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

Author's Note - And here we go! Your weekend update! Though I might update faster depending on reviews. Lookin at you lurkers! Don't need to sign in to leave one! Anyway, let's get this show started.

Chapter 31

At the Marsh's for breakfast…

"Hey Mom, we want to have magic practice first thing in the morning today!" Stan said excitedly. He and Kyle had talked only a little bit about what happened during the attack and the aftermath. But everyone had felt it, Stan had used magic. Unintentionally, but it had still happened.

"Absolutely!" Sharon said, her staff appearing in her hand from out of thin air. She was overjoyed at the possibility her son may yet be a mage! Kyle didn't say much, he was worried. Stan was riding high right now, and if the magic practice didn't go the way he was hoping it would crush him. "We'll start with something simple!"

"The Hershey kisses again?" Stan asked he was brimming with nervous energy. He had felt magic, his own magic, for the first time. It was something he hadn't known he was missing before, but now after feeling it, he couldn't imagine not feeling that again.

"Why not? It's how Kyle got started. Besides, it's good exercise for precise control and restraint." Several Hershey kisses were soon unwrapped and placed on the mantle over the fireplace. Sharon took a seat in the armchair. She looked tired, even after all the sleeping she'd done the past few days.

"Alright, so...should I just go for it?" Stan asked, cold sweat starting to set in.

"Whenever you're ready, dear." His mother said, laying her staff across her lap. Though the boys couldn't tell, she was reaching out with her magical senses toward her son. Like all living beings, Stan, of course, was born with magic in his soul. Each person's soul had a different feel to it, a different affinity to magic. But his magic had been different, there was no affinity, almost as if the magic was inert, or sleeping. It was a rare thing in the hunter world for anyone to have absolutely no magic affinity. No, not rare, unheard of.

"You got this dude!" Kyle said, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Well alright then…" Stan breathed out. He cracked his neck and flexed his muscles like he was about to fight. Extending his right hand forward he reached for that feeling he'd felt before and said the command "Move!" Nothing happened. He started to sweat. "MOVE!" He said more forcefully now, still, nothing happened. He was breathing rapidly now, the panic was setting in. "MOVE!" He pleaded, tears coming to his eyes.

"Oh, Stanley…" His mother said sadly. She saw no change in Stan's magic. She wanted to comfort her son, but she didn't know what to say.

"But I felt it, I felt my magic…" Stan cried dropping to his knees. Kyle dropped with him and wrapped him in a hug from the side.

"Don't give up just yet dude. We could try something else, maybe moving things with magic is one of your weak points? That's got to be it! Right?" Kyle rambled out trying to say whatever it took to keep Stan from falling apart. Sharon followed his lead.

"He's right Stanley, you used magic once, you can use it again. You boys go do your physical training at Jimbo's and I'll think of something while you're gone!" Sharon said, jumping to her feet with as much pep as she could muster. Stan just nodded silently and walked towards the front door followed by Kyle and Randy.

"So are we going to do our run first? Or maybe a few dozen push-ups?" Kyle asked Stan, trying to get him to talk but all he would do is grunt for the entire car ride to Jimbo's. When they arrived they both slid out of Randy's truck and he waved as he drove back home. Stan just kind of wandered around the training field aimlessly. Kyle was getting worried now, he needed to get Stan out of this. And he had a really bad Idea. "Think fast!"

"What?" Stan said lazily turning towards Kyle who was now only two feet from him, and in a fighting position. A kick was coming towards Stan's head. It was fast and he almost couldn't block, almost. Stan's arm shot up on the side where the kick was headed and then snapped down behind the ankle, trapping Kyle's foot. "What are you do-" He started to ask but Kyle kicked his other leg up at Stan's chin. He had to release the other leg and fall back a few steps to avoid it. And Kyle came on again.

"Come on! Don't go easy on me now!" Kyle shouted not letting up his attack. Stan seemed more alive for a few moments until the surprise started to fade. Now that he saw Kyle's attacks coming it was child's play for him to avoid them. To Kyle, it seemed like he just floating backward or to the side, just out of reach. Had he not known better he'd have assumed he was fighting a ghost.

"Kyle that's enough, I know what you're trying to do-" Stan said putting up both hands in front of him in a show of surrender, Kyle dropped his stance. Stan closed his eyes and breathed out trying to think of what to say next when the wind was suddenly knocked out of him.

"Better keep those eyes open dude!" Kyle shouted as his feet touched back down after a devastating jump kick that sent stan reeling backward. Stan's head snapped up towards Kyle, and he was pissed. He ran forward flipped into the air bringing his left heel down in an arc, aiming for Kyle's right shoulder. "Holy shit!" Kyle yelped, frantically throwing up a magical shield. The barrier flickered for a moment under the strain before shattering sending both boys flying backward. Kyle tumbled across the ground wildly, Stan however rolled to his feet and charged.

