A little more fun in the Nether, which is a better place than the mortal realm. I very much, purposely wanted to make it like that. Monsters are kinder than humans, and a placed called the Nether is a much more pleasant, unpolluted place than Earth. Yes, all done on purpose. OH! And more of Riley in this one, too! I love writing his parts. Poor little guy... My boyfriend asked me why I make such tragic characters. It's because it makes for a more interesting story, in my opinion. Also, I like characters and situations that people can potentially relate to. Uh...this chapter has some bad child abuse at one part. Just a warning.

"You know," Kyle was saying as they followed Brooke through the castle, "the Nether isn't at all what I expected. It's actually pretty nice. Um, other than that lava moat around the castle. What's that about, anyway?"

"There are a number of different species and races of monsters that call the castle home," Lucy explained. "Either they live here specifically to serve the royal family, or they were brought and raised here as babies or children. There are no orphanages in the Nether. Those who have no where to go end up here. The Princess allows them to stay here or find another home. What I mean to say is, some of those monsters have special requirements and needs, so we must attend to them all."

"So," Darren mused, "some monsters just want to sit in a pool of lava."

"Well, yes."

"It adds a fun aesthetic, too," Brooke added. She stopped and turned to face them all. "Well, since you're here, do you want a small tour? The castle is huge, but it's easy to get around when you know where everything is. Or when you have pygmy dragons. Pixie! Poppy!"

Pixie appeared before her with another pygmy dragon beside him. This one was a light red color with black specks in her feathers and no spikes or horns. They both bowed.

"Yes, Princess?" They said together.

"We're going to show these guys around the castle and it's grounds."

"Ooh, fantastic!" Pixie clapped his hands together excitedly.

Brooke reached down and picked Poppy up from the ground. Pixie bounded over to Kyle and jumped into his arms. Kyle was a little taken aback, but caught the creature anyway.

"So," Brooke asked, "what have you guys seen so far?"

"Hallways," Stan said. "Lots of hallways."

"We met the Basilisk!" Darren smiled. "And this really bitchy banshee called Cassidy."

"Ugh," Brooke rolled her eyes. "Right, well, let's go out back to the lake."

"Is that where the Kraken lives?" Darren asked. He flinched; they were already outside.

They were behind the castle and standing near a very large lake of gray, still water that they could not see through. "Titties!" Kenny pointed at something.

At the edge of the water, there was a nude woman smiling at them. Her lower half was still submerged, but her chest was visible, barely covered by her long black hair.

"Careful," Brooke grabbed the back of his parka and stopped him from walking forward. She was smirking. "That's a Siren. They don't actually look like that at all. You hear that weird humming sound?"

"Uh, yeah, actually." He looked around for the source, as it was seemingly coming from all around them. "What is that?"

"It's the Siren Song. A strange frequency of sound waves that mess with mortals' minds and make them think they're seeing a pretty mermaid lady when they're actually seeing a hideous water serpent. If you get too close to the water, it'll tear your limbs off and eat you."

"So, the titties are a lie?" He looked over his shoulder at Brooke.

"Yes, the titties are a lie. She, actually, that one's a male, is a wild animal."

"How the hell can you tell the difference?" Darren asked. He was squinting to get a look at a few other Sirens on the other side of the lake. "They all look like naked ladies."

"Mm-hm," she nodded. "Their favorite food is human flesh, so a long time ago, they found a way to lure people over to them. They can't survive out of the water for long. Anyways, all of us monsters see them as they really are. Really ugly, obnoxious, screaming fish."

"Screaming?" Stan tilted his head.

"Oh yeah, they scream really loud when they're mad." She pushed Kenny aside then marched over to the bank where the nearest Siren was. Sensing her intentions, the creature hissed at her, suddenly revealing a mouth full of jagged teeth. "Shoo! Get out of here!" The Siren dove beneath the surface, a long green, slimy tail splashing up water in the process. "They're considered a nuisance and a pest," Brooke said.

"Then why don't you get rid of them?" Kyle asked.

"The Kraken likes to eat them."

A huge black tentacle suddenly burst from the water and slammed down on one of the Sirens on the other bank. The Siren screeched horribly, its tail flailing sharp fins around, but its efforts were in vain. The tentacle tightened around its body and pulled it below the surface. The boys stared in shock as they saw blood in the water now.

