Playerhood18: That was a little confusing to read.
South Down: Sigh...
Warknight XL216: You did?
GBond007: Thanks.
I am a burglar: Manbearpig is a demon who's a cross of a man, a bear, and a pig.
When Kenny awoke in his bed, he knew immediately that something was different.
For one, the bed covers felt larger, warmer, and didn't stink. As he pushed the covers off of his head and sat up, he took the time to survey his room. Instantly, he snapped up in confusion.
This wasn't his room.
The walls and ceilings didn't have cracks in them. The wall painting wasn't half-finished. The curtains weren't ripped. And the room wasn't as empty as before; it was filled with furniture, stacked in a neat and tidy row.
"(What the fuck?)" Kenny asked, jumping out of bed. He rushed to one of the new drawers and pulled out one of the chests, revealing neatly-stacked piles of t-shirts and other pieces of clothing he knew he didn't have. He pulled out the other chests, revealing more fancy clothing he didn't own.
Closing the chests, he next ran towards the closet. Opening it, he found several jackets, similar to the ones worn by the other kids at school, rather than just rows of the same old parka he usually wore.
"(What's going on here?)" He pondered to himself. Out of curiosity, he rushed towards the windows, pushing aside the curtains to look outside. To his surprise, he wasn't in the SoDoSoPa; rather, he was near Kyle's neighborhood. At that moment, a thought entered his head.
Where was his family?
"(Karen?!)" He shouted, swinging the door open and rushing out into the hallway. A dozen horrifying thoughts raced through his head. Had he been kidnapped? Had his family been taken as well? What was being done to them?
His thought process came to an abrupt end, however, as he raced down the stairs, only to find his family sitting at the kitchen table, having breakfast peacefully. At least, they looked like his family, but at the same time, there was something. . . different about them. Their pajamas weren't torn, and the familiar scent of alcohol that normally hung over his parents was strangely absent. In fact, the air in the house was a lot cleaner than usual, cleaner than it had ever been.
"(. . . Guys?)" Kenny said, confused.
Carol turned her head in Kenny's direction. "Oh, hey Kenneth," She said sweetly. "We were just having breakfast. Why don't you join us?"
Kenny stood at the bottom of the stairs for a few moments, a little hesitant, before finally stepping forward and taking his seat at the table. Quickly, he saw that his family was eating pancakes, with his plate already prepared for him.
As he slowly started eating, Kenny noticed Kevin move from the table and stride over to the fridge. As he opened it, Kenny's eyes widened as he saw the fridge was stacked with food and snacks. "(Holy shit!)" He exclaimed, stunned.
"Kenny, what's wrong?" Stuart asked in an unusually concerned tone.
"(Didn't you see the fridge?)" Kenny asked. "(It was packed!)"
The rest of Kenny's family stared at him, a confused expression on their faces.
"(Aren't you surprised?)" Kenny asked. "(We're in a new house, the place doesn't stink, I have more clothes than usual-)"
"Kenny, why are you so surprised?" Karen cut him off. "After all, you made this happen."
Kenny turned to stare at her, baffled. "(What?)" He asked.
"Don't you remember?" Karen asked. "You played the new Phone Destroyer game and won. You got the key and made your wish so that we wouldn't be poor anymore. And it worked."
(. . . It did?)" Kenny asked. He'd admittedly kind of doubted it at first, thinking it was too good to be true. But what if it had been true?
"Yeah," Stuart replied. "I stopped drinking, got myself a high-paying job and moved out of that shitty SoDoSoPa. And I never would've done it if it hadn't been for you."
"(For me?)" Kenny asked, a little taken aback.
"Yes," Stuart said, getting out of his seat and approaching Kenny. "Kenneth, I've had time to think, and I just want to say I'm sorry for what I've put you through. You've given me and your mother a second chance, and I'm gonna make sure I don't mess this one up." Kneeling down, he took Kenny into his arms. Kenny, awkwardly, returned the embrace.
The rest of Kenny's family joined the embrace. "Thank you, Kenny," Karen whispered as she buried her face in his chest. "You've saved us."
Slowly, Kenny smiled. It was true.
He had saved them.
"(I finally got my wish,)" He whispered.
