Author Note: I can only apologise for how long it took for this chapter to arrive - Christmas was frantic (but I had the worlds coolest tree; black with my homemade Kenny Angel on the top, ha ha!) and the brand spanking new... um, cheapest computer in the pawn shop that I treated myself to really dislikes saving my work, so I wrote the end of this chapter like, three times. The next chapter should be here far quicker; I already wrote so much that I'm gonna have to split it into two.

Many thanks to Saundersfamily2007, thequillofdestiny and Loozje for the reviews! And to thequillofdestiny (again!) and Kusege-chan for reviewing my one shot (there should be an update there soon, although I might have to save the Christmas-themed one until next year. Dammit!

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Professor Chaos folded his arms, face stony. Kyle and Stan regarded him with some alarm. The man had to be seven foot tall, with exaggerated muscles that made him look like a professional wrestler. Although his clothes resembled the hand-made outfit from childhood, the fabrics were clearly of quality and the helmet made from actual metal rather than tinfoil. Behind the mask, his blue eyes were devoid of anything that reminded them of their irritating but well-intentioned classmate.

As he stared at them, Professor Chaos drew his brows together in a frown of puzzlement, then recognition dawned on his face. All of a sudden, the stoic exterior broke slightly and the man began to smile, his eyes losing their coldness and expressing genuine pleasure to see them.

"F-fellas?"

For a second, they could all see the boy he had been nine years before, the kid who had always been glad to see them even when the feeling wasn't mutual, who had struggled to gain acceptance without much luck. Just for a moment.

Then the moment was gone and Professor Chaos turned to glare at Kenny, dropping his hands to his sides and clenching them into fists. For a moment, it looked like he was going to hit the boy and that would have been unpleasant – Professor Chaos was a foot taller than Kenny and had about two hundred pounds of solid muscle more going for him. Instead, he started yelling. And when Professor Chaos started yelling, everyone knew about it. His voice was imposing, powerful, commanding. It was the kind of voice that no one would ever have imagined someone as non-threatening as Butters Stotch owning.

"What the heck were you thinking of, fool! You bring them to our base and let them in on our secret plans – didn't you realise this is the work of Eric Cartman! They're spies! They'll give away our location and then Eric will bring his soldiers down here and kill us all!"

Stan and Kyle both cringed as Professor Chaos raged. He seemed so loud and angry, almost ready to kill. Kyle had a brief memory of his mother at her most strident and shoved the thought away in a hurry. He didn't need to be distracted when it looked like things were about to get ugly, nor did he need to be thinking about his family. If he did, he would start to wonder where they were, hoping them alive but dreading that they could all be dead.

Kenny however seemed oddly unconcerned about the outburst. Standing up, he hooked his thumbs into his pockets and grinned. "Come on Chaos, you know they can't have been working for fat ass Otherwise, they'd be our age, not still kids."

With a jolt, Kyle realised that Professor Chaos had to be the same age as Kenny, although he sure as shit didn't look like a teenager. Butters had been a few months older than Kenny but that didn't explain it at all. Professor Chaos seemed ageless, most likely in his mid-twenties although it would be impossible to tell for sure, whereas Kenny was just a normal looking teenage boy.

"They could be clones! Or robots! Or lookalikes!"

Kenny sighed and Kyle got the impression that calming the leader down was something he had to do often. "Kyle, when we went to Jew Scouts, what did I make a sculpture of?"

"Um, yourself?"

"Stan, when we went off to get our money back from Mel Gibson, what was in his wallet?"

Stan began to get the point. "Nothing but twenties. I didn't have change, but you had a couple of dollars."

Kenny nodded, turning his attention to Professor Chaos again. "See? That's shit that Cartman didn't know and couldn't tell a spy. This is the real deal."

Professor Chaos rubbed his knuckles together, a gesture at odds with his otherwise confident attitude. "You'd better be sure about this Kenny."

"Don't you see what this means?" Kenny glanced over at Kyle and Stan, then focused his attention on Professor Chaos. "This is the first time that something went wrong with one of Cartman's wishes. And that means it might all be about to turn to shit."

"For us or for them?"

Kenny shrugged.

Professor Chaos glanced at the two boys. "How are they going to be of any use to us? They're nine."

"I'm not saying they will, only that it's a good sign! And besides, Ike's only twelve and he manages to help out plenty."

"Huh. This isn't a..."

"Ike?"

