Now that the eldritch horrors were finally behind them, South Park was slowly trying to get back to normal. Hopefully things would get better now that Christmas was tomorrow. So much damage has been done to the town that it wasn't easy sorting things out. However one thing did remained unmentioned… If it hadn't been for the elusive local town-hero Mysterion, South Park definitely would've ended up destroying itself. Nyarlathotep had been banished back to whence it came, thanks to the efforts of Mysterion. But there was only one person who had been there to witness Mysterion's ultimate sacrifice…

Stan lay morosely in his bed while looking unseeingly out at the window. He'd been in a melancholy funk ever since this morning. The first thing he did was hurry over to the McCormick residence. He'd been invited in by Kevin and warmly greeted by Karen there. But when Stan stepped into Kenny's bedroom, he saw the bed empty. The bedroom looked as it always did. Kenny didn't resurrect. He was really gone. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were still asleep in their bedroom but other than that, Kenny hadn't come back.

At first Stan didn't understand it. But when he racked his brain trying to think of an explanation, that's when he realized the horrible truth. Only an immortal could kill another immortal… If Nyarlathotep had directly killed Kenny, then Kenny wouldn't be able to come back. Was it possible? Had Nyarlathotep delivered one final fatal blow to the crime-fighter before being banished by light? After that, Stan came back home in a sad daze, went up to his bedroom and collapsed on his bed.

He was exhausted physically and mentally. His cell-phone rang a few times but he really didn't feel like talking to anybody. He closed his eyes and even ignored his own mom knocking on his door to ask if he was okay. It was only when the tears started flowing did Stan finally allowed his emotions to rise to the surface. It was possible that Kenny was never coming back. What was he going to do now? For now, Stan just wanted to grieve in the privacy of his own room. He wondered if he would ever be able to go on with life without Kenny McCormick…

"No I'm sorry. But Stan hasn't come out of his bedroom yet," Mrs. Marsh was saying over the house phone. "He's been shut-up in there all day. He won't even eat or drink anything. I know. I'm worried too. Well I'll let him know you've called. Good bye then."

On the other end, Kyle hung up his own house phone and turned to Cartman who'd been listening in. "No good. I can't get a hold of Stan. He must be really upset. Kenny still hasn't come back yet."

"Do you think Nyarlathotep finished him off for good?" Cartman wondered. "What did Kenny always used to say? Only an immortal can kill another immortal?

"I don't know. Stan's feeling really down. Maybe we should try checking on him later." With a tired sigh, Kyle headed back to his living-room with Cartman following close-behind and they sat on the couch where the TV was already on and showing the news.

The reporter was just finishing his report on stating all the casualties that have happened in the town. Some of them were pretty crazy. "Damn. So Clyde's father was the one responsible for causing the blackout?" Cartman remarked. "Oooh boy… Clyde is sooo gonna get his ass kicked for this."

"That's nothing," Kyle chuckled. "I'm amazed the police didn't arrest your mom like they did with all the others. What did you say to convince them, Cartman?"

"Not much," Cartman replied. He sat with his leg crossed over the other. "I just told them that there were worst offenders out there. The only thing my mom was guilty of was disturbing the peace. And besides… some of the cops secretly thought my mom had hot boobs." Then Cartman grinned slyly over at Kyle. "So what happened to your old man?"

Kyle smirked back at Cartman. "My dad stole a go-kart and crashed it into somebody's inground pool. He's also wanted for breaking into the Peppermint Hippo's strip club and stealing the strippers' bras. Luckily my mom and Ike got out of it okay."

Cartman laughed. "Hilarious! Get this. I heard that Stan's dad not only smashed people's cars again, he got arrested for standing at peoples' houses and screaming and shouting incoherently at them!"

Kyle also laughed. "Crazy dude! I heard that Butters' own parents were also arrested for breaking into a liquor store, stealing all the glass bottles and trying to make homemade Molotov cocktails out of them." But then Kyle frowned seriously. "A lot of innocent people who have lost their minds. I guess it really wasn't anybody's fault. Nyarlathotep was the cause of it all."

"Got that right," Cartman agreed. After a quiet moment, Cartman looked thoughtfully up at Kyle. "Do you think he's gone for good?"

Kyle knew who Cartman was talking about. And then he thought about his best friend all cooped up in his bedroom depressed. "I hope for Stan's sake, he's not," Kyle said with full sincerity.

Cartman saw the gloomy look on his boyfriend's face. Perhaps it was time for a change of topic. "Well look on the bright side. Tomorrow is Christmas! You didn't think we make it to Christmas and we did! Which reminds me…?" With a wicked glint in his chocolate eyes, Cartman reached out to fondle Kyle's bottom lip with his thumb. "I haven't forgotten the way you kicked me in the balls, Kahl."

"I've told you before. I thought you were one of them," Kyle said, although he couldn't wipe the smug smirk on his face. "You shouldn't be running around dressed like a doomsday cultist, fatass."

"True…," Cartman said lazily. "But remember…" Cartman leaned in to caressingly trace his lips along Kyle's neck, and then pressing a soft kiss on his ear and whispering enticingly. "Tomorrow you are going to put my balls on a pedestal, Kahl." He would tease his Jew for now. But on Christmas day, Cartman was looking forward to engaging in sinful pleasures with his loveable lil' Jew.

