Bit of warning, there are slurs, given this is South Park after all.
Chapter Seven - Despair.
It took about less than five minutes of walking before we finally reached the correct address of the boys' base. For the most part, we were generally silent. People were still feeling quite down thanks to the argument we had earlier, but I'm hoping the effects of that would be mitigated over time. As for the house, it was on the same street as Dustin's tavern, only on the opposite end of the road. Once we finally got to the house, I took in every detail. It was a blue house, and I could see a mock castle tower sticking out from behind the back yard. The houses in middle park were similar to the ones back in South Park, so no confusion on my part. Interestingly enough, no one was at the front, but we could hear noise of chatter coming from the back yard.
Kyle eyed the structure up and down, he too taking in every detail. "This is the place."
"Let's get in there, shall we?" Bebe began to step forward.
But Kyle reached out to grab Bebe's left arm. "Hold on for a second, Bebe. These are boys we're dealing with. They might not be pleased to listen to anything you have to say. It's best if the boys do the talking for now." Bebe looked back at Kyle. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, she closed her mouth again and nodded.
"Why?" Kathy asked. "We can't ask questions?"
"They hate girls, so it's best the girls here remain silent." Kyle sighed. "I know it sucks, but it's probably for the best of us. Besides, you girls will do all the talking anyways once we deal with the girls."
We all walked up to the front door with Kyle in the lead. He rang the doorbell. After about a few seconds, the door opened, and out came a boy with black hair, but with a streak of white, a purple jacket, and blue pants. Unlike most of the other kids, he wore metal plate pads over his torso and knees. On his back was a blue cape, bow, and a quiver of arrows. His left hip held a sword while his right hip held a dagger. He also wore a golden crown. "Well well well, if it isn't the tourists from South Park. A raven foretold your approach, being sent from Dustin and all."
"Yeah," Kyle replied. "I'm Kyle, a shaman, and we're the Octopath Travelers." Kyle reached out with his right hand to offer a handshake.
"You speak to Ranger-King Leven, so put your hand down boy, we are not equals." Leven folded his arms and scowled, refusing Kyle a handshake. As a result, Kyle frowned and put his hand down. With this guy acting like a pompous asshole, ending the gender war may be harder than I thought. He continued to scan us with great criticism. "And boys and girls in your group, as I suspected. Not only are you criminals, you also intermix with the enemy. Tell me why I should not cut you down where you all stand."
"Please, your majesty. W-we mean no disrespect, o-of course." Kyle bowed down quickly. "We just want to end the fighting and bring peace to Middle-Earth, as do your boys I suspect?"
I could hear Leven growl deeply; he was still not pleased with Kyle's words. "Bold choice of words from you ruffians disrupting life around here. I suggest being straightforward and honest. I have archers on the roof ready to shoot you down upon my command if I suspect lies." I looked up to the roof, and it turns out Leven wasn't lying at all. About five boys were standing up on the roof, bowstrings pulled back aiming arrows down at us.
"Alright, alright, fine!" Kyle grumbled too and shook his head. "Look, we are indeed sent here by Dustin so that we can fix our reputation in this town. We don't have the money to pay him off, so he gave us a deal; end the gender war. And please, the girls behind me may be girls, but they mean no harm, they are with us."
Leven grumbled again. "I see..." He took a moment to scan all of us again, eyeing us down with great scrutiny. Afterwards, he sighed. "So you want to know the truth about the gender war, huh?" We all nodded. "Fine. Given you eight are outlanders, I doubt you're here for sabotage. I will permit it, so long as every girl is escorted by at least one boy each. Come inside."
Well thank God this boy ended up being more reasonable than the first impressions I got from him. We all followed him all the way to the backyard. The layout was similar to the Grand Alliance base; with shops on the right side, training areas to the left, and more tents further back. The difference is the lack of a big tree like the one in Kyle's yard, so instead they made a makeshift gray castle. There were many boys of various ages, though no older than my own. The moment we walked in was the moment they stopped what they're doing to stare at us.
"It's the ones from South Park."
"They bring girls? Girls?"
"What business could the Ranger-King have with these outsiders?"
Fierce whispers similar to those erupted throughout the area. Immediately, Leven went red with rage, directing his anger outward at everyone. "SILENCE!" At that moment, everybody shut up as his word echoed into the sky. "My business with these outlanders is my own! Return to your duties! Not another peep out of any of you!" And quickly did the rest of the children obey his command. I gotta admit, as kind of douchey as this Leven boy seemed, he does get things done quickly, almost reminding me of Cartman in a way. He aired out confidence, and that must be why everybody respects him.
We continued to follow him inside the makeshift castle where he sat down on his throne, flanked by two royal guards with spears and golden chainmail armor. "So...disturbing the peace, attempted kidnapping, attempted theft, assault, and sexual harassment charges. Yes, I remember agreeing with Winter on these. I cannot blame you for wanting these cleared from your record."
