TWs: keeping secrets (but not actually), lying (but not actually), brief crying, crushing, disregard for safety. Stay safe :)
10 HOURS
...
The Sun's eyes hovered over each of his planets, analyzing their Celestial forms before realizing-
"Where's Poseidon?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
Everyone shook their heads, not having a clue where the clumsy blue Celestial went, all except one.
"Ouranos." Sun prompted, "Where is Poseidon?"
Uranus twiddled with his index fingers, staring at the Sun with a pained expression, "Uh, well... two of Neptune's moons were taken."
"...And?" Sun gestured for him to continue, "I know that's not all."
"Neptune decided to go into the Kuiper belt to search for them." Uranus finished, "...And he took Triton, Callisto, and Io with him."
"What?" Jupiter's eyes widened, "Is he insane!? They could be destroyed out there!"
Uranus shrugged, "They seemed pretty determined to me. Also, have you met Neptune? He's about as sharp as a marble!"
Jupiter frowned at the other, making him feel scrutinized under the stare as he backed away.
"We're running out of time." Spica spoke, "Only ten hours..."
"Ten hours..." Sun repeated, his gaze looking down, letting out a small breath before glancing around at the others, "So we better be prepared for anything. We know they'll probably use the dwarf planets as some sort of leverage against us and we know they're after me and probably the Earth."
Saturn bit his lip, his breathing unsteady as he silently whimpered. Jupiter heard the sound, looking at him in worry.
"Mars, Venus, and Mercury will be keeping the Earth and his Earthlings safe from harm's way- Uranus, since you can't get too close to the Stars, I want you to flank Gliese, the brown dwarf- she doesn't have the same intensity to burn or melt anything in your atmosphere. Jupiter, you're the backup- I want you behind me. And Saturn-"
The ringed Celestial squeaked, having barely paid any attention to what was happening.
"Does everyone understand?" The Sun finished, eyes blazing as he stared intensely at everyone. Sounds of rushed agreements and hums came from the other Celestials, except Saturn, who was frozen still, "Good- meeting dismissed, get back to your orbits! Saturn, I need to talk to you."
Saturn held his breath, slowly shifting before the Sun, "Y-Yes, Sun?"
"You seem... anxious. Are you feeling well?" The Sun squinted his eyes.
Saturn realized he was stuck. He couldn't lie to the Sun, the Star would know immediately.
"U-Uhm, well..." Saturn averted his gaze, "You remember all those years, er- millennia ago, when Jupiter and I tried to cover up what we did to X?"
"Well, sure! I remember it like it was yesterday." Sun grinned.
"And how we both took the blame for it?"
"Mhm..." The Sun's grin twitched.
"There's something I didn't tell you."
The Sun's smile fell. He glanced at the other Star, "Spica-"
"Got it." She nodded, backing away from the duo to give them space.
"Go on, Cronus."
Saturn shivered, clearing his throat, "I... I, um..." He closed his eyes as he forced the words out of his mouth, "It was my idea to eject Nine from the solar system."
The ringed Celestial kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see the fury of the Sun directed at him.
Yet, instead, all he heard was a single hum.
"Is that all? I already knew that."
Saturn opened his eyes, "Wait, y-you did...? But I never-"
"You didn't have to tell me. I found out a few days after I confronted you two about it. Some things you guys said didn't make sense, so I came up with my own conclusion." The Sun shrugged, crossing his arms.
"Oh..." Saturn flushed.
"But, if you don't feel safe being around the other Stars, you can help by being the distraction."
"Distraction...?"
"Your rings are quite marvelous, Saturn!"
"Oh, why thank you- oh! I see!" Saturn's eyes widened, glancing at the particles of ice and rocks surrounding his neck.
The Sun smiled, nodding, "Alright, now get back to your orbit!"
« × »
9 HOURS
...
"Nereid! Larissa!" Neptune called, his head twisting everywhere to the point it made him dizzy. He placed a hand on his forehead, trying to clear his senses, "Where could they be...?"
Triton looked at his Celestial planet, an apprehensive expression buried on his face.
"D-Don't worry, they have to be s-somewhere around here!" Io tried to assure the blue Celestial.
"Right..." Neptune smiled, yet Triton knew it was forced.
Everything seemed eerily quiet in the atmosphere, making Callisto weary as she looked around, 'Something's not right...'
Triton seemed to have a similar idea, his eyes squinting as his frown deepened.
And then-
"AAAHHHHH!" Screams came from the distance, prompting everyone to turn to where the noise was resonating.
"Nereid! Larissa!" Neptune called, flying forward, flinging and destroying any asteroid that came close to him.
