Not much to say. Here is chapter eight.
Chapter Eight - Imbalance Demands It.
It only took another minute until we finally reached the girls' base. Similar to the boys, there was a castle tower sticking out from the back yard of a house. The house exterior was painted a dull orange color. Similar to the boys' base, nobody was out in the front, at least not in plain sight. This time I glanced up to the roof. I could see two girls slightly peaking from the very edge of the roof.
"They know we're coming," I whispered to the rest of the party.
"Don't worry, I can handle this," Bebe whispered back. "Boys, just stay quiet. Us girls can take the helm from here."
We all walked up to the front door with Bebe in the lead. She rang the doorbell. After about a few seconds, the door opened, and out came a girl with blondish-whitish hair, plated armor, a metal shield, and a metal sword. She wore a pink cape and a golden tiara similar to Kathy's. "So you're the tourists from South Park I've been hearing so much about lately huh?" She glared down upon us.
"You must be Winter. I'm Bebe, a druid, and I'm assuming you know what we did, huh?" Bebe spoke softly.
The girl nodded. "You eight have bad karma written all over you...especially considering you girls are consorting with the enemy. But yes, I am Warrior Princess Winter. The twitter ravens have told me of your endeavors, how Dustin sent you eight to redeem yourselves."
"Well...yes," Bebe nodded.
Winter scoffed. "Don't make me laugh. Do you honestly believe the gender war can be resolved with a few sweet words?"
"Peace and freedom is worth a try, and they are things worth fighting for," Ellen argued.
"Hmph...you eight really are naive." Winter walked out the door and clapped both her hands. "Stay your weapons, archers. These eight may be fools, but fools that mean no harm." I glanced up to see the two girls that were sitting on the rooftop disappear behind the edge. "As for the boys, each must be accompanied by at least one girl at all times."
Kathy nodded. "It's a deal."
Winter nodded as well. "Come upstairs. We shall have a chat in the royal quarters."
We walked inside and we could see girls all dressed up similarly to how the boys were. Based on what Chris and Kathy said earlier, this time I really started to pay attention to the girls here. I could see it in them as they stared back at us with anger, but their eyes betrayed their appearance. Sadness is the appropriate word for them. When we got upstairs, we took the first door to the right and we finally entered the bedroom. It was a rather ordinary bedroom, with one bed, pink walls, a desk with a computer, and posters of flowers on the wall.
Winter walked over to the window, staring out, as the rest of us just stood there in silence. "You had a meeting with Leven just now, did you not?"
"Yeah...wait..." Bebe looked around, glanced at us, then turned back to Winter. "...how did you know?"
"I have my spies, you know," Winter replied. "Word travels fast around Middle-Earth."
"Indeed it does," Kathy agreed.
"So tell me this: when you had your little meeting with Leven, what did he say? What did he tell you?" Winter turned back to stare at each of us.
"He said he wanted to meet you at in front of the Middle Park Shopping Mall," Bebe replied. "He said he'll be there and wait until 7 PM."
"Just a meeting? And did he tell you his story? His lame excuses as to why the gender war happened? What lies did he feed you?" Winter came closer, her voice louder and more aggressive.
"W-well..." Bebe started. "...he said you cheated on him with a football player named Brent."
And just like that, the fire within Winter died down. Although I have a feeling this story is more than what meets the eye, especially considering how scummy Leven was earlier today. "I...I see..." she said softly.
"So it's true?" Ellen asked.
"Well...technically, yes." Winter's answer caused my entire party to just stare at each other blankly. "But..." She caught our attention again. "With a douchebag like him, can you honestly tell yourselves you wouldn't cheat on him?"
"What?" Kathy shook her head. "I don't understand, explain your thought process."
Winter turned back out the window again. "He never told you his full story, did he? Only told you what he wanted you to hear. But me...and the cheerleaders...those damn cheerleaders..."
