Mercury Rising
Deep within the mysterious hideout of the Dark Kingdom, the redheaded witch sat again on her throne, rubbing her temples in frustration.
"Tell me, Jadeite, why did your minion fail?" She asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, Queen Beryl," Jadeite said leaning on one knee. "I've heard an interviewer at the coffee shop on the local news mention a rat man and a bird man."
"Rat and bird," Beryl reclined slightly in her seat. "So, it would appear the Galactic Guardians have finally awakened. That would explain why the crystal's power has been detected."
"And I am working on that, too," Jadeite said standing.
"My Queen," approached a young man with wavy, brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and dark green eyes.
"Zoisite, what is it?" Beryl asked her servant.
"I've come up with another plan to draw out the crystal's power and gather more energy," Zoisite replied with a bow. "Earlier this afternoon, several people traveled and delivered packages. One of the soldiers the guardians are meant to lead hailed from the planet Mercury, and in scripture, he's the god of—"
"Of course," Queen Beryl ascended from her chair. "Commence immediately. Maybe we'll see that golden rodent and his feathery friend again."
"As you wish," Zoisite dipped his head and passed Jadeite with a smirk.
"As for you, Jadeite," Beryl grabbed the blond's attention. "Go about your day normally. We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves, or they'll find out where we are."
"R-Right, Queen Beryl," Jadeite gulped before disappearing.
The next morning, Eric awoke in his bed with a pounding headache.
"Ugh! What the hell? Did I get drunk or something last night?" He forced his pained muscles to move him upright.
"I don't remember you drinking any alcoholic beverages, so no," Aether said from the desk, scanning the computer screen.
"Aw-Aww! That shit really did happen," Eric groaned, brushing a hand over his sore arm which now had a long scar from Mocha's attack. "Huh, this thing is healing fast."
"Yup, you are a guardian now, which means accelerated healing," Aether stepped on a keyboard button with his hoof. "But it might not heal all the way, because you're still an amateur."
"Well, excuse me for not—Hey, what are you doing?" Eric asked, walking up to the desk.
"Remember how I told you we needed to find the other warriors?" Aether's eyes remained on the monitor.
"How would you even know how to find them?" Eric asked, leaning against the desk.
"Simple planetary science, boy," Aether said. "Think of yourself as the Sun and the soldiers as the planets that revolve around you—"
"I like it so far," Eric boasted. "It feels good to be the center of attention."
Aether rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, but anyways, the planet closest to the Sun is Mercury, and when I cross-reference it with your culture here on Earth—"
"Yawn, tell me when you find him so I can assign him a job for me," Eric laughed, lying on his back on the bed.
After getting dressed for another day of school, Eric slowly walked down the stairs. About halfway down, he clutched his ear in pain, picking up his mother's voice and other sounds from the garage.
"Dammit, I thought I only had to deal with this transformed," he grabbed the railing when he almost fell. When the loud noises stopped, he looked at the cracked window and remembered how he yelled at his mother the night before, "Mom!"
In the garage, Liane watched the news report about the strange attack on Tweek Bros. Coffee as she waited for the dryer machine to stop.
"That poor kid," she said, referring to Tweek, who was distressed and came off as delusional the entire interview, only to be dismissed by his parents.
"Mom, what are you doing in here?" Eric asked, scaring her and making her scramble to shut off her phone.
"M-Muffin, I was just washing your sheets," Liane smiled at him. "They were a little bloody from last night."
"Oh," Eric looked behind her, knowing he heard other voices.
"Are you ever going to tell me what happened last night?" His mother asked, strolling up to him to check on his wounds, but he pulled away immediately.
"No, I was just looking for breakfast," Eric sighed, avoiding her eyes. "I'm gonna be late for school and I need to eat something when I take my morning pill."
"Oh my," Liane suddenly noticed he was dressed for school. "I didn't realize it was morning already. I'll—"
"That's OK, I'll just grab something and eat it on the way to the bus stop," Eric groaned, walking away.
"Eric, please don't shut me out again," Liane pleaded when his hand grabbed the doorknob. He paused for a moment but then left without a word.
