Kyle had tried to run after the Stanbearpig, but it had been too fast. Despite it being daytime, the creature had camouflaged easily in the dark South Park woods. Kyle stopped to catch his breath, the bunny still in his backpack. Almost wanting to see whatever Stan was now, Kyle headed over to his best friend's house and knocked on the front door.
Stan sat on the couch in his living room, playing his PlayStation. He had a plate of chicken and potatoes in front of him, already polished off. A box of cookies and a bag of cheesy poofs sat next to him.
Sparky came up and started to lick at Stan's abandoned plate. "No, Sparky that's my chicken. Nooo, Sparky!"
The doorbell rang. Stan ignored it; it wasn't his problem. The bell rang again and there was a knocking on the window. Stan sighed, adjusting his pants slightly as he got up. They seemed to be getting tighter around the belt lately.
He opened the door to Kyle holding the bunny.
"What do you want?" He asked over a mouthful of cheesy poofs.
"Hey Stan, look who I found." Kyle held the bunny up, it's little nose twitching.
"Dinner for my dad?" Stan rolled his eyes, remembering his dad trying to shower with the garden hose this morning before he left for work.
"No, it's one of the bunnies we rescued, remember? I was thinking we could take it to the vet together and maybe it can stay at your house half the time and my house half the time- "Kyle said, anxiety causing the words do spill out.
"I don't really want to." Stan interrupted.
"Well if you want, I'm sure there's more animals out there we can take care of together. Also, I saw the weirdest thing-" Kyle continued.
Stan rolled his eyes as he grabbed another handful of cheesy poofs and continued to talk with his mouth full. "I don't care. Wendy dumped me so I never want to see any of these stupid animals ever again. Give them to my uncle to shoot. Goddamn Jew tree hugger." Stan slammed the door in his face.
"You heartless son of a bitch." Kyle muttered. "Fine, I'll take care of him myself!" Kyle yelled thought the door, he put the bunny under his coat to keep it warm as he headed home.
Sheila Broflovski was vacuuming the living room, she didn't hear the front door open. She turned surprised to see her older son standing in the living room, something under his coat. "Kyle , bubble what are you doing? Shouldn't you be in school?" She asked.
"Yeah mom but I'm of one Stan's emotional support buddies, he wasn't feeling good so I had to help take him home. I have a pass from school to be able to leave if he needs help." Kyle handed the pass over to his mom.
Sheila looked over the pass, slightly bristling with pride at her son. "That's very nice you're helping your friend, Kyle. But what do you have in your coat?"
Kyle sheepishly produced the bunny to show his mom. "It's injured. I was going to take it to the vet. Stan wanted me too."
"You know I don't like animals in the house..." Sheila trailed off. "Well I guess if it's for Stan." Sheila looked over at Kyle's pass one more time before handing it back to her son. "I can take care of the vet trip for you as long as you keep up with your homework."
"It could also use a good home." Kyle said, holding the bunny and petting it on the head.
Sheila softened, weighing if her house being a little less pristine was worth the first genuine smile she had seen from her son in ages. Of course it was. "Well, I'll discuss it with your father. No promises. Please go upstairs and get your homework done."
Kyle went up to his room, grateful for some privacy. He put the rabbit in a cardboard box with one of his soft old tshirts. He set up water for it and with permission from his mom, a few baby carrots from the fridge.
Kyle didn't have any homework since Scott said he would collect it for all of them. He went to his window and stared out, looking over the treetops of the forest. If Stanbearpig showed up now he'd have a good view of it, whatever it was. The mark of multiple asses the creature had pointed to exactly who was responsible.
Kyle sighed and flopped down on his bed. He just really missed Stan. No one got him like Stan did. He didn't feel as comfortable shooting the shit or talking serious stuff with anyone else. The limbo Stan seemed to be trapped in was worse than if they just simply stopped being friends, but not as bad as if he had died. The decision had been hard to make, and it ended up being the wrong one. This was Kyle's fault.