"Neptune!" Triton called, dodging the debris of the scattered rocks as his Celestial left the moons to follow.
"Woah-!" A piece of debris nearly came into contact with Callisto, Io pulling her to the side just in time.
"Th-That was close!" Io winced.
"You good, Callisto?" Triton asked.
"Yeah." The darker moon nodded, "We should follow him before he causes more destruction."
"L-Let's go then!" Io gestured for Triton to lead the charge into the depths.
« × »
8 HOURS 30 MINUTES
...
"I don't get it, why did you lead me here?" AstroDude asked the dwarf planet through the speakers of the ship.
"W... Wait," Ceres spoke, having the same grin on his face as before.
"Wait for what?"
"See..."
"See?" AstroDude huffed, "I feel like we're speaking two different languages here."
"I think he's telling you to wait and see." The computer spoke up.
"Wait and see?" AstroDude uttered.
"Hahahahehehehaahah!" Ceres cackled, "W-Wait... and-d seeeee!"
"Huh." AstroDude frowned, "How'd you know that was what he was trying to say, Computer?"
"It was easy for an AI, such as myself, to understand." The computer said, "Humans, such as yourself, aren't as intelligent."
AstroDude deadpanned, watching as Ceres cackled even more, spinning and twirling around almost as if he were a dog chasing its own tail.
"'Space is normal,' they said... 'nothing happens in space!'" AstroDude quoted as he leaned back into his chair, "I could've done scientific engineering, but noooo... I'm stuck here, getting mocked and laughed at by my own ship and a literal dwarf planet the size of Texas."
"I will never understand humans and their emotions." The computer spoke.
"Shouldn't you be doing something else, Computer? Like analyzing or copying something?" AstroDude snapped.
"I have not been given a task, so I have not been doing anything."
The astronaut huffed, "Fair enough..."
« × »
8 HOURS 30 MINUTES
...
When Triton, Callisto, and Io found Neptune, the blue Celestial was lightly crying as he gazed down into the palms of his hands.
"Neptune...?" Despite his sense of uneasiness, Triton pushed himself forward, flying over to Neptune to see what he was crying over. Before he could get the chance, however, two small figures bombarded him, dancing around him.
"Big brother!" They exclaimed.
"Nereid... Larissa..." Triton found himself smiling as the two irregular moons spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping.
"It was crazy-!"
"We were following Proteus-!"
"Those dwarf planets came out of nowhere-!"
"They wouldn't let us go-!"
"Until that big meanie X said to let us go-!"
"Apparently, he wanted Saturn's moons-"
Triton looked between them, his eyes darting back and forth as they talked, "Hey, hey- sorry to interrupt, but it would be best if we continue this later when we're not... in the Kuiper belt."
Nereid and Larissa looked embarrassed, "Sorry, Triton!"
"If I may," Callisto shifted forward, "What made you guys scream like that earlier?"
The small moons looked at each other, their eyes saying a full conversation between them. It was impressive how they had a connection like that.
"Well, it was the faces..." Larissa uttered.
"Faces?" Callisto perked an eyebrow.
"The s-scary faces..." Nereid hid herself behind her sister, "The ones etched on the rocks."
"S-S-Scary faces...!?" Io hid behind Callisto, even though he was bigger than her, "Are they still here!?"
"Don't worry! Neptune took care of them!" Larissa grinned.
"Yeah! Neptune's the best!" Nereid exclaimed.
'Neptune?' Triton peered at the blue Celestial who still had his back turned to the group. He adjusted his sunglasses, "That's good, but we should really return to the others before it gets too late."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to miss the epic battle." Callisto rolled her eyes.
Triton scoffed, leading the others away to the outer rings. He noticed Neptune wasn't following.
"You guys go on ahead," Triton called out to Callisto before turning to Neptune, "You okay, Neptune?"
Neptune didn't acknowledge him at first. Triton didn't think he was going to answer, until the blue Celestial let out a sigh, "Yeah, I'm fine, Triton. I just need some time to think."
"I, uh... don't think this is the best place for someone to think." Triton frowned.
"I know, Triton." Neptune spoke, smiling as he glanced at his moon, "Just- I'll be right behind you guys, I promise."
Triton hesitated before finally leaving the area.
Neptune sighed, his smile dissipating as he looked at the piece of rock in the palm of his hand, blue substance traced what was left of its features as it lay there.
'I'm sorry it had to come to this, my friends...' He thought, crushing the asteroid.
« NOTE »
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HUZZAH I UPDATED THIS BEFORE THE 1ST (Ao3 will be down for 10 hours on the 1st)
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