TWs: Illusions/hallucinations (for most of the book), manipulation/gaslighting, panic attacks/crying, self-hatred/deprecation, near-death experiences. Stay safe :)
Sun glared down at the three Rocky Celestials, expression convulsing slightly, "What do you mean he walked away...?
Mercury and Mars cowered behind Venus, who was trying to brave the Guardian's anger with a faux look of determination, trembling slightly under the heat of the stare.
"And you didn't think to stop him...!?" Sun scowled, raising his hands and pulling on golden strands of hair, "Ugh- ah! We can't leave him alone, something might happen to him!"
"Uhm, S-Sun, if I may... he did take Luna with-"
"Luna is barely half his size! Besides, none of us have ever dealt with an AetherStar before, and knowing they're said to portray their prey's worst fears, Earth will have a breakdown at any moment-!"
As soon as he said that, the atmosphere flickered and warped for a few seconds. The Earthlings passing by blinked from existence before appearing again, continuing to act as if nothing was happening around them. The Celestials and Celestites looked around in alarm.
Sun's eyes filled with dread, "It's too late; he's already seen something... we must find him! Planets, follow me! Moons and dwarf planets, stay here!"
A few moons tried to object, yet they were all silenced by Sun's glare.
"I'm serious, we can't have anything else going wrong." He spoke before looking at the Rocky Celestials, "You three lead us in the direction they went in."
"Y-Yes, Sun!" They chorused.
« × »
Kepler frowned as they peered over Mage's shoulder, "That's not-"
"Don't you think I know that?" Mage snapped, "I know that pathetic waste of space debris known as Earth's moon isn't becoming a second home. Those feeble Earthlings haven't even colonized it, yet!"
"Then, why...?"
"It's simple, Kepler..." Mage returned to eyeing her Novae, smirking evilly, "His worst fears are becoming reality for him..."
She laughed, a wild look in her eyes.
"Oh, this is almost too easy." She said, "Soon, he'll be broken down into nothingness. His life will wither away like it never existed in the first place... and then we move on to the other planets in this wretched solar system, leaving the Sun with no choice but to surrender to Sagittarius A*."
Kepler watched her silently before returning their gaze to their own Novae, 'I can't begin to imagine the after-affects...'
« × »
"...rth? Earth!"
His breathing became heavy as he stared widely at the television. He couldn't believe his eyes.
'The moon will become our new home'
This was it.
'Become our new home'
They didn't need him anymore.
'New home'
What was the point?
'NEW HOME'
He collapsed to his knees, tears starting to stream down his face. He had no purpose now, 'cause who was he without his Earthlings- who was he without life?
He pressed his palm against the ground, lowering his head to examine the stony grey slabs below. His breath came in shaky bursts, faltering as he inhaled and exhaled. He clenched his fists, furrowing his brows as his pitiable expression morphed into one of rage.
"How... could they? I try, and I try, and I try, yet no matter what I do... it's never good enough." He uttered, grinding his teeth together, "Nothing I do is ever enough..."
He was so wrapped up in his self-loathing that he forgot Luna was there. The human moon sat with him, watching Earth's descent with frightful eyes. He didn't know what to do, his hands reaching out for Earth, yet never touching the other.
'Wh-What do I do...? How do I...?' Luna pursed his lips, feeling them quiver as he tried his best to keep calm.
He wanted to help- he had to help him!
Luna forced himself forward with a small whimper, arms wrapping around Earth's torso like a lifeline. He felt the other become tense in his arms, his breath hitching before remembering that-
Oh.
The silver-haired Celestite was with him.
Earth felt more pathetic than ever.
He was crying in front of a stranger, someone who could possibly judge him, or, even worse- pity him.
He wasn't a Proto, he didn't need anyone to pity him or become his friend just because they 'had' to or because they felt the need to 'help' him with the pain he constantly felt.
Even with those thoughts and possibilities, Earth couldn't help but feel safe in the smaller one's arms. It had a sense of familiarity almost as if he's been in a similar situation before.
Yet, he couldn't remember. It made his head hurt whenever he tried.
He gave up and instead relaxed so he could rest in the other's embrace, deciding that it was better to be pitied and taken care of than to be alone to fend for himself.
Fewer tears left his eyes as he gradually calmed down, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.
He exhaled, finally collecting himself. Opening his eyes, he glanced down at Luna.
"...I'm sorry." Earth spoke, "I... don't know what came over me. I'm usually stronger than this..."
