Chapter Text
News reporter: Unexplainable astronomical events aren’t over yet. The Moon is gone again and... now we have Mars instead. Its strong gravity makes tides much bigger and hundreds of cities are flooded. Nobody is able to explain how Mars is in our orbit and why the Moon is gone.
The lady in TV said. Simon and Angela are watching it. Angela is holding a small kid in her hands.
Simon: What’s happening in the space again?!
Angela: I don’t know... I just hope the Earth will fix it.
She and Simon stood up coming to the window seeing Mars on the sky.
Simon: Whatever is happening there, I think Earth is aware of what’s happening here and soon he’ll get the Moon back.
Meantime Earth and Mars are talking and they start playing space poker. Jupiter is looking at them and on the Asteroid Belt in front of him. He looks like he was depressed. Saturn approaches him.
Saturn: Hey, my gigantic gassy friend. Did you see Titan somewhere? And the rest of my moons?
Jupiter: All moons are having a gathering.
Saturn: A gathering?
Jupiter: You also didn’t know about the Moon Club thing?
Saturn: I didn’t, I only heard something about a moon revolution...
Jupiter: What moon revolution?
He looks confused.
Saturn: I don’t know much... I only know that it didn’t success... and if I understood Titan correctly, the moons wanted them to be treated just as planets.
Jupiter: Hmm... is it because we don’t remember all their names?
Saturn: Titan said that all planets are guilty... like everyone did something wrong...
*****
Recently Uranus’ relations with his moons aren’t good... he’s aware that now, after their return, he’s kinda awkward and doesn’t really know how to talk to them... so he decided to paint them, maybe this would show somehow that he actually cares about them.
Uranus: Finished. Do you like-
He cut his question after realizing that he’s alone. Again.
Moons?
He’s looking around trying to find them – maybe they are somewhere nearby.
Titania?!
Oberon?!
Any moon?!
He doesn’t see anyone. He’s thinking – he has already apologized, where did they go? Did he say something wrong again and they ran away? But what? If so, maybe they are hiding in the Kuiper Belt again. He looked at the Sun – he seems to be sleeping. It’s a good moment to leave his orbit and look for his moons. Uranus did so.
He came to the Kuiper Belt. It’s his first time when he’s there all alone and it looks kinda scary.
My moons?! Are you somewhere here?
Then he noticed something moving. It’s far away and too dark but it seems to be as big as a planet like him.
Neptune?!
It moved again but it’s further than earlier. The only planet Uranus could think of is Neptune – that’s his area and he always is gone somewhere appearing who knows when and how.
If that’s you Neptune, come here!!
Silence. Nothing’s moving and no planet seen.
(It was Planet X, he hid to not be found)
Still silence. Uranus noticed an asteroid near him which had painted face.
Maybe I foresaw it... probably I’m alone here.
******
Meantime Jupiter and Saturn are still talking.
Saturn: By the way, are you ok, my gigantic friend? You don’t look well.
Jupiter: I’m ok... I’m just... worried.
Saturn: Worried by what?
Jupiter: All the moons are gathered in the Asteroid Belt... it’s not a safe place... also, Earth shouldn’t be without his moon... Mars seems to replace him but his gravity is much stronger and it may affect his Earthlings badly...
Then he turned around looking at the Kuiper Belt.
...and him...
The last part was said quietly but Saturn heard it and he noticed where Jupiter is looking.
Saturn: You shouldn’t be paranoid over it, others may suspect something.
He whispered looking around if nobody’s around.
Jupiter: But recently I’ve been feeling like the revenge is coming soon...
Saturn: Why do you think so?
Jupiter: I... just have such feeling. I don’t know why.
Then Uranus came to them.
Uranus: Hey mates.
Saturn: Hey my cyanish-blue friend, what’s bringing you here?
Uranus: I noticed that Sun is sleeping and I just thought about coming here to not be alone. I don’t know where my moons and Neptune are.
Jupiter: All the moons are having a gathering. I see, you didn’t know about the Moon Club either?
Uranus: I hear about it for the first time.
Jupiter: It looks like the moons don’t tell us many things... I know about it just because I heard Ganymede and Europa talking about being excluded.
Saturn: Didn’t you say that all the moons are there?
Jupiter: They decided to try joining there, I don’t know if others accepted them. There must be a reason why originally they excluded them...
**********
Meantime Earth and Mars are playing space poker.
Earth: I won!! It was a fun turn!
He said putting down the last cards he had. Venus and Mercury came.
Venus: WHY ARE YOU PLAYING WITHOUT US?!
Earth: Sorry, I didn’t know you’d like too.
Venus: You idiot, why I wouldn’t want to play?! The Sun is sleeping and everyone is out of their orbit.
