TWs: Rude behavior, arguing/disagreements, manipulation, forcibly grabbing someone, sense of fear/dread. Stay safe :)
Ceres let out a rough groan as he pulled himself out of the debris, "Ow..."
Everyone stared at him in shock, except Aeon and Cura, who looked at each other with confused expressions.
"Isn't Ceres the crazy dwarf planet that lives in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars?" Aeon asked, "What is he doing here so far out of orbit?"
Cura hummed, "I heard from one of the bigger moons that the dwarf planets have been hanging out a lot."
"Ooh, like a club?"
Cura nodded, "You could say it's a club for outcasts."
Aeon bounced excitedly, "Now, I wonder what they all do when they're together!"
Dysnomia cleared her throat and whispered, "I can't hear everyone with your squealing, so please save your excitement until we understand what's happening."
"Yes, Miss Dysnomia!"
"H-How come you aren't passed out like the others?" Orcus asked, keeping Ceres steady by holding his arm.
"Friends... in danger." Ceres spoke, trying to articulate his words, "Black hole... Aether...Stars."
"The others are in danger because of Sagittarius A* and something called AetherStars...?" Sedna questioned.
"How do you know this?" Gonggong inquired.
Ceres looked around, perking up once he saw the clump of asteroids he landed in. He raced over, digging through the pile before pulling out two objects.
Sedna gasped, "The other NovaStars! You found them!"
Ceres shook his head, "Friend... Makemake... found."
Sedna smiled, taking them into her gravity. As soon as she did so, one of them let out a relieved sigh.
"Finally, someone competent."
"Don't be rude, Wěi!"
"We were being tossed around like pebbles, and you expect me to stay quiet about it?"
"It wasn't that bad."
Sedna cleared her throat, "It's good to have you two back, but can you save the bickering for later?"
Wěi huffed, "Fine, if we must."
"So... do you guys know what's going on around here?" Sedna questioned.
"We've got a vague idea," Wěi spoke.
"We were with the Dwarf Celestials when it happened. For some reason, they all seemed to... pass out. They wouldn't respond or even move, but their cores are still active." Pinwheel explained.
"We also gathered the sense that two entities entered the solar system. We could feel their presence."
"AetherStars... is that what you're talking about? Exactly how powerful are they?"
Wěi scoffed, "It takes an army of Novae to stop just one, and we don't have the kind of manpower to take down two."
"The only way they can be defeated is if another Aether interferes," Pinwheel said.
Sedna swallowed, becoming increasingly nervous, "And you guys wouldn't happen to know any 'friendly' AetherStars, would you...?"
Wěi let out a snort of indignation, "Friendly? AetherStars aren't capable of feeling anything. They're all monsters with a thirst to destroy everything you love."
"Wěi!" Pinwheel shouted, "You can't just say that. As Methuselah always said, there can be no good without evil! There must be balance within the universe and without AetherStars, we wouldn't exist."
"And Methuselah's always had a few screws loose. He probably doesn't know what he's saying most of the time, so why should we abide by a saying of one of the oldest Stars to ever exist?"
Pinwheel growled, "You are so...! Argh! Sedna, was it? Have you seen or heard from Messier at all?"
"I'm afraid not... oh, I bet he's still with Neptune."
"Neptune?" Aeon uttered.
Cura flew forward, "Miss Dysnomia, we know where he is!"
Aeon nodded, "Yeah...! We passed by him on our way here!"
Dysnomia perked upon hearing the words. Turning to the others, she said, "I have an idea of where Neptune might be."
Sedna and the other Dwarf Celestials looked at her before sharing glances between them. Sedna stepped forward, "Thank you, any help is appreciated."
"How do you know where he is, Miss Dysnomia?" Nix questioned, her gaze analyzing the other.
Dysnomia pursed her lips, "Just a hunch."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" Quaoar nagged, pushing Dysnomia forward, who rolled her eyes at the rude gesture.
"Lead the way, you two." She whispered to Aeon and Cura.
...
"Ah, over there!"
"There he is!"
The two spirits flew forward, floating around Neptune's stiff body.
Cura slowed down as she spotted something, "Hey, it's the other Neptunian moons."
The small Celestites were huddled together, voices low. Distraught and panic were their only expressions.
The third largest Neptunian moon, Nereid, floated around, talking to the other moons and checking on them. She spotted the Dwarf Celestials from afar, a grin rising on her surface.
"Miss Sedna! I never thought I'd see you again!" She spoke, prompting the other moons to follow and surround the red Celestial.
Sedna hugged the Neptunian moons one by one, "What do you mean by that? We're all fine, aren't we?"
Nereid lowered her head, "Not all of us..."
"Woah...!" Styx gaped in awe as he looked into the distance. Sedna followed the smaller Celestite's stare, her eyes going wide.
"Oh, my Stars..." She uttered, "So everyone really is... asleep."
"I don't think I've seen them all asleep at the same time," Salacia spoke.
Orcus nodded, "I-It's very... eerie."
"For some reason, only the smaller moons are awake," Gonggong noted, spotting the clusters of frightened Celestites either trying to wake their parent planet up or staying as far away from them as possible.
Sedna frowned, brows creasing as she watched the Celestites flitter in an uncontrolled frenzy. She held out the two NovaStars, placing them carefully in Neptune's gravity, ensuring she wouldn't get sucked in.
"Messier's Novae should be in one of Neptune's inside pockets," She let out a small breath, "I'm going to try to calm down the little ones while you three come up with a plan to stop these... AetherStars, or something. Good luck."
"Same to you, Miss Sedna!" Pinwheel called out as Sedna hurriedly left.
« × »
"Kepler."
The sound of Mage's voice sent Kepler jolting out of their core. They turned around in a hazy daze, a side effect from using the Aether, "Yes, Mage?"
She stared at them with a hauntingly lustrous gaze, "Have you sent a signal to Sagittarius A* yet?"
"...No. Was I supposed to?"
Mage growled, concealing it with a light laugh, "Haha...! Were you supposed to, haheh... you're funny, Kepler."
"Uh...?"
Before Kepler knew it, their chin was being yanked, forcing them to stare into Mage's indigo-purple eyes. Kepler grunted, yet did nothing as they stared into the eyes of a void.
"And so utterly... useless." She hissed, "If Sagittarius gets pissed for not being notified of my work, it's all going to be your fault."
Kepler felt their core closing in on itself as their eyes widened. They wanted to defend themself, retaliate, and do anything to get away from her, yet they stayed perfectly still knowing that if they did, Mage would lash out; and she always got the upper hand on them.
"And you know what happens when a black hole gets pissed off... don't you, Kepler?"
Kepler nodded, wincing as they felt Mage dig her claws into their jaw.
"Speak."
Kepler hesitated, "...Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Mage smiled, letting go of them, "Good."
Kepler massaged his jaw as Mage turned around, glaring daggers at her back.
"Now... notify Sagittarius for me, would you?"
Kepler nodded, tensing when Mage whipped around to glare at them, "I mean- yes, ma'am."
Mage huffed, uttering under her breath as she returned to her Aether, "Absolutely pathetic..."
Kepler gathered their Aether in their hands, peering into it and closing their eyes as they concentrated on connecting with the black hole. However, thoughts swarmed their head, making it hard to focus, but one thought stood out among the rest.
What if Mage found out what they were planning with Messier?
They pursed their lips, 'That can't happen...'
Nothing stopped them from thinking the opposite. They knew that whatever plan Messier came up with, Mage would somehow find a way to combat it.
And she always got what she wanted.
« NOTE »
Heheheheheheheh
It all goes downhill from here!
Er... more like it falls off a cliff into a pit of spikes lmao