Chapter Text
Mars, Venus and Mercury were sitting around in Venus’ orbit playing cards. The conversation had long since died down, the planets mostly sat in silence apart from occasionally reminding someone it was their turn.
“Has anyone seen Earth lately? He hasn't joined in any of the recent card games,” Mercury asked.
“Not recently. I'm still trying to work through my feelings about everything with Jupiter. Honestly, I've been kind of avoiding him since he was pestering me about Jupiter.” Mars looked slightly uncomfortable admitting that.
“Why are you so concerned anyway, pipsqueak?” Barked Venus as he drew another card.
“I just- oh stars what is that!?” The other two turned to see what had panicked Mercury, finding a grey figure heading full speed directly at them.
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Things were going pretty well for Earth recently, he even made a new friend! Or, he hopes he has, Proto and Theia were saying he did so it must be true. They wouldn't lie to him.
He was getting closer to the host star, everything was brighter, warmer and incredibly familiar. It felt off, wrong in some way. The closer they got, the more anxious he felt, dread creeping up his spine. The memory of … something slipping through his fingers whenever he tried to grasp it.
What had he forgotten?
He . . .
He wasn't supposed to leave his orbit. He wasn't allowed to, someone- the star? would be very mad at him. Maybe he could get a bit closer so he could explain himself?
Memories rush to the surface, passing by too fast to truly process them. One thing was clear, getting close to the star was a horrible idea that upset everyone. Not only that but it hurt.
It hurt. His chest hurt. When did he stop breathing?
He couldn't breathe.
His vision was blurred with tears and his chest was burning. It hurt so much. There were voices shouting yet too faint to hear. He was going to be in so much trouble when the star found out what he had done. He wasn't supposed to leave his orbit but he did it anyway.
This was bad, very bad.
His head was spinning, the few breaths he could get were rasping, the noise grated against his ears. His hands had moved up to grip his hair and were tugging harshly.
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It took a second for everyone to get themselves together and acknowledge the small dwarf who had scared them so badly. Mars was trying and failing to hide his discomfort, but if he positioned himself so that Venus was standing between him and Ceres, well, no one had to know.
“Hey, watch where you’re going ya little pipsqueak. You tryna crash into us or something?!”
Ceres gave no indication that he even understood Venus, just looked slightly panicked which looked out of place on the dwarf’s face.
“G-get he-eelp”
This statement only caused confusion, but before they could question Ceres further he was already leaving. The dwarf planet looked back to make sure they were following, which seemed to jumpstart their brains and the three rocky planets hurried to catch up.
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It was taking longer than Mars would have preferred to get to wherever it was Ceres was taking them to. Although Mars can hardly complain, he was only so much faster than the dwarf. Mercury and Venus, however, we're looking somewhat annoyed at the slower pace. There wasn't anything they could do about it though as Ceres was the only one who knew where they were going.
“Hey pipsqueak, whe-?” Before Venus could finish his sentence, Ceres had sped off, stunning them momentarily before they rushed to follow him. It seems that the group were finally approaching their destination, though what this was eludes the rocky planets. They were just a bit before Earth's orbit, meaning there was mostly just empty space. No reason for a dwarf planet from the asteroid belt to come to them for help.
It didn't take long for them to finally get an idea as to why they were here. Earth was curled up, his hands tangled in his hair, surrounded by six small celestial bodies. Mars assumed that they were the other dwarf planets that Jupiter had mentioned a few times, especially because, now that the trio was closer he could recognise Pluto and his largest moon. A smaller pink dwarf seemed to be trying to talk to Earth and convince him to uncurl from his ball. A task the dwarf was failing as Earth seems to have gone completely unresponsive.
Earth was shaking, something Mars had only just noticed and he added it to a growing list of concerns about the blue and green planet. Venus looked uncomfortable, clearly unsure of what to do. Mercury looked conflicted, going from annoyance to guilt the closer they got. The pink dwarf had noticed the approaching rocky planets, having turned around to greet them.
“Hello! I'm Makemake. You're the other inner planets, right?”
“Uh - yeah we are. What's happening? Why were we called?”
“Well, we were bringing Earth back to his orbit, only we don't actually know where it is that Earth orbits, so we were going to find someone we could ask. However, Earth did not react very well and I believe he is now having a panic attack. Unfortunately, we're not large enough to be of much help in this situation, which is where you come in.”
It took a moment for this new information to sink in, and it was clear when it did. The rocky planets panicked, rushing over to Earth's side to try and help. “Hey Earth, pal? Can you hear me?” Mars’ question got no response or acknowledgement from the larger planet. The only sounds that came from Earth being his frequent sobs and harsh breathing.
Trying to talk was clearly not working, the blue planet having completely shut down. Mars grabbed Earth by his shoulders and shook him in an attempt to get his attention. “Earth, listen to me. You need to breathe. C’mon, breathe with me. In and out, in and out.” It seems Mars had gotten through to the other. While Earth's breathing was still erratic and raspy, it was getting steadier. “That's it, keep breathing. Just in and out.”
