine contemplated what to say, letting out a soft sigh as he glanced at Sedna, "We've been friends for a long time, yes?"

"Mhm." Sedna hummed.

Nine bit his lip, hands picking at his surface, "Well, I'd like to thank you... for everything."

"Everything...?" Sedna mumbled, quirking an eyebrow.

"Becoming my friend, and being there for me despite what I put you through and what I did to you and the others... despite all that, you still decide to stay by my side... so, thank you. It, uh... means a lot to me."

Sedna's expression grew soft. Her eyes filled with adoration as she simpered. Her slight smile turned into a teasing grin: "Oh, Nine... I didn't know you were so cheesy."

"Shut it!" Nine glared, "I'm trying to tell you that I-"

"I like you too." Sedna cut him off, already knowing what he was going to say.

Nine's eyes widened, a dark blush covering his face, "Wh... What?"

Sedna merely nodded, a faint flush spreading on her face, "Mhm... for a while now."

Nine blinked at the confession, pursing his lips as he nodded, "...Same."

The atmosphere grew silent. Sedna stared up at Nine as he looked back down at her. The space between them got smaller and smaller until they were inches apart.

"So..." Nine uttered, eyes focused only on Sedna.

"So...?" Sedna smiled, laughing lightly as she placed a hand on Nine's chest and the other on Nine's face.

Nine's breathing caught in his throat, eyes widening as big as saucers. He tensed, wanting to pull away not because he didn't like it, but because he was scared.

Before he knew it, the hand that was on his cheek quickly pulled away, Sedna realizing it made the other uncomfortable, "Oh my Stars, I'm so sorry, Nine, I didn't mean to upset you... we can take this sl-"

"No!" Nine shouted, startling Sedna. Nine shook his head, giving the other an apologetic look, "Sorry, it's not that you made me upset, Sedna... I'm just... afraid, I guess."

Sedna knitted her brows in concern, "Nine..."

"I know I shouldn't, but I'm just scared of messing this all up. What if I don't make you happy, what if I can't offer the things you need, what if you get tired of me, what if I hurt you... again?"

Sedna hummed, returning her hand to his cheek, "Those are all reasonable things to be worried about, and in all honesty... I feel the same."

"...Really?"

"Of course!" Sedna nodded, gazing into the other's eyes, "What if we have a heated argument and never speak to each other again, what if we're forced away from each other, what if you get tired of me, what if I'm not there to help you...?"

Sedna lightly traced the scar on Nine's face, her eyes shimmering with tears. It tingled with dull unpleasantness, yet he found himself leaning further into the touch.

"We're both scared, Nine," Sedna continued, her voice low as she whispered, "And in order to conquer it, we have to try."

"Yeah... you're right." Nine nodded, his tired eyes half-lidded.

"I know I am." Sedna spoke, an amused smile rising on her face, "Plus, we both know you can't wait to kiss me."

Nine fully opened his eyes, glaring down at the dwarf Celestial, "Shut up."

Sedna laughed and with her hand caressing the other one's cheek, she slowly leaned in.

Nine felt his core nearly bursting out of his chest as he watched Sedna grow closer and closer.

"Are you sure you're ready...?" Sedna whispered, her lips centimeters away from Nine's, "We can stop if you-"

"No." Nine furrowed his eyebrows, "I'm fine, just go ahead."

"...Okay." With an exhale, Sedna closed the gap.

A spark ignited within Nine's chest, flames bursting with colorful light. Something inside made him feel confident enough to grab Sedna by the waist, pulling her closer while effectively deepening the kiss. Sedna gasped from surprise, yet also welcomed the action, wrapping her small arms as much as she could around Nine.

"Oh, there you are, Nine!"

Nine immediately pulled away at the sound of Neptune's voice, yet kept his arms firmly placed around Sedna's waist. He whipped his head around, seeing the blue Celestial smiling at them, "Neptune! Why are you here?"

"Messier sensed something around here, so I'm here to check!" Neptune grinned, twirling on his axis as he looked around, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Sedna and Nine coughed, vehemently shaking their heads while shouting, their voices overlapping with each other. Nine cleared his throat once they both calmed down.

"Ahem, well, it was probably a false alarm, you should get going now." Nine tried to shoo him away.

