Horseshoes and Heartstrings


It was a pretty chill day in South Park, and some of the football team was hanging out with Eric at his house, playing a video game.

"Dude, why did you pick the chick?" Chris asked, leaning against his overweight teammate who was using a female ninja wearing purple.

"Because I felt like it, and personal space, Donnely," Eric nudged the blond off him.

"Man, this is pretty fun," Nate said, playing as a green ninja. "Chris never lets us stay at his house, and his family is loaded."

"Duh, because my dad doesn't like you guys touching stuff," Chris rolled his eyes.

"Oops," Brimmy said, laughing with Trevor who both traversed the game as a blue and red ninja.

"Sorry about that time Brim threw a football at your mom's priceless vase," the red baseball cap-wearing teen snickered.

"Sure you are," Chris glared.

"Boys," Liane walked into the living room, carrying a bowl of treats. "I brought some snacks."

"Hell yeah!" Clyde leaned over to grab a bag of chips. "Thanks, Ms. Cartman."

"Mom," Eric groaned. "I told you not to interrupt us."

"I'm sorry, Muffin," Liane apologized as the other boys laughed.

"Mom!" whined Eric embarrassed.

"Sorry, sorry," his mother pardoned with a giggle. "Any of you want a cold one?"

"No thanks, ma'am, we don't drink," Chris said as his buddies scoffed and chuckled again.

"Oh, I meant some soda," Liane corrected.

"In that case, yes," Chris smirked.

"Alrighty then," Liane smiled sweetly and returned to the kitchen.

"You think you're slick, huh," Eric side-eyed him.

"I am," Chris boasted proudly.

"Dude, your mom is hot," Clyde noted.

The other jocks agreed.

"Yeah, man, she looks pretty young, too. How old was she when she had you?" Trevor asked.

"My age," Eric answered, becoming uncomfortable.

"Nice," Brimmy and Trevor grinned at each other.

"Speaking of your mom," Chris pointed out, "I've looked her up, and is it true she used to—"

"Why the HELL were you—Dude, you made me die!" Eric growled, returning his attention to the game.

"And that's why I did it," Chris snatched the controller from him.

"Dick," Eric grumbled, crossing his arms.


After another long day at school and cheer practice, Harmony wanted to treat herself to something sweet, so she visited Tweek Bros. Coffee. When she arrived, she saw Henrietta drinking something and reading a book at a table.

"Hey, Henri," greeted the cheerleader.

"When did we become friends?" The Goth asked, not looking up from her reading material.

"Uh, I thought because we—"

"You thought wrong," Henrietta interrupted, closing her book to glance at her. "You look tired."

"Oh, um, yeah, school is hard," Harmony sighed.

"Aren't you only a freshman?" Henrietta asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, but I don't want Darien to pay for college, so I'm taking AP classes and trying to get a scholarship," Harmony detailed.

"So, you want to be just like everyone else," Henrietta reproved, "Of course."

"There's nothing wrong with fitting in, you know," Harmony insisted, crossing her arms.

"Whatever you say," Henrietta went back to her book.

Harmony groaned and looked over when she heard the door open to see Craig Tucker enter.

"Oh, Craig," she walked up to him before he could get to the counter.

"What's up, Shields?" He asked with his usual stoic expression.

"You going to the dance this weekend?" asked Harmony with a smile.

"I don't know," Craig answered, momentarily glancing at the blond behind the counter before returning to her. "Why?"

"You, uh, you wanna go with me?" Harmony inquired.

"Sure, I guess, why not?" Craig shrugged. "See ya Saturday." He brushed past her to see Tweek.

"Yes!" Harmony whispered happily.

Henrietta watched the exchange and shook her head afterward.


In his parents' garage, Stan was working on fixing a car.

"How is it?" A voice asked.

The black-haired teen turned to see Alex Cartman leaning against the outside wall.

"It's fine, really," Stan examined the vehicle. "I just need to patch up this leak and change the oil." He sighed. "You probably could have done that yourself."

"I know," Alex walked up to him. "I just wanted to support my girlfriend's little brother."

"I haven't talked to Shelley in years," Stan leaned against the car. "How is she?"

"Well, your dad gave her that farm he bought before he got sick," Alex smiled. "We converted it to a horse ranch where people can help care for them as a form of therapy."

