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..."
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Ooh, what will happen next?
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