South Down: We'll see.
Walter Bryan Cranston White: Well here it is.
Playerhood18: Answers will be delivered soon enough.
GBond007: We'll see. Again.
When Kenny opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that he was restrained. His limbs were tied by thick, strong ropes, his arms twisted behind his back, preventing him from moving. Oddly enough, he was still in the Dragon Pass; his captor hadn't bothered to move him.
"Oh, he's awake," A familiar voice said from behind him. Kenny twisted his body to try and face his captor, but the ropes restricted his movement. A foot finally landed on his shoulder and flipped him around, allowing him to stare up into the eyes of Nelly.
The brunette was glaring down at him with a raised eyebrow, her hands on her hips. Behind her, Annie stood still, a conflicted expression on her face.
"(What are you doing?)" Kenny asked, narrowing his eyes at Nelly.
"Trying to find the key; what else?" Nelly replied casually. "But what I didn't think I'd find was you two. What the Hell are you doing with Annie?"
"(She's with me,)" Kenny replied. "(Tell her, Annie.)"
Annie was about to reply, but Nelly simply laughed as if Kenny had told a funny joke. "Her?" She said, smirking. "With a boy? How stupid do you think I am? Why would she be traveling with a boy to get the key? Why not with her friends."
"(She was with her friends,)" Kenny tried to explain, shuffling to try and get to his feet. Nelly pressed her foot down on him to keep him from getting up, however. "(But she's with me, now. She's helping me get the key.)"
"Ooh, I see," Nelly said, her face softening. She lifted her foot off of Kenny, who sighed with relief. It was short-lived, however, as she promptly brought her foot back down on him harshly, causing him to cry out in pain. Behind Nelly, Annie winced.
"You kidnapped Annie and is forcing her to help you, is that it?!" Nelly barked, grinding her foot on Kenny's chest. "You piece of shit!"
"(No, that's not it!)" Kenny retorted, but Nelly clearly wasn't having any of it.
"Guys, quiet down," Annie told them. "The dragon." She pointed at the chasm where Geldon continued to slumber.
Nelly stepped off of Annie and turned to face Annie. "Don't worry, Annie," She said soothingly, pressing a hand into the blonde's fuzzy hair. "I know how to deal with that dragon."
Grabbing Kenny by the collar, Nelly hoisted him to his feet and began dragging him towards the chasm where Geldon lay. "Nelly, what are you doing?" Annie asked, following close behind.
"Killing two birds with one stone," Nelly replied, grinning darkly. "That big old dragon will be too busy chowing down on Kenny here to notice us as we sneak through the canyon."
Annie let out a gasp. Kenny's eyes widened as Nelly grabbed him roughly by the jacket and began to lift him up into the air.
Biting her nails, Annie stammered out, "Uh, hey Nelly, maybe we should. . . not do that."
"What are you talking about?" Nelly asked, craning her neck around to face Annie.
"Uh. . ." Annie said, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, maybe we could work together, or something."
"Annie, this isn't the time for joking," Nelly replied, rolling her eyes.
"I'm not joking, Nelly," Annie reassured her. "Perhaps it would be better for us to side with him."
"(Yeah, listen to her,)" Kenny urged, shaking in Nelly's grasp.
Nelly sighed. "Don't wanna kill a fellow gamer, huh?" She said dismissively. "You've always been soft, Annie."
The blonde shrunk away, hurt by the comment. Nelly disregarded her, lifting Kenny up over her head, shocking both him and Annie with her incredible strength.
"No matter," She said, stepping towards the edge of the chasm, Kenny helpless in her grip. "You're with me, now, Annie, so I'll be calling the shots from here on out. Once Kenny here's out of the picture, that is." She heaved as she prepared to plunge him into the chasm to his doom.
She was so distracted that she didn't notice Annie's eyes begin to darken. Her body shook, her hands curling into fists.
"No. . ." She whispered, gritting her teeth. "No. . . you. . . won't!"
With lightning speed, Annie sprang forward, grabbing Kenny and snatching him out of Nelly's hands just as she lurched forward to throw him into the chasm. Nelly felt the weight be lifted off her, but she had put so much force into her throw that she couldn't stop her movement. She shrieked as she lost her footing and went plunging down the chasm.
Annie and Kenny breathed heavily, the latter lying on top of the former. They both snapped to attention as they heard Nelly scream, and scrambled towards the edge of the chasm. Looking down, they saw Nelly, hanging from a rocky spike sprouting from the wall, which had caught her by the shirt. She was thrashing around helplessly in its grip, a look of rage and humiliation strewn across her face.
