TWs: Resentment, brief fear/running away, insinuations of... something. Stay safe :)

Anger.

That's all he felt.

Millions of years spent hiding away in the depths of the Kuiper belt would make someone go insane.

He digresses, though.

Spending his every waking moment to watch from the shadows gave him a sense of relief in some ways. They had no idea he was still alive.

Saturn, the idiot, and Jupiter, the so-called 'Big Brother' or 'Father' of the solar system. It was nice to know they had changed after so many years of tormenting him, yet... he still remembers.

He never forgot those days.

He never forgot how Jupiter and Saturn teamed up, using their combined strengths to push him deep into the solar system, knocking him into the Kuiper belt.

One day, sooner or later, they would feel how he felt all those millions of years ago.

« × »

"Let's see... Despina, Galatea, Halimede, Hippocamp, Laomedeia, Larissa, Neso, Proteus, Psamathe, Sao, and Thalassa." Neptune called, then frowned as he blinked slowly, "Wait, where's Naiad and Nereid?"

"Wasn't Proteus supposed to keep track of us?" Larissa spoke.

Proteus averted his gaze, looking down, "Oh, I didn't realize they weren't with us. Sorry, Neptune..."

"Ah, nothing to apologize for, Proteus! I'm sure they must've gotten separated or lost." Neptune reassured his largest satellite, "I'll go look for them; you all look after each other, okay?"

"Okay, Neptune!" The irregular moons bounced up and down in the atmosphere as Neptune flew away.

The blue planet decided to re-trace his steps, spinning his body to try and see if he could find them faster. It only made him dizzy.

"First Trition, and now this..." He mumbled, shaking his sphere, 'It's not like I wanted to forget everything.'

Screams from the Kuiper belt interrupted his thoughts. His eyes widened as he recognized the frightened voices.

"Naiad...! Nereid!" He shouted, turning into his Celestial human form as he dove into the Kuiper belt.

"Neptune!" He heard Naiad yell as a tiny body came flying at him at full speed.

"Naiad, where's-?"

"Help! Neptune!" Nereid shouted as she fled behind him.

"Nereid! Thank stars you two are alright!" Neptune grinned, holding them closer.

"Neptune, we need to get out of here!" Naiad nudged the Celestial being.

"What? Why?" Neptune questioned.

"Him..." Nereid uttered from behind Neptune's shoulder.

Whoosh...

Neptune turned his head towards the asteroids, squinting his eyes as he peered into the depths, raising an eyebrow as he saw a silhouette.

"It's nice to see you again..."

Out from the shadows steps another Celestial being a shade darker than Neptune. His hair was messy and his silk robes were unkempt. In his right hand, he held a strange-looking Trident, only it had an X across the middle tooth.

"Brother."

The atmosphere was silent as Neptune took in his words, still analyzing the strange Celestial's figure.

"Do I know you?" Neptune asked.

This time, the stranger was caught by surprise, his eyebrows raising, "Is this one of your strange jokes or do you seriously not recognize me?"

"Uhm..." Neptune hummed, "I'm afraid not, but hey- you look very similar to me!"

The darker figure sighed, "I literally- y'know what? Forget it..."

"Say, what's your name, strange new friend?" Neptune took a step forward, stretching his hand out.

"I go by many names out here... you can call me X or Nine." He took Neptune's hand, briefly shaking it, "Say, are those little asteroids yours...?"

Neptune frowned, "They're not asteroids! They're my moons, Naiad and Nereid! Sure, they're a little small, but they're just like any other moon in the solar system!"

"Yeah!" Naiad yelled.

"You tell him, Neptune!" Nereid shouted.

"Interesting..." Nine uttered, "You've changed a lot in these millions of years."

"Pardon?" Neptune raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it." Nine shook his head, "You should go back, your... friends, must be so worried about you."

"Oh, I completely forgot about about Uranus! He must be so worried." Neptune spoke, averting his gaze to his moons, "Come on, Naiad and Nereid! We have to get back to the others!"

"Yay!"

Nine watched the Celestial leave with his satellites, humming lowly.

'One down, seven to go...'

« × »

"Soft strokes, mate." Uranus pointed out.

"Pfft- that's what she said~" Earth laughed under his breath while the other Celestial gave him a deadpan stare.

Uranus sighed, his eyes scanning their surroundings, "Huh, I thought the Sun would be yelling at me by now."

"Nope, it's that time of the year Mercury is orbiting behind him. I think he's halfway done." Earth stuck his tongue out as he held the paintbrush tightly in his grasp, swirling it around the canvas.

"Still. It's best to be careful." Uranus spoke, glancing at Earth's painting, "What, uh... is that?"

"Hey! What'd I say about peeking?" The lively Celestial moved away, shielding the canvas.

"Alright, alright- I won't look at it." Uranus put his hands up, backing away as he continued to work on his own painting.

"Since when did the Earth become such good friends with Uranus?" Mars questioned, giving Venus a look as the other held in a laugh.

Venus composed himself quickly, "What? You think I know? I barely know him compared to you."

"Well-"

"Uranus! Sorry, I'm late!" Neptune came bounding over the asteroid belt, causing rocks and debris to fly everywhere.

"Careful, Neptune!" Uranus' eyes widened as he stretched an arm out, stepping up to protect the Earth's Celestial form, "Just because the Earth is in this form doesn't mean he can't get injured or worse."

"Right, sorry, cousin..." Neptune apologized, bowing his head, "But I met someone!"

"Neptune," A voice called as the face of Saturn was seen over the asteroid belt, "My dear friend, do you know that your moons are over here?"

"Don't worry, Saturn, I left Proteus and Larissa in charge!" Neptune grinned before turning back to the others, "Anyway, as I was saying, I met this cool-"

"What are you all doing over there?" The biggest Gas Giant, Jupiter, rose beside Saturn, staring the other planets down.

"We were just, uh..."
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Nothing to see here-!"

"Oh, I was just about to tell everyone about the strange and cool Celestial being I just met in the Kuiper belt!" Neptune shouted.

Saturn and Jupiter paused before glancing at each other. Saturn leaned over to whisper something in Jupiter's ear, then the other whispered a response. Saturn nodded as they both turned to look at Neptune.

"Tell us more," Jupiter spoke.

« NOTE »

Here we go again :)

I have no plan for this story- I'm writing it as I go lol