Stan scoffed, bringing over his toolbox. "She always did love horses."

"You should come over sometime," Alex said.

"Maybe when things boil over," Stan frowned, turning to them. "Hey, you're Eric's cousin, right?"

"The best cousin," Alex chuckled, "He doing OK? 'Cause, he's been through the wringer before moving here."

"Who hasn't?" Stan sighed, picking up some motor oil.


While they waited at the bus stop, Marjorine noticed Kyle sitting silently with a grimace.

"Hey, instead of going home, you wanna go somewhere?" She advised beaming.

"Where?" Kyle looked at her.

"There's this ranch that just opened and I thought it'd be a good way to cheer you up," Marjorine continued, showing him the information on her phone.

"You like horses, not me," Kyle sighed. "Also, wasn't that Stan's family's old weed farm? No thanks."

"But," Marjorine patted his shoulder. "They don't live there anymore. C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I mean," Kyle averted his gaze. "At least I will be able to avoid the two Cs."

Marjorine tilted her head to the side and then snorted. "Oh, you mean Chris and Cartman?"

"Yeah," Kyle smiled weakly at her. "So let's go."

"Yay!" Marjorine hugged him. "But, first, we have to go do a little shopping for some appropriate attire." She smirked suspiciously. "Let's make a detour to the mall."

"Um," Kyle looked in the direction of the sun. "It's gonna be late when we get there then, but OK."


Sally, Jessica, and Esther were walking down Main Street.

"You think the Dark Kingdom will attack the dance?" Sally wondered, lightly swaying her parasol.

"Maybe," Esther sighed. "There will be a lot of people there."

"So, that means we're definitely going?" Jessica asked elatedly.

"I mean, we bought dresses," Sally reminded.

"I don't know if I want to go without a date," Jessica said. "I mean, I love ya guys, but I wanna dance."

"Then, ask someone," Sally told her.

"But who?" wondered Jessica.


Kyle and Marjorine arrived at the ranch in matching cowboy and cowgirl gear, and the blonde immediately fell in love.

"Look at this place!" She squealed in excitement.

"Yeah," Kyle laughed. "It doesn't smell like weed anymore."

"Come on, come on," Marjorine ushered forward her friend.

A young adult woman with turquoise eyes and brown hair peeking through a pink headscarf walked up to them. "Hi, welcome to—Oh, my gosh, Kyle, hi!" She hugged him, the redhead flinched on contact.

"H-Hi, Shelley," Kyle smiled slightly. "I almost didn't recognize you until I saw the braces."

"Yeah," she sighed. "Still have them, and it's Michelle, now."

"Oh, right, sorry, Michelle," Kyle chuckled nervously.

"Who's your friend?" Michelle asked.

"Oh, um, you remember Butters," Kyle cautiously nudged the blonde.

"It's Marjorine," she smiled shyly.

"Oh, wow!" Michelle hugged her. "You look good, girl."

"Thank you," Marjorine relaxed.

"So, you guys wanna ride?" Michelle turned their attention to the group of horses and other guests and trainers who were tending to them.

"Do we have to pay?" Marjorine asked.

"Not too much," Michelle grinned.

"Cool, because our allowance is limited," Marjorine giggled. "We kinda splurged on our cute outfits."

"That's alright," Michelle laughed, leading the duo to some pens.

"Whoa!" Marjorine admired an American Quarter Horse palomino with straight blond hair, a white marking, a pink nose, and brown eyes and hooves. "This one is pretty. What's his name?" She patted his head.

"His name is Melancholy," Michelle said with a smile. "He seems to like you. Wanna ride him?"

"Yes!" Marjorine quickly replied delightedly.

One of the other caretakers walked up to them and helped her get set up, guiding them from the barn.

Michelle turned to Kyle. "And how about—"

"I-I-I'm afraid of heights," Kyle stammered. "And some of these look tall."

"I know," Michelle smirked. "How about I introduce you to a special stallion?"

She brought him over to a Gypsy Vanner with a mostly black coat and tiny white splotches, dark blue eyes, a black mane, and fluffy white hooves and snout.

"This is Umbrial," Michelle stroked his mane. "My own personal Black Beauty."