Kyle sat up, fingers going over the surgery scar on his stomach. If Stan didn't give up on him, he couldn't give up either.
Kyle told his mom he was done with his homework and was going for a walk. Instead he crossed the train tracks over to Kenny's house.
Kenny answered the door, fingers still pruny from washing dishes at Whistling Willy's. "Yes?"
"Dude I need help; I need to know something for sure." Kyle asked.
Kenny sighed. "Funny I could say the same to you. But I don't feel like helping."
Kyle was taken aback; did everyone hate him now? "Kenny, not you too?"
Kenny's eyes narrowed. "You assholes left me with the bill at Whistling Willy's! I spent all morning washing dishes and bussing tables for them."
"Kenny, I'm sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you, I just need a friend right now."
"Come in, we need to talk. You want a pop tart? If so you're washing your own dish."
The McCormick's didn't keep up with their housekeeping at all. Kyle offered and Kenny accepted since he didn't want to either. Kyle got to work on the dishes and cleaning the counters, throwing away old beer cans and snack wrappers. Kenny sat at his kitchen table eating a pop tart, looking at one of his magazines, and listening to Kyle's side of the story.
Kenny sat back in shock after hearing Kyle's truth. "Kyle, you shouldn't have been messing with that stuff. There's worse things than death."
"You wouldn't know how it is. Stan got me a kidney. I'd do anything for him." Kyle grabbed a plate and glass to throw into the sink that he was filling with soapy water.
Kenny sat back, seriously contemplating smacking Kyle across the face. Was he meant to be the mess cleaner the whole time in this adventure? No, Kyle felt bad or he wouldn't have offered to clean the McCormick's kitchen. Kenny took a deep breath and let it out through his nose. "Yeah well, I left early, because I didn't feel well. But I knew your plan, who do you think burned down the building, and got rid of the truck?"
"Kenny, you didn't." Kyle said, scrubbing over the sink.
"Someone had to cover your asses. Sorry I couldn't get you a kidney or a...botched brain transplant. But I kept you out of juvy." Kenny's voice got more gravely, his Mysterion voice came out when he was angry.
Kyle looked down; his hands shook under the dish mitts. "Kenny you're a true friend. I'm sorry I've been such an asshole."
Kenny flipped the page on his playboy nonchalantly. "I don't know why I do it. You've all been a bunch of assholes lately."
"I don't know what to do anymore." Kyle missed Stan like hell. But he had someone else in his corner.
"I don't either." Kenny sighed, looking over at Kyle's downed expression. "But I'll try anything to figure out what to do about the Stan problem."
Kyle sat down across from Kenny. "You're lucky you weren't there that night."
"Yep I'm the lucky one in this case." Kenny said as he finished off his pop tart.
Kyle and Kenny decided to talk to Dr Mephesto directly. They were on their way to the police station, when they passed the grocery store.
"Hey isn't that Stan's mom?" Kenny said. He'd recognize that rocking bod anywhere.
Sharon Marsh had exited the grocery store, large cart of groceries in front of her as she juggled her purse and keys.
Kyle and Kenny crossed the street to help her out. "Hi Mrs. Marsh." Kenny said with a smile, "You look as beautiful as ever."
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Need help with your groceries?"
"Thank you, boys, I was going to make another special meal for Stanley. You're all invited this evening, of course." Sharon offered.
"You're sure Stan wants us there?" Kyle asked.
"Yeah of course why wouldn't he?" Sharon said, Kyle noticed she looked tired and stressed out. But he probably looked the same.
"You haven't noticed he's changed?" Kenny said before Kyle elbowed him in the ribs.
Sharon sighed. "He's...sensitive due to his injury. We just need to keep that in mind as we keep supporting him."
"Oh yeah, we'll be there tonight." Kyle said quickly.
"I'll be looking forward to your lovey...cooking Mrs. Marsh." Kenny said as he waved as Sharon drove off.