"W-" Stan couldn't find words for a minute. "Was that –?"

"Yep," Brooke smiled. "Anyways, enough of that. Poppy, Pixie, take us to the training grounds."

"Of course," Poppy said in a soft voice.

They were now standing in a large, square-shaped area of grass lined along the edges with tall stone columns. There were many different monsters, mostly werewolves and other muscular beasts, that were sparring with each other in armor or attacking targets and dummies. Some of them were even in their human forms and using weapons. A few others were resting in the shade of a long, covered area with tables and seats where a lady was passing around drinks.

"These are the training grounds," Brooke explained. "The Royal Guard are different from the army itself. These guys are the ones who actually go out and fight…if need be."

Several of the nearby monsters noticed them and stopped briefly to greet Brooke with a bow before returning to their tasks. A solid black werewolf, larger than most of the others, and heavily scarred all over his body, came over to meet them. He stood up on his hind legs and stared fiercely down at them through golden eyes. His top fangs were so large that they were protruding from his mouth, and there was a large scar across his chest that ran all the way down to his hip. The boys looked up nervously at the big beast, but Lucy and Brooke were as calm as usual. The werewolf bowed all of a sudden and in a very proper fashion.

"Good evening, Princess," he said in a deep voice.

Brooke preformed a small curtsy, which actually surprised Kenny and the other boys. "Hello." She turned to introduce them. "This is Sith. He's Captain of the Royal Army and personally trained even myself."

"You were trained to fight by a werewolf?" Darren said. "God, that makes SO much sense now."

"He is also Lucy's father," she ignored Darren.

Kyle tensed and stared up at the beast. "N-Nice to meet you, Sir."

Lucy stepped forward to greet the werewolf with a smile. "Father, this is that boy I told you about. Kyle."

He couldn't be anymore tense now. "Y-You told him about me?"

"Yes," Sith lowered himself to all fours now, still towering over them all. "The boy who almost got mauled by my daughter on the full moon…"

"Uh, I-I – I didn't mean for –"

Sith laughed. "Why are you so frightened, boy? I didn't think you would be frightened of ME after coming face-to-face with a werewolf at her worst! I'm glad that you were able to call her out of it." He leaned closer to Kyle and whispered, "You could only do that if she trusts you with her life."

"Really?"

"Mm," he leaned back and smiled at them all. "On a personal tour with the Princess, I see? Not that it's actually difficult to gain an audience with her. She's friendlier than she makes herself out to be."

Brooke huffed. "All right, where to next…"

"Have you shown them your precious garden?" Sith asked.

"No. I'd rather not…"

"Hm, still not taking visitors to the garden? That's fine."

"No," she said. "I think we should be getting back to South Park now. Poppy, Pixie, take us to the Oracle Chamber, then from there you can take us to my backyard."

The Pygmy Dragons happily obliged. The children all appeared in the familiar dark chamber where floating stones danced around, then suddenly they were standing in front of Lucy's shed. It was already almost sunset.

"You guys should all head home," Lucy said. "It is a school night, after all."

"Uh, will we see you girls tomorrow?" Kyle asked.

"Yes."

"Uh, hey Brooke," Kenny said. "Do you want to come to my house? Uh, Karen was asking about you last night."

"Okay. Let me go get some things." She left to go inside of the house.

After she had entered and closed the door, Darren asked Lucy, "Why doesn't she let anyone in her garden? Like, I know she can be kind of protective, even of plants, but it's not like we're going to mess them up."

"Ah," Lucy said sadly. "The garden was made by her brother. Desmond was a very unique person. A being of death that was in love with life. He loved all things, especially the living things in nature. He collected many plants and several animals from the mortal world and brought them back to the castle and made that garden. It's quite extensive. Brooke is the one who looks after it now. She only allows Poppy and Pixie to enter the garden and tend to the plants and animals when she is away. Perhaps, one day, she will allow you to see it."

"Wow," Kyle said. "Desmond sounds like such a nice, innocent person."

"Yes…he was."

