He's Gone- A South Park Story

Epilogue:

The police arrived around ten minutes later, at which point Stan was unconscious and resting gently on one of the church benches. The other boys stood around him, as guards, when the cops entered and it took them ages before Cartman would let them past- demanding to know how there investigation had gone before finally letting them take the boy to the ambulance that had arrived on scene.

"We are taking you all to the hospital." The on-site detective said calmly, but the others just nodded and clambered into the back of the ambulance. A paramedic checked them over individually as Stan slumbered on the bed, breathing softly although his eyes squinted slightly, perhaps at the light above him that he couldn't even see.

Cartman and Kyle checked the phones they had borrowed from there parents and, sure enough, there were a few messages from curious parents on it. They suspected there parents would be at the hospital, save for Red's, but he was slumbering peacefully as well next to a drowsy Kenny who was rubbing his knuckles and clutching the remains of his jacket's hood like a trophy.

Kyle didn't leave Stan's side though and actually stood inside the ambulance as it drove, looking down at his friend like a guardian angel, occasionally looking at Cartman and flashing a soft but weak smile.

It had been a hellish few days, for all of them, as the ambulance whirled along the road toward the hospital.

Red snorted in his sleep and even flicked his hair, and the others all snapped back to reality to look at him.

Only he, they all thought, could find the misery they had just witnessed to be relaxing.

/

As the ambulance moved on and the others began to wake up, save for Stan, they heard a report on the radio at the front. It crackled, relayed the information, and then continued.

The word coma was used, along with paralysis and even death.

"It was a close one, but he just has a pulse. Lucky kid."

Cartman said that he wasn't a doctor, so of course his diagnosis from the top of the church was wrong.

No-one laughed, but they all cared.

Butters was still alive.

/

At the hospital they were all placed in the same room, save for Stan who was wheeled away. He was still unconscious but everyone had told the panicked Kyle that he was most definitely alive, he would get a scan of his head, and the he would sleep for a long time but he would wake up.

That was it.

The doctors gave them all a once over, applying dressing's to there wounds. Kyle's neck and Eric's nose received some treatment, whilst Kenny's still shaking hands were wrapped. Red didn't need much, although the doctor did recommend a haircut- which was declined.

"Can I smoke?" He asked, already pulling one out of the pack. The doctor said no and walked away.

The police entered the room next and, as expected, Cartman was the only one to talk.

He told them everything. There investigation, every step, every thought process, every action everyone did. He mentioned how Kyle kept the hat away from the cops, how they found the bat, how they traced it and interviewed people, how they had split up and then how Butters had revealed his part to play in the entire ordeal and how he had tried to kill Kyle right then and there.

Kenny explained how he ran after him, hoping to keep him from escaping, but the boy was rabid and violent and tried to attack him repeatedly.

They all agreed that Butters had gone mad, he had tried to hurt them all, he had come close to killing Kyle before the others finally stopped him-

-and then they said how he jumped.

As this part of the story was told, it was only Kyle and Eric who noticed the double doors opening outside and a stretcher on wheels was pushed down the hallway as the small boy lay on it. They could just see his blonde hair and a lot of blood.

"How did he survive?" Asked Eric, crossing his arms and getting to his feet. He was fine to walk and, upon walking to the glass, saw his bandaged nose in the reflection.

"Doctor's say the fall should have killed him, but sometimes people just get lucky." The officer said calmly, putting away his notebook.

Red also got up, flicking his hair and said calmly; "Well I'm sure glad that son of a bitch got lucky then. Will he wake up?"

The officer shrugged.

"Kid, I'm not a doctor," he said as he left the room, disappearing to perhaps put his stamp on this case and then either get a promotion or a long overdue vacation. Or neither, since it was a bunch of kids who had solved it, but Kenny was willing to bet (as the officer left the hospital altogether) that that part of the tale would never be told.

/

Around half an hour later, a doctor came to inform them of Stan's progress.

He entered the room holding a clipboard, wearing a white coat, and looking grim as he scanned through the chart.

But it was all good news.

Sure, Stan was hungry and exhausted... but the important thing was that he wasn't actually ill and would get better as time passed. Physically at least.

(But mentally? Kyle pondered.)

Cartman asked about Butters.

The doctor sighed gently and told them the truth.

