A/N: And thus chapter 4 is finally complete! I apologize for how long it took. A lot of issues have occurred and life got difficult. But I spent most of the last few days working on this chapter. I do want to say that I hope you're not upset that Craig was revealed very soon. I didn't want it to linger any longer as there were a bunch of plans I was coming up with for this story. My intentions of having Craig be revealed to Tweek was purposely for it to occur early. Many things are going to escalate after chapter 3. A lot of the chapters soon will be longer, possibly more detailed, and many things are to come. This chapter may seem a bit rushed but it was timed right and I didn't want to linger too long. I hope that's fine and I sure hope you enjoy this chapter.
As Tweek was cleaning out the cage of his and Craig's guinea pig, his phone rang in his pocket. Quickly, he answered the phone and held it to his ear with his shoulder.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Tweek, it's Kyle."
"Oh hey, Kyle. What's up?" Tweek gave a small smile as he set Stripe down on his lap.
"Clyde told me you and Craig are going to help him with the missing persons case." Kyle sounded very depressed, Tweek noted. He understood it was obvious why. For as long as he could remember, Kyle cared a lot for his little brother. When Tweek was in their group, Kyle used to bring Ike with him on occasions. Watching the siblings bond warmed Tweek's heart but also made him a bit sad himself. Tweek never had little siblings, probably the closest he ever got to one was Craig's little sister Tricia. After they got together, Tricia treated Tweek like a big brother. It definitely made him happy. It made the boy want to help find Ike so much more. Kyle may not have been the best of friends with him, but he still considered him more so than he ever did with the other boys. Stan was okay too, but it wasn't the same. Kenny hardly talked to him. And Cartman, well, Cartman is not Tweek's friend, period. Tweek makes it very clear.
"Ah, yeah, I wanted to help my friend out." Tweek responded. "I knew how devastated you must be. I had to say yes."
"Thank you..." Kyle spoke out, his voice seemed to have broke a bit. "This means a whole lot, dude. I wanted to personally thank you. And I wanted to ask if you'd be busy today at all."
"Today?" Tweek looked over at the calendar he had hanging on the wall. "We don't have any plans from the looks of it. I don't work today either. Why do you ask?"
Kyle cleared his throat, then there was another voice in the background asking Kyle if he needed some water, to which he responded with "Yeah, thanks, Ma" then returned to talk to Tweek, "We're going to have a search party today. Would you like to come? It'll be tonight at eight. My parents and some other adults are doing one right now so we're gonna do ours later too."
"I would definitely like to come." Tweek nodded, handing Stripe a cracker. "I'll ask Craig too."
"Sweet. Meet us at my house around eight. Thanks, dude."
"You're welcome, dude." Tweek chuckled, "See you then."
With that, they hung up their phones. Tweek picked up Stripe from his lap and laid down on his back on the floor, holding her up in the air as she sat nicely on his palm while eating her cracker.
Craig walked back into the room from his shower to get dressed. He glanced at Tweek, smiling.
"All done with her?" Craig asked, putting a tank top on before putting on a grey polo shirt and black pants.
"Yup, all clean. She's happy." Tweek smiled and gently scratched Stripe's cheek. "And Kyle called. He wanted to thank us and asked if we'd like to come with them on their search party."
"Oh?" Craig slipped on his pants and turned back to Tweek. "We can do that."
"Sweet. Because I was gonna go even if you didn't want to." Tweek carefully put Stripe back inside the cage and got up from the ground. He grabbed the cage to put it back on top of the dresser where it belonged. "We're gonna meet him at eight. So we have plenty of time to get anything done."
"Sounds like a plan." Craig smiled.
The two spent the rest of the time cleaning up and getting things situated before they left. With everything happening almost at once, Tweek took a good part of the night thinking. After lots of cuddles and movie time with Craig, he had fallen asleep and left Tweek to his thoughts. He never would have expected Craig to be something... honestly terrifying. He did take it way too well. It kind of surprised him, but deep down Tweek trusted Craig a lot more than he admits. Watching him transform into that creature, Tweek shook in deep fear but his mind and heart saw Craig, not the creature. His eyes looking at Tweek were entirely Craig and not a monster. He promised himself that he'd do everything to help Craig hide this side. South Park is full of insane tales and mysteries, but he can guarantee that werewolf creatures are not one of them. This would never change Tweek's feelings for Craig. This just made him love him more. It was a true side of Craig that nobody else entirely knows. A lot of things would get more interesting, Tweek thought.
