Chapter Text
LUNAR CHALLENGE ERA:
Planet X didn’t enjoy his new orbit—not at all. Why? Because he didn’t deserve it. If anything, Jupiter should’ve stayed. But why didn’t he? That’s when Erebus realized—him returning was useless. He should’ve just remained in the Oort Cloud where he belonged, keeping the ETNOs’ orbits stable with his own gravity. But now both sides were in jeopardy because of him.
Perhaps he shouldn’t have ordered Jupiter and Saturn to lie all those years ago, but what other choice did they have? It was either tell the truth immediately and face the Sun’s unpredictable wrath, or keep him in the dark while being able to look after each other in the process. Everyone knew they couldn’t rely on Sol for emotional support, so yes—this was their only option.
Yet it cost Jupiter everything—the Sun’s trust, his respect, and being forcibly isolated from his loved ones for eternity. God, Erebus never hated himself more than this moment. His siblings called him the most selfless person they knew, but that was far from true. How the fuck was X selfless if he brought an unfathomable amount of pain to his family?
It didn’t matter if it was unintentional. Erebus still knew the risks and seized them without a second thought—barely considering how much his siblings would mourn his absence, including Jupiter. How could X be so stupid? He wasn’t selfless at all. If anything, he was selfish because his decision was intended to make himself feel better, not everyone else.
It was his big brother who sacrificed so much for them. When the Sun failed, Jupiter transformed into the ultimate father-figure and took care of everyone. It was Jupiter who consoled them when they were sad or scared. Jupiter willingly spent quality time with them. Jupiter respected and valued their individuality. Jupiter did all those things and never expected a single thank you.
And what did Erebus do? Well—he couldn’t really deny his own part in nurturing his younger siblings. But who was he doing for? Them or himself? Both maybe? Guess that was the only acceptable answer…but still. Was it worth finding out? Either way, X knew one thing—he had to fix his mistake and bring Jupiter back to the Solar System before it was too late.
For starters, one of his worst fears came true as the Asteroid Belt abruptly destabilized, which greatly affected the Inner Planets and asteroids themselves, especially Earth and his lifeforms. Luna was his only defense, yet that wasn’t enough to guarantee absolute protection. The satellite took a few painful hits, but thankfully he didn’t lose consciousness.
Alongside Titan, they both ventured into Jupiter’s former orbit while Mercury and Venus helped maintain Earth’s axis. Alerting Planet X, Ganymede, and Europa of the situation—they all devised a plan. The Galilean and Neptunian moons would follow Neptune to search for the exiled gas giant while Saturn, Uranus, and Erebus would surveil their surroundings.
Elsewhere—the Inner Solar System tried their best to distract the Sun, diverting his attention from the Outer Solar System as much as possible. It worked until Planet X and Caelus approached their host star, followed by their other siblings (including the dwarf planets and their moons). Sol randomly proposed a battle between the planetary moons and Planet X.
Leaving them with no choice, they relucantly obeyed his orders and split into teams. Caelus would ‘side with’ Erebus while the others ‘rooted for’ the moons. However, they’d still secretly work together under the Sun’s nose. With three rounds total, the first one involved a single orbit around the yellow dwarf. Whoever arrived at the finish line first would win that round.
There was a black-and-white checkered flag representing the starting point as all participants were busy preparing for the race. Erebus noticed Ganymede’s discomfort and went up to him.
“Nervous?” he figured.
“I’m uh…I’m good,” the biggest moon lied.
“It’s okay if you are, bud. I am too,” X gently assured him.
The latter sighed. “Okay, you caught me. I—I dunno how this is gonna go. I think that’s what scares me. I—I can’t predict the outcome.”
Erebus pondered his words. “Whatever happens…we got each other’s backs. Just — ”
“Don’t tell the Sun—got it,” Ganymede understood.
Titan hovered next to him. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” his brother inhaled.
Standing in front of his lunar siblings, he announced, “Listen up, moons of the Solar System! Last time we came together, our confrontation with the Sun was unsuccessful. And as a result, two of us got unfairly banished. But this time will be different, even if we’re at a slight disadvantage since Jupiter…since he refused to come back unless the Sun allowed him to.”
