GBond007: Prepare to keep scratching, then.
Walter Bryan Cranston White: You'll find out.
South Down: Eh.
"There it is!" Stan called out as he spotted Father Maxi's church a distance ahead by the side of the Holy Road. It was far away, but its large size and the cross at the top were unmistakable.
The group immediately cheered and picked up pace, desperate to reach a safe spot after all the trouble they had experienced.
Suddenly, a small blonde boy wielding two bells jumped out from behind a bush and on the road, blocking the group's path. "Halt!" He cried out. "Who goes there!"
The group briefly froze. "Don't worry, guys, it's just a choirboy," Stan reassured the rest of the group. Approaching the choirboy, he said, "Look kid, we got attacked earlier tonight, and we need a place to stay."
The choirboy continued to maintain a suspicious eye. "There are a lot of unsavoury characters playing this game," He told them. "How do I know a large group like yourselves won't attract trouble? We don't want harm to come to this holy place." As he spoke, several more choirboys appeared out of the bushes.
Raising his arms, Stan said, "I promise you, we won't bring trouble. We just need-"
"Children, stop!" A voice called out from the entrance of the church. The group turned their heads to see Priest Maxi standing at the gates of the church, a concerned look on his face.
"What seems to be the problem, children?" He asked, concerned.
"This group says they were attacked," The choirboy explained. "They want to stay here."
"Well in that case, why turn them away?" Maxi responded. "These are lost and helpless souls, and we entered this game specifically to help people like these."
"But Father, what if whoever attacked them comes here?" One of the choirboys asked.
"Then may God help the souls who do," Maxi replied. Turning to the group, he said, "Let's not waste anymore time. If you want a place to stay, you've found it."
The group let out a chorus of "Hooray!" and quickly rushed into the church, exhausted after their battle and long travel.
"This is a relief," Stan said, letting out a sigh as he entered the church. "Good thing Father Maxi let us in."
Standing at his side, Randy commented under his breath, "Yeah, I bet the priest was really glad to let a bunch of little boys inside." He and Sharon both stifled a chuckle, while Stan just glared at them.
"Well, since we're gonna be staying here for a bit, might as well get my Sexy Nun costume," Randy said, pulling out his phone and heading off. Stan watched him go before grimacing, taking a seat in one of the long chairs.
"Stanley, what's wrong?" Sharon asked, taking a seat next to him.
"It's Kyle," Stan replied. "I'm worried about him. He told me he was going to make sure no one was following us, but honestly, I feel like he didn't join us because he didn't feel comfortable here. And now he's all out there, alone."
"Stanley, I'm sure Kyle can fend for himself out there," Sharon reassured him, placing a hand on his back.
Stan sighed and stared out the window. "I hope you're right," He said.
Outside the church, Imp Tweek hovered in the air a distance away, his pitchfork trembling in his hands.
He'd seen the small group enter the church, and had singled out Stan and his parents, but saw no sign of Kyle. He'd wracked his brain for a few moments before concluding that Kyle probably wouldn't have been eager to enter the Catholic church.
Which meant he must've separated from the group.
"Aargh!" He groaned loudly. "What do I do?" Even if he went back and informed Craig and his gang on Stan's whereabouts, what then? The last thing he wanted to do was start a fight at a church of all places.
Then it hit him. Kyle was separated from the group, and he was the one with the picture of the map downloaded onto his phone. If he got Kyle's phone, or better yet, Kyle, Stan's group would be deprived of both their map and one of their most powerful members.
It'd be killing two birds with one stone.
"Alright, Tweek," He said to himself. "Find Kyle, deal with him, then return to Craig's group. No pressure."
Turning and beginning to fly off, he mumbled to himself, "Well, unless Kyle beats me. That'd be a lot of pressure. Or if Craig and his gang makes it here without me. Or worse, I'm away for too long and they get worried and can't think straight! Oh man, that's a lot of pressure! Oh geez!"
Ever since Kyle had briefly separated from the rest of the group, he'd been scouring the Holy Road from above in his Human Kite form. While he'd seen several other characters, he hadn't come across any of the Girls or Craig's Gang. While he was sure they were trailing Stan's gang, they didn't appear to be on the Holy Road.
As he was about to turn around and head back to rendezvous with Stan and the others, he heard a voice down below calling out, "Hello! I have a bounty for anyone who wants to collect!"
Swooping downwards, Kyle quickly hid himself behind a bush. Peaking out, he noticed a kid his age dressed in a purple motorcycle gear, wearing a helmet that concealed their face.
"I'm issuing a bounty!" The girl was calling out to no one in particular, pacing around the road. "Anybody interested in collecting?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow. Bounty?
It was then that he realized one of his forms was that of a Bounty Hunter. Slowly, he pulled out his phone and switched into his Bounty Hunter Kyle form, then got out of hiding and approached the girl hesitantly.
"Uh, hello?" He said, a little nervously.
The girl turned to face him. "Kyle Broflovski!" She exclaimed, rushing up to him. Her helmet concealed her expression, but he could tell she was ecstatic to see him.
"Uh, do I know you?" Kyle asked as the girl got within arms length of him.
"You could say that," She replied. Her voice sounded familiar, like he'd heard it before, but he couldn't put his finger on where.
