7A/N: Yo, what up, world? Vengie here. Here is just one of my many South Park AU crossovers. Fair note: Most of the Sailor Moon characters will be replaced with South Park ones. There are a few exceptions, some of which you'll see in this chapter. Also, some of the characters will be different ethnicities to their canon counterparts for no specific reason and I'll only bring it up when it's significant to the plot. Pictures and reference sheets that contain more information will eventually be posted to my DA. Also, content warning: the series is rated T (will probably change to M) due to themes that are not suitable for all ages. They include bullying which means potentially offensive insults will be used, drug use whether prescribed or illegal, sexual content, language, violence, and more. One more thing, one of the characters named Harmony is an OC owned by CyberChick135.
With all of that out of the way...Please enjoy.
A New Beginning
There once were several kingdoms laid across eight planets, watched over by beings that were not quite godly, but they still possessed divine powers. One day, the worlds broke out into a war that filled the galaxy, and spread upon the universe: These were known as…The Sailor Wars.
Two of these guardians looked at the ruins of a certain planet, the golden-haired one held a large staff in their hands while another hand grasped it belonging to a person with sterling, silver hair. The duo gazed into each other's eyes with a single tear falling down the cheek of the flaxen-headed humanoid, as their platinum-haired companion nodded with determination.
They both raised the stick, which donned a rainbow, lotus-shaped jewel at the top, and a bright multi-color light filled the air…
But before the end of that conflict could be seen, what showed was all a dream a heavyset boy with medium brown hair and brown eyes was experiencing. He woke up in the back of a car parked outside a green-colored house and adjusted his light blue beanie with a yellow trim and poof ball on its top.
"Oh, good, you're awake, poopsiekins," a woman with chocolate-colored hair tied into buns said in the driver's seat with a gray cat resting on the passenger side, and a pink pot-bellied pig behind them lying next to the boy. "We're finally here."
They all exited the vehicle, the brunette woman holding the cat carrier as the brown-haired teen had a leash around the pig.
"So, we left one hick town for another, great," groaned the boy.
"Eric, South Park is a wonderful little mountain town," the driver took a deep breath before exhaling fresh air. "It's the perfect place to start over."
"If you say so, Mom," the boy known as Eric rolled his eyes after pushing his glasses up his nose as another vehicle approached them.
"Liane Cartman?" A young man with black hair and blue eyes asked when he vacated his car.
"Darien?" Liane examined the slightly younger man before her.
"It is you, great," Darien sighed in relief and shook her hand. "I know you're trying to keep a low profile after leaving Nebraska." He looked at Eric. "So, how was the car ride up here?"
"Oh, it was beautiful!" Liane gasped in excitement, placing the container for her pet on the doorstep. "It's only fall, and there's already so much snow."
"Well, you know what they say about South Park, there's only two seasons: Winter and July," Darien burst into laughter following that statement. "Is this your son?"
"Yes, this is my little Muffin-chan," Liane smiled and tapped her child's shoulder. "Say 'Hi', Eric."
"Meom!" Eric hissed embarrassed at the nickname, but then sighed in defeat with his eyes narrowed. "Hello."
"And this is Kitty and Fluffy," Liane pointed out their pets respectfully.
"Wow! I guess it's a good thing you have a house that will fit all of you," Darien chuckled. "Here are the keys."
"Thanks so much," Liane received the items and handed them to her son. "Eric, why don't you unpack your things and get settled in while I go down to finalize everything with Darien?"
"You want me to what?" Eric's eyes widened.
"It won't be long," Liane reassured, bending over to kiss his forehead. "It'll only be an hour at the most, and then tomorrow, I'll register you at the high school."
"Great," Eric sighed, watching his mother and her strange new friend drive off in his car. "I guess it's just me and you guys." He unlocked and twisted the knob afore grabbing his bag and the cat holder. "Come on, Fluffy!" The boy whistled to the pudgy swine.
They were introduced to the interior of the house and it was already mostly furnished.