Luna shook his head, prompting him to nuzzle further into Earth's chest, "Don't apologize. Don't ever apologize when you did nothing wrong."
Earth furrowed his eyebrows, "But I cried...? It's not even that big of a deal... but I still cried. I just... can't believe my Earthlings are making the moon a 'secondary' home."
Luna blinked, shifting away from the embrace, "What...?"
Earth gestured to the television display, "It was on the screens."
Looking at the window display, Luna found that all the televisions were turned off, "Uhm..."
Earth scratched his face, knitting his brows in confusion, "Well, uh, they did a moment ago."
"Are you alright, Earth?" Luna tilted his head.
Earth's expression twitched, becoming annoyed at the repeated question, "I'm fine! Why do you Celestials keep asking me that?"
Luna flinched, shuffling away from the other, "Sorry... I'm just worried about you."
"Why? You don't even know me." Earth spoke, crossing his arms.
"That's what you think..." Luna uttered.
Earth leaned forward, unable to hear what was said, "Huh? What was that?"
Luna shook his head, "It's nothing. Let's find the others..."
As if by some miracle, the duo heard voices and rushed footsteps.
"There you two are!" Sun pushed the three Rocky Celestials out of the way in favor of checking them both over, "What happened?"
"Earth-" Luna got cut off by the other jabbing an elbow into his side.
"Nothing happened." Earth glared, getting up with a huff, "And before you ask because I know you will, I'm fine."
Luna sighed in exasperation, watching the other walk off a few feet away.
"You okay?" Mercury asked, offering a hand to the smaller one.
Luna shrugged, taking it and pulling himself up, "I'm not sure anymore..."
Mercury frowned as Luna stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"You two can't be wandering off, especially given that the Earth is in danger." Sun crossed his arms, knitting his brows as he inspected the Celestite.
"Sorry... he dragged me off before I could get a word out," Luna spoke.
"What's the plan now, Sun?" Saturn queried.
Sun averted his gaze, scratching the back of his neck, exhaling softly, "I don't know..."
'If only Methuselah were here...' He reminisced, 'He'd know what to do.'
"I have an idea." Nine stepped forward, pointing to where Earth was, "First, we should get his memories back."
"But how?" Venus asked.
Nine turned his sharp analytical gaze to Luna, "Are there places on Earth for learning about history or space?"
Luna raised a hand to his chin, eyes widening as a lightbulb went off. He snapped his fingers, smiling, "A museum! Of course!"
Neptune raised his hand, "What's a muse-sea-um?"
Earth watched from afar as Luna was explaining something to the others. He found himself scowling, silently thinking it was a waste of time standing around doing nothing.
"Earth!"
Earth blinked, humming as he looked to his left on the other side of the crosswalk, 'Huh, I thought I heard my name...'
"Oh, Earth~!"
The rocky Celestial furrowed his brows, whipping his head around the area. He pursed his lips, feeling his heart beating faster.
"Over here~!"
After a moment, Earth saw a figure standing in the middle of the crosswalk; sepia vitiligo skin with brown wavy curls situating just below her shoulders, yellow eyes, and a cream toga with a golden leaf crown and belt.
Earth squinted his eyes, inching forward as he whispered, "Who... are you?"
The figure laughed before turning and running away.
"Hey, wait...!" Earth nearly stumbled over his feet as he tried to follow her, his hand outstretched to reach for her.
HONK-ONK!
"Earth!" He heard voices call his name and felt himself being pulled back as a truck whizzed past.
Blinking, he found himself in the arms of Mars and Uranus, both of them holding him back by his arms.
"You galah! What in the Milky Way were you thinking!?" Uranus yelled, his tone full of anger yet his eyes were concerned.
"Don't ever do that again, you could've gotten yourself killed!" Mars continued, his expression similar to Uranus'.
Earth tilted his head, not understanding why they cared so much, "Sorry, I just... thought I saw someone."
"Who...?" Mars lowered his voice, much to Earth's relief as he didn't like to be yelled at.
"I don't know, but... she seemed familiar to me." Earth returned his gaze to the crosswalk, seeing no one there, "It must've been my imagination, though..."
« NOTE »
Galah means idiot in Aussie terms, hehe
Oh no, Earth almost got run over by Truck-kun (the enemy of isekais)
It was a good thing his future boyfriends saved him ;)
Comments are appreciated <3