Tweek hadn't known it was possible to feel so happy. Since officially starting to date Craig, his life had improved to a degree he hadn't known was even possible. His dad was nicer to him, he was getting a little bit of pocket money, and he'd just been to his first sleep over at Clyde's house who had hosted one for the gang, and had gladly invited Tweek as well to celebrate the end of the school week. It had been a bit awkward at the beginning since Tweek wasn't exactly sure what to do at a sleep over, but the night ended with him curled up at Craig's side, sleeping soundly.

It had been a magical experience.

Sitting in his room, he hummed lightly as he played with his LEGOs. He had felt more creative in the last month than he had in his entire nine years of life. On top of that, his shaking had slowed quite a bit, and he was seeing Craig smile more often. Everything was going perfectly; for once, his life was looking up.

As Tweek played up in his room, Richard was downstairs in the kitchen, looking over his finances in irritation. Tweek was costing him a lot of money, a lot of money they didn't have. He had been glad to have a gay son at first, thinking of the credit they could have being LGBT friendly, but as time went on and business hadn't picked up, he was starting to think it wasn't worth it. If he could have Tweek manning the counter with Craig sitting close by to display their gayness, it would have been fine, but stupid laws existed that made it illegal for him to let Tweek serve people yet.

He, like many people around the town, had been giving Craig and Tweek money on occasion to support them, but now he had given his son some 200 dollars, and he couldn't afford to keep doing it. He needed a way to increase profit and stop hemorrhaging money. The easiest way to get more money would be to not have a child, but Helen would never let that happen, unfortunately. For whatever reason she actually liked the boy and was happy to have him, much to Richard's annoyance. So many problems would be gone if Tweek would just-

An idea came to him, interrupting his line of thought. Getting rich, getting rid of Tweek, and not having to deal with any fall out... there was one possibility that offered itself as a solution. Getting to his feet, Richard hurried up to his office, getting onto his computer and typing feverishly.

South Park was no stranger to the darker side of the supernatural world. Richard knew there were cult meetings at least once a week in the community center, and even he himself was part of a witch coven that met yearly. Though he could never bring this up to his fellow members and knew he'd be laughed out of a cult for suggesting his plan, there was nothing that said he couldn't do a ritual on his own.

Or with one other.

Finding his solution, a wicked grin spread across his face and he let out a breath, sitting back in his chair. All things considered, summoning a demon didn't seem to be that difficult. In fact, Richard knew he had all of the items he'd need in his home. Candles, chalk, specific herbs to burn. Even a pure-hearted sacrifice.


After a week of planning and making arrangements, Richard was ready. He had kept his wife in the dark, telling her he had been busy with things for the shop to curb her curiosity over his late working hours.

Tweek had gone to a second sleepover, this time at Jimmy's house, on Friday again, and he was in high spirits, having no idea what was to come for him by the end of the night. Craig had walked him home, holding his hand the entire way as the pair recounted their fun from yesterday, laughing and joking as they walked. Arriving at the Tweak's house, Richard watched the two silently from the front window, feeling a deep, bubbling hatred towards his own spawn boiling in his soul.

He made sure to smile and welcome him home, giddy with the knowledge that by tomorrow, all his problems would be over.

Craig said goodbye and left, Tweek going up to his room to relive his time with his friends. Helen brought him up some snacks and coffee, Richard having to keep himself from scolding her for wasting perfectly good food and drink. Why did she have to be so... so... motherly?

As night fell, they ate dinner together, then Helen helped Tweek take a bath, dressed him in his pajamas, and tucked him into bed with a light kiss on his forehead.

"I love you, sweetheart," she hummed, smiling at him adoringly.

"Love you too, mom," he said, returning the smile before yawning. Helen chuckled lightly, then left the room, closing his door with a soft click. Tweek was asleep before long, having gotten into a somewhat regular sleep pattern over the last few days. It was shocking how much better he felt after sleeping for eight hours rather than forty-five minutes.

When the clock in the hallway chimed two in the morning, Richard made his move. He slipped out of bed, fully dressed, and quietly went down the hall to his son's room. He opened the door, moving to the bed and watching Tweek sleep for a few moments before leaning down and shaking him.