He took another deep breath. “I—I dunno if I have what if takes to be a leader. But I do know one thing—the fate of the Solar System is in our hands. And today, we will make a difference! No matter what, we’ll find a way to bring Jupiter back and find a suitable orbit for Planet X!”
His teammates cheered loudly, bouncing up and down.
Everyone scrambled to their positions as soon as Sol hollered, “The race will begin in 3—2—1—GO!”
The Fifth Giant apparently lagged behind them, until Ganymede proposed using his gravity to push back the moons in order to seem like he gained an advantage.
Yet Planet X hesitated. “I—I don’t know if that’s a good idea — ”
“Trust me bro—just do it!” the largest moon ordered.
“I…” He sighed. “Alright—but make sure you guys stick together.”
Ganymede nodded and instructed the other satellites to surround the four Galilean moons, Titan, and Luna. Erebus regretfully used his gravitational pull to shove them behind, mouthing an apology in the process. While they figured out which person was the fastest moon, Neptune approached his older twin, who was apprehensively reading a book.
“Hey Caelus—you okay?” he wondered. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Neptune! You have to read this. It’s the Sun’s diary,” the less saturated ice giant urged as he placed the journal in front of him. “Yeah I know it’s rude to read other people’s personal stuff, but this is important mate. It explains why the Sun’s been acting so…well…just read it.”
Scanning each line of text at the speed of sound, the younger twin’s jaw dropped a hundred floors. “Oh boy! We need to tell everyone, don’t we?”
Uranus bobbed his head uncertainly. “Yeah…but I dunno if we’ll be able to until the final round…”
In the meantime, Planet X pinpointed who caught up to him.
“Metis?” he breathed.
“H-Hey, Erebus…” she smiled nervously.
Pursing his lips in determination, X said, “I need you to use my gravity to slingshot yourself towards the finish line.”
Metis was puzzled. “Wait what? I…I-I dunno if I can — ”
“I know you can do it, sis. You got this,” he encouraged. “D’you trust me?”
She nodded firmly. “I do.”
“Then go,” he instructed as Metis obeyed him, eventually winning the race.
“I did it! I won!” she squealed delightfully.
Her siblings applauded her efforts (minus the Sun) as Round 2 was about to commence, which involved basic Solar System trivia. Both teams subtly agreed to hand over the victory to Planet X this time in order to avoid suspicion.
Then came Round 3…also known as Asteroid Dodgeball. Whoever was hit with a pseudo-asteroid or voluntarily surrendered was automatically disqualified.
“Sun—that’s way too risky. The smaller moons could seriously get hurt!” Sedna argued.
“Exactly—this is dumb,” Quaoar pointed out.
“Yeah! Don’t hurt them!” MK2 begged.
“Then this should be one-on-one. I’ll ‘go against’ Planet X alone. Everyone else should surrender,” Ganymede suggested.
“N-N-Nope! That’s not happening, Ganymede!” Io disagreed. “We’re all in this together, remember? S-S-So stop playing the goddamn martyr for once and let us help! Besides, you can’t be a leader without your teammates.”
“Guys, I—I don’t want you to get hurt,” the biggest moon pleaded.
The most volcanically active moon shook his head. “Erebus won’t hurt us! H-H-He’d rather give his life and you know that!”
“Of course I know that, Io! It’s the Sun I’m worried about! Who knows what he’ll do otherwise?” Ganymede tried to convince him.
“Th-Th-Then we’ll fight him if we have to!” Io proposed.
The latter huffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, bro. The Sun is the biggest celestial body in the entire Solar System. Us moons are no match for him and you know it!”
Now Titania was fed up. “Guys, enough! Arguing about this won’t solve anything. We need to stick together in order for this to work.”
“She’s right. We need a plan for this round,” Miranda supplied.
“Perhaps all non-spherical moons should instantly surrender and stay close to Europa. Meanwhile, the rest of us will take offense,” Iapetus strategized.
“He’s got a point. Listen to the chess master,” Mimas stated.
“And BEGIN!” Sol shouted.
In reality, Erebus refused to throw anything at the moons. Then he spotted a bunch of rocks accidentally being pulled by his gravity. He yelled at the offensive side to look out…but it was too late and they got hit (luckily not hard enough to seriously injure them).
“We need to talk to the Sun now,” Uranus gulped.