"False alarm? Does he know who he's talking about?" Messier crossed his arms, huffing lightly.

"But I haven't been looking long enough! It could be here, just in a different area!" Neptune pointed out.

"Well, we haven't seen anything strange." Sedna spoke, "If we do, we'll tell you."

Neptune hummed, raising a hand to his chin, "Hm..."

Messier sighed, "We can always check this place later. It's obvious they were in the middle of something."

'But they said I wasn't interrupting anything...?' Neptune raised an eyebrow.

"They're embarrassed, they were trying to get you to leave so they can continue making out."

'Make... out?' Neptune's eyes widened as a flustered blush dusted his face, 'Oh! Oh...'

Neptune smiled sheepishly, "Ah-haha... well, it appears nothing's here, so I'll just go and see what Uranus is doing. See you later, Nine, Sedna!"

"Yeah, see you..." Nine watched his brother leave before a sigh escaped his lips, "Oh, Neptune..."

"Don't blame him, Nine, he didn't mean to," Sedna spoke, tracing Nine's jaw with the point of her finger.

"I know that... he's just got poor timing."

Sedna giggled, lightly kissing the scar on Nine's cheek, making Nine smile. She stared at him, lips twitching into a sly smirk, "Well then, where were we?"

« × »

"So, these things can supposedly speak?" Eris raised an eyebrow, squinting at the NovaStars in Makemake's hands.

"Yep!" Makemake grinned, "They protect their holders from any oncoming danger and can sense things like no other! They're more powerful than Black Holes!"

Eris hummed while Haumea stared at the Novaes in awe.

"Wow, that's amazing...!" Charon gushed as Pluto eyed them skeptically. He tore his eyes away when Charon grabbed his arm, "Isn't it amazing, Pluto?"

A blush rose on Pluto's surface and he nodded meekly, "Y-Yeah..."

"Excuse me, Makemake, but could you do us a favor and return us to Nine and Uranus?" Pinwheel spoke.

"Oh, of course!" Makemake beamed before looking at the others, "Who's up for an adventure?"

"I am...!" Haumea raised his hand.

"I'm in." Eris nodded.

"Ooh, I want to go!" Charon bounced in her steps, turning to look at Pluto with big eyes, "You're coming, aren't you, Pluto?"

"Uh, sure..." Pluto smiled, his face flushed as he gazed into Charon's eyes.

Charon giggled, reaching up to kiss the other on the cheek.

Pluto jolted, eyes wide as he looked at his moon, "Ch-Charon...! Not in front of everyone..."

"Heheh, sorry... I forgot how shy you are."

Pluto pursed his lips, brows twitching as he mumbled, "I'm not..."

"Hurry up, lovebirds, we've got no time to waste!" Makemake called to the distracted couple as the other three waited for them.

The dwarf Celestial jumped, pulling away from his partner. He blushed, flying over to them, "R-Right!"

Charon laughed, following her partner, "Okay~!"

Notes:

I know I said the next chapter would be the final chapter, but it's turning out a bit longer than I anticipated, so I decided to split the final chapter into THREE (3) parts.

This way, you guys get to have content sooner :)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 43

Notes:

TWs: Fluff overload, brief mention of past injuries/abuse, Neptune being Neptune.

Stay safe :)

Jupiter hummed, watching as his bigger moons conversed. Triton, who had said Neptune could hang out with them as long as he brought the other Neptunian moons, was multitasking between talking to Callisto and keeping an eye on the smaller moons. Jupiter found it somewhat endearing knowing that the ex-dwarf was protective over them, even if he didn't like showing it.

He adjusted the square lenses perched on his nose before continuing to read his book, sighing contently.

"Hahahahah!"

A familiar melodic sound reached his ears, making him look up. Saturn and Uranus were in orbit beside him, talking and laughing together. The scene made him smile. Uranus hadn't been himself lately, so he was glad Saturn was trying to cheer the other up.

Saturn's laugh always seemed to affect him, his core rumbling in his chest as his face grew warm.

"I- I just never expected..."

"Never expected what...?"

"For you—to like, let alone love, me... back."

The words reverberated within his mind, making his head reel. He pursed his lips, staring longingly at the ringed Celestial across the void of space.