"Tweek," he whispered. "Get up."

Tweek gasped and his eyes snapped open, looking up at his father fearfully before his expression turned to confusion. "Dad...? What are you doing?"

"Get up," he repeated. "I have something important to do, and I need you to go with me. It's for the sake of the shop."

Tired and startled, Tweek got out of bed, picking up his clothes from the day before and pulling them on. Richard left to wait for him downstairs, and Tweek went to use the bathroom, shooting a text to Craig.

Dad just woke me up. Idk what he wants but he said we havet o go do something for the shp.

A few streets over, Craig's phone lit up. Having been playing a game instead of sleeping, he picked it up, reading the message and frowning. Sure, Tweek had been telling him about how his and his dad's relationship had been getting better over the last couple weeks, but this was weird, even for Richard. Not that he would tell Tweek this, not wanting to damage his connection to his father anymore than it already was, but he didn't trust Richard for a single second. And this just felt... wrong.

He got up, pulling on his shoes and hurrying to sneak out of the house. He didn't know what Richard was planning to do, but he'd be damned if he just sat in his room and did nothing.


Across town, Kenny left his house, in pain and holding back tears. His parents had gotten into yet another drunken fight, and in an attempt to shield his mother, Kenny had gotten between them, taking a hard hit to his face curtsy of Stewart. He was relieved Karen was already tucked safely into bed beside their big brother. Kevin wouldn't let anything happen to her.

After being hit so hard he was knocked to the ground, Carol had swept him into her arms, shrieking with rage at her husband. She had carried him the short distance to the hall and set him down lightly, giving him a gentle push towards his room to sleep. Rather than doing that, he crawled through the hole in the wall of his closet out into the ally.

Cursing to himself lowly, he started walking, heading towards the pond. It was one of the few places he felt safe, no matter what was happening. He could climb a tree to get away from pretty much anything at least. Most of the adults couldn't follow him up there. It was a haven of sorts.

As he went, he heard a door open and shut, drawing his attention. He spotted Craig sneaking out of his house, a worried look on his face. That was unusual. Maybe Tweek had a nightmare and he was going to comfort him. Craig seemed like that kind of caring boyfriend.

He trailed behind him a while, the two moving in the same direction. He didn't try to call to him, not wanting to explain why he was out and about at this hour. When they reached the turn for Craig to head for the Tweak's house, Kenny was surprised the other hesitated rather than continuing on. He dropped back a bit further, his curiosity raised.

Before long, there was the sound of footsteps moving towards them, and Kenny ducked behind a shrub, more than a little confused when Craig hid himself behind a tree. Down the sidewalk came Richard and Tweek. Richard was walking oddly fast, Tweek struggling to keep up with his long stride.

Kenny didn't like this. Something was weird about the situation. He hadn't heard of any other orders for the Tweaks coming from their garage, so where was Richard going? And why was Tweek with him?

When they passed, he hurried up to Craig's hiding spot, being sure to make noise to alert the other to his approach. He didn't exactly want to get hit twice.

Craig turned, finding himself completely unsurprised to see Kenny. One look and he knew the other was confused and curious about the late-night Tweak family adventure. Without a word to each other, they moved on after the pair.


The four went to the edge of town, Richard practically running and seeming excited about something or other. The three boys were out of breath, their feelings of unease only growing. Tweek was wondering if he shouldn't just turn around and go home while Craig was considering kidnapping him to safety. Once arriving at Stark's Pond, Richard finally stopped, allowing Tweek a moment to catch his breath.

Tweek looked around the area feeling fear tingle down his spine. The pond was normally a place of peace and relaxation, but now… it was filled with odd and creepy things, most of which Tweek couldn't even begin to name. On the ground was a massive circle with a star shape inside it made from sticks of chalk. He may not have understood what was happening, but everything in him was telling him to stay the fuck away from that circle. Nothing good would come of it.

"Dad?" he asked, his voice was meek whisper. "What are we doing? I don't like this, can't we go home?"

"No, not yet," Richard said firmly. "Just calm down, we'll finish soon."