…

Riley had skipped lunch that day and went straight to his spot in the shadow of the school building. He hadn't been very hungry today after the blow to the stomach his father had given him last night. The past few days, the man had been increasingly aggressive. Riley was sure it was due to a lack of alcohol or his favorite drug that the man was taking out his anger on him for.

After getting home from school yesterday, he was going straight for his room when his father snatched him up by the back of his shirt and threw him against the wall. Normally, Riley would be expecting such a thing, but truth be told, he hadn't realized that his father was home until he stepped out from the kitchen and caught him. Before he had had any time to process what was happening, the man landed a hard hit to the boy's stomach then marched right out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

Riley had stayed in that spot for a while, curled up with pain. It had been a while since he had been hit that hard. After some amount of time that he didn't bother keeping, he slowly got up and edged his way into his room. He had reached the room in time for his stomach to give up, and ended up vomiting on the floor. But he was sure to do it somewhere where his father wouldn't notice, as the fear of another hit was stronger than the need to vomit.

Riley leaned back against the building and sighed. He subconsciously brought his hand to his stomach. It was still very sore.

"Heya, Riley!" Butters said cheerily and sat down beside him.

"Hey." He noticed that Butters had developed another new tendency lately besides the hand-holding. The other boy had now developed a habit of sitting so close to him that he would end up almost leaning against Riley. Of course, Riley didn't mind, but it kind of reminded him of the way Kenny and Brooke acted with each other.

"Why didn't you go to lunch today?"

"I'm not really hungry," Riley grunted. "Stomach hurts…"

"Oh. Well, Happy Birthday!"

He had forgotten about that. "Uh, thanks." He laughed a little.

"So…" Butters blushed and looked away. "Are you…really not doing anything today? A-After school, I mean?"

"No." He looked over at him and smiled softly. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Uh, w-well I was just, you know… Do – Do you want to come over to my house later?"

"Of course I do. Why do you even ask?"

Butters giggled a little and relaxed. "Okay! Because I got you something, but it's at my house."

"You…really don't have to get me stuff." Riley looked away, embarrassed.

"I know. But you'll like it! I-I think…"

"Heh, I'm sure I'll like anything from you, Butters."

Butters laughed, clearly not sure of how to respond to the remark. His face was tinged pink, and it made Riley feel giddy. He shifted a little and leaned closer to his face but stopped himself and looked away before Butters noticed.

.

Riley held his arms up in a big stretch, forgetting about his sore stomach, and suddenly winced from the sharp pain. It wasn't nearly as sore anymore, and he was starting to get hungry. Hopefully, whatever Butters had planned involved food first.

They had met up again at the last bell and started walking together towards Butters' house. As expected, Butters had grabbed Riley's hand and held it the whole way. Though, this time Riley noticed that he was acting a little more bashful than usual. He wouldn't make eye contact, and when he did accidentally, he would giggle and smile at Riley as his face pinkened. He also stuttered and stumbled over his words a bit more than usual and had seemed rather hesitant to take Riley's hand earlier. All of it made Riley feel giddy and confused at the same time. Sometimes he would smile and laugh too, quickly looking away out of embarrassment. It was almost an unbearable feeling of joy. Something about Butters' strange behavior was making Riley feel both very excited and incredibly nervous.

"Oh," Butters' dad said as the two boys entered the house, "Well if it isn't the birthday boy!"

"Happy Birthday, Riley," Butters' mother said in her soft voice.

"O-Oh! Uh, thanks." He blushed.

Butters smiled and tugged at Riley's sleeve. "Come on, Riley! Your present's in the kitchen."

He allowed Butters to lead him across the room and into the kitchen. There was a big round serving platter on the table that was filled with cupcakes. Each was decorated differently with different flavors and icings.

"I didn't think you'd like anything fancy or too exciting," Butters told him. "B-But I still wanted to do something for you!"

"We didn't know what flavors you like," his mother said. "So, we got them all."

"Well," his dad said. "What do you think?"

"Uh, I –" Riley blushed even more. "Thank you." He smiled.

Butters dragged him over to a seat at the table.

Riley sat, incredibly embarrassed and happy, as they lit a candle on the top cupcake and started signing Happy Birthday to him. After the song, they watched him expectantly. "This is…so embarrassing." He laughed and blew out the candle.

