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..."

« NOTE »

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