"Christ, he's huge!" Kyle gulped, shrinking behind Michelle as he stared directly into his eyes.

"Don't worry, you don't have to ride him," Michelle laughed, heading over to grab some supplies. "You have to clean him."

"What?" Kyle gasped. "I thought I was here to relax. At least that's what Marjorine made me think."

"Trust me, Kyle, it's very calming to clean the horse and his home," Michelle said. "You get to clear your head of other things bothering you as you do it."

Kyle sighed, grabbing a shovel. "OK, I'll do it. At least I won't be stressed out."

Michelle took the reigns of Umbrial and guided him to the cleaning stall directly next to the pens.


The girls saw Harmony and Henrietta exit the coffee shop.

"Hey!" Jessica called.

"What's going on?" Harmony asked, thinking there was trouble.

"We're bored," Esther stated, "Apparently."

"What were you guys doing?" Sally asked.

"I was spending a peaceful afternoon with some dark roast coffee, and this one shows up," Henrietta elbowed Harmony.

"I just asked Craig Tucker to homecoming," the ravenette smiled. "And he said 'Yes'."

"He said, 'Sure, why not?' Big difference," Henrietta reminded.

"Whatever, it's a yes to me," Harmony blew off her remark.

"Great, now we really do need dates," Sally sighed.

"You can be my date," Esther offered.

"I have a dorky little brother," Henrietta revealed.

"Is he Goth?" Jessica asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Henrietta bluntly answered.

"Maybe I'll ask him," Sally said.

"Or me," Jessica added, glaring at the redhead.

"Girls, he's not that special to fight over," Henrietta groaned. "Trust me."

"Hey, what about Nichole?" wondered Esther.

"She's at work right now, but I can ask her what her plans are later," Henrietta said.


Back at the Cartman residence, everyone was still playing around, having a good time.

"I told you the sly lion was the better fighter," Eric said, now playing an animal-themed fighting game.

"Bro, the hippo is literally labeled as the strongest. What the hell?" Chris groaned as the aforementioned character lay in a bloody mess defeated.

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Liane went to answer it, "Oh, hi, Alex."

"Hey, Auntie," Alex beamed.

"Who's that?" Chris leaned forward, "Hey, sexy."

"Chris!" Eric hissed.

"Sorry, kid, you're not my type," Alex scoffed with a smirk.

"What brings you here today?" Liane asked.

"I wanted to check in on my favorite cousin and his brood of testosterone," Alex chortled. "I got my car fixed next door and I was hoping to go for a ride with him somewhere."

"Oh, that's right, we should bother Marsh," Brimmy voted.

"Let's go!" Trevor enjoined.

He, Brimmy, Nate, and Clyde all launched off the couch and chairs, shoving past the older Cartman relatives who quickly scooted out of the way.

"Heh, sorry about that," Chris calmly walked after them. "Thanks for all of your hospitality. Bye!" He rushed after his friends.

"They're a wild bunch, aren't they?" Alex asked nodding.

"They're kids," Liane spoke.

"Where are we going?" Eric asked, now standing beside them.

"I have to go see my girlfriend," Alex smiled. "Wanna come?"

"Is that all?" Eric frowned, looking back inside the house before staring back at his cousin.

"I mean, it'd be nice not to be cooped up in a house," Alex leaned against the doorway. "I missed my little Muffin-chan." They messed up his hair.

"Fine," Eric said grumpily. "Where's my hat?"

Liane found it and handed it to him. "Don't worry, I'll take care of the mess."

"Sweet! Thanks, Mom!" Eric departed with Alex.

"Of course, Poopsiekins," Liane sighed with a weak smile as she watched her son leave.


On the ranch, Michelle looked at everyone taking care of the horses with a smile and soon a car drove up nearby.

"Hey, Chelley Fish," Alex greeted, getting out of the car with Eric lurking apprehensively.

"My Sky King," Michelle sighed, hugging and kissing her partner.

"Ugh, really?" groaned Eric in disgust.

"Who's this turd?" Michelle glared down at him.

"This is my cousin I was talking about," Alex held Eric's shoulder. "This is my girlfriend and business partner, Michelle Bilal."

"Oh, wow!" Michelle laughed. "I do not see the resemblance at all."

"Laugh it up," Eric rolled his eyes. "So, what am I supposed to do here?"