It took a lot of coaxing but Mrs. Marsh finally managed to get Stan to come out of his bedroom and have dinner. His big sister Shelley came home for the holidays with her newest boyfriend, Pierre, a so-called artist with a questionable idea of what one calls art. For Shelley, her boyfriends seemed to come and go. Frankly Stan sometimes pitied how men seemed to prefer to use his sister and as a result, poor Shelley was very unlucky in love. Mrs. Marsh made her homemade Chicken Casserole, creamy and savory, made with chicken, onions and cheddar cheese.

Stan didn't join the conversation at the dinner table and instead had other things on his mind. Eventually his father came home from jail after smoothing it over in the courthouse. Once again, Randy was forced to pay for the damages he's caused. Other than that, the Marshes were able to enjoy a quiet evening. All day Stan couldn't shake off his lethargy. It was hard to get excited for Christmas when he was worrying about Kenny's fate. When night-time finally came, Stan decided to head to bed early. He was still worn out from last night's events.

As soon as he laid his head on the pillow, Stan drifted off into a troubled sleep. He ended having a nightmare about black writhing tentacles squirming all over him. Curling around him, choking him and then pulling him into never-ending darkness. And in that cursed darkness, Nyarlathotep's burning red three-lobed eye watched with sadistic glee… And then Stan woke up with a start when he realized that something was crawling on top of him for real. His bedroom was dark and Stan couldn't see anything at first. His clock read 12:00am. A face was hovering above him and whispering his name. Stan gazed up at him; he would recognize those sky-blue orbs anywhere…

"K-Kenny?" Stan whispered, hardly daring to believe it at first. It had to be another dream. But when he reached out to touch his face, that's when he knew.

"Merry Christmas, Stan," Kenny whispered back softly. "Sorry I don't have a Christmas present for you."

"Fuck it. You're my Christmas present, Kenny," Stan said joyfully.

Kenny was already kissing Stan and Stan kissed him back just as happily, just as hungrily. It wasn't enough for Stan. He needed to touch every part of Kenny's body just to be absolutely sure that he was really here. Kenny did come back. He hadn't been killed for good. In minutes, both boys laid comfortably naked in bed together after having made love to each other. Kenny nestled his head on Stan's warm shoulder while Stan was lovingly caressing Kenny's shoulder with his fingers.

"I was afraid," Stan finally admitted. "I thought you might've been killed by Nyarlathotep. If that had happened, then you… you wouldn't have been able to resurrect."

Kenny looked up so that he could meet Stan's eyes. "Sorry it took so long. Luckily the fall was what ended up killing me. Nyarlathotep wasn't able to deliver a final strike." Then Kenny scowled darkly. "Although he did try to…"

And as they both thought about it, Stan had to ask the one question that's really been on his mind all day. "Is Nyarlathotep…really gone for good?"

"I doubt it," Kenny replied. "After all, Nyarlathotep is an immortal. I banished him back to his dark dimension. The Shining Trapezohedron also disappeared with him. You have nothing to fear, Stan. The horrors are over. South Park can finally move on to the next great catastrophe."

They both shared a laugh over that. "Well this has been one crazy December," Stan said. "I'm glad it's all over." There Stan cuddled Kenny affectionately in his arms. "Are you sleeping with me tonight?"

But to Stan's disappointment, Kenny shook his head. "Not tonight. I just wanted to come over to let you know I'm okay. I want to go home and be with my family." There Kenny climbed out of bed and began to collect his pants and orange-parka. As Stan watched his boyfriend get fully dressed, Kenny reached over to kiss him good-night. "You'll definitely see me tomorrow. I'll text you," Kenny promised with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, Kenny," Stan said warmly. Once Kenny left, Stan settled back into his bed and was able to sleep soundly for once. Now that he knew Kenny was alive and well, Stan felt as a large weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders.

It was cold out and I think it snowed a little earlier today. I gazed up at the black-night sky with a half-moon hidden behind some dark-grey clouds. Walking through the neighborhood, I saw that some people were still trying to repair the damage done their houses. But some people had their Christmas lights on and it was a cheery sight. Stan didn't know but I'd been scared too. Scared that Nyarlathotep would put an end to me forever. I managed to save the town and protect all my friends and loved ones. And yet…

When I finally stood before my rundown house, I didn't go in. My powers were acting up again. I felt that old familiar unsettling alien-presence that seemed to reach out and stroke my brain. It still sent chills down my spine. But this time I wasn't scared. He couldn't scare me anymore. I was stronger than ever. Concentrating with my all might, I decided to speak to him one last time. "I know you're watching me," I thought the words in my mind.

As I expected, I got a reply back from the Outer God who came to have the last laugh at me. "You really didn't think you got rid of me for good? You've only defeated one of my avatars. I take on thousands of forms. And I can send many of them to your town, Kenny McCormick."

If Nyarlathotep was hoping to intimidate me, he was sorely mistaken. Instead I smiled calmly. "For each one you send here, I'll kick their ass from here to next Tuesday. You may be Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos. But I'm Mysterion… Protector of this town." With that, I went into my house to be with my family for Christmas.