Continuing from where we last left off. The story is almost coming to an end soon. I hope my readers have enjoyed the read so far. But it's not quite over yet. The Mysterion-story sequel will have a good conclusion. Time to see it to the end...
Toolshed had to drop to the ground and cover his head as a loud explosion erupted from the red Kia car that had flipped over onto its back and now became one big blazing inferno. Good thing he got the driver out in the nick of time. And things were only about to get worse from here on end. Toolshed made sure the driver was safely put out of harm's way before making his way through the chaotic streets. He had to get to Kenny's house. Hopefully a theory of his proved to be right…
Finally Toolshed stood before the McCormick's poorly rundown house. The lights were on inside. Toolshed wondered if Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were inside. At least he didn't need to worry about Karen who was over at a friend's house. Toolshed jogged over to the front door and wondered what to do. First he knocked on the door but nobody answered. After a moment of debating, Toolshed reached into his utility belt and took out his lock pick. He started to work the lock when suddenly the front-door swung open unexpectedly.
A fist went flying at him that Toolshed quickly dodged it. Toolshed tried to throw a punch back but his attacker caught his fist and grabbed his arm. The next thing Toolshed knew, he was being thrown down onto the floor with his attacker on top of him, still gripping him roughly by the arm. With his other free hand, Toolshed reached into his utility belt to pull out his hammer to use to defend himself. But then Toolshed immediately recognized his attacker as Kevin McCormick, Kenny's older brother. Kevin recognized him too and released his arm.
"You really shouldn't sneak up on me like that," Kevin said sternly. He held out his hand and helped Toolshed up. "Sorry about that. I thought you were another crazy person trying to break into our house and steal our TV again."
Toolshed nodded his head understandingly while returning his hammer to his utility belt. "It's cool. Nice throw by the way," Toolshed said with a good-natured smile. Kenny always told him that his big brother was a tough fighter.
At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. McCormick came hurrying out to see what the commotion was. They looked relieved to see it was only Toolshed and not a dangerous intruder. "What are you doing here?" Mr. McCormick asked. Then he studied Toolshed and seemed to recognize him as well. "Hey wait, I know you. You run around with that other mysterious crime-fighter. The one with the hood and cape…"
However Toolshed was eying Mrs. McCormick curiously and it really made him wonder. Was it possible? Without a word to anyone, Toolshed instead made a beeline for Kenny's bedroom. "Huh? Where are you going?" Mrs. McCormick could be heard calling after him.
Instead Toolshed bolted into Kenny's bedroom and his eyes automatically went to the shabby bed in the corner. It was empty. Kenny wasn't here. But for Toolshed, for the first time that night, he felt actual hope. This could only mean one thing. "He's still alive," Toolshed whispered happily to himself.
From behind, Kevin had followed him here. "What's going on?" he asked Toolshed. "Where is my brother anyway? Karen already called mom to let us know she's having a sleepover with her friend."
But Toolshed wasn't paying any attention to Kevin. Instead he was doing some quick thinking. If Kenny hadn't resurrected by now, could that mean…? "He's still there," Toolshed finally realized. "He's back at the church. We still have a chance!" With renewed determination, Toolshed turned and left the McCormick residence.
…
I must have gotten knocked out. When I finally came to, I woke up to a whole lot of pain. Damn… I wasn't sure I could move but to my own surprise, I quickly discovered that I could still move my legs. I laid still for a moment and wondered what happened. Then I remembered… Nyarlathotep had finally showed his ugly self. He'd been gunning right for me when the roof of the church came tumbling down. I thought I'd die for sure. But instead I was badly bruised, covered in dust and halfway buried in debris. I was still alive. How did that happen?
After testing my limbs, I finally started to pull myself out of the pile of rubble that shielded me somehow. I wasn't usually this lucky. What saved me? And then I had my answer. I still had the Shining Trapezohedron in my hand. Did this protect me somehow? I held up the shining stone and saw that it was still radiating purplish-light. I could feel powerful energy coursing through me. Was it my own power or the power of the Shining Trapezohedron? I never got the chance to find out…
I sensed his presence… And when I looked up, I saw Nyarlathotep crawling out from the church's steeple. Even in the darkness, I could see him clearly. Nyarlathotep looked to be a cross between a bat, an octopus and a dragon. Spreading those foul wings, Nyarlathotep glared down at me with those unblinking three-lobed eye that was targeted on me. I backed away in fear as Nyarlathotep towered over me, ready to kill me right on the spot. Nyarlathotep had dropped all the sophistication and intelligence, now he was nothing more than a snarling beast. He was only interested in destroying us all.