"Winter?" I asked.
"Yes, Winter. She is the leader of the girls here." Leven grumbled some more. "That stupid, stupid skank."
"What...what has she done to you?" Tyler asked.
"So you do indeed want to know?" Leven scoffed. "Well I suppose I can tell you immediately. But tell me first: Dustin told you we've been fighting since Sunday or so?" We all nodded. "Yes, well the truth is that she cheated on me. Her and the rest of her friends. This all happened about last week too."
"What?" Kyle asked.
"Yes, it's true...she cheated on me with that...with that Brent kid! He already had a girlfriend named Tori, but I suppose he wanted more. He's the reason we are looked down upon as pigs." Leven sighed.
"Have you...have you ever tried trying to do a one-on-one talk with Winter?" Chris asked.
"No, I have these people to manage! I can't just sit around all day hoping for a measly chance she may reciprocate feelings back to me! And at this point it's too late." Leven said. "If we tried, she'll probably decline."
"Not if we set up something for you," Kyle replied. "I'm sure deep down, you still miss her, dontcha?"
Leven closed his eyes. "Yes...yes I do."
Kyle glanced back at the rest of us before looking towards Leven. "What if we...what if we set up a date for you both? You choose, then we will send word to the girls?"
"You're suggesting we act as middlemen." Tyler narrowed his eyes at Kyle. "I hate that shit."
Kyle shrugged back at Tyler. "It could be our best chance to get those two together."
"This all sounds a bit too convenient of it all, seeing as how-" Tyler started.
"I'll do it."
I opened my eyes wide and turned my attention back to Leven. I didn't expect him to make this decision so hastily, but I suppose he misses Winter that much. "Send her the word, I'll do it. I will be waiting until 7:00 PM in front of the Middle Park Shopping Mall. It's the only one in town, so you'll know what and where it is if you check your phone. It's about 5:00 PM so she's got two hours from now. If she doesn't show, she doesn't show..." He glanced at the royal guards. "Though I will not be taking this endeavor alone. You." He pointed at the left royal guard. "Send word to the wizard Gregory the White. Tell him to assemble a strike team. A stealthy approach preferred." Wait, a strike team? Goddamnit, they're gonna plan to ambush the girls. Leven turned back to us. "It's girls, they are like black widow spiders. You can never be too careful, I'm certain they might have something planned. Anyways, I await you guys to send word to the girls, and I'd appreciate you guys don't tell them about my army there. Good luck, boys." He then glared at Wendy, Bebe, Kathy, and Ellen, but did not say anything before leaving the makeshift castle.
"An ambush, huh?" Tyler scoffed. "Always leave it to these idiots to do some underhanded tactics."
"That's life for you," Chris added, in which Tyler nodded in agreement. "People will do what it takes to win."
I shook my head. "This is all wrong, it's supposed to be a make-up, not an ambush. I have a feeling we just created a trap for the girls without even knowing it."
There was one royal guard who still remained. He walked up to us and got our attention. "The Ranger-King's heart is still in the dumps, despite how arrogant he may seem. You want the truth of Brent, do you?" We all nodded. "Follow me, I'll show you to the basement."
Kyle nodded. "Thank you." He turned to the rest of us. "Well, you heard him. To the basement, Octopath Travelers."
When we went back inside the house, we made our way to the living room. There was a single boy, one who was likely in the second grade, who was guarding the doorway to the basement. He glanced up at the royal guard and immediately stood out of his way. "You'll find the answer you seek inside." He opened the door for us, and we stepped on in.
The basement was mostly dark, but when we turned on the lights, our entire party gasped, mortified at what we saw. Even Ellen's wolf whimpered at the sight. There were about two large cages, with four jocks wearing football gear stuck inside each cage. Needless to say, I'm absolutely appalled at what is this. I understand war is war and that's business, but to hold hostage kids who obviously don't look like they are partaking in the roleplay is deplorable.
"What...what the hell is going on?" Kyle asked. "What the hell is all this?!"
"Footballers." Tyler shook his head. "And here I thought we couldn't get more stereotypical here."
"What is this, revenge of the nerds or some shit?" Chris spat.
"Oh my goodness this is...this is awful!" Ellen gasped.
"I can't believe they would do something like this," Kathy stated.
"I can," Bebe countered. "Like Chris said, revenge of the nerds."
I sighed. "Alright, does anyone here know who Brent is?"
"That's me." We all turned to the one with the number one on his uniform. Fitting that the one Leven is beefing with is the one with the number one. We couldn't exactly make out anyone's exactly features since they were all wearing their football helmets for some mysterious reason. But at least his jersey number lets me pick him apart from the crowd. "Oh great, more faggots dressed like roleplayers. What, more gaylords want revenge against us jocks?"