"This is a big place," Eric noted, eyeing the living room after closing the front door. "But, of course, Grandma's house was bigger."
After slogging his way up the stairs, coming across what he believed to be his bedroom, Eric dropped his suitcase on the floor and rummaged through it to pull out a cyan cow with dark grey spots, tail, and feet; gold horns, a gold mouth, and bell at the tip of the tail, and a stylized 'q' on its forehead; pink nose and inner ears. He then lay on his side upon the bed, snuggling the cow as his pets joined him.
Somewhere, in a dark lair, a woman with long, wavy red hair was sitting on her throne gazing into a crystal ball.
"Finally, after many years of searching, we have finally detected the crystal in the town of South Park, Colorado," the woman said, hands hovering over her orb. "To draw out its exact location, great energy from its citizens is required." She looked out to her seven subordinates draped in shadow. "And I am counting on all of you."
"Yes, Queen Beryl!" They all bowed and then dispersed.
A new week was about to begin, and an alarm sounded in Eric Cartman's bedroom. Before he awoke, the eyes of the bovine plush toy in his arms moved, staring up at the blaring clock. The stuffed animal was pushed to the floor when the boy used his hand to silence the timer.
He sat up and yawn sheepishly wearing his light green pajamas with brown bears printed on them. "Ugh! Stupid school." The boy sluggishly got out of bed, returning the cow before making his way to the closet, passing his other bureau decorated with more stuffed animals.
The bull toy stayed still, but his eyes followed the rotund boy digging through his closet until he tossed out what he was going to wear. When he removed his pajama top, a birthmark could be seen on his back behind his right shoulder, but it was too hard to make out exactly what it was. The discarded piece of clothing was thrown at the cow plush, causing the toy to fall flat on its face.
Downstairs, his mother was waiting for him in the kitchen with a huge breakfast.
"Good morning, Muffin-chan!" Liane greeted with glee, putting out some pancakes.
"Mom, do I have to go to school?" Eric asked, looking at the assortment of food on the table. "Can't I just be homeschooled?"
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you heard what the doctor said," his mother reminded, pecking his head before his hat covered it. "And besides, it'll be good for you to make new friends."
"Yeah, sure," Eric groaned, sitting in a chair. "So, what time does the bus come?" He asked, snatching up some bacon.
"Oh, I'm gonna drive you today and you'll receive everything from the principal," Liane told him, placing the bottle of syrup in front of him.
"What?" Eric clutched his head. "No, Mom, you're gonna embarrass me."
"Don't be silly," she giggled. "No, I won't."
"Oh, God, kill me now," Eric muttered under his breath before smothering his full plate with maple syrup.
Before they left, Eric returned to his room to get the yellow backpack he had forgotten, and the light blue cow could be seen through the window on the front of the backpack. After a bottle of pills joined it, the teenager hurried back down the stairs to meet up with his mother in the car.
Minutes later, they pulled up to Park County High School.
"Now, Eric, you be good OK?" Liane told her son with a hand resting on his knee as he stared at his feet. "If you need help, don't be afraid to ask."
"Great advice," scoffed Eric. "Bye, Mom." He quickly opened and shut the door as his mother leaned into the passenger side.
"Mommy loves you, Muffin-chan!" She uttered loud enough for nearby students to hear.
Eric froze in place as they started to laugh and talk amongst themselves with all eyes on him.
"Perfect, thanks, Mom," he mumbled to himself, holding onto the straps of his bag as he passed everybody with his head lowered.
He soon entered the quad and then the halls full of students.
"Jesus, is this the only school in town?" Eric sighed, looking around for any sign of the dean's office.
A few feet away, he noticed a group of girls in the middle of a conversation. One of them had straight, long black hair with a purple shine, bright blue eyes, and a matching purple headband; a second girl possessed long, curly golden blonde hair parted to the left; and the final adolescent female wore long, brown hair styled in a side part with bangs, held back by a dark blue headband.
"So, Harm, you're trying out for cheerleading, right?" The brunette asked.