"You know," A voice piped, "He dropped something important."

Jupiter blinked, looking down at Europa and Ganymede, "What are you talking about?"

"The flower, duh!" Europa crossed her arms, "It slipped from Saturn's grasp when that, uh... what's-its-face-"

"Black Hole," Ganymede whispered to her.

"Yeah! When that Black Hole attacked him!" Europa cleared her throat, puffing her chest out in pride, "But, lucky for you, we managed to recover it! Show him, babe!"

Ganymede nodded, using his gravity to lift something from behind him. He struggled, the flower being a bit bigger than him, as he held it out to his planet, "H-Here...!"

Jupiter took the rose quickly, Ganymede huffing from exerting so much energy.

Jupiter twirled the rose in his hand, inspecting it for abnormalities, yet found none. He smiled softly, patting Europa on the head, "Thanks, you two. You're amazing to have done this."

"Heh, no problem." Europa beamed, loving the attention from her planet.

Ganymede looked expectantly at Jupiter, a sense of pleading behind his gaze.

The Celestial chuckled, giving his biggest moon a head pat as well, "You two should run along now. Tell the others I'll be in the next orbit if they need anything."

"Yes, sir!"

"You got it, big guy!"

...

"Ooh, we should paint together sometime, Ura!" Saturn gushed, taking Uranus' hands in his own.

"You can paint...?" Uranus tilted his head, quirking an eyebrow.

"Haha, no... but I'm willing to learn!" Saturn grinned, "We can even invite Jupiter and Neptune if you want!"

Uranus smiled, finding Saturn's carefree nature welcoming in his moment of insecurity, "Sure, mate, that sounds good."

Saturn beamed, giving Uranus' hands a reassuring squeeze.

A voice was heard clearing their throat as the ringed duo turned to look at the intruder.

"Oh, Jupiter!" Saturn jumped, a blush rising on his face, "What can we do for you, dear?"

The bigger one seemed tense as he stared into Saturn's eyes. He smiled, though it looked like a grimace, "I was just wondering if we could talk...? Alone?"

"Oh, yes, of course! Uranus, do you mind-"

Unbeknownst to them, Uranus had already returned to his orbit, not wanting to feel like a third wheel.

"Ah, he's already gone..." Saturn uttered. He blinked, moving his gaze toward Jupiter, "Well, what'd you want to talk about?"

Looking into Saturn's warm brown eyes, he noticed a subtle golden undertone within the irises, glistening as they reflected the Sun's glow. Jupiter took a deep breath, his core thrumming inside his chest as he opened his mouth, "I wanted to talk about, well... us- our relationship."

Saturn's eyes widened, blinking in surprise as a red flush rose to his surface, "Oh! R-Right, uh- ahem, g-go ahead, Jupiter..."

"Well, first off, I believe you dropped this..." Jupiter pulled the rose from behind his back, offering it to Saturn, "My moons managed to find it."

"Oh... aren't they just the sweetest? Thank you, Jupiter." Saturn took it, his fingers lingering on the other's before pulling away.

"Heya, cousin, what did I miss?" Neptune bounded up to the cyan Celestial before being shushed by him and pulled to the side.

"Quiet, Jupiter is about to confess to Saturn...!" Uranus whisper-shouted.

Neptune's voice muffled from behind the cyan hand, his eyes knitted together in confusion. There was a moment of silence between them as Uranus suddenly reeled back when he felt something slimy touch his palm.

"Eugh, did you just lick my hand!?" He saw discoloration in his hand, rubbing it on Neptune's sweater. The other didn't seem to mind, giggling to himself.

"Anywayyyy, as I was saying, I thought they were together already," Neptune spoke.

"Yeah, I'm surprised too..." Uranus finished wiping his hand off, looking at the other curiously, "Where have you been, mate? I haven't seen you since you confronted the Sun."

"I was talking with Messier- he said he sensed something near the Kuiper Belt, but we didn't find anything strange other than Nine and Sedna making out, so we came back here."

"Interesting..." Uranus uttered, nearly turning back to the forming couple when he realized just what Neptune had said, "Wait- what was that?"

Neptune blinked lizardly, "What was what?"