"What about the cheerleaders?" Bebe asked. "I mean, me and Wendy here are both cheerleaders back in South Park Elementary, so I don't understand the conflict here."
"Well, sorry not sorry you're gonna hear this, but all cheerleaders are all whores. Well not literally, but you know what I mean!" Winter then faced Bebe and Wendy specifically. "You both have it in you, don't you? How your moves and cheers capture the attention of all boys and make them ogle at you, wanting a piece of you both, huh?"
Wendy stayed silent, though went pale, likely from embarrassment. But Bebe narrowed her eyes at Winter. "You're jealous of them, aren't you? And that's how you probably got rid of them like how Leven got rid of all the jocks."
"Well I didn't actually kidnap them, unlike Leven." Winter shook her head. "I'm not going that far. But consider them shunned. Especially Tori, that stupid bitch."
So Chris wasn't kidding. This really is revenge of the nerds going on. And here I thought it was just a regular gender war like what happened back in South Park when Kyle's dad turned into skankhunt42. Though I suppose when I fully think about the context of everything, it does make sense after all. Jealousy can breed contempt, which in turn can be spread to others, and this is how the gender war could have started.
"Leven wouldn't stop staring at the cheerleaders, and this wasn't just as of recent either." Winter frowned and looked down at her shoes. "He and his friends would never pay attention to me or my friends. Always wanting for more, as if the grass is greener on the other side or so."
"Have you ever tried communicating with him how you felt?" Bebe replied.
"Y-y-yeah!" But I could visibly see Winter cringe, her tone rather hush. I might not have the greatest intuition, but even I can tell that Winter is bad a lying.
Bebe didn't believe her words either as she folded her arms. "Right...so what else do you know about the boys?"
"That they are gross and like to fart on us girls just because they think it's funny," Winter replied.
"Yet you willingly went out with Leven?" Kathy asked.
Winter sighed. "I was an idiot back then, only thought Leven was cool. But I should have learned my lesson. That is why us girls need to be strong and independent. Need no man, for they will only enslave us and crush our hearts in the end." The girls in our party glanced at each other, but none of them made any word, likely to not piss Winter off. "It doesn't matter anymore. Anyways, in case you're wondering, no, we did not attack the boys first. The boys attacked us first. That's all I can tell you. Anyways, you said the Middle Park Shopping Mall, correct?" We all nodded. "Very well. I suppose I'll take Leven's request. But I will most certainly have a strike team assist me." You're kidding me. It seems both sides want to be as scummy as possible. "Anyways, I shall get going. As for you eight, you can wait for me outside at the front, this should only take about twenty or so minutes to get the team assembled. A royal guard will escort you outside."
As Winter left the bedroom, a royal guard came in. "I was eavesdropping on you guys...and I think there's something you guys need to see. Follow me."
We ended up going downstairs. The house itself was at this point devoid of any other girls, but when I looked through the glass sliding door in the kitchen, it seemed as if all the girls ended up moving outside. However, the royal guard directed us to the basement door. She opened the door and we went downstairs. Afterwards, she turned the lights on for us.
The truth shocked us, really. Just like in Leven's basement, there were about two large cages, with four cheerleaders in their uniforms stuck inside each cage. At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore. Though I suppose the difference is that Winter actually lied about unlawful detainment, while Leven never bothered to bring it up, so technically he's not lying?
"That motherfucking liar!" Kyle seethed.
"Birds of a feather, it seems," Kathy said.
"I didn't think it could get any worse..." Ellen stated. "...but here we are."
"Honestly, I expected this," Tyler shrugged.
"You eight chose a bad time to come to this town," The royal guard behind us said. "Well, now you know the truth. Word of advice: don't bother fixing people here, just leave while you still can. Ever since Leven and Winter took charge of the boys and girls respectively, everything's gone to shit. You heard nothing from me by the way." She then disappeared upstairs.