"Well, there's no gymnastics, so I guess that is the next best thing," shrugged the ravenette.
"You would totally be the best choice for captain," noted the blonde. "That way, you and Chris can be a power couple again."
"Ew, no thanks!" recoiled the black-haired girl.
"Speaking of 'Ew', don't look now," smirked the brown-haired female. "But I think someone let their pig loose."
Harmony turned her head and her blue eyes met Eric's for a brief second before the new boy walked off toward a pair of students by their lockers.
"Now, Lola, you know there's probably going to be more kids that are…well…bigger than us," she told her friend.
"I know," Lola flung some hair off her shoulder. "I was just reminding myself who to avoid. Right, Bebe?'
"Avoid?" Bebe, the blonde, scoffed. "When we make the team, those losers will worship us and do our homework."
Harmony rolled her eyes. "This isn't middle school anymore."
At the lockers, a cute girl with baby blue eyes and light blonde pigtails held up with dark green bows spotted Eric passing her and her friend with curly red hair and forest green eyes donning a lime green ushanka.
"Hey," the blonde called.
"Marjie, no," the redhead groaned. "Do you have to befriend everyone?"
"I've never seen him before, and he looks lost," the girl said.
"Um," Eric looked around before pointing to himself. "Are you talking to me?"
"Uh-huh," she nodded as Eric walked up to her and her annoyed-looking friend. "Are you new? Oh, well, of course, every one of us freshmen is technically new, but you look like you're new to town, because I—"
"Marjorine!" The ginger interrupted.
"Oh, sorry," Marjorine rubbed the back of her neck. "I sometimes babble." She grabbed Eric's hand and shook it. "My name's Marjorine," and then glanced behind her at her curly-haired friend. "And this is Kyle." The named boy rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking away with his arms folded over his chest. "What's your name?"
"Um, Eric," the brunet blushed slightly taking back his hand. "Eric Cartman."
"You need help, Eric?" Marjorine asked.
Kyle glared back at her, "Seriously? Ugh! Whatever, I'll see you later." He walked past them, bumping the shorter boy with his arm.
"Ow! What's his problem?" Eric massaged his arm as he leered in the other's direction.
"He can be a little hotheaded," Marjorine giggled. "You want me to show you where the principal's office is or—"
"Yes, please," Eric chuckled. "Thank you. I feel like everyone is judging me." He looked back at the cheerleaders who walked off when they noticed him staring again.
"So, where you from?" asked Marjorine as she walked Eric to the dean.
"Nebraska," Eric answered. "Things were getting, uh, weird, so my mom met someone online, and—long story short—she moved us out here."
"It's just you and your mom?" Marjorine questioned curiously.
"Well, I never knew my dad," Eric grinned. "It's just been the two of us living with her large family. We were never their favorite people."
"Oh, wow! So, you and your mom must have a pretty special relationship," Marjorine smiled brightly at him.
"Could be better, I guess," Eric sighed, narrowing his eyes.
"I see," the blonde stopped and held the male's hand again. "Here we are. Your last name is Cartman, so I won't see you in homeroom, but I'll catch up with you after school and maybe we can hang out, OK?"
"Um," Eric stared at her holding him. "Sure, I guess we can meet up by the lockers."
"Super!" Marjorine beamed, being the first to pull her hand away this time. "Bye, Eric."
"Huh, it's only my first day, and I already have a strange chick into me," Eric laughed before cautiously entering the principal's office.
"I spoke with your mother a couple of days ago, and she told me you got kicked out of your old middle school," explained an older woman with yellow, curly hair and glasses covering her blue eyes. On her table was a plaque reading the name Principal Victoria.
"Yeah, I was homeschooled during eighth grade, because of, um—"
"Your mother filled us in all of the details," Principal Victoria examined the information on her computer. "Before I hand you your schedule and stuff, I'm required to ask if you brought your medication with you."
Eric sighed, pulling his backpack off his shoulder, and dug through without looking. The stowaway cow plush leaned to the side so the teen could take out his bottle of pills.