He hurried to the bus stop, scarfing down a box of Snacky Cakes and just making it before the bus departed. Since it was his first time on the bus to school, he became apprehensive when everyone stared at him. On his way to the back of the bus, he passed by Kyle and Marjorine.
Marjorine looked behind her when Eric sat alone in the seat.
"Don't even think about it," Kyle held out his hand to prevent her from joining the brunet.
"Stop being mean, Kyle," the blonde asserted, but the bus started to move, so now she couldn't leave her seat.
During the ride to school, Eric leaned his head against the window. He probably should have brought a game to play, a comic book to read, or some music to pass the time. The second he realized this, his ears started to hurt again, picking up a barrage of sounds on the route. All he could do to not draw attention to himself was hold his head tightly as he silently suffered through the pain.
The bus dropped everyone off, and Eric was of course the last one to exit. He held his head after shaking off his daze from the sound attack. He bumped into a girl with very pale skin holding a pink parasol decorated with baby blue circles. She had bright, red hair with a pink clip and grey-blue eyes. Accompanying her was the brunette that mesmerized Eric the previous day when he bumped into the lockers.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" The brunette hissed.
Eric blinked, trying to fix his vision that was disrupted by the incident. "S-Sorry…"
"Are you OK?" The redhead with the parasol asked.
"Y-Yeah, just dizzy," Eric's eyes finally adjusted and he saw the pale girl and the one he was checking out yesterday.
"More like hung-over," she scoffed. "Come on, Sally." The two girls entered the quad.
"Smooth, Eric, your first impression is bumping into lockers and then her," he lightly punched his forehead.
"Morning, Eric," Marjorine greeted to Kyle's dismay while walking with her.
"Oh, uh, hey," Eric half-smiled as the three walked to their lockers.
"Sorry, I left you alone yesterday," Marjorine apologized, opening her locker. "I hope you didn't get into trouble because of me."
"Huh?" Eric realized she was talking about the bruises. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine."
"Guess he enjoys getting into fights," Kyle commented afore shutting his locker and leaving. "Don't take too long, Marjie."
"Does he just live with whatever crawls up his ass every morning, or what?" Eric bemoaned, noticing the stained paint was still on the doors. "Hey, what was sprayed here?"
"It's nothing," Marjorine shrugged, "Just the jocks wanting to cause trouble."
"Who?" asked Eric.
Marjorine pointed to the three boys that were in homeroom the previous day.
"That's Chris Donnely and his gaggle," she described as the jocks passed them.
"Hey, Butters," Chris greeted before bursting into laughter.
"Butters?" Eric turned to the suddenly bothered blonde.
"Just a nickname I used to go by," she sighed. "Be careful in homeroom with them. See you at lunch. I'll try to stop Ky from bothering you again."
"OK?" Eric raised an eyebrow but brushed it off when the first bell rang.
When he entered the classroom, Eric went to the back and sat in the same seat from yesterday. He closed his eyes to take a deep breath, but they were startled back open when Chris smacked the desk.
"What happened to you, Porky?" He asked grinning.
"Leave him alone, Chris," Kyle rolled his eyes. "I'll never hear the end of it from Marjie."
"Why do you hang out with that freak anyway?" The blue hat-wearing boy asked.
"What are you, a freak sympathizer?" The boy with the red hat wondered. "Is that why you care about this one?"
"I don't care about him and don't call Marjie a freak!" Kyle snapped, standing up and glaring at them.
"Brimmy, Trevor," Chris referred to his group respectfully who dispersed snickering. The blond walked by Kyle and halted, whispering something in his ear.
Curious, Eric tried to use his hearing to listen to what he was saying but instead picked up on the redhead's sudden increased heartbeat.
"Ow!" Eric whispered harshly, gripping his ear. When he released it, a spot of blood was on his palm. "That can't be good." He brushed his brown hair over his cheek to hide it, watching as Kyle quietly walked back to his desk.
Hours later, lunch arrived and Eric joined Marjorine at a table.
"Where's your shadow?" Eric asked.