Uranus gave him a deadpan look before sighing, "Nothing..."

"Was there... something else you wanted to tell me?" Saturn asked, his eyes glinting with hope.

"Yeah... you see, we both have feelings for each other, right?"

"Mhm... it was just the other day when that was clarified," Saturn replied, subconsciously twirling the rose in his hand.

"Right... but we were interrupted by Neptune, and we've yet to talk about it more since then," Jupiter said.

Saturn hummed, his face hurting from smiling so much, "Well, care to remind me then?"

There was a playful glint in Saturn's eyes as he raised the rose over his mouth.

Jupiter understood, brows raising and lips quirking up into a smirk. He reached a hand toward the other, offering it. Saturn immediately placed his hand in his. With his left hand, Jupiter took the rose and nestled it in Saturn's hair, just above his ear.

"Beautiful..." Jupiter mumbled.

Saturn blushed at the word, his core dancing with giddiness as he looked up into Jupiter's eyes.

"May I have this dance, Cronus?" Jupiter asked, eyes never leaving the other's.

"Yes, you may," Saturn gushed, leaning close so they were inches apart, "Zeus..."

With that, Jupiter pulled the other closer, their chests together. Saturn placed his free hand on Jupiter's shoulder while Jupiter placed his on Saturn's waist. Their other hands slowly intertwined, big and slightly chubby fingers entangling with long, slender ones.

Jupiter started to lead, but it was obvious he had no idea what he was doing. Jupiter huffed after he heard Saturn chuckling lightly.

"Need help, Jupi?" Saturn asked, a teasing undertone in his voice.

Jupiter grunted when he nearly tripped over his own feet. He sighed, "I will admit... I'm not much of a dancer."

Suddenly, Saturn moved his hand from Jupiter's shoulder to the middle of his back. There was a confidence shining in his eyes as he grinned, "Let me lead, then."

"Uh, oka- woah!" Before Jupiter knew it, Saturn pulled him along, side-stepping to an imaginary beat, humming under his breath as he made up his own waltz. Jupiter's eyes widened before crinkling as a smile rose on his face. He let out a small laugh, finding the dance ridiculous, yet he found himself never wanting to stop.

"Uh... what are they doing?" Ganymede questioned as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn watched in silence.

"It looks like they're... dancing?" Europa spoke, her statement coming out as a question.

Io laughed, "Wh-Whatever it is, i-it looks like f-fun!"

The toxic moon grabbed Callisto and Triton's hands, pulling them to the imaginary dancefloor.

"I-Io! What are you-!?" Callisto yelped as she found herself face-to-face with Triton. She pursed her lips, an unnoticeable blush spreading on her face, "Hey..."

Triton gazed into her midnight purple eyes, his sunglasses nearly falling off his face, revealing dark charcoal optics, "Hey..."

It was silent between them as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.

"Would you like to dance?" They both spoke at the same time, surprising the other.

"Sure." They both replied.

Callisto was the first to break the silence, lightly laughing at the scenario they were in. Triton soon followed, face flushed as he kept his attention on the dark moon.

Recovering from the strange situation, Triton offered a hand, "Well, shall we?"

Callisto smiled, taking the offered hand, "We shall."

Europa eyed the couple, crossing her arms and pouting as she turned to Ganymede with an expectant gaze, only to realize Ganymede wasn't paying attention to her, eyes instead focused on the two Celestials, head tilted in curiosity. She pulled his sleeve.

"Hm? What is it, babe?" Ganymede asked, eyes widening when he saw her pouting, "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

Europa huffed, using two fingers to turn the other's head toward the couple. She cleared her throat, gesturing to them.

"Oh, you... want to dance?" Ganymede knitted his brows.

"Oh my Stars, yes! I thought you'd never ask!" Without waiting for a response, Europa grabbed hold of Ganymede's shirt collar, pulling him toward the other couples.

"W-Wait! I don't even know how to dance!" Ganymede yelled.

"I can teach you, dummy!" Europa clapped before taking Ganymede's hands into her own.

Titan watched the three couples, a sense of longing in his eyes.

"Hey, Mr. Revolution." A voice spoke, prompting Titan to whip his head around.

"Titania! What are you doing here?" Titan asked, glancing over the Uranian moons, "Why aren't you guys with Uranus?"