She glared up at the two, but specifically Annie. "You two-faced traitor!" She shouted at the blonde, her arms flailing wildly. "When I get my hands on you-" Her ranting was cut short, however, as all three heard the loud grunting noise of Geldon at the bottom of the chasm.
Looking down, they saw the dragon slowly stirring away, disturbed by Nelly's screeching. Its green eyes landed on Nelly, who immediately shut up when she saw Geldon glaring at her. Slowly, the dragon's unfurled its large wings, and let out a hiss, smoke bellowing from its jaws.
At the top of the chasm, Annie and Kenny shrunk away, praying the dragon hadn't seen them, too. "(I think it's best if we leave, now,)" Kenny suggested. Annie nodded, and the two got up and sprinted down the path as fast as they could, leaving Nelly to face the dragon alone.
As they ran, Kenny whispered, "(I can't believe what you just did back there. You stood up to one of your girl friends - Nelly. Why?)"
"I said I was going to help you, didn't I?" Annie reminded him, trailing behind him. "Besides, if Nelly got the key, she'd probably wish for boys to be subservient to girls, or something. She doesn't need that wish as much as you."
Kenny seemed taken aback. "(Oh,)" He said, slowing down a bit. "(Thanks.)"
"Don't thank me just yet!" Annie said, grabbing him by the wrist to get him to move quicker. "Let's get that key! Then we can celebrate!"
Bounty Hunter Kyle walked down the path towards the Holy Road. Ever since he'd collected his bounty from the mysterious girl, he'd grown tired of flying and decided to walk the remaining distance towards Maxi's church.
A part of him was still conflicted about killing Cartman, but regardless, he was just happy to be able to reunite with Stan and the others after having spend so much time separated from them. He knew they'd be curious as to why he'd been gone for so long, but he was sure they'd understand when he explained he'd removed the most dangerous player from the game.
His eyes brightened when he saw the church come into view. His relief was short-lived, however, as almost immediately, the sounds of horrified screams, coming from within the church, filled his ears.
Oh no, he thought, his eyes widening in horror. Had Craig's Gang gotten to the church before him?
Powering up his jetpack, Kyle flew towards the church, smashing through the gates, ready to fight to the death to protect his brother and the others. Once he was inside, he froze as he saw it wasn't Craig's Gang at the church.
It was utter chaos within the church. Multiple snakes were slithering through the church, attacking the churchgoers. Holy Defenders were lobbing holy flames down at the reptilian menace from above, while the little choirboys tried to fend the snakes off in melee combat.
"Get this thing off of me!" Randy was shouting in a panic, jumping about with a snake hanging from his skirt. Sharon was following close by, swinging at the snake with a Bible.
As Kyle tried to remove the mental image of Stan's dad in a sexy nun outfit, he swooped down towards Father Maxi, who was doing his best to fend off the attacking snakes. One of the snakes lunged at him from behind, but Kyle blasted it in midair.
"My son!" Father Maxi said as Kyle hovered before him. "Thank you for the assistance! We're doing out best to fend these things off!"
Kyle was about to ask where these snakes had come from, but then he remembered who had the ability to summon them. "Bebe," He whispered, his eyes darkening. He realized the girls must've attacked the church.
Quickly, he fired at the attacking snakes, blasting them to bits one by one. With his assistance, the church goers were able to get the upper hand, and the remaining snakes began to slither away through the open doors of the church.
With the snakes neutralized, Kyle rushed towards Sharon, who was busy trying to heal the injured churchgoers. "Where's my brother?" He asked, urgently. "Where's Stan?"
"His girlfriend took him out behind the church," Sharon explained. "She looked pretty pissed off. The others followed to see what she was going to do to him."
Kyle didn't spare another second. Immediately, he flew out of the church and up into the air, scanning the area around him. It didn't take long for him to see the rather large group of children gathered on the grassy field behind the church.
And in the center of it was Angel Wendy and Poseidon Stan.
Wendy ducked as Stan swung his trident at her, narrowly missing her head. Using his trident like a sword, he swung at his girlfriend, each strike failing to hit their mark as Wendy dodged every attack.
Spreading her wings, Wendy took flight, firing an arrow down at him. Stan reacted in time, using his trident to slice the arrow in half before it hit him. This gave Wendy an opening, however, and she quickly soared downwards, delivering a kick to Stan's chest, knocking him down. The trident went flying out of his grasp. On all sides, the crowd shouted out in entertainment, enjoying the show.
