GBond007: Again, film school. I had priorities.
South Down: Well, what were you expecting?
Heidi took a deep breath as she stood before the Broflovski residence. She had sent a message via phone an hour prior, foretelling her arrival, but she couldn't help but feel nervous about what she was about to do.
It had been about a month since the vaccine had been distributed to the town. With social distancing laws more or less abolished, the kids had been desperate to return to life prior to the pandemic. It was then that one of the boys, she didn't quite remember who, had suggested playing a game they were familiar with. A cross between the Stick of Truth and Phone Destroyer, only bigger, better, and on an even greater scale than before. More and more kids had felt pressured to sign up and join the game.
And that was what she was doing now.
Slowly, Heidi knocked on the door. Only mere seconds later, the door creaked open slightly, revealing a blond boy - Chris Donnely, she thought his name was - half-hidden on the other side. She could see the fake elf ears, attached to his head.
"What do you want?" He asked, a suspicious tone in his voice.
"I, uh, I was here for the recruitment," Heidi replied. "I sent the message earlier on." She raised her phone, as if for proof.
Chris grunted. "Come in," He said, opening the door fully and allowing her to enter. She walked briskly towards the backyard, Chris following close by and watching her every move.
Heidi couldn't help but let out an awed gasp when she reached the backyard. It had truly been designed to resemble that of a fortress; there was small towers that allowed the guards to see out over the fences and into town, weapon storages on the sides holding swords and spears, and in the center, was a small castle of sorts, where the Elf King resided.
Heidi could see dozens of familiar faces in the 'kingdom', classmates donned in elven garb, though she knew this wasn't the entirety of the force. There were others out there, protecting outposts and territories in town. And there, sitting on the throne next to the castle, was the Elf King.
Kyle Broflovski, or as he was known here, Kyle of the Drow Elves. He was the leader of the Fantasy theme for Phone Destroyer, and the one who Heidi had come to speak with.
"Elf King, you have a visitor," Chris informed him, leading Heidi before the redhead. "It's that Heidi Turner girl."
Kyle looked down at the brunette girl from his throne. "What business do you have here?" He asked.
Heidi didn't answer immediately. She knew she and Kyle had had their differences in the past, but whether he held any resentment, he didn't show it in his expression. She briefly stared at the individuals seated by him. On his left was Kyle's beloved younger brother, Ike, who donned armor. On his right side was Nichole Daniels, Token's girlfriend. Unlike most of the others, Nichole was dressed as a nymph. She couldn't help but feel mystified at the absence of a certain someone, but she shrugged it off.
She turned back to Kyle. "I've come to join your forces," She explained. "I'm here to become an elf soldier."
"What can you do?" Kyle asked bluntly.
"I'm smart, and I can fight," Heidi replied confidently. She knew Kyle was aware of these facts.
Kyle exchanged glances with Nichole, who gave a small nod, before turning to Heidi. "Alright then," He said. "Get in gear. You'll join one of the nearby outposts and keep on the lookout for threats. The better your performance the more you'll move up in rank."
"Understood, Elf King," Heidi replied, relieved that she was being given a chance. Then, without thinking, she blurted out, "So, where's Stan? Is he at one of the outposts?"
A hushed whisper flooded through the ranks at the mention of Kyle's "super best friend". Eyes turned towards the Elf King, as if fearing a wrathful outburst was imminent. Heidi froze in place, fearing she had made a faux paw, even if she wasn't aware of what it was.
Surprisingly, Kyle didn't look angry. Instead, he calmly replied, "We're not playing together. Stan is leading the Adventure theme."
"Oh," Heidi said, a little confused. "I thought this was one big game, you were leading one side, he'd be leading another. . ."
"Heidi, where have you been?" One of the elves asked, baffled.
". . . At school," She replied, as if it were obvious.
An awkward silence ensued. "I'll be putting on my uniform now," She said, wanting the change the subject. She went to put on her elf garb, making a mental note to ask one of her new comrades to catch her up on current events. She admittedly hadn't been keeping tabs on the boys' since her breakup with Cartman, but it was only now dawning on her that she must've missed something huge.
