November 14th -

730 Days since The Event.

x

"Is this okay?" Stan turned away from the mirror so Kyle could take a look. He'd been adjusting that tie for the better part of ten minutes.

"Uh." Kyle held back a snigger when he saw the short, wonky abomination hanging around Stan's neck. "Here, let me give you a hand."

"I hate this shit so much." Stan groaned while Kyle tried to salvage the situation.

"There you go, that's passable." Kyle turned him back to face the mirror. "Voila."

"You're a miracle worker. Now let's just get this over with." Stan slipped past him and out of the room, grabbing a jacket and bounding down the stairs. Kyle followed, shutting the door to Stan's bedroom (now their bedroom, he supposed) and joining him and Sharon by the front door. They'd been living together with her in the Marsh family house for a while now, and he kind of liked it. A place to themselves would be nice of course, but that would have to wait until Sharon seemed ready to lead an independent life again. She and Randy had always had their problems, but his death had still shaken her up, let alone losing her only daughter as well. Besides, everyone had taken his and Stan's public relationship in their stride so they didn't have to hide, and Sharon more than anyone. Coming out seemed so trivial after everything else that had happened.

They set off towards the town center (walking of course, cars were only allowed if it was an absolute necessity) at a brisk pace, led by Stan's unstoppable desire to get there quickly and leave early. Today was two years exactly since the day 'it' had happened, and the town was putting on a service to remember the dead and pay tribute to everyone that helped them. To say Stan was slightly uncomfortable with this would be a colossal understatement, but they were suited up and going anyway.

Kyle was becoming extremely fond of the way the town looked at the moment. There was no ash on the ground, and apart from the permanently snowy mountain peaks there was no icy chill to be seen yet. The buildings everywhere were run down, some totally collapsed and burnt or others just slowly suffering from neglect, but now there were plants sprouting up where concrete had been before. Vines crept up the rubble of the old Elementary school and tall grass covered large empty patches right across town. There was something reassuring and alive about it all.

There were even signs of animal life returning as well. Most plants hadn't been affected, since they only take the chemicals they need from the air and nothing more, but other animals had suffered just the same as humans. Birds were appearing from the south though, and brought with them this optimism that maybe not everywhere was hit as badly as they had been; maybe that stupid gas didn't spread evenly across the earth. Stan was adorably excited by any new arrivals, and he'd taken to keeping a record of all the species he'd seen reappear in South Park.

When they arrived in the middle of town there was a small structure standing where a ruined shop used to be. It looked fairly uninteresting, rectangular and covered with cloth, but a group of about fifteen to twenty people were gathered around it. They joined the back quietly, waiting for something to happen. Aside from the survivors at the Ranch and the bunker there were a handful from other areas that had shown up in South Park, thanks to Kenny and Butters' daily battery-powered radio broadcast. They had been advertising it as a 'glorious fresh community' and the 'new capital of the USA'. It was all a bit ridiculous.

A millionaire from Wyoming was saved by his airtight panic room, strangely only because the ventilation system was broken. It left him hiding in there for a couple of days until the air became thin and the oxygen ran out, but when he stepped outside he was the only survivor in his town. There were three marine biologists as well, who'd been out on a deep-sea mission in a submersible, totally unaware of the havoc being wreaked miles above them. Also – though Kyle noted he hadn't shown his face today – there was a scientist named Felix, that Stan had met at the research institute and they went back to rescue. It was understandable if he didn't show up to this, though Kyle was pretty sure he was the only one Stan had told about what the institute – and Randy – had really done.

"Hello Alphonse, how are you?" He was surprised to turn around and see Stan greeting Dr. Mephesto and Kevin, who were standing right next to them. They truly were social recluses, so it was rare for them to be out in public. He watched in amusement as Stan gave the old man an awkward handshake-hug.

"I'm well, thank you. Actually I had a breakthrough a couple of days ago that I wanted to share with you; my prototype solar panels have restored power to the Ranch."

"That's fantastic." Kyle said, deciding to enter the conversation instead of standing there like a complete...well, like Kevin was. "You'll have to show us how to make our own."