The two soon made their way to Kyle's house. Tweek had packed up some survival gear for the search party. He had took his first aid kit, flashlights, blankets for if they happen to get lucky in finding Ike, and some warm food. Tweek took this a bit too seriously but it was natural for him. The two didn't say much but Tweek offered to control the music. Craig didn't complain, the two had a similar taste in music. They enjoyed the soft beats of the music until they arrived at Kyle's.
Before Tweek even got out of the car, Craig grabbed his arm and his grip seemed to have tightened a bit. Tweek looked back at him and noticed his eyes were glued to something past Tweek. He looked in that direction and noticed a familiar red pick up truck that belonged to the infamous Eric Cartman. Tweek turned back to Craig.
"He's here." Craig's voice was low and irritable. "The hell is he here for."
"Maybe he's helping too?" Tweek tried to stay positive, but he was a bit irritated too. Cartman was the last man he'd expect to help Kyle. The history between them was a strong one. Their friendship died immensely as the years went on. One day there was an incident that made them have a fight so intense, one of them nearly got killed. Kyle refuses to speak of the incident, but he remained kind of friends with Cartman, his hatred for him will never subside. Maybe finding Ike was something Kyle took so seriously that he had to ask whatever help he could get. He couldn't blame him though.
"We're gonna have to be careful." Craig sighed heavily. "He's been fishy lately and I have no trust in him. At all."
Tweek nodded, feeling Craig let go of his arm. He got out the car and grabbed his bag. With Craig following behind, Tweek walked to the front door of Kyle's house.
"Stay close to Kyle or me, Tweek." Craig whispered to him as they waited for Kyle to answer the door. "He's going to try something funny. I just know it."
Tweek nodded, "I'll make sure to help kick his ass." The two smiled sneakily to one another. The door opened and revealed their other friend, Butters. The blond happily smiled at them.
"Tweek! Craig! Heya fellas, it's been a long time!" He went in to hug Tweek tightly. "Oh boy this is going to be great!"
Butters grabbed the two boys and dragged them into the house. Inside was Cartman. He was sitting on the couch in a large trench coat and somewhat messy brown hair. His different colored eyes glared over at the couple, mostly at Craig.
"Oh boy, the token gay couple is here." He seemed to have scoffed. "You come to find a way to ditch the group so you can fuck in the woods?"
"Cartman, what the fuck did I tell you?!" A taller boy walked in from the kitchen. His usual red hair cut neatly without his signature green ushanka. He wore an orange hoodie over a black band shirt. His angry gaze at Cartman turned over to Tweek and Craig and changed to a look expressing his apology. He gestured them into the kitchen and went back in. The two didn't hesitate to follow.
When they were in the kitchen Kyle immediately turned to them. "Guys, I'm really sorry. He just... He just showed up and demanded to have him help."
"That explains it." Craig sighed.
"I don't want him here. At all. But I may need all the help I can get." Kyle also sighed.
"We can keep an eye on him. I feel he may do something." Tweek crossed his arms across his chest. "I refuse to have that fat lard ruin a chance to find Ike."
"I appreciate it, guys." Kyle smiled at them. "We'll head out in a few minutes. We're going to meet Stan and Kenny at the route."
"We brought some stuff to help. You got a first aid kit yourself?" Craig asked.
"Yeah, I've got it in my bag. Even some blankets and stuff. My parents are already doing their route and will be home soon. Once they're home we're heading out too. You guys have flashlights right?"
The two nodded. Tweek set the bag down by the wall in the kitchen.
"Good, good."
"When they get here, I'm going to get a headstart." Craig let out, immediately getting a glared from Tweek. "I can get some kind of trail ready for you guys."
"What, are you sure?" Kyle raised an eyebrow. "It's dangerous outside alone, Craig. And in the woods? I don't think--"
"I know what I'm doing." Craig folded his arms. "I can get a lead ahead of time. When you guys get there to our meetup, I'll be there ready to tell you where I think Ike could be."
"Craig." Tweek grabbed his hand, "One second, Kyle."
Kyle nodded as Tweek dragged Craig to the other side of the kitchen and stared up at him, eyes furrowed into anger.
"Why would you want to go by yourself?" Tweek kept his voice low as he talked to Craig.
"Because I can get a scent easily, Tweek." Craig whispered back. "I can't turn in front of them. Especially not in front of Cartman. I'll need a full turn in order to get a decent scent."
Tweek sighed in worry, "I guess you're right but..."
He felt Craig place his hands on Tweek's shoulders. He looked at Craig, soon feeling his hand rest against his cheek. Craig smiled at him.
"I know why you worry, but I've kept it safe for a long time." He rubbed his cheek gently. "I refuse to do anything stupid now just because you know. Trust me on this. I'll be fine. I'll only be using it to get a scent of Ike."