"He said he needed to do something," Marjorine shrugged.
Eric wondered if it was related to what Chris whispered.
"So, are you feeling OK?" The blonde asked sweetly. "You can tell me."
"No worse than before moving here," replied Eric, noticing the brunette he was made a fool in front of with the cheerleaders.
"Don't even try it," Marjorine noticed. "You don't have a chance with Heidi Turner."
"I wasn't interested," Eric lied, scanning the room and laying eyes on Brimmy, Trevor, and a third boy with night blue eyes wearing a blue hat with a red puffball and rim over his straight black hair.
"Good, 'cause she's already dating Brimmy Anderson," Marjorine pointed out, "All of the cheerleaders are attached to a football player."
"Already? The year just started," Eric continued to watch the tables.
"Yup, some of them have been a thing since middle school," Marjorine took a bite of her food. "That one right there with the purple headband, that's Harmony Shields. She's the leader of her pack and was an item with Chris until the end of eighth grade."
"What happened?" Eric wondered, eyes locked on the ravenette.
"Um, about two years ago, Chris was involved in a nasty prank, but Harmony believed he was innocent until he told her what happened last year," Marjorine explained.
This piqued Eric's interest, "And what happened?"
Marjorine lowered her head. "Let's just say people were hurt and a rich kid's family threw money at the problem."
Eric suddenly became nauseous. "Oh, um, of course, that's what happens, right? Something like that happened at my school, too."
"It happens all over," Marjorine said, oblivious to Eric's altered demeanor.
The school day raced by and Eric was on his way to the buses, but there was a problem.
"Where are the buses?" He asked Marjorine.
"I don't know," she looked around, "I could understand some being late, but not all of them."
"Chaps, you're not going to believe this," noted a boy wearing a newsboy cap over his light blond hair. He spoke with an English accent.
"They closed down the bus station over one accident?" Eric wondered.
"That's not all," the British teen showed them a report of botched deliveries and rides.
"Oh, hamburgers!" Marjorine clung to Eric's arm.
"Have you guys seen Tweek Tweak today?" inquired a boy with short, grayish-brown hair, freckles, and sapphire blue eyes. "Supposedly, something weird happened at the shop last night."
"I know South Park is a strange town, but that's ridiculous," scoffed Kyle with his arms crossed. "How the hell are we supposed to get home?"
"Walking," bluntly stated a boy with messy, faded brown hair, brown eyes, several blemishes on his face, and wearing dirty clothes. "We could use the exercise."
The group of teens began to leave together.
"Wait, you guys all live in the same neighborhood?" Eric asked, accompanying them.
"No," Marjorine laughed. "Try the same house."
"What?" Eric was confused.
"Who's this wanker?" The blond English-accented teen asked, blinking his green eyes.
"Marjie's boyfriend," Kyle stated with a huff.
"Is not," both Eric and Marjorine said in unison.
"We better get going," The grey-haired brunet said. "Ms. Weathers will be mad if we miss curfew. It's quite a walk."
"Are you going to be OK, Eric?" Marjorine asked after her housemates left.
"I'll just call my mom," Eric said shyly.
"OK, see you tomorrow," Marjorine smiled and then followed her friends.
Liane picked up her son and the ride home was silent between them, but word about the accidents was heard on the car radio.
"Two strange events in a row," Liane said as she watched the road. "I better get you home before something happens to us." She glanced at her son who uttered an 'Uh-huh' in response, staring out the window.
"Do you want me to make you something to eat, Muffin?" She asked when the two entered the house.
"Nope, I'm just gonna take a nap," Eric answered, making his way up the stairs.
Liane sighed and then her cell phone rang, "Oh, hi, Darien."
"Heh, she already made a friend," Eric muttered in the hallway. "Maybe she'll go to his house tonight, 'cause she better not bring him here."
When he opened his door, he saw Aether on the bed with ink on his hooves.
"What did you do?" Eric quickly shut the door, so his mom wouldn't hear.
"I marked down the soldiers we need to find," the cow plush nudged the piece of paper marked with symbols over to him.