Professor Chaos and Kenny turned to look at Kyle, who had spoken quietly but with enough force to cut through the discussion.

"Ike? As in my baby brother Ike?"

Kenny sighed, running a hand through his hair distractedly. "Yeah, your brother. But Kyle – he's like, older than you are now. Might be a good idea to wait until someone explains the situation to him before you do the family reunion thing."

Kyle nodded absently, but couldn't help a huge grin breaking out across his face. He hadn't quite realised how much he had been bracing himself against the news that his entire family had been killed until he heard the news of his brother. There was so much relief that he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, dance or faint.

Professor Chaos grabbed the door handle and pulled it, ripping the entire door off its hinges. "You explain things. I have a rebellion to organise." With that, he walked out of the room, slamming the door into some kind of barricade as if he hadn't even noticed that it had been broken.

"I don't remember him being this much of a douche," muttered Stan.

"It's not really his fault," said Kenny reluctantly. "He wanted to be Professor Chaos and bring destruction and doom on everyone who wronged him – but to do that, he has to lead the Resistance and try to out-think Cartman and it's... well, the pressure's getting to him."

Stan nodded, almost afraid to ask his next question. "So... who do we know here? Who did survive what Cartman did to South Park?"

Scowling, Kenny played with the strings of his hoody, although he refrained from pulling up the hood as he would have done as a child. "Um. There were a few people. But it's sorta hard to tell if that means anything."

"Just tell us Kenny."

"Well – Ike, like I said. Some other kid in his class, Filmore, but he was pretty badly injured and he never leaves base. Token, he's been here since the beginning, and Pip too, but they were out tonight too and I haven't checked in to see that they made it back yet..." Kenny frowned, looking at the floor. "Craig was here, but he got taken down five months ago. We're hoping he's POW, but – it doesn't look good and fat ass isn't exactly interested in taking people alive. There's Bridon, he's a bit younger than us. Oh, Scott Tennorman insisted on joining up too but he's a little, uh, y'know. Psychotic. Jimbo and Ned, they're not with us but we have seen them occasionally around and they take out Cartman's soldiers when they see 'em and don't mind giving us a hand if they see us."

There was silence for a moment and Stan realised that Kenny was at the end of his list. "That's it? That's everyone who survived?"

"No!" Kenny slammed a hand against the wall in frustration. "That's everyone who joined the Resistance. The only ones we know for sure are alive or dead – or at least know that they were. There were some people who joined Cartman's side too! Knowing he was stronger and in a better position and wanting to make their own lives easier – can't blame 'em."

But he did blame them, the younger boys realised.

"When trouble first hit South Park, a lot of people made a run for it," continued Kenny more quietly. "Most people who stayed had to, like my family couldn't get away. Or else they thought they were safe, like Token's family hiding in the panic room. But the only people we can say for sure are dead are the ones we've seen with our own eyes. Like the Mayor and the cops, right at the start, or the people who were with the Resistance and died fighting Cartman. But most of the town, we just don't know. They could all have made it out and be living happily in Denver right now."

Kyle scowled. "Is this your way of saying you have no idea where our families are?"

Reluctantly, Kenny nodded. "Because South Park was where the whole deal started, there were a lot more safe places to go. Most of Colorado was evacuated. All we know is, they're not here. They could be fine."

"Or they could be dead," said Stan bluntly.

Kenny grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled for a reply – then was saved by a noise from the door as someone tried to push it open, realised it was practically destroyed and began shoving it to one side instead. Glad of the distraction, Kenny went over to help. As soon as the gap was wide enough for admittance, two men entered the room.

As there was only one African-American family in the whole town, it would have been strange if the two boys hadn't recognised Token. Although he was only an inch or two taller than Kenny, his posture was rigid and defensive, making him appear taller. The right hand side of his face was littered with healing cuts and his hair was ultra-short and functional, a far cry from the casually expensive appearance he had sported in his youth. The second man was slighter at about five foot nine, long blonde hair hanging half way down his back, sporting a short, deep scar above his left eyebrow that gained more prominence as he frowned at the sight of the newcomers. Had Kenny not mentioned the name before, Kyle and Stan would have struggled to recognise the teenager as the English orphan that shared their classroom. The one thing that both had in common was their clothes, wearing black jeans and hoodies like Kenny, although unlike Kenny, they both looked as if they had spent several hours crawling through the snow and mud.

Token folded his arms and shook his head slowly. "Shit. This seems to be our day for finding the missing."