"Of course, you two can drop by whenever. It does require some specialist materials though..." The most solitary, grumpy man in town had said they could 'drop by whenever'. You didn't hear that every day. Kyle wasn't really that bothered about getting electricity back though, he was just making conversation. In fact he'd grown quite fond of their new, more traditional way of life. Their day was governed by the hours of daylight and they had started working the land for food. They couldn't produce enough to sustain themselves yet (regular raids of grocery stores state-wide were still required), but it was coming along.

"Quiet!" An all-too-familiar voice boomed over their conversation. Oh god. "Welcome, everyone, to our first commemoration service." His mother just had to be the one running this thing. He wondered why she hadn't mentioned that detail to him, or why Kenny – who had told him about this thing in the first place – hadn't either. A simple 'oh, by the way your Mom's doing the speech' wouldn't have killed him.

"Firstly I'd like us all to take a moment to reflect and remember everyone we have lost." She began, and a painful silence fell over everyone. It really was so much to think about that for most of the last six months they had all been pushing it as deep as possible into the recesses of their minds. Obviously that wasn't easy, but if you wanted to lead any kind of life you had to. Some nights he and Stan would stay up until the early hours of the morning and talk about the guys from their old class or which relatives they really missed though, and he kind of felt like that was a nicer way to remember people. He knew for a fact that quite a few of the survivors were uncomfortable with the idea of this memorial, as if one day could ever mark something that changed the world so much. The day they were saved might have been a more fitting date to choose, at least.

When he died he would rather his loved ones remembered him through something small that happened or something personal that's said, rather than standing out in the cold November air trying to collectively feel sad. Still, his mom was only trying to do the right thing. His family clearly had a certain amount of guilt about having all survived, even though Stan always told him it was stupid to feel bad about something totally random.

"Now, I would like to thank Stephen Stotch for helping build this memorial to those who lost their lives in South Park. Obviously we haven't managed to collect every name, but this is a start." With that she pulled the sheet from what was genuinely a chunk of wall with some engraved wooden panels screwed in. It looked awful, though he supposed they didn't have a lot to work with.

Kyle spotted Kenny and Butters through the crowd, holding hands, and he nudged Stan and nodded his head in their direction. When Stan saw them he grinned back, wrapping an arm around Kyle and pulling him close. Those two had spent ages circling around the fact that they clearly loved each other; it was probably because Butters wasn't ready to face that reality yet (until the last few days, it seemed).

"The top panel commemorates people who lost their lives in a moment of bravery, or were particularly selfless in the face of the crisis." As much as he hated to admit it her voice was perfect for the occasion, loud with a strong hint of authority for some reason. "Those people are: Jimbo Kern and Ned Gerblansky, for having the foresight to construct a shelter and the generosity of spirit to share it with us. They will be dearly missed."

There was a brief silence for that to sink in before she continued, "Randy Marsh, for his brave attempt to leave the bunker and find supplies."

Kyle felt Stan tense next to him immediately. They were the only two people in the crowd who knew the truth. "You did the right thing." Kyle whispered, and he really believed Stan had. Telling everyone would gain nothing and only upset Sharon, and at least they could take comfort in the fact that Randy left the bunker himself instead of letting Gerald go.

"And Eric Cartman," His mother's voice suddenly rang out again. "Who undertook a dangerous journey to Denver in search of a cure."

What? Now it was his turn to be bewildered and angry. Fucking Cartman? That boy had never done anything selfless in his entire life. It felt so wrong that his own mother was stood there hailing the boy who used to love tormenting him as a 'hero'.

"It's okay, Kyle." Stan whispered back, clearly picking up on his anger too.

"How? You said he went just went because he was hungry, and hid somewhere safe when you went outside!" He had to keep reining his voice in and whisper-shouting to avoid causing a scene. Kyle wasn't sure why it made him so angry - he genuinely felt bad about what had happened to Cartman, he just didn't want him getting honors for being his usual self.

"That's just what he kept telling me. I'm not sure I believe it." Stan whispered back. "They still had some supplies in the Ranch, would anyone really risk their life and go through all that for some extra food?"

"Uh, it's Cartman?" That seemed like the most obvious answer ever. "I don't know though, it's not worth worrying about. I feel terrible about what happened to him."