"Not really," I said. "We're not here for revenge. We barely even know you."
Kathy shook her head. "Why does this remind me of those shitty school drama sitcoms on TV?"
"Look, you pissed off Leven for some reason, and we want to know why," Kyle said.
"Pft...what's it to you?" Brent spat. "Who even are you fags anyways? Are you even from Middle Park?"
"Hey!" Tyler closed his fists. "How about you answer his goddamn question?! Or we're gonna do things, and you're not gonna like 'em!"
"Yeah, stop acting like a cunt," Chris added.
Brent eyed us closely. Then his eyes must have fell on Ellen's wolf and Wendy's felhunter. "Wait...is that...is that a demon with you? What the fuck?"
"Yeah, that belongs to her." Bebe pointed straight at Wendy. "So if you don't do what we say, she's gonna fuck you up with dark magic. You don't want that, now do you?"
Brent grumbled underneath his breath. "Fine. What exactly do you want to know? I mean, I pissed off Leven so many times before-"
"Tell us what your involvement is with this girl named Winter," I said.
"Oh, that bitch?" Brent began to cackle manically. "Ain't my fault she wanted a piece of me over Leven. I'm hotter than he is, and you know it." Honestly, I can't really tell underneath all the football gear. Maybe the roleplayers made these jocks wear football gear for that exact reason; so nobody can know how "hot" they are. Not like I know myself anyways; I never met these people before. "Besides, if those girls want to come all over me, do you think I'd deny them?"
But then Kyle must have connected the dots. "You knowingly stole Winter away from Leven using...whatever charms you had. For what? To boost your own ego? Brag about how many girls you can hug and kiss?" Kyle shook his head as he gritted his teeth. "Why are you like this?!"
"Are your friends here for that exact reason?" Brent nodded at Ellen's question.
"This is getting dumber every second. So this is why the gender war started?" Tyler lightly chuckled. "Over some shit-ass boyfriend-girlfriend drama?"
"Not exactly, but it was a good portion of it." Brent growled again. "Sure, you know skankhunt42 did create animosity quite a bit. But mostly, they were influenced by outsiders, the outsiders were the one who gave Leven the idea to kidnap and detain us. Leven confessed it to me."
I narrowed my eyes. Brent cannot possibly mean... "What outsiders? When did this happen?"
"Sunday," was all Brent said.
Our entire party gasped. We all looked at each other, each of us eyes wide open with shock and awe. We all knew what we were thinking. "Cartman?!"
I turned back to Brent. "Give us a description if you will."
Brent nodded. "Well, it was some faggot with pink hair and some really fat fuck. Both your age."
"Oh it's them alright," Kathy said.
"There's another thing. I've heard rumors they were with a third person, though that third person...may not have been an actual person. I wish I could tell you more but that's all I know."
If only I could figure out what this third person is. But Ms. Cartman only said it was Cartman and Douchebag. But if the third person isn't an actual human being..what could it be? I turned back to the rest of the party. "I think this is all we're getting from this kid."
Kyle nodded. "I suppose it's enough, though I'm curious to hear the girls' side of the story." We all turned back to Brent. "Thanks, I guess."
"Whatever," was all Brent said. We all then left the house without another word.
We didn't bother saying goodbye to anyone at the boys' base. Instead, we all began to walk. To get to the girls' base, we had to backtrack all the way to where we started. We went past the park where we previously encountered the girl we tried to inquire and the boy Tyler tried to fight. Going down the sidewalk to another road, we ended up at the fire hydrant I previously drove into. But now, the fire hydrant is completely fixed, and the van was completely gone.
Kyle pointed to the left down the street. "Down that street, where Stan would have driven us, is where the girls lie."
"Not much further now," Bebe said. "Just three minutes or so."
I scanned my teammates as we walked. Kyle and Bebe are both taking the lead, as expected. Tyler and Ellen, despite being verbally abused earlier, seem to be doing well in decent spirits. Chris and Ellen on the other hand were both silent and sad. This was much unlike how Kathy usually is, and all the while, Chris's expression seemed even more grim than how he usually is.
I considered just leaving them be, but they're probably still sour at how I called them out earlier today, so I decided I'd rather ease any tension between myself and the couple. "You look like you wanna say something, Chris."
Chris finally looked up at me. I could see a slight scowl, but that didn't deter me. "I think you found your answer."
We were both silent before I spoke up again. "I suppose I have. You seemed even more grim ever since we left the boys' base. And that's saying something."
Chris sighed. "I can see it in those boys. They act so damn tough, as if they're older than they should be acting...but when I look into their eyes, I see nothing but sadness."
"I agree," Kathy nodded. "They act sexist and all, but I think they're mad that they want to be loved but can't get it anymore."