Kenny whipped his head around to face the taller boy. "Huh? What?"

"We shouldn't discuss it in front of the kids," replied Token.

"Hey!" interjected Stan.

"Since we don't know if they're part of some scheme of Cartman's," continued Token as if the boy hadn't spoken.

"We were frozen!" objected Stan. "Cartman was trying to get rid of us too!"

"And this is something we really ought to alert Professor Chaos about," added Pip, also ignoring the interruption.

Token nodded his agreement, a frown on his face. "Yeah. Something's going down, something big. And I'm starting to think it's happening soon."

Kenny looked over to Mephisto. "Can you maybe take Stan and Kyle and get them something to eat? And then explain things to Ike. We gotta go seek an audience with Fearless Leader." He rolled his eyes slightly and then accompanied Token and Pip out of the room, able to feel the glare of his old friends burning into his back.

~:~

The Rebel base had come part and parcel of Butter's new persona. His first wish, the thing he had wanted most in the world, was to be like the Professor Chaos he saw in his mind. That guy was big, he was bad and no one pushed him around. Professor Chaos was a super villain, forced to live in solitude, determined to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world. And for that, he needed a secret hideaway as well as a fashionable yet functional uniform. The underground facility was ideal. It contained the luxurious private quarters that a super villain demanded, labs for his pet scientists to work in and large living spaces for the private army he imagined one day he would command. And of course, the base could never be located unless he deemed it so, meaning that all Cartman's attempts to find it were fruitless. Even taking prisoners didn't help, they forgot the location of the base the moment they fell into enemy hands.

Of course, Professor Chaos hadn't realised that Cartman would also attempt to take over the world and would put his plan into action before the super villain could. This meant that before he could take over or destroy the planet, he had to do something about saving it. He found this vaguely irritating. He was supposed to be evil and it wasn't exactly evil to be saving the world, even if he was just saving it for later.

The team of scientists working on diabolical plots that he had envisioned was down to only one geneticist with an anal obsession. His soldiers were a group of genetically engineered, scantily clad Amazonians and he had certainly never envisioned that, although mostly because it would have got him grounded. And his trusted associates were down to a handful of youths, the oldest being barely into his twenties and completely obsessed with making Cartman suffer, the youngest, two twelve year old boys.

There was a knock on the door to his private chamber and without waiting for a response, three of his lackeys entered. That was something else Professor Chaos thought was unfitting for an evil overlord. Surely they should have been flanked by several heavily-armed Kelly's and upon gaining an audience, fallen down at his feet to grovel. But no, no one ever grovelled. He'd suggested it once to Kenny and the ensuing laughing fit had lasted so long that the Professor had killed him in a fit of pique.

He bet that Cartman's followers grovelled. He'd bet they salaamed. Well, one day they would be doing that to him to. Assuming he ever found out just what 'salaamed' meant.

"Yo, Chaos," said Kenny casually. "We gotta talk. Big news, apparently."

They could have at least saluted or something, thought the Professor sulkily, lounging in a seat that resembled the bastard offspring of an ostentatious throne and an overstuffed couch. He'd wanted to become feared and hated, instead he seemed to be head of a committee. Life sucked.

Token approached ahead of the others, obviously anxious to share what they'd discovered. "It's Craig. He's alive."

"Alive!" Kenny stared at Token in shock. "Are you sure?"

Token glanced back at him, his rigid posture not changing – but the first smile of the night broke out on his face. "We can't say for a hundred per cent sure, but our informant's pretty good and he seems to think he is."

"Awesome!" Kenny punched the air victoriously.

"He could be telling Cartman everything about our operations," growled the Professor.

"Nope," said Token. "He hasn't said a word. Just sits there flipping everyone off." This information brought a reluctant laugh from the Professor, a far less reluctant one from Kenny.

"I just stood guard," continued Token. "Didn't hear everything. I'll let Pip fill you in."

Professor Chaos nodded approvingly. At least Pip showed a casual respect for his status. There was a rumour around the base that the seemingly mild-mannered Brit had once escaped certain capture by biting the nose off a guard dog, but the Professor didn't really believe it. Anyone who willingly put a dogs nose in their mouth was just sick.

Pip looked far happier than he had on previous encounters when there was nothing good to report. "Well sir, we got to the rendezvous point..."

~:~

The steady sound of digging was faint but unmistakable and Pip realised they'd found the right place. He glanced at Token who nodded tersely, unslinging his gun and checking the area. It seemed quiet, but a sneak attack or a sniper wasn't out of the question.

