Way Too Long Author Ramble Thing (Pay Attention, this will be on the test) ...I think this fic is the most challenging thing I have ever, ever written. It is also incredibly fun and simply a blast to write. I would like to thank each and every single one of my readers, and extra thanks to the reviewers. I love all of you. So so much.

A note for those who haven't seen the "Damien" episode or have forgotten: Rectus Dominus is what Damien said whenever he was going to levitate someone or light something on fire or whatever. I guess it activates his Satanic powers? For bonus points, it's Latin for ass master.

La de da, I seem to have trouble with ending chapters. That's the main part I get stuck on whenever there's a delay in updating (aka always).

Also, I know I have been pretty bad about reviewing others' fics lately. Very sorry! I am having some school troubles that will pass shortly, so that's why...

Also I changed my divider! Instead of the bar, it's dots now (except to seperate the A/N and fic)

Disclaimer. Don't own the characters, all I own is the story below, blahdy blahdy blah.

Fourth Installment
"Underwater"

Twigs and dead leaves cracked under his feet and thoughts swirled in his head as he ran, eyes shut tightly, covered in a sheet of falling rain, thunder roaring around him. What just happened? What the hell was Damien trying to do? Would he have… God, would have raped me if I didn't wake up?

…And where's Stan?

He felt his forehead collide with a solid object. Opening his eyes, he realized he was in the middle of the forest, and had just run into a tree.

"Ow…" he muttered, rubbing his head. He looked around, searching for Stan. God, he needed Stan back… he caught sight of two shapes sitting on a bench far off to his left. One was a skinny silhouette, shoulders hunched, the other a wider figure sitting up straight, it's arm around the skinny one.

"Stan…? Stan, is that you?" he queried, making his way towards the bench. As he got closer, he began to hear faint voices.

…Can I ask you a favor?

"STAN! Stan, are you there?"

Sure, dude…

"Stan, it's me, Kyle! I… I miss you!"

…that's what friends are for.

"Stan, please! I need you back!"

…How deep is this lake?

"Stan! Please… I…"

Pretty fucking deep, dude…

"I… I love…"

Cartman… I want you to push me…

"I LOVE YOU…."

Anything for you, Smokes…

Kyle burst through the foliage, his face strained and stained with tears, screaming at the top of his lungs as Cartman applied pressure to the brunette's back.

"I LOVE YOU, STAN…!"

Stan, leaning in towards the lake, lifted his head to see the redhead's panicked expression. As if in slow motion, Stan's eyes widened and he reached a hand out to the boy he still loved. But it was too late to stop his body from falling, and he choked out his final words. "Kyle… I'm sorry…"

Time regained its normal speed, and Kyle wasted no time diving in after him. The cold water stung his eyes, and mud swirled around him. Panicking, he glanced around looking for his love. He reached a hand out towards a faint falling shape, and waited for the shape to grab his hand back.

Why isn't he swimming back up?

Cartman sat on the bench for a few more minutes, staring into the water. It was too murky to see the two boys swimming together beneath it. He turned his attention to the sky.

Kracka-BOOM

Lightning struck nearby. He could see the bolt, and felt the ground warm up. He glanced at the lake again. He smirked, wondering what would happen to his friends if lightning struck the lake.

Kyle felt fingers slip through his. He grabbed again, trying to get a firm grip. His lungs were on fire.

I can't keep holding my breath for much longer…

His fingers intertwined with another set, and he pulled the body closer to him. Stan's blue eyes stared back into his green ones. Bodies locked in an embrace under the lake, mud and fish swirling around them, a storm raging outside; it was strangely romantic.

The two surfaced in an explosion of cold water, hair wet and hanging to their shoulders, shivering. Kyle smiled, and hugged Stan tighter.