The dean examined the information on the sticker and matched it with the records on her screen.
"OK, great," she praised. "And make sure you take those before your lunch, which is why we have your classes set up the way they are. Now, do you have any questions?"
"Uh," Eric dropped the drugs back into his bag. "Do I have to tell everyone about my—"
"No, but you do have to check in with the nurse before you take them," the principal informed him.
"Why?" Eric frowned.
"Your mother insisted," Principal Victoria responded as she printed out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. "Here you go. Everything is there including directions to where you have to go and when."
"Thanks," Eric sadly retrieved the paper and got out of his seat.
"Remember, you can talk to our counselor whenever you want," Principal Victoria advised. "His name and room are also on there."
Eric exhaled a long sigh. "Alright, thanks."
After leaving the office, Eric found his designated homeroom. He quietly made his way past the unruly students who were playing around laughing, talking with each other, or eating. A trio of boys stared at him.
One was blond with brilliant blue eyes with his hair up in a ponytail; the next boy wore a blue hat with yellow trim and had brown eyes; and the final brown-haired teen male was decorated with a red baseball cap with a black brim and the letter C.
"Who the hell is that?" The blond asked, eyeing Eric searching for a place to sit.
"I don't know," the blue-hatted boy stared at him, "Must be from out of town."
He passed a girl with black hair in two buns with yellow barrettes with pink flowers who was reading a book silently, and then stopped and stared in surprise when he encountered Kyle.
"Oh, shit!" He cursed. "When you said your name was Cartman, I thought it was spelled with a K."
"Hey, Broflovski!" alerted the ponytail-sporting blond. "You know that kid?"
"No, Marjie was friendly with him in the halls. That's it," Kyle slouched in his seat, pulling on the flaps of his hat as the trio laughed. "Thanks a lot, fat ass."
Eric frowned at that insult and then finally found an empty seat in the back to sit.
"Alright, you little brats sit down and shut up!" An older bald man with some grey hair on the side with glasses walked in, "The sooner I take attendance, the sooner you can get lost. And since it's the first day, homeroom will be shorter than normal, thank God."
Eric laid his face in his folded arms on the desk and sighed. "This is gonna be a long day."
Following homeroom, Eric walked to his first-period class. On the way, he saw a girl with light, ash-brown hair wearing a red hat with pink, white, and purple accents. Not watching where he was going, the overweight teen bumped into a group of lockers. The brunette he was staring at and her friends laughed at his clumsiness.
"Yup," Eric shook it off and rubbed his nose, "Long day."
Fast-forward to lunchtime and the school day was already more than halfway finished. It was pretty uneventful for the most part as Eric kept to himself and tried his best to just pay attention to the teachers and stay out of trouble. He did discover the cow plush in his book bag, but didn't remember putting it there, and believed he either did it and forgot, or his mother secretly snuck him inside so he wouldn't be alone which annoyed him. After quickly stopping by the nurse to introduce himself and take his medication, Eric rushed to the cafeteria feeling hungry and glad the day was almost done.
On his way to the cafeteria, he stopped when he saw the same three kids from homeroom standing by Kyle and Marjorine's lockers.
"What are you looking at, tubby?" The red hat-wearing boy asked holding a spray paint bottle.
Not wanting to get involved, Eric left them to their business without uttering a word.
When he obtained his tray of food, Eric searched for a place to sit, pointing out the various cliques at each group of tables. He decided to try his hand at the quad outside. But before he could make it to the door, someone put their foot out and tripped him, causing him to fall and drop his food on the floor and himself.
Many of the students sitting around him started to laugh. Eric growled as he stood up to see Kyle laughing with his arms crossed.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked, shaking his fists at his sides.
"Oh, I don't know. They didn't have a sign to warn everyone about a wide load, so I thought I would do something about it," the redhead cackled.
"You son-of-a—"
"Kyle!" Marjorine hurried to tell him something unrelated but stopped when she saw what had happened. "Oh, Eric, are you OK?"
"Jesus Christ, Marjie, stop!" Kyle groaned annoyed with his friend.