"You picked the wrong costume for this battle!" Angel Wendy said as Stan scrambled for his trident. "You may have had the upper hand in the seas, but that trident of yours won't do you much good on land!"
"We'll see about that!" Stan retorted as he grabbed the trident. Pulling out a water balloon, he launched it into the air and burst it with the sharp end of his trident, showering the area with water. The attack slowed Wendy down, reducing her mobility and reaction time. Stan took the opportunity to rush forward, slamming into Wendy and sending her flying backwards. She tumbled across the ground but managed to catch herself, landing on her feet. It was only then that pain registered, and she collapsed onto her knees, groaning.
"Come on, Wendy, get up," Medusa Bebe urged her from the sidelines.
Breathing heavily, Wendy stood upwards, clenching the bow and arrow tightly. She locked eyes with Stan, who was sweating profusely, clearly still conflicted about having to fight her.
"Seriously Wendy, can't we just stop?" He asked, lowering his trident. "I. . . I don't wanna fight you."
Wendy's face softened. Lowering her bow and arrow, she slowly stepped towards Stan, her face blank. Stan looked hesitant, but remained still. Nearby, the other kids watched on, confused.
When they were within arms length of each other, Wendy whispered to Stan, "It's not smart to lower your defenses."
Stan let out a cry as he felt a stinging pain in his abdomen. Looking downwards, he saw that Wendy had plunged an arrow into his side. Before he could react, Wendy's fist connected with his face, sending his head whipping backwards. The crowd let out shocked gasps.
Gritting his teeth, Stan lurched forward. Wendy let out a blood-curdling shriek as Stan's trident pierced her stomach, stumbling backwards before the trident got in deeper. She doubled over, clutching her bleeding stomach. It hurt, but luckily, she'd pulled away before the trident could cause anything more than skin-deep wounds.
Stan groaned as he yanked the arrow out of his side, blood gushing from his wound. He hurled it at Wendy, who ducked in time, the arrow lodging itself in a tree.
The two combatants stared each other down, filled with rage and pain. The crowd continued to watch on, their hearts in their throats. Both Stan and Wendy were injured, and it still wasn't clear who would win.
Dark Angel Red, standing at the front of the crowd, was so engrossed in the battle that she'd forgotten she was still holding onto Ike. The kindergartner, squirming in her grasp, managed to stomp on her foot, eliciting a cry of pain from her. Releasing him, she grabbed her throbbing foot, allowing Ike to scamper off from the crowd.
Red was quick to recover, however. "Get back here, you little-" She shouted as she pushed through the crowd and chased after him. It didn't take long for her to catch up to him, grabbing his arms and struggling to restrain him. Ike fought back as hard as he could, but he was no match for the bigger girl.
Just then, Ike stopped struggling. Red was confused, only to follow his shocked gaze to where he was staring. Her eyes widened as she saw the new figure, standing on the other side of the field.
"Kyle!" Ike shouted.
Bounty Hunter Kyle stared at Dark Angel Red. His eyes widened when he saw the rough way she was holding Ike, but that shock quickly turned to rage. Red recognized it, and she threw Ike to the side as she prepared to take on the new arrival.
Yet she never got the chance. A burst of blue erupted from Kyle as he quickly transformed, and before Red could react, a huge laser was fired from the blue light, striking her dead-center in the chest. Red yelled out in agony, feeling like her chest was on fire, and she collapsed onto the ground, coughing heavily.
Choirboy Butters, who had been observing Stan and Wendy's fight from the crowd, turned as he saw Red fall, wounded. "Red!" He shouted in horror, rushing to her side. He held onto her, careful not to aggravate her wounds.
A shadow loomed over the pair, and Butters looked up to see the Human Kite standing over him. Butters shrunk away in fear, but Kyle didn't seem to be concerned with him. Instead, he walked past them, heading towards the crowd, who were still watching Stan and Wendy's battle.
Stan had gone back on the offensive, rushing towards Wendy, bringing the trident down on her head. Wendy managed to grab the handle in time, keeping it from hitting its target. With her free hand, she grabbed an arrow and thrust it forward to stab him, but Stan jumped away in time.
Wendy continued to rush at him, swinging the arrow at him. Stan did his best to dodge, but his injuries slowed him down. He finally rolled across the ground away from Wendy, and got to his feet just as Wendy took aim with her bow and arrow.
The pair locked eyes with each other. Then, Wendy fired.
In the split-second before the arrow hit its mark, Stan took the trident and lobbed it forward. The arrow and trident zoomed past one another, barely missing each other. The very next second, both Stan and Wendy let out a cry of pain.