"Fine, you want to do this?! Let's do this!" Kyle heard Stan shout as he scrambled back to his feet.

"MOVE!" Kyle shouted pulling his cane to his hand just in time to deflect one of Stan's fists. He hoped that the magically enhanced cane could take the beating Stan was putting out. He parried wildly while skipping backward trying to gain some distance. Stan, however, stayed right on him and kept up his assault.

"Where'd that cockiness go, huh?" Stan mocked as he stepped in behind one of Kyle's parries and pushed him roughly sending him off balance. "That the best you can do?"

"Hardly!" Kyle said as he fell back hooking the crook of his cane behind Stan's left ankle. He yanked and felt a moment of triumph as Stan's leg came up. That ended when Stan went with the movement and flipped backward hooking the crook with his foot and pulling it from Kyle's grasp and catching it as he landed.

"Really? Cause it seems like it is." Stan said angrily before tossing the cane back to Kyle who caught it awkwardly. He turned away from Kyle to calm himself down with some deep breaths and stretching. "Kyle, thank you."

"For what?" The redhead asked, surprised.

"For snapping me out of it. I was being pathetic." Stan said turning back towards his best friend, no that isn't quite right, is it?

"Oh it's no problem du-" Kyle started to say before being cut off.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" Stan blurted out. Kyle just looked at him like he was dumb. He panicked momentarily when the redhead didn't answer.

"No, of course not. I just suck your dick for fun." Kyle said with a smirk. "I thought that was already a given?" Stan laughed throwing his head back.

"Well, I'm glad you think it's fun. You're welcome to do it as much as you like!" Stan said returning his boyfriend's smirk. Kyle dropped his cane and ran over to Stan tackling him to the ground. "Woah, dude! I didn't mean it literally!"

"Shut up." Kyle said with fake annoyance before smothering any reply from Stan in a kiss. Stan didn't hesitate to return it. Stan wrapped his arms around Kyle's waist as they lay on the ground covered in dirt and sweat kissing. And that was when Stan felt it. His eyes shot open and he pushed Kyle back so he could look him in the eyes.

"Kyle! You're it! You're the key!" Stan said excitedly as he pulled the other boy to his feet and began rambling about how he didn't see it before. Kyle cocked an eyebrow and looked at Stan with his arms crossed wondering if maybe he had hit him too hard earlier.

"Ok I know I'm amazing. But what are you talking about?" Kyle asked finally as Stan stood looking at his hands opening and closing. Stan clenched his fists tightly and closed his eyes.

"Just watch." Stan said finally as he turned towards a tree at the edge of the cleared fighting area. Stan looked back at his memories of that night. He played the key moments over and over again in his head. And alongside that, he remembered every failed attempt to use magic. At first glance, it seemed as though his use of magic was just a fluke. There was nothing really different about him that night against the revenant, Stan had thought. But no, that wasn't true, he was different that night. And he was different now. He reached inward for that feeling, remembering it clearly and grasped it tightly with everything he had. "Kyle"

"Dude!" Kyle gasped as he felt the surge of magic from Stan flowing outward. "You're doing it!" The power Kyle felt now was different than he had sensed a few days earlier. This wasn't and accidental tapping of latent ability. This magic had a purpose, direction, and intent. And it was overwhelming. Stan covered the distance to the tree in the span of a heartbeat and lashed out with a right cross. The tree trunk provided no more resistance than the revenant's body had. Stan's arm was elbow deep in the trunk when the tree suddenly exploded and sent him flying backward sliding on his ass across the arena.

"Hah! Did you see that!" Stan said as he lept back to his feet and pointed to the tree. Kyle rushed over to him and grabbed his right arm to examine it, finally figuring out what had happened to it a few nights earlier. Stan's own magic had burst forth too suddenly and unprepared, his arm had been broken.

"Yea I saw it, that was incredibly reckless!" Kyle shouted as he continued to examine his idiot boyfriend to make sure he hadn't gained any more injuries.

"It wasn't that reckless. I only used a tiny bit of magic." Stan said holding his thumb and index finger close together for Kyle to see.

"That was only a small amount of magic to you?" Kyle asked, jaw-dropping open. It was Stan's turn to cock an eyebrow at the other.

"Uh yeah...I know how to access my magic now, but I wasn't sure how much I could control so I just grabbed a small fraction of it for my attack. Why?" Stan said cocking his head to the side now as Kyle was deep in thought. The magic he had felt from Stan hadn't been small, in fact, he'd be willing to bet Stan had used more magic at that moment than Kyle had in all his training so far.

"Stan, we need to go talk to your mother." Stan just scratched the back of his head not sure what had his boyfriend suddenly spooked but agreed and called his father to come and pick them up.

AN - GOD THIS STORY IS BAD! XD Definitely just fantasy fulfillment for me. Sappy, actiony and badly written. I apologize for subjecting ya'll to it. Hope you get at least some enjoyment out of it.