"You got ink all over my sheets," Eric droned. "My mom is not gonna clean them again."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't think it was so messy," Aether said before being snatched up by Eric. "You're not tracking anymore on my rug. It's bath time."
In the bathroom, Eric blow-dried Aether after washing him. Mr. Kitty mewed outside, and the pudgy teen thought it would be funny to aim the appliance at the feline, scaring him.
"Ha, ha, stupid cat," he laughed.
Aether drew his attention back to the paper. "This is all of the information I could whip up from what you humans call the internet."
"Am I supposed to know what this chicken scratch means?" Eric asked, scratching his head while examining it.
"All you need to know right now is this," Aether planted his hoof on the symbol with wings on the top. "That's Mercury. Which means they're probably associated with driving, deliveries, communication, money—"
"Yeah, yeah," it dawned on Eric. "Wait a minute, something weird is going on with the public transportation today."
"The Dark Kingdom must be on the move," Aether said sternly. "Eric, tonight, we need to scout around Main Street. That's where the bank and many other small businesses reside."
"What do you mean by scouting?" Eric asked as they returned to the bedroom.
Aether looked at the comic book on the desk. "Like your little favorite furry superhero, you need to traverse the dark streets of town. It's the only way you won't be seen."
"My costume is pretty bright," Eric reminded, sitting on the bed.
"In the dark, the colors are dingy," Aether joined him. "No one will notice. Besides, at night, South Park is a party town. No one will be paying attention."
"Wonderful," Eric rolled his eyes. "I just gotta get past my mom and have ear pain throughout the night."
"In time, you'll be able to manage it," Aether assured.
"Hopefully soon," Eric felt inside his ear which was bleeding earlier. "Because I don't know how much brain damage this is causing."
"Rest up, kiddo," Aether acquainted himself with the pillow. "We leave at sunset."
Night arrived and Eric as Gold Tanuki stood on the roof of the bank.
"Wow! You weren't kidding, the town is busier at night," Gold observed as his ears and nose twitched.
"Just focus your ears and tell me what you hear," Aether said by his feet.
Gold tried to do as ordered, but all he could hear were the loud rumblings of vehicles and overlapping voices of civilians.
"Dude, I can't!" Gold hissed, clasping his ears with his claws. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to be looking for."
"Bubbles," Aether bluntly stated. "Mercury is the ice warrior."
"How am I supposed to find bubbles," Eric inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled a scream, "With just my frigging ears?"
The force of his increased volume caused him to fall off the roof.
"Shit, Eric, are you OK?" Aether asked looking down at him.
"Peachy," growled Gold. "That's it. I'm going home." He stood up and reverted to normal after removing his mask.
"No, no," Aether jumped off the roof. "We're not done."
"We are now!" Eric yelled back with his hand on his ear as his vision became impaired, not noticing he was in the middle of the street.
A car slowed down, but it still was able to strike Eric.
Aether stopped, walking back to the alley to hide as the driver exited the car to check on Eric.
"Oh, no! What the hell is he doing out here this late?" Darien knelt beside him. "Eric, are you OK?"
"Don't…" Eric weakly sat. "Don't take me to a hospital."
"What?" Darien was in shock at that statement, looking over his new wounds. "But, you—"
A car horn interrupted him, making Eric wince from the sudden, sharp noise.
"Hey, Shields, move it or lose it, man!" The driver hollered from another car.
"OK, OK, OK," in a rush Darien carefully helped Eric to his feet and guided him to the back seat of his car, getting him secured, before taking him home.
Aether watched the scene from the pavement. "Yup, we're screwed."
When he pulled up to the house, Darien phoned Liane.
"I'll be ready in a minute," she answered on the other end, and of course, Eric heard it.
"Um, Liane, I'm actually not calling because of that," Darien braced. "You might want to come out here."
When he relayed what happened, all that could be heard was a frightened scream on the other end of the phone. The reverb caused Eric to grunt in agony.
Liane looked over her son on the living room sofa as Darien brought over a first aid kit from the bathroom.