The Human Kite was still shoving his way through the crowd when he heard everyone gasp in unison. Panic welled up inside him. What had happened?
Pushing the last few kids out of his way, he was about to rush in, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Stan, lying in the field, the arrow sticking from his chest. A distance away, Wendy was lying on her stomach, her bow and arrow out of her grasp.
"No," Kyle choked out as he rushed towards Stan, grabbing him and pulling him close. Stan didn't respond; his eyes were closed and his arms were hanging limply by his sides.
"Stan, get up," Kyle urged, shaking him gently. "Get up!" Alas, Stan didn't respond.
Nearby, Medusa Bebe hesitantly approached Wendy. "Wendy?" She said, gently pushing her onto her back. When she did, she let out a gasp as she saw three large, bloody gashes in Wendy's chest where the trident had pierced her.
"No!" Bebe exclaimed, pulling Wendy close. "Wendy, please! You can't die! Not to him!"
Choirboy Butters passed through the crowd, half-carrying an injured Red. The two headed towards the kneeling Bebe and unconscious Wendy. Nearby, Ike walked over to Kyle and Stan, joining his brother in mourning.
At that moment, one of the Holy Defenders rushed forward. "Kyle, it may not be too late!" He said, pressing his hand against Kyle's shoulder. "Get Stan to his mother! She can heal him!"
Kyle's eyes lit up. "Right!" He said, grabbing the bleeding Stan and lifting him up. Taking flight, he soared back towards the church, desperate to get to Stan's mom.
"Hey, did you hear that?" Butters told the girls, who were crouched around Wendy. "Stan's mom is a healer!"
"We have to get Wendy to her!" Red exclaimed. Despite her injuries, she took Wendy into her arms and began to fly after Stan and Kyle. On the ground, the crowd followed after them.
Father Maxi, Stan's parents, and the other church members were already outside when Kyle arrived, carrying Stan. "Stanley!" Sharon cried when she saw her bleeding son in Kyle's arm.
"He's hurt bad!" Kyle explained, gently setting Stan down at Sharon's feet. "Please, heal him."
"Wait!" A female voice called out from the sky. Everyone looked upwards to see Dark Angel Red, carrying the wounded Wendy in her arms. She flapped her wings as she landed on the ground next to Kyle.
"Don't just heal him!" She urged Sharon. "Heal Wendy, too!"
"What?!" Kyle shouted, flabbergasted. "After what she did to my friend? No way!"
By now, the rest of the crowd had arrived. "It was only in retaliation for you guys messing with us!" Bebe snapped, her snake hair hissing at Kyle. "If you hadn't attacked us first, we wouldn't have gone after you!"
Kyle growled, and his eyes began to glow as he charged his laser eyes. However, Father Maxi stepped between the two of them.
"Please, my children, let this fighting end," He urged them. "Forgiveness is the way of the Lord. Let us set aside our hatred and help one another. Sharon, save them both."
"Yeah," Choirboy Butters said, smiling.
Kyle grumbled while the girls' faces brightened. Sharon let out a sigh as she stepped towards both Stan and Wendy, but before she could heal them, a large shadow loomed over the crowd, blotting out the sky.
"What. . . is that?" Red asked as she and the rest of the crowd shielded their eyes from the large shadow.
As the dark shape loomed closer, a familiar voice emitted from it. "Ohmmmm. . . Ohmmmm. . . Ohmmmm," It said in a peaceful and tranquil tone.
Instantly, Kyle felt his blood run cold. No, he thought. It can't be.
The large shape finally landed upon the ground in front of the crowd, revealing himself. Lo and behold, it was Zen Cartman.
"Namaste, my friends," Zen Cartman greeted, light radiating from his body. His eyes were closed and he sat in a meditative state.
"Eric?" Choirboy Butters said, his eyes widening. "Gee, fancy meeting you here."
"What the Hell is the fatass doing here?" Dark Angel Red asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kyle, meanwhile, simply stood ashen-faced as he gazed upon the person he thought he had gotten rid of. For a moment, he wondered, hoped, it was a mere hallucination, but that was simply too good to be true.
Somehow, Eric Cartman was back.
Slowly, Father Maxi approached Zen Cartman. "Um, my child, what brings you to this church?" He asked.
"I have come to bestow upon you my humble presence," Zen Cartman replied calmly, not opening his eyes. "For I have seen the light. I died, but I lived. Truly, I am at peace." He inhaled through his nose, then let out a sigh, smiling peacefully. The crowd exchanged glances with each other, confused.
