TWs: Brief arguing and feelings of guilt/remorse. Stay safe :)
"Nibiru...?" The Sun was the first to break the silence, watching the navy Celestial's every move.
Saturn and Jupiter shifted away, the former hiding behind the latter, holding onto Jupiter's sleeve with a strong grip.
"X-" Saturn covered his mouth.
"It's Nine." The Ice Giant corrected before turning his gaze to the Sun.
Sun looked at him with knitted brows, a wavering frown upon his face as his illuminated gaze analyzed him.
Neptune nudged his brother's arm with his elbow, giving him a slight nod of reassurance.
Nine bit the inside of his cheek as he glanced at the other. Slowly, he made his way toward the Sun, his gaze cast downwards. He took a moment to collect his thoughts, a heavy breath exiting from his mouth as he blinked up at the Guardian.
"Sun." He spoke, his nerves on edge, "I... realize that I..." He trailed off, shaking his head, "I've... come to realize that I..."
It was on the tip of his tongue.
"I-"
"You're forgiven."
Nine blinked, his eyes blowing wide open as he stared at the Sun, "Wait- what?"
A small smile rose on the Sun's face, "I'm not clueless. I know why you did all this."
"And- And you're forgiving me...? Just like that!?" Nine couldn't help but yell as he furrowed his eyebrows, "I made your lives difficult, I planned a whole attack against you with your old friends! I literally shifted my form to look like Neptune and Uranus!"
"Wait, what-?" Uranus raised his eyebrows.
"I'm a terrible Celestial!"
"Yeah, you were pretty terrible," Sun nodded, his smile never faltering, "But so were we."
Nine opened his mouth, yet he couldn't find it in him to speak.
"Neptune made me realize just how hard you have it. Being so far away from everyone else, having no one to talk to for centuries at a time... no wonder you did all this- you were angry and I bet you were grief-stricken upon the Giants ejecting you from the Solar System."
Saturn and Jupiter averted their gazes shamefully.
"Although, what you did that day..."
"I know- and I'll do anything to make up for it. I didn't mean to cause harm." Nine spoke.
The Sun looked him up and down, giving a curt nod, "I know, Nibiru. By the way, is there some way I can help you...?"
"Huh?"
Sun gestured to the dwarf hanging on Nine's back, "She looks as if she's about to fall apart."
"Sedna." Nine gently swooped her up, cupping her in his palms, "She's like this because of me... I didn't know she was in the area."
"Sirius, mind doing me a favor?" Sun turned to his friend.
"Of course." Sirius nodded.
"Sirius is the best healer out of all of us." Sun assured, "If anyone can help her, it's him."
Nine nodded, cautiously handing the Dwarf Celestial off to the Blue Star.
"Hm... some of these fractures are deep." He uttered.
"Can you heal them?" Nine asked.
"I can certainly try; hold still, little one." Sirius cupped his hands around Sedna, careful not to squeeze too hard. He closed his eyes as he chanted, "A potentia mihi ab universo collata, sana has cicatrices et eas dispergere fac."
His hands lit ablaze with blue flames, engulfing the Dwarf Celestial.
"What-"
"Shhhh... just watch." Sun placed a hand on Nine's shoulder.
Sirius breathed in and out, repeating a few times as he concentrated all his powers on Sedna.
He opened his eyes, peering down at the flame. He whispered something before unfurling his hands.
"I did my best," Sirius spoke.
"Is she-?"
"She's alive, just sleeping." Sirius handed the Dwarf to the other, "I've healed as much as I could, but there'll still be scarring upon her surface."
Nine frowned, gazing down at his companion. It was all his fault she was like this. He blinked away the tears starting to form in his eyes, "Thank you."
Nine shifted away from everyone else while still holding onto the small body in his hands.
"Neptune, don't think I forgot about you." The Sun called.
"Hm?" Neptune frowned, raising an eyebrow, "What about me?"
"Come here." Sun waved his hand. Neptune cautiously flew up to him, "Where's the NovaStar?"
The Blue Celestial shifted his gaze away from the Star. Huffing, he pulled out the fractured object.
"I knew it..." Sun mumbled, crossing his arms and raising a hand to his face, "That was what the bright light was about."