"Eric, what the hell were you doing running around the streets past your bedtime?" She asked in an angry, but worried tone. "It's dangerous out there."
"I'm fourteen, Mom, I didn't think I needed a bedtime," Eric hissed when his mother touched his cheek that scraped the gravel of the street.
"I-I'm really sorry, Liane, he came out of nowhere, and—"
"It's OK, Darien," Liane smiled a little at him. "He appears fine, and if you hadn't found him, I would have never known where he was."
Eric rolled his eyes. "You mean if he hadn't hit me with his goddamn car—Ow!" he squeaked when his sore abdomen was touched.
"Should we take him to the hospital?" Darien wondered with concern.
"I can't afford the hospital," Liane sighed, lifting her son's shirt to check the severity of the injury. "It looks fine. I'll just finish bandaging him."
"This is so dumb," Eric uttered under his breath after narrowing his eyes.
When she finished tending to him, Liane stared at her son seriously.
"Eric, I want to know what you were doing outside after dark," Liane demanded.
"None of your damn business," Eric grumbled, still avoiding her eyes.
"First you came home late last night after what looked like a fight, and now you go out again tonight?" Liane continued. "Did you get involved with a bad crowd? Are you doing drugs?"
"No, Mom, I'm not you!" Eric rebuked, turning to her, but it earned him a slap to his non-bruised cheek.
Darien's eyes went wide as he watched the exchange.
"That's it! Go to bed, Eric, you're grounded!" Liane spat, voice wavering.
"Oh, so, now you wanna be a parent?" Eric quickly stood up, flinching from the pain, "Fine, whatever!" He marched upstairs and slammed the door behind him.
Liane moaned into her hands as she leaned forward. Darien sat down beside her and gently rubbed her back.
"You gonna be OK?" He asked softly.
"I don't know if I can do this without help," Liane said, her voice muffled. "If only I knew exactly what was going on at school."
"You know, I have a sister that goes there, maybe I can tell her to keep an eye on him," Darien told her. "She's known to be a member of the popular group, so—"
"Oh, that would be wonderful, thank you," Liane smiled warmly at him with her tear-stained face.
"Sure," Darien noticed the cracked glass on the window. "Do you need help fixing your window?"
"Oh, you do too much for me already," Liane chuckled, wiping under her eyes.
"Nonsense, you're my friend, Bun-head," Darien reassured, resting his hands on her shoulders, lightly brushing the tips of her rolled-up hair.
"That's sweet of you," Liane sniffled. "I don't think I'll be able to come into work tonight. I need to—"
"I'll let the boss know," Darien said. "He knows you're a single mom to an, um, excitable teen."
Liane smiled as he stood up, "I don't think I'll ever be able to repay everything you've done for us."
"Hmm, maybe we can figure out a way over dinner one night?" Darien inquired with a grin.
"I would like that," Liane's lips curled into a brighter smile.
The two wished each other goodnight and Liane finally settled in for the night.
Dawn beckoned the town and riding down the streets on her bike was Sally Turner. Her parasol was attached to the back of the bicycle and small packages rested in the wagon behind her. To better her vision, she wore special glasses and was on call with someone.
"Let's get these deliveries out of the way so I can get to school," Sally giggled into the receiver.
"The buses appear to still be down, so—"
"I wouldn't mind taking Heidi to school with me, Tommy," she said happily. "You have to work early today."
"Be careful, Powder," Tommy said.
"That's what I have you guys and the glasses for," Sally chuckled as she continued her early morning route.
The planet was cold and deserted. All that remained was a single warrior with a faded pink dress, wearing a helmet with wings. As they turned their back, their hand flung some icy bubbles that exploded into a mist that concealed their face.
Eric awoke from the dream, feeling numb from the confrontation the previous night. He groaned and sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Halfway done this stupid week," he grumbled, already over everyone in town he's so far met.
He remained silent throughout the entire car ride to school. When Liane stopped outside of the school, she turned to him.
"I—"
She was cut off by her son exiting the car and slamming the door again behind him. "Love you." The brunette sighed and then drove away.