Butters watched him as he picked a cupcake from the bunch and bit into it. "Do you like it?"

"Mm," Riley hummed and licked the icing from his lips. He used his thumb to scoop some of the icing off the top of the cupcake then reached over and wiped it on Butters' nose.

"Ah!"

Riley grinned broadly at him. "Yeah! Thanks, Butters."

Riley had decided to stay there for the night and go to school with Butters the next day. The rest of the evening, the two boys spent playing and laughing and trying to teach a hamster how to high-five, until a little after eight o'clock when Mr. Stotch told them to get to bed. Riley was incredibly pleased when Butters turned over to nuzzle against him as they lay in bed. He hummed contentedly and slowly slid his hand across the other boy's hip then wrapped his arm around his back. He laughed as he heard Butters giggle cutely into his shirt and nuzzle closer to Riley.

.

"Sorry, I can't today. I have to go home today."

"Oh…well, that's okay." Butters twiddled his thumbs. "Will – Will you be okay?"

Riley tilted his head a him. It would have been an odd question if it weren't for the fact that Butters had seemed to finally be figuring out the kind of person Riley's father was. After school, Butters had asked if he wanted to go over to his house again. This was a fairly common, almost every day, question to which Riley usually agreed readily. Unfortunately, with his father being so worked up lately, Riley knew that avoiding him too long would be much worse for him. Although, not avoiding him was likely to be just as bad right now, so he really didn't have much choice either way. Sometimes it seemed like Butters never wanted Riley to leave. If he had a choice, he wouldn't. He would stay with Butters forever if he could.

"I mean…" he didn't like lying to Butters, but he certainly didn't want to tell him the truth right now. He didn't want to tell him that the chances of him getting beaten were particularly high right now. "Sure. I'm always okay."

Butters didn't appear happy with that answer, but he didn't argue with him. Usually, he could easily persuade or argue Riley into coming with him, but the boy was being stubborn today. "Okay… Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course." Riley watched him leave for a few minutes before heading off his own way.

He sighed as he turned onto Locke and stared out at its old decaying buildings. He had been spending so much time away from this shithole that it was starting to become unfamiliar to him. If, for whatever odd reason, he wasn't with Butters, Riley would hang around with that girl Brooke at her place. So, other than school, the places he always thought of when daydreaming or imagining something were always one of those two.

He made his way down the sidewalk, avoiding anyone who was outside, and all the way to the one piece of this place that he could never forget. The moss-covered, yellowed old white house where his father lived. Riley no longer referred to it as his home. It was just his father's home. Riley always felt much more at home at Butters' or Brooke's places.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open. There was always a small part of him that expected the key not to work, as his father would sometimes change the lock just to be cruel. This time, Riley was cautious. He waited a moment, scanning what he could see of the interior before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He quietly rounded the corner and peeked into the kitchen then moved into the hall and checked two other rooms before heading to his own.

Riley dropped his schoolbag off in the corner and flopped himself over on his bed. His father wasn't home…yet. He stared up at the beige ceiling finding himself wondering what Butters was going to do for the rest of the afternoon. He turned his head and looked over at medical supplies resting at the foot of his bed. They were getting blurry. Resting…sounded pretty nice right now. He yawned and closed his eyes, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep.

Riley jolted awake at the loud sound of something crashing in one of the other rooms. He quickly sat up and looked at his phone. Eleven fifty-two p.m.? He had only meant to take a short nap.

Another crash sounded and a gruff, angry voice shouted, "Where are you, boy!?"

Riley tensed and stared at the door. He felt his heart jump with fear and a wave of icy cold passed through his limbs. He only had two options: either respond and go see what his father wanted, or wait until he was found. Either one would likely result in the same thing. The second one sounded worse… He shot a brief glance at the only window in his room, wishing that the man had not been smart enough to board it up and prevent Riley from escaping.

"BOY!"

He flinched and hopped down from his bed. He stopped at the entryway between the hall and the living room, finding his father drunkenly throwing things aside and muttering angrily to himself. Riley watched for a minute, then finally found his voice. "Yes?" He held his breath as his father suddenly turned to look at him.