"Can we cut this short? I was hoping to make a mural for..." Neptune coughed, "To remember him by."
The Sun scrunched his face in puzzlement, "Why? It's not like he's gone forever."
Neptune frowned, his eyes looking at the cracks in the NovaStar, "But he is...?"
"Hasn't Messier told you? A NovaStar can't be destroyed by a planet- only by the power of another Star." Sun scoffed.
"Then how...?"
"It's only fractured on the surface, which means communication is lost on both sides," Sun explained, "But you're in luck 'cause Spica is the exact Star for this."
The Blue Star shifted forward, "Let me take a look, dear."
Neptune gave it to the Superior Star, watching with curious eyes.
"Well, this is the obvious work of a trident, but I'm guessing you're the one who didn't do it?" Spica smiled, looking at Neptune.
"Ah, no, that was..." Neptune trailed off as he looked over at his brother, "You know."
Spica hummed, raising the NovaStar to her face, placing a kiss upon the fractured part before raising it up towards the void, her eyes shifting close, "Per potentiam donatam mihi per universum, hanc stellam benedic et eos qui eam protegunt."
The NovaStar glinted with enlightenment, giving off a shine unlike any other. Its surface, which was dull before, now had a new sparkle to it.
"Here you are- good as new." Spica breathed out once she opened her eyes and returned the NovaStar to Neptune, "Well? Try communicating with your friend."
Neptune fiddled with the object, his eyes wavering, "Messier...? If you can hear me, please say something."
There was a moment where everything was silent and tears started forming in Neptune's eyes the longer he waited for a response.
"Mess-?"
"Neptune! Thank the Stars you're alright!" A voice piped up.
Neptune couldn't help the tears that fell from his eyes as he let out a watery laugh. He clutched the NovaStar close to his chest as he grinned, "Messier! You're okay!"
Everyone watched the display with smiles on their faces.
"Nice to know I haven't lost my touch." Spica winked at the Sun, who laughed.
Nine gazed at the other Celestials, watching them celebrate and have fun. They all looked so happy, but where did that leave him? He wanted to ruin- destroy this place, but seeing how carefree and elated everyone was made him feel... what was the word?
Guilty.
That was it, he felt guilty.
He let out a sigh, looking down at Sedna.
"Nine." A voice spoke behind him.
"Salacia." Nine acknowledged the smallest Dwarf Celestial, "Quaoar, Gonggong, Orcus..."
They looked at him wearily.
"Sedna. Is she alright?" Gonggong asked.
"Yeah, she'll be fine. Actually, if you guys don't mind, can you take care of her while she heals?"
"O-Of course! Anything for Sedna." Orcus smiled.
"What will you do now?" Salacia questioned, "With you fessing up, and the Stars giving their old mate a second chance, you have nothing to do."
"Sedna," Quaoar grunted.
"What? I'm speaking the truth." Salacia crossed her arms.
Nine frowned, his eyes wandering between them, "You're wrong; there's still one more thing for me to."
He handed Sedna to Quaoar, flying away.
"What- Where are you going?" Gonggong called out.
Nine peered over his shoulder, "To look for a few missing moons."
Nine didn't wait for a response as he crossed the asteroid belt.
« × »
"Wow, your earthlings are amazing!" Neptune was awed at the one without a proper spacesuit, "And one of them can withstand the extreme measures of space- that's amazing!"
"Thank you...?" Mr. Spherical sweated, feeling intimidated by the large Ice Giant. He mentally kicked himself, 'Well, he's not called an Ice Giant for no reason.'
"Just wait until Nine sees this-" Neptune grinned, averting his gaze towards the others. His expression slowly fell upon realizing his brother was nowhere to be seen, "Nine...?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of something moving into the asteroid belt.
"Nine!" Neptune perked up, moving quickly through the atmosphere.
The blue Celestial managed to catch up to him at the halfway point of the belt, his hand reaching out to hold onto the other's sleeve.
"Neptune- what do you think you're doing?" Nine glared.
"Stopping you from missing the chance of a lifetime!" Neptune responded, having a death grip on his wrist.
"What?"
"You should be hanging out with the others, not going off by yourself." Neptune frowned.
