Ok, so the last chapter, I kind of rushed through some of the things they did because I was desperate to get the chapter out. This chapter, I have three things I want them to do that I'm going to focus on. I'm pushing some things around in my time line, but who cares? Anyway, I'm so sorry for taking forever to post this. If you're still with me, please don't hate me! I will finish this story eventually. I promise.
Chapter Eight – Let's Do the Time Warp Again!
"Listen to Me!"
It wasn't that hard to find the gondola rides that were advertised at the Venice hotel place. In what was usually just a ten minute walk to the place took half that time because of Wendy's excitement. The gondolas each sat four people, so Wendy, Stan, Tweek and Craig took one boat, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and Butters got another one, while Gerald and Randy sat in the last one, grumbling about expenses or something.
"Isn't this romantic, Stan?" Wendy sighed, looking around at fake Venice while the Gondola operator sang some cheesy Italian love song.
"It sure is," Stan replied, taking her hand. It would have been more romantic if they didn't have to share the boat with Tweek and Craig, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.
"They look like they're having fun," Kenny said, nodding to the two couples in the boat in front of them.
"I hate being single," Butters sighed. Their gondola captain was singing "That's Amore."
"Try being less lame, Butters," Cartman suggested, his arm resting on the side of the boat. "Girls will want to go out with you more if you don't act so lame."
Butters gave him a look but didn't say anything. Kyle was watching the scenery go by with a smile on his face, and everyone but Cartman looked relaxed by the ride. They pointed at the Vienna looking houses and buildings, with Butters taking pictures of everything, of course. Eventually, Kyle nudged Cartman playfully in the arm.
"Come on, we're in a replica of one of the most famous cities in the world!" He told him. "Lighten up a bit!" The larger teen let out a sigh.
"I suppose you're right," he replied, forcing a smile. "I guess it would kind of put a damper on our vacation if I did this the entire time." Kyle blinked in surprise at him, as if he wasn't really expecting Cartman to agree with him so easily.
"Does anyone even know what this guy is singing about anymore?" Kenny asked suddenly.
"I'm still stuck on the 'hits your eye like a big pizza pie' line," Kyle admitted. "What is that even supposed to mean?"
"What? Don't you hit your loved ones in the face with pizza?" Cartman asked sarcastically with a smirk. "Pizza is the most romantic food after all."
"I thought that was chocolate," Butters confessed, turning to look at him.
"That's because you're a sheep who believes everything The Man tells you," Cartman said in a completely serious voice while looking him straight in the eye. The others burst out laughing at that.
A few minutes later, they came back to dry land and disembarked. The group started wandering back down the streets, looking at all the different hotels. They caught one of the shows Vegas offered and were accosted by even more Elvis impersonators.
"You know, if I was back home right now, I'd probably just be doing boring girl stuff with Bebe," Wendy commented as they wandered the city. "I'm so glad you fellas could relent to letting me tag along on your guy trip."
"I'm just surprised your parents let you go on the trip with nothing but a bunch of guys," Stan replied. Wendy stopped and stared at him for a long moment.
"Yeah… totally…" she muttered, looking away after that moment was over. Stan's eyes widened with surprise and he gaped at her.
"Wendy," he said slowly. "You did tell your parents that you were going on this trip with only guys… right?"
"I mean… I told them I was going with friends," she replied. "Whether they thought I meant girl friends or guy friends is their own problem."
"Oh Wendy," Stan sighed as Cartman started laughing.
They stopped at a different themed restaurant for dinner, and then it was off to the hotel for some relaxation after such a long day. The hotel had a pool as well, so all the teens except Tweek and Kyle went swimming (Tweek because he was afraid of drowning and Kyle because he had never quite gotten over his disgust for pools).
The next day, Wendy had found out that there was an indoor amusement park and they insisted that Randy and Gerald take them there. The place was fairly big with lots of rides and games. The two dads told them not to go too nuts and to stay together before going over to a bench and promptly falling asleep. The author didn't feel like looking up what sort of rides were actually in that amusement park, so she was just going to have to use her imagination.
The group started down the middle of the park and one ride in particular stood out to them.
"TILT-A-WHIRL!" Wendy and Cartman shouted excitedly at the same time. Before any of them could protest, the two of them were grabbing arms and dragging them toward the ride.
"Man, I haven't been on a Tilt-a-whirl in years," Stan sighed as he, Wendy, Kyle and Cartman got into one of the cars. "Not since… that one incident."
"We don't talk about that incident," Cartman growled at him.