From the shadows, Craig and Kenny watched them, hidden in the brush. This whole thing was bad bad news. The entire area felt horrible, like a nightmare was waiting to spring to life and snatch them away from the world. Kenny recognized the cultish nature of the setup, but couldn't figure out what Richard was trying to do. Was he forcing Tweek to help him in some kind of evil magic? Craig was keeping himself from running out to his boyfriend. He didn't like that Tweek was so close to him in distress and he couldn't help him, but he was still nervous about ruining a potential moment between father and son. Richard was a weird dude, maybe this was some elaborate plot to bond?

Richard grabbed Tweek's arm, practically dragging him into the center of the circle. Tweek yelped in pain at the tight grip, rubbing his arm when Richard released him.

"Don't move. If you don't move, you'll be just fine," Richard said, stepping back. He closed his eyes and began to sway side to side, chanting in a language none of them knew. What the fuck was happening?

Tweek was, at this point, terrified. He wanted to run away, sprint home to his mother and hide with her under the covers from Richard. Whatever his father was planning, he didn't want any part of it. The only thing keeping him from moving was Richard's warning, but he wasn't even sure if he should be trusting those words.

Shortly, the circle turned red and began to glow, and Tweek whimpered in fear. Craig and Kenny were frozen in place, their minds racing to understand what they were seeing.

As they watched, black smoke began to ooze up from the earth, spinning together to form a massive being. It looked down at Tweek, it's eyes bright yellow, horns like a ram's spiraling from either side of it's head. A pair of colossal wings, torn and ripped, studded along the ridges with spines, curled from it's back. It looked down at Tweek with disinterest, then scanned the area. Of course it saw Craig and Kenny attempting to hide, it's gaze landing on them for a moment. The pair felt the strength in their bodies evaporate and almost collapsed from the weight. The being ignored them, however, turning it's attention onto Richard.

"What do you want, human?" It's voice was deep, rumbling through the air like thunder. Beneath it, Tweek jerked to run, but found he was locked in place, his feet cemented to the ground, and no amount of desperate pulling would loosen him.

"I want to be rich!" Richard yelled, his face alight with glee. It was working, it was actually working! "I want my coffee shop to be the most successful business in town!"

The massive creature, recognized now as a demon, rolled it's eyes and made a noise like a sigh. "Do you know the cost of summoning me and making such a request?"

"I do. Take the child at your feet. His soul is pure, and it should be a good exchange."

Tweek let out a scream of terror, and Craig bolted from his hiding place through force of will, racing across the clearing to the other, yelling his name. Richard didn't spare them a glance. There was nothing the two could do to stop him now. He was finally going to have everything he wanted.

The demon looked down at the two, watching quietly as Craig did all he could to get to Tweek in the circle and stop his fate, working as hard as his small body could to reach him. It had never seen such behavior in humans before. Humans were inherently selfish and hateful things, wanting only for themselves and more than willing to sell one another for their own gain. But this tiny human was trying so very desperately to save the other... Interesting. Unlike the majority of humans it had dealt with, this offering also had a pure, perfectly clear soul. Strange considering the connection between him and it's summoner. Perhaps he hadn't had a long enough time to be corrupted. Perhaps he was just a genuinely good human.

The demon reached down, grabbing Tweek around the waist and picking him up with ease, using another finger to shove Craig away. The pair shrieked and screamed for each other, reaching out their hands. Just before he was out of reach, Tweek made a desperate grab, but only managed to snag Craig's hat from his head, holding it tightly as he was yanked into the sky.

In a split second, the demon made a choice. Rather than eating this soul, he was going to take him back to Hell. It had always wanted a protege. Now seemed like the perfect time.

As Craig jumped up and down under him, grabbing at Tweek's feet a good ten feet over his head, the demon turned to look Richard up and down, scoffing. "I know not of even a demon who would give one of their own for their desires. You are truly a wicked being, and I will look towards the day your soul is in my domain."

"Just give me what I want," Richard snapped.

The demon's eyes flashed and a powerful flap of his wings knocked the man to the ground. "Mind your tone, human," it growled. "I have no obligations to do as you wish. Such impotence, thinking yourself a lord simply because you summoned. For your arrogance, the deal is altered."