Tweek sighed but nodded. He'd still worry but he knew he'd be okay. Craig kissed his forehead before letting go of Tweek and walking back over to Kyle. Tweek trailing behind him.
"Can I go into Ike's room really quick?" Craig asked. Confused, Kyle nodded. Craig left the kitchen.
"Is he okay?" Kyle asked Tweek.
"Yeah, he's fine. He's just as worried as I am." Tweek nodded. "Is Clyde going to be there too by the way?"
"Ah, no, he's actually on the search party with Ma and Dad. It'll just be us. They should be here real soon." Kyle proceeded to get two cans of Dr. Pep-er and handed one to Tweek as a kind gesture. He took it and drank a bit of it just as Craig walked back into the kitchen.
"Okay, I'll meet you guys at the meet up." He waved at them. "If I find him first though, I'll message you."
With that, he left the house.
"He's still as odd as ever." Kyle gave a small chuckle, setting his can down as he had just finished it.
"Tell me about it. I have to live with him." Tweek smiled. Kyle then made his way back to the living room where Cartman and Butters sat on the couch, Cartman doing his usual job at messing with the smaller blond.
"Where'd Tucker go running off too?" Cartman yawned, somehow grabbing a bag of cheesy poofs from out of nowhere.
"He's scouting ahead." Kyle responded in annoyance. "That way we can have a head start."
Cartman seemed to have scoffed but continued shoving food into his mouth. Butters looked over at the other two, a worried look on his face. Tweek wanted to ask what was wrong but stopped when the front door opened to reveal Kyle's mother. She was a rather big woman, not too big, rather plump and honestly not bad looking. Her red hair matching Kyle's almost instantly, only difference was her hair was a tad brighter and always kept in a nice bun on the top of her head. However, with the stress she's been feeling over the disappearance of her youngest child, small hairs stuck out of the bun and her eyes had deep dark circles. She looked like she was just finishing crying her eyes out again. She ignored the gaze of Cartman and Butters and went straight to Kyle. The years did a number on Kyle's height, making him nearly tower over his mother. She hugged him tightly. Kyle hugged her back, watching his father walk inside and shut the door. His father also looked as tired as his mother.
"Nothing still, Ma?" Kyle asked softly.
"No... nothing..." Mrs. Broflovski responded sadly. "Be careful out there, bubby. I can't lose you too."
"I'll be okay, Ma. We're heading there now." Kyle carefully pried his mother off him and gave her a kiss on the cheek before gesturing the other three boys to follow him out the house. "We're taking my car."
Mrs. Broflovski waved them off, Tweek waving back as he followed Cartman and Butters out the door. The boys walked to Kyle's car and got inside, Tweek got lucky in getting the front seat. Sure he got a glare from Cartman who always wants the passenger seat but Tweek had more important things to worry about than Cartman.
"Alright, let's go."
They arrived at the meet up to spot Craig sitting there. He was staring at his phone while carrying something in his other hand. It looked like a jacket that had ripped in a few places. There were holes throughout the clothing and nothing else. Kyle saw it instantly and ran over once the car was stopped and turned off. The other three got out the car and followed behind.
"That's Ike's..." Kyle spoke softly. Craig handed it to him and watched him cradle it in his arms.
"I have a lead on where he might be." Craig said in a low voice. "Unfortunately we may have to separate into two groups as the trail I got led me in two different paths. So I waited here until you guys showed up. We can go to the fork and do our two groups there."
"Thank you..." Kyle sniffed, holding the jacket close to him, "Stan and Kenny are on their way now. Once they're here we can start immediately."
The group simply waited in silence, with the occasional Cartman making stupid remarks that obviously annoyed Craig the most. Tweek sat beside him, setting his bag down in front of him. He almost completely forgot the bag earlier so he held on tightly to the strap so he was ready for their move. Butters was sitting on the other side of Tweek, the two were talking about the new video games coming out and possibly plans to hang out soon. Kyle was pacing around, jacket still in his arms. Soon enough, headlights shined over close by and in comes Kenny and Stan. Kenny had stopped wearing his parka a few years back as it was making it a bit hard for him to breath the older he got. He now just wears an orange hoodie that was thicker than Kyle's. He never had it zipped up so he always had a black shirt or band shirts underneath. He had ear piercings and messing dirty blondish hair. Stan, however, didn't look like himself. He doesn't wear his red puff ball blue hat anymore. He wore a letterman blue jacket over a solid black shirt and dark brown pants. His face was a mess. He was in the process of growing a beard, but it was somewhat clean shaven and his blue eyes stood out due to dark shadows under his eyes. He seemed to have stumbled behind Kenny as they walked over to the group.