Kyle rolled his eyes. "You're hopeless, dude."
Kenny shrugged. "It's probably for the best, we need to keep an eye on Stan anyway. Seeing his hot mom is just a perk."
The South Park police station was bustling with activity when the boys arrived. Kyle wasn't sure if they would let him see Mephesto alone, due to being one of his 'victims.' He had Kenny to use his name and information to be able to visit the old doctor.
Kyle and Kenny sat down across from the old doctor, a barrier of bullet proof glass between them. Kenny gingerly picked up the phone, the crazy old dude gave him the creeps. It was for the best Kenny had missed that part of the adventure. What if the crazy old doctor discovered his secret?
The old man dressed in an orange jumpsuit came and sat across from
them. He leaned on his cane. "I'm surprised anyone's come to see me. I have the best lawyer my meager salary can buy...so it's my assistant, Kevin."
"Yeah sorry about that." Kyle said. "Maybe I can talk to my dad if you have information for us. He's one of South Park's best lawyers."
Dr. Mephesto nodded his head. "Go on."
"So our friend Stan. You said you could fix him and keep his personality intact. He's turned into a complete asshole." Said Kyle, drumming his fingertips on the metal tables.
"Yeah an even bigger asshole than he was before!" Kenny added.
"He's acting racist, selfish, heartless." Kyle continued.
"He's getting fat." Kenny piped up.
Kyle glared at Kenny, but he knew he was right. "What did Eric Cartman put down on that list?" Kyle asked.
The old doctor sat in thought for a moment. "Eric Cartman didn't want to do the list, said he needed something in return to do homework for free. We negotiated to make him more aesthetically pleasing. I think I got the better end of the deal."
"Yeah he's running around trying to say he's hot and gloating, we have two monsters running around town." Kenny rolled his eyes.
"Well, we might have three..." Kyle said before getting back to the subject at hand. "What happened that night, what exactly did you do to Stan?"
"Parts of his brain were so damaged I had to get a supplement it with donor material." Mephesto explained. "Where do you think the extra material came from? I had to do a liposuction on Eric Cartman to use to rebuild brain matter."
"No...you gotta be shitting me." Kyle whispered under his breath.
"So, when Cartman keeps going on that he saved Stan..." Kenny trailed off.
Mephesto continued "I had my machines to program Stan's personality but maybe there wasn't enough data for it to fully take. Maybe if I stored more personality by giving Stanley more asses..."
Kyle shook his head, feeling like an idiot to have trusted this guy. "Another question, I was walking near the school and I saw a creature, it looked like Stan but like a monster."
"No Stan is just turning into a monster, he's not actually a monster." Kenny said, looking over at Kyle.
"No this was a different monster, but it reminded me of Stan. It was this big bear pig thing that was running around the forest." Kyle said.
"Ah yes, the leftovers." Said Mephesto. "It would have been a shame to just throw them away. A pig you had brought in passed away. I spliced it with a five assed bear cub that had just been born, I added the damaged brain of Stanley to a previous version of a clone I had of him. The results were the five assed Bearly Stanley Piggy."
"I saw Stanbearpig roaming around the woods near the school." Kyle said.
"I'm sure it's trying to figure out where to go. It's the most basic, primal version of Stan, but improved with more asses." Mephesto.
"I tried to call it to me, it tried for a moment but got spooked and ran off." Kyle said.
"Maybe it didn't want you in the moment?" Kenny suggested.
"I had food for- ah the Stanbearpig and was trying to lure it over to me." Kyle said.
"I wouldn't suggest that. The creature is easily agitated and could be highly dangerous. Maybe it wasn't hungry. I mean if your basic needs are taken care of, food, shelter, sleep it was looking for...you know." Mephesto said.
"Schoolwork?" Kyle said.
"Pussy?" Kenny said.
"Exactly. It was looking for its mate." Mephesto said.