Richard paled slightly as the demon spoke. "W-What do you mean?"

"This child is mine now. Enjoy your partial success."

There was no time for argument after that. The pond burst into flames and the demon dove into the center, Tweek's terrified scream cutting off sharply as he went under.

The fire vanished, leaving the area dark and cold in the night. Richard, feeling still rather pleased with himself, went home. Kenny stumbled out of his spot, moving to Craig's side, the other kneeling on the ground in shock. He pulled Craig to his feet, and they moved slowly to the edge of the water, looking down into the murky depths.

No... Tweek... This wasn't happening, it couldn't be! Craig ripped down the zip of his coat, hurrying to pull it off, stopped only as Kenny grabbed his arms tightly.

"Fuck off, McCormick! Tweek needs me! I have to-"

"Are you a fucking idiot?!" Kenny demanded, his eyes filled with fury as he leaned into the other's face, shutting him up. "That's not how this works, Craig! He isn't in the bottom of the pond, he isn't in South Park! He's gone! Do you understand me? He's not in this realm anymore!"

"And what in the goddamned hell is that supposed to mean?! That I just give up on him?! I won't do that, not ever!"

The clearing was filled with the sounds of arguing children, the forest silently listening as both eventually broke into tears as the realization of what they had seen dawned on them.

"He's gone, Craig," Kenny finally said in a pause. Craig's mouth snapped shut, his body shaking. "I'm sorry... He's gone... He... Tweek isn't coming back..."

Kenny watched the other break. The stoic, strong, level-headed Craig Tucker. He watched the other fall to his knees, tears streaming down his face, wailing in despair. He watched as he pounded the ground with a fist until he sunk lower, bending his face to the ground and sobbing. Unable to do much else, Kenny lowered himself beside him, putting a hand on his back.

What could he say? Kenny knew more about this kind of thing than anyone in the town. This deal Richard had made, how had he not seen it coming sooner? Only now did he recognize the chants. There was no hope to summon him back and request Tweek's return. And worse yet, he knew his memories of this would fade. What he had learned of this demon came from a book that the author claimed to have forgotten about writing, saying he recalled none of the events described, leading it to being published as a fictional work. Like with that author, Kenny knew soon these memories would be taken from them. His eyes closed as his tears fell. He had never felt so powerless.

As Craig screamed into the ground, his mind raced. This couldn't be real, it simply couldn't be! He would wake up tomorrow and find this to have been all some terrible dream! Wake up, wake up, wake up, please for the love of God, wake up!

How could he have been so weak? So helpless? One look had told him all he needed to know, but he had still tried with his all to save Tweek. Hadn't he been through enough? Did Tweek not deserve a good, love-filled life? Why, why did all the bad shit always have to happen to him?!

Finally, exhausted, the pair dragged themselves from the water's edge, settling together against a tree to keep warm. Kenny fought sleep, knowing this was all he'd have of the lost boy. Grabbing a rock from the ground beside him, he turned, carving into the bar E... The rock clinked to the ground, his head dropping to his chest.

Craig sniffed, shivering, holding Kenny's hand tightly for comfort. Soon he'd wake up and everything would be okay... It'd all be okay...

In the morning, the pair were found by Jimbo and Ned. They were shocked to find the two out, taking them to their homes quickly. When they woke, neither remembered what had happened the night before. Kenny remembered his parent's fight and being hit, meeting Craig outside, but then... nothing. Craig didn't recall why he'd even left his house, or what he'd been doing to end up sleeping in the forest with Kenny. He chalked it up to a weird case of sleep walking. In the light of the new day, the memory of Tweek Tweak vanished from the world. Not a soul remembered him. Aside from one filled with darkness.


All things considered, Imp found himself mildly impressed with the effort and extent this woman had gone to. Currently, he was suspended by his wrists from the ceiling in a basement, a sealing circle drawn in what he figured was probably pig blood under him. He hoped she hadn't hurt someone innocent just for this. Maybe that was a small bit of his human side pushing through. He'd never been very comfortable with sacrifice.