The man slowly straightened himself up. "Ah, there you are. So, you finally decided to show your face, huh?" He chuckled. "Well, it's about damn time!" He paused, his smile disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, then he gestured with his hand. "Come here, boy. Come here!"

Riley flinched but obeyed. He walked over, stopping only about two or three feet away and refusing to look up at him.

His father stared down at him with the expression of someone who had just disappointingly lost a bet or dropped something, then suddenly hit Riley hard in the head.

Riley gritted his teeth, trying not to make a sound.

"You think you're some smart little shit, huh? Yeah?" He leaned forward and grabbed a handful of the boy's hair, forcing him to raise his head and look at him. "Huh? You fucking COME when I call you!" He threw him down roughly. "You hear me!?"

Riley pushed himself up and winced. He had fallen on a broken glass bottle and a piece of it was now stabbing into his back. Still, he managed to say, "Yes sir."

"You weren't here for your birthday."

Riley couldn't help but look up at him.

He pointed at the boy. "Yeah. That's right, I remember your birthday! I've been keeping track of how many years I've had to deal with your shit! Where the hell were you, huh? Out with a little 'friend'? Huh?"

"Y-Yes."

"HA!" His father threw his hands up then placed them on his hips and started pacing around. "Did I – Did I fucking SAY that you could go somewhere? Did I?!"

He didn't dare stand up. "No."

"No! No, I didn't! Oh, but you – YOU!" He waggled his finger and bit his lip, inhaling deeply through his nostrils. "Oh, you are gonna get it now, boy." He chuckled then stopped suddenly. "You – You are gonna regret that."

He already did…

Before he could try to defend himself, his father was already upon him. He grabbed Riley tightly by the throat and lifted him from the ground. He watched the boy struggle for air for a good long minute before throwing him back down and landing a hard kick to his ribs. He was very unsatisfied with the fact that Riley was holding back his shouts of pain. The man walked off to pick something up then returned and watched the boy try to lift himself off the ground.

"Did I SAY that you could get up!?"

He smashed the full bottle of beer against Riley's head, making sure to hit the same spot he had hit earlier. Riley cried out as the bottle broke against his head, but quickly clenched his jaw shut. He didn't feel like giving him the satisfaction he wanted. He shut his eyes to prevent the alcohol and blood from getting in them, feeling the cuts sting from the foul liquid. He hated that smell. He felt his father's large hand grab his face and slam the back of his head into the wall. Before he knew it, he was on the ground again getting kicked and beaten with what felt like a piece of wood until it snapped from the impact and his father tossed it aside angrily.

He couldn't have kept track of how long that beating lasted even if he wanted to. He only gritted his teeth and tried to stay conscious until, finally, the man grew tired or bored, kicked him one last time, then muttered something about sleep and stormed away to his room. Riley laid there on the filthy carpet, curled up in pain and breathing heavily, waiting for his head to stop spinning. Normally, he would drag himself to his room to treat his wounds, but tonight he was so dizzy from the pain and blood loss that he ended up dragging himself out the front door.

He stopped and laid there by the door for a little while, fading in and out of consciousness, then forced himself to stand, using the doorframe to pull himself up. It was then that he realized that his right arm had to have been broken. He leaned back against the doorframe and looked down at his arm, trying to blink the blurriness away. He held the arm against his chest, caught his breath, then shakily stepped outside and started walking away from the house.

After somehow managing to get halfway down the street without losing consciousness, he collapsed on the sidewalk and just laid there. The cold sidewalk felt good. He could see something on the ground in front of him. He blinked a few times, finally managing to see clearer now. His phone had fallen out of his pocket with him and landed beside him. Riley reached out and pulled it closer. The cracked screen lit up upon his touch and he tapped it a few times until he heard it dialing.

.

Butters gasped as his phone startled him awake. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the time; it was well after midnight. He looked over at the phone, surprised to see Riley's name, then quickly snatched it up and answered.

"H-Hello? Riley?"

"Butters…"

"Riley!" He was fully awake now. Riley sounded upset or maybe out of breath. "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause before he responded. "No…I need help."

Butters felt a rush of panic. "Wh-Where are you?"

"…the end of Locke."