"Technically, we are." Titania gestured to her planet, who was watching the scene with Neptune a few units away.

Titan nodded, his eyes drifting away from the other's gaze, "Oh, well... it's good to see you."

"You too..." Titania shifted closer to Titan, her gaze flitting around the atmosphere.

Titan felt warm, his hands clammy as a red flush covered his face. He bit his quivering lips, glancing at Titania every so often.

"Hey," Titania perked up, looking at the other as she smiled, "Let's go dance."

Titan wasn't expecting the statement, stumbling over his words, "Wh-What...?"

"Come on!" Titania grabbed his hand, guiding him toward the atmospheric stage.

Titan was in a daze, paying full attention to the smaller moon leading him with stars in his eyes.

Io laughed to himself, feeling accomplished. He turned his gaze, noticing a few moons with wariness in their eyes. He grinned, flying over to them.

"H-Hey, hey, hey! Y-You guys wanna dance?" Io asked, offering his hands to the moons.

"Uhm..." Miranda backed away, turning her gaze toward Ariel and Umbriel, "I would like to, but what about you two?"

"I'd love to!" Ariel's eyes practically had stars in them, "Umbriel?"

The dark mute Uranian moon looked at Io, squinting her eyes. Io's grin wavered, heat falling over him as his core hammered inside his chest, becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

Then Umbriel smiled, nodding.

Io let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He began to beam again, "W-Well, what are we w-w-waiting for? L-Let's go!"

Uranus noticed his moons dancing with the others, his eyes widening a bit. He blinked, a smile rising on his face as he realized they were having a good time.

"Well, would you look at that?" Uranus spoke, his gaze wandering around the atmosphere, "Oh, I can even see your moons from here, mate!"

A few seconds passed with no response, prompting Uranus to glance around.

"Mate?" His eyebrows raised as he realized Neptune wasn't beside him, "Nep...?"

He huffed, 'Where in the Milky Way did he run off to this time?'

Notes:

Okay, the NEXT chapter will be the last one, I swear.

Are you ready? I bet none of you will expect what's going to happen ;)

Comments are appreciated <3

Chapter 44

Notes:

TWs: Ominousness, implied one-sided attraction/unrequited feelings, amnesia/forgetfulness, brief crying, exposing secrets, and conflicted feelings.

Stay safe :)

"Are you sure you can sense something?" Neptune asked, eyes darting everywhere as he tried to look for anything out of the ordinary.

"I'm sure of it, Neptune. I would never lie to you about this." The Novae spoke, "Head towards the asteroid belt."

"If you say so..." Neptune uttered, "I don't want to drop in on anything accidentally."

Messier was silent as Neptune took off towards the asteroid belt. He moved a few pieces of debris out of the way, head moving up, down, and sideways as he looked around.

"Neptune," Messier spoke.

"Yes?" Neptune grinned.

Messier took a deep breath, whispering out a question, "Have you... ever been in love?"

Neptune was caught off-guard, nearly crashing into a few asteroids. He pulled himself out of the way just in time, causing the asteroids to impact each other, "Love...? Uhm, no, I don't think I have... have you, Messier?"

Messier half-smiled, a soft glint in his eyes, "Yes... loads of times before, although, they never seem to last..."

"Well, I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to be with you! I think you're amazing!" Neptune grinned.

Messier's eyes widened, freezing for a few seconds as a flush appeared on his face. With a small smile, he responded, "...Thank you."

"Anytime, Mes!"

As he got to the middle of the asteroid belt, he stopped upon hearing talking in the distance. He hummed, following the sound, "I wonder who that could be..."

"It has to be Mars given that he's closest to the asteroid belt, aside from Jupiter," Messier replied.

Poking his head out from the side of the debris belt, Neptune spotted Mars fumbling with something, hands shaking from making the same motion over and over again.

"Oh, hey, you were right, Messier!" Neptune grinned, "Let's see if he's seen anything."

Mars huffed, grunting in pain as he jabbed himself in the hand again, "Ow! Ugh... what's the point anymore?"

He tossed the asteroid chunk away and Neptune realized there was a pile of debris floating around, all carved crudely with different sayings on them;

I  love  you.