“Yep,” Neptune agreed wholeheartedly.
“I’m giving him our siblings’ diaries—the ones they left behind,” Caelus said.
“From whom?” Poseidon wondered.
“Well…the protoplanets mostly…and the ice giants,” the older twin elaborated. “X won’t be mad, right?”
“I’m sure he’ll understand,” Neptune said reassuringly.
“I dunno why I didn’t think of this before. Maybe—maybe with some kind of trigger word, this is the only way he’ll snap out of it for good,” Uranus hoped. “Cause at this point, it’s our last option.”
“You’re right—but we need to have faith,” the darker blue planet reminded him.
Caelus exhaled sharply. “I know.”
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Saturn asked concerningly as the rocky planets also stared at them.
The cyan ice giant shoved Sol’s journal in front of them. “Read this. Everything will make sense, I promise. Meanwhile, Neptune and I are gonna have a little chat with the Sun.” He prompted him to come forward. “Let’s go mate.”
“Coming!” Poseidon sang.
To X’s horror—Ganymede, Titan, and Titania nodded simultaneously and utilized their own gravity to pull the large rocks in their direction while shielding the smaller moons, playing right into the Sun’s fantasy and making it as if Erebus had attacked them.
“W-Wait! Guys, stop! Don’t…!” he nearly screamed.
But it was no use—the trio wound up seriously wounded and the biggest satellite was knocked unconscious.
Proteus gasped. “No…Ganymede!”
“All—all good?” the second-largest moon struggled to blurt out, grunting in pain.
Luna grimaced. “N-Never better, Titan.”
“You idiots! Risking your own lives was not part of the plan! What were you thinking?!” Europa exclaimed worriedly.
“W-We did what we had to do…” Titania gritted her teeth. “X wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”
“You’re right—I wouldn’t,” he said aggravatedly to mask his worry. “I mean honestly! Are you guys asking for a death wish?! Those rocks could’ve killed you!”
“O-Our plan was for you to win. But it won’t happen unless the others surrender. So guys, please—you gotta do it,” Titan disclosed, hissing from the sting of his facial injuries. “X, we—we knew we were at a disadvantage since the beginning. Please understand…this is the only way.”
“I’ll surrender instead. You guys don’t—you don’t deserve this. You never deserved to get hurt! God, this is all my fault…” Erebus lamented.
“STOP!” Proteus commanded as he faced him head-on, scowling angrily. “Stop saying it’s your fault! Why do you keep saying that?!”
“Because it is, Proteus!” X yelled back. “None of this would’ve happened if I’d just…”
“If you never came back?” The largest non-spherical moon was practically in agony. “Is that your plan, Erebus? A-Are you gonna leave us again?”
“Yeah—I am. I’m gonna bring Jupiter back, and then leave the Solar System for good this time. I—I don’t belong here anymore,” the ice giant responded sadly.
Proteus began sobbing, tears pouring from his eyes. “Y-Yes you do! You’re our brother! W-Why can’t you think about yourself for once?! Don’t you want to stay?”
It broke X’s heart to see his little brother cry. “Of course I wanna stay, Proteus! But I can’t…”
“W-Why not?” the second-largest Neptunian moon blubbered. “P-Please don’t leave us again! We—we already lost so much a-and…! Don’t…d-don’t go, please…!”
The navy blue ice giant backed away slowly and shook his head, tears escaping his own eyes as he turned sideways one last time, both planets and moons eyeballing him with sorrowful expressions.
“I’m sorry…” he sniffled. “B-But I have to go. I love you guys so much…goodbye.”
He zoomed toward the Oort Cloud, tuning out his siblings’ tearful protests and pleas until he reached the place where Jupiter was currently residing with Guillermo’s corpse. While they shared a heartfelt conversation, everyone else turned to the Sun, shocked to see him upset as well.
Eyes red and puffy, he choked out, “Bring them back…”
Uranus blinked rapidly. “Wait what?”
“Bring Jupiter back…bring X back…p-please…” Sol repeated before succumbing to harsh sobs, apologizing profusely for the past 4.5 billion years.
Little did he know that an hour later, a Jovian-sized gas giant and an ocean blue ice giant would return to the Inner Solar System, smiling at their orbital center for the first time in eternity…