"Well, I'm gonna go to the house and freshen up, and you can come with me to get dressed in your proper cowboy attire," Alex smirked, taking his hand. "Be right back, babe."

"OK," Michelle smiled and waved after hearing another groan from Eric.


"So, what do you guys wanna do, now?" Sally asked as her backpack on her shoulder wiggled.

"I've been researching the next soldier," Aether said.

The girls groaned and looked at each other. They decided to sit on a nearby bench as Aether explained the information he gathered.

"The second to last planet in our solar system is Uranus, but the god that inspired that planet's name is a mystery," Aether poked his hoof on Sally's compact computer.

"Hey, what happens when the eight of us come together?" Jessica wondered.

"Do we win a prize or something?" Harmony joked, laughing.

"You know, I'm not sure," Aether sighed, tilting his head to one side.

"You do realize there are more than just the Greek and Roman gods that everyone knows, right?" Henrietta redrew their attention to the dilemma.

"Oh, yeah," Harmony smiled. "I'm Sailor Earth, and the goddess the planet is named after is a primordial goddess."

"And Saturn was one of the Titans," Henrietta said.

"But," Esther cut in, "You all have some similarities between other Olympus gods like Hera and Demeter."

"Uranus is also a primordial god," Aether found out through a quick internet search. "Do we know anyone who loves the sky or the feeling of the wind in their hair?"

"That could literally be anyone," Jessica whined.

Esther exhaled in annoyance, but then was stricken with a sudden vision of horses including one flying in the air. Henrietta noticed her going slightly unbalanced and grabbed her arm.

"Did you see something?" She asked as some dirt flew around her, realizing they weren't far from the cemetery.

"Uh, are you both OK?" Sally asked.

"Did you get a vision, Esther?" Jessica wondered.

"I'm still trying to understand your power, Henrietta," Harmony noted.

"I speak to the dead in the earth," the Goth teen glared at her.

"I just saw horses," Esther deduced.

The other three girls looked at each other.

"Didn't a ranch just open up on the outskirts of town?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah, the old Tegridy Farms," Harmony smiled weakly. "It used to belong to the Marshes."

"Do you know exactly where that is?" Esther inquired.

"I do," Henrietta answered. "And I'll drive."


Eric returned, adjusting the cowboy hat on his head. "OK, so what do you want me to do, now? Can I ride, or are you going to joke about me being too big and break the horse?"

"Nah, you already beat me to it," Michelle motioned to a pen and horse close to her. "You're a tough guy, right? You can help clean up my horse, Umbrial, and his bed."

"Manual labor," Eric sighed, "Wonderful."

He headed over to the pen and saw someone bending over trying to scoop up some dirty bedding. After clicking his tongue, the brunet moved up his glasses and whistled.

"Hey, pretty lady; you want a strong man to—"

The person shoveling revealed themselves as Kyle, and both he and Eric screamed in horror.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" They shrieked.

"Aw-Awwww!" blenched Eric, grasping his face in disdain. "Why the hell do you have a chick's ass, dude?"

"Shut up!" Kyle growled, holding up the shovel. "Why are you even here? Are you stalking me, now?"

Outside a few feet away, Michelle burst into laughter. "I see you two know each other."

"Now I'm really starting to believe this is more of a torture chamber than a place to relax," Kyle tightly gripped the handle of the spade.

"Yeah, my cousin brought me to hell," Eric exhaled, still avoiding the other boy's eyes, not wanting him to see the slight blush on his face.

"Wait, your cousin?" questioned Kyle. "Oh, I did see someone else with your mom at the game."

"Yeah, Michelle is their girlfriend," Eric carefully turned to face him, hoping the embarrassing remark he made to him at least wasn't on the forefront of his mind.

"Small world," Kyle grumbled and then looked back at Eric who flinched when their eyes met.

"Hmm," Michelle stood in between them. "Looks like you guys have a lot of tension." Umbrial's light whinny caught her attention. "Why don't you two calm down by cleaning together?"

Kyle groaned. "Marjie is going to get a piece of my mind when we're done here." He walked back over to the horse.

Eric blinked in confusion until he heard a familiar laugh and saw Marjorine riding on Melancholy.