Eric slowly walked down the halls, stopping by his locker. He looked out the corner of his eye at Sally and Heidi Turner. Normally, he would be checking out the brunette, but something about the albino redhead stood out to him—it was her folded umbrella with light blue circles on the hood that resembled bubbles.
"Hey," a voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It was Harmony Shields.
"Uh, what's up?" Eric asked, opening his locker and staring at her, wondering why the so-called popular girl was talking to him.
"You're Eric Cartman, right?" He nodded in response. "Look, my brother asked me to check in on you now and then, but I really don't want to, so—"
"Who the hell is your brother?" Eric asked and then remembered her surname and a bystander calling out that name to Darien last night, after the accident. "Darien's your brother?"
"Yeah," Harmony clutched her books against her chest. "My brother is a very nice guy, and I'd hate to have your desperate mother take advantage of him, so—"
"It looks to me like he's the one that wants to get in her pants," Eric scoffed, "But, whatever, I didn't ask for a friend, let alone a prissy bodyguard, so don't worry about it." He slammed the locker door and walked away.
"Asshole," the ravenette cursed with a growl.
Later, at lunch, Eric considered sitting with Marjorine again, but she was with Kyle and the other boys she walked home with yesterday. Instead, he decided to go outside to the back of the school like the first day, but even there he wasn't alone.
Sally Turner sat under her parasol by a girl with long curled-up brown hair and brown eyes.
Eric turned to walk away, but Sally stopped him.
"Hey," she called much to the protest of her friend. "Come sit with us. You're the new kid in town, right?"
"Yeah," the brown-haired male sat between the girls against the wall. "I'm Eric."
"I'm Sally and this is my best friend, Jessica," she introduced herself as the brunette waved weakly.
"Yeah, I'm the one that bumped into your, um," Eric scratched his head unsure.
"Oh, yeah, my sister, that's right," Sally giggled. "Are you feeling better?"
"I've been worse," Eric shrugged, but then his nose picked up something as he stared at their lunches.
"You wanna share?" Sally showed him her food. "Our parents own restaurants, so we get fresh lunch every day. I hope you like Irish food."
"Can't say I've ever had any, but I do like Mexican," Eric grinned at Jessica's box.
"No way," she held her lunchbox away from him.
"You have a pretty good nose," Sally giggled.
"Unless he's just racist," Jessica scoffed.
"Is it not?" Eric wondered, still eyeing the container.
Jessica suspired and showed him its contents. "No, it is. Just don't eat it all."
"How come you don't have any lunch?" Sally asked.
"I forgot to buy some," Eric lowered his head, he had so much on his mind, that he wasn't thinking to get in line.
"That's OK." Sally nodded. "Hey, since you're new here, you wanna hang out?"
Eric sighed. "Sorry, my mom wants me home right after school all week."
"Aww, that sucks, maybe next week?" Sally asked hopeful.
"Um, we'll see," Eric said with a weak smile.
When lunch ended,
"See you later, Eric," Sally smiled, picking up her parasol and heading off to class as Jessica refused to acknowledge him.
"What is with these nice, weird girls being friends with stand-offish people?" Eric grabbed his backpack and went to class.
That afternoon, on Main Street, after school let out, Sally and Jessica rode there on the redhead's bike. In a nearby alley, Aether was still asleep but heard the sound of a bell and rose from his slumber.
"What time is it?" The plush cow yawned. He felt something nudging on his tail and turned to see a stray cat biting him. "Beat it!" He bellowed, frightening the feline.
He jumped into the wagon connected to the bike as Jessica exited it.
"What was that?" She asked, looking down at the stuffed animal. "Sal, was this always in here?"
"Huh?" Sally dismounted the bike and stared at Aether. "No, I can always give it to Billy when I see him tonight." Jessica tossed him to her. "He's a cute little fella, though."
When the two pulled up to the neighboring restaurants, a long line was forming outside of both.
"Wow! Busy day, huh?" wondered Jessica.
Aether watched intently while trying not to move, noting all the cars in the street driving wildly.
This can't be good. The Dark Kingdom has to be behind this, but where are they? Aether thought fearing for the girls' safety.