The blonde snatched some paper towels that other bystanders had on beside their lunch and helped Eric. Feeling embarrassed that a girl was helping him; he lightly pushed her away and ran out of the nearest door as the room erupted into laughter again.
"Oh, my God, so embarrassing," Bebe snickered from the cheerleading table.
"Yeah, guess that little piggy is gonna weep, weep, weep all the way home," Lola guffawed.
Harmony sighed, shaking her head.
Eric made it to the back of the school, trying to catch his breath on the verge of tears. He tossed his backpack to the ground and slid his back down the wall, bringing his knees up to his chest to bury his face in and cry alone and hungry. So far, people in South Park have been almost as bad, if not worse, than Nebraska.
During his small breakdown, the book bag was sitting up and the cow plush was staring outside the little front window.
If this human is this pathetic, there is no way he is the one. The blue stuffed animal thought.
The first miserable day of school finally came to an end and Eric dragged himself to the bus stop, staring at his schedule passing the locker of one of his bullies. It looked like someone tried to clean off words that were painted on both of the doors. He squinted his eyes and made out the partial slur words. He shrugged it off and continued toward his destination.
"Hey," Marjorine startled him when he exited into the quad.
"Uh, hi," Eric pulled on the straps of his bag and walked away from her.
"I'm sorry about Kyle," the blonde followed him.
"Why is he like that?" the brunet wondered, still looking ahead.
"I don't know. He isn't very sociable, especially with new people," Marjorine told him as they made it to the buses. "Whenever I try to be nice to people, he gets angry."
"What is your boyfriend jealous or something?" Eric asked, quirking a brow.
"Boyfriend?" laughed Marjorine. "No, he's just my friend. And besides, I'm nowhere near his type."
"Oh," Eric stared at the bus he was going to enter.
"Hey, since you didn't have lunch, you want to get something with me?" Marjorine offered.
"Is this a trick?" Eric asked cautiously.
"It's up to you whether you want to believe that or not," she held out her hand with a smile.
Eric sighed and decided to trust her, following her into the bus.
When they left the bus, Marjorine was on her phone.
"Is it your not-boyfriend?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, he's upset I took the bus with you," Marjorine giggled.
Eric was confused. "Maybe you should go, I don't wanna come in between you two."
"Oh, he'll get over it," Marjorine draped her arms over his shoulders. "Come on, you like sweets?"
"Um," Eric blushed shyly, holding his tummy as it grumbled.
"I'll take that as a yes," Marjorine giggled. "Tweek Bros. Coffee may not have the best coffee, but their treats are."
They made it to the aforementioned coffeehouse, and it was packed with customers.
"Oh, jeez!" gasped Marjorine.
"Um, afternoon rush?" guessed Eric.
"Hey, Marjorine," a boy with messy blond hair and hazel eyes approached them.
"Hey, Tweek, what's going on today?" She asked.
"It's crazy!" Tweek exclaimed with a twitch. "My parents decided to have a fifty percent off sale out of nowhere."
"Fifty percent, huh?" observed Eric. "Are you guys struggling that much?"
"Who's this?" Tweek asked annoyed.
"Oh, this is Eric Cartman, he just moved to South Park," Marjorine introduced as Eric waved a hand nonchalantly. "Tweek is a junior at the school."
"Yeah, I think I saw you around," Tweek led them to a table that just became free. "Oh, here you go."
"Great, so what's good at this dump?" Eric asked with a smirk.
Marjorine giggled at that. Tweek growled and pointed to the menu on the wall behind the counter where his mother and father were taking orders.
"Son, we can use your help back here," his father called.
"Ahh, coming, Dad!" He frantically walked over to his parents.
"Hey, uh, I don't know how to say this, but thanks for bringing me here," Eric said, avoiding her eyes.
"I think the way you just said it was fine," Marjorine beamed, sipping a matcha latte.
"You didn't have to pay for my half," Eric added, taking a bite of his large chocolate chip muffin.
