Disclaimer - I don't own south park, never will...don't sue me bro…

Author's Note - Sorry about not updating over the last couple years! I am hoping to finally finish this story soon, and this is the beginning! Considering taking some of my original stuff in this story and turning it into an original story. Not sure, let me know if ya'll think it'd make a good story even if it wasn't about our boys.

Also you know it's been a long time since you've updated a story when you have to read your own story to figure out what the hell was going on. Welp, lets get on with this show.

Chapter 27

In the woods behind the Marsh's home...

"We've gotta get back to the house. Our parents are going to need us!" Stan said struggling to get to his feet, hurting everywhere and unable to use his arms.

"Stan, wait I need to heal you first!" Kyle said quickly laying his hands on Stan's arm. The other boy just shook his head.

"Save your strength, these injuries won't kill me and your power will be better used killing some more shells. I will need help walking though…" The dark haired boy said as he wobbled and leaned against Kyle. The redhead put one of Stan's arms around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around the other's waist.

"Alright then, lets go, just let me know if you need to stop and rest." Kyle said pulling Stan closer to him as they walked. He was fighting back tears thinking of how badly hurt his friend was. Had he been there he could have protected him, but he was off being useless again. And if the first revenant was still out there they could still be in danger.

"Kyle, I'm sorry I'm so useless. If I'd had my weapon I could have handled those revenants but instead I'm just dragging you down. Literally." Stan said sadly as he stumbled and almost brought them both down to the ground.

"Don't say that!" Kyle said as he caught both their weight and lifted regained their feet. "I would be too terrified to move if you hadn't been with me. This is my fault, if I hadn't left we would never have been in so much danger to begin with." Stan chuckled at that.

"Ok so yea it's probably both our faults, split it fifty fifty?" Stan said suddenly feeling much stronger. He lifted his left arm that suddenly felt as though it was no longer brodid ken.

"Sure, that works for me!" The redhead said smiling again and momentarily forgetting his fear. But noticing Stan's attention had shifted turned towards him. "What is it?"

"While I appreciate being able to move my arms again, I thought we agreed for you to save your magic for the fight ahead." Stan said standing on his own now and flexing both arms. Kyle just looked at him and tilted his head.

"Uh I didn't use any magic." Kyle said taking Stan's right arm and examining it closely. It was still bruised and scuffed but the swelling was gone and looked like it usually would after one of their sparring sessions. "I know you recover quickly, but this is extraordinary."

"You're telling me. If it wasn't you, then who healed me?" Stan said checking his other injuries, all his broken bones seemed to be more or less healed. And more than that he felt almost energized, like he had just rested after a hard workout. "Well we can't waste anymore time, I'm good to run now. Let's go!" And both boys sprinted off through the woods towards the Marsh's house. Took what felt like several minutes to pass through all of the woods in the twisted reflection of the woods outback in the real world. The Nightlands tended to skew time and distance.

"Stan let me take the lead! If we run into any shells I'll blast us a path through!" Kyle said picking up speed and passing Stan who reluctantly slowed his pace to allow it. Though he had to admit he didn't mind letting Kyle take the lead, even if he did want to be the one who always protected the redhead.

"Alright, I'll watch your back and make sure nothing flanks you." I can do that much at least, he thought to himself. As they burst out of the trees into the twisted version of the Marsh's backyard they were immediately set upon by half a dozen shells.

"Freeze" Kyle shouted as he moved his arms outward in an arc, creating an imaginary semi-circle in front of him. The shells movement was immediately halted as ice sprouted from the ground and their bodies as the water in the air around them crystallized.

"Nice work! I got this part!" Stan said rushing past, even unarmed he could handle immobilized shells. The monsters struggled against their icey bonds, their supernatural strength cracking it in places, but it held. Stan walked straight up to the first and snapped a kick up under its chin with such speed and force that it sounded almost like a small thundercrack. That sound being the neck of the shell snapping and coming clean away from the shoulders.

"Jesus dude!" Kyle said covering his mouth and gagging a little bit. Stan seemed stunned for a moment his foot still high in the air. But then he turned in place on his still planted foot by shifting his body weight and brought his heel down on the next shell in line. The top of it's skull fared no better than the previous one's neck.

"I don't understand what's going on, but I feel amazing right now!" Stan said smiling as he turned to face his friend for a moment before continuing the turn and leaping into the air to bring a kick around to a third shell. Kyle stood amazed at his friend's strength, distracting him from the fact that the other three shells were about to break free of their bonds. He noticed it at the last second.

"Dude look out!" He wracked his brain for a spell he could use that wouldn't put Stan in danger as he was suddenly surrounded and grabbed by three shells. But then he noticed that Stan wasn't worried, and the shells seemed to be struggling to move him at all. These things had supernatural strength surpassing what a human is normally capable, but it was like children trying to move an oak tree. Kyle blinked a couple times, for some reason Stan seemed more substantial than normal. He couldn't really explain what it was exactly, but he seemed...more, somehow. Stan turned his head towards Kyle slightly and smiled warmly.