Of course, the damn thing was looking for Wendy. Who has Stan been bitching about this whole time?
"So it's looking for Stan's ex-girlfriend, Wendy." Kyle sat back, noticing a cop was coming over to get Mephesto.
"If that's what it's after, she could be in grave danger." Mephesto said, getting up from his seat.
Kenny turned to Kyle. "If that thing is out looking for Wendy, we have to warn her."
Kyle's breath caught in his throat, remembering what a Manbearpig was capable of.
Kenny wanted to dress as Mysterion to go warn Wendy, but Kyle insisted that was the dumb. Thanks to Stan had showing them where Wendy lived, the two boys found themselves on the Testaburger's doorstep in midday.
"Yeah her bedroom is cute. She has all these ceramic animals." Kenny was explaining.
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that, Kenny?"
"Uhh you know boobs, tits whatever." Kenny waved off, not feeling like dealing with Kyle acting like he was crazy again. "I'm friends with every girl in class on Instagram."
"But you don't have a phone." Kyle knocked on the door. "No one home."
"You don't have her number?" Asked Kenny.
"No do you?" Kyle asked back.
Kenny sighed. "Give me your phone dude."
Kenny added Wendy on Instagram thought Kyle's account. He sent her a message request.
Wendy had just gone back to school, ignoring her classmate's stares. She had said she couldn't be an emotional support buddy; it would interfere with her schoolwork. Cartman had jumped at the chance to have her pass, but she handed it off to Butters with Mr. Mackey's permission.
Now Wendy was hanging out with Bebe. She checked her phone.
"Kyle's trying to send me a message and friend request." Wendy said.
"Probably on Stan's behalf." Bebe said, patting her friend on the shoulder. "You do whatever feels the best."
Wendy rolled her eyes and ignored the chat requests. She also unfriended Stan and Kenny on her profile.
She was so busy on her phone; she didn't notice something watching them from the forest.
The two boys sat on the Testaburger's doorstep looking at Kyle's phone for half an hour already.
"Well now what?" Kyle asked.
"I don't know but we look suspicious just hanging out here." Kenny said as he stood up. "If this is an emergency and we can't find her before Stanbearpig does, desperate times calls for desperate measures." Kenny looked around to make sure the street was empty before sliding his hand around the window. He found a latch, opened the window and started to climb in.
"Kenny, what the fuck? Like that's not suspicious." Kyle yelled.
"Don't get hypocritical with me Kyle. Besides it's not like we'll stealing anything. And I promise I will not burn down Wendy's house." Kenny looked around one more time before hopping into the window.
Kyle rolled his eyes but went through the window after Kenny, promising to stop being a follower after this.
The boys made their way easily up to Wendy's room. Kyle surprised, but didn't bother to ask how Kenny knew exactly which room was Wendy's.
Kyle sat down at Wendy's desk, pulling out a pad of paper and grabbing a pen. "Now we want her to be warned so she stays safe, but don't want her to tell the cops or something and they end up killing Stanbearpig."
A moment later he showed Kenny the note her wrote her.
Wendy, stay out of the forest. It's dangerous and there is something after you. Please listen for your own wellbeing.
"Serial killer much?" Kenny said looking over Kyle's shoulder.
"What do you want me to put?" Kyle snapped.
Kenny thought for a moment, grabbed a green marker and added 'we're here to protect you' and a drawing of a question mark at the end of the note. He added a little kite sketch in the margin to appease Kyle's protests.
"You think she will believe that? She might think it's Stan or even Cartman harassing her." Kyle said, folding the note up, looking for a good place to leave it.
Kenny knocked over a dolphin figurine on her dresser, placing the note under it. "I wouldn't worry about that. She'll catch on."
Stan hadn't moved from the couch all day. He had given a grunt to his mom when she showed up with a bunch of groceries. He ignored whatever she was talking about.
There was a knock at the door.
"Mom door!" Stan yelled.