Sally and Jessica squeezed through the people in line to meet with Sally's parents.
"Mom, Dad, what's going on?" She asked.
"Sally, sweetie, I know you usually don't work afternoons, but we might need you," informed a muscular man with short, blond hair and a mustache.
"But I got homework," Sally rejected his offer.
"Jessie, I think your parents are gonna need you too," said a woman with long ginger hair and red lipstick.
"Don't they have David?" Jessica wondered.
"And where's Tommy?" Sally asked.
"He's in the back at the gift shop area," Thomas said.
"It's amazing! All of a sudden, people wanted to eat here when we cut our prices," Nancy said.
"Why would you do that?" Sally asked in shock.
"I hope my parents didn't have that dumb idea," Jessica hurried to the Mexican restaurant next door.
"We received an email detailing how other businesses in the area were doing it, so we thought we'd give it a shot," Nancy explained.
"But, by how much did you reduce the prices?" Sally asked, noticing a nearby menu. "Mom, these are all fifty percent off!"
"I know, but with all of these customers, word will get out and it'll be like we didn't do a thing differently," Thomas deduced.
"B-But…" Sally backed away flabbergasted as more people arrived. "This is crazy. First, transportation acts up, and now this?"
She walked over to her bike but noticed someone was trying to steal it.
"Hey!" The potential thief was scared off and Sally took her vehicle. "That's it. I'm going home before something bad happens. Maybe I can see exactly what this so-called email said."
"Sally, stop," a voice said when the girl got her bike far away enough.
"Who said that?" She wondered, scanning her surroundings.
"In the basket," Aether said.
The redhead picked him up and stared at him. "You…You can talk?"
"Yes, I can, and you're right," he nodded. "Your parents' receiving those emails is strange. I'm sure you are aware of what happened at Tweek Bros. Coffee?"
"Well, I heard of what happened, but—hey, wait, do you know what happened?" Sally asked.
"I do because I was there," Aether said. "And someone else was there, too, and I need your help to get me to him quickly."
Sally soon drove up to the Cartman residence. She rushed to the front door and rang the doorbell. After several seconds, they heard the upstairs window open.
"Ay! What the hell—hey, what are you doing here?" Eric asked.
Sally held up Aether. "Eric, get down here. We need Gold."
Eric's eyes widened. "Dude, what are you doing? Sally'll—"
"He already told me everything on the way," Sally said.
"I can't." Eric sighed. "I'm grounded because of your little mission last night."
"There are more important matters, right now," Aether reminded.
"No way, dude, I am not getting in any more trouble," Eric crossed his arms.
"Eric, listen, I don't know exactly what happened with you, but people are getting hurt on the streets right now," Sally told him. "Whatever it is you can do, please do it."
"Ugh! Fine, but if I get in trouble—"
"I'll take the fall," Sally promised.
Eric groaned and closed his window, agreeing to help. He rushed downstairs and out the door, holding his stomach in pain.
"Are you OK?" Sally asked.
"Oh, yeah, just fell off a roof and then got hit by a car, but other than that, I'm golden," Eric stated through gritted teeth.
"What?" Sally gasped.
"He's fine. He's pretty durable," Aether noted.
"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you, but I couldn't find you," Eric started to explain. "Last night, I had a dream about someone and they—"
Eric noticed the parasol on the bike, "Aether, look, bubbles."
The cow spirit turned to the pink vehicle. "Yes, and she got here swiftly, like the god Mercury, himself."
"Uh, excuse me, what are you talking about?" Sally asked in confusion.
Aether wiggled his bell and summoned a pink pen with a heart-shaped caduceus. "You are one of the Solar System Sailor Soldiers—Sailor Mercury."
"What is that?" Sally asked examining the gift.
"Eric," Aether turned to him.
"Right, OK, Gold Power, Make Up!" He called out and transformed into Gold Tanuki once more, shaking off his fur.
"Holy shit!" exclaimed Sally.
"Just say, 'Mercury Power, Make Up' and you too will become a warrior," Aether informed.