"I remember Winter mentioned a Tori." I walked up to the cheerleaders who were stuck inside the cages. "Alright, which one of you is it?"
"Me." We turned to one of the blonde cheerleaders. "I am Tori, head cheer captain of the Middle Park Cowboys."
"So how did you all end up here?" Bebe asked.
"They're fucking nerds who are jealous of our good looks." As I listened to Tori, I couldn't help but cringe. Sure, she isn't bad looking, but is every kid (except Dustin and Chloe) a fucking scumbag in this town?
"Oh oh, here we go kids!" Tyler rolled his eyes as he spoke in a mock tone. "More shitty ass sitcom drama! Nothing to see here!"
"I'm confused now, aren't we supposed to be the ones redeeming ourselves?" Chris asked.
Kyle groaned. "Ugh...honestly, at this point, we might as well be the ones redeeming everyone else."
"Enough of that." Bebe shook her head. "Winter mentioned the boys initiating the conflict first. Do you know anything about that?"
"Look," Tori continued. "You want my side of the story? It ain't our fault we're so pretty that those nerd girls' boyfriends want to stare at us all day. Yet they take it out on us, calling us whores and stuff. And then they act like they all want to be strong independent women who don't need no man, but I'm sure you already figured that part out. But I do know things have gotten much worse as of recently...Sunday, actually."
"Does it involve two people from South Park?" Kyle asked.
Tori shook her head. "Well, technically three, but one of them ain't an actual person...do you know what I am saying?"
"No. Explain." Brent did mention a third person. But Ms. Cartman only mentioned her son and Douchebag. So where did this third person come from? Did they just join the two in Middle Park? Something isn't right here.
"All I know is that you have some gaylord kid with pink hair," Tori explained. "And you have some mean kid who's also morbidly obese...but this third person however...it ain't an actual person, more like a...puppet, per se. It was a mastermind sort of thing. I can't say much more."
"A...a puppet?" Kyle narrowed his eyes at Tori and stared in awe. "You're telling me the whole gender war started because of a puppet?!"
"I can't say no more, I'm sorry!" Tori pleaded. "That's all I can give you!"
Bebe sighed as she turned to the rest of us. "I guess that's all we're getting out of her, aren't we?"
"Yeah," Kyle nodded. "Let's just wait outside."
It was now 5:20 PM and we were still waiting outside at the front of the girls' house for them to be prepared. During this time, we mostly just either used the restroom or stood around. As for myself, I felt restless. I wanted to figure out the true answers: how can we stop this gender war when both sides are too bloodthirsty to listen to reason, and who is the puppet that accompanied Douchebag and Cartman?
"Can't say I know the answer to the puppet question." Nobody was able to respond to Kathy's question because the rest of us don't even know the answer either.
Ellen sighed. "I'm appalled at what I saw from these kids today. Sure, we're not perfect by a long shot, but the kids here...it's just bullying, but worse."
Bullying. That immediately triggered me. Perhaps an insight about it could help us figure out how to end the gender war. But then I remembered the one time I made a bullying music video for school, and needless to say, it backfired horribly. Therefore, I don't think I should be the one leading the discussion about it. Though there is one person who might know. Therefore, I set my eyes upon a certain paladin. "Bullying, huh? Maybe you could indulge us on your history, Tyler. Who were your ex-friends anyhow?"
Tyler immediately shot me an angry glare. "And why should I tell you that?"
I shrugged. "I don't want to call you out like this, but out of the eight of us, you are the biggest bully here, at least in my opinion, so you must have some insight as to what's going on here and how you feel about the Middle Park kids."
Tyler folded his arms, scowling still. "Well, it's not just in the hands of the aggressor. Sure, they're a big part of it all, but the rest of the kids are just falling in line. I can see it in 'em. They're worried that if they stick out, the others will turn on them. It's just like at our school."