"Honey I'm cooking." Sharon shouted back from the kitchen.
"Shelly, door." Stan yelled upstairs.
Shelly poked her head out her bedroom to give Stan a death glare. She dare not hit him or even give him shit, the fragile little turd. But since he returned, he was even brattier than usual. Stan continued playing PlayStation and eating cheesy poofs.
"No Stan, you have to do things for yourself if you want to get better." Shelly yelled back from the landing of the stairs.
"Mom said you have to treat me special." Stan yelled back.
"Yeah and I say you have to do things for yourself." The doorbell rang once more. "It's probably one of your turd friends anyway."
Shelly came down the stairs, Stan thinking he has won for a moment. Shelly had promised she would be careful with him, but she would not put up with this attitude. She grabbed the controller out of his hand and pointed at the door once more.
"Door, turd."
Stan rolled his eyes "Fine." his dad was still camping in the backyard, his mom was cooking or whatever. He had no idea who it was.
Stan opened the door to an uncomfortable looking Kenny and Kyle. "What?" Stan asked.
"Your mom invited us to dinner." Kenny said.
"What is this a soup kitchen? Tired of pop tarts?" Stan mocked.
"Hi, Stan." Kyle said bitterly as he stepped into the Marsh house. Stan ignored Kyle. The boys sat awkwardly on the couch for a moment, not saying anything.
The doorbell rang again, and Stan opened the door to find Uncle Jimbo on his doorstep. "Hi, Uncle Jimbo." Stan sighed.
"Hello, Stanley. How are you feeling?" Jumbo smiled pleasantly as he entered the house.
Sharon poked her head out from the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in about half an hour, boys."
"Randy has been banned from kitchen?" Jimbo said with a laugh as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
"Yes, at Stan's request and Shelly agreeing. I think everyone is happier." Sharon replied smiling.
"What's for dinner?" Kyle asked, desperate to make conversation with Stan.
"Come in, boys and see." Sharon called as she went back to the stove.
As the boys walked in Stan saw what his mom was cooking. "Really, Mom? Did you listen to me at all?"
"You requested spaghetti this morning." Said Sharon as she pulled some breadsticks out of the oven.
"I wanted it with Alfredo sauce." Stan whined.
"Sorry, Stanley. Normally marinara is what you think when you request spaghetti." Sharon said with a little laugh.
"Not good enough, go back to the store." Stan said darkly.
Sharon wiped her forehead, trying not to lose her temper at her son. "Well I'm sorry it's what we're having. Why don't you go check on your father and uncle."
Stan angrily grabbed a breadstick and stomped off. Sparky whined but put his tail between his legs when Stan passed.
"Dude, don't be a dick to your mom." Kenny said as the boys entered the backyard.
Kyle was still trying to talk to Stan but kept off to the side, hands in his pockets.
Jimbo and Randy were sitting under a tree, drinking and looking at the sky. "It's a good night to track where we are." Jimbo mentioned.
"At home?" Stan said.
"Hey Jimbo, where's Ned?" Kyle asked again trying to make conversation.
"Off with his new girlfriend. Sharon invited me." Jimbo said.
Kenny let out a "woo hoo" remembering how hot Nurse Goodly was.
"Yeah..." Kyle looked out through the forest towards Wendy's house. He hoped she got their note and was protecting herself.
"Well as long as Ned's happy I can't fault him too much for going off to get laid."
Jimbo continued.
Kyle realized he could get some help. He nudged Kenny and whispered a plan to him.
"Oh man Kenny, I don't think survival reality shows are cool at all." Said Kyle loudly.
"Oh yeah, Kyle. It's all about monster hunting. Hey, didn't you see something behind Wendy Testaburger's house this morning." Kenny thought they were being really over the top, but noticed Stan perk up at the mention of his ex-girlfriend.
Stan came up to check out the night sky. "So now you're seeing Manbearpig because you have no friends? How desperate for attention are you?" Stan laughed at Kyle.