Trembling, the Human Kite stepped forward. "This. . . this isn't right," He said, raising a quaking finger at Cartman. "You can't be here! I killed you!"
"Yes Kyle, you did," Zen Cartman replied, but there was no trace of anger in his voice. "And truly, namaste to you."
"What?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Namaste," Zen Cartman repeated. "It is a saying in the Hindu religion."
"What does it mean, though?" Kyle asked.
"It means. . ." Cartman whispered, and his eyes opened to reveal an unfathomable maliciousness in them, any trace of tranquility gone. "Fuck you."
A blinding blue light erupted from Cartman's body, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Instantly, everyone felt an immense power emanating from where Cartman was standing, causing even Stan and Wendy, both clinging to life, to stir awake and gaze weakly towards Cartman.
When the crowd looked back, they saw none other than Grand Wizard Cartman, his magic staff crackling with energy. Fear washed over the crowd, but none more so than Kyle, who could only stare helplessly at a problem he thought he'd solved.
Cartman gazed into Kyle's fearful eyes, his mouth twisting into a grin. "Are you afraid?" He asked the crowd, but Kyle in particular. "Good. Power's nothing without fear."
Several of the church children let out screams of terror as they were suddenly restrained by glowing purple chains. Kyle whipped his head around as he saw none other than the Goth Kids, using the Power Bind spell to ensnare random children in the crowd and pull them towards the Grand Wizard.
"Stan!" Randy shouted as he and Sharon were snatched by Henrietta and dragged towards her. Stan could only raise his arm feebly towards his parents as they were pulled away from him.
"E-Eric!" Butters squeaked as Pete lassoed him with the chains, dragging him towards him. Red was quick to react, hurling one of Butters' bells at Pete, striking him in the face and causing him to release Butters.
Father Maxi stepped forth. "This evil has no place at a church, young man!" He shouted at the Grand Wizard. "Take your devilish powers and leave this place!" He stopped in his tracks, however, as Cartman aimed the magic staff at him.
"Priest or not, you will respect my authority!" He threatened.
Kyle stepped forward, still not believing his eyes. "How?" He asked. "How did you come back?"
"That's not important now, is it?" The Grand Wizard replied, grinning. "All that matters is that I'm back, and this game. . . is about to become a living nightmare."
The crowd of children let out gasps of fear as several Native Hunters emerged from the trees, bows and arrows at the ready. A large Crusader stomped towards the terrified crowd, his armor and sword glistening in the light. He approached several choirboys, who trembled as they stared up at him. With a sneer, he swatted them with his shield as if they were flies, sending them flying through the air.
Father Maxi scooped up one of the wounded choirboys, a horrified expression on his face. Turning towards the Grand Wizard, he shouted, "By the power of God, I command you to stop!"
Cartman's eyes glistened as he turned to face the priest. His lips curled into a murderous grin.
"Sorry," He whispered darkly. "But there's only one God here."
And with that, he pulled out his phone, revealing his Unholy Combustion spell. He fired the attack at the priest, striking Father Maxi dead-center in the chest. Instantly, the priest exploded, showering the surrounding crowd in blood.
"FATHER MAXI!" Choirboy Butters screamed in horror as he was drenched in the priest's blood. The girls, Kyle, and even some of Cartman's army watched on in utter horror at the puddle of blood where the priest had been standing mere moments ago. Cartman, meanwhile, simply caressed his staff, impressed.
"Sweet," He said.
Bebe was the first to recover. "We have to go!" She shouted, grabbing the injured Wendy and rushing down the road, desperate to get as far away from the Wizard as possible. The rest of the kids were quick to follow. Cartman's hunters and crusaders did their best to chase down the fleeing children, but were unable to catch all of them.
"Come on," Red said to Butters, who continued to stand, wide-eyed, at the bloody puddle where Maxi had stood. The choirboy was paralyzed in shock, and eventually Red simply scooped him up and took flight, carrying him in her arms.
After recovering from his shock, the Human Kite grabbed both Stan and Ike and flew after the rest of the fleeing children. One of the Native Hunters took aim with his bow and arrow, but Cartman raised his staff, signalling for him to lower his weapon.
Scott Malkinson and Dougie, now in his Dwarf Engineer form, walked up besides Cartman. "I don't understand," Dougie said, confused. "Why are we letting him go?"
"It's not enough for Kyle to die," Cartman whispered, holding his magic staff. "I want him scared. I want him helpless." His eyes darkened as he watched Kyle's form grow smaller until it finally vanished from sight.
"I want him to know. . . I've won."
Read and review.