"Kenny?!" Kyle exclaimed as he stood in front of his parka-wearing friend inside the dark cavern. Kenny simply stood there, frozen in place, not responding to him. His eyes were blank and spaced out, unfocused on Kyle.
"Kenny, talk to me!" Kyle shouted in horror, grabbing Kenny's shoulders. When Kenny still didn't respond, Kyle took Kenny's hoodie and yanked it down, uncovering his face. He stepped back in horror when he saw a delirious grin on Kenny's face.
On the brink of panicking, Kyle turned to the other people in the cave. "Guys, come on!" He said to them. "We have to help-"
He quickly stopped. Everyone else in the cave had an eerie, blank expression on their face. They stood there, still as robots, their eyes unfocused and their pupils shrunken.
"Guys?" Kyle asked. He got no response from any of them.
Quickly, Kyle's eyes snapped towards the machine, with the key placed inside it. Immediately, he lunged towards it and grabbed it, trying to pull it out of the lock. Whatever had happened to his friends, the key must've been the cause. Yet, no matter how hard he pulled, the key didn't budge.
"Come on. . ." Kyle groaned as he pulled with all of his strength, to no avail.
As Kyle struggled to pull the key out of the machine, Stan and Craig stepped forward, their motions robotic. Reaching forward, they both grabbed onto Kyle, roughly yanking him away from the machine.
"Let go of me!" Kyle protested, struggling in their grip, but they held on tight. They seemed ten times stronger than normal. Unaffected by Kyle's struggles, the two dragged Kyle out of the cavern. The other kids, including Kenny, followed suite.
"Guys, snap out of it!" Kyle shouted, but they didn't respond. They continued to drag him through the dark caverns, slowly joined by more and more players, all of them wearing the same, blank look on their faces.
After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the exit of the Underworld. As they stepped outside, Stan and Craig tossed Kyle to the ground roughly.
As Kyle struggled to his knees, he felt his heart drop. Standing in front of him was an endless mass of Indians, sci-fi kids, Visitors, elves, squires. . . it was like every player in the game was here. To his shock, even the dead players were on their feet, looking good as new. Bebe, who Kyle had last seen an arrow-ridden corpse, was standing at the front of the crowd, all her injuries gone.
To Kyle's dread, however, all of them wore the same, blank look.
"Ike!" Kyle exclaimed as he saw his brother in the massive crowd. He was about to rush towards him, but thought better of it.
Collapsing onto his knees, Kyle buried his face into his hands and said, "What's happened to all of you?"
"My wish."
Kyle immediately snapped to attention. The crowd parted, and none other than Leslie Meyers, the real Leslie Meyers, strode through them and towards Kyle. The redhead fixated his eyes on her, his blood boiling with hate.
"You. . ." Kyle snarled furiously. "W-What did you do?!" He got to his feet and was about to charge at her, but two elves restrained him.
Leslie chuckled. With a crook of her finger, she summoned Ike towards her. Kyle felt his heart rate accelerate, but Leslie simply stroked his head gently.
"Don't worry," Leslie told Kyle, her voice soothing. "They're not hurt. But they are under my total control now."
"The key. . ." Kyle whispered. "What did it do to everyone?"
"Oh, it just activated a mass Mind Control spell that swept over the game like a tidal wave," Leslie replied casually, picking up Ike and holding him in her arms. "Everyone is now under my thrall, subject to my whims." As she did, she tapped her head, smirking.
Kyle looked to the ground, clenching his fists. "Everyone except me," He whispered, remembering the metal band that was placed around his head. "That's what these bands were for. They were going to shield its wearer from the Mind Control effect."
"Very clever," Leslie replied, seeming impressed.
Slowly, Kenny walked out of the Underworld and passed Kyle, joining Leslie's side. "Kenny," Kyle whispered, filled with concern. "What have you done to him?"
"I've given him what he's always wanted," Leslie said, caressing Kenny's face. "He's locked in a dream world, specifically one where his wishes have come true. He thinks he's gotten his wish, but in reality, he, too, is under my control. More than that, he's the epicenter of the Mind Control wave, the chain linking everyone's minds together."
"So that's what would've become of the winner," Kyle whispered. Fury erupted in him, and he growled, "How can you do this to people? How can you treat them like mere toys?"
"Hey, I've given your friend here exactly what he's always wanted," Leslie snapped, wrapping a hand around Kenny's shoulder and pulling him close. "And I can do the same for you."