"Aw man, I hope we get so many spins on this this thing!" Wendy said, bouncing restlessly in between Stan and Kyle.
"I wonder if Butters ever got over his motion sickness," Kyle said thoughtfully, looking over at the car where Craig, Kenny and Butters were seated. Tweek, of course, wouldn't get on any fast ride to save his life and was standing next to the railing watching them.
"Well, we're about to find out," Wendy replied as they felt the ride start to move.
It started off slow, but in half a second, the four of them were squished to one side as they were suddenly flung around, the ride going at hyper speeds. It was a good thing that Cartman had lost so much weight, because they were pretty sure they would have been crushed by him otherwise. In the brief flashes they saw the other car, they could see Kenny screaming his lungs out with joy, Butters turning green and Craig looking as bored as always.
About two and a half minutes later, they were all shakily rejoining Tweek on the pavement, except for Butters, who ran to the nearest trashcan.
"Lightweight!" Stan shouted after him. "Ok, what should we go on next?"
"Well, the author stopped being a lazy ass and actually looked up what rides are here," Kenny stated. "And she found two crazy rollercoasters and we totally need to go on those!"
"Weren't you terrified of those things in the previous fan fiction though?" Kyle wondered.
"Yeah, but I'm older and wiser now!" Kenny said, puffing out his chest. "And I don't die as much anymore, so I totally love them again!"
"Great!" Wendy replied, an excited smile on her face as Butters came back over. "Did she say what they were called, by any chance?"
"They're called the Canyon Blaster and El Loco," Kenny replied, pulling out the magic pamphlet that he totally had the entire time, shut up. Kyle, Cartman and Wendy's faces all lit up at this, while Butters and Tweek looked absolutely terrified.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Cartman urged, racing down the path and forcing the others to follow him.
It was incredibly difficult to decide which one they should go on first as they both looked extreme and fun. In the end, they flipped a coin, which nailed Butters right in the face, and they went on the El Loco first. It was a roller coaster that boasted a ninety degree drop, which anyone who paid attention in math knows that it as a big drop!
Not a single one of them could convince Butters and Tweek to go on either of the roller coasters, so the six of them got in line without them. Wendy insisted on sitting in the front seat, but so did Cartman, so Stan was forced to sit behind them with Kyle while Kenny and Craig waited in line for the next one.
"I can see why it's called El Loco!" Stan shouted to Kyle over the music that was suddenly blasting in their ears. "I can't even hear myself think!"
"What!?" Kyle shouted back at him before the ride suddenly started.
The rock/hip hop/Latin music made for a great backdrop amid the ninety-degree drop and crazy twists and turns the coaster offered. All four of them let out primal screams of joy as they rushed along the loops and craziness. The ride ended all too soon, and then they were forced to wait for Kenny and Craig to get through the ride.
"Let's go again! Let's go again!" Kenny chanted once they had gotten off.
"We still need to go on all the other rides first," Wendy pointed out with a laugh.
The Canyon Blaster was just as, if not more so, insane as El Loco. It had so many loops and twists and corkscrews that they saw at least three people fly out of it while waiting in line. That was how they knew the ride was going to be good.
This coaster had an actual train car, so they were able to all ride at the same time this time. Wendy decided to sit with her actual boyfriend this time, and Kyle insisted on riding in the front, as did Cartman. After the ride operator made them all sign liability waivers, the coaster shot off like a rocket.
Some giant man sitting behind them screamed like a girl the entire ride while Wendy went "Woo!" the entire time. Kenny flew out of the ride at some point and was beaned by the car doing a loop-de-loop. He was waiting for them at the end of the ride, slightly annoyed.
After that, they decided to go on one of the slower rides that Tweek would actually enjoy. One of them was a Ferris wheel where the cars were shaped like hot air balloons. Tweek insisted on going on that more than once, excited so much that Craig had to keep a firm hold on him for fear that he might fall out in his excitement.
After riding a few more of the rides, they took a break to play some games. Kenny managed to win a plush Elvis doll at a bottle tossing game and Kyle won a snow globe of some of the famous hotels inside.
"Are you going to give that to your brother as well?" Cartman asked as he stared at it, mesmerized. Kyle blink out of his trance to give him a look.
"Are you kidding? I won this thing fair and square," he said. "Ike's not allowed anywhere near it!" Cartman answered him with a laugh.
It was late in the afternoon when they finally woke up the dads and headed out again. They explored more of the city while munching on lunch. Because the author desperately wanted to get another chapter out and prove to her readers that she was definitely going to finish this fan fiction someday, they fast forward to the last thing she had planned for them, which was going to the GIANT FUCKING OBSERVATION WHEEL.