Earth's eyes were unfocused, his face a mess of tears, but he seemed to be trying to find Mars. His breathing was finally evening out and calming down. The shaking had mostly stopped, and he was uncurling from his ball. There was faint recognition in Earth’s eyes, “Mars?”
“Yeah, it's me Earth. You feeling any better?” Mars asked.
“Err - yeah, a little?” Earth sounded confused, which didn't really make sense but he can save that for when Earth wasn't a complete wreck.
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It took a little while longer for Earth to completely calm down but once he did he passed out cold. If the bags under his eyes were anything to go by, he desperately needed it. Everyone settled down and the rocky planets got the full story of what had happened with Earth. The planet in question had ended up leaning into Mars' side. Eventually the conversation got derailed, turning into a Q&A with Makemake, Mercury, Mars and Venus, while the rest of the dwarf planets slipped off into their own conversations.
Eventually, the blue-green planet began to stir and the conversations started to die out. “Ugh, wha … where am I? What's happening?” All eyes were on Earth as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Guys?” Earth shifted uncomfortably before Makemake cleared his throat, drawing the attention onto him instead.
“Well you see -”
Before the dwarf had a chance to explain, Venus interrupted. “Earth, what the HELL were you thinking!? Why would you go so far from your orbit?! And the Kuiper belt of all places! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!” While Venus was asking the questions Mars wanted answers to, he did wish the larger planet would go about it with a bit more tact. A quick glance at Earth only raised more questions, he just looked confused, “I'm sorry, do I know you?”
That one question had thrown Venus off completely, his mouth hanging open as he tried to find a response. Mercury seemed to be faring slightly better while Mars had gone blank. Taking advantage of the quiet, Makemake was able to answer Earth's earlier questions. “You had a panic attack when we got to the inner solar system so we got help from the other rocky planets to help calm you down.”
There was a flicker of recognition in Earth's eyes as Makemake continued. “As for where you are, I believe we are in your orbit.”
“I think I remember you, your name begins with an M right?” There was a hint of uncertainty in the blue-green planet’s voice.
“That is correct! I'm Makemake, a dwarf planet from the Kuiper belt.” Earth relaxed a little at the conformation and Mars and Venus shared a look filled with pain.
Mars felt a twinge of jealousy in his core seeing his best friend of several billion years looking him in the eyes with absolutely no recognition. A fact that is made worse by Earth remembering a dwarf planet he’s known for probably only a few days. What happened to even cause this?
“Hey Earth,” Mercury said, “do you recognise any of us at all?”
“Um- no, w-who are you?” Earth sounded so confused it was hurting Mars' core.
“We’re the other rocky planets of the solar system, Earth.” Mercury was clearly trying to keep his voice even, but was failing to keep out the sorrow.
“I'm sorry, I don't know who you are.”
“Maybe an introduction might help you remember? I'm Mars, I'm the-”
“Fourth planet from the sun, second smallest planet with a radius of 3,390 km and named after the Roman god of war.” Earth interrupted Mars before he could finish the sentence.
“Wait, you can remember that?!” The red planet's hopes were rising, maybe Earth did remember them and he just needed a little push in the right direction.
Earth’s eyes had gone unfocused, looking at something that wasn't there, then he started talking to someone who wasn't there. “How do you know who he is because I don't recognise him.” Earth's voice was accusatory
Any hopes Mars previously had of the Earth recognising them were shattered. And looking around, Mercury and Venus weren't faring much better. Earth, however, just continued to converse with the air.
Eventually, Earth shifted to talk to Makemake and the other dwarves. Meanwhile, the other rocky planets were huddled together and trying to figure out what they should do.
“Look, I'm just saying, if anyone knows what’s happened to Earth it would be Jupiter.” Mercury argued. Mars was clearly uncomfortable with the conversation, looking like he would rather be nearly anywhere else.
“I get what you're saying Mercury, but is there any other option? I just don't think we should be relying on Jupiter for this.” The desperation was seeping into Mercury’s voice as he spoke.
“Mars, I get where you're coming from but who else would have any clue about what's going on?”
Before Mercury and Mars started arguing properly, Venus decided to intervene. “It probably won't help, but maybe Earth's moon will know something? I mean, the pipsqueak is constantly around him. “
“That's a good point, where is Luna anyway? I haven't seen him.” The comment from Mercury wasn't easing Mars' fears, however now was not a good time to deal with that.
Before the conversation could continue, one of the dwarf planets interrupted them. “We've got to get going now, we'll start melting if we stay this close to the sun.” The disappointment was written clearly across Earth's place.
“Aww, that's unfortunate. I hope we'll meet again though.”
While Earth was saying bye to the dwarf planets, Mars moved closer to Mercury. “Me and Venus can take care of Earth for now, you should go and find Luna.”Mercury sighed before responding,
”Okay, I'll be back soon. Hopefully then we'll get some answers.” The smaller planet turned around and left to go and find the moon.