Out in the woods, Token had just arrived at Many Moon's Stronghold. He had switched out his rogue attire for an Indian shaman garb, and had been allowed entrance through the gates.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been given the warm welcome he had hoped for.
"This is just inexcusable!" One of the female Indian braves reprimanded furiously as Token stood before her, his eyes lowered to avoid her gaze. It was Nelly, the so-named "matriarch" of the tribe.
"Yesterday, one of our outposts was destroyed and taken over by the cowboys!" Nelly raged. "You were supposed to be protecting that base, Token! Fosse says you weren't even present!"
"I had other matters to attend to," Token defended, but Nelly raised a hand, cutting him off.
"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Nelly snapped. "Because of your absence, those cowboys have gained more of a foothold in our territory!"
"C-Come on, Nelly," The tribe's storyteller, Jimmy, said, hobbling over to them. "Lighten up. I have a few j-j-jokes for you."
Nelly glared at Jimmy. Before anymore words could be shared, the tribe's leader, Stan of Many Moons, rushed over to inspect the altercation. "Whoa, whoa, what's the problem here?" He asked.
"Our shaman's incompetence has led to the destruction of one of our bases," Nelly stated, her arms folded. "He wasn't keeping watch over the outpost like he was supposed to."
The tribe leader turned towards the guilty party. "Token?" He asked, his tone not angry, simply wanting an explanation.
"I was busy," Token replied. "I'm a rogue in the Fantasy theme. I can't do both jobs at once."
Stan was about to speak up, but Nelly beat him to the punch. "Well there's your problem!" She shouted. "People shouldn't be playing for more than one side! If you're too busy in one game, you can't do your job in the other!"
"Well Nelly, it's not that big a deal," Stan pointed out, wishing to cool her anger. "We can just set up another outpost."
"Yes it is a big deal, Stan of Many Moons!" Nelly retorted. "If Token can't perform his duties to our tribe, than he has no use here!"
Stan looked like he wanted to speak against her, but eventually sighed and turned to Token. "She has a point, Token," He said, shrugging. "If being a rogue is intruding on being our shaman, you should probably just pick one and drop the other."
"But I am a good shaman!" Token defended.
"Then be better!" Nelly snapped, clenching her fist. "Either improve yourself or leave! I don't want to have this conversation again." She turned away from Token, indicating that the conversation was over. Token looked like he wanted to say more, but eventually hung his head and left to consider his options.
Stan placed a soft hand on Nelly's shoulder. "Nelly, you don't have to take things so seriously," He told her. "It's just a game."
"Stan, you're the leader of this tribe," Nelly said, brushing his hand off. "What kind of leader doesn't ensure the survival of their team? If you let shit like this slide, we're gonna be done for." She walked away briskly.
Stan heaved as he turned and looked around at his stronghold. A strong fortress of wood, dozens of braves and hunters at the ready, with a territory extending across the forest. So much effort he had put into crafting his fortress.
He couldn't lose it. Without it, he had nothing.
Especially now that Kyle was gone.
Almost as soon as it entered his mind, he pushed it out. His friendship with Kyle, and to a lesser extent, Cartman, was in the past. He couldn't let it continue to weigh him down.
He had to focus on being a leader.
"Here it is," The redheaded 'Coony', Nate, informed Annie as he led her into the group's basement headquarters.
"I was a lot like you, you know," He told her as they headed down the stairs. "Always being pushed around by others. People made fun of me, said I had stupid hair. But our leader helped me to stand up for myself, be a hero, just like he'll do for you."
Annie gulped, a little nervous, as they reached their destination. Inside their basement headquarters, Annie could see other masked children. Some of them were honing their fighting skills on training dummies, lacerating them with their claws. Others were busy revamping the HQ; the banner "Coon and Friends" was being taken down and replaced.
Annie was snapped out of her thoughts when Nate grabbed her by the arm and roughly dragged her to the desk of their apparent leader. "Coon, we have a new recruit!" He said, shoving her to the forefront.
Seated at the desk, the Coon stared Annie down, his claws interlocked. "So, you've come to be a member of my crime-fighting unit?" He asked.
Annie looked around. "Uh, yeah," She said with a shrug. "But what happened to Coon and Friends? Where's Mysterion, and Human Kite, and-"
"Due to creative differences, we've been forced to have an overhaul of our team," The Coon replied quickly. "That necessitated a reformation."
Standing up, the Coon showed Annie around. "I've gone to work, crafting a more efficient team devoted to stopping crime," He explained. "This new team is motivated, disciplined, and most important of all. . . follows my orders."
He took a raccoon mask off the shelf, showing it to Annie. "As a member of my team, you will become a powerful force for justice," He said. "You will prowl the streets, protecting the innocent and distributing justice to the scum who threaten this town. It will be a hard, dangerous life for you. Are you ready to accept that, Annie?"
"Uh. . ." Annie said, mulling it over.
"We have chocolates," The Coon said, pointing to a table of sweets.
"Oh, alright then!" Annie said quickly, grabbing the raccoon mask and putting it on. Then, she rushed over to scarf down the chocolates at the table.
"Nice," The Coon said with a smile.
Cyborg Kenny inspected Esther as she lay on the operating table within one of the Cyborg Towers. One of the Space Grunts had taken a blood sample and run it through testing, and the results were in.
Kevin stood at the entrance of the tower as Kenny exited. "Well?" He asked, fearing the worst.
"Don't worry," Kenny reassured him. "Esther is clean. Your squad rescued her before the aliens had the chance to impregnate her."
"Oh thank God!" Kevin shouted, relieved.
Esther slowly emerged from the tower, rubbing her arm where the needle had been injected, and was immediately enveloped in a hug by her brother. "Did you hear the news, Esther?" He asked, squeezing her tight. "You aren't giving birth to aliens!"
"Gee, thanks," Esther replied, not sounding particularly happy. "Excuse me, I got to go home. I'm not feeling well." She slowly headed off.
One of the marines, Tommy, emerged from another tower, a sullen look on his face. "What's wrong?" Kenny asked.
Tommy cocked his head to the side, silently beckoning Kenny and Kevin to follow him. He led them to the tower, where David Rodriguez was sitting on the operating table. He had a large bruise on his cheek.
"Can I go home, now?" He was asking, rubbing the bruise.
Tommy sighed. "We're sorry, David," He said. "We ran the tests, and you were infested."
"What?!" David shouted, perplexed, then enraged. "No!"
"I'm sorry we couldn't save you in time," Kenny apologized. "You have an alien growing inside you, and soon, it will emerge and kill you."
A somber silence ensued, before Tommy abruptly said, "Alright, so we have an alien costume at the ready. When do you think you'll be able to fill in? Is tomorrow good?"
"No, I'm not playing!" David shouted. "I wasn't even playing this stupid game to begin with! Those assholes jumped me while I was heading home!"
"Well the Alien Queen needs a brood," Tommy informed him. "Once you've been caught and poisoned, you become part of her army. It's just how it's done."
"What?" David shouted. "That's stupid! Kenny, are you even hearing this?"
Kenny shrugged. "That's just part of the game," He said.
"Well I'm not doing it!" David declared, getting up from the operating table. "I'm going home!" With that, he stormed out.
"I don't think the Queen's gonna take that very well," Kevin whispered, the boys silently pitying David.
"What's the status report on the Alien Queen, anyways?" Kenny asked, hoping to plan a way to deal with his enemy.
"Not good," Tommy replied, shaking his head. "We've managed to destroy a few of her hives, but whenever we do, more pop up around town. We still haven't been able to locate her main base."
Kenny hummed softly. The Alien Queen had been doing a good job hiding her primary hive. As long as that remained functional, she could continue to command her growing brood. He knew they had to find it.
Otherwise, things would only get worse.
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