"Thank God you're alive…"
Stan didn't smile back, just looked sadly down. "I'm sorry… I should have known they were fake… you didn't sleep with Tweek… I-I should have believed you…"

Kyle wiped away something from Stan's cheek, and it was difficult to tell if it was the result of tears, rain, lake water, or a mixture of the three. "…It's okay. I love you anyway."

He leaned forward and kissed the brunette, working his tongue carefully and savoring the taste of his love's lips, and all the recent horrible experiences no longer mattered. Cartman dry heaved.

…

He yawned, and stepped out of Damien's house to meet his friend. "I do say, the sky is certainly being rather rude what with all the thundering and waking me up, eh ol' chap?"

"Yeah," Damien growled, remembering how the lightning had betrayed him earlier. "Fucking sky." He paused, thinking. "Listen Pip, I have to find Kyle. Either go back to bed, or come with me."

"Right-o. I certainly don't hope to get any shuteye in this weather, so with you I shall go!"

Damien nodded, and started forward. "He probably just ran straight ahead… so he'd be in those woods over there."

"Are you quite sure, Damien? I rather think he'd go back to his own home."

"Then you check his house. I'll check the woods." He started forward for the forest immediately, not waiting for the British boy's response.

"Right-o." He dashed off in the direction of the only home in town with a Star of David in the window.

…

Stan broke the kiss and stared guiltily into the pond below. "Kyle… I… I don't know how to say this…"

Kyle planted another quick kiss on his lover's cheek before responding, "What is it, dude?"

"Kyle… I ki-" he choked out a sob, unable to finish the sentence.

"He killed Rebecca Cotswold," Cartman finished for him in a bored tone.

Kyle's jaw dropped. "Rebecca…? My first girlfriend?"

Stan nodded. "God, Kyle… I'm so fucking sorry…"

Kyle joined his partner in looking down. "So… is that why you wanted to drown yourself?" Stan nodded, choking back tears. Kyle touched his lover's cheek gently. "Why…?"

Stan opened his mouth to answer, but all that come out was another fit of sobs.

Cartman stood up as if he intended to leave, but instead, answered the redhead's question. "It was his initiation to some pussy gang when he was younger. Now you two fags better get your asses back to bed before the storm kills you. Fucktards."

Kyle began moving towards the shore, then paused. "Wait, why does fatass know all this and I don't?" Stan shook his head, trying to indicate the best he could that I have no idea without actually opening his mouth and bursting into tears again.

Cartman sighed. "Because you never actually tried to learn anything about your boyfriend, ass master. And on that note, I take my leave."

At that moment, yet another person decided to burst through the foliage and scream something. However, the newcomer's scream was not one of "I love you" but rather, an unidentifiable shriek that didn't seem to belong to the English language at all.

Kyle's journey to shore was once again interrupted as he turned to determine the source of the scream, and his eyes widened in shock when he discovered that it was Damien.

"Shit! Stan, hide me!" He dove under the water in a desperate attempt to camouflage himself from the antichrist, afraid that something more than the previous kiss incident would happen, or that Damien would kill him for running away.

At that moment, Damien's cold black eyes landed on the boy that was still visible above the water, who had a somewhat confused expression on his face. His rage grew tenfold at the sight of Stan, the perfect little jock, the one who had stolen his precious Kyle away from him. "You…! You, that perfect little assfucker!" He spat the word "perfect" as if he was struggling to get it out of his throat, indicating it was the Bad Kind of perfect.

"Oh Jesus, how many times do I have to explain this before I can leave?" Cartman groaned. "Queen Fag here is in no way perfect, we were just talking about how he used to be in this shitty gang and killed some chick. Also, he's way too gay."

Damien's expression faltered slightly at this information, before returning to his hard glare. "He's perfect enough for Kyle…"

"That's IT! Screw you fags, I'm going home!" Cartman spat, quite fed up with all the gayness that was occurring. He then ran off before anything else could distract him from his goal of getting to bed.

Damien advanced toward the pond, raising a hand menacingly in Stan's direction with fire in his eyes. "Rectus… Dominus…"