TWs: Mention of past death, implied/referenced attempted suicide (Earth is heading into the Sun), cliffhanger. Stay safe :)

Luna pulled himself out of the ditch and onto the sidewalk, brushing the leaves off his clothes as he stood up. Looking around, he saw the others gathered a few feet away. Earth was sitting on the ground, his head down and hands covering his face. Taking a few steps, he could hear Sun's hushed voice as he talked to Jupiter and Saturn.

"We all know this shouldn't be possible, but... I have a feeling Sagittarius A* is also behind this."

Luna's eyes widened, 'What!?'

Saturn covered his mouth and Jupiter spoke, "What gives you that idea, Sun? Black Holes are powerful, but they can't do anything as extreme as this."

"I know, and that's why I think it's not Sagittarius A* directly, but instead its pawns."

"Pawns...?" Saturn raised an eyebrow.

"Are you talking about the Stars that orbit Sagittarius?" Jupiter questioned.

"No," Sun immediately denied, then uttered, "Even if they are a bunch of pushovers and pansies..."

"Then who are you talking about?" Saturn asked.

"It's not who, but what," Sun enunciated, "And if I'm right about this, then that means we're in danger, or more specifically, Earth is in danger."

Sun hesitated, eyes drifting as his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Jupiter noticed the strange behavior, squinting at the other.

"Just what is going on, Sun?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Uh, hah, well... how do I say this?" Sun muttered, scratching his face, "A long time ago, a Star told me a story-"

"How does that relate to this?" Jupiter cut him off.

"If you wouldn't interrupt me, you would figure it out." Sun's lips twitched into an annoyed smile, "Anyway, as I was saying... a Star named Methuselah often told us stories to pass the time as everything was pretty lonely without any planets- you all were just pieces of debris."

Jupiter's eyes lit up, "Methuselah...!? One of the oldest Stars in the universe?"

Sun irked, frowning, "Stop interrupting me! And yes, Methuselah- he was sort of like a mentor to me and other younger Stars..."

Sun had a faraway look, his eyes glazing over. Jupiter and Saturn glanced at each other, giving Sun sympathetic expressions. The older noticed their concern, quickly turning his head and coughing.

"A-Anyway, many years, and I mean many years later, Rigel told me a similar story, but said it was only an urban legend." Sun raised a hand to his chin, "The details are fuzzy since it was millions of years ago, but... I remember something about NovaStars, beings of pure light, and their opposites called AetherStars, beings of pure darkness. I didn't believe any of it- I mean, who would? It sounds ridiculous, but... then again, I've never met a NovaStar until a few weeks ago... so, it's very possible that AetherStars might exist too."

"And did they ever mention how to defeat them in case you came across one?" Jupiter asked.

Sun blinked, pursing his lips as he felt himself grow warmer. His eyes darted around as he tried to think of something, "Uhm, well..."

"Sun." Jupiter's eyebrows twitched, a disappointed and annoyed expression growing on his face.

"It's just- hahah, it happened so long ago, I must've forgotten-!"

"Sun..." Saturn sighed.

"You know me, I can be very dist-"

"You weren't paying attention, were you?" Jupiter glowered.

Sun froze, "Uh..."

"Sun."

"Hehehahah..." Sun forced a laugh, looking away from them, "Well, you know me... I can be very distracted..."

"Sun, this is serious!" Saturn frowned, tears forming in his eyes, "Earth is in danger, we can't lose him again!"

Sun and Jupiter flinched at the last part, the former looking down and the latter silently blaming himself as he lightly kicked at the ground.

"We already lost Theia, we can't afford to lose Earth as well..." Saturn muttered, raising his clasped hands before his pursed lips.

"We won't." Jupiter placed a reassuring hand on Saturn's shoulder, his eyes trying to convey comfort and consolation, yet only seemed panicked with how his brows furrowed and his gaze couldn't meet the other's. His voice trembled slightly, "We'll figure something out... I'm sure of it."

Saturn smiled, yet it didn't meet his eyes, "It's okay, Jupi... we can only hope for the best at this point."

Sun pulled at his hair, thinking intensely, 'Come on... I have to remember at least some of it! Earth's core is on the line here!'

"Uhm... Mr. Sun?" Luna timidly walked up to the taller of the three, fiddling with his fingers.

Sun whipped around, snapping his fingers with a panicked grin, "Luna! Just the moon I wanted to see! Say, do you recall if Earth acted strange before we all showed up here?"

"Uh, no... not really. He was a bit paranoid about me leaving my orbit to hang out with Mercury, but that's about it." Luna shrugged, "It's normal for him to be that way... y'know, after what happened last time..."

Sun winced, "Y-Yeah, I see..."

"Anyway, the other moons showed up, as well as the 'main' dwarf planets."

"All three hundred of them?" Jupiter asked.

Luna shook his head, "Uh, no... only twenty. We discovered that moons with a diameter of over four hundred appeared."

"That's quite odd..." Saturn uttered.

"Mercury also gave me an idea... what if we're all on Earth because he's the only habitable planet?"

"I guess that would make sense..." Saturn spoke, raising a hand to his chin.

"But that still doesn't explain how we can see the Sun or the Moon from here if they're both, well, here." Jupiter pointed out.

"Yeah..."

Sun's eyes widened, "I got it!"

Immediately, all eyes turned to him, including some passersby who appeared annoyed.

"What's he got?" Earth quirked an eyebrow, giving a glance to the others.

Nine hummed, deciding to find out for himself as he stood up and walked over, "What was that all about?"

Sun grinned, "I just remembered something."

There was a moment of silence as Nine impatiently tapped his foot. Huffing, he gestured with his hand, "Well...? What is it?"

"Oh, right!" Sun laughed before clearing his throat, "A long time ago, and I mean a long, long time ago, a Star named Methelusah often told younger Stars many stories-"

"Didn't you already explain this?" Jupiter questioned.

"I will find a way to throw you off the face of the Earth if you don't stop interrupting me, Jupiter!" Sun glared. Jupiter raised his hands, backing away. "Ahem, anyway, where was I before I was so rudely interrupted...?"

Jupiter crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.

"Ah, yes... a long time ago, a Star named Methelusah often told us many stories about how the universe worked, one of those stories being about NovaStars and their opposites, the AetherStars..."

« NOTE »

Next chapter is all about the LORRREEEE

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