"Hey," Alex rejoined Michelle, wearing clothing that showed off a feminine figure.

"Hey, stranger, where'd you go?" Michelle grinned.

"Sorry, when I got back to the house, I got this eerie feeling in the breeze," Alex said, looking up at the sky.

"You're always getting weird feelings," Michelle shook her head.

"Yeah and what about you and the ocean?" asked Alex, raising an eyebrow.

"That's a little different," Michelle rolled her eyes. "Fish have some interesting things to say."

"I'm sure birds do, too," Alex chuckled. "But, no, I actually mean the wind is just giving me a bad feeling all of a sudden."

"Yeah," Michelle draped her arm over her partner's shoulders. "It's called being in the mountains in the fall."

Alex sighed, giving up trying to make her understand.


On their way to the ranch, Henrietta was in the driver seat with Esther beside her as the other three Sailor Warriors sat in the back singing along to a song on the radio, acting like normal teenagers.

"Why did you allow them to control the music?" Esther bemoaned, massaging her temple.

"Because they wouldn't shut up otherwise," Henrietta said.

"You call this shutting up?" Esther glanced behind her at the giggling girls.

"Hey," Jessica planted her hands on either of the front seats. "We should do this more often. You know, just be normal girls."

"Don't we kinda do that already?" Sally questioned. "I mean, we technically don't know what our mission is."

"Aether, you ever going to tell us why Heracles called you Lord back at the game?" Harmony wondered.

"I don't know," Aether lowered his head from his spot on Sally's lap.

"Maybe that's one of the things you'll figure out when we get together all of the soldiers," Sally theorized.

That thought weighed on all five of their minds as they pulled up to the farm.

"Damn, this place is nice," Sally said, pulling out her parasol and tucking Aether back in her satchel.

"I hope there are horses available," Harmony said happily.

"Harm, we're not here for fun," Esther reminded.

"Hello, rosebud," Alex approached the girls with a smile.

"Um, have we met?" Harmony cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh, H," Jessica gulped. "I think that's Alex Cartman."

"What?" Harmony examined the young woman before them closely and realized her friend was right. "You're a girl!"

Michelle walked up to them as Alex laughed.

"I never said I was a boy," the brunette then smiled. "Sorry if the way I presented myself confused you."

"It most certainly did," Jessica said, leaning against the equally stunned ravenette.

Henrietta, Esther, and Sally shrugged their shoulders, clearly undeterred by the realization.

"Are you still Cartman's cousin?" Sally asked.

"Of course," Alex rolled her shoulder in the direction of the rotund teen cleaning out Umbrial's pen as Kyle was scrubbing the black horse.

"Holy shit," Harmony exclaimed. "Did you seriously get that boy to do work?"

"Forget the work, he and Kyle are not biting each others' heads off," Jessica added.

"Oh, is that right?" Alex looked at her girlfriend as they both smirked.

"I did that," Michelle said before turning to the girls. "So, what brings you bunch here?"

"We wanted to hang out somewhere after school before we have to go back to our boring home lives," Esther said.

Alex looked at Harmony and Sally perplexed. "Don't you two do things after school?"

"Not every day," Harmony chuckled nervously as Sally nodded.

"Can we ride?" Jessica pleaded with big, brown eyes. "Please."

"Well, we do have some openings, now," Alex noticed out of the corner of her eyes.

"But some of you are going to have to clean up and feed the horses that were just playing," Michelle told them.


So, Harmony, Jessica, and Esther rode on some horses as Sally and Henrietta fed and groomed a tired pair.

"Why did you choose this?" Henrietta asked, brushing a mare.

"Kinda can't do anything too strenuous with my condition," Sally said, putting some hay in front of a horse to eat.

"Condition?" Henrietta quirked a brow, "Oh, yeah, you have albinism."

"Yeah," Sally smiled, petting the horse she was caring for's nose.

"Don't you have a job at your parents' restaurant?" Henrietta asked.

"Yeah, but I don't do any hard work," Sally sat down on a bed of hay.

"Right and you're one of these Sailor Soldiers," Henrietta showed a rare smile. "That's pretty damn impressive."

"Thank you," Sally smiled back with lightly rosy cheeks.