I know they're both onto something. "Go on."
Chris nodded. "You know I was in that state a while ago, the same as they are. Nasty relationship and breakup with Viola. I'd rather not get into the details, but you know..."
"I've heard a bit about that." It is true. I couldn't exactly tell whose fault it was as I didn't know the full detail, all I knew is that it culminated in verbal abuse - a classic example of a bad relationship. "It's why you didn't want to trust girls, huh?"
"It's why my reputation at school had been shot for a while," Chris rebutted. "I've been called pretty nasty names. 'Sexist' was one of the nicer ones. I've been alone for a while, in fact, Tyler was one of the few who was supportive of me." I glanced back at Tyler, and he simply nodded without a word. Though that part is surprising to me - Tyler of all people, a bully, being supportive of someone who went through a nasty breakup, but then again, he and Chris had always been rather close.
I then turned to Kathy. "What about you? You too went through a nasty breakup, haven't you?"
Kathy nodded. "It was with Nolan. It was...bad, to say the least. I told myself I'd hate boys. Yet the girls did support my bad attitude. Especially Nelly." I did hear about that too, where Kathy went full Nelly for a bit.
"I guess that's the difference in how we trust and mistrust genders..." I said. "...and why Cartman seemed to so easily manipulate these boys, make them feel like the girls never care about them and only exist to hurt them."
Kathy shook her head. "Me and Chris did up finding each other eventually when both of us calmed down about a month ago or two for real. But in any case, yeah, they want to be saved."
"Do you think the girls here feel the same way?" I asked.
Chris shrugged. "Maybe. I doubt they were manipulated by Cartman though. The boys didn't let the girls in if they weren't with boys, so with the girls, it's probably the same case, but gender-reversed."
"That said," Kathy added. "It seems that based on that the boys may be the aggressor of this conflict. Maybe. Perhaps we'll see for sure once we get the girls' side of the story."
Chris turned to Kathy. "I just hope you be careful when you talk to those girls. There's no telling what they might do. Leven is approaching this future meetup in a scummy way - bringing an entire army - so maybe Winter might do the same."
"Let's give them a chance," Kathy replied. "Maybe the girls will act more honorably than the boys." Kathy stopped walking and grabbed Chris's hands. The rest of us stopped to watch. "Does it not feel good to let your feelings out, Chris?" Chris silently nodded, but he closed his eyes. I looked closely and I could see tears falling from his face. Kathy immediately went up to hug Chris. "Shh, it's alright. I know where you're coming from, I've been there before too, ya know?"
"I know you don't trust us fully, but I know you have a heart deep down." Bebe put her left arm around Chris. "And Kathy, we may have had our differences, but I do appreciate you too."
"Yeah, and we'll always be together no matter what." Kyle joined in as well.
"It's alright, you two." Ellen then join in with the hug as her wolf was snugging against Kyle's legs. "You both have been through a lot."
Then I joined in. "I know I said some mean things to you all earlier today, and I'm really sorry, but I just wanted you guys to be safe." Most of the others (except Wendy) glanced over and smiled at me.
Tyler came over, but he didn't exactly join in the hugging. Instead, he patted Chris and Kathy on their heads. "Feeling better?" Chris and Kathy nodded.
I glanced over at Wendy, who was staring at her shoes, hands in her pockets, and that was when it struck me. Ever since our fight earlier today, she had been completely silent, so much unlike her usual self. The expression she wore was uncharacteristically grim, eyes in a stasis as if completely detached from the world. I felt bad. We all kind of verbally swarmed her today, and no one seemed to be inclusive towards her, likely preoccupied with Chris and Kathy. Yeah I'm not completely on board with what she did, but I do understand that she just wanted to help us find Cartman and Douchebag, and she wanted to use her good looks to help us meet our goals.
But the others didn't even pay any attention to her, instead splitting apart from where they stood. "Alright." Kyle smiled at us. "Good work so far people. Let's get over to the girls now." He turned to Bebe. "I guess you'll take the lead from here?"
Bebe nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, I won't fuck this one up, Kyle. Come on, everyone."
"Wait, Bebe" Ellen said. "Should we tell the girls that the boys are planning an ambush?"
"Hm..." Bebe paused for a moment. "Let's not tell them immediately. We'll see if the girls want to act honorably."
As we walked again, I looked back over at Wendy. She was trailing in the far back with her felhunter and nothing but a scowl on her face. I do want to talk to her and help her, but this wasn't the time, not when the girls' base would be coming so soon. I can't risk saying the wrong thing and jeopardizing our relationship further, it will have to wait until we can finally have a word with the girls here.
The OCs that Stan, Chris, and Kathy mentioned won't be referred to again in this fic. Anyways, that is all the boys stuff, tell me what you think? Because next chapter will be an in-depth view on the girls.