"So now we're not friends anymore, Stan?" Kyle said, hurt but not surprised.
"Monster hunting shows are what's popular now?" Randy asked.
"And we can go hunt it." Jimbo echoed.
"That's it, boys get in your uncle's truck. We're off to shoot a tv pilot." Randy said as he headed inside to grab his video camera.
The kids found themselves in the middle of the South Park woods. The temperature dropped as it got darker, so everyone gathered around a campfire Jimbo had built. Normally they would be roasting marshmallows and hotdogs, but Randy had insisted they were surviving and had to either hunt or gather anything they were to use. Of course, there was no excuse that the adults didn't have a cooler of beer and liquor in the truck.
Everyone remarked on it was a good night to be out. The night of the full moon and a rare clear sky. It illuminated the forest in silver shadows once the moon reached the highest point in the sky. If they had gone to Glimmer Corp on a night like this, maybe none of this would have happened, Kyle thought bitterly.
Randy and Jimbo had the boys patrol the woods near Wendy's house. Kyle wondered if he would be forced to do this constantly until they caught Stanbearpig. He still hadn't been able to get ahold of Wendy. The windows in the Testaburger's house were dark when they passed by.
Stan was still ignoring Kyle, which hurt a lot. He pushed aside memories of the good times they had, trying to focus at the task at hand. Jimbo was trying to build a little shelter for them to sleep in. Kyle knew the Stanbearpig had to be the key to fixing everything, if it were possible.
"Perfect Kyle, you're just in shot. Now I'm going to start filming. Is it spooky story time?" Randy said as he pulled out his video camera and set it up on a tripod. "Now I won't spill my beer."
"Yeah and you can give us the info to track this monster for our tv pilot." Jimbo laughed also grabbing another beer.
Kyle felt himself put on the spot, but he could work this to his advantage. The group gathered around the campfire and in front of the camera.
"I say we hunt for the real Manbearpig." Kyle started. "But we bring him back safely to be...studied."
"I say we kill him!" Stan interrupted.
"Oooh good tension." Randy said as Kyle rolled his eyes
"Characteristics? That way we can track him." Jimbo asked more to the camera than Kyle.
Kyle continued. "He's eight-foot-tall, ears and nose of a pig, blue eyes, black fur."
"Behavior? So, we know what to look for when tracking him?" Jimbo asked, marking notes down on a paper.
Kyle looked over at Stan, again wishing his good characteristics would be returned to him one day.
"The manbearpig long ago rescued wild animals that had been trapped in captivity, as they had been mistreated by humans. He's their protector. He's not as open and trustful as he was in the past, the world hasn't been so kind to him back. But he would do anything for his friends, the creatures of the forest he swore to protect. He's athletic, musical, kind."
"You can track him by a trail of vomit. As the Manbearpig is always looking for his mate." Kenny added with a smirk.
"Manbearpig's best friend misses him very much and is very sorry." Kyle said softly.
Kyle looked at Stan from across the campfire, hoping for some recognition would show up. Instead Stan knitted his brows together. "That monster sounds dumb as hell. I say shoot it and mount it's head on the wall."
Kyle's anger bubbled up. Why bother treating Stan like Stan. There were two Cartmans in his life at this point. "Scuzzlebutt sounded weird and he turned out to be true." He shot back.
"Well if I see Manbearpig I'll be sure to shoot it in the head as well." Stan said, grumbling and pulling out his phone and turning his back.
Asshole comments was worse than being ignored. "After all we've been through together this is how it ends? This?" Kyle jumped up. "Fine. I- I have to use the bathroom, excuse me."
Kyle left the campfire, trying to not let his anger explode. He wanted to throttle Stan, smack him, punch him in the face until he snapped out of it. He thought Cartman was good at pushing his buttons, it was worse to see his best friend pulling the same shit.
Well, former best friend.