"Nah, it's the least I could do," she waved her hand. "And don't worry; I'll let Kyle have it when I get home."
"Um, do you two live together?" Eric questioned, now looking at her.
"Uh, it's complicated, but yeah," Marjorine answered nervously, which caught his attention because it was the first time all day he'd seen her apprehensive.
It was getting late.
"I better go so I can make it before curfew or I'll get grounded," Marjorine said as they exited the coffeehouse. "You need help getting home?"
"I can just use a map," Eric held his phone. "I know my address."
"Oh, OK, be careful," Marjorine warned with a slight smile. "South Park is full of creeps."
"Wonderful," Eric scoffed sarcastically. "Anyways, thanks again, dude."
"Um, wait," Marjorine grabbed his hand.
"What?" Eric looked at her and noticed her face was light pink.
"Err, never mind," she pulled away as her face reddened more. "See you tomorrow, Eric."
"Bye," he watched perplexed as she headed for the bus stop, "Strange girl."
Eric finally made it home and he was exhausted. Entering the house, he passed a snoozing Fluffy in the living room and climbed up the stairs to his bedroom. He tossed the backpack on the floor by the door and plopped facedown on the bed to nap.
Back at Tweek Bros. Coffee, Anna Tweak snuck into the backroom to converse with a mysterious young blond man with dark blue eyes.
"How is everything, Mocha?" The blond asked.
"Many humans are consuming the delicacies and we'll soon receive so much energy for the Negaforce and our queen," the woman said.
"Very good," the man smirked. "Once they retreat to their homes for the night, the ingredients we put in their food will zap their energy. In the meantime, I will continue to search for the legendary crystal and stick."
"I will not fail you, Jadeite," Mocha bowed.
During his nap, Eric's bag wiggled and toppled over. The zipper was partially open, allowing the cow to push it. He crawled out and stretched his legs.
"Damn, that was super uncomfortable," he shook his head violently to relax his stuffing muscles. "Of course, he's asleep." The cow leaped onto the bed and inspected the boy. "Please tell me there's someone better?"
Eric shifted his position and his arm crashed onto the talking plush, causing the small bell on his tail to make a noise. Nearby, Kitty heard the jingle and hopped onto the bed to find the source.
"He's certainly strong," the stuffed animal wiggled beneath his weight, moving the bell.
Kitty saw this and snatched it up with his mouth.
"Ah! Let go of me, you vermin!" The cow yelled, startling Eric awake.
"What the hell was that?" He asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"You're lucky I don't have my powers, you beast," the cow could be heard from under the bed.
Eric carefully got off the bed and looked underneath, "Mr. Kitty?"
The cat crawled out from below holding the wiggling toy in his muzzle.
"Hey!" Eric fetched a comic book that was on his nightstand and rolled it up, "Bad Kitty! That's a bad Mr. Kitty!" He smacked the cat's nose, allowing him to drop the cow and run away.
"What's gotten into him?" Eric put down the comic and picked up the toy.
"Oh, thank you, I thought I was a goner," a voice scared him.
"Who said that?" The overweight teen asked, swiftly looking around his room.
"Down here," the cow chirped from his hand.
Eric slowly turned his head and screamed when he saw the animated cow, dropping him.
"W-What the hell are you?" He shrieked in fear up against a wall.
"Don't be afraid, Eric," the talking bovine wiped off the saliva from his horn.
"Oh, great," Eric sighed. "They messed up my medication again."
"I'm not a hallucination," the stuffed toy said.
"That's exactly what a hallucination would say," Eric gulped. "Who are you and what do you want from me?"
"My name is Aether," the cow lowered his head. "I was once a spirit from a distant dimension, but somehow I ended up in this ridiculous trinket."
"Hey, my grandma made me that ridiculous trinket," Eric hissed and then scoffed. "I am not talking to a toy. I'm too old for that now."
"Eric, this is serious, I need your help," Aether said, jumping on the desk beside him.
"OK," Eric exhaled an exasperated sigh. "I will humor you until I either wake up or the drugs wear off."