He was stable, but in a coma, and there was a high chance that he'd never wake up again. He wasn't brain-dead but he was... stuck, forever, most likely.

"A fitting punishment," Growled Cartman, although he was the only one to say it out loud.

/

A few hours later, there parents arrived in floods of tears and picked up there children and hugged tightly.

Even Red's grandma appeared and gave him a hug and, although he didn't show it to the others, it seemed to matter to Red a lot.

Later on he would cry, but at that moment he just listened to the others, as they said sorry, as they cried, as they asked about Stan and then as there parents hushed and held them and said that they understood.

Randy and Sharon were, apparently, with there son and the police.

Butters' parents hadn't arrived yet, for they were still talking to the police.

Kyle was the only one who thought of them and he realised quickly how nervous that made him.

/

Red was discharged a few hours later after being given a clean bill of health by the doctors, apart from the smoking, but he told the doctor to ram his facts up his ass.

He didn't say goodbye to the others, for they were asleep again in there parents arms, having apparently cried themselves to that point and so he exited the hospital with his grandma, knowing that the next day he would be off school but probably talking to the cops and how much effort that would probably be.

Pausing, and considering, he decided to give the others a phone-call at some point.

Maybe in a week.

He lit a cigarette as soon as he was outside, tears already in his eyes as his grandma scolded him, but he kept them to himself.

His pain, now, would make a great poem.

/

Cartman and Kenny were the next to go. The formers mother had come to the hospital with the latter's parents and so the journey back would be tense.

But, the pair were to be escorted by the cops, and that meant something, although Cartman did complain about how they were only good for reacting in this poor excuse for a town. He was still bitter but it seemed like something had awoken in him.

Kenny's heroism and Cartman's intelligence, together it could make a powerful combination...

They didn't say goodbye to Kyle as they left either, but they did give a nod and a small smile that seemed to say it all.

"We got him back."

/

Kyle stayed the night at the hospital.

His parents had gone to talk to Stan's parents, the Stotch family had been transferred to a different ward, and the cops still hung around, so when he woke up alone for a moment he was more scared than he had ever been in his life.

Had this been what Stan had felt when he would wake up, alone, in pain, in the dark?

It scared him too much, so it wasn't a surprise that he left his room altogether and searched outright for Stan's.

The corridors at this point where empty, with only a few lights flashing and flickering, along with life support machines. A few nurses were patrolling and one or two doctors walked around, but that was it.

Finding Stan's room was easy, it was big and full of bright night lights, with an alarm next to the bed and the boy himself sound asleep and curled into a ball.

He was whimpering, despite the light, which made Kyle's heart hurt. Had they been faster...

But it had happened the way it was meant to.

Kyle slept that night in Stan's room, sitting in a chair and was found minutes later by the nurse staff and then his parents, not dreaming, just resting.

The next morning he went home, giving both Randy and Sharon a hug and they both whispered that he was welcome to visit him any time.

He visited every day.

/

Four days later, Stan woke up in the middle of the night.

He was found in the Stotch room, shouting at the kid who was in a coma, before he was taken back to his room by his parents.

It was the last time any of the boys saw Butters for a long time.

/

Two days later, Stan went home.

He was met by Kyle, Eric and Kenny who hung around that night as he lay in his bed and just listened as they spoke.

They played video-games, watched movies, ate snacks and they argued but... it felt forced.

When Stan slept he had nightmares, when he woke up he was surrounded by his friends.

He slept much more peacefully after that.

/

One day later, Red came over and asked to speak to Stan in private. The other Goth's waited outside and kept glancing at the house disapprovingly.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Stan spoke first.

"Why did you help? It seems out of character for you." He asked, his voice still hoarse from all the screaming he had done.

"You escaped the darkness once. I may loathe the light and all that is good but you seem to find solace and peace in it. The light is your home and I admire you for being able to embrace it, even after the pain you had to endure."

Stan smiled weakly, he still hurt quite a lot.

"I had tried to keep you trapped in the darkness until that day you spoke to me about why I had such a dark heart. You spoke about that Wendy girl, I spoke about my parents."

He paused.

"You made me laugh. It made me happy and then I had to hide again."

Stan didn't respond for a moment, but he did put his hand on the kid's shoulder, making Red sigh and get to his feet.

"You had to ruin it, Raven. You had to make this a moment."

"Sorry."