Imp glanced around his surroundings with a vague curiosity. He was back in his demon form, the sealing circle having broken his enchantment. He was maybe four or five feet off the ground, and the air around him smelled musty and damp. Definitely a leak somewhere down here. The only light came from the five candles set around the circle on the ground, the small flames bouncing odd shadows around. Really the most surprising part was that his writs didn't hurt even after hanging here for a few hours.

He was brought out of this thoughts by chanting, and he looked down at the woman circling him. She had pulled a black hood over his head, and from what he could tell, she seemed to be saying mostly jibberish. Where in the world had she even gotten this spell from? She began tossing handfuls of salt at him and he frowned, shaking his legs.

"Does it burn, demon?" she asked, her eyes glinting under the hood.

"Burn?" Imp shook a leg again. "Not in the slightest, it's just getting all in my fur."

"You dare to mock me?!"

"You're the one throwing salt at me."

"Everyone knows that salt is a bane of demons!"

"Oh right, how could I have forgotten?" he said, rolling his eyes. "The twelve disciples weren't actually people, they were seasonings. Too bad for you that Judas was salt, so it doesn't actually work."

The woman's face went red with anger. "You're lying!"

"Of course I'm lying, what are you talking about?" he snapped. Sure, he might not care now what happened to him, but if he was going to go out, he'd rather that happen in a not entirely stupid and misguided way. "I don't know who told you that salt hurts us, but that's bullshit. And while we're on this subject, so is that spell your trying to use. Total nonsense and meaningless!"

Enraged beyond words, she took the short cut and threw the salt container at him. It hit him in the stomach and he grunted from the impact.

"Just you wait... you'll see," she snarled, practically foaming at the mouth. She then turned, heading back upstairs into the house and leaving him alone.

Imp sighed, shaking his head. Fate was just being cruel now. Surely he deserved a quick end to this? After all he'd been through? Or maybe he's been a piece of shit human and this was what had been chosen for him. Without any past memories, he couldn't exactly say with any certainty.

A bang upstairs made him look up, but he shook his head after a moment. Maybe she was getting a gun. That'd be new.

When she finally did return a while later, she was carrying a new book. It was much thicker that the one he could just make out in the corner of the room, with a thick black leather binding, and words seeming to have been carved into the cover.

She flipped it open, flipping through a few pages before grinning. "See how this works for you," she said. Well, that was probably not a good look for him.

The woman began her chanting again, and Imp paled. This one was real. It didn't take long. A scream ripped from him, and he thrashed and he felt thousands of incorporeal knives pierce him over and over. They left no marks and drew no blood, but the pain they caused and the feeling of flesh being torn was the same. Seeing this spell was working, the woman began to cackle, looking excitedly through the book for more useful spells.

Imp wasn't sure how long this went on. It could have been days or minutes. Whatever spells she had found, each was very real, and very painful. He felt his body burned, stabbed, sliced, ripped, trampled, and all he knew was agony. He choked once near the end, his throat raw and bloody from his screams. Finally, the room was quite, only his ragged, weak breaths filling the air. The silence was short lived as the woman began to laugh again. She was greatly enjoying herself.

He didn't bother to try for mercy. He'd known the first moment he saw her outside the police station he would find none. She was out for revenge, and she was going to do everything she could to make him hurt.

"You're in luck, demon," she suddenly said, getting him to lift his head from his chest to look at her. "I have something I must do this evening, otherwise, I'd stay here with you. Enjoy this time. It will be your last moments of peace for the rest of my life." She moved into the circle, glaring up at him. "I will never let you forget what you did to my son."

He heard what he could only assume was the front door shut a while later, and the house was empty. Now alone, Imp let out a weak sniff and began to weep silently. It might seem hypocritical, for a demon to be unable to stand torture, but he hadn't exactly been on the receiving end.

Looking around for any hope, he found there was a small window behind him. By forcing himself to turn just a bit too far, he could see the light coming in and a sliver of grass and sky. His bones weren't sure this was a good enough trade off, and creaked at the odd position.

