Hey, who could it be? (No, it's gotta be...!)

14

TWs: Coma, self-blame, breaking down/crying, self-consciousness/self-deprecation, mentions of paranoia. Stay safe :)

'It's been a few days since X attacked... the Sun is on high alert, Jupiter and Saturn are guarding the solar system, doing their rounds every couple of hours. The rocky planets are still on edge; the Earth has been a bit distant. I want to know why, but I have to watch over Neptune, he's my first priority.'

Uranus huffed, gripping the notepad steadily.

'I still haven't found my diary... he probably still has it, unless he tossed it away and it's now lost in the depths of space forever. I can't help but blame myself for what happened to Neptune. I should've seen it coming. I could've prevented it.'

Uranus perked up when he heard a few mutters coming from the other Ice Giant.

'I wonder what he's dreaming about... his moons have been worried; they're currently being watched over by Saturn.'

The Celestial sighed, flipping the notepad closed, 'That's enough of that. I should check on Neptune.'

Uranus floated closer to the sleeping figure. He was curled up into a ball since the others had no idea how to revert him to his planet form. The fetal position was as good as they were going to get.

"Hey, mate..." Uranus muttered, "I know you probably can't hear me, but it's been a few days and... I guess I miss you. The others do too, and your moons are sad, but they'll be fine- they have each other..."

Uranus peered at the other, noticing the way his face twitched in his deep sleep. It was weird; Neptune wasn't normally this quiet. Uranus found himself not liking the silence.

"I hope you wake up soon, mate. It's not the same without you."

« × »

Neptune sniffled softly as he cried, the silence becoming unbearable for him. He had nothing to do and nobody to talk to. He was tired of talking to himself and sick of being alone for over a hundred years as he orbited the Sun. It wasn't fair- why was he all alone!?

"Neptune?"

The Celestial perked up at the voice, "W-Who...?"

"It's me, Messier."

"Oh, you're the Novastar, right?"

"Right... may I ask why you're crying?"

Neptune let out a laugh, "It's silly, really... it's just- when you're a planet like me, and it takes 165 years to travel around the Sun, you start to looooose your mind, forget everyone you once knew- who are these strange planets? They know me, so I should at least make an effort to know who they are! And then with my moons, it's a different story- I mean, they're my moons! Of course, I'm going to remember them, they're all I have in this galaxy! Except apparently, Triton isn't my moon- he's not a moon at all, and I ended up pushing him away because of my horrible memory! L-Like, isn't that just great!?"

By the end of it all, Neptune ended up breaking down, tears streaming down his face, bleeding into his liquid skin, and mixing into it. He covered his face with his hands, sobbing as he tried to wipe away the salty tears.

"I don't know why this is such a big deal now. It hasn't affected me in the past. I'm used to being alone, why am I just now realizing how lonely I am?" Neptune hiccuped. He blinked, rubbing at his eyes, "I'm sorry for ranting like this, Messier... I don't usually do this."

The Star didn't respond, making Neptune bite his lip. He didn't want to lose somebody else to his nonsensical ramblings. He closed his eyes, the palms of his hands digging into his eyes as he held back sobs.

The air shifted and for the first time in decades, Neptune felt warm. He glanced up, his eyes widening upon seeing a blinding white figure emanating blue and green waves.

"Wha-?"

The figure in white reached out to him, hugging him close and holding the other's head to his chest.

"I'm sorry for all that has happened to you, Neptune," Messier spoke.

"How...?" Neptune uttered, confused.

"I'm dead, remember? I can do practically anything with the Novastar."

Neptune gazed at the late Guardian before promptly shoving his head into his chest, bringing his arms around him, "Thank you...!"

Messier held them steady as he rubbed the other on the back, "I can't promise everything will be alright... but I do know your friends miss you more with each passing minute."

Neptune nodded, "Yeah-! Soon, I'll wake up and I'll get to see Uranus and my moons again! Maybe even Triton if he doesn't hate me... heck, maybe Jupiter and Saturn will finally be together, hahah! And the Sun, he'll be so relieved and also stressed that he'll probably shoot a solar flare at me..."

Messier listened to Neptune's ranting, a small amused smile on his face.

Neptune realized he was talking excessively, raising a hand to his mouth, "Am I talking too much? I can shut up if you want- it's just- it's been so long since I've talked to someone who didn't immediately turn away from me, y'know? I'm probably oversharing too much anyway. I can get carried away sometimes- Sorry, I'm just gonna be quiet."

Messier frowned, "Oh, I quite enjoy the talking. It distracts from the... silence of it all. You can keep going."

Neptune blinked one eye, then the other. A grin came to his face, "Well, in that case, let's talk about my moons! Starting with the biggest, Proteus- you wouldn't want to underestimate him, 'cause he's actually very intelligent."

« × »

"Are you doing okay, Sun?" Mercury asked, peering up at the ball of plasma.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine! Never better!" The Sun grinned. He had reverted to his original form, no longer referring to himself as 'Helios' or referring to the others as mythological names.

He was back to being 'the Sun,' yet Mercury knew better. The Sun was still on edge. He was keeping his eyes out for anything suspicious. He would immediately notice if anyone was drifting out of their orbit, barking an order for them to return.

Everyone was on edge, it seemed. Venus always seemed to zone out, which he never did. Mercury tried to get his attention, and what the hot-tempered planet said stunned him.

"Not in the mood, Mercury."

Venus said it in a dull and tired tone, and he called him Mercury instead of Pipsqueak. What kind of alternate universe did he travel to?

Mercury frowned, watching as present Venus looked off into space. He didn't know what Mars was up to, but if he had to guess, he was probably distracting himself by playing cards- by himself- or staring intensely at the Earth. Or both.

Earth was no better than the two. He didn't look like he had slept since the attack. He seemed to grow paranoid each second that passed by. Luna could only do so much, comforting his planet when he could. Mercury could see that the moon wanted nothing more than to see the Earth smiling again.

Mercury tried his best to keep smiling, trying to be a shield for everyone to rely on regardless of how small he was. He sighed, knowing that it would take much more than wishful thinking to make everyone happy again.

« NOTE »

Messier is based on an actual supernova called SN 2014J. It was a type-Ia supernova in Messier 82 (the Cigar Galaxy, M82). It was the closest type-Ia supernova discovered for 42 years, and no subsequent supernova has been closer as of 2023.

Comments are appreciated <3