Stan said nothing after that, and just stared forwards as Sheila babbled on about the importance of marking this day every year. Thankfully Kenny and Butters were making their way through the small crowd towards them, which might save him from the mind-numbing stupidity of it all. His patience for this service and the 'goodwill' behind it had just about run out. Were they even going to mention Stan?

"Hey fellas." Butters said pulling Kyle into a hug before Kenny did the same.

"Hi guys." He replied absentmindedly. As soon as this was over he planned on dashing back to the house with Stan. His parents had invited Sharon over for dinner so they would have the place to themselves for once. He didn't think they'd be bored...

"But of course, there is something that has been blatantly ignored so far." The voice came even louder now from next to the 'memorial wall'. Clearly she'd realized she was losing the crowd and had turned up the volume to try to regain their attention.

"All of us being here is only possible thanks to one, incredibly brave young man."

"Oh god." Stan muttered. Kyle knew this was the reason he'd been dreading coming today. "Shoot me, someone shoot me please."

"So in honour of him, this will now be known as the Stanley Marsh Memorial." Sheila unveiled an engraved plaque at the top the wall bearing the title.

Kenny started laughing next to him, the sort of uncontrollable giggle of a schoolboy, who knows he shouldn't be laughing but that only makes everything funnier. "Dude, they've named that thing after you!"

Butters cracked up at that, and Kyle actually found himself trying and failing to suppress a laugh. Pretty much everyone was now staring at them intently.

"Thank you Stanley, this is just a small token of the town's gratitude." Sheila carried on, giving Kyle a glare. Luckily Stan was keeping it together, but the corners of his mouth were upturned in a smirk.

"Thank you." He said eventually, covering his mouth with his hand to hide what Kyle knew was laughter but he was skilfully turning into looking emotional and touched.

Everyone applauded after that, and then the whole thing was over, with people standing around to chat and make dinner arrangements. The community was so small that everything was still done in groups.

"Good job keeping your shit together." Kenny joked, poking Stan in the ribs. "Actually Butters was suggesting they renamed Stark's Pond 'Stan's Pond' in your honor, but really this is far more impressive, don't you think?"

They were all just laughing loudly now, and Kyle watched with a mixture of amusement and horror as his mother approached looking stern.

"Boys! This is very disrespectful!" She had her voiced raised to be dominating but just below a shout – something she had mastered quite impressively. Kyle was glad to see her back to full fighting strength.

"Our friends would appreciate that we can remember them in a happy way, mom." He retaliated. He didn't want a full blown argument though. "Besides, Stan was laughing and he's the guest of honor, so we're allowed right?"

"No Bubbeleh, that's not how it works. I'm still your mother remember, what I say goes." Kyle smiled and nodded. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"Do you guys wanna come over for dinner tonight?" Butters asked the other three once Sheila had wandered off in search of Gerald. "I'm making pasta with tomato sauce. This batch of vegetables is looking pretty promising, if I say so myself."

"Count me in." Kenny said quickly. "Your stuff always tastes so good; I don't know how you do it." Kyle couldn't argue with that; Butters was becoming something of an expert at growing everything, and was a decent cook too. He and Stan just didn't have the same flare for it.

"Stan?" He asked, trying to gauge the dark-haired boy's thoughts.

"Yeah, sure I'd love to come thanks. There's something I want to do first though..."

"Something or someone?" Butters laughed, holding out his hand for Kenny to high-five. That was worrying. Kyle gave it about a month before what was left of Butters' innocence was all gone.

"Oh, and would it be ok if I brought Karen along tonight Butters?" Kenny asked. They all knew the reason for this was to keep an eye on her. Ike and Karen's weird closeness in the bunker had been one thing, but they were still spending a lot of time together and everyone was well aware of Ike's 'thing' for older women.

"Of course! The more the better. I have enough food for five I think." Butters must have been doing well if he could easily put on a spread for five at short notice. "Would you be able to give me a hand with the cooking Ken?"

"Nothing could make me happier, Leopold." Kenny wrapped an arm around Butters shoulders and began to lead him off. "We'll see you boys around seven then?" He asked, and Kyle and Stan both responded by nodding lamely, in synch.

"So what do you need to do then?" Kyle asked once the others had cleared off. "You've been so quiet all afternoon..."

"I want to check something at the ranch, now they have power back. There's this one part that doesn't quite add up still." Stan replied, grabbing Kyle's hand. "I'm fine though, it's nothing to worry about."