"I got this." In a blur of movement, that made Kyle doubt Stan had been fighting him at full strength during sparring, the dark haired boy threw a flurry of punches. Each landed blow sent the shells reeling backward. My body is bursting with power, it feels kind of like my magic gear, he thought to himself as he continued his assault. He had been surprised and overwhelmed by his increased strength at first, he couldn't control it. But now?

"Stan behind you!" Kyle shouted as a revenant dropped down behind the boy, six inch claws aimed for his throat. Stan dropped flat onto his hands, holding his body up in a planking position, his feet not touching the ground.

"I know." He said as he pushed off the ground to launch himself into the air. He had practiced this maneuver many times before. When fighting things stronger than you, getting back to your feet as quickly as possible was essential. But never before had he been able to send himself nearly ten feet into the air with nothing but his arms. But he had known he could the moment before he attempted it, so he wasn't surprised and came down one foot on each wrist of the revenant driving them into the ground. It growled and struggled attempting to pull its arms free but Stan didn't even shake from the attempt.

"Let me go human!" The revenant screamed furiously into the boy's face, showing inch long black fangs two rows deep in his mouth. Stan smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"No." Stan said firmly and slashed across with both arms in a chopping motion. The Revenant's head flying free and landing in the bushes. The shells who had been knocked back from the barrage of punches were just now regaining their feet, but it was too late as Kyle had shaken off his amazement and wanted in on the action.

"Drop" Kyle said extending out one arm before him and pointing to the ground, as though telling a dog to sit. All three shells were splattered into the ground by a barrage of fast falling rocks the size of a fist.

"Nice move, I didn't even see you lift those rocks into the air!" Stan said hands on his hips smiling as though everything was right with the world. Kyle smiled back sheepishly.

"I actually was picking them up as we moved through the forest." Kyle stated as he pointed up to where there was a veritable cloud of large stones floating in the air. Now it was Stan's turn to be impressed, the amount of magic it must be taking to hold so much weight in the air constantly was insane. The boy let the rocks settle gently to the ground behind him.

"Well then let's see how our parents are, though with how we made out I'm not even worried anymore." Stan said as he opened the back door to his house and stepped inside. The layout of the house was as it should be, shielded as it was by his mother's spells, even here in the Nightlands. "Mom? Dad?" Stan called as he moved into the now empty kitchen. His father stepped into the kitchen holding a shotgun, Gerald moving sheepishly behind him holding a small handgun.

"Stan, Kyle! Thank goodness you're alright!" Randy exclaimed rushing over to hug his son. At the mention of the boy's names the two mothers rushed into the room. Sharon carrying a staff and Sheila holding a frying pan.

"Kyle!" The large lady blubbered as she rushed to her son. "I was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine mom!" Kyle gasped pushing his mother off of him. "I was more worried about you and dad, I can protect myself."

"What do you mean Kyle? There are monsters out there!" She shrieked gripping the frying pan tighter.

"I know mom, I've kind of been training to fight them…" Kyle said sheepishly.

"What, what, WHAT!?" She said whirling on Sharon and Randy. "I should have known something was up! Who keeps weapons in secret compartments in the walls?! What have you gotten my boy into!" Stan cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"It's not their fault Mrs. Broflovski, it's mine. I got Kyle into this, I never wanted him to be a part of this life…" Kyle held his hand up indicating for Stan to stop.

"But now that I know, there is nowhere else I would rather be." As he said that another group of shells made an attempt to get in through the back door.

"Kyle! Dear get behind me!" Mrs. Broflovski shreaked and to her credit moved foward to position herself between the monsters and her son.

"And another thing, I'm strong!" Kyle just turned towards the door and pointed. "Shatter!" The glass of the sliding doors seemed to flex for a moment before exploding outward towards the dozen shells in the yard. "Whirl! Move!" Attempting his first use of three consecutive commands in a row. Once again Stan was in awe of his best friend. The tornado of glass tore through the shells like scissors through paper.

"Sheila, your son is even more remarkable than you know." Sharon said leaning heavily on her staff obviously exhausted from the fighting they had done.

Outside the Marshes across the street…

The arm of the throne cracked in the warlock's grip. "Damn them, damn them all." He waved his hand and the world around him shifted as the Nightlands retreated back across the boundary and he was once again back in his domain in the woods. Waiting for him was a smirking Cartman.

"So not only did you make it seem as though your word is worthless, you didn't even succeed in your objective?" He smiled as he turned to walk away, highly satisfied at the way things were going. The warlock tapped his fingers as he watched his servant walk away.

"Well it wasn't entirely a waste I suppose." He called after him, causing Cartman to turn and look over his shoulder. "I didn't come away empty handed." Two revenants were standing beside the throne each holding an unconscious child.

To be continued!

AN - So I'm back! I promise not to take forever to update this time! I am hoping to get another chapter out either tonight or tomorrow. Let me know what ya think!