"Oh, boy, your boyfriend is here, Kahl." Cartman snickered as he watched. Kyle glared angrily at him as he went over to them. Kenny patted his shoulder before making his way over to Butters, Tweek, and Craig. Kyle had placed his hands on Stan, then hugged him tightly. Stan hugged him back.
"What's up with you, Stan?" Kyle let him go and stared at him. They were the same height so they stayed eye level with one another constantly. Stan lazily stared back at him.
"N... No... thing, man. I'm fiiine." Stan hiccuped. Kyle frowned at him, crossing his arms.
"No you're not." Kyle growled. The talking behind them seized as the others stared over at them. "Otherwise you wouldn't be drunk. What the hell did she do this time, Stan."
The emphasis was enough for the group. They all kept out of it and went back to their own little conversation, except for Tweek and Craig and unfortunately Cartman. Butters and Kenny talked about the video games.
"She... she..." Stan's expression grew sad and he seemed to have been about to cry his eyes out. "She's gone and never coming back..."
"You know what, Stan," Kyle softly said, "Forget about her. She didn't deserve you anyways. You tried the best you could. She couldn't open her eyes to appreciate the person you became today. I'm sorry it ended that way, dude. But no matter what, we're all here for you."
Stan unfortunately let the tears fall and hugged Kyle again, burying his face in his shoulder out of embarrassment. Kyle sighed and hugged him back, gently rubbing his back.
"Why don't you go home and rest, Stan." Kyle suggested, "I can't have you here getting hurt on the way."
"N-No, I wanna help f-find Ike..."
"Not when you're drunk and as depressed as the goth kids." Kyle chuckled, making an attempt to cheer him up, "You can go to my house. Ma and Dad would love to have you over. Go on."
Stan still hesitated until Butters came over to them.
"I can take him there, Kyle." He smiled, placing his hand on Stan's arm. "You'll be okay, buddy."
Stan nodded and was led away by Butters.
"That was so gay." Cartman laughed, "Why not just fuck him already, Kahl?"
"Cartman, I swear, I will fucking end you if you keep this up." Kyle swirled around to face him angrily. "Do you wanna help or are you just going to sit on your fatass and make jokes all day?! I'm trying to find my brother and I don't need you being an asshole this whole damn time!"
Craig stood up, glancing at the two of them. "Then let's go already."
He grabbed Tweek's hand and helped him up. He then gestured the other three to follow as he made his way down the path he made. With them in front, Kyle stayed behind them with Kenny and Cartman in the back.
"Tweek." Craig began, in voice so only he could hear. "Team up with Kyle when we get to the fork. He may need somebody to talk to about Stan."
"What about you?" Tweek glanced at him.
"I'm going to keep an eye on Cartman." Craig scrunched up his nose. "You'll be going down the path I found has the strongest lead. You should be able to find Ike down that one."
"You got it. I'm sure you can handle the fatass, right." Tweek smiled. "I'd be a bit disappointed to tell someone that I can kick Cartman's ass but you can't."
"Babe, you know damn well I can kick his ass." Craig smirked, "I'd be disappointed in myself too if I can't."
"Good. Otherwise I'd have to kick your ass myself."
"Oh I'd like to see you try."
"I've done it before. I destroyed you then, I can do it again.
"... Damn, point taken."
Tweek laughed a little loudly, it echoing in the dark. They made it to the fork and began their groups. Tweek, Kyle, and Kenny stayed in a group while Cartman and Craig stayed in theirs. They decided to wait there until Butters got back and had the other three go up ahead.
"You doing alright, Kyle?" Tweek asked as they made it further ahead down the path. Kyle, with his flashlight out and searching, smiled over at Tweek.
"Yeah... Yeah I'm just worried. And maybe angry." Kyle responded back. "I'm tired of it."
"Stan?"
"Yup." Kyle didn't hesitate. "Ever since they met, Stan has done nothing but obsess over her. She could have been okay if it weren't for the fact she was just a total bitch most of the time."
Tweek listened, handing Kenny an extra flashlight.
"I've been Stan's best friend since we were practically babies." Kyle continued, still walking and shining his light everywhere, "Our dad's and mom's are good friends too. We grew up together and dealt with so many hardships. But..."
Kyle stopped walking and turned to face Tweek and Kenny. They stood there staring back at him.
"... Ever since he met her, dude, it kept feeling like I didn't exist. He talks about her all the time. He spent hours on the phone with me not even wondering what I was doing. Instead just talking nonstop about Wendy fucking Testaburger. I was SICK of it! I'm sick of it, dude!"