"H... help..." he rasped. "Please... anyone..." Fuck not caring what happened to him. It was one thing to have a broken heart and be forcefully unsummoned, which was what he had figured would happen. This was a thousand times worse that the worst thing he had thought possible. The only way it would be worse would be if Craig knew this was happening and did nothing to help. But he couldn't think like that. Not now, not ever.

He would only go insane from that. So no choice now, but to wish for rescue.


Kenny was on the hunt. Nothing got him riled up quit like a surge of dark magic blasting through the town. Especially when he didn't know the origin, and it happened with such high intensity and frequency. It was like a frenzied pulse going through the air. It was a bit suffocating, and with his regained memories, somewhat familiar. Not exactly the same, Kenny could tell nothing else had been summoned, but for sure some kind of demon magic was happening once more.

After making sure Karen would be alright on her own for a few hours, Kenny set off, hurrying through the streets. He had to find the source. Someone was messing with powers they didn't understand, and the last thing he needed was a black hole to open up in the town center or something.

As he investigated, his phone rang, and he grabbed it quick. "Hello?"

"Kenny?"

"Oh, what is it, Craig? I'm a little busy."

"Uh... I... I got my memory back."

Kenny stopped, coming to a stand still in the park. "What?"

"I got my memories back," Craig repeated. His voice was shaking. Was Craig... crying? "I-I remember everything... about Tweek..."

"Oh shit, you really got your memories back."

"Did you always know?" he asked softly.

He sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "Short answer, no, but Craig, I'm really in the middle of thing here, I don't really have the time to help you process this. If you come to the park, I'll wait for five minutes, then I have to go. We can talk while I'm doing my job." Without waiting for an answer, Kenny hung up, tapping his foot worriedly as he thought of all the possible reasons for the surge he'd felt.

Craig arrived shortly, a little out of breath from his sprint. Crying could really take it out of you, who would have guessed?

"Let's go," Kenny said, gesturing him to follow. They set off again, Kenny muttering to himself.

"Kenny," Craig said after his breath returned, "what are you doing?"

"I felt some kind of dark magic in the town. A lot of it. I'm trying to figure out where it came from."

"But, why?"

Kenny looked over at him with a frown. "So I can stop them, duh. People are stupid, and the occult isn't something to mess with for shits and giggles. It's dangerous, and I don't want some idiot with no idea what they're doing destroying the town."

Craig huffed. That was a good reason, which he hadn't expected. "Alright, how can I help?"

"I have no idea, maybe being quite if you can't give me ideas of places people might be trying magic. Trying to concentrate."

"I don't remember you being this big of a bitch."

"If there was a chance your sister could die, you'd care a lot more. Oh wait, she lives here too, so shut your trap and let me focus on keeping us all alive!"

Silence filled the air as Kenny wracked his brain. No one in the park, and it clearly hadn't come from the woods or the pond. It was too strong a feeling to have been so far away, so it had to be somewhere in town, but where...?

"...a house," Craig suddenly said, breathing his concentration.

"What?" Kenny asked.

Craig turned to him. "Someone is probably doing it in their house. I'd say the church, but that rooms been busted. So the only other place someone could really do whatever it is your feeling would be in the privacy of a house. And since I'm pretty much a hundred percent sure no one but you can even tell that it's happening, if we wait for them to do it again, as long as we're in the neighborhoods, it should be an easy enough way to narrow it down."

He thought on this a moment, then nodded. It made sense. Whoever it was was clearly an amateur. There was no disguise to the magic, and while powerful, it was sloppy. All the same, he hated having to wait for it to come back.

"Fine, but we have to be ready to run like hell as soon as I give the word," he said, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers lightly against his skin. "I'm not ready to have South Park die."

"Maybe we'll be able to find I-Tweek." Craig corrected himself as he spoke. He hoped the magic was coming from that imp. He wasn't sure how else to find him.

Kenny raised an eyebrow. "Oh, changed your mind?"

"Tricia is very persuasive."

He snorted lightly at this. "So I've heard. Alright, let's head over towards the houses. I want to be as close as possible. And be ready to kick in a couple doors. I can feel the magic, but that doesn't mean we'll get the right house first try."

"Don't worry, I will be." In his mind, Craig had one more thought.

I'm coming for you, Tweek. Just hold on.