He jumped out of his bed. "H-Hang on, Riley! I'm gonna go get my dad and we're going to come get you!"

.

Riley let out a breath then dragged himself back to his feet. He was still dizzy, but now he could properly see and his consciousness was no longer fading in and out. He walked slowly along the sidewalk and all the way to the corner where he found a stop sign and sat down to lean against it and wait.

.

"Honestly Butters," Mr. Stotch said as he drove. "What in the world is so important that we have to pick your friend up in the middle of the night?"

Butters was sitting on his knees in the backseat and staring out the window, frantically searching for Riley. "I don't know. I-I think he's hurt! There he is!"

The car pulled over and Butters quickly jumped out. He was still in his pajama onesie. His dad also exited the vehicle and they hurried over to Riley.

"What in the world happened?!" Mr. Stotch asked.

"Riley!" Butters dropped to his knees beside the other boy.

"I…I got in a fight," he told them.

"You need us to take you home?" Mr. Stotch asked, looking around. "Where do you live?"

"No!" Riley winced. "My…my dad's not home," he lied.

"What? Well, just come with us for now." He carefully helped Riley up and led him over to the car.

Butters joined Riley in the backseat and clung to his sleeve.

Once they had arrived, Riley denied needing any assistance and carried himself painfully to the bathroom. Butters followed him and watched worriedly as Riley started rummaging through the first aid supplies. Now that they were in the light, he could see that Riley was very bruised and had many bleeding cuts. His shirt was soaked with blood and something else and had tears in it.

"Do – Do you need help?"

Riley was trying to remove his shirt. He paused and kept silent for a moment before slowly looking over at him. "…yes."

Butters went over to him and very carefully helped him to remove his shirt. He gasped upon seeing the bruises and cuts that were hidden below his shirt. "Riley…did – did you really get in a fight this late?" He watched Riley trying to clean his cuts with his nondominant hand then took the supplies from him and started doing it for him. "Was it…y-your dad?"

Riley sat there staring down at the cut Butters was treating. He suddenly felt overwhelmed and just started crying. Butters stopped and looked up at him. Before he could ask anything else, Riley suddenly leaned forward and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry, Butters…"

"Wha- For what?"

"Butters…"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you…for everything."

"Uh, well, y-you're welcome."

After Riley had calmed down, Butters continued helping him to treat his wounds then walked him over to his room. He watched Riley slowly climb into the bed and lay down facing the wall then climbed in with him. He laid there, unable to sleep now due to worry, and after a few minutes he heard Riley crying softly again.

He sat up and looked over at him. Not sure of what to say, he just laid back down and wrapped his arms around Riley's waist, pulling himself closer and pressing his head against Riley's back. Riley huffed and relaxed a little and allowed himself to fall asleep.

.

The next day, Butters' parents allowed the two boys to stay home from school. Riley did not leave the bed the whole day and refused to eat anything. The only thing he accepted was the fruit juice box that Butters had brought him around lunch. Other than leaving the room to get food or use the bathroom, Butters did not leave Riley's side. At first, he tried to get him to eat or get up, but he realized that Riley was probably in a lot of pain, so he stopped and just laid there with him.

By the end of the day, Riley had finally gotten up out of the bed and started walking down the stairs towards the front door.

"W-Where are you going?" Butters followed him outside.

Riley stopped and looked at him. "I'm…going back."

"What?! Why?!"

"I have to…"

"No, you don't! He hurt you really bad! You – You can just stay here and…o-or the police can –"

"No," he said firmly. "No police. Don't tell your parents, or anyone, Butters!"

"I-I…I won't…but why are you going back?"

"If I don't…he'll think I ran away, and he'll come get me and it'll be worse." He smiled at Butters. "Don't worry. I'll…be fine."

"You can't let him hurt you anymore, Riley!"

He stared at him then turned away. "Okay… I won't. I promise. Butters…"

Butters tilted his head a little. Riley turned and walked back over to him, stopping very close. His breath caught in his chest as Riley lightly touched his cheek, smiled, then placed a soft kiss on his other cheek.

"Goodnight," Riley whispered softly then turned and walked away.

He stood there, amazed, watching him leave. "G-Goodnight…" he said quietly as his face heated up.

To be continued…