"This is no dream," Aether shook his head. "I can't believe it either, but you're the golden guardian I need to assemble the warriors of the solar system to take down the Dark Kingdom—an evil organization from the Negaverse."
"The…what?" a confused Eric scratched his head, "And, I...what? Damn it, Mom, you had to make me watch those stupid Sentai shows."
"Here," Aether's bell wiggled, and a wristband with what looked like a comet inscribed emerged around Eric's wrist. "Hold up your hand and shout these words: Gold Power, Make Up!"
"Makeup? No, I don't do that shit no more—"
"Dammit, boy, just do it!" Aether bellowed angrily.
"OK, OK, jeez," Eric flinched. "I can't believe I'm scared of a stuffed cow." He took a deep breath and then did as he was told. "Gold Power, Make Up!"
After his transformation, Eric grew taller and more muscular with piercing red eyes, wearing a dark gold mask, a red and gold cape tied at the end of his chest by a golden brooch, a golden choker with a similar colored circular marking on his forehead; and wore huge, thick, red and black boots. His hair turned from brown to golden blond, draped further down his shoulder; Furry gold ears with pink tints and more fluff covered his face above his now black animal nose, his hands, and a giant black striped tail.
The increased height and weight caused his large, fluffy tail to knock over items on the desks.
"Ho-Ly-Shit!" he exclaimed, looking himself over in the mirror. "I'm sweet-looking!" Looking down, he noticed one of his favorite comic books. "Oh, tits, I look like The Coon, except cooler."
"This is going to blow so hard," Aether covered his face with a hoof.
Eric's pointy ears twitched, and he immediately held them in pain. "Ow! What is that?"
"It's your super hearing, you have to stay calm and focus," Aether advised. "Danger may already be afoot."
Eric tried to do as ordered. He closed his eyes and slowly let go of his ears, gritting his fangs in agony until he picked up the scream of a familiar voice.
"I…I think I hear someone in trouble," Eric hurried over to the window, his claws slicing through his bed sheets because of the limited space in the room. "It's that Tweek kid from the coffee shop."
"Then, you must go help him," Aether joined his side.
"What am I supposed to do?" Eric looked down at him. "Can't the police handle this?" He asked as he reflexively flicked his hand and sharpened his claw, "Then again…"
At Tweek Bros. Coffeehouse, Tweek was being choked by the woman pretending to be his mother.
"M…Mom, w-what are you doing?" He struggled to speak.
"Oh, dear boy, I am not your mother," the monster hissed, licking her lips. "Your parents are locked in the back room, and their energy will be absorbed along with everyone who partook in your shop."
"Hey, let him go!" Eric's loud, deeper-than-usual voice boomed from the entrance.
"And what the hell are you supposed to be?" The enemy loosened her hold on Tweek's throat, and then the boy grabbed her wrist, somehow burning her into dropping him. "You little—"
"He is Sailor Gold Raccoon!" Aether announced standing on the counter.
"Really? I thought I was a tanuki?" Eric guessed with a twitch of his black nose.
"Fine, Gold Tanuki, whatever, just fight her!" Aether ordered.
"Humans are annoying," Mocha groaned. "Rise, my tasty servants, give me the power I need to dispose of this trash panda!"
"Hey, who are you calling—"
Eric was interrupted when a horde of sweet zombies appeared behind him and before him. He screamed and hid behind the counter.
"What on Earth are you doing?" Aether whined, and then he was also scared by a creature made up of different flavored donuts.
"What am I supposed to do?" Eric asked cowering.
"You were all confident earlier, what happened?" Aether asked, trembling beside him. "Just use your claws and cut them up."
"My…" Gold glanced down at his claws. "That's right! And they're food, so I can just eat them too."
The assortment of dessert monsters attacked him as Gold swiped through every one of them, quickly devouring each, belching when he was finished.
"That totally made up for losing my lunch," Gold sighed pleased with himself.
"Oh, you think you're finished?" Mocha asked. She shed her disguise and revealed her true form—a feminine monster made out of different caffeine drinks and she was slightly taller than Gold.