As Nyarlathotep screamed mindlessly to the black sky, he immediately moved in to attack me with all black tentacles flailing after me at once. My power was communicating with me again. Somehow without being told, I knew that my power wanted to stop Nyarlathotep as much as I did. Gathering all the eldritch energy building within my soul, I reared back my fist and fired a powerful bright ball of purplish light at the monstrosity coming at me. And just like before, the blinding light scorched Nyarlathotep upon contact, causing him to writhe and squirm in pain.
I raised my fist again to summon up another Eldritch Blast but Nyarlathotep was smarter than I thought. With a nasty snarling roar at me, Nyarlathotep spread those cursed wings and took to the skies. "Come back here you cowardly pussy!" I yelled angrily.
Nyarlathotep blended into the pitch-black sky but I could hear him flapping his bat-like wings. Only his burning red three-lobed eye glowed ominously in the darkness. And as I watched, Nyarlathotep flew over the snow-covered trees, nearly blowing me back by the strong gusts of snowy wind. While trying to shield my eyes from the snowflakes, I was able to see the town of South Park from here. All the lights were out. It was another blackout. I realized to my horror that Nyarlathotep would have free reign to terrorize South Park as he pleases. My friends and family were still in danger.
"You can't run away from me forever!" I yelled furiously after Nyarlathotep. I determinedly ran after the Outer God who was already heading straight for South Park. I still clutched the Shining Trapezohedron in my fist. Time to banish that fucker once and for all…
…
The townspeople of South Park only continued to wreck complete havoc on the streets. Butters managed to make it home safely with Bradley in tow. Now the two of them were sadly looking out the window and watching as everyone acted like mindless animals out there on the streets. One house was still on fire and was slowly burning down to the ground. Cars and trucks were parked haphazardly along the streets. There were screams of horror, shouts of alarm, and cries of insanity echoing in the air. Butters wondered where his own parents were right now but he had a feeling that they too were lost in the chaos…
"It's hopeless, isn't it?" Bradley said somberly. He turned away from the window. He couldn't bear to watch such carnage anymore. "This is like the worst Christmas ever." Bradley went over to sit down on the sofa where he stared morosely over at the dark Christmas tree in the living-room.
Butters also went over to sit down beside Bradley. "I'm sorry Bradley," Butters said sympathetically, he placed a comforting hand on Bradley's shoulder. "This certainly isn't how I planned to celebrate Christmas either. But hey, this is nothing. We've been through worse situations than this!" Butters tried to lighten the mood but he saw that Bradley was genuinely upset.
"We'll be okay," Butters gave Bradley's shoulder a consolable pat. But then Butters thought of something. "What about your family? Are they okay? Do you want to go home and check on them? I can come with you if you'd like."
But Bradley smiled weakly. "Actually… I have something to confess." Bradley looked up and saw that Butters was listening. "The real reason why I came here to live with my great aunt is because I can't live with my own parents anymore."
"But why?" Butters asked gently.
Bradley gave a bitter laugh. "Isn't it obvious? It's because I'm gay. My parents have never accepted that. Don't you remember? I've been sent to that goddamn conversion camp in the hopes of straightening me. But I couldn't change who I was. And just when I thought I was better off dead… something you said made me change my mind."
Butters remembered the event all too well. Bradley being driven to despair and tried to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. But Butters' heartfelt words touched Bradley's heart and ultimately convinced him to not give up. Bradley continued to go on with life and strived to be true to himself. It hasn't been an easy journey but Bradley got back his self-confidence and was finally comfortable with his own sexuality. Sadly his parents have resented him for it ever since and have never truly accepted his life choices.
In that very moment, Butters realized he could relate to having difficult parents like that. Without even realizing he was doing it, he was already reaching out to touch Bradley's hand. "I know what that's like. My parents are the bullying type too," Butters said softly. "It seems they always find a reason one way or another to ground me for something. I felt like I constantly had to watch my step around them…"
This cheered Bradley up a little to know he wasn't the only one with issues. "That's rough, buddy. Let's face it, Butters. Our parents have had high expectations for us even before we were born. It's hard trying to be the son they think they should have." With a warm smile, Bradley twined his fingers around Butters' hand and held it.
"Yeah…," Butters agreed while returning the smile. "I'm happy the way I am. You should be too, Bradley. I didn't get the chance to say this to you all those years ago. But I'm glad I was able to help you out in a real big way."
Up until now, Bradley has been able to keep his emotions at bay. But now he was fighting a losing battle as his feelings grew stronger for the buttery-blonde man sitting beside him. Despite the chaos going on outside, Bradley found the boyishly cute Butters a delightful distraction right now. Bradley gazed fondly into Butter's baby-blue eyes. "Butters… What is your real name?" he asked curiously.
"Actually its' Leopold…"
"Leopold?" Bradley said the name aloud. It made him chuckle. "That's an awfully strong name. It doesn't even seem to fit you."
Butters shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin. "I know. It's like I said. My parents had high expectations for me. I got my nickname because how I was always buttering people up with my cuteness."