"The others won't notice. It's not like they care-"
"I care! The others care- of course, we care about you!"
"You guys only care because you pity me. Face it, you guys are giving me another chance just because you're supposed to. That's what being a good 'System' is about- working together and creating balance within the universe."
"That's not true." Neptune uttered, "It's what being a family is all about. Forgiving others for past mistakes no matter what they did. You- You're like my brother, Nibiru, I can't just pretend you don't exist forever."
"Well," Nine looked away, managing to wrangle his wrist free, "You're going to have to."
"No- Wait!" Neptune yelled, wrapping his arms around Nine.
"Neptune! Ugh, get off of me!" Nine tried to pry the other's arms from around his neck, finding it difficult to do so, "What's the big idea!?"
"I can't lose you..." Neptune whispered, "I don't want you to end up like me... all alone for centuries, having to talk to yourself until you end up painting faces on debris and pretending they're your friend..."
Nine had stopped struggling, listening to his brother speak as tears ran down his face, mixing into his surface and creating a dripping mess, the droplets falling on Nine's shoulder.
"I don't want you to end up like me; mentally unstable." Neptune laughed bitterly, "An amnesiac..."
"Neptune." Nine decided to interrupt, "Let me go."
Neptune sniffled, slowly unfurling his arms as he shifted back. Nine sighed upon seeing the look on Neptune's face; it was reminiscent of a child, a child who lost their entire world.
"If it makes you happy, I'll come visit." Nine spoke.
Neptune wiped at his eyes, "Really...?"
"Really." Nine nodded.
"...Promise?" Neptune held a pinkie up.
"Neptune-"
"Nibiru." Even when his eyes were full of tears, Neptune had managed to glare at him.
"Promise." Nine huffed, raising his pinkie and intertwining it with Neptune's.
Neptune smiled, "And I promise to come visit you as often as I can!"
"I don't doubt it." A small smile made its way onto Nine's face, "I should really get going to find those missing moons now."
"Be safe." Neptune hesitated, contemplating.
Nine knew what it was he wanted, gesturing him over, "Come here."
Neptune smiled, giving the other a strong, but loving, embrace as if he was afraid he'd lose him again.
"I love you," Neptune spoke softly.
Nine closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy the moment as he buried his face in the other's shoulder.
That was all Neptune needed to know his brother felt the same.
« × »
"Well, that was a waste of time," China complained.
"I know, and there wasn't a single ounce of vodka on the ship! Who is running this place?" Russia huffed.
"Man, I didn't get the chance to ask about the space oil..." America sighed.
The three leaders sat down at the meeting table. Mr. Spherical had taken off as soon as they landed, mentioning something about a revolution.
America tapped his fingers against the surface of the table. He frowned, looking around the room, "Man, where is Canada? I thought he'd want a piece of space, but we haven't seen him at all today."
"Hm..." The other two hummed.
"Something tells me we shouldn't have left the rocket unsupervised..." China fiddled with his mustache.
The building shook, prompting the leaders to hold onto the table as they looked up at the ceiling.
Russia glanced outside the window, watching in the distance as the spacecraft they had just used started igniting, "Well, this can't be good."
The three watched the rocket fly into the sky. The ground settled as the rocket got further and further into the air.
Silence took over the room as they glanced around.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," China spoke.
"I doubt the rocket has any gas left to take him further than Mars," Russia added.
"Good riddance." America kicked up his feet, splaying them on the table. The other two looked at him with annoyance.
"Whatever happens, we blame that Spherical guy," China spoke.
"Agreed." Russia nodded.
« THE END »
An est...?
Translations (brought to you by Google Translate):
A potentia mihi ab universo collata, sana has cicatrices et eas dispergere fac - By the power bestowed upon me by the universe, heal these scars and cause them to disperse
Per potentiam donatam mihi per universum, hanc stellam benedic et eos qui eam protegunt - By the power bestowed upon me by the universe, bless this star and those who protect it
An est...? - Or is it...?
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING- YOUR SUPPORT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME 3
Join my Discord (link on my profile/bio) to get updates on future stories/chapters.
And I'll see you all in the sequel :D
...
What? You didn't think that was the end, did you?
As I said before, it's never the end with me ;)