"Hey, fellas," Marjorine greeted the other girls who walked up to her and her trainer with their horses and rented cowgirl hats. "This here is Melancholy, and this is Chrys." She pointed from the stallion to the trainer. "He's been real nice."

The male teacher with long, golden blond hair waved his locks off his shoulders and smiled at the girls. "Then I guess we better get you ladies some riding lessons."

"He's a dream," Harmony sighed.

"Yeah," Jessica flashed a goofy grin.

"Not again," Esther groaned.


As the girls rode together, Eric and Kyle were finishing up taking care of Umbrial's needs.

Eric finished picking up and discarding the dirty bedding, wiping sweat off his forehead as he looked over at Kyle scrubbing Umbrial's coat. A smirk crossed his lips as he picked up a hose and sprayed Kyle with it.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" The redhead growled, glaring at Eric who was laughing.

"Come on, man, lighten up," Eric grinned, shutting off the water. "We're supposed to be here having fun."

Kyle spit out some water, his damp curls over her face as anger boiled inside him. With a yell, he tackled Eric into the pen and onto a pile of hay.

"Dude, Kyle, I was just joking, man," Eric held up his hand in defense as he lay on the hay.

Kyle, without thinking, grabbed a horseshoe from a nearby rack and held it up, preparing to hit him with it. Eric winced in preparation for it, but Kyle stopped and his expression softened when he heard the collective laughter of Marjorine and the other girls. Eric noticed this and arched his body forward to see what he was seeing.

He turned back to Kyle and watched as he lowered the object and narrowed his head, the descending sun shining off his red hair, making it brighter and glisten against his pale skin, bringing out his green eyes and freckles.

Kyle realized he was being stared at and turned slightly to see he was inches from Eric's face. Eric felt his eyes on him and looked at Kyle. The redhead groaned and stood, brushing off the hay and extending his hand. The brunet blinked and after a few seconds, accepted the gesture and was pulled to his feet.

"Sorry," was all Kyle uttered before returning to Umbrial.

Eric watched as Marjorine and the other girls rode down a path around the ranch before he joined the other boy who was quietly grooming the horse.

"So, how did you two become friends?" He asked, referring to Marjorine. "You two are complete opposites."

"Believe it or not, we actually weren't that close until about two years ago," Kyle sighed, running his hand through Umbrial's mane; the equine narrowed his eyes and stared at him as if he was also listening. "The two people I was closest to for all my life until then were Chris and Stan."

Eric's eyes widened slightly as he approached them with more grooming tools.

"Chris might have mentioned that at one point," he said, sitting on a chair he also brought over so he could tend to Umbrial's front hooves. "What happened?"

Kyle sighed again and draped his arms over Umbrial's back, leaning his cheek on him. "I was just…so stupid." He answered in the softest voice Eric's ever heard him speak.

"We all do stupid things," Eric too suspired as he worked.

Kyle stared at him for a moment when he noticed he was doing a good job. "Hey, I didn't think you knew how to take care of animals."

"Well, I do have a pet pig," Eric laughed lightly.

Kyle laughed. "No way, dude, that is way too easy of a joke to make."

"I'm serious," Eric glanced at him momentarily to get across his point.

"Why do you have a pig?" Kyle asked, trying to hold back a snicker.

"Yeah, ha, ha, the fat kid has a pet pig," Eric scoffed. "But Fluffy is very friendly and she was more of a therapeutic animal my mom got me when I needed it."

Kyle's expression changed as the other's demeanor stayed the same throughout the statement, remembering their time in detention when Eric needed his medication.

"So, you're completely messed up, huh?" He asked with a weak smile.

"I guess we're more alike than we initially thought," Eric smirked up at him, "Except my drugs were prescribed."

Kyle narrowed his eyes at that remark. "Come to think of it, I haven't thought about using since I came here."

"Heh really?" Eric picked up the chair and moved over closer to Kyle so he could work on the back legs.

Kyle nodded as he went to brush Umbrial's tail, the horse relaxed as the boys took care of him in silence, both of them thinking about what the other might have gone through to warrant psychiatric care.

The peace was broken when screams were heard and visitors and the horses they cared for were getting their energy zapped.

"Well, that didn't last long," Kyle groaned as Eric quickly stood, "Marjie!"

The aforementioned girl and the others returned when they heard the cries.

"Kyle!" Marjorine yelled.

