Playerhood18: You got that right.
South Down: Hopefully.
GBond007: We'll see.
Warknight XL216: Well obviously Nelly wasn't thinking in those terms.
"You kids untie us right now!" Sharon demanded as she, her husband, the churchgoers and the captured members of Stan's group were led in chains by Cartman's small army of squires, crusaders, and hunters. Her commands fell on death ears, however, as the only respond was a slight whack from one of the crusader's swords, silently ordering her to keep silent.
Dwarf Engineer Dougie pushed his way through the marching band and towards Grand Wizard Cartman, leading the group at the front. "So, Grand Wizard, where are we going now?" He asked, a somewhat hesitant tone in his voice. Cartman's newfound power still unnerved him; just walking by his side, he felt like Cartman could annihilate him without a second thought.
"To find the key, for one," Grand Wizard Cartman replied, not even dignifying the lowly dwarf by looking in his direction. "But first, I have a score to settle with Kyle. After I'm finished with him, then I'll take the key."
Dougie gulped. "Um, no offense Cartman, but now that Kyle knows you're back, he'll probably form a strategy to counterattack," He pointed out. "Not that it'll work, of course! Since you're so powerful now, and all! Just, maybe we should've used the element of surprise. . ."
To his surprise, Cartman grinned. "I'd expect nothing less from that jew," He said casually. "He'll gather power, unite his friends, and try to fight me. He'll be so distracted about how to deal with me that he'll completely forget about the key."
His grip on his magic staff tightened, and his vision darkened. "When the time comes, I'll make him suffer," He whispered menacingly. "I'll crush his friends, destroy any hope he has of beating me. Then, I'll grant him the sweet release of death."
He whipped his head towards the Goth Kids, who were trailing a distance away. "You, emo kids!" He shouted. "Go out there and collect as many players as you can find! They will be added into my army!"
"Whatever," Pete said dismissively, whipping his hair. "If it makes this game more miserable for those conformists." The Goth Kids turned and dispersed into the woods, searching for any other players in the game.
As Cartman watched them go, he caught sight of a small figure a long distance away, standing atop a small cliff overlooking the valley.
It was the girl. His saviour.
For a moment, Cartman and the girl stared silently at each other. Her face was concealed by her motorcycle helmet, so he couldn't see her expression.
After a few moments, she simply nodded, as if giving him her approval, before she vanished from the cliff.
After their narrow escape from the Grand Wizard's dark powers, the remaining members of Stan and Kyle's group, along with the girls, had fled as fast as they could to the fringes of the Mystical realm. Stan and Ike held onto the Human Kite for dear life as they soared towards the closest safehold.
Finally, once they were at a safe enough distance from Cartman's forces, the group stopped to collect themselves. All of the kids breathed heavily as they struggled to catch their breaths, in disbelief at their escape.
The Human Kite let Ike go, but held on close to Stan, who was looking more ill by the moment. He was still heavily injured from his fight with Wendy, and since Cartman had taken Sharon, he didn't have a healer. Kyle still wasn't sure if he would make it.
As he held onto his best friend, one of the Zionist Rangers who had managed to escape strode over to him. "Kyle," He said, raising his arm and pointing at an object a distance away. "Look."
Hesitantly, Kyle followed the ranger's aim, and his eyes widened. There, a short distance away, was a Healing Fountain.
Kyle's face brightened. "Stan, get up," He said, pulling his injured friend to his feet. Hoisting him into the air, he carried his friend towards the fountain, setting him down next to it.
"W-What?" Stan asked groggily, his eyes heavy-lidded.
"It's a campaign totem," Kyle explained, a hopeful expression on his face. "It'll heal you. Just stay next to it for a couple minutes."
Stan groaned. He was still in pain, but at the same time, he could feel his injuries begin to mend themselves the longer he stayed next to the fountain. "Where are we?" He asked, glancing around.
Kyle pulled out his phone and switched the screen to the picture of the map. "We're at the Ninjew Hideout," He said, looking around. "In that case, better change." With a tap of his phone, he had transformed into the Master Ninjew.
While Stan healed next to the fountain, Kyle paced a distance away, taking the time to recollect his thoughts. Cartman's sudden reappearance had taken his mind for a spin - even if he had managed to reenter the game after Kyle killed him, how could he have caught up with him so quickly? But what really caught him off-guard was his power. The image of Cartman using the Unholy Combustion spell to obliterate Father Maxi was still embedded into his mind. That was a 5-cost spell, one of the rarest ones in the game. There was no way Cartman could've gotten it, especially so quickly after re-entering the game.