Pip crept forward, hitting the ground as he neared the location and crawling on his belly to the spot where the ground had taken on a caved-in look. It was less than two minutes later that a head emerged from the dirt.

"Zat had better be you, English boy."

"It's me," replied Pip, slightly impatiently. "Any news?"

"A lot ees happening at ze fat one's camp. Zere ees much activity and everyone ees nervous. Zere are many, many more soldiers on guard now."

"Did they see you?"

"Ha! Surely you make a joke. I am not like ze British, crashing through ze front door and shouting tally bloody ho. I was not seen."

Pip wasn't sure whether or not he should be offended, so he ignored the comment. "Have you any idea why there are more soldiers around?"

"I do not know for certain. But zey are nervous and zat says to me all ees not going to plan." A pause while he took a drag on the perpetual cigarette. "My source tells me zat zey are keeping prisoners now. Zey have a young man whom zey have captured from your Resistance. His name is Craig and they keep him, although he tells them nothing and he answers all questions by displaying 'is middle digit. Maybe you are not all fucking pussies after all."

Pip's eyes lit up. "Craig? Alive?"

"I would not be too 'appy about it if I was you. If he tells zem nothing, zey keep 'im only as a bargaining tool. I tell you about him so you will be prepared for zat."

Sighing, Pip nodded. It was unlikely they would be able to rescue Craig from Cartman's stronghold even with an army of Kelly's. "Well, at least we know."

"You 'ave something for me?"

Pip grabbed for the rucksack on his back, opening it and removing several packets of cigarettes and a couple of jars, valuable commodities in the town in present times.

"Merci."

Finding himself suddenly under close scrutiny, Pip frowned. "What?"

"Zey say you bite ze noses off guard dogs."

"It was only one dog! I panicked!"

"It ees okay by me. I fucking hate guard dogs. Look, if zere ees a big attack on ze fat one, I should like to be a part of it. Contact me in ze usual way, I shall be zere. And you may need someone to sneak a team in through a tunnel while ze rest of you shout tally bloody ho at ze front door, non?"

The head disappeared back into the hole but re-emerged after only a second, a hand brandishing the jar Pip had given him. "Oh, I forgot. Zere ees a message from my source. 'e says, it ees too much pressure for 'im. Next time, 'e will need more coffee."

~:~

"...But I've never said tally bloody ho in my life until today," finished Pip.

Professor Chaos scowled, staring into the distance. After years of stagnant back-and-forth conflict, all while Cartman slowly gaining the upper hand, finally things had changed. It would help if he had more information on what was really going on at his stronghold, but between these latest reports and the sudden reappearance of Stan and Kyle, it seemed as if things were finally coming to a head. To the others it may just seem weird, but he had been there at the beginning – he knew things that no one else was privy to. It was a sign. Satan was getting tired of the two of them fighting it out on a national scale and one way or the other, at least one of them was going down.

Professor Chaos was determined it would not be him.

Token shrugged. "It seems like good news, but we just don't know enough. So they're nervous, big wow. Might have got word of an international attack, since they're still trying to shut fat ass down."

The Professor grunted, apparently barely listening to Token.

Kenny raised an eyebrow. "Of course, if we need to, we can launch an attack with something extra on our side. Chaos, you made the deal with Satan, how many wishes have you got left?"

Professor Chaos snapped out of his reverie, infuriated suddenly by the sheer impertinence of the question. "Oh, you'd like me to tell you that, wouldn't you? You'd like to know so that when Cartman's out of the way and I'm on the next phase of my plan, you can use the information to find my weak spot and chop off my heels!"

There was a moments silence, then Kenny sighed. "Dammit Butters."

The Professors eyes burned with rage and he raised a fist, which began to glow and crackle with energy. Kenny managed a brief, "Oh sh-" as the orb was aimed at him, temporarily rendering him a mere blackened skeleton before even that crumbled to dust.

Token and Pip exchanged glances and the Englishman spoke quickly. "Well, we really should hit the showers and give you time to consider the options. I hope our information proved useful!"

Receiving only a glare from the Professor as a reply, the pair let themselves out in a hurry.

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Another Authors Note: I hadn't actually planned to put half of the characters in that show up. They kinda bullied me into including them! There's more information on how many wishes are left and what they were actually used for in the next chapter - things will get a lot less mysterious as we progress. Reviews are loved!