I  l̶o̶v̶e̶  like you.

I like you.

I ♥ you.

Neptune blinked lizardly at all the confessions, brow raised as he wondered what they were about.

Mars placed his head in his hands, "I can't do this... why can't I be straightforward with him? Just tell him I like him! Hey, Earth, I like you- as more than a friend! See? That wasn't so hard... then again, he isn't here."

"Hello, Mars!" Neptune yelled, scaring Mars out of his core.

"AGH! Neptune!?" Mars exclaimed, pulling himself into a fetal position, "D-Don't scare me like that!"

Neptune smiled sheepishly, "Oops, sorry about that..."

Mars sighed, "As long as you're not Ceres, it's fine. So, what can I do for you?"

"Have you seen anything unusual around?" Neptune asked, "Like maybe glowing crystals or shadowy figures?"

Mars looked at the other incredulously, "No...? Should I have?"

"I'm just asking! Keep on the lookout though!" Neptune gave a two-fingered salute as he turned around, only to have a piece of debris bump into him, "Hm...? Oh! This belongs to you, right?"

Neptune handed the asteroid back to Mars, who blushed, "Uh- wha- no... it doesn't!"

"Really...? I could have sworn you threw another asteroid just like this one away."

Mars was quiet for a long time, his eyes darting to and fro as he bit the inside of his cheek. Neptune stared at him intensely, his smile never leaving his face nor did he ever blink. Mars felt himself sweating under the gaze.

He could've sworn he saw Neptune squinting his eyes at him, almost toying with him at this point. Mars closed his eyes, yet he felt the stare of the other burning into his head.

"Oh my Stars, fine! Yes, I like the Earth, would you quit staring at me already!?"

Neptune blinked lizardly, grinning, "Haha! Another staring contest won!"

"St-Staring-?" Mars stuttered before raising a hand to his temple, slowly rubbing it, "Of course, I should've known..."

"This Earth guy is pretty popular!" Neptune grinned, "Not only does my cousin, Uranus, like him, but you do too! I have to meet him one of these days."

Mars' facial expression twitched upon hearing Uranus liked Earth. He tsked, annoyed, before realizing what Neptune said as the blue Celestial started to fly away. Mars called out, "W-Wait, but you already met him!"

« × »

Earth huffed for the second time in ten minutes. Luna looked at him, quirking a brow, "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing..." Earth dragged his hands over his face, picking up his deck of cards and shuffling them again, "I'm just so bored..."

"Ah..." Luna nodded, continuing to read his book.

Earth cast a glance to his moon, biting his lip lightly. He hadn't told anyone about what Messier told him, and he wasn't going to anytime soon.

He wasn't going to burden them with his problems. After everything that had happened, that was the last thing they needed.

Even so, he couldn't help but feel guilty, a pit forming in his stomach at hiding such a secret from his moon, of all beings.

Luna was special to the Earth, not only because the Celestite was his moon, but because- in a way- Luna was his child. He was created out of the collision of Theia and Proto-Earth, and by the septillion of Stars in the universe, Earth was going to protect him just as Luna protected the Earth. Luna had been by his side since the beginning, always encouraging Earth that he would be able to sustain life with enough time and patience.

Earth huffed, realizing how childish he was in the past and how Luna was the one who took care of everything, especially him.

He was jostled out of his thoughts as a cough raked through his throat, bursting out in a heaving fit. He felt a burning sensation within him, raising a hand to clutch at his chest. Smoke billowed from his mouth, causing his moon to panic and discard his book.

"Dad!" Luna yelped, reaching over to pat the other's back, "Are you okay!?"

Earth wheezed, taking Luna's hand in his own. He opened his mouth, voice croaking, "I-I'm fine, Luna, it must be another wildfire or something... don't worry about it."

"But-"

"I'm fine." Earth squeezed his hand, giving him a soft expression, "I promise."

"...Okay." Luna nodded reluctantly.

"Hello, Earth!" A grinning Mercury floated up to them before it dropped into a shy smile, "Hey, Luna..."

"Hey, Mercury," Earth spoke, brow twitching at the change in mood.

"Hi, Merc!" Luna smiled, prompting Mercury to flush at the nickname.

Earth raised a brow, 'Merc?'