As he racked his brains for answers, the girls and Choirboy Butters arrived at the hideout a distance away. Medusa Bebe set the unconscious Angel Wendy down onto the ground, while Dark Angel Red landed and released Butters.
"Come on, Wendy!" Bebe said, kneeling over her wounded friend and shaking her. When Wendy didn't respond, Bebe began to apply CPR in a desperate attempt to revive her. Red, meanwhile, turned her attention to Butters, who had a thousand-yard stare strewn across his face as he gazed into the distance.
"Butters?" She said, standing next to him and placing a concerned hand on his shoulder.
"F-Father Maxi. . ." Butters stuttered, the memory of being showered in the priest's blood as he was mercilessly obliterated by Cartman fresh in mind. "H-He did nothing and E-Eric just. . ." He couldn't finish the sentence, his entire body shaking and his lip quivering.
"Butters. . ." Red whispered soothingly, wrapping her arms around him. As she comforted her, her eyes landed on the Healing Fountain Stan was laying next to. Immediately, her eyes widened.
"Bebe!" She shouted, alerting the blonde's attention. "It's a Healing Fountain! It can heal Wendy!"
"Right!" Bebe said, propping the unconscious Wendy up on her feet and preparing to drag her towards the totem.
Kyle, still mulling over how Cartman had returned, was snapped out of his thoughts by the sight of the girls approaching the Healing Fountain, and more importantly, Stan. Instantly, Kyle's thoughts of Cartman were set aside as his protective nature took hold.
The girls stopped in their tracks as a shuriken was launched at Bebe's feet. "You stop right there!" Kyle shouted, springing in front of them. "Not one step closer!" He was joined by Scout Ike, who defiantly blocked the girls' path.
"Get out of the way!" Bebe ordered, her snake hair hissing at the two. "You and your little boy scout!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Bebe doubled over in pain as Ike headbutted her in the stomach, causing her to release Wendy, who dropped onto the ground. "Who are you calling boy scout, bitch!" Ike shouted as he yanked on her blonde hair, eliciting a cry of pain from her. She tumbled across the field, Ike controlling her movements by yanking on her hair.
Red watched in bafflement as Ike wailed on Bebe, but she snapped to attention as she heard Kyle let out a war cry. Whipping around, she saw Kyle rush at her, shuriken in hand. His hand whipped out, the shuriken narrowly missing her face, and Red extended her wings and took flight, avoiding Kyle's weapon. Taking to the air, she launched a spiky rose at him, which Kyle barely dodged.
Undeterred, he flung his shurikens into the air, Red soaring through the air to avoid them. One of them managed to nick her wing, however. Letting out a pained hiss, Red landed on the ground roughly. Kyle quickly rushed towards her, wielding a shuriken, but Red got to her feet. Using her bare fists, she parried with Kyle, blocking his strikes and dodging the others.
Laying by the Healing Fountain, Stan watched the fight before him. By now, all of his injuries had practically vanished. Slowly, he inhaled a deep breath before getting to his feet and stepping forward, a look of resolve on his face.
Choirboy Butters, who was watching Kyle and Ike battle Bebe and Ike, conflicted on whether he should join in or not, slowly turned as she saw Stan pass him. Immediately, he rushed to block his path, raising his bells as if they were weapons.
"S-Stop right there, now!" He said, trying and failing to sound intimidating.
Stan simply rested his hand on Butters' arm, lowering them. "Heal Wendy," He commanded, softly but firmly. Butters gulped, and quickly obeyed, rushing to Wendy's side and dragging her towards the Healing Fountain, while Stan continued forward.
Kyle and Red continued to swing wildly at one another, while a couple of feet away Bebe struggled to pry Ike from her hair. As the two redheads lunged for each other, Stan grabbed both of them by the arms, halting their assaults.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Kyle asked Stan, struggling in his grip. "Let me go!"
"Kyle, we shouldn't be fighting them," Stan told him, tightening his grip on Kyle and Red's arms.
"What?!" Kyle blurted out. "But they nearly killed you!"
"Kyle, you saw what happened back there," Stan told him. "I was barely conscious, and even I saw it. I felt it. Cartman. . . he's stronger than before, and he has a bunch of people on his side now. More than we have."
The remaining members of their gang turned to stare at their leaders. Even Bebe and Ike stopped struggling with each other.
"I-I'll stop him," Kyle reassured Stan. "I've done it plenty of times in the past. Heck, I did it in this game. I killed him!"