Stan smiled at the kid who smelled of cigarettes and coffee and wanted to ask how he had coped in the last seven days, but instead Red pulled out a cigarette and said calmly; "I'll see you when I see you."

He stopped at the doorway, then added before he left;

"Don't let the darkness eat you again."

/

Seven days later.

Stan was in his bedroom, ready to go back to school, ready to get his life back on track and ready to face all the people in that building who knew him, knew Butters, and wanted answers.

He was nervous and, worse than that, it was freezing and his hat was missing.

Kyle was going to walk him to the bus stop and Kenny and Eric would be there, as always, but he still shook in his bedroom with anxiety.

His parents and sister, God bless them, spoke to him about his ordeal every night and they always listened and it always caused them pain, but it made them stronger and it made Stan stronger for everyone to know and to understand.

Butters' name was never mentioned inside the house and all the old photos of him and Stan hanging out had been removed from a few albums.

Apparently he was still in a coma, his parents had found out, and nothing had changed except the parents had gone into protective custody for a while.

Randy thought this was for the best, Sharon agreed, Shelly wanted vengeance and Stan tried his best.

Today was a new school day though. He would be with Kyle, Cartman and Kenny all day and even Red would be there. His guardians, his protectors and his friends.

So would Wendy, but he didn't care about that. They had split up.

It had been his choice, but his reasoning was simple. He had remembered what Butters had told him about there last break up about how sadness that hurts is okay, because it meant you could be happy to that amount as well and that was a-okay.

He didn't want to follow Butters' advice, he had to get through the breakup a different way, and the pain of no Wendy was a good distraction.

Not enough, but then he had his buddies to assist him.

"Hey dude," Said Kyle, knocking and then entering the already open bedroom.

Stan smiled back, his response.

"How you feeling?"

Stan shrugged.

They both stood in silence for a long time.

A long, long time.

"You know... I got you something." Kyle said calmly and, with a big grin, gave his best buddy in the whole wide world a box.

"You didn't have- oh."

Inside, as he opened it, was his red poof ball hat.

He smiled, it was like an old friend had come home to greet him and for a second all he could think was how maybe things could get back to normal after all.

Kyle said something about them leaving, before they were late, and he started off ahead- but Stan remained still.

Sure, the hat had been washed, probably a few times, but...

On the inside of the hat, at the back, was still a mark that would never wash off.

His blood.

END OF PART 1

Finally done with Part 1! I know some of you are probably thinking; "GEE! It was nice of you to give us some closure and stuff, but a lot of that was rushed, why was that?" well, that's simple Billy- the scenes involving Stan are important and will be given a LOT more detail in Part One of "He's Gone: Part 2" which will be coming sooooooon.

What's the plot you ask?

6 months later and Stan is still struggling. He want's to move on with his life but he can't. His friendship with Kyle is strained and the only one he can really talk to is Red. It's a suprise then when, one night, Red is the one who is beaten up and left for dead. He survives, but the gang all recieve word that they are next. The gang try to find out who it is, hoping to give Stan some closure, but with strained friendships and information that says that maybe it was Butters who was behind the attack- when he is still in a coma- it's a tough time for the boys!

But before that?

Before we embark on a journey of darkness and dismay, another fanfiction will soon be started, this one much more lighthearted and hopeful and taking place in that wonderful realm of Imaginationland.

What's the plot for THIS one?

Kenny wakes up and finds that the world has become somewhat a bit darker. Stan, Kyle and Cartman are missing and nobody seems to remember them. People dont dream or daydream anymore, for fear of a Dark Entitiy who laughs and shows them the most terrible things inside there mind. The only people not affected by this darkness is seemingly Butters and Red, because the former is the Key and the latter has a Dark Heart anyway. The Mayor comes to collect Butters and Red to save the day, but when he realises Kenny isn't affected either, decides to take him along for the ride as well.

It's then a race against time as Kenny leads the way through a dark and broken Imaginationland, to defeat the Dark One, who is a Creator like them...

Coming Soon!

Thanks for reading He's Gone Part 1! Sorry about all the delays but inspiration is a bitch. Thanks for reading, giving me feedback, and I hope you'll stick around when "He's Gone Part 2" starts (it wont be seperated, Part 2 will start with Chapter 12) and "Return to Imaginationland".

Love love you all :D x