Stan could still remember four years ago during "the incident" when he and his friends went to a Valentine's Day carnival. He remembered how anxious Cartman was to ride the Ferris Wheel, stating that it was his favorite ride. Though, he could also recall him getting angry for no reason and shoving Kenny out of the ride.
He was therefor rather surprised by the lukewarm response Cartman had to the fact that they were going to one of the largest wheels in the world. Tweek, on the other hand, was absolutely ecstatic. He led the way towards the observation wheel while Cartman trailed with a faraway look to his expression.
"I heard you can have parties in this wheel, it's so big," Tweek was saying excitedly.
The wheel had glass spheres for compartments and it took about thirty minutes, giving riders a grand view of the strip below. The sphere was large enough to hold all ten of them comfortably.
"I read that the High Roller Ferris Wheel is the largest Ferris Wheel in the world," Wendy breathed as they all gathered around the glass to look out at the strip. "We're riding the largest wheel right now. Isn't that incredible?"
"Can you believe this view?" Randy asked, gesturing towards the land below.
"Can you believe Kyle still hasn't given me back my wallet?" Gerald grumbled, arms folded and glaring at his son. Kyle rolled his eyes.
"Get over it, dad," he replied. "Or blame mom. She was the one who told me to do it."
Butters had given his camera to Wendy so she could take pictures for him while he stood in the middle of the sphere, looking nervous. Tweek was running around the perimeter, trying to look at everything at once.
"The view is so breath taking," Craig said, sounding mildly impressed. "I wonder how long it would take for something to fall from the top and hit the ground."
"You're not allowed to find out," Randy warned him. Craig gave him a look before muttering "You're not the boss of me," under his breath.
Cartman stayed to one side, sulking out the window. Frowning, Kyle walked over to him and leaned on the railing, looking out at the strip below them.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked him. "I thought you loved Ferris wheels like this. That's what I recall you saying, at least."
Cartman blinked in surprise at him, his mind racing.
"Oh yeah," he muttered. "I guess I'm just tired is all. And I can't stop thinking about the last time we were on a Ferris wheel."
"Me too," Kyle agreed. "It was during that time Stan was dating that bitch." He snickered at Cartman. "I remember you freaking out about going on it too. It was like you were going to die if you didn't get on it right that second."
"I don't remember that at all," Cartman replied even though he actually did. He remembered why he was so insistent on going on the Ferris wheel as well, but he wasn't about to say the reason out loud. It wasn't the most dignified moment of his life, after all.
"That was a pretty fun day, despite all the shit going on," Kyle recalled. "Even if you kind of ruined it by shoving Kenny out of the compartment for no reason."
"I had a reason," Cartman replied. "I don't remember what it was, but I had a reason." Another lie. He totally remembered the reason. Kyle snorted with laughter.
"If you say so," he responded. Cartman tried to glare at him, but that just made Kyle laugh harder for some reason. "I just remembered that in the car next to us, Craig was furious because Clyde and Token just barged in on his alone time with Tweek. The next day, he had the exact same look on his face that you're giving me."
Cartman's glare slowly turned into a smile and he couldn't help but laugh.
"You know, I remember that too," he snickered. "Clyde and Token were completely unaware of how angry Craig was at them!" With another laugh, he added, "Remember before that when we all went on that slow-ass train and Tweek nearly strangled Clyde to death?"
"All because we were going through a tunnel," Kyle said, nodding. "A very tiny tunnel."
"It was a huge, horrifying nightmare of a tunnel," Tweek insisted as he passed by them.
"Only in your mind, Tweek," Cartman replied with a grin. "And Craig was completely unaware of it because he had fallen asleep as soon as he sat down."
Tweek didn't reply, but he smiled fondly over to where Craig currently stood, leaning against the railing and having fallen asleep standing up.
"He really is the best," Tweek said after a moment. "I love him."
As he went over to wake him up, Kyle turned back to look over the view once more. Cartman turned back around as well, his mind swirling with memories from four years ago. Yes, he remembered what had happened that day. And it wasn't something he was ever going to forget, no matter how hard he tried.
And scene! We are finally done with Las Vegas! I am so sorry for taking a year to update this, but I have so much on my plate with new interests and a new job and life getting in the way. There was also the fact that I had no idea what I was going to do with this chapter, but I forced myself to write this anyway after a lovely comment I received. Thank you, CrypticallySmutty for giving me the motivation to work on this again! I hope I will be able to update this a lot faster in the future. Until then, stay beautiful.