Henrietta and Sally exited the barn where they were as Michelle and Alex watched what was happening.

"What's going on?" Michelle asked.

"Marjorine, where did Chrys go?" Jessica asked about the one who helped them ride the horses.

"He was with us until we rode down the path," the blonde looked in the direction from where they came as a hand reached over and slapped across her mouth.

Chrys yanked her off Melancholy and onto his white horse. The brown horse whinnied in fear and ran off with Michelle running up to calm him.

"Hey, let her go!" Harmony threatened, but she and the girls struggled to control their horses, and they were all thrown off them, luckily not getting trampled.

"Marjie!" yelled Kyle as he ran to save her.

"Kyle, wait!" Eric called.

Alex whistled, alerting Umbrial who charged over to her, allowing her to mount him. They gathered the startled equines and brought them back safely.

Eric joined the dazed girls and led them behind a barn as Alex and Michelle were focused on the ordeal.

Chrys cackled evilly as dark energy enveloped him, replacing a human riding a horse with a humanoid pegasus who screamed his name as Chrysaor who immediately dropped Marjorine and snatched Kyle, ascending into the air with him.

Kyle emitted a blood-curdling screech as the monster holding him hovered high above everyone. "No-no-no-no-no-no let me go, asshole!"

"Kyle!" screamed Marjorine.

Behind the barn, Eric's eyes widened as he swiftly flicked his wrist to summon his transformation band.

"Gold-Power-Make-Up!" he quickly cried in one breath, leaving the girls speechless at his persistence.

"OK, last time, it was the game, so what's his excuse, now?" Jessica wondered.

Kyle, amid his freak-out, banged the back of his head against Chrysaor's chest, hoping he'd let him go, not realizing the danger, the fear of heights clouded his judgment.

Heracles screeched as he swooped into view, pecking at Chrysaor making him release Kyle, sending him toward the ground.

After quickly transforming, Gold immediately leaped from behind their hiding place and pounced on Kyle, catching him, rolling onto the ground with him safely in his arms, concealing them both with his large cape. Inside, the furry guardian stroked his fluffy cheeks against a trembling Kyle to soothe him, not caring that there was battle outside their safe space.

The other soldiers emerged, too, and began their onslaught. Mercury used her Icy Mist to cover everything in fog.

Alex was searching for Michelle or anyone for that matter, but instead, a snort caught her attention and Umbrial slowly walked up to her with a serious stare.

"Umbrial?" a confused Alex looked at him as a white transformation pen with a globe-like symbol with a letter H on top appeared in front of her. "Where did this come from?" She asked, taking the object.

"That would be from me," Aether entered the space of the mist that contained them.

Alex instantly recognized him as the toy her grandmother made for her cousin. "You talk!"

Aether nodded. "There's not much time. You need to help the other warriors."

Alex pondered the situation as she heard another screech belonging to Chrysaor and the voices of Michelle and Marjorine who were trying to get the weakened people and animals to safety.

"Venus Love-Me Chain!" The orange-clad soldier restrained the enemy.

The mist around Alex bellowed around her as she listened to the cool air speak to her. She knew what she needed to do.

"Uranus Power, Make Up!" Her pen summoned a twister that covered her when she spun it, transforming her into a warrior with white pigtails with sky blue highlights, and pale blue eyes. She donned a gold tiara on her forehead with a white gem on the front; an ivory skirt and shorts, a mask, brooch, gloves, choker, and ankle-length boots with two belts; a celeste-colored chest and back bow.

"Fire Soul…Deadly Harvest!" Mars and Saturn sent direct attacks at Chrysaor as they sensed the new arrival, giving each other knowing looks.

"Scarlet Tempest…Bubble Spray!" Earth and Mercury combined their bomb-like attacks.

Within the icy cloud, Uranus nodded to Umbrial who shrieked before tackling Chrysaor with Heracles, releasing him from Venus' binds.

As the fight raged on, the sky warrior held up her arms and cupped her hands, absorbing all of the cold air around her to form a ball of powerful wind. The mist cleared and everyone saw the new soldier preparing her attack.

Gold briefly looked up when he felt the change in temperature to glance at the latest addition to the team. Their eyes landed on each other, concluding they were each other's cousin.