Mars: Calm down, the next turn we’ll play together.
They started playing together.
5 MINUTES LATER...
Venus: HOW THE HELL YOU HAD THESE CARDS?! HOW DID YOU WIN?!
Mercury: I was just lucky.
He smiled.
Venus: NEXT TURN!! I HAVE TO REVENGE ON THAT PIPSQUEAK.
He yelled so loudly that even Sun heard it... he woke up looking around where his planets are. All rocky planets are playing cards in the Goldilocks Zone; Saturn and Uranus are in Jupiter’s orbit... only Neptune is nowhere to be seen. But it’s enough mess.
Sun: EVERYONE BACK TO YOUR ORBITS!!!!!!!
The rocky planets get scared.
Venus: Ok, I will revenge another time!!
He and Mercury went towards the Sun to his orbits; Mars also wanted to go back, Earth panicked.
Earth: Mars! I can’t be alone! Luna hasn’t come back!
Mars: But Sun will be mad and he’ll aim solar fla-
He didn’t finish his sentence and Sun aimed his solar flames in his direction. Earth ‘stood’ in front of him protecting from the solar wind. He’s fine because of his magnetic field.
Meantime the moons are on their way to the Sun. Luna noticed Earth being under solar flames.
Luna: EARTH!! Change of plans, I have to go back to the Earth. We’ll do it later.
Ganymede: Seriously? He’ll be fine.
Luna: His Earthlings need me.
He was about to leave but Europa stood on his way.
Europa: They will be fine if you will be gone for a bit more time.
Luna: Mars has to return to his orbit and someone has to help him to keep his axis.
He floated towards the Earth. Europa is mad.
Titan: Let him go, we have time and we can talk to the Sun later.
Europa: Longer it takes, longer we will be treated like we were kids.
Titan: We’ll handle it. Also, I don’t think it’s a good moment to talk with the Sun now. He just got mad at planets and if we start telling him about our problems, maybe he’d be super mad.
Ganymede: Maybe this way the planets would learn quicker.
Titan: Ganymede...
Meantime Mars is still with Earth.
Earth: Let Mars being in my orbit, my Moon is gone and I can’t be alone!
Sun is angry.
Sun: SO WHERE’S YOUR MOON?! YOU SHOULD WATCH HIM!!
Then Luna came back.
Luna: I’m back, sorry.
Mars floated towards his orbit. Sun looked around to make sure if everyone’s back to their orbit. He’s mad – it keeps happening all the time.
Earth wakes up seeing the blue sky. He’s on his surface as a human. Again. He sat seeing Mercury, Venus and Mars laying next to him. He shakes Mars.
Earth: Wake up!
Mars woke up.
Mars: It happened again?
Mercury and Venus wake up too.
Earth: Yep. I guess Sun was so mad and decided to do it again...
Venus: But why did he do it just to us? I could see that Saturn and Uranus weren’t in their orbits either!
Earth: Maybe we pissed him off more... because I protected Mars, Luna was gone and in general... we play space poker so often.
Mercury: Look!! We don’t have to look for our rucksacks!
He showed the rucksacks laying near him.
Earth: Maybe this time will be different. Let’s search them, maybe we’ll find a note what we are supposed to do this time... or the same thing.
They started searching them. Mercury found the same device as they were using previously.
Mercury: That’s it again. Whatever it’s called.
Mars: Maybe this time we should name it somehow.
Mercury: How?
Earth: I don’t know... ‘planetary eye’?
Venus: Why so?
Earth: I don’t know, it kinda reminds me of an eye...
Mercury turned it on in the same way as earlier. He redirected the light on a wall of an abounded building. It shows a very similar type of task – they have to count the coordinates and then get there.
Mercury: It looks like we have to do the same thing.
He took a notebook and started making notes and counting. Meantime Mars prepared his laptop. After Mercury is done, he gives the notes to Mars.
Mercury: Check if I didn’t make any mistakes, I’m not as good at math as you.
Mars: Ok.
He checked the calculations and searched the location.
The next location isn’t far away. Also, if I remember correctly, it’s on the way to the fuel station where Simon works...
Earth: Good, I hope that he works today. We can ask him for help again, the next locations may not be nearby enough to get there during one day.
Mars: So, we have a plan – we go to the next location and then to him.
Earth: It will be so easy. We didn’t even have to search for our rucksacks and Mercury’s part... and now we are more experienced and know someone who can help us. It should be easy and quick.
He smiles.
Mars: I wouldn’t be so sure, it seems to be too easy so far...
Venus: Earth is right. We know what to do and now it’s made even easier.
Mars: And it is suspicious. I have a feeling that later we will get some kind of unkind surprise which will make it much harder.