"Um, anyways," He said. "You said you were issuing a bounty?"
When the girl nodded, he said, "Well, I'm a bounty hunter." He waved his gun in the air for proof.
"I know," The girl replied. "And I'm glad I found you, because I know you're the best-suited to go after the target in question." Raising her arm, she pressed a few buttons on her wrist. Instantly, a hologram picture of Eric Cartman materialized.
Kyle's eyes widened and he stepped back. "C-Cartman?" He exclaimed, stunned.
The girl nodded and, with a press of the button, the picture disappeared. "I want you to go after him," She told him. "In exchange, I'll grant you one of my spells." For proof, she pulled a handful of spell icons out of her pocket.
"You want me to bring him in?" Kyle asked.
"Dead," The girl replied bluntly.
Kyle blinked. "Dead or alive, you mean?" He asked for clarification.
"Dead," The girl repeated in a darker tone.
Kyle felt his skin pale. He'd used deadly force before against Craig's minions, but that was in self-defence. This girl was telling him to hunt down and murder another player in cold blood, even if it was his worst enemy.
"I. . . I dunno if I can. . ." He said, rubbing the back of his helmet. He was about to turn around, but the girl grabbed him by the shoulder and whirled him around to face him.
"You're not thinking big enough, Kyle," The girl told him. "Think about it. If Cartman gets his hands on that key, who knows what he'll wish for? Another holocaust? To revive Hitler? Bring back Cthulhu and destroy the world!"
"Well, I doubt he'll get the key," Kyle replied nervously, even as he began to picture those events. "I mean, me and my friends are way ahead of him."
"But it's not impossible," The girl reminded him. "As long as he's in this game, he has a chance to get that key. You know better than anyone the kind of damage Cartman can cause. This isn't just a game; this is a matter of life or death!"
Kyle froze, letting the girl's words sink in. She was right; as long as Cartman was playing, he had just as much of a chance of getting that key as any of them. And if he succeeded, who knows what he'd wish for?
"Does it have to be me?" He asked.
"You are Cartman's nemesis," The girl told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know how to handle him better than anyone. If anyone can take him out, it's you. Besides, he won't really be dead; he'll just wake up back in the real world."
Kyle looked down, considering her words. Finally, he let out a sigh and said, "Alright. I'll collect your bounty."
Kyle could feel the girl smile behind her visor. "Great," She said, and raised her arm. Summoning her hologram of the game world, she typed in Cartman's name, causing his dot to glow in the desert a distance away from the Holy Road.
"That's where he is," She informed Kyle. "With your flight, you should make it there in no time. Once you've taken him out, bring his body to me. I'll be travelling on the Holy Road."
"Okay then," Kyle said, groaning.
"It's a date, then," The girl replied coolly, pressing a button and causing the hologram to vanish. "I'll be seeing you around then." Hopping onto her motorcycle, she rode off down the road.
Kyle watched her leave, then turned around and stared off in the direction Cartman was.
With a sigh, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Cartman, but I have to save the people I care about."
With that, he activated his jetpack and flew off towards the desert.
When Kenny awoke, Annie was snuggled close to him for warmness. He wasn't sure how long they'd slept, but regardless, he felt it was about time they resumed moving. He was sure the other players weren't lying around resting.
As he was about to sit up, his eyes caught sight of a small object floating towards the two of them, carried by the winds. As it got closer, Kenny saw that it was a piece of paper. As it flew by, he reached up and snatched it out of the air. Holding it in both hands, Kenny stared down at it curiously.
It was the map.
"(Annie, wake up,)" He said, nudging her awake. The blonde girl groaned as she was pulled out of her dreams, but her eyes immediately regained focus as they landed on the map in Kenny's hands.
"Ohmygosh!" She shouted, springing up. "Kenny!"
"(What?)" He asked.
"It's the map!" Annie exclaimed, pointing at it. "The map of the game! The one that tells you where to find the key!" She pulled the map out of his hands.
"See?" She said, pointing at the icy mountains. "That's where we are. And down below, in the Underworld, is where the key is."
"(Really?)" Kenny exclaimed, his eyes widening.
"How did this thing get here?" Annie asked. "I thought your friends had it."
"(It must have gotten lost when Craig and the others attacked the stronghold,)" Kenny suggested. "(But that's not important! We have the map! What are we waiting for? Let's go!)"
Grabbing Annie by the wrist, Kenny began to rush out of the icy cave. "(I'm so happy!)" He exclaimed joyously. "(Finally, things are beginning to look up!)"
Then, as the two exited the cave, they froze in their tracks.
Lower on the mountain, staring up at the two with menacing glares, were a pair of Subzero Titans.
"We were scouting these mountains when I saw the map float into the cave," One of the titans whispered. "And it looks like that wasn't the only thing we found in that cave."
"(Oh, shit,)" Kenny whispered.
"Now then," The other titan said, clenching his metal hand tightly into a fist. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way. What's it gonna be?"
Annie hid behind Kenny, frightened. The blond boy held the map in his hands, holding it close.
The two Subzero Titans smirked to each other. "We were hoping you'd choose the hard way," The first one whispered.
And with that, the two closed in.
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