Kyle looked up at how clear the sky looked tonight, sighing with resignation he was never going to get his friendship back. He cursed as he realized what he had damned Stan to be, and how it would never go back to being like the old days.
A hand reached for Kyle's shoulder making him jump. "Jesus Christ, Kenny you scared me."
"You ok, dude?" Kenny asked.
"Stan's never going to be the same, is he? And it's all my fault." Kyle said, blinking back tears.
"Dude, it's ok. We'll figure this out." Kenny thought for a moment of more comfort he could offer, when the sound of a branch breaking came from the side.
The large menacing beast came rumbling from out of the thick brush, it stood over the two boys. Seven feet tall, black hair that looked blue in the moonlight, eyes piercing down at them. It was either a trick of light or Kyle's hopeful imagination, but he recognized that look.
Kenny cringed a little pulling the strings of his hoodie, wondering if he was about to see Kyle's head ripped off. The Stanbearpig and Kyle cautiously approached each other in the clearing. They circled for a moment, almost like a dance. Kyle reached his hand out to pet the Stanbearpig on the head like a dog. "I'm sorry dude. I didn't want this...to happen to you. We'll try to fix you."
"That's not what I'd want."
Kenny turned to the voice behind him to see Stan on the other side of the clearing. His father's gun in his hand, one eye closed, and aiming directly at the Stanbearpig.
"Wait...what the fuck?" Stan cried out, getting a good look at the damn thing. Finally recognizing his past self. "No, no, goodbye you pussy."
Kenny jumped smacking the gun out of Stan's hand. The gun went off, and for a moment Kenny instinctively ducked. When he realized he was okay, he looked over, a prick of fear that Kyle had accidentally been shot.
Lord knows he would never hear the end of it every time he'd see Kyle on the other side.
The bullet struck Stanbearpig in the arm, the creature roared and pushed Kyle away from him, throwing the boy against the ground as it took off running again. Randy and Jimbo came running up in the forest.
"Uncle Jimbo, I saw Manbearpig. It was coming right for us. I shot at it but missed, it took off." Stan said hurriedly.
"This is perfect, the lighting for tonight is going to be perfect for shooting our pilot. Randy, I got my gun if you have your video camera." Jimbo shouted as they took off running in the woods.
Kenny went over to Kyle, helping him to his feet. "You ok dude? You got hit hard."
"Yeah." Kyle said shakily, looking down. "I don't think anything's broken."
"Good. I thought that thing killed you, I don't think I could handle seeing you..." Kenny trailed off.
Dead, on the other side.
Stan had tried to run after his father and uncle, but his newly chubby figure had slowed him down. Stan was bent over, catching his breath. "Son of a bitch, they didn't even get me shooting the damn thing on camera."
Kenny wasn't even sure, but maybe there was a chance...
Instead of going for the innocent Stanbearpig, Kenny had desperate grasp of what he could do. If he was destined to be the cleanup crew for this whole adventure, then so be it. The preverbal garbage man. Scorch the earth.
Picking up the gun he swung it around and pointed it at Stan. "I'm sorry dude, I'll see the real you on the other side." Kenny said as he pulled the trigger.
A small boy with a big gun caused a kickback which made the bullet land in the area between Stan's belly and chest. Not exactly a bullseye but Stan fell back, surprised expression frozen onto his face.
"Oh my god Stan, no. Kenny why..." Kyle couldn't even get the whole sentence out as he limped up to Stan. He put his hands over the wound to stop the bleeding, desperately trying to feel for a pulse. Stan's eyes were blank, as cold and still as the full moon reflected back into them.
"I'm sorry Kyle. I'm going to fix this; I'm going to fix everything." Kenny put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.
Author's Note: Chapter 12, R.I.P. coming out February 16, 2021. I dedicate this chapter to my friend (former friend?) John-SP150. A lot of Kyle's feelings over Stan came out in John's and my friendship ending. So this chapter ended up being very cathartic to write.