Bradley scooted closer to Butters on the couch. "Well it's working," he couldn't resist flirting. "I think I like "Butters" better. It suits you."
And as Bradley brought them closer together, Butters realized how okay he was with this close contact. Nothing about Bradley made him feel uncomfortable in any way. Being this close-up, Butters caught a whiff of Bradley's intoxicating cologne. Bradley's heart leaped in his chest when Butters nestled his head on his shoulder and cuddled comfortably next to him. Butters could really get used to this loving intimacy he shared with Bradley. Something he never quite had with all his previous ex-girlfriends. Butters didn't know where this was going to go but he was eager to find out.
As Butters and Bradley shared a tender moment with each other, a sudden explosion in the distance made them both jump. An explosion so loud that it made Butters' furniture shake a little. It was a reminder that they were still in the middle of a crisis. Would they even live to see tomorrow?
…
I dodged the crowbar as a random citizen attacked me on sight. After disarming him, I clonk him over the head with the crowbar before carelessly tossing it aside. When I returned to South Park, I discovered complete and utter hell on earth. Everyone was drowning in insanity and engaging in dangerous crimes and destroying everything in sight. But I couldn't worry about that now. Instead I kept my eyes on Nyarlathotep whom I chased all the way to town. And now that eldritch-monster was beginning his attack on the townspeople.
Nyarlathotep landed on the street with such powerful force that his footprints left cracks in the asphalt. People screamed in terror as the monstrous Outer God scooped victims up with his wiggling tentacles and crushed them like toothpicks until their spines broke into a bloody mess. Nyarlathotep's presence seemed to ramp up the insanity in the townsfolk. Now people were starting to kill themselves in a wild frenzy. Smashing their heads into brick-walls until they stopped moving, shooting themselves in the head with guns and weapons. I avoided a random guy jumping to his death from a building from above.
I had to stop this. While some people were running away screaming from the eldritch-monster, I pushed my way through the panicking crowd while trying to reach the rampaging Nyarlathotep. "Hey fuckface!" I screamed at the top of my lungs so as to catch Nyarlathotep's attention.
Nyarlathotep turned that hideous three-lobed eye onto me… Like before, I gathered all the eldritch energy from within and fired out another Eldritch Blast that struck Nyarlathotep in the eye. With a pained guttural roar, Nyarlathotep furiously used his tentacles to ram a nearby car at me. I leaped out of the way as the car went flying and crashed into Tom's Rhinoplasty with a loud bang. I lifted my head up in time to see Nyarlathotep spread his bat-wings and take to the skies once again. "Sonofabitch!" I angrily slammed a fist into the ground. Nyarlathotep was running away from me again. I had to go after him. I took off after the fleeing Outer God. Nyarlathotep was heading towards the South Park Mall.
…
Toolshed used his sledgehammer to smash through the window. After making a safe passage, Toolshed then helped out the people trapped inside burning building. "You need to hurry to Stark's Pond! That's where everyone is gathering," he told them.
Those who haven't succumbed to the madness were being urged to head to Stark's Pond. It was the best place to put distance between themselves and the catastrophic town. Toolshed tried to help out as much as he could but he was still on the lookout for Mysterion. As Toolshed was hurrying through people's backyards and through the trees, he gasped when he felt something big and powerful fly over him from above.
When Toolshed looked up into the pitch-black night sky, he saw an unspeakable monstrosity with a frighteningly burning three-lobed eye. "Nyarlathotep…," Toolshed realized in horror. Suddenly Toolshed felt something hard hit him from behind in the head. As he slumped onto the soft snowy ground, he looked up to see someone about to beat him with a log. Suddenly a gunshot rang out and the assailant dropped the log and grabbed his shoulder where he'd been shot. Toolshed looked over to see Officer Barbrady hurrying over to assist him.
"This isn't a safe place. You need to get to Stark's Pond," Officer Barbrady informed him. He helped Toolshed up from the ground. "Innocent people are dying. The mayor has ordered everyone over to Stark's Pond. At this rate, we'll need a Military Rescue Squad to sort this out."
"I can't leave now. I'm looking for someone," Toolshed said seriously. Looking over Officer Barbrady's shoulder, he saw that Nyarlathotep was heading towards the South Park Shopping Mall. And that's not all he saw… Toolshed saw a masked man running in the distance whose long flowing cape flew behind him like angelic wings. It was the Dark Angel… "Mysterion," Toolshed breathed a sigh of relief. His boyfriend…
"Hey where are you going?" Officer Barbrady called after him. Officer Barbrady looked worried for a moment. But then decided he couldn't just stand around. There were others that may need his help. Toolshed hurried toward the mall. Mysterion was going to need all the help he could get on taking down that Outer God. Sometimes it takes the right tool to get the job done…
…