Kyle assumed he was allowed to come along, and he still harbored this burning curiosity about all the details Stan hadn't told him, but he knew he couldn't really push the issue. He'd told Stan absolutely everything of note from his time in the bunker, but it didn't seem fair to expect the same back yet.

It didn't take long to get back to the outskirts of town, though as the sun dropped in the sky it was getting rapidly colder. Winter was approaching, which would be another new challenge for them to face in this different world. They walked up the hill, following the long drive up to the front door of a building that had seemed so scary once, a long time ago. Stan knocked a couple times. They hadn't been back here at all in the last few months, and the place still held a strange power over Kyle, as his life was inexorably tied to what had happened in this place.

"Hello boys," Alphonse pulled open the door, looking a little surprised to see them again so soon. "Are you here about getting power already?"

"No not yet, actually I was just wondering if I could use some of yours?" Stan asked, rubbing his hands together to stop the fingers from going numb. Neither of them had brought heavy coats, and Kyle was now desperate to get inside for protection from the wind chill alone.

Alphonse ushered them in. "The output is really low so we don't have much. If it's important, however, then of course you can."

"I really think it is. Thank you." Stan said. Kyle grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. He didn't know what was going on but he would be there for support, whatever it was.

Stan led them down the steps to the basement, which had now been cleaned out and looked almost exactly as it had before any of this had happened.

"Do you keep all of your old CCTV tapes?" Stan asked Alphonse, while his eyes were scanning the room, clearly searching for them.

"I normally keep about the last six months' worth, but I stopped updating after…you know."

"That's perfect, can I see one?" Alphonse nodded and walked them to the corner of the lab where a desk and computer sat. It was outdated, with a chunky monitor and a thin layer of dust over the keyboard.

"The top drawer is for the camera by the front door, the bottom drawer is for the one that monitors the gate. They are all sorted chronologically."

"Here." Stan muttered, pulling a tape with a particular date scribbled on it from the bottom drawer and blowing the dust off it.

"I'll let you two have some privacy. Try to be as quick as you can." Alphonse said, heading back up the basement stairs. Stan booted up the PC, sliding the tape into the VCR connected to it. The screen slowly spluttered into life, turning on at a glacial pace.

"What are you looking for?" Kyle finally asked, pulling up a nearby stool and sitting down next to Stan who was in the desk chair.

"I remember them saying that the camera gives you a view of the street. Supposedly when Eric and Liane saw me lying on the road they brought me in, but I have this feeling..."

Stan tailed off as the footage started, and he pressed the fast forward button on the VCR. The empty street flickered as time sped through, with just the occasional car flying past, until Sparky appeared in the top corner of the screen, pulling Stan along behind him.

"Are you sure you want to watch this?" Kyle asked as the footage returned to normal speed.

"Yeah, it's okay." The on-screen Stan was walking along with his headphones in, tapping his hand against his thigh to the beat of whatever he was listening to. As he got close to the Ranch gates where the camera was situated he turned, looking both ways before stepping out onto the road.

The inevitable happened next; a car came blazing onto the screen at a ridiculous speed, the driver's mad rush of apocalyptic panic ready to collide with Stan's oblivious world. It happened too quickly and the footage was too jolty to see the details, which Kyle was eternally grateful for. Sparky's fate was obscured by Stan's body from this camera angle too, which was another blessing. The car was clearly using the breaks but it was pointless, and Stan's body flew over it like a ragdoll, completely limp.

"Hey wait, that's Liane's car, isn't it?!" Kyle blurted, suddenly noticing the familiar light blue station wagon she had bought a few years back.

"Yeah." Stan replied, seemingly not surprised or annoyed at the revelation that it had been Liane that hit him rather than just finding him by the road.

The car finally shuddered to a halt just in camera shot. Then the driver-side door swung open, and...Eric came out. Kyle didn't realise he was even insured to drive that car - his mom had bought him his own pickup truck for his sixteenth birthday, so why would he be? They had been in a race against time though, and Kyle considered that maybe Eric was simply a faster driver. Rules about insurance didn't exactly apply that day, either.