"And yet he's back," Stan pointed out. "He's stronger than before, and he has us outnumbered." He gestured to the fragments of their formerly massive group, now reduced to maybe a little over a dozen kids. "You can't beat him, not alone. There's only one way to defeat him, and that's by working together." As he spoke, he turned to stare at the girls, who stared back, conflicted.
"Stan. . ." Kyle whispered, still having some reservations.
Butters walked up to them. "Stan's right," He said, his soft voice containing barely-contained anger. "That fucker killed Father Maxi. He's gotta pay for what he's done. If you're gonna take him down, count me in."
Stan turned to Bebe and Red. "Well?" He asked.
Bebe and Red shuffled a bit. "Well, between you and Cartman, it's pretty obvious who's the better option," Red mumbled. "Alright, we'll join forces, but just long enough for us to take out that fat piece of shit."
Stan smile in relief.
Imp Tweek rushed through the woods, a panicked look on his face. After his fight with Kyle in the Wild West and encounter with the President, he'd fled back to the Mystical realm. Unfortunately, in his hurry to escape, he'd gotten lost in the woods.
"Oh man, oh jeez, oh man!" He shouted to himself as he zipped through the bushes and trees, trying to retrace his steps. He'd been like this for hours, trying to find Craig and the others. He remembered the church Stan's gang was staying at, but he didn't want to risk going back there without his friends.
He went on alert when he heard a rustling sound in the bushes. Quickly, he jumped to hide behind a tree, peaking out to investigate.
As he watched, a pair of Native Hunters emerged from the bushes, dragging a net behind them containing an Indian Brave and two Space Grunts. "Let us go!" The captured kids shouted, but to no avail.
Tweek shrunk down, confused and scared. Whoever these Native Hunters were, they were targeting kids working for Craig's gang. Yet they couldn't be working for Stan's group, since they'd also captured an Indian.
"Keep quiet in there!" One of the Native Hunters ordered, jabbing at one of the Space Grunts with an arrow. "The Grand Wizard wants as many players to be apart of his army as possible!"
Grand Wizard? Tweek thought. There was only person he knew who went by that title.
Eric Cartman.
Instantly, all the pieces came together, and the picture wasn't good. If Cartman was assembling an army, that meant everyone, including Craig and his gang, were in grave danger.
As the Native Hunters disappeared with their catch, Tweek slowly tried to sneak away in the opposite direction. It was only then that he remembered he could use his phone to call Craig and warn him about the impending danger.
However, as Tweek fumbled to grab his phone, he collided with something large. Collapsing onto the ground, he found himself staring up at a heavyset, pale-skinned girl.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Henrietta asked as she loomed over the blond.
Tweek gulped.
"Where is Tweek?" Craig asked as he and his gang traveled across the Holy Road. Not too long ago, they had reached the church, only to find it suspiciously empty, with signs of a struggle having taken place inside.
"He should've met back up with us right now," Craig was mumbling to himself. "I hope he's alright. . ."
"I don't think he's our biggest priority at the moment," Token replied, standing at the front of the group.
"What?" Craig blurted out. "Then what is?"
"That!" Token shouted, pointing down the hill. It was at that moment that Craig saw the Ninjew Hideout at the bottom of the hill, and along with it, Stan's group and the girls.
Immediately, Craig's gang hide behind the hill. "Alright, better call the others. I hope the Cyborg Titan has them ready." He pulled out his phone and dialed the number of the Cyborg Titan.
"We've located Stan's group?" He asked as the titan's face showed up on his phone. "Where are you? We need-" He paused, however, when he noticed that the boy wasn't in his Cyborg Titan form. Instead, he was dressed as a Crusader.
"Hey, what the Hell is this?" Craig asked. "We're not playing knights."
The Crusader stared blankly at Craig through the phone, but didn't reply.
"Well?" Craig asked, annoyed. "Why are you dressed like that?" Once again, he got no reply.
Craig was snapped back to attention as he heard the rest of his gang let out a war cry and rush down the hill towards the Ninjew Hideout, switching costumes as they ran. "Guys, wait up!" He shouted, following close behind.
Below, Stan and Kyle looked upwards in surprise as they saw Hercules Clyde pounce down towards them, holding his club over his head. The two dodged out of the way as Clyde brought the club down on the ground, barely missing them.
"Your life source is mine!" Witch Doctor Token declared, pointing his staff at Medusa Bebe. Immediately Bebe felt her health start to be drained away from her.