"It's the bystander effect," Ellen said. "I...did lose a close friend of mine because I was too afraid to stand up for her in third grade against Cartman. Serena." I do remember Cartman being a bully in third grade, but he was just that. A bully. Now he's definitely crossed the line.
"Why were you too afraid?" I asked.
"I didn't want to step out of line. I wanted to fit in. Because you know, in South Park, you'll go through life best of you just remain in the shadows where nobody notices you. Of course, that wouldn't last long as she rallied her friends to verbally harass me every chance they got. She wanted her revenge on me. She got her revenge. I was ostracized for a while, but I was too much of a whimp to stand up to them. Besides, you know that best, don't you Stan? It's like you said about me: I'm too passive."
"Ellen, I didn't mean to say-"
But Ellen immediately cut me off. "You don't need to give your excuses. It's fine, I hold no grudge against you, Stan. I'm just saying kids are often forced into tough decisions, and if you're ever in their shoes, you would know too."
I can't say I really ever struggled. Sure, I dealt with mean people (besides Cartman) before, and yes the sixth graders are jerks, but never once have I felt that the fourth graders would turn against and hate me. "I...don't know how that's like, really."
"Well, there was Sam, and we were friends once. We'd go around beating people up, spreading rumors about those we despised. And Cartman was one of our targets - he was just too easy to bully thanks to his weight. But then he started taking things too far...I mean everybody bullied Cartman back then, and I mean everybody." That is true, even Kyle, Kenny, and I joined in. "But what he proposed could have gotten Cartman killed."
"What was the proposal?"
"We were gonna kidnap Cartman and toss him over the bridge into Stark's Pond."
"Jesus Christ!" Needless to say, I'm genuinely shocked at hearing this. Pranks are pranks, sure, but this was sick and vile - straight up murdering someone? "Did you...did you not realize that you could had murdered Cartman then had you actually gone through with your plan?"
"I did, and I tried to talk him out of it, but he didn't listen, so I left him. His plan failed, obviously: he couldn't do it alone. Then we fought each other, and we were no longer friends from then on. It's a vicious cycle of revenge, as you can probably see with these Middle Park kids. Then they break sooner or later."
"It's how school shootings or suicides happen..." I began. "...it's part of how this gender war happened." I paused, thinking of what else to say. "I know this might sound like a stupid question, but how do you stop bullying?"
"Want my advice?" Tyler asked. I nodded. "Best to nip it early before it eventually festers and influences outsiders as well. Because if you wait too long, even if you confront the bully and win a fight, everyone else will think you're some sort of psychopath. The damage to your reputation would already be done."
"And if you see it happen, you can't just stand by and fall in line, because this shit..." Ellen gestured back to the girls' house. "...is one of the lovely results that can happen. Even an outsider can have great influence."
I opened my eyes, immediately thinking of Butters. I remember the time I did the bullying video where Butters was the star of the show. But what I thought was a good deed I was doing turned out to be torment eternal for Butters. He took it out on Dr. Oz, punching him in the groin. "Outsiders...outsiders like us. We can still save them! We can still save Middle Park!"
Kyle came up to us and smiled at all of us. "This is exactly the talk I want to hear from all of you."
"Yeah, they're all jerks, but they still need us to save them," Kathy added.
"I am so glad I didn't tell Winter about Leven's...moves." Bebe glanced around cautiously, as if scanning for any eavesdroppers. But I didn't see any. "But yeah, I'm definitely in it too."
"I'm curious to see how this problem unfolds," Chris said.
I looked over at Wendy. She still seemed to be staring down at her shoes, not participating, keeping silent. I wonder why she was so silent now. I wanted to reach out and talk to her. I wanted to hug her, tell her that I'm sorry for yelling at her and that everything would be alright. But before I could do just that, the house door opened, and out came Winter along with many other girls, all dressed up for battle.
"Oh, you eight are still here?" Winter stared down at us as she took out her shield and sword. "Well, no harm in letting you come along to the mall to meet the enemy."