Kyle watched as Eric sprinted (faster than he'd ever seen him move outside of the football field) over to where Stan's body was slumped against the floor. For a while he was hunched over him - maybe checking he was still alive? Kyle tried to see how present-tense Stan was reacting but there wasn't much being given away by his face, other than perhaps a hint of…happiness?

Cartman then ran back to the car and started hurling things out of the back seats, mainly food and bottles of water. After a while it looked like this plan was abandoned, and Eric now ran to the entrance of the Ranch. He was close to the camera, the panic on his face fairly obvious as he rattled on the gates. Kyle would have expected him to have just driven home – maybe not totally unconcerned but certainly not behaving like this.

Finally Cartman seemed to find a latch and managed to unlock the gates, pushing the iron structures back aggressively. Stan was placed in the passenger seat of the car and Liane hopped into the driver's side, swinging it around and heading up the winding driveway as Eric jogged behind. Then they were out of shot, and Stan leant over to switch off the monitor. When Kyle looked over at him, he was crying. Not full on sobbing, but quietly letting tears slip down his cheeks.

"Are you okay?" He placed an arm around Stan's waist, and pulled their bodies together.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Stan replied, smiling at him even while the tears kept coming. "It makes sense now, y'know?" Kyle didn't reply beyond murmuring something meaningless into Stan's shoulder. "I knew he didn't come to Denver for food or anything like that. He came because he felt guilty."

"I guess..." Kyle replied, a little unsure of what he was supposed to say next.

"Kyle, he came because he cared. Not just about me - he would've just stopped me from going if he wanted to protect me, he cared about you too."

That point hadn't really occurred to Kyle until then, but it made sense in a way. They'd had trouble with Cartman right through High school; he'd started acting out more and more, and even Kenny didn't claim to be friends with him by senior year. He'd seemed totally emotionless, even though Kyle had known that couldn't have been true. For some reason it mattered to him that Cartman had done something like that before he died, and even more so to Stan, clearly. Maybe because he knew Stan must have been there when Cartman was exposed to sunlight, and must have watched him die without being able to help. If Stan hadn't witnessed that happening and had gone to Denver alone, things could have played out so differently. To begin with he wouldn't have known the Event was still dangerous to them, and he might even have made the emergency broadcast and urged everyone to go outside, which was a shudder-inducing thought.

"Yeah, he did care. I'm so grateful for that." Kyle said softly, and he felt at ease saying it as well.

Stan pulled back from the hug, grabbing the side of Kyle's head and smashing their lips together. Kyle was used to feeling like a particularly cherished antique vase that had just been glued back together whenever Stan held him or kissed him recently, but this was different. It was impatient, and urgent. It felt important, like the last barrier was lifted from between them now, at last.

Kyle could taste tears on Stan's lips, and he was sure the lingering flavour of the moderately stale saltines they'd had for lunch was still in both of their mouths. He tugged on Stan's bottom lip with his teeth, overwhelmed by this energy that he last remembered from fooling around in his bedroom two years ago.

"Uh - we should get back. We're going to be late for Butters' big dinner." Stan panted, their foreheads pressed together still.

"Yeah. Okay." Kyle replied, choosing not to be the first to move though.

"God, us two, and him and Kenny - we're the worst possible survivors of this thing." Stan muttered. "How are we going to repopulate the earth together exactly?"

"I have no idea." Kyle said, laughing. He started to walk back towards the stairs, Stan following behind him. "Want to try anyway?"

"Fuck yes."

X

THE END.

A/N:

Wow, it's weird that this is over! It feels like I've been writing it for ages and yet it's ended so quickly as well, though that makes no sense ;)

I wanted to make the last chapter all Kyle's POV, mainly since the first one was as well.

So…thanks so much to all the readers and reviewers, and everyone that favourited. You all made this such a wonderful experience to write.

Special thanks to the people who stuck with this and reviewed from the very beginning, so: ScaryBones, AKA 24601, Montana-Bob, Fluffybunny2k11 and any guests I missed

I have a few ideas knocking around for a sequel to this, so you never know, and I also have a couple of other things planned so be on the lookout for them…

I want to quickly credit a TV show from the UK called 'Mitchell and Webb', which inspired the idea of the original 'emergency broadcast'.

And of course I'd love to hear your thoughts on the final chapter, as always.

Thanks again, hope you enjoyed it!