"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked.
"Once we re-enter the real world, everyone who played the game will be under my control," Leslie explained to him. "I gave Nathan and Mimsy the bands to gain their compliance, but I truly didn't think they were worthy to be exempt of my control. That is why I was happy when you got the band instead."
Kyle stayed silent, letting Leslie continue.
"You're a smart boy, Kyle," Leslie explained. "I'd hate to waste that intelligence by forcing my Mind Control onto you. Join me as my willing subordinate, and you can consider everyone here your own. Everyone will do as you say; why, even Cartman would have no choice but to worship the ground you walk upon. You can have everything you ever wanted."
Kyle stared at Leslie for a few moments, considering her words. But as he laid his eyes upon his mind-controlled brother, he knew he could only give one answer.
"Never," He spat. "I'm not like you, Leslie. The last thing I want is a bunch of mindless sycophants, stripped of their identities and agency. People are more than just toys; they deserve to have free will."
Leslie frowned, disappointed. "Pity you think that way, Kyle," She said with a sigh. "Perhaps when you've been resurrected, you'll be a little more open-minded."
Turning towards Kyle's former inner circle of friends, she casually said, "Eliminate him."
Immediately, Kyle's inner circle drew their weapons and approached Kyle menacingly. "No!" Kyle shouted, turning and rushing back into the Underworld. The rest of his inner circle pursued him.
Leslie heaved deeply and turned to everyone else. "Alright, everybody, take out your phones," She commanded, pulling out hers. "You'll find a button at the bottom titled Exit Game. It'll bring you back to reality."
As everyone followed Leslie's instructions, the raven-haired girl sneered, "Game Over, everyone. See you in the real world."
And with that, she pressed the button and vanished into blue pixels.
"Guys, stop!" Kyle pleaded as he dodged a swing from Dragonslayer Red's battleaxe. He'd been pursued to a section of the Underworld, and had been cornered by Stan, Butters, Ike, Craig's gang, and the Girls, including Annie.
"This isn't you!" Kyle said as he dodged a jab from Stan's sword. Reluctantly, he fired a medium-sized blast from his laser eyes, knocking Stan and a few of the others backwards.
"Must serve Leslie," Paladin Butters said in a robotic voice as he approached Kyle, his hammer clutched tight in his hands.
"Butters, please," Kyle said, only to duck as Butters swung his hammer at him, narrowly avoiding taking his head off. "I don't wanna fight you."
"Neither do we," Stan whispered, his voice monotone as he picked up his sword and walked forward. "Just surrender and give yourself up to Leslie. Don't make us hurt you!"
"See, Stan!" Kyle exclaimed. "You don't want to do this! Come on, there has to be a way to snap you out of it!"
Just then, his mind snapped to attention as an idea formed in his head. He didn't know if it would work, but he didn't have much options.
Avoiding a magic blast from Dark Mage Craig, Kyle pulled out his phone. Quickly, he switched through his spells until he came upon the one Leslie had given to him as payment for killing Cartman. Purify.
Kyle looked up, watching as his friends slowly approached him. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, "For your sake, I hope this works." Closing his eyes, he activated the spell.
Kyle's friends charged towards him, but stopped in their tracks as they were hit by a colorful wave. Instantly, they dropped their weapons, shaking their heads and blinking rapidly, groaning.
"Guys?" Kyle asked as his friends stood in front of him, reeling from the spell's effects. "Are you. . . alright?"
Slowly, Stan turned around to face his friend. His eyes had returned to normal, and he had a confused look on his face. "Kyle," He whispered. "W-What's going on? Where are we?"
Relief washed over Kyle as he saw the spell had successfully removed the Mind Control effect on his friends. "Oh thank God!" He shouted, enveloping Stan and Ike in a hug. "I thought I lost you guys!"
Stan awkwardly returned the hug. "Kyle, what's going on?" He asked.
"There's no time to explain," Kyle said, breaking out of the hug. "Everyone in the town is in danger. Look, exit the game. Once you're back in the real world, meet me at my house. I'll explain everything there, but we don't have much time!" Holding his phone, Kyle pressed the Exit Game button. Immediately, he vanished into pixels.
The other kids exchanged confused glances with each other. Nevertheless, they did the same.
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