Suddenly, an arrow was fired into Token's staff, causing it to fly out of his hands. He whipped his head towards Angel Wendy, who held her bow and arrow and had it trained on him.
Meanwhile, Hercules Clyde locked eyes with Red. "Hey, Red!" He shouted, holding his club tightly. "Remember me?"
Red smirked. "Oh?" She sneered. "Has the slave come back to his queen?"
"You're not my queen anymore!" Clyde declared before letting out a cry and charging towards her. Red surged forward to meet him.
Meanwhile, Stan and Kyle rushed over to Craig, who stood midway on the hill. "Craig, enough!" Stan shouted. "Call them off! There are more important matters at hand!"
"Yeah," Jimmy said as he and Timmy stood by the wayside. "C-Can't we all just g-get along?"
"The only thing that matters is getting that key," Craig retorted. "You were the only people standing in our way, and as soon as my army shows up, we'll take care of you for good! Granted, I don't know why they're dressed as knights, but whatever."
Stan and Kyle glanced at Craig's phone, which still had the Crusader's face on it. "That's what we were talking about, Craig!" Stan pointed out. "Your army. . . they're probably not taking orders from you anymore!"
"Why not?" Craig asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"It's Cartman!" Kyle explained. "I killed him, but he came back as a wizard, and he's assembling an army! I think he's taking kids from both our gangs and forcing them to join him!"
"That's preposterous!" Craig denied.
At that moment, a small group of sci-fi kids rushed out of the woods, looking tired and out of breath. "Craig!" One of them shouted, doubling over as he struggled to catch his breath. "Thank goodness we found you!"
"See?" Craig declared, a triumphant grin on his face. "My army is here!"
Kyle raised an eyebrow at the tired band of sci-fi geeks. "That's a pretty measly army," He commented.
"Craig," One of the Space Gunners said, limping up to him. "The Cyborg Command Center. . . it was overrun."
Craig's eyes widened. "What?" He whispered in disbelief.
"There was a breakout at the Alien Junkyard," The gunner explained. "The escapees attacked the command center. We were outnumbered; we had no choice but to flee."
Nearby, Token and Clyde ceased their scuffle with the girls, hearing the news. They turned to stare at Craig, a lost expression on their faces. Craig wore a similar expression.
Stan walked up to him. "See?" He said. "After your base got overrun, that would be the perfect opportunity for Cartman to get his clutches on your army and force them to work for him. At this point, the rest of your 'army' is probably running around confused, being picked off by the other players."
Craig glared at Stan, but he knew the latter was probably right.
"Come on, Craig," Stan said. "Cartman's stronger now, and each second he's capturing more players. If we're going to stand a chance at defeating him, we're gonna have to join forces."
Craig turned to stare at Token and Clyde, then at Jimmy and Timmy, who all had conflicted looks on their faces. Eventually, he turned back to stare at Stan, his eyes dark.
"I don't need your help," He growled. "Whatever Cartman is up to, I can handle it."
At that moment, Craig's phone received another call. He stared down at it and saw that the call was coming from Tweek. His eyes lightened as he quickly answered it.
"Tweek," He said happily. "Where are you?"
"Craig!" Tweek's voice screeched in fear on the other hand, quickly erasing any joy Craig felt. "Where are you? I need help!"
"Tweek?" Craig exclaimed, concerned. "What's going on?"
Through the phone, Craig could see Tweek had a panicked expression on his face. His skin was marred with cuts and bruises, and his hair was more of a mess than usual. He was running erratically, as if trying to get away from someone.
"These guys!" Tweek was saying as he moved through the woods. "They were capturing members of our gang! And Stan's gang, too! They said they were taking them to the Grand Wizard!" He paused briefly to catch his breath. "And then that Goth kid came, and-"
He was cut off when purple chains were latched around his body, dragging him to the ground. "Oh God!" Tweek shouted, his phone dropping out of his hands and landing on the ground.
"Tweek?!" Craig shouted in panic. The other kids gathered around the phone, worried expressions on their faces.
"Help me!" Tweek shouted as he was dragged out of view by the purple chains. The last thing Craig and the others saw before the phone went black was Pete's blank face as he picked up the phone and shut it off.
For a few moments, Craig stared, ashen-faced, at the blank phone. Around him, the other kids slowly backed away to give him space.
Eventually, Craig collapsed onto his knees, his phone slipping out of his fingers. A tear slipped down his face.
Hesitantly, Stan approached Craig. He opened his mouth to speak, but Craig cut him off before he even got the chance.
"Alright," He whispered, his voice cracking. "I'll join you."
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