"What brings you here?" Luna questioned.

"Oh- uh- nothing, really... I just wanted to talk to you." Mercury fiddled with his fingers, "A-Actually, can we talk over in my orbit...? It's a bit... personal."

Luna turned to the Earth, who was glaring at Mercury. Luna shuffled awkwardly, giving his planet the best puppy eyes he could muster. Grabbing onto Earth's sleeve, Luna looked up, his eyes shimmering and his lip pouting, "Can I, Earth...? It shouldn't be more than an hour."

"N-" Earth found it impossible to deny Luna, his breath catching in his throat each time, "N..."

"Please...? Dad...?"

Earth felt himself crumbling at the word, his core giving in immediately as he huffed, "Fine."

Luna cheered, hugging him tightly, "Thank you, Dad!"

Earth sighed, smiling as he returned the embrace and carded his fingers through the Celestite's hair, "Be safe and hurry back..."

Luna nuzzled his face against Earth's chest, "I will."

Mercury smiled at the scene, yet it was short-lived once he noticed the tears in Earth's eyes. Luna didn't seem to realize the waterworks as he pulled away and turned to smile at Mercury.

"Well, let's go then!"

"Uh, you go ahead, Luna. I have to talk to Earth for a second."

The moon quirked an eyebrow, yet did as he was told, flying past the smallest Celestial. Once Luna was out of earshot, Mercury opened his mouth, "Are you okay, Earth?"

Earth wiped at his eyes before rolling them, "Why does everyone keep asking that? I'm fine!"

"We're asking because we care about you." Mercury huffed, brows twitching, "You seem more tired than before."

"I'm fine, Mercury, I swear." Earth spoke, "Just focus on Luna right now."

"...Right." Despite his core saying otherwise, Mercury nodded and turned away, slowly drifting off.

"And you better not try anything with him!" Earth yelled after him, "I'll know!"

Mercury noticeably jolted, picking up his pace.

Earth clicked his tongue, crossing his arms as he watched the two get further away.

"Hello!"

"WAH!" Earth squeaked, jumping out of his orbit. He whipped his head around, seeing Neptune in all his smiling blue glory. Earth clutched his chest, breathing heavily, "Neptune... why... why would you... do that!?"

"Hahah, sorry about that!" Neptune scratched the back of his head. He blinked lizardly, inspecting Earth, "Uhm... who are you again?"

The lively Celestial gave him a deadpan stare, "Earth. We've met a few times already."

Neptune hummed, squinting at the other before widening his eyes, "Oh, so you're the one my cousin and that Mars planet likes!"

Earth's eyes grew as wide as saucers, "What-!?"

"Anyway, have you seen anything unusual around? Maybe any shadowy figures or glowing crystals?"

Earth was in a state of shock, stuttering over his words, "M-M-M... I-I-I-I... wha-wha-wha...?"

Neptune frowned, "I'll take that as a no... if you do see anything, feel free to tell me!"

Neptune bounded away toward Venus' orbit.

Earth sucked in a breath before choking on it, coming to his senses as he coughed. He vehemently shook his head, "What!?"

...

"You did that on purpose, didn't you, Neptune?" Messier asked.

'Did what on purpose?' Neptune grinned, a playfulness in his tone, 'In all seriousness though, it's not like either of them were going to confess anytime soon.'

Messier lightly chuckled, "You have a point."

« × »

Sun hummed to himself, looking up into the atmosphere with a smile on his face. The Stars glistened brightly, each casting their own unique light. He laughed, loving every second of the giddiness he felt inside. He didn't recall a time when he was this happy. It was all new to him and he couldn't wait for what was in store for him and Toliman.

"You seem happy, Sun." A nasal voice spoke.

"That's because I- wait." Sun froze, his brow twitching as his mouth curled downwards. He whipped around, glaring at the moon, "What are you doing in Mercury's orbit, Selene."

"Sorry, sorry, he's with me, Sun. I invited him." Mercury cut between the two, shielding Luna with his body.

Sun squinted his eyes, crossed his arms, and puffed out his cheeks, "Really...?"

"Yeah, and, uh- since you're my best friend and all, I thought you wouldn't mind!" Mercury smiled innocently.