"I'm not afraid of you," Gold smirked. "I'll just…" He suddenly felt sick and clutched his stomach.
Mocha burst into evil laughter. "The minions you consumed are zapping your strength."
"Crap," Aether muttered from his spot. He looked over at Tweek who was shaking in the corner by the back door terrified.
"I'll make quick work of you and finish off that other boy," Mocha swiped her hot claws through Gold's thick fur, piercing flesh. As he screamed in pain, she kneed him in the stomach and kicked him against the wall, his weight cracking it.
More servants emerged from below the counter, combining from remaining pastries on the shelves. They jumped on Gold and started nibbling on his body, leaving several bruises and completely immobilizing him.
"Goodbye, Panda-Boy," Mocha sneered, "So much for playing hero." She regurgitated some boiling coffee in Gold's direction.
The horrified teen closed his eyes tightly, preparing for his demise, but it didn't come. He opened them and, not only noticed the little critters were off him, but also someone else shielded him from the assault.
His rescuer had sky blue eyes, and long, flowing silver hair, and their body was covered in matching colored feathers with a baby blue shine, they had talons as hands and feet, and a long feathery tail. The rest of their outfit was similarly styled to Gold's except silver-shaded and capeless.
"What's this?" Mocha gasped. "You have a partner?"
Aether heard this and poked his head out from behind the counter and saw the newcomer.
"Now, who are you?" Mocha asked in anger.
The avian-looking being unfolded their wings and stood before her gracefully.
"I am Silver Wing," they glared harshly at the monster. "And you do not belong here, beast of the Dark Kingdom."
They threw out their long tail feather and restrained the monster. She tried to spit out more molten caffeine, but Silver tilted their torso, so it would strike the wall, melting a hole through it. Gold shuffled away from it in a panic and emitted an obnoxious scream that filled the building, breaking all of the glass and stunning everyone there.
Silver Wing shook it off and hovered in the air, still holding Mocha with their tail. They lifted their wings which also included their talons and held them together before the moonlight, shining through the broken windows. The sterling-haired savior formed an argent fireball in between their cupped nails.
"Wrath of Light!" shouted them, and they threw the blazing attack and disintegrated Mocha, leaving behind coffee grounds.
Silver Wing turned to Gold who stared at them with mixed emotions. All they could do was grunt before leaving the building. Gold scrambled to get up to follow them. He made it outside and saw them floating in the sky before the moon, its light shining off their feathers. Hearing police sirens, they flew away before anyone else could see them.
"So…Pretty," Gold sighed, flicking his tail as his ears and nose twitched.
"Eric, we need to get out of here," Aether said, snapping him from his trance.
Gold heard him and hurried home, going through the dark alleys to avoid being seen.
Eric made it home very late in the evening. He was no longer in his supposed superhero attire and instead was a bruised and bloody mess. Carefully, he opened the front door to his home and his mother immediately noticed.
"Oh, my God, Eric, what happened?" Liane hurried up to him, also noticing Aether's stiff form clutched in her son's bleeding hand.
"Leave me alone, Mom," he uttered softly, refusing to look at her.
"When I came home, your room was trashed and I couldn't get a hold of you," Liane told him, following him up the stairs. "Did you get into a fight? You're bleeding."
"I just wanna be left alone," Eric repeated, biting his lip and adding that to the body parts that were emptying blood.
"Eric, please just—"
"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Eric screeched, causing the downstairs windows to crack.
Liane stood there stunned, glancing downstairs at the window, and then looked back at her distraught son. All she could do was watch him leave her and slam his bedroom door behind him.
"No," she sobbed, gripping the banister. "Please, not again."
Eric collapsed on his bed and bawled into his pillow. Aether sat beside him with some crimson liquid stained on him from his carrier's hand. The imprisoned spirit just watched the troubled teenager cry, feeling guilty about introducing him to this mission.
To be continued…
Next time: The birth of Sailor Mercury, the first Sailor Warrior.