"You're bringing an army with you?" Bebe asked.
"Well yeah, there's no telling what Leven might pull. As far as I know, it might be a trap." While Winter doesn't know for sure, she isn't wrong. It is a trap, though she seemed smart enough to consider that possibility. "We'll see what Leven's true intent on this meeting is soon enough. Now...shall we?" The rest of us nodded without another word. Winter turned back to the other girls now. "Remember: at least fifty feet back, stay hidden. Wait for my command to attack." The other girls nodded. Well shit, I was hoping to comfort Wendy right now, but that will have to wait. The impending conflict is first priority.
While the other girls stalked and followed us far back, our party, joined by Winter, walked in relative silence. We began to make our way to the mall as the sun shone a beautiful sunset down upon us, though still high in the sky. When we finally got there, it was 5:40 PM. The Middle Park Mall looked almost exactly like how the South Park Mall used to before it was abandoned thanks to being rendered irrelevant by Amazon. The only difference is that the Middle Park Mall was painted a dark blue color. The parking lot itself was only filled about halfway. Then our eyes laid upon the sidewalk in front of the front door to the mall, where Leven seemingly stood.
The nine of us approached Leven. He had his hands behind his back, though there was nothing that suggested that his hands were actually bound; he was likely just standing in attention. "I was wondering when you'd show up, Winter."
Winter closed her fists and grumbled. "Oh don't give me that shit. It's not even 6 PM yet."
We all glanced back and forth between the couple, wondering what could culminate. Then Kyle spoke up first. "Is there anything you two want to say to each other?"
"Yeah, I have something to confess, actually." Leven sighed.
We all slightly smiled. Perhaps there could be something good that could come out of this after all. This could be it. Perhaps this meeting was just the magic we needed to make the sparks fly but also cease the gender war. "Let's hear it," Winter replied.
What happened next certainly made sparks fly for sure. But not the ones I was hoping for. "You're fucked, Winter! You and your army you brought with you!"
Winter gasped. "You knew I brought an army with me?!"
"I already guessed you did, how could I not...though fortunately, I come prepared!" Leven made a circle out of his right thumb and index finger, then put both a bit in his mouth before whistling loudly.
All of a sudden, many boys also dressed in chainmail and weapons came storming out of the front door of the mall, stopping only a few feet behind Leven. "You...you bastard!" Winter shouted. "Well I too knew in advance you'd bring one, so here's my force!" Winter also whistled just like Leven, and the girls came out from the parked cars they were hiding behind.
"You will rue the day you betrayed me, you cunt!" Leven took out his bow and notched an arrow on it.
"Oh don't worry, you faggot! Your comeuppance will arrive soon enough!" Winter lifted and pointed her sword straight at Leven.
"Charge!"
"Charge!"
As the children began to charge at each other to start the fight, Our entire party backed up. There was no way we were going to get directly involved in this mess. We got behind a white sedan and watched the battle unfold. Looking over at Kyle, he appeared to be gasping for air. "Oh my fucking God...what...w-what have I done? What have we done?!"
"Kyle. Kyle!" I grabbed Kyle's shoulders to shake him out of his emotional trance. "There's nothing we can do about this now. They're going to war, and that's that."
"We're just gonna sit back and let them...let them kill each other?" Kyle whined.
Bebe wrapped her left arm around Kyle. "Well unfortunately, it's all we can do. We tried our best. As Chris said, we'll just have to wait and see how this will unfold."
I looked back over at the fight now. Arrows and a few bolts of magic were being let loose into the air. Children hacked away at each other with swords and spears. There was nothing we could do right now, we'll just have to sit out this fight. I can only hope that the damage can be minimized at this point in time.
Who is the puppet that joined Douchebag and Cartman? And how could this conflict possibly be resolved at this point when the battle is in full swing? Yeah, bad words, but I hope this chapter generated a few laughs, especially towards the end. Anyways, until next time.