Sun looked between the two, inspecting them. He grunted in annoyance, "Oh, fine! Only because we're best friends..."

Mercury let out a breath in relief.

"But he has to leave when I say so!"

"Okay!" Mercury squeaked.

"How long until he says so?" Luna whispered.

"It's usually less than a minute unless he doesn't mind you... then it's two minutes."

"Oh, goody..." Luna uttered.

"But... he is in a good mood, so it could be much longer."

"Why is he in a good mood?" Luna glanced over at the Sun, who returned to humming.

Mercury smirked, "He has a boyfriend."

Luna gasped, "No...!"

"M-hm...~"

"Who is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Luna grabbed onto Mercury's shoulders, shaking him.

Mercury laughed, lightly pushing the other away, "It's Alpha Centauri B, that orange Star in the next system over."

"I knew it...! I could sense the chemistry between them." Luna raised his hands to his cheeks, stars filling his eyes as he grinned.

Mercury smiled, eyes growing soft as he looked at the other with a shy gaze, "Hey, Luna...?"

Luna hummed, turning to look at the small Celestial, "Yeah?"

Taking a deep breath, Mercury spoke, "I like you."

Luna tilted his head, a confused expression rising on his face, "I... like you too?"

"No," Mercury shook his head, "I like you, Luna."

It took a moment for Luna to process the words. When he did, he straightened up, eyes growing wide, "Oh... oh..."

After a few moments of silence, Mercury backed away, sadness in his eyes as he guessed what Luna was going to say.

"I, uh..." Luna trailed off, his face appearing flustered.

"Something's wrong with Earth." He heard a voice say.

"What-?" Luna glanced behind him.

"What is it...?" Mercury looked at the other in concern.

"I-I have to go check on Earth!" Luna flew away, leaving behind a bewildered Mercury.

« × »

Earth frowned, his gaze turned upward as he contemplated.

'Uranus likes me.' He mused, 'So does Mars.'

He bit his lip, curling into himself at the notion of two Celestial beings liking him.

Where did that leave him? Did he feel the same way?

He—

He...

He...?

'I... don't know.' He tilted his head down, looking into the void below.

In the beginning, it was him and Theia against the universe.

But now Theia was gone, and their story had ended. Theia wanted him to move on, yet Earth didn't know how.

How do you move on from the only being who was there for him, who cared for him, who loved him despite his obvious flaws? He couldn't.

Mars had been his best friend for billions of years and Uranus was just an outsider who became his friend.

He felt light-headed and his stomach swarmed with nerves at the thought of the two liking him, yet for some strange reason, he liked the feeling.

Earth couldn't help but think that maybe- maybe- he could give love a second try.

'Agh, what am I thinking!?' Earth held his head, shaking it violently, 'What's wrong with me!?'

He was never going to find someone as special as Theia was.

Tears pooled in his eyes at the reflection, 'What's the point? Theia was my soulmate, I can't just replace her.'

As the tears dripped down his cheeks, he noticed a faint glow below him. He blinked, and upon seeing it was still there, he wiped his foggy eyes.

'What... What's that?' He sniffled. He looked around, breath nearly catching in his throat once he noticed Mars across the way. He shook his head before slowly descending.

Two dark purple crystals floated in the atmosphere, the Sun's light reflecting off their surfaces and making them glimmer.

Earth slowly reached out, using his index finger to touch the object. Once he realized nothing happened, he grabbed it.

'What is this thing?' He analyzed it, flipping it around. He huffed, eyeing the second one before taking it, as well.

He gasped, feeling a surge of energy coursing through him. Black dots scattered in his vision, blocking out the Sun and his light.

The last thing he heard before blacking out was a mischievous laugh.

"Say good night...  Earth ."

Notes:

...

....

.....

What?

Oh.

You thought this was the end?

Psych ;)

P.S. Happy birthday, Luna (the server art eater)! I hope you have a good day :D

Comments are appreciated <3

Notes:

This story focuses more on the relationship side of things (romantic & platonic). Nine's redemption arc and Earth's healing process will also be included.

That being said, I hope you enjoy :)

Remember to join my Discord for updates on stories/chapters ^^

Comments are appreciated <3

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of Stellato AU {SolarBalls}