"I hope I don't grow fur," Sally held up her pen. "Mercury Power, Make Up!"
Using the magical tool, Sally traced herself with magical bubbles that transformed her into a warrior with short, pink hair that reached her neck with blue highlights, and sky-blue eyes. She donned a gold tiara on her forehead with a pink gem on the front; pale pink skirt and shorts, goggles, brooch, gloves, choker, and knee-high boots; pale turquoise chest and back bow, and trim on the top of her boots.
"Whoa!" Sally looked herself over, "I look cute." She waved her hands over her face. "Hey, I don't need my glasses."
"I'm with you there," Gold flashed the warrior a fang-filled smile, also not needing his specs when in his guardian form.
"As Mercury, you can run fast on your feet to danger, so let's—Go!" Aether was pulled away by Mercury when she started speeding down the street.
"Hey, wait for me!" Gold followed as fast as he could.
They returned to Main Street just in time to see a few delivery car crashes and people screaming in confusion as their energy began to leave their bodies.
"What's happening?" Mercury asked.
"The Dark Kingdom, for some reason they need human energy," Aether said. "I just can't figure out why."
"OK…You guys…Seriously," Gold arrived panting heavily, "I can't run that fast."
"You got here, didn't ya?" Aether asked.
"Guys," Mercury pointed to aura pooling together to form a giant black monster with paper blades flying around them.
"Carriban!" It announced its name.
"We…We have to fight that thing?" Mercury asked with a gulp.
Carriban let out a roar and Gold did the same when he stood in front of his teammate.
"That thing looks much more monstrous than the last enemy," Aether said.
Their enemy shot the barrage of bladed pieces of paper and Gold swiped at every last one ninja–style, striking a serious pose when the last one was sliced.
"I am not getting into any more trouble," Gold growled deeply, sharpening his claws and baring his fangs.
Carriban growled and charged for Gold, slamming him against a wall. Mercury ran to them and tried to punch the creature, but it kicked her away.
"Mercury," Aether ran to her aid. "You have to use your Icy Mist attack."
"O-OK," the pink and blue-haired warrior returned to her feet, "Mercury Icy Mist!" Her hands flowed in front of her body in a wave-like motion as she released a group of bubbles.
Carriban turned their head as the icy orbs approached them.
"Bubbles?" it burst into laughter. "What are bubbles supposed to—" They exploded on contact, creating a fog that covered the area. The beast let go of Gold on reflex and tried to see through the cool obstruction. "Hey, where did you go?" They began to swipe their claws in all directions.
Fiery red eyes could be seen in the mist accompanied by a growl, and Gold soon pounced onto the ghoul clamping his strong jaws around its body before raising one of his claws.
"Golden Slash!" cried Gold in a muffled tone afore he hack-and-slashed the enemy into bits, destroying it as the mist dissipated.
"Wow!" Mercury said in awe. "I barely did anything."
"I wouldn't say that," Aether said proudly. "If it weren't for your bubbles, Gold wouldn't have been able to counterattack."
"Hmm, I guess so," Mercury accepted.
They then heard chatter of bystanders holding their phones.
"Uh-Oh," Mercury said as Gold joined them.
The unconscious people began to awaken as some started to ask questions, wanting to interview the soldiers and find out exactly who they were and what happened. Gold was ready to smile and spill for the cameras, but Mercury grabbed him by the tail and used her mist again to blind everyone to escape.
In an alley, Gold glared at Mercury.
"Dude, what did you do that for? They love us!" He growled.
"You're the one that didn't want to get in trouble," Mercury reminded. "We gotta go before your mom gets home. Plus, I need to pick up my bike." She poked her head out and saw her parents, Jessica, and her family safe.
"Fine, next time," groaned Gold before the duo returned to the Cartman house.
Watching them from one of the roofs was Silver Wing who had their wings crossed over the thick plumage on their chest.
"Looks like you didn't need me this time, Goldie," they smirked, flapping their wings before flying in the opposite direction.
To be continued…
Next time: The birth of Sailor Venus, the second Sailor Warrior.