Kyle looked up at Gold who perceived a shift in pressure and gazed back down at him, seeing an emotion he never witnessed before from the redhead as Kyle also never felt safer than in the embrace of his hero.

Chrysaor knocked Heracles and Umbrial off him as Uranus finished charging.

"Sky Shaking!" she sent the blast of compressed space energy at Chrysaor as the other soldiers merged their attacks with hers, destroying the bipedal horse monster on contact.

Several feet away from the conflict, Michelle, Marjorine, and the other spectators cheered when the soldiers were victorious approaching them in an attempt to get their pictures taken.

The girls expected Gold to immediately jump in to get the attention they thought he craved, but he instead stayed with Kyle. When he heard Marjorine calling for him, the formerly frightened redhead rushed over to hug his best friend.

Gold's ears and nose twitched when he stood to look at his estranged companions' shocked faces.

Mercury decided to use her bubbles to make a smoke bomb that blinded everyone so they could escape back behind the barn.

When the smoke cleared, Michelle searched for her girlfriend who appeared from behind their house and hugged her.

"Where were you?" Michelle asked, holding her partner tightly.

"I was looking after the others," Alex motioned over to her cousin and the girls who were behind her.

"Hey, there you are," Marjorine said, joining them with one of Kyle's arms firmly wrapped around her waist.

The girls traded glances as Eric and Kyle stared at each other.

"Boy, that sure was eventful, huh?" Marjorine laughed, turning to Kyle, severing his eye contact with Eric. "Ky, what was it like to be saved by the Golden Guardian himself, huh?"

The girls instantly stared at Eric who bit his lip bashfully; bewildered at the fact both he and Kyle were blushing after that question.

"Um, it was…something," Kyle looked at Eric whose eyes shifted nervously.

He hoped his unusually abashed nature wasn't giving away his secret identity, but something about the way Kyle was staring at him caused him to feel…confused.


That night, Eric stood on the street, staring at the clear, dark sky.

"What are you doing?" Alex snuck behind him, but her younger cousin didn't seem fazed. "It's dangerous to be out this late."

"I patrol a lot at night," Eric muttered and then he turned to her. "We didn't get a chance to talk to each other about what happened."

"I always knew you were meant for something," Alex smiled at him.

"What about you?" He wondered. "You're one now, too."

"It's gonna take a little adjusting," Alex shrugged.

Eric scoffed, shaking his head. "I'm still not used to it, not completely. Hey, how did you know I was here?"

"The wind," Alex took a deep breath and exhaled. "It told me where you were."

"I guess we all are special, huh?" Eric sighed, but then a thought hit him. "Can the wind tell you where anything is?"

"I think so, why?" Alex asked confused.

"There's this...um...picture I made someone lose when I first moved here, and the wind carried it off somewhere," Eric lowered his head, reminiscing the confrontation on the bus with Kyle that resulted in their detention.

"Oh, you mean, Kyle," Alex smirked with a hand on her hip.

Eric rolled his eyes and murmured, "Yeah, now can you?"

Alex closed her eyes as a breeze fluttered around her, and she soon reopened them. "That way," she pointed in a direction.

Eric, as Gold, climbed on top of a building and sniffed around for Kyle's scent, picking it up at the edge of the roof, lodged between the gutters. With a huge smile on his face, Eric retrieved the photo and jumped off to rejoin his cousin, removing his mask to transform.

"Wow!" Alex looked at him impressed. "You change dramatically when you're Gold."

Eric exhaled sharply from his nose, unsure if that was an insult or not. He then looked at the picture and it was a little ripped, and mostly worn out from the weather, but he could make out the four people in the snapshot: Kyle between his former best friends Stan and Chris with his little brother Ike in front of him at Sea World, with the little boy holding a purple narwhal plush.

Eric's face soon fell when he realized its condition. "Is there a way to fix this?"

Alex observed the photo. "Maybe with a good computer program, you might be able to make it look better, but not entirely like it once was."

"Sally…" Eric breathed. "She'll know what to do. She's the best when it comes to this stuff. I'll ask her tomorrow."

Alex watched him head for home, awestruck by his sudden urge to want to make things right with someone.

To be continued…


Next time: It's time for the birth of Sailor Neptune, the final Sailor Warrior...or is it?