Kyle raised his voice angrily.
"She's hurt him too much. She broke his heart hundreds of times and he just keeps going back for more. Almost like he enjoys the pain too much. I've seen him sob so much one day, he fell asleep on my bed for hours. He is broken. He is obsessed. And sometimes it hurts."
Tweek and Kenny looked at one another before turning back to Kyle in worry. How they didn't notice it was beyond them. But as his friends, they listened. Kenny walked over and hugged him with one arm.
"Why would it hurt, dude?" Kenny asked.
"Because his obsession with her sometimes made him snap at me. The time Wendy and I had to be partners, Stan said horrible things to me. He didn't mean it afterwards but deep down it hurt a fuck ton. Now... Now I'm not sure what to do. I don't need to be worrying about Stan right now, dammit. Finding my brother is much more important but I... i still want to help him."
"Then you can, dude." Kenny smiled, patting his shoulder. "Stan's my best bud too, so are you. We've grown up together. And you two have had some tension between you because of that bitch. Now I don't enjoy calling a lady a bitch, but she's definitely done some stupid shit to hurt Stan. And that's a bitch move. When we get done, hopefully we find Ike, you go make sure Stan knows you're there for him."
"We're here for you too, Kyle." Tweek added in, smiling at them. "Stan will be fine. Let's continue the search."
Kyle smiled at them and nodded, "Thanks you guys."
The blonds grinned at him and continued their search. Tweek adjusted his backpack a bit as he shined his light in every direction. He listened closely, so far only hearing his breathing and their footsteps.
Being ahead a little, Tweek noticed footprints on the ground. He stopped walking and knelt down to look closely.
"Hey, how big are your brother's feet?" He asked, still examining the footprints.
"He's a seven, why? What did you find?" Kyle hurried over closer as Tweek continued to examine the footprint.
Immediately, Tweek got up and started jogging, following the footprints. "Come on! I think he is close!"
Kyle and Kenny rushed close to stay behind him. As they were now running, Tweek started hearing odd noises around him. He did his best to ignore the noises as they came across a small cave. Tweek stopped and shined his light on the ground. The footprints led inside. He shined his light at the cave entrance, then turned to face Kyle and Kenny.
"Have you seen this cave before?" Tweek asked, out of breath. Kyle looked around it with his flashlight.
"Doesn't look familiar... there's hundreds of caves around here, I guarantee I've never seen this one before."
"The footprints go inside." Tweek exclaimed, pointing at the footprints.
"He's gotta be in there..." Kyle gulped, beginning to walk inside the cave. Kenny looked over at Tweek with a raised eyebrow.
"What?"
"We're not staying out here." Kenny shook his head and followed after Kyle. Tweek glanced around him, a sudden fear hitting him, and he followed after them too.
Kyle called out to Ike, his voice echoing off the cave walls. Lingering in the back, Tweek tried to listen on any background noises. Sure it was hard due to Kyle almost yelling out for Ike, but he didn't feel like complaining. He did hear some odd noises though, like other footsteps. They were not that of a 14 year old though. They sounded heavy, and further away, possibly outside the cave. But Tweek ignored it, as Kyle screamed. He turned forward to spot Kyle running towards something. He dropped to his knees and his arms were wrapped around that of a boy.
Relieved, Tweek headed over to them. They found him. Though relieved, they were not expecting to find Ike at all. It was darker than normal and about to rain. Tweek was glad though. The small boy buried his face in Kyle's shoulder, tears staining his cheeks. The boy obviously didn't look like any of his parents or Kyle. He was adopted into the family and treated with love and care. Ike was a brother to them all and finding him was the best thing they ever did. Kenny, squatted down beside Kyle and giving a goofy smile, ruffled Ike's short black hair. Tweek was on the opposite side, also smiling and carefully rubbing Ike's back.
They stayed like that for a while before Tweek suggested they start heading back to the group. He already messaged Craig. He didn't get a response but the message was looked at. Kyle carefully picked Ike up off the ground as if he were still a toddler.
"Let's go home, Ike." He smiled and followed after Tweek and Kenny.
As they happily made it out the cave, Tweek received a call from Craig, to which he answered and was about to tell him the good news but Craig cut him off.
Tweek you have to get away from wherever you are!! It's--
The phone was interrupted by a loud booming sound that escaped the atmosphere. A thud shortly followed. Then a voice that barely sounded familiar.
"Sorry. I can't let you do that."
A/N: Boy, do I hate cliffhangers myself. But I had to. c: Either way, I hope you all enjoyed